Sara took Brando's left arm, rotating it carefully. Her gloved fingers slid over his skin, pressing lightly at various points. Meanwhile, her eyes maintained a clinical concentration as they followed the path of Cold Veins beneath the epidermis. Brando and Giordano couldn't understand how she did it, because to their eyes it was an invisible path.

  "Here," she finally murmured, stopping at a point in the crook of his elbow where a slight bluish coloration was barely perceptible. "This is the main confluence point."

  She positioned the cryogenic aspirator on Brando's arm, and the thin needle tip brushed his skin, causing an involuntary shiver.

  "Breathe deeply," Sara ordered in a professional voice. "On my count of three. One, two—"

  The needle penetrated his skin before "three" left her lips. Brando opened his mouth to protest, but the pain that followed stifled any words.

  It was as if a red-hot iron wire had been inserted into his veins and then instantly frozen. The pain spread from the insertion point to the extremities of his body in a blinding flash. Every cell, every nerve, and every fiber of Brando was crossed by a wave of pure agony that surpassed anything he had ever experienced.

  The Cold Veins, normally invisible, lit up under his skin like a network of frozen blue lightning. The pain intensified when the aspirator began extracting the liquid cryogenic energy, creating a negative pressure that seemed to want to suck his very soul through that tiny needle.

  It was as if every cell in his body were being torn away from the inside. His breath caught in his throat and the world narrowed to a white tunnel.

  And then, suddenly, the extraction ended. The needle was removed and the pain dropped from unbearable to merely horrible. Brando found himself gasping for breath, sweating profusely.

  "Holy Christ," Giordano murmured, observing with wide eyes the bluish liquid slowly filling the aspirator's vial. "That's coming out of him?"

  Sara didn't answer. She extracted the needle with a professional movement, then held the vial up to the light. The liquid inside wasn't simply blue as one might expect. It was layered, with dark veins that pulsed like veins and tiny crystals of various colors—reddish, gold, and electric blue—floating in suspension.

  "Interesting," Sara murmured, rotating the vial between her gloved fingers. "Very interesting."

  Folgore approached silently, observing the vial with intensity. "What do you see?"

  "Normal Cold Veins have a homogeneous liquid structure," Sara explained, passing the vial to Folgore. "A stable cobalt blue, uniform viscosity. But this..." she indicated the layered liquid. "This exists simultaneously in multiple layers, as if there were different phases of cryogenic energy coexisting without mixing."

  "Never seen anything like it?" Folgore asked, carefully studying the vial.

  "Never." Sara shook her head. "It's as if he has multiple Cold Veins, each with its own energy signature."

  Brando, still panting on the bed, tried to focus on Sara's face. "Is this... is this normal?"

  Sara hesitated. "It's certainly anomalous, but this fluid maintains its own stability. If you're afraid your Cold Veins might explode at any moment, I'd say that fear is unfounded."

  She then turned to Giordano, who was watching the scene with fascination and terror. "Your turn, Volpe."

  "Wait, what?" Giordano instinctively backed away. "After what I just saw? No thanks, I prefer natural death."

  Folgore crossed her arms. "We need to know exactly the nature of your Cold Veins before proceeding with the Tairyū method."

  "Tai... what?" Giordano continued backing away, but Sara grabbed his arm with inhuman strength. Giordano instinctively recoiled, but he was locked in a vise from which escape was impossible.

  "Sit," she ordered. "Don't be a baby."

  "Baby?!" Giordano raised an eyebrow, momentarily distracted by the offense. "It's not a matter of courage, it's a matter of—CHRIST!"

  Sara had taken advantage of the moment to insert the needle, using the same tactic as with Brando: strike before "three."

  Giordano's face contorted into a mask of pure pain. His Cold Veins lit up under his skin, less intense than Brando's but still visible, creating a bluish network that pulsed with his racing heartbeat. The aspirator filled more quickly this time, the liquid flowing with greater ease.

