She went to bring the chicken.
Kayden looked at it but didn't move.
Something about it was unbearable… he couldn't stand the idea of touching it.
"Kayden… do it," Henry whispered.
Kayden raised an eyebrow coolly. "I don't want to dirty my hands. Besides… I'm still sick. You deal with stranger things than chickens. You do it."
Fiona intervened firmly, handing them gloves. "Both of you put these on and roll up your sleeves. We're not contaminating anything here."
They complied.
The experiment began.
"Tell me what you've discovered," Fiona said eagerly.
Kayden took a deep breath, then began speaking like an obsessed scientist:
"I replaced the type of flowers and started over. I managed to combine the elements precisely—and now… it can survive for four minutes without dying. A full four minutes."
Fiona's eyes widened. She rushed to shut the door tightly. "No interruptions. Give me the seeds—now."
Kayden handed them over as if presenting treasure.
They all watched in tense silence.
Fiona didn't blink.
Henry barely breathed.
Kayden held his breath.
One minute passed…
Then another…
Then a third…
At the fourth minute, Henry exclaimed, "Four minutes—no failure!"
Kayden raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Impossible… did it work?"
But in the fifth minute, everything changed.
The chicken began to tremble then let out a loud, piercing screech and started running wildly around the room.
Fiona rushed to hide behind the couch. Henry followed. Then Kayden. The three of them peeked over the edges, watching in horror.
"The chicken has lost its mind," Henry muttered, analyzing the situation under his breath.
The chicken slammed its head against the floor several times, making Kayden shiver.
'Why does everything Joly touches end up hitting its head on the ground? I don't understand…' he thought, exhausted.
"Why didn't we close the window?!" Fiona suddenly shouted, jumping to her feet. "It might jump!"
Before she could finish—
The chicken leapt out of the window.
Fiona ran to the balcony, looked down at the street, and—
The chicken exploded mid-road.
The three of them froze.
Then, with tense calm, Fiona opened the door and said in a controlled tone:
"What happened here… didn't happen. We saw nothing. We did nothing. If anyone asks you deny it. Understood?"
Kayden nodded.
Henry added quietly, "Kayden… remember—deny everything. Never confess. And if you do, I'll have Adele beat you."
"I swear I won't say a word!" Kayden protested.
They left the place as if nothing had happened…
But all of them knew—Something definitely had.
As soon as the three of them went down to the lower floor, they sat together, pretending to have a normal conversation trying to ignore what had happened minutes ago as if it had never existed.
Then the door opened quietly, as if whoever entered didn't want to make a sound.
A man stepped in, wearing classic black trousers and a cream-colored shirt though it wasn't cream anymore.
It was soaked in blood.
Fiona froze in place, gasping as she rushed toward him.
"Adam! What happened? Did someone attack you?!"
Kayden slowly raised an eyebrow and pointed at him.
"You're not wearing black? That's a disaster."
Henry sighed, as if the scene was completely ordinary to him. "Not your day, huh?"
Adam shot them a look filled with disgust a mix of exhaustion and rejection then ignored them entirely and headed straight to Ayrton's office.
' Don't look at me like that… I didn't kill your mother'.
Kayden thought to himself, then tried to ignore everything or at least pretend to.
Moments later, voices rose from inside the office, starting low but gradually escalating. "Adam, sit down. Stop shouting… my ears hurt," Ayrton muttered, trying to calm him.
"I listened to you and lost a fortune this week! This is ridiculous!"
Adam was already taking off his shirt, wiping the blood from his face with quick, irritated movements. He muttered under his breath, "This blood… it smells awful."
Ayrton didn't catch it. "What did you say?"
"I said it's your fault! I'm losing money on bets—this is wrong. I'm not betting again!"
Ayrton gestured to his ears again. "Stop shouting! I can hear you just fine." He sighed, then added, "I was chasing a demon. Its scream messed with my hearing. It'll be over today." A faint smirk appeared as he looked at Adam.
"By the way… did you bathe in blood? Or were you bullied?"
Adam lazily pointed toward the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. "Something exploded from the sky."
Ayrton slowly shook his head. "Put something on. There are women here. Go clean yourself up."
