SSS-Class Profession: The Path to Mastery

I stared at Alexis, trying to process what she'd just said. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We can look into your brain," she repeated, her tone completely serious.

I blinked. "You… you want to look into my brain."

"Yes."

"My brain specifically."

"That's what I said, Rey."

I rubbed my temples, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down harder now. "Okay. Walk me through this. How exactly does poking around in my head help Evelyn?"

Alexis moved back to her desk, pulling up some documents on her laptop and turning the screen toward me. It was more Brain scans. Neural pathway diagrams. System interface readings that I'd never seen before. I couldn't understand them earlier and it's no different now.

"It's a theory," she said carefully. "But a highly likely one based on what we know. The Cain Protocol has two trigger mechanisms. The first is auditory—the phrase 'Cain sees Abel.' That one's relatively straightforward to reverse. We understand how sound processing works in the brain, and we can theoretically block or override that specific trigger."

"And the second?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"The visual trigger. When someone affected by the protocol sees you." She tapped the screen, highlighting a specific region of a brain scan. "That's where it gets complicated. It's not appearance-based—you could change your face, your hair, your entire physical presentation, and they'd still attack you. So what is it about you that the protocol recognizes?"

I leaned against the desk, crossing my arms. Thinking about what it could be and Deduction was giving me only one possibility. "You think it's my System that's triggering the effect?"

"I do." She pulled up another document—this one showing System interface data. I don't know who's it was but it was clear that it was different. This one was glowing just a slightly bit more, as if reacting to something. "When people look at each other, their Systems interact on a subconscious level. It's automatic. Unavoidable. Most people don't even notice it happening because it's such a minor background process. But if someone has a unique aspect to their System—something that stands out—it would be easily noticeable."

"My job title," I said quietly.

"SSS-Rank Jobmaster," Alexis confirmed. "There's no one else in the world with that. No one else who even comes close. If the Cain Protocol is keyed to recognize something unique about your System signature, that would be it."

I understood her logic. It made sense in a clinical, methodical way. In fact I was impressed by the creativity and ingenuity to even think of investigating something like this. But something about it bothered me, and it took me a moment to put my finger on what.

"When the Cain Protocol was first implemented," I said slowly, "I'm ninety-five percent sure the World President's side wasn't aware of my exact job title and skills. That came later. Way later. After we all got captured and experimented on."

Alexis frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that somehow, the World President knew what I had before they should have known." I met her eyes. "They designed the protocol to catch me specifically, even before they had all the information they needed to do that."

The implications hung in the air between us. Alexis's expression darkened, and she turned back to the screen, her fingers moving across the keyboard as she pulled up more data.

"That's… concerning," she said finally.

"Yeah."

She was quiet for a moment, processing. Then she shook her head. "We can worry about how they knew later. Right now, the point is that examining your brain—specifically how your System interfaces with your neural pathways—could give us the reference point we need. If we understand what makes you uniquely recognizable to the protocol, we can figure out how to block or neutralize that recognition in others."

I straightened up. There's still something I wanted to know before I make any decision. "By how much would this increase the success chances of the reversal?"

Alexis hesitated, and I could see her weighing her words. "If we get the data we need? It might guarantee success."

My heart skipped. "Guarantee?"

"Might," she emphasized. "But yes. Having a complete understanding of the trigger mechanism would eliminate most of the guesswork. We'd know exactly what we're dealing with and how to counter it."

That was huge. That was everything. Going from a fifty-fifty coin flip to a near certainty—that was worth almost anything.

But I knew Alexis. I knew that tone in her voice. There was a reason as to why she didn't want to do it. A problem or flaw in the plan that made her whole heartedly hesitate.

"What's the downside?" I asked.

She closed the laptop and turned to face me fully. "It's risky, Rey. Incredibly risky."

"How risky?"

"I'd have to open your brain and investigate it directly," she said bluntly. "Map the neural pathways. Analyze how your System integrates with your biological structures. It's not a simple scan—I'd be going in manually."

I felt a chill run down my spine. "So basically your talking about me having a brain surgery."

"Yes."

"And the risk?"

Her jaw tightened. "There's no guarantee you'll wake up."

The words landed like a physical blow. I stared at her, trying to keep my expression neutral even as my mind raced through the implications.

Despite everything I still had a lot of faith. No matter what Alexis said, I genuinely believed that she was capable of doing things like this. Granted she had no experience in brain surgery, but what she did have was a bunch of skills and combined jobs. Even then I wouldn't trust someone like this but she also had a job title which physically affected her capabilities. In short, as long as she's in charge, I had the upmost confidence in her abilities.

"How much of it depends on you?" I asked.

"Some," she admitted. "I'm good at what I do. The best, as you like to remind me. But this isn't a standard procedure. I'd be working in uncharted territory, and one mistake could cause irreversible damage."

"And the rest?"

"The rest depends on you," she said quietly. "Your body. Your mind. Your System. Whether you can handle the trauma of the procedure and come back from it. Though probing into someone's System is generally risky. There hasn't been the best record for things like this. In all honesty we got lucky when we were experimented on. The more likely scenario is that we get trapped in our mind or System and you don't ever wake up."

I let out a slow breath, leaning back against the desk. Brain surgery. The kind where there was a real chance I wouldn't wake up. The kind where even the best doctor in the world couldn't guarantee success because a part of it also depended on me.

But if it worked… if it gave us the information we needed to save Evelyn and everyone else affected by the protocol…

"I trust you," I said finally.

Alexis's eyes widened slightly. "Rey, I'm not sure we shou—"

"I trust you," I repeated, meeting her gaze. "And I'm ready when you are."

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. For a moment, she just looked at me, and I could see the conflict in her expression. The professional part of her that wanted to move forward. The personal part that hated the risk.

Finally, she took a very deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling as she steadied herself.

"Alright," she said quietly. "Give me a few minutes to prepare."

She moved around the office, pulling out equipment I didn't recognize. Medical tools. Monitoring devices. Things that looked far too sharp for comfort. I watched her work, her movements precise and methodical, every action deliberate.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably only ten minutes, she gestured toward a surgical table I hadn't even noticed in the corner of the room.

"Lay down," she said.

I walked over and climbed onto the table, the surface cold against my back even through my shirt. The ceiling above me was plain white, and I found myself staring at it, trying not to think too hard about what was about to happen.

Alexis appeared at my side, a syringe in her hand. Her expression was calm, controlled, but I could see the tension in her eyes.

"Rey," she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Come back to us."

I managed a small smile. "I will."

She didn't smile back. Just nodded once, then pressed the needle into my arm.

I mentally turned off Poison Resistance and the anesthetic hit fast. I felt the cold spread through my veins, and within seconds, my vision started to blur. The ceiling above me swam in and out of focus, and I could hear Alexis saying something, but the words were distant now, muffled.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was her face, serious and determined.

Then nothing.

Just darkness.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​