As someone who first and foremost uses his understanding of Science and logic to base every action and thought, never relying on emotion, I would like to say I am a believer that nothing is impossible, especially in the world the Returners and I lived through.
I have seen every manner of creature and feat that were once the things of stories and myth with my very two eyes: magic exists, superpowers exist, and so should anything else that was impossible.
Time and time again, I have proven that word to be incorrect, be it facing down opponents ranking and outnumbering me and coming out on top.
Or crafting functioning items that shouldn’t work, I have done and seen it all, disproving the meaning behind that very word. There should always be a reason for something happening, and just like the false, overly-used phrase "It came out of nowhere," something will always come from somewhere.
However, the moment I heard the broken English in my mind, I have to admit, the first word that popped up was…
"Impossible…"
In that instant, everything I thought I knew about Talents or Skills came crashing down because it SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE for an infant not even 3 minutes old to not only form speech patterns or recognize the meaning behind words but also to utilize a talent and Talent skill.
Hell, there had never been an on-the-record precedent of a newborn showing potential to activate a Talent, let alone instinctively utilizing a talent skill. Yet, the baby boy in my arms was doing just that.
’Da…da?’ tilting his small squishy face upward so he could see me properly, the dual-colored-eyed Xaiden spoke for a second time, reinforcing that the infant not only understood the meaning of the word and was attempting to attach it to me through visual identification, but could also use the Telepathy Skill naturally.
’Yes, little one, I am your father,’ Staring down at Xaiden with a lack of any emotion, my eyes flashed for a moment, icy blue, as I attempted to read his thoughts; however, instead of words, or an internal monologue, what I found instead was images, making an already confusing situation that much more.
But then it all clicked in place; everything I was observing was from the perspective of someone else, Sadie.
("I am sorry baby, I can’t do this, I can’t be your mother. You shouldn’t exist, and neither should I…if I die, you will never come to be in this world.") I recognized the scenes I was observing as the clothing on Sadie was the very same from the night I stopped her from diving into the river.
In the next scene, Sadie held a knife to her throat and was standing in front of a full-body mirror with tears staining her cheeks.
("YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION, JUST LIKE HIM! YOU ARE DOING THIS TO ME! MAKING ME SICK! I HATE YOU, I HATE HIM, I HATE EVERYTHING!")
On and on, the images flashed by, and in each one, Sadie was attempting to kill herself or screaming profanities and hatred-filled words toward the fetus or me.
And then…there I was, images of me dragging Sadie away from the brink of death or healing her.
Although I never directly spoke to or acknowledged the pregnancy, the child had seen everything, and the storm of colors and images in his head made me understand that he had been using his Talent subconsciously and by instinct from the time he became cognizant around three months ago.
I could read happiness at seeing me in person, followed by anger and hate when it turned to observing Sadie on the hospital bed.
However, that still didn’t explain how the child was able to understand what it was interpreting; it did, however, prove that things like hate were Learned behaviors, as he clearly picked them up as feelings directed to him by Sadie.
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Then, it struck me: for months, Xaiden was locked in the prison called Sadie with nothing to do, so the only logical conclusion I could come to was that he had instinctually scanned the memories of not only Sadie but also his Grandparents, obtaining a rudimentary understanding of English.
Mind you, I’m saying rudimentary because so far, he’s only said Da…da as a broken word, indicating he is either struggling to form the word or push it through to my mind with his Talent Skill.
For several more seconds, I continued to sift through everything in Xaiden’s mind until I was able to build an understanding of the basis behind the intelligence he was showing, and it came in the form of a single word.
Warm.
With that knowledge, I brought my thumb up so that he could grip it, and after showing him an image in my mind of what I wanted to do, Xaiden followed suit and, with some effort, wrapped his tiny fingers around my thumb.
And then…I sent a faint trickle of PC through my thumb into his hand. I’m talking about moving the decimal forward by a large factor, something like 0.000001 PC, and the results were as expected.
Xaiden’s paling complexion, which I had noticed growing more as time went on as he continued using his Talent, reddened up as color returned to his squishy cheeks.
From that small reaction in his body, I drew multiple conclusions.
1: Although by normal standards, it was minute at best, Xaiden was grown in an environment with particles circulating around him 24/7, thanks to the scars I had left on Sadie’s body.
2: By using my Particle Type to create Xiphadryl, from his conception, he had been exposed to particles.
3: He can’t control his talents and is using some secondary means that I don’t understand yet to generate his own particles; as such, it can cause him harm each time he uses his Talent or Skills.
4: Xaiden can not only absorb particles in the same manner as when we Returners use Circulation Skills, but he is also able to adapt outside particles and transform them into his own brand.
5: His body is so heavily dependent on particles, having been exposed to them from the moment of conception, that without them, there is potential for significant repercussions if he does not have constant exposure.