Memory Extraction

The day after Outreach Day, Luke convinced Principal Larissa to let him and Wednesday visit Jericho. He told her he would explain everything and that it was a fundamental matter related to the Spellmans and the murderous Hyde in Jericho.

Larissa agreed. Ever since she read Luke's mother's letter last year, she had been willing to help him with anything he asked for.

"If you could convince the principal to let us go, you would have done it before," Wednesday remarked as they traveled to Jericho in a taxi.

"You know why I didn't. If you kept solving the mystery at that speed, I wouldn't have been able to gather evidence calmly," Luke justified himself. Wednesday displayed a self-satisfied expression in response to Luke's compliment.

"Now that I think about it," Wednesday said, leaning closer to Luke.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Why did you help me in the first place to solve the mystery? If you had refused, I wouldn't have had your help, though I would have solved it sooner or later," Wednesday said.

What Wednesday was saying made sense. If he had refused to help her, telling her that the prophecy was nonsense, Wednesday might have taken longer to solve the mystery, as she wouldn't have Luke's help.

When Luke decided to help her, he didn't know about the Spellmans' plan to use the Hyde or Crackstone to kill him. So, he planned to interfere with the prophecy and wouldn't allow Crackstone to be resurrected. He already had enough to deal with, with the Spellmans after him, without having to handle a demonic normie. He changed his mind when he found out about the Spellmans' plans a few days later.

"I still didn't know about the Spellmans' plans at that time, nor that the prophecy was real. So, I thought it was right to investigate a little. A few days later, I found a hooded figure and learned everything," replied Luke, and Wednesday nodded slightly.

After that conversation, the trip continued in silence.

[What are the chances of success?] Luke asked mentally. He wore the black collar around his neck, where Edgar was resting.

Even though Edgar was resting inside the collar, his telepathy reached him, and they could talk. That way, they were no longer restricted to the four hours that Edgar could be out of the collar.

[You've studied intensively for more than a month… This technique, compared to the yellow aura flight, is a lower level, but it's still an advanced technique… Considering this is your first subject, I'd say there's a 40% chance of success] Edgar replied without leaving the collar.

[Damn... That's not good] Luke said with a grimace.

Luke had already told Edgar about his decision days ago. He was the first to know that Crackstone wouldn't be resurrected, and that Luke had changed his plans.

Edgar was very proud of Luke. As a former student of Nevermore, he had great affection for the academy. He didn't want it to be attacked and for innocent, outcast students to die, but when Luke mentioned reviving Crackstone to have better evidence, he didn't say anything.

[If you keep extending the date, the memories will be harder to extract since they'll be older. Besides, you have me. I'll be your guide. With my help, your chances increase to 65%], Edgar said with his usual self-satisfied tone.

They arrived in Jericho, and Luke extended his domain. He quickly found Deacon and Amaranth, as usual, keeping an eye on Tyler. There were only a few minutes left before Tyler's shift ended, and he'd go back home. After that, Amaranth would return to the original cult house, leaving only Deacon to keep watch.

Luke already knew why the two of them were watching Tyler. During the murders, they had helped the Hyde. He found out by reading Deacon's memories, which he did weekly, and from the recordings he had collected.

They helped to ensure there were no witnesses at the scene or to distract the outcast police officers. This was perfect for Luke, as when he presented the evidence, the Spellmans would be even more at fault.

What he didn't know was what Atlas (the Gorgon), Sabrina, and Sebastian (Sabrina's older brother) were up to.

As usual, Luke went to a deserted alley about 1km away from Tyler's house. He kept his distance as a precaution.

"Nice place. Why are we so far from the café or the house?" asked Wednesday, observing the dark alley where Luke had taken her.

"We have to wait for Tyler to finish work and go back home. Then the hooded figures will separate, and only one will be left keeping watch," Luke explained.

"I know. I understood that part, but if we're so far from the café, how will we know when he finishes work and heads home?" Wednesday asked.

"I'll know. I can keep an eye on them from this distance," Luke said, giving a slight mysterious smile.

"You can…?" Wednesday said, her mind working through Luke's statement.

"Clairvoyance?" she asked after a few seconds.

'Oh, she's much smarter than that faceless one. It was to be expected,' Luke thought.

"Yes. Extrasensory perception. That's how I managed to find out they were in Jericho without them noticing," Luke said.

Wednesday felt that now the whole story fit together and made sense. The hooded figures were supposed to have come incognito, spying on the Hyde from the shadows. How did Luke manage to discover them without them noticing?

"Three auras..." Wednesday murmured in astonishment, looking at Luke. She knew firsthand how rare it was to have two auras. She was a two-aura user. However, she had never heard of anyone possessing three auras naturally.

For Luke, it was the first time he had seen such a notable expression of surprise on Wednesday's face.

'That's why he can control objects with his telekinesis even when they're out of his line of sight. He can even fly thanks to that ability,' Wednesday thought.

At first, she had believed Luke's second aura was clairvoyance. When Luke told her he had a blue aura, she stopped thinking about it and accepted the theory of Luke's genius being the reason he could fly or control objects out of his sight as some sort of innate instinct.

