The Past that Haunts You

{Principle #1 – All Spirits will pledge to this agreement. Under no circumstance shall we find ourselves entitled enough to declare ourselves as gods. If this rule is infringed and their actions cause the Divine Challenge to be initiated, I, who penned this Principle, will be its Challenger.}

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was almost daybreak when we left the hospital and went to where they said we will be going to learn about my powers and how to control it.

"I've already called Fujimaki to pick you up. Go handle the paperwork for his induction to the agency, Yusa."

"Mm. It's not like there's anything new about it, Yurippe."

"H-hey! I'm kindly asking for a rare favor here, alright?"

"I was just joking."

"Ugh… can you please say that without a deadpan tone?"

We rode an agency car where I was handed a beige coat to wear over my simple clothes. The coat has an insignia where there are S letters on it that reads "S.S.S".

After we left Shibuya and entered the interior of the ruined city, I saw a signage that told me where we were actually heading into.

"Kabuki-cho… The street of low-flying butterflies."

"Please kid… things have changed in the last 25 years."

"I can see that…"

As we passed by the desolate streets of the once well-known red-light district of Old Tokyo, the remaining half-alive inhabitants of the city scurried away after hearing our car passing by.

"Stop! This is a restricted area! Turn your vehicle around and-"

"Nakamura Yuri, S.S.S Director. Let us in, that's an order."

"A-Ah! Y-yes, Director! Open the gates!"

We were stopped in front of a heavily guarded gate where the leading security officer ordered us to turn back. However, Yurippe lowered her car window and with a strict look on her face, identified herself and ordered for the gates to be opened for us.

"You're well-known, Yurippe?"

"With our job, Kabuki-cho area is a place that we frequent at. Get used at confidently talking to the guards and ordering them to let you in. Even if you're just a recruit and not an Operative yet, there's already a lot of doors opened for you as a member of the S.S.S."

"Understood, I'll keep that in mind."

We passed through the gates and into the place that used to be the place where overworked men used to spend their salary at in order to "unwind". Though that is all in the past and this place has gained notoriety in another way after a specific incident, as they say, once you're known for it, it will stick to your name. A place is not an exception to that.

"Hinata, raise the ballistic glass. These people are getting more aggressive since we last visited this place."

"Aye."

Hinata-san pressed a button on the dashboard which made all of the car windows to be covered by another layer of glass. As for why, it will be answered now.

"GRAAAA!!!"

"LET US OUT!!!"

"IT BURNS! IT BURNS! HELP US!!!"

Their shouts were muffled through the glass as we continued to drive by while they are chasing us. They are dressed in torn and dirty clothes and are visibly hostile to us after we went past them without batting an ear for their words.

"Kabuki-cho MB2 virus containment zone 3… Among the few places in the world that still has living infected patients of the disease."

"It looks more of a hellscape than the outside."

"It should be. What else do you two think the ground zero of the MB2 pandemic would look like after it was enclosed to try and contain the spread of the disease?"

Yurippe replied to me and Hinata-san's conversation with a no-nonsense tone. It looks like she didn't want us to dwell on it as we passed by a relatively cleaner and orderly part of the containment zone.

"This place looks more okay… Why are we passing through here anyway, Yurippe?"

"Because this is the only place near to us where you can find a teacher that will help you control that power. Right now, the ring that I made you wear is absorbing the dangerous levels of Astra energy that you are releasing, but if you want to go back to living a relatively normal life, you have to stop depending on Diminisher tools like that."

I looked at my hand where I placed the metallic ring made of a bluish metal. It seems to glow in some kind of manner as it contains my powers, but as she said, I need to learn how to not depend on this thing. Besides, ever since I wore this, I had this feeling of tightness in my chest that hurts me greatly.

"I'll give you a brief overview of who we will be meeting today so you won't be a drop-jawed fool later and embarrass yourself. Here, take it and swipe it to the right while I am speaking."

"Ah. Yes…"

"Ahem."

She handed me a tablet computer which I took carefully. She cleared her throat before speaking up.

"Inside Kabukicho's central containment zone, a stronghold of the Sumeragi-gumi is located at. As you may already know, the Sumeragi mafia has existed for a long time as an organized crime syndicate whose members frequent the city jail and penitentiary."

"I heard of them, yes. Why them though?"

"That's because after the war and the pandemic where they lost most of their influence and members, the reassembled Sumeