Chapter 152: The Quartus-Human
"Because out of everyone," Al said calmly, his gaze shifting between the two women standing before him, "you two are the ones most familiar with this phenomenon."
"Us? Familiar?" Sa-Ya blinked, her tone full of honest confusion. She looked at Shae as if hoping for help, but Shae’s expression mirrored her own bewilderment.
Shae frowned, lowering her head in thought. "Something that only Sa-Ya and I would be familiar with? A girl in a coma for a year? Hmm..." she murmured, trying to connect the dots inside her mind.
Then, like a spark catching fire, realization struck her. Her eyes widened abruptly. Without a second thought, she grabbed Sa-Ya’s shoulders with surprising force, nearly shaking her.
"W–What the—?! What’s wrong with you?! Did something possess you?!" Sa-Ya yelped, startled by her partner’s sudden burst of intensity.
"I got it." Shae finally breathed out, her voice laced with certainty. She turned sharply toward Al, eyes gleaming with the thrill of understanding.
"Master... don’t tell me—! Soul Demonization? And... the Third Dimension?" she asked, almost too excited to contain herself.
The words hit Sa-Ya like a thunderclap. She froze, her lips parting in shock before she instinctively covered her mouth, suppressing a gasp. It took her a second to process it, but when she did, her eyes widened just like Shae’s.
Al simply nodded in confirmation.
"I honestly don’t understand why it took you both this long to realize it," he said dryly, his tone half amused, half exasperated.
The two women looked down immediately, like students caught cheating during an exam — or criminals who had just confessed before a judge.
Shae was the first to lift her head again. "But... how can she experience both phenomena at once, Master?" she asked carefully.
"Yeah, Master," Sa-Ya added with a confused look. "I’ve heard of Soul Demonization before, but what exactly is the Third Dimension? I used to hear about it a lot back then, but... I never really understood what it meant."
Al sighed softly, his palm coming up to rub his forehead. He looked at Shae first, then turned to Sa-Ya with a blank expression that said ’are you two serious?’
"If I remember correctly," he said, "you’ve been partners for more than two years now. You were stationed in the Makazhar area, along with Kian and Bata. Don’t tell me... the four of you never actually learned about each other’s backgrounds?"
The question left both women frozen for a moment. Then Shae gave a small shrug and answered honestly, "It’s not that we didn’t want to, Master. We just... never really dug into each other’s pasts."
Sa-Ya nodded quickly in agreement. "That’s true, Master. Besides, Kian and Bata are like ghosts more than teammates. I don’t even remember how many times we met outside of patrol duty. Maybe two, or three at most," she said, half complaining, half laughing at the absurdity.
"I see. That explains a lot," Al muttered, finally sounding like he understood. "Still," he continued while reaching out to take the frail hand of the unconscious girl on the bed, checking her weak pulse, "you two at least have a basic grasp of what Soul Demonization and the Third Dimension are, right?"
Both Shae and Sa-Ya nodded almost at the same time.
"Soul Demonization," Sa-Ya began, speaking carefully as she recalled what she knew, "is when the soul separates from the body and starts living independently as a spirit within Azzaleth... just like what I experienced before."
Not wanting to be outdone, Shae added her own explanation, her tone a bit uneasy. "And the Third Dimension... it’s another dimension between the two we know. It’s less of a world and more of an abyss. Just thinking about that place gives me chills... it’s truly horrifying."
Al’s lips curved into a small, approving smile. He gave them a thumbs-up. "Good. At least I won’t have to waste time explaining it to you from scratch. I hope both of you take the time to study it again — since, after all, it’s part of your own past."
Sa-Ya grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, see, Master? We’re smart, right?"
"Hmph. Smart?" Al scoffed, his tone dripping with dry sarcasm. "You only described your experiences. You didn’t analyze them."
Sa-Ya let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her neck. "Ehehe... fair enough, Master."
"So, Master, are you saying this child might be experiencing both phenomena at the same time? How’s that even possible?" Shae asked, her focus shifting completely to the girl’s condition.
Al gave a slow nod before explaining, his tone calm but deliberate.
"This child’s case is far more peculiar than either of yours," he began, his eyes glancing between them. "Unlike you two—who are one hundred percent human—she isn’t."
"Not fully human?" Sa-Ya frowned, tilting her head. "But she feels completely human, Master. I checked her myself."
"You’re not wrong," Al replied, nodding once again. He stretched out his hand toward the girl’s face—Putri’s still and fragile features reflected the faint glimmer of the room’s light.
Both Shae and Sa-Ya instinctively leaned closer, following the subtle motion.
Then, Al released a wave of energy—dark, swirling, and alive. The black current seeped from his palm and slithered toward the girl’s face, as though seeking to devour her entire presence.
Almost immediately, something inside Putri responded. Her eyes snapped open, glowing faintly red, and her small frame began to exude the same pitch-black aura—dense, chaotic, and suffocating.
The air thickened. The temperature seemed to drop. The entire space was drowned in an eerie darkness that made both Shae and Sa-Ya’s skin crawl.
"Master! What’s happening? Is she waking up?" Sa-Ya blurted out, her voice shaky.
Al merely raised a hand, ending the flow of power. The black energy dissipated into thin air, and Putri’s eyes gently shut again, her breathing softening.
"I just attempted a minor transfusion of Helos into her body," Al explained after a brief pause. "And her body accepted it. A normal human body would’ve rejected it instantly—maybe even collapsed outright. The difference lies in their physical structure."
He looked down at his own hand, flexing his fingers slowly as he continued,
"There are only three types of beings capable of responding positively to Helos. First—the Djinn, its natural wielders. Second—humans who’ve undergone physical evolution within Azzaleth, like us DIAR. And third—the Demi-Humans."
"So that means she’s at least a Demi-Human, right, Master? But I didn’t sense any trace of Demi-Human essence in her... or anything like a DIAR, let alone a Djinn," Shae said, furrowing her brows as she tried to piece things together.
"Then maybe she’s something else," Sa-Ya added. "Could it be something similar to a Shaman or a Dark Martial Artist? Or maybe... some kind of unknown alternative being?"
Al smirked faintly, shaking his head. "Heh, now you two finally sound a little smart. If only that started earlier." His teasing tone lightened the tense atmosphere, and both women chuckled awkwardly before he went on.
"Shamans or dark magicians, dark martial artists, even users of cursed weapons—they don’t fall under this category," Al said, his voice shifting back into teacher mode.
"Those types manipulate Helos only in their energy system—not in their physical being. What they perform is soul or spiritual corruption, not bodily alteration. Their souls might darken, yes—but their flesh remains untouched. It’s only their souls that become tainted — and even that’s at a far safer level compared to us DIAR. Whereas DIAR like us... our bodies and souls mutate together, and that’s what makes us emotionally unstable."
Both Shae and Sa-Ya nodded quietly, digesting every word. Al continued, his gaze softening as it fell back to the unconscious girl.
"You couldn’t detect any Demi-Human traits because this girl isn’t one—at least, not in the usual sense," he said. "Like Sa-Ya guessed earlier, she represents an alternative. A rare one. There isn’t a proper term for it yet, since cases like hers are incredibly scarce. But I call it a Quartus-Human."
"Quartus-Human?" Shae echoed.
"Exactly," Al confirmed. "If we use a mathematical analogy, she carries one-quarter Djinn essence and three-quarters human essence. She was born from a Demi-Human mother... and a human father."
Both Shae and Sa-Ya stared at him, stunned. Slowly, their gazes drifted toward the nearby bed—where Basri lay unconscious.
"So that man... he married a Demi-Human," Sa-Ya murmured, realization dawning. "He probably didn’t even know what she truly was."
"Are there other kinds of hybrid humans like her, Master?" Shae asked curiously, though her tone carried a hint of humor. "Like, say... an eighth-human? Or one-sixteenth?"
Al chuckled softly but shook his head.
"Not that I’ve ever heard of," he replied. "Even Quartus-Humans are nearly mythical. Beyond that... it’s practically impossible. But then again, the world is vast, filled with secrets we’ve barely scratched. For all we know, somewhere out there might exist something even rarer. Still..." His words trailed off, tone dipping lower.
"Still what, Master?" both women asked almost in unison.
