Soren's voice trembled faintly with exhaustion as he stepped away from the anaconda's massive body. Teleporting the beast back had drained almost every ounce of his strength. Now, back in Everlife Medical Hall, he could finally breathe.
He staggered slightly before steadying himself and sliding down from the serpent's coiled form.
Shan was frozen. Her earlier scream caught in her throat, replaced by a stunned silence as she stared at the battered figure.
"Doctor… you brought it back?" She asked softly.
Soren nodded, dragging the back of his glove across his sweaty brow.
His expression grew solemn. "Miss Shan… I'm very sorry, but, your friends…"
"They didn't make it. The snake… it got to them first. There was nothing left to bring back."
Shan's eyes slowly dimmed. Her arms fell limp at her sides. "All of them…?"
"If they had just been injured or even killed cleanly… I could've tried something. But they were… consumed." Soren lowered his gaze.
She stepped back, clutching herself. Her knees buckled, but she didn't fall. She simply stood there, lost. Those teammates had been her family, bonded through countless dangers and narrow escapes. To think she was the only one who survived…
"I'm sorry." His voice was barely a whisper.
He reached into his pack, pulling out a bundle of crimson, glowing orchids. "I gathered a lot of blood orchids. You can take some. Or if you want, go to Osborn. He'll offer a good trade."
Shan looked at the vibrant flowers in his hand, the very plants that caused the creature's mutation, and shook her head weakly.
"No… thank you. But no flower can bring them back." She said, her voice distant. "I… need to go."
"I understand." Soren said gently. "Take care of yourself."
Without another word, Shan turned and walked away, her steps heavy and slow. She didn't look back.
As the doors shut behind her, silence fell over the hall once more, except for the steady, slow breathing of the injured serpent sprawled across the ruined garden.
Soren exhaled and turned his attention back to the anaconda. "Let's get you fixed up."
Its flesh radiated a faint, unnatural glow… signs of blood orchid saturation. But it wasn't beyond saving.
Soren extended his hand. Life energy shimmered from his fingertips and flowed into the wounded creature. The effects were immediate. Ragged flesh began knitting together, scales reforming with a soft metallic sheen.
But healing wasn't enough.
He summoned a surgical tray and unsheathed his genetically modified scalpel.
He stepped toward the anaconda's head. "Let's see what made you…"
The scalpel pierced a single scale without resistance.
Genetic data flooded his senses, feeding directly into his neural implant.
"So that's it…"
His fingers danced with swift precision. With micro-adjustments, he began rewriting the creature's genes. Silencing the rage. Stabilizing its instincts. Strength without madness. Power with peace.
It only took moments.
Soren stepped back just as the creature gave a low, deep rumble in its throat. Not threatening, just… aware. Its body surged with new vitality.
The wounds were gone. The serpent's eyes were no longer bloodshot but vibrant . The once dark-brown scales shimmered in hues of shimmering blue, peaceful oceanic tone that glistened beneath the medical hall's lights.
[Congratulations to the host. You have healed the C-Class Biological Entity: Anaconda King]
[ World Class C]
[Abilities: Steel Scale Lv 7, Giant Strength Lv 6, Healing Factor Lv 5]
[Ability draw successful: Healing Factor Lv 5 acquired]
[Milestone complete: First non-human creature healed.]
[Task Points: +10]
[Progress: 285/300]
He crossed his arms and chuckled. "I've helped you shake off your rage impulses. From now on, you're mine… my pet, or partner. But honestly, you're too damn big to keep in a backyard."
The anaconda blinked slowly.
"So here's the deal. I'll send you to Manhattan Beach. You can live in the shallows, enjoy the sea breeze. Fish are free, saltwater's endless. But listen closely..."
He raised a finger.
"No showing yourself to tourists. No eating humans. No leaving too far from the shore. Got it?"
The serpent tilted its head, eerily intelligent eyes narrowing. A moment passed… slowly, it nodded.
A spark of something gentle flickered in those cold pupils, gratitude. Whether for being saved, or for being freed from its bloodthirsty instincts, Soren couldn't say.
With a flick of his wrist and a shimmer of energy, both man and serpent vanished from the courtyard, teleported to the shimmering coast of Manhattan Beach.
The sea sparkled beneath the midday sun, waves lapping gently against the shoreline. The moment the anaconda's tail hit the surf, it shivered with delight, sliding into the water like it had found its true home.
Its vast body stretched and rippled through the waves, an elegant contrast to the earlier monster that had thrashed in rage.
Soren stood with his boots in the sand, hands on his hips. "This'll be your new territory, there's plenty of food down there. But remember, no hurting people. I'll be watching."
The serpent coiled slightly in the shallows, then gave one final nod and dove beneath the waves, vanishing into the deep like a shadow returning to the depths.
Soren smiled. "There. One ancient predator rehabilitated."
The sea breeze tousled his hair as he turned and teleported back home.
Soren returned to his daily routine, harvesting blood orchids, transplanting them into the medical garden, and preparing miracle cures in his lab. Inside the sleek, reinforced drug lab, he carefully blended crushed blood orchid petals with refined compounds from the Osborn Corporation.
The machines hummed to life.
[Healing Medicine]
Ingredients: 1 Blood Orchid / 100 Healing Potions
Synthesis Time: 3 Days
[Longevity Medicine]
Ingredients: 1 Blood Orchid / 10 Longevity Potions
Synthesis Time: 1 Month
Soren stared at the instrument's display with a satisfied grin.
"These little vials are going to change the world, the military, private corps, even black market syndicates… Everyone will want this."
He set the machines to work and turned to a new batch of flowers. He hadn't felt this at ease in weeks. Days blurred into peaceful rhythms: brewing potions, tending to herbs, occasionally sipping tea while watching the Manhattan horizon through his lab window.
One day, while scrolling through the news on his data pad, a report caught his eye.
"Widespread Destruction in Middle Eastern Insurgent Camps – Unknown Attacker Confirmed to Be Advanced Tech-Based Weaponry"
"Well, look at that… So Tony finally put on the suit."
"The playboy steps onto the world stage. Now it really begins." He leaned back and chuckled.
Patient visits slowed to a trickle. The clinic was no longer overflowing. He didn't mind.
That is… until Jean Grey walked through the doors again.
As soon as she entered, Soren's senses tingled, the seal he'd placed within her soul was destabilizing. Deep inside, the Phoenix Force stirred once more.
Jean approached quietly, her expression troubled.
"It's… moving again." She said softly.
"Sit down. I'll strengthen the seal."
His fingers glowed with calming energy as he worked. The Phoenix flared for a moment, a burst of golden flame behind her eyes, before quieting once more beneath Soren's touch.
Jean sighed deeply, relief washing over her. She looked at Soren for a long moment.
"You've always been honest with me."
He glanced at her. "It's easier when you're not hiding from the literal embodiment of cosmic fire."
Jean laughed gently, and the air between them softened. "You're strange… but I think I'm starting to understand you."
He smiled faintly. "Careful. Understanding me tends to lead to chaos."
She left shortly after, but her presence lingered…
As she walked away, Soren scratched his cheek. "Maybe I should add a few guest rooms around here…"
A few days later, boredom tugged at him. He needed fresh air, stimulation, maybe even a warzone. He closed the clinic for the afternoon, slipped into his coat, and decided to walk no teleporting, no shortcuts straight into the heart of New York.
Times Square.
It took him less than ten minutes to arrive.
Crowds were shifting erratically. Shouts echoed. People scattered.
"MONSTER!"
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Fellow Phantoms and aspiring Phantoms to be, if you seek to access advanced parts of this story procced to my shadowy realm of p@treon.
PhantomDream