He opened his wardrobe but found nothing suitable. Muttering, he grabbed his coat. "I'll go buy something. Take your time."
He left, slamming the door behind him.
Outside, Kayden and the others heard the loud bang and lowered their heads without saying a word. "Good to see you've recovered, Kayden." Ayrton said with an unusually warm smile. "Today, something important is happening. Don't leave… and, well—you've already annoyed Adam. Just act like nothing happened."
Kayden leaned toward Fiona and whispered, "Do you think he'll kill us?"
She shrugged. "He won't kill me."
Ten minutes passed. Adam still hadn't come out.
"Do you think he's planning revenge?" Fiona asked nervously.
"He's the type who holds grudges."
Kayden stood up hesitantly, and Henry and Fiona followed him into the office.
Adam was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, his shirt tossed aside, smoking.
"Aren't you cold?" Fiona asked cautiously.
He nodded, then looked at them with a mocking smile.
"You're back… and so is the noise."
The brothers froze for a moment, exchanged a silent glance, and chose not to respond.
Adam put out his cigarette and stood up. "Sit in the waiting room. Fiona, tell someone to clean this place."
Then he walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.
"Do they actually fight?" Henry asked curiously, trying to analyze the situation.
Fiona sighed and sat down, as if recalling an old memory.
"They fought once… I was too weak to stop them. They exchanged punches, destroyed the room… but Adam accidentally broke a small statue."
She paused. "Ayrton was shocked. Turns out it was a lucky charm."
"Sit here. I won't be long." She stood up and left.
A few minutes later, she returned to find Kayden with his eyes closed and Henry leaning back.
She sat down and said quietly, "Actually… I figured out something new about my ability."
Kayden slowly opened his eyes and focused on her. "Go on."
But instead of speaking, Fiona used her power.
Suddenly, Kayden lowered his head into his hands. A heavy, suffocating feeling washed over him—deep regret and exhaustion. He lifted his head and said quietly, "Stop… now."
Then she turned to Henry and used it on him. "I feel overwhelming regret… for letting my brother try to kill himself…"
Henry's expression shattered completely. Deep sorrow overtook him, as if something inside him had broken "Witch… stop!" he muttered.
"It's fine… I didn't die. I'm okay now."
Fiona said calmly, "I can drag people down to the bottom of their emotions… into their inner darkness."
Kayden looked at Henry. Even after Fiona stopped, Henry remained hunched over, his face hidden in his hands.
Kayden quietly patted his back.
' Still… Kayden really did die, didn't he?' Kayden thought, feeling a strange emptiness in his chest.
Ayrton returned, looked at the silent scene, then at Fiona but chose to ignore it and said nothing.
He went back into the office and handed Adam a dark green shirt. Moments later, the sound of arguing rose again.
"Are they fighting again?" Henry muttered, letting out a light laugh as he wiped his face.
A few minutes later, a man entered the waiting area.
Fiona had seen him before, yet she stood up and greeted him with serious respect.
Kayden lifted his head, a chill running down his spine.
"…Father," he whispered, then quickly stood up. Henry followed.
"Don't leave," Arthur said firmly, then walked into Ayrton's office.
Fiona sat back down, tilting her head slightly. "Your mother must really love your father… you're all so alike."
The moment she finished, raised voices echoed from inside the office once again.
Adam sat upright in front of Arthur, trying to explain what had happened—his vision, and the twins' development beside him. Ayrton sat there, visibly exhausted, attempting to listen… but it was pointless.
He couldn't hear a thing.
Adam turned to him, frustration flickering across his face. He paused for a moment, then started using sign language.
His hands moved quickly, urgently, trying to convey everything—as if it were his last chance to communicate.
But Arthur didn't understand sign language. He simply looked at them, puzzled.
A tense silence followed.
Adam exhaled and gave up. He looked at Arthur and said, his voice tinged with sadness, "He's lost most of his hearing. Isn't that… pitiful? He thinks it'll go away today—but he's wrong."
Arthur raised an eyebrow, unconcerned. He made a small, dismissive gesture. "It will pass."
