Chapter 0005 The New Energy

Alex stared at his fingers, captivated by the transformation unfolding before his eyes. His nails, once ragged and chipped, now gleamed with an almost supernatural cleanliness. His skin, which had been dull and worn from years of hardship, now shimmered with a vibrant glow, radiating health and vitality. It was as though he were witnessing a miracle—his body rejuvenating right before his eyes.

"What is happening to me?" he whispered, a mixture of awe and fear tingling in his voice.

A strange, almost electric sensation pulsed inside his head, a warmth spreading through his skull. In an instant, it was as if a veil had been lifted—memories that had once been hazy and distant now came rushing back with vivid clarity, as though they had occurred only yesterday. He could recall every detail of his past with newfound sharpness, each memory playing out like a scene in a movie.

Simultaneously, he felt his bones growing stronger, the frailty that had plagued him for so long vanishing as if it had never existed. His muscles tightened, becoming more defined, and he could feel himself gaining height, his body stretching and expanding with newfound power. It was as if he had undergone years of rigorous training and nutrition in mere moments.

"All this because of the ring?" Alex whispered, his mind racing to comprehend the magnitude of the transformation. Curiosity sparked within him, driving him to test the limits of his newfound abilities.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he pressed his hand against his abdomen, bracing himself for the familiar pain that had tormented him since leaving the hospital. But there was nothing—no sharp ache, no lingering soreness. Relief flooded through him, and with it, a wild idea began to take root in his mind.

"The ring healed me!" he exclaimed, his voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and excitement as he examined his abdomen more closely. There was no trace of the stab wound that had nearly ended his life. His skin was flawless, unblemished by even the faintest scar.

“There’s no scar or wound anymore. I can’t see any traces of my injury,” he murmured, his hands now moving to his shoulder, where he found it equally healed.

“This ring doesn’t just give me knowledge of the past; it also gives me the ability to heal,” Alex marveled, his thoughts racing with possibilities he had never dared to consider before.

Driven by a sudden, insatiable need to understand the full extent of his transformation, Alex dashed across the room, retrieving a knife from the small drawer where he kept his meager utensils. His heart pounded with anticipation, the thrill of discovery mingling with the fear of what he was about to do.

Taking a deep breath, Alex steeled himself, his grip tightening around the knife's handle. He had to know—he had to be certain. In one swift motion, he sliced his palm open, a sharp cry escaping his lips as the blade cut through his flesh.

The pain was real, intense, and immediate, but what happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Alex watched in stunned silence as the blood that welled up from the wound began to slow, the skin knitting itself back together right before his eyes. Within seconds, the wound was gone, and the skin was smooth and unbroken, as if it had never been cut.

"This is real!" he almost screamed, the shock of what he had just witnessed leaving him breathless.

“I really have the ability to heal myself,” he murmured, his voice tinged with awe as he tossed the knife back towards the rack. But the blade moved with a speed and precision he hadn’t intended, slicing through the air and splitting the wooden rack clean in two.

“What?” Alex gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. The sheer power he now possessed was beyond anything he could have imagined.

Driven by a burning curiosity, he retrieved the knife once more. This time, he aimed it at the wall, envisioning it as a dartboard. In the past, his throws had always been clumsy, missing their mark more often than not. But now, the knife flew from his hand like a missile, embedding itself deep into the wall and leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

“What?” Alex exclaimed, his voice a mix of fear and excitement as the reality of his new abilities began to sink in.

Just then, a deafening bell rang in his head, more intense than the loudest church bells. The pain was excruciating, exploding in his mind with such force that he screamed, his body wracked with agony. Yet even as he screamed, something inside him began to change—his endurance growing, his ability to withstand the overwhelming sensation increasing with every passing second.

When the ringing finally stopped, Alex was left with a new clarity—a sudden influx of memories that weren’t his own. They were his father’s, passed down to him through the ring. “I now know everything my father told me in the trance,” he realized, the weight of his new knowledge settling heavily on his shoulders.

“I know where to go to claim my wealth,” he said, a triumphant smile spreading across his face as he envisioned the path ahead.

“Alex Carter is now a new creature,” he breathed, feeling as though he had been reborn, his old life nothing more than a distant memory.