The Mysterious Chairman Keith

Chapter 32

THE LEFT ESSENCE 

Manuel swallowed hard, his gaze on him. “Born… from me?”

“Yes.”

Christopher moved closer, lowering his voice as if the walls themselves were listening. “When your soul fractured under the strain of awakening, it didn’t shatter. It divided and balanced itself.”

Manuel’s heart pounded so loud in his chest as he heard that.

“Two essences,” Christopher said. “Twins on purpose, you can call them that….”

He lifted one finger. “The Right Essence. It exists to ensure your survival at any cost.”

Then another finger. “The Left Essence. Growth and balance. It exists to guide, stabilize, and accelerate your evolution.”

Manuel stared at him as though he was speaking out of point. “And the tea?”

Christopher smiled faintly. “Is how I keep you from tearing yourself apart while you grow.”

The words hung between them for a while.

Manuel’s voice was hoarse and he stood on his feet, his both arms in his pocket. “You said I summoned you.”

Christopher nodded. “Unknowingly. Your need called out. Your loss and your hunger for strength.”

He paused.

“And I answered.”

There was silence for a while.

Manuel looked at Christopher, really looked at him. The way he never seemed surprised. 

The way he appeared exactly when Manuel needed grounding. The way he understood his exhaustion before Manuel admitted it himself.

“You’re not human,” Manuel said.

Christopher tilted his head. “I’m… adjacent.”

Manuel laughed and went still at once. “You stayed close to my father.”

“Yes.”

“Because his death….”

“Would tear you apart,” Christopher finished quietly. “And what wounds the host wounds the essence.”

Manuel’s fists clenched. “So all this time…”

“I wasn’t manipulating you,” Christopher said quickly. “I was supporting and guiding you. Helping you survive what’s coming.”

Manuel’s eyes sharpened immediately. “What’s coming?”

Christopher’s expression darkened.

“Power attracts hunger,” he said. “And your power is no longer quiet.”

Images flashed in Manuel’s mind. “Spiritual beings?!”

Christopher nodded. “They smell you now.”

Manuel took a slow breath. “And the other essence?”

Christopher hesitated.

That was answer enough.

“If you’re the Left,” Manuel said carefully, “then where is the Right?”

Christopher looked at him, tapping his fingers slightly on his side.

“If I am the Left,” he said slowly, “then the Right is already awake.”

Manuel looked at him as though scared of what he had been saying.

“So, I wasn't the only one that awakened, I also awakened other things with me…” Manuel said, not believing his ears.

Christopher moved closer to the window and sat on the chair close to it and rested his elbow.

He was looking tired now, this was the first time since they knew that he actually looked tired, even though he won't admit it. 

Manuel looked at him carefully, but didn't say a word.

“The bond,” Christopher began quietly, “isn’t symbolic. It isn’t ceremonial. It’s absolute.”

Manuel leaned against the counter, arms folded, listening.

“When an essence is born,” Christopher continued, “it doesn’t orbit the host like a guardian spirit. It becomes entangled.” He lifted his gaze. “What you feel, I feel…..”

Manuel’s jaw tightened and they both looked at themselves, looking at the way their fate was entangled.

“Your father,” Christopher said, voice steady but low, “was never just a patient to me.”

The words hit harder than Manuel expected.

“When Dave collapsed,” Christopher went on, “something inside you fractured again. You hid it well, you threw yourself into work, into responsibility and so much control. But the dragon vein felt it.”

He tapped his chest once. “And so did I.”

The room dimmed slightly, as though the air itself leaned in to listen to him.

“If you had lost him,” Christopher said, “your emotional collapse wouldn’t have been… human. It would’ve destabilized the vein and could have possibly killed you.”

Manuel exhaled slowly. “So you stayed close.”

“Yes.”

“To protect him?”

“To protect you.”

The words hung in the air, as they both exchanged glances like the only thing that mattered.

Christopher leaned back, his eyes unfocused.

Manuel saw the look in his eyes as images flashed before him, but it was rather too fast to capture.

But then, another one came as fast as the first.

He saw Christopher standing outside the ICU late at night, back against the wall, with his eyes closed.

He wasn't resting, he looked as though he was absorbing something. 

Then, he saw another one. It was Christopher brewing tea at dawn, fingers steady while something dark and restless curled in his chest.

“You didn’t become dependent,” Christopher said softly, as if hearing Manuel’s thoughts. “You remembered me.”

Manuel swallowed.

“All this time,” he murmured, “I thought it was weakness.”

Christopher shook his head. “It was instinct.”

There was silence for a while.

Manuel straightened. His voice was quiet when he spoke next. “Then answer this honestly.”

Christopher looked up, his gaze fixed on him.

“What happens,” Manuel asked, “if I reject you?”

The air stilled as though something awful walked past.

“Then your cultivation fractures,” he said plainly. “Not immediately, but permanently.”

Manuel’s fingers curled.

“You’d still grow,” Christopher continued, “but unevenly. Power without balance. Eventually, you’d hit a wall you could never break through.”

“And you?” Manuel asked.

Christopher smiled faintly. “I’d fade.”

The word carried more weight than death could. 

Manuel closed his eyes briefly. “And if I accept?”

Christopher looked at him. “Then you stop being invisible.”

Manuel opened his eyes.

“Power has a scent,” Christopher said. “You’ve crossed a threshold. Acceptance means embracing what you are becoming and everything that comes with it.”

“As in?” Manuel pressed, trying to get more answers.

Christopher didn’t answer immediately, instead, the temperature dropped.

It made the hairs on Manuel’s arms rise and he frowned quickly and turned toward the window.

“There,” Manuel said quietly.

Christopher nodded. “You feel it now.”

Manuel’s chest tightened. “It’s like…”

“Being stared at through a keyhole,” Christopher finished. “By something that’s deciding whether you’re prey.”

Manuel’s aura stirred instinctively, his gaze moving around the whole place. 

“That’s the cost,” Christopher said. “Your power announces you. Things beyond the human realm notice.”

Manuel’s lips curved slowly. “They should watch, if that's what it takes…”