"You can use the same frequency to reverse the damage. If it were anyone else… they'd be dead. But it's Ayrton. He won't die easily."
Adam suddenly stood, hope flashing back into his eyes. "How?"
Arthur explained slowly, his voice low, then gestured for him to move behind Ayrton.
Ayrton stood in front of his desk, staring into nothingness, a constant ringing filling his head.
The silence was suffocating but not peaceful. It was distorted, isolating.
Adam stepped behind him, raising his hands slowly. He gathered all his spiritual energy into his palms.
It trembled within him power he had to control with absolute precision.
"Use seventy percent of your strength," Arthur instructed calmly, but firmly.
Adam took a deep breath… then let his power flow.
Outside, the entire atmosphere trembled at once.
Kayden shot to his feet, pressing a hand to his ear.
"What is that?!"
Henry gasped, while Fiona bent slightly under the intensity of the sound.
"My head…" Kayden muttered. "It hurts."
Fiona quickly handed him a dissolvable pill.
"Put it under your tongue. It'll work in a minute."
It wasn't long before the three of them left the room and headed downstairs in silence.
"Follow me," Ayrton said without turning, one hand still pressed to his ear.
Fiona understood immediately. Without explanation, she lightly pulled Kayden and Henry along with her.
As they descended, Kayden felt a strange unease. He thought they were heading toward the morgue…
But what he found was something else entirely.
A narrow passage opened before them, leading to a hidden lower level one that hadn't been visible before.
When they arrived, the layout wasn't much different from the other floors… but the atmosphere was completely different.
The air itself felt… saturated.
Something unseen filled the space.
A warm energy seeped into Kayden's body, as if he were absorbing it directly from the walls.
He didn't resist it.
He welcomed it.
"You two—there are two rooms," Ayrton said calmly, nodding ahead. "Each of you, take a room. Take off your coat, and wait."
Arthur sat in the corner, watching in silence, as always.
Kayden hesitated for a moment. He knew nothing about these rooms.
He chose the door on the right. Henry entered the left without a word.
The room was nearly empty. Nothing but a simple wooden stool no backrest.
Uncomfortable. So Kayden remained standing at first, looking around, uneasy and unsettled.
Ayrton entered quietly. "Kayden, sit."
Kayden obeyed, despite his discomfort. Tension filled his body. He didn't like the unknown. But Ayrton's voice eased him calm, steady.
"You're strong, Kayden. You've been through a lot… and you gained your power for a reason. I won't tell you what's right—use it as you see fit. You're the one who decides that."
He placed his palm on Kayden's back.
In the next instant, a warm, dense, profound energy flowed into him.
"Don't resist," Ayrton whispered.
Kayden closed his eyes, trying to relax… trying to surrender to the strange current.
"What is this…?" he asked quietly.
"We've been watching your development from the beginning. We believe it's time to move beyond this stage. But to advance, you must allow spiritual energy to flow through every cell in your body."
He paused.
"Your previous training was to protect you. Now… it's time for real growth." A faint breath. "And that… can be painful."
In the other room, Adam entered quietly.
Henry was already sitting, staring at the floor.
"Henry, don't speak. Don't resist," Adam said, placing a hand on his back.
Then he added under his breath, almost to himself,
"I'll hit you and your brother when this is over. Did you really think I wouldn't know what you did?"
"We didn't do anything…" Henry muttered weakly, before falling into a deeper silence, his voice swallowed by whatever storm was building inside him.
Outside, Arthur didn't wait long.
Adam stepped out first. Henry followed moments later.
Arthur stood, gave them both a single glance, then murmured quietly—almost to himself,
"I can see it… it worked."
It wasn't long before Kayden stepped out as well.
Kayden walked out behind Ayrton, his steps slow, his head lowered unable to face Arthur.
"It didn't work… I tried again and again."
Ayrton spoke quietly, his voice carrying something close to defeat.
"I'm sorry," Kayden whispered, unsure whether he was apologizing to Ayrton… or to himself.
He glanced at Henry, his voice faint. "What did you do?"
"It worked," Adam replied, then looked at Kayden with a strange expression not harsh, but far from sympathetic.