Al sighed, then looked back at them with a serious gaze.
"Just as only about half of all Demi-Human pregnancies succeed, and from those, only half the children survive past age three—Quartus-Humans have an even grimmer fate. The chances of one being born at all are barely ten percent among the few cases recorded. And even then... those who live beyond the age of three, or ten at best, can be counted on one hand."
Shae swallowed. "It’s... that bad?"
Al nodded solemnly. "Yes. That’s the cruel destiny of these children. And that’s exactly why we fight—to break this vicious cycle once and for all."
Both Shae and Sa-Ya fell silent, their faces firm with quiet understanding.
Then, Shae finally broke the silence, her tone steady.
"Then... how does this child’s nature connect to the Soul Demonization and the Third Dimension, Master?"
Al’s expression turned contemplative again, his eyes flickering faintly as if he were already forming the next layer of explanation.
Heregarded them quietly for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he reached into his dimensional storage and retrieved two small glass vials—each filled with a faintly shimmering liquid that pulsed like living light.
"Here," he said simply, handing one to each of them.
Shae and Sa-Ya exchanged confused glances before studying the vials more closely. When realization struck, both of their eyes widened in shock.
"This is that potion!" Shae gasped. "Master, why are you giving this to us?"
"Yeah, Master," Sa-Ya added quickly, her tone half disbelief, half concern. "This stuff is incredibly rare!"
Al chuckled softly, the corner of his lips lifting into a casual grin.
"It is rare," he admitted. "But even the rarest things have an expiration date. And I’d rather see it put to good use than let it rot away in storage. Don’t worry—I still have some left. Besides..." He shrugged lightly. "It’s not like I know when I’ll ever actually need it myself. Haha."
He then tapped the small metallic chip embedded behind his ear—a faint blue light blinked briefly as he spoke.
"This little thing is enough for me," he added. The chip served as a marker for his emotional threshold—and delivered a shock whenever his emotions ran too high.
"Masterrrr!" Sa-Ya pouted, puffing her cheeks slightly. "So you’re giving us the potion just because it’s about to expire?"
"Huff... Just drink it," Al replied firmly, brushing off her protest with a smirk. "No complaints. I need you two sharp for what’s coming. Digging into your pasts might stir up old wounds, and I don’t want both of you losing control while we’re trying to save this girl."
His voice carried a calm authority—gentle but absolute.
The two women looked at each other, hesitation clouding their faces. The vials gleamed faintly in their hands—symbols of something precious, almost sacred. They both knew what they were holding wasn’t just a potion.
It was the Soul Stabilizer—a proprietary elixir created and refined only by Al’s own faction. A potion so rare that fewer than ten could be produced each year, even with their most advanced facilities and resources.
Unlike common stimulants or anesthetics, this potion didn’t merely numb pain—it worked at the deepest level, touching the very essence of the soul. It dulled the waves of emotion, fortified one’s mental state, and granted a temporary immunity to psychological or spiritual interference.
"Still, Master... we don’t deserve this," Shae murmured quietly, lowering her gaze. "Something like this should be reserved for you or the High Commanders, not for us..."
Al let out a slow sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Just drink it already," he said, half-exasperated. "Don’t make me lose my temper now, alright? We don’t have time for a sentimental drama scene. That’s an order."
Both women fell silent. After exchanging one last nervous glance, they finally uncorked the vials and brought them to their lips.
The next few seconds were pure torture.
"UWEHHHKK—!"
They almost gagged simultaneously, faces contorting in disgust as the vile, bitter liquid burned down their throats. The taste was beyond unpleasant—like drinking liquid charcoal mixed with spoiled herbs and metal dust.
Even Al winced at the sight, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Yeah... we really need to add some vanilla extract or something for the next batch, he thought wryly to himself.
Maybe cinnamon too. Anything but this.
As Shae and Sa-Ya struggled to recover, wiping their mouths with visible grimaces, Al let out a small amused chuckle. The tension that had filled the room earlier seemed to ease just slightly.
And so, after that bitter initiation, the three of them steeled themselves—ready to uncover the truth buried in both past and present.
The time had come to open the veil surrounding the Soul Demonization... and the Third Dimension.