After his soul had reformed itself into the four horsemen of the apocalypse, it was now his mind's turn to get completely rearranged.
His head felt like it could explode at any moment with all the knowledge that was flowing in, just one thing after the other.
Yin and Yang slammed into him like a tidal wave. The primal forces of the cosmos: light and darkness, heat and cold, and stillness and motion. All of them were interconnected, inseparable, and eternal. He understood it now, felt it in every cell in his body. How they gave birth to each other, how one could not exist without the other. Balance was the foundation of all power.
Then even more unbelievable knowledge crashed into him. Unlike the earlier tide, this felt like a massive tsunami.
When Yin and Yang achieved perfect harmony, when opposing forces unified completely, they transcended into something greater: Taiji. The supreme ultimate. Pure, boundless energy that contained all possibilities. The source from which everything emerged and to which everything returned.
But this understanding came at a price. Senzo's mind stretched and tore trying to contain knowledge that shouldn't fit inside a human brain. Principles older than language branded themselves into his consciousness. How to manipulate opposing forces. How to draw power from duality. How to achieve perfect balance and birth Taiji energy itself.
"Ah... aaahhh..." Senzo gasped, clutching his head. His brain felt too small. His thoughts were too loud. Blood vessels burst behind his eyes. This was worse than the soul fracturing; at least that pain had been external. This was rewriting him from the inside out.
And when he thought everything was over, he felt something snap inside him; the next moment, he sat down with perfect posture as he lost complete control over his body.
What is happening?
He couldn't fathom what was happening to his body, but what he did know was that the pain was gone, as if his consciousness had been separated from his physical body.
Even though the absence of pain should have been a relief, his soul shook with pure terror.
This is impossible!?
But before he could continue to spiral out of control, he felt a soothing energy wrap around him.
A moment later, the mysterious energy, Taiji, he realized, calmed him. From outside himself, he watched his body float upward, watched his own eyes snap open.
"..."
Little by little, his right eye turned snow white while the left turned pitch black.
Once both eyes had transformed and his body settled back down, his soul was sucked back in.
The moment he re-entered his body, an announcement echoed through his mind.
Taiji Eyes
It felt like his power had just announced what he had gained, a strange sensation. But he couldn't do anything about it; he was much more relieved to finally be back in his own skin and be able to feel once again.
"Fuuuu." He took a couple deep breaths trying to calm himself down.
What he had just experienced might have been the worst pain he could possibly imagine, but thinking back, there were lots of other powers listed in that shop.
"..."
"They won't all be that intense to inherit, right?" he muttered.
Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
He had more important matters—everything in this mysterious space was done. He needed to get back to Sophie and the others.
"Uh, but where exactly am I?"
Before he could do anything else, dizziness slammed into him.
"Wh-what's going on..."
***
Inside the hospital, Sophie, Momiji, and the doctors searched frantically after Senzo's body disappeared.
"What's going on!? Don't tell me!"
Sophie never finished that sentence as she glared at the two doctors standing on the other side of Senzo's hospital bed.
Momiji was less restrained. She raised both doctors into the air with her psychic powers, staring them down.
"How dare you take us for fools," Momiji said slowly, enunciating each word. "Before I do something nobody wants, tell me where you took him. And why."
"!?"
Both doctors froze, confused—what the hell was going on?
One moment they'd been ordered to care for Pandra members. The next, an unconscious patient vanished into thin air. And now they were being threatened.
"W-We don't know either!" the female doctor screamed, feeling her throat constrict.
"What she said—we had strict orders to take good care of them, okay? Please just put us down so we can talk this out!" he pleaded.
But Momiji was having none of it, tightening her grip slowly until both doctors' faces turned tomato-red.
"Haaah..."
Without warning, she released them. They crashed onto the hospital floor.
"Aaah! What's wrong with you!" the male doctor exclaimed, grasping his right leg.
The other doctor glared hatefully at Momiji and Sophie, but terror filled her eyes—she couldn't do anything against a powerful Pandra esper.
There shouldn't have been any problems in the first place. The patient had been unconscious so long they'd suspected a coma.
"Look, we don't know what the hell is going on, okay? How about you vent your frustrations on the higher-ups that ordered us to look after him? If anyone did anything to him, it would be them!" the female doctor shouted, shivering.
She'd had enough of this treatment, a horrible day made worse by forced overtime treating a criminal.
"I'm sorry, it has just been a little hectic. I'll go talk to them now," Momiji said, teeth gritted.
Both doctors heaved sighs of relief, exchanging glances.