  When Sara extracted the needle, Giordano collapsed on the bed, drenched in sweat. "Bitch," he panted without energy. "You did that on purpose."

  "It's the best way," Sara replied impassively. "The pain is less if you don't expect the exact moment."

  She examined the new vial, comparing it with Brando's. Giordano's liquid was more uniform, an intense brilliant blue, but with tiny red specks floating like sparks inside.

  "Interesting as well," she commented. "High-quality cryogenic energy, above-average density. And these red particles..." she lifted the vial to show Folgore. "Residues of a second type of energy. It's not the typical signature of a Volpe."

  "It's the maternal component," Folgore intervened. "The impure blood, as the Eight Houses call it."

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  "Actually, it's an advantage," Sara added. "The red particles create turbulence that accelerates energy movement, making the cryogenic flow more efficient."

  Giordano, still trembling from the pain, weakly raised a hand. "Could we please talk about me as if I were present?"

  "Sorry," Sara smiled without seeming the least bit sorry. "I was just saying your bastard blood makes you special."

  "Thanks... I think," Giordano murmured, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly.

  "Just as I suspected," Folgore said. "Their Cold Veins are compatible with the Tairyū method."

  "The what method?" Brando asked, finally managing to sit up despite his visibly trembling arms.

  "Tairyū," Folgore repeated. "An ancient forbidden technique, developed in the early years after the Cooling Down. It consists of introducing external cryogenic energy directly into another Bearer's Cold Veins, forcing them to expand beyond their natural limits."

  Sara shook her head slightly with a troubled expression on her face. "Master, but it's extremely dangerous. Most Bearers don't survive the process. The Cold Veins collapse, causing instant necrosis and death. I thought you were joking: are you really sure?"

  Folgore smiled in an expression that softened her severe features for a moment. "It can be done. You, Brando, have Cold Veins that adapt continuously and can absorb external energy without destabilizing. And you, Giordano, have exceptional natural regenerative capacity thanks to your different nature. You're the ideal candidates."

  Rusty, who until that moment had remained apart, slowly approached Brando. His third eye glowed with intense light, as if trying to communicate something.

  "The Pseudo-Glacial too?" Sara asked, noticing the puppy's movement.

  Folgore nodded. "The synchronization between Brando and the puppy is fundamental to our objective."

  Sara sighed, gathering the vials and positioning them in a metal support.

  "This will make everything even more complicated."

  "Wait," Brando intervened. "You're saying you'll subject Rusty to this process too?"

  "Your energies are connected," Folgore explained. "If we enhance you without enhancing him, the energy dissonance could damage both of you. It's a complete package, Brando."

  Rusty barked slightly, as if expressing his agreement.

  "Each of you will receive a direct infusion," Folgore continued, moving toward the center of the room. "I'll handle Brando, Sara will handle Giordano. The objective is to advance your Cold Veins by at least two levels for Brando, one Stage for Giordano. What would normally require months of conventional training."

  Sara headed to a console in the wall, typing a series of commands. From the floor emerged two inclined beds, surrounded by advanced medical equipment. Monitors, tubes, sensors, and devices that Brando couldn't even identify. Next to Brando's bed, a smaller circular platform also emerged, clearly designed for Rusty.

  "The process happens in three phases," Sara explained, preparing the beds. "Opening, Expansion, and Consolidation. In Opening, we introduce external energy to force the cryogenic channels. In Expansion, we stimulate Cold Veins growth. In Consolidation, we stabilize the newly formed circuits."

  Brando and Giordano exchanged a nervous glance. There was no need for words to communicate what both were thinking: if the extraction had been so painful, what would forced infusion be like?

  "Can't we... like, take a break first?" Giordano attempted. "A light lunch, maybe write a will..."

  "No," Folgore replied curtly. "Every hour that passes, Bianca comes closer to the world of Glacials. There's no time for breaks."

  Reluctantly, the two boys lay down on the beds. Sara indicated the circular platform to Rusty, and the puppy, with surprising intelligence, settled onto it.

