Psychic Hunter
Psychic Hunter
Faint blue ripples of light originated from Akshobhya and merged with the cubes.
Slowly, inside his consciousness, two different types of sources started merging.
The source was the origin of one's very own existence. Like for every human, their origin was their parents. The source not only associated parents and children by bloodline but by also the psyche.
The psyche has been called by many names throughout history. Some call it as soul, some as spirit, and while others as consciousness. The scientists believe the so-called spirit or soul was nothing but storage of data.
Just like how children derive their genes and blood from their parents, similarly, a portion of psyche or soul was derived from the parents.
Akshobhya planned to use this source to seek bloodline and psyche connection.
Swoosh~
The cubes burst out with crimson glow. From the center of the triangle, a thick column of light shot out and merged with the oculus of the dome. The light then fused with the internal crystalline wires joining antennas.
Meanwhile, outside the Earth's orbit.
A satellite, covered with a blue crystalline layer, started moving out of its natural course. Inside the satellite, three small blue cubes connected to the receiving and transmitting antennas.
The front of the satellite emitted blue ripples towards Earth.
In the hall, Kurtis sat down on the floor since there was no chair. He looked at the crystalline cubes above Akshobhya, and couldn't help but marvel at them.
"That supreme world was so great!" Kurtis thought with reverence. "The royalty of that world created a system to track down and kill renegade from their families! This made rebellions against the monarch almost impossible!"
Kurtis then looked at Akshobhya and let out a sigh.
"The treasure from that world really suits him!" Kurtis further thought. "Especially given his innate ability. The fate of that bastard is set!"
Akshobhya's consciousness passed through various locations on Earth at the speed of light. Soon, he stopped when he arrived at the region he was seeking for.
"How strange," Akshobhya was surprised. He felt two lives similar to the source he was seeking for.
While one life fully matched the source, the other life was strange since it only carried a faint part of the complete source. This strange life was like a seed in the process of germination.
A life waiting to arrive in this world.
"That kid is expecting a child?" Akshobhya mused but then he was startled.
"No! There is no bloodline connection at all with the kid, but there is a connection to the psyche! This should be impossible!!"
"I wouldn't even able to associate this if not for close proximity of the kid and that new life."
Akshobhya cleared his thoughts.
"It doesn't matter about life yet to bloom. My task is that kid."
--------
Cafeteria, Royal Heart Academy.
As the sense of warning passed, Zed rose.
"Just what's going on?" Zed was shocked by the sudden life and death crisis he felt. "Is it the government?"
Claudia has informed him about the arrival of the main investigation team, so it was possible for them to be a threat.
"Or Sky Fiend Group?"
Ever since he gained the Cosmic Spark, today was the second time he felt life and death crisis. He has hypothesized that his instincts know the full extent of his hidden powers. So they wouldn't warn him unless it was something that could truly create danger for him.
"Is the crisis near or far?" Zed contemplated with a frown. "If the past trends are followed, I would know about the crisis days or weeks ahead!"
"Zed, are you all right?" Felicity asked with worry. She could see his face was still soaked with sweat.
"I'm fine," Zed wiped the sweat from his face. "I have to leave for some task."
He didn't know when the crisis would arrive, but he has to be ready since he has no idea what was the danger. The previous time he knew the danger was Sky Fiend Group so he could avoid it.
But this time he didn't even know what was the real reason. So he wanted to find out what he could after returning to the lab.
"Zed," Felicity looked at him, "You remember our promise, right?"
"Of course," Zed glanced at her with a smile. "Trust me, I would never be hesitant if I need your help."
He then brought the cell phone from his pocket to contact Claudia.
[[All emergency protocols have been activated.]]
Zed had clad a bracelet similar to the one Claudia designed for Felicity's protection. The bracelet continuously studied his body condition and passed the information to Claudia.
This was why she activated all protocols the moment his instincts warned him.
"Good, I'm coming back," Zed stepped out of the cafeteria.
"I should come with you," Felicity followed from behind.
"Felicity, there is no need for-----"
Zed suddenly felt the sky spinning and the land shattering. The next moment, his body lost its sense of balance.
THUD!
He fell on the floor with his eyes barely open.
"Zed!" Felicity rushed to help him.
Jessica, Loren, and other students were equally startled by his sudden fall.
Just what happened to him?!
An intense sense of drowsiness invaded Zed's body. The surroundings faded from his vision, and as it did, he realized the crisis he was in.
"Psychic Hunter!" Zed gritted his teeth and used his entire strength to stay awake.
Psychic Hunter was a title given to the strongest of psychic mutants. Such mutants could trap one's consciousness in a virtual world.
Zed knew very well the severity of the danger he was in. Without caring about the consequences of his secret being leaked, he decided to send his Will to the Cosmic Spark in order to transform into Kiba.
AARGH!
Before he could send out his Will, he felt thousands of needles stabbing his consciousness. The moment of instability made him lose focus.
Alas, this resulted in the disappearance of his Will...
From the time he on the floor to the time he tried to use his Will, everything took place in less than a minute!
