Alex's eyes moved rapidly across the silver text, absorbing the horror of Dr. Webb's death, the fragments of the previous teams, the inexorable logic pushing toward nuclear deployment.

'What happened next?' he thought, leaning closer. 'Did they...'

He froze.

Something had shifted in the manor's energy. Not threatening, but... different. Changed.

Alex stood slowly, the book remaining open on its pedestal, text still glowing softly as if waiting for his return.

'Victoria or Catherine,' he realized, pulse quickening. 'One of them finished their breakthrough.'

He moved toward the cultivation chambers, following the subtle shift in ambient energy that his Enhanced senses could barely detect.

Before he reached the corridor, one of the chamber doors burst open.

Victoria emerged at a near-run, her face radiant with joy and wonder.

She saw Alex and immediately closed the distance, throwing her arms around him in an unguarded embrace that held none of her usual calculated grace.

"Alex!" Her voice was breathless, excited, almost childlike. "It worked. It actually worked. I can feel it... everything is different. Sharper. Clearer. Like I've been living my entire life with blurred vision and someone just handed me glasses."

Her hands gripped his shoulders, and Alex could feel the subtle increase in her strength... nothing dramatic yet, but unmistakably present.

"The elixir... god, I don't even have words. It hurt at first, like my entire body was being rewritten from the inside out, but then..." She pulled back slightly, eyes bright.

"Then it was like waking up for the first time.I can feel it... my body's different now. Stronger. Clearer. Like I'm finally more than just baseline human pretending to keep up."

Alex smiled, genuine warmth settling in his chest at her unguarded enthusiasm.

"I'm really glad you're enjoying this," he said quietly. "Truly."

Then his tone shifted, steadier, certain.

"But this is only the beginning, Victoria. I've prepared far more for you than just a single breakthrough. Resources. Training. Paths forward you haven't even imagined yet."

His gaze held hers.

"You won't stay where you are for long," he said calmly.

"After all… you still have someone to catch up to, don't you?"

Victoria's eyes widened slightly, hope flickering across her features.

Her gaze drifted toward the closed doors of the cultivation room, where Catherine still remained inside... secluded, advancing, climbing further ahead with every passing moment.

Victoria's fingers curled slowly at her side.

The flicker in her eyes wasn't jealousy.

It was resolve.

No fear. No doubt. Just a quiet, burning determination igniting behind her gaze as she stared at that door… imagining the distance between them shrinking.

Then disappearing.

She looked back at him, lips parting slightly, the hesitation gone.

"But first," Alex continued, his smile turning slightly amused, "you should probably wash up."

Victoria blinked, confused, then looked down at herself.

Her clothes were stained... dark patches where impurities had been forced from her body during the transformation. The refined fabric that had been pristine hours ago now looked like she'd been training in mud for days.

Her face flushed immediately, embarrassment replacing excitement.

"Oh god, I didn't even..." she stammered, then without finishing the thought, turned and practically fled toward the bathhouse, her mortified "I can't believe I hugged you like this!" echoing down the corridor.

Alex watched her go, laughter escaping despite himself.

Then he turned toward Catherine's cultivation chamber.

The energy shift was stronger here. More concentrated. Whatever was happening inside had reached a critical point.

Alex pushed the door open carefully.

The chamber was larger than Victoria's, designed for higher-realm cultivation with reinforced walls and specialized equipment that could handle the energy fluctuations of breakthrough attempts.

Catherine sat in the center, cross-legged on a raised platform, her body surrounded by faint traces of golden light that weren't quite visible but somehow still present... like heat distortion made manifest.

As Alex watched, the light intensified for a brief moment, then settled into her completely.

Catherine's eyes opened.

The difference was immediately apparent. Her presence had always been commanding, the natural authority of someone born to power and raised to wield it. But now...

Now she radiated something beyond authority. Something fundamental had shifted. The air around her seemed denser, more real, as if her existence carried more weight than it had moments before.

Early Apex Realm.

Catherine stood slowly, testing her new strength with careful movements. Her expression shifted through several emotions... wonder, satisfaction, fierce pride... before settling on something softer as she looked at Alex.

"You did it," she said quietly. "You actually did it. Peak Enhanced to Apex in hours. Something that should have taken decades, if it was even possible at all."

She stepped down from the platform, moving with the same graceful control but now backed by power that made the air seem to respond to her presence.

"I spent my entire life chasing this. Training. Conditioning. Preparing my body to handle power it was never naturally meant to possess. And you just... gave it to me. Like it was nothing."

Catherine stopped a few feet from Alex, green eyes holding his with an intensity that went beyond gratitude.

"Three to four months," she said, repeating his earlier promise. "You said you could bring me to Peak Apex in three to four months. Before today, I would have thought that was impossible arrogance."

Her smile was slight but genuine. "Now I believe you could do it in less."

Alex met her gaze steadily. "I keep my promises, Catherine. Peak Apex within three months. That's what I said."

"And when you do," Catherine's voice dropped slightly, carrying undertones that made her meaning unmistakable, "I keep my promises too."

The reminder of her earlier declaration hung between them... the teasing challenge she'd issued that had carried genuine intent beneath the playful words: When you make me Peak Apex, I'll be yours completely.

Alex's slight smile acknowledged the statement without pushing. "Then I suppose we both have motivation to move quickly."

---

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Catherine Blackwood

Dependency Level: 90% (+5%)

Status: Early Apex Realm

Emotional State: Profound Gratitude / Growing Attachment / Anticipation

Analysis: Subject's breakthrough has fundamentally shifted her perception of host's capabilities. Previous respect has evolved into something approaching reverence. Willingness to follow host's guidance now extends beyond strategic partnership into personal commitment.

Catherine glanced down at herself, noting the same impurity stains that had mortified Victoria.

"I should clean up," she said, tone carrying slight embarrassment despite her attempt to maintain composure. "I wasn't expecting the transformation to be quite so... physically dramatic."

"Take your time," Alex said. "Victoria's probably still trying to scrub off three layers of skin from embarrassment."

Catherine's laugh was quiet but genuine. "She hugged you like that, didn't she? I heard her running past."

"Enthusiastically," Alex confirmed.

"Well," Catherine said, moving toward the chamber's exit, "at least I waited until you came to me before making a fool of myself."

She paused at the doorway, looking back.

"Thank you, Alex. For everything. I won't forget this."

Then she was gone, leaving Alex alone in the chamber.

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