87 The Power of Empathy

They continued in this efficient manner, occasionally having Light and Lucifer switch places as necessary. Soon, they had everything they needed except the grill, which was in a store a couple blocks away. They left the mall with the Reapers none the wiser.

In the RV, everyone was having a lot of fun moving the items to their new homes and trying on new clothes. Xiao Ai bounced happily on the side as she watched each of the boys try on new clothes. Aida could feel the envy and some traces of sadness coming from Xiao Ai as she watched this. She knew that Xiao Ai yearned to have a body again.

Hugging her, Aida whispered to Xiao Ai, "It's ok, now that we're in this new place, I'm sure there will be a way to find you a body. Just wait."

Xiao Ai nodded her bun head, "It's okay Mama, you don't have to pacify me. I'm happy the way I am."

Clearly, she didn't believe that it'd be possible for her to have a real body ever again. Sighing quietly, Aida knew that there was no way to convince Xiao Ai at this time, but she was determined to not leave Xiao Ai wanting for anything.

Installing the grill would take some time and the day was already nearing an end. Aida made the decision that they would just stay in the city for the night as it would be safer than trying to move around. Everyone contributed to putting things together. Light and Yukio prepared dinner while everyone else helped with installing the grill. Even Little White was engaged in the process as he helped ferry tools and equipment to the RV, following Rin and Xiao Ai like a little tail.

The dinner was served after they installed the grill and sturdier wheels. Due to the cold temperatures, Light decided that their meal tonight would be hotpot. Sitting in the well lit bus, they gathered around the tatami table that Aida brought from the mall and began digging into the food.

Little White was also given a bowl. He watched as everyone grabbed food and took sips of the soup in their bowls. Seeing this, he tentatively took a sip of soup from his bowl as well. It tasted… like nothing to him. Aida noticed his reaction and she quickly took out a gem from one of the Reapers today and handed it to Little White whose eyes lit up immediately.

Everyone savored the taste of the meat and the feeling of having hotpot on a cold night. It was the best feeling ever. After they were finished, Yukio and Rin began to meditate with their tuning forks. Xiao Ai sat with them and shut her eyes as well, seeming to be meditating though no one was ever sure if she was meditating or sleeping. Aida handed a fork to Little White as well and tapped it to make some noise. Hearing the noise, Little White was startled and mesmerized by the sound. Patting his head, she headed upstairs.

Light quickly followed behind her. It seems there was something that he wanted to discuss with her. Seeing this, she gestured for him to sit at the front of the double decker in the viewing spot. They watched quietly at the scenery for a while before Light finally broke the silence. He explained to her how he had been trying to sort through his mindscape since the day he started meditating and how he seemed to be connected to each person through their emotions.

Aida's eyes widened in surprise and excitement as she heard this. Wasn't this the legendary empathy skill?! She was so surprised to hear that Light had somehow managed to develop this skill on his own without being infected. After thinking for a moment, she realized this skill fit Light perfectly. He was the perfect blend of being the most empathetic person she'd ever met, yet also containing a contradictory amount of darkness and anger. It's this powerful combination that made the skill possible. The darkness was the whetting stone while the empathy was the material.

Empathy is a double edged sword. If used properly, it could be one of the strongest skills ever. But without a strong mind, it could be extremely harmful for the user. Fortunately, Light had endured a lot of darkness his entire life and would be able to handle a much larger load. Additionally, if he is able to actively control his dissociation, it would be the perfect counter to the backlash of empathy.

Even at the moment, he could already function as a walking lie detector as long as he was in range to sense the person's emotions. In the future, he might even be able to manipulate people's emotions. How awesome would that be!

Light's current decision to focus on untangling his mindscape was definitely the correct priority. If he doesn't have anything in order within his own mindscape, the negativity in Enraged, Reapers, and even Variants would surely damage his mind.

His time at the base was a perfect example of this occurring. The shock of Rin falling unconscious had been the trigger to enabling this power as he fell into darkness. However, the sorrow, bitterness and guilt of the people around him at the base had all been absorbed by him and then deflected towards the people around him uncontrollably. This was why Aida had seen that almost tangible black mist that appeared to infect everyone around him. He had taken a concentrated dose of negativity and passed it off to the people, leading them to break out in fights.

For the time being, Aida's main assignment for him was to read more light novels. She recommended a few good ones to him where empathy played a large role to help him understand the realm of the possible.

She called down to Xiao Ai, telling her to bring a tablet. Xiao Ai helped her pull all the relevant information onto a tablet for Light to peruse during his free time. This would suffice for now. She also advised him to come to her before trying any experiments. She didn't want him to try anything without her present as testing anything with the mind can be extremely dangerous. Just one wrong move, and an entire consciousness could be lost.