"Urgh!" Zed's eyes turned bloodshot and the veins on his forehead trembled.
His body continued to wriggle in pain while his consciousness arrived at a world where there was nothing but blue.
"Kid, consider it as your honor for you to suffer under my hands!" A male voice sounded inside the world of blue.
Zed's consciousness was in the form of a projection of his body. He was in no mood to think about the voice. All he cared about was returning his consciousness back to the body.
He needed to regain his sanity, or at least lose consciousness completely in order to activate the Cosmic Spark. This state of half-consciousness was the most dangerous for him!
"It is useless to struggle!" the voice from before claimed. "Why don't you revisit your life instead?"
Thousands of memory fragments bombarded in the world. They were like giant screens, projecting movies.
The story of his life.
Zed could do nothing as his consciousness forcefully entered one memory fragment after the other.
------
Four years old.
In a ruined building somewhere in the slum.
"You can't even get enough money!?" The brown-haired caretaker kicked Zed.
"Sir, there were not enough almsgiver but too many beggars like me," Zed's eyes were full of tears, "I will get more money tomorrow."
"Useless bastard," The caretaker dragged Zed to another room. "No food for two days."
"No!" Zed begged. "Please forgive me for today's mistake."
He was already hungry enough and wasn't in a condition to survive another two days.
"I would never repeat this mistake!" Zed pleaded further.
"You think I am being cruel by this punishment!?" The caretaker separated Zed. "If not for me, you would have been long dead!"
"I know, sir," Zed tried to pacify the caretaker. "You have been very kind to me."
"Kind?" The caretaker started laughing. "I know you feel I am cruel to you!"
"Sir..."
"If you want to blame someone, then blame your mother!" The caretaker's face carried multiple expressions: anger, longing, and even lust. "She promised me money and resources for protecting you from their clutches! I did what she asked by risking my life, but she went back on her words!
"And I lost my powers protecting you! So stop blaming me for being cruel! Blame your mother and father for abandoning you!"
"Mother and father," Zed muttered in his heart. "Just why?"
----
Nine years old.
"It was even worse than horse piss!"
The caretaker threw a bottle of whiskey. It brushed past Zed and slammed against the wall.
"Is this how you show gratitude to someone who saved your life?!"
The bottle shattered in pieces and the fragments of glass spread around.
"This was the best I could get," Zed backed away, trembling. "I would buy another one in a few days."
"A few days?" The caretaker charged forward and grabbed Zed by his hair. "I have to wait for days?!"
What followed was a series of beatings that resulted in a swollen face and broken bones. A few minutes later, the caretaker returned to his bed and fell asleep.
Zed sat down in a corner, weeping.
"Mother and father... What crime have I committed for you two to leave me in his hands?" Zed questioned with bitterness. "If you didn't want me, you should have just killed me. Surely I don't deserve the fate you have bestowed on me!"
Minutes passed by as he cried at his helpless state.
"No! I can't let this continue otherwise there would be no end!" Zed wiped his tears. "The only one who could help me is myself and no one else!"
He rose to his feet and eyed the sleeping caretaker.
"Just wait!" Zed's eyes were filled with sinisterness not matching his age. "Maybe in a year or two or three, but I would definitely express my gratitude by sending you to hell!"
He stepped towards the wall and started clearing the mess the caretaker created.
"Mother and father," Zed threw the broken glass pieces outside the building, "I hope you two rot in hell!"
-----
In the world of blue, Zed's consciousness screamed in agony as more memories resurfaced. He relived the torture the caretaker and the slum overlords put him through.
Hunger, physical injuries, loneliness, and cold. Every negative experience in the first ten years of his life haunted his consciousness.
A sigh ringed out and the memories temporarily stopped invading his consciousness.
"You had a pitiful and tragic life," the male voice from before observed, "You have my sympathies."
"Pitiful!? Tragic?!"
Despite the mental pain, Zed lifted his head and started laughing.
"I am alive so how can I be pitiful and tragic? Just because of a few bad experiences in the past?!
"I have lived my life the way I have always wanted! Women, riches, and vanity!
"There are very few people in this world who can boast of the life I have lived! So if anything, I should be happy and proud of my achievements, no matter how short my life has been!
"Yet you are offering me sympathies?! Are you sure your brain is not rotten, you shitfaced dimwit?!"
"Kid, calling sensual pleasures as achievements!?" the voice seemed offended, "And even using rude words? You truly don't know what is good for you!"
He has even given the kid temporary relief and yet he was ungrateful!
"Cocksucker, forget about my good and instead pray for your good!" Zed used all his strength to speak. "You better pray I am entangled in the memory loop forever!"
He has already realized the psychic attacker wanted to trap his consciousness inside his bitter memories. This would result in an unbearable strain on his brain.
In the best-case scenario, he would go in a coma, and in the worst case, his brain would be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
"Oh?" The voice was intrigued by his words, "What will happen if you survive this?"
"Nothing much, but you can rest assured that your fate would be truly pitiful and tragic!" Zed's voice was filled with madness. "So for your own sake, do your best!"
The monk was stunned by his madness.