"How many more secrets are you hiding from me?" Wednesday asked, stepping closer to Luke and staring at him with her dark, deep eyes.

Luke gazed into Wednesday's deep eyes, which seemed like an abyss. They were very captivating. To an ordinary person, they might be unsettling, but he liked them.

"Maybe one or two more. What about you?" Luke asked, placing his hand on Wednesday's cold cheek.

Wednesday didn't seem bothered by Luke's hand touching her cheek. She continued to stare at him intently, without blinking.

"Mm, I already told you about my second aura… Maybe I have two or three more secrets," Wednesday responded.

"Well, then we're even," Luke said as he slowly leaned in toward Wednesday's lips and started to kiss her.

Wednesday closed her eyes and accepted the kiss. She never thought that in recent days she would be kissing a boy. It was very different from everything she had imagined about school, relationships, and love. However, she felt that Luke had many similarities with her, making him the only one worthy of kissing her and being by her side.

'That's it... Fall in love and get married in the future. You will become the pillars of the Poe family. Your children will be dual aura users,' thought Edgar, who had emerged from the collar and was watching Luke and Wednesday kiss.

Luke placed his hands on Wednesday's delicate waist as he kissed her. Remembering that she had let him touch her cheek, he got a bit bolder and began to lower his hand slowly.

"Don't even think about it," Wednesday said, pulling away slightly from Luke as she noticed what he was trying to do with his hand.

"Sorry..." Luke murmured, lifting his hand and placing it back on Wednesday's waist. Luckily, the kiss continued for a few more seconds until they pulled apart.

'Two days, two kisses. This is a record,' Luke thought, remembering that they had kissed yesterday as well. As for the feeling of guilt, he buried it as deep as he could. It was hard to make a decision, and the best thing was to ignore his confusing emotions.

After that, they waited patiently for the right moment to act. Twenty minutes later, the faceless man was in the two-story building, keeping watch on Tyler's house.

To get to the roof, Luke took Wednesday by the waist and embraced her. Fortunately, they had enough trust for this sort of thing by now, though Luke realized there were limits.

When they reached the rooftop, Wednesday was able to see the faceless man with his back to them. This made her realize that what Luke had said about his extrasensory ability was true.

This time, Luke landed on the ground of the rooftop because Wednesday wouldn't have tolerated being in his arms for too long. When they touched the ground, the faceless man heard them and was about to turn around, but an invisible force stopped him.

Luke immobilized him. He approached and delivered a hard blow to the back of the man's neck, knocking him unconscious. There was no time to waste.

He didn't know exactly when Amaranth would return, and extracting memories took more time than what he had just done.

"Let's get started with this," Edgar said, ready to help Luke.

Luke sat on the ground, gently placing his hands on the faceless man's temples and closing his eyes to concentrate. Wednesday watched with curiosity while also paying attention to her surroundings. She would protect Luke throughout the process in case an unwanted variant appeared.

Edgar began to guide Luke, reminding him of the key points. First, he synchronized his brainwaves with those of the faceless man, establishing a deep mental connection. This took ten minutes.

Then, he dove into Deacon's mind, starting to navigate a mental landscape composed of fragmented memories, emotions, and thoughts. It was the first time he had experienced anything like this.

"Don't get lost in the faceless man's mind. Locate the memory," Edgar said. Luckily, his suggestion reached Luke, who had been absorbed in looking at unimportant memories. It's easy to get lost in people's memories, but he managed to start searching for the memory he needed.

After a few minutes, he identified the memory that appeared as a luminous sphere among a tangle of other memories. As Luke began to untangle the threads of the memory, an ephemeral projection of the memory manifested outside the subject's head, visible as a series of floating images and sounds in the air.

Wednesday was able to observe the scene of the hooded figures talking to Marilyn; only one of them spoke. The vision was in the first person. She could see Tyler sleeping in the cave. They discussed murdering Luke and gave Marilyn a strange liquid.

Then, when they left the place, they talked about how if Marilyn didn't use the Hyde to kill Luke, Crackstone, once revived, could kill Luke when he attacked Nevermore.

'So it was all true,' Wednesday thought, watching the memories from the front row.

As a manipulative person and recalling how Luke had tried to manipulate her once, she had her doubts about his story. She believed a lot of it, but she wouldn't blindly trust him. But now she could see that what he said was true.

Time passed, and finally, Luke condensed the memory, transforming it into a tangible substance. Slowly, the memory began to emerge as a gray liquid, flowing from the subject's head. The liquid flowed smoothly, like a stream of mercury, suspended in the air.

Luke took out a small glass vial he had prepared earlier. He guided the liquid with his telekinesis into the vial. However, he didn't stop there. He continued searching for specific memories.

This time, he sought the conversations where Deacon and the others spoke about Crackstone, Marilyn, the plan to kill Luke, mentioned the Spellman family, and how they helped the Hyde to kill normies without being caught by the outcast police.

In total, he managed to obtain three vials filled with Deacon's memories. Luke's forehead was slick with sweat, and a vein throbbed on his temple.

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