  "For him we'll use a different approach," Sara explained, positioning a metal ring around the platform. "Pseudo-Glacials have different energy channels from ours. This device will create a resonance field that amplifies the connection between your Cold Veins and his, Brando."

  Sara quickly attached a series of electrodes to Brando and Giordano's bodies, monitoring vital signs on holographic screens floating in the air above them. Then, with equally precise movements, she applied small sensors to Rusty's body, concentrating particularly on the third eye area.

  "Baseline parameters stable," she announced. "Heart rate elevated, but normal considering the situation."

  She approached Giordano with a syringe containing a bluish liquid. Without warning, she inserted it into his arm, at the exact point where she had extracted the energy.

  Simultaneously, Folgore positioned herself between Brando and Rusty. Unlike Sara, she used no instruments. She placed her right hand directly on Brando's chest, just above his heart, and her left on Rusty's head, just above the third eye.

  "Don't resist," she whispered, and her tone was almost maternal. "Let the energy flow. Visualize your Cold Veins as an expanding river, not as a dam holding back. And think of Rusty as an extension of yourself, a branch of the same river."

  Brando felt Folgore's hands become cold, then hot, then cold again. And then the energy began to flow.

  In an instant, every nerve and muscle fiber expanded to welcome the incoming energy. His Cold Veins, barely perceptible before, suddenly became an integral part of his consciousness in such a way that he could feel them, visualize them, almost touch them in his mind.

  But there was something new: he could feel Rusty too. Not as before, through an external connection created by Sync Ice, but as an organic part of himself. The Cold Veins extended beyond the boundaries of his body, creating an energy bridge that connected him directly to the puppy.

  Rusty emitted a sharp yelp when the energy hit him. His body arched, his fur stood up like needles, and his third eye opened unnaturally wide. The ring around the platform lit up, amplifying the flow between Brando and the puppy.

  The pain was different from the extraction. It wasn't sharp and piercing, but deep and pervasive, as if every cell in his body were screaming simultaneously. But along with the pain was something else: a sensation of accelerated growth.

  Beside him, Giordano was panting and writhing. His skin had taken on a slight blue luminescence, as if the cryogenic energy were trying to escape through his pores.

  "The cryogenic membranes are giving way," Sara announced, checking the monitors with attentive eyes. "Expansion phase initiated."

  She inserted a second needle into Giordano's arm, this time containing a denser liquid, almost gelatinous, a deep blue like the ocean. Folgore, meanwhile, intensified the energy flow.

  Time lost meaning for Brando. Minutes or hours could have passed, he couldn't say. He was immersed in an ocean of sensations, some painful, others almost ecstatic. And through the enhanced connection, he also perceived the changes in Rusty.

  When Folgore finally removed her hands, Brando felt a sudden emptiness, as if a part of him had been torn away. His body was heavy, exhausted, trembling with fatigue. Rusty, on the platform, had collapsed into a panting heap of fur.

  "Is it... over?" Brando managed to gasp in a hoarse voice that sounded like he'd been screaming for hours.

  "This is only the first session," Folgore replied, and despite her composure, even she seemed fatigued. "We'll do three a day for the next seven days."

  "Three a... day?" Giordano managed to prop himself up on an elbow, his face pale and drenched in sweat. "We won't survive."

  "You'll survive," Sara declared with absolute certainty as she removed the electrodes. "I monitored you constantly. Your Cold Veins are adapting more rapidly than I predicted. Especially yours, Casadei. And your bond with the Pseudo-Glacial is accelerating the process for both of you."

  Brando tried to move, but his muscles refused to obey. He felt as if every gram of energy had been sucked from his body. Rusty, on the other hand, managed to rise on the platform, shaking himself as if to rid himself of the numbness. The puppy already seemed larger, more massive, with thicker and shinier fur.

  "Rest for four hours," Folgore ordered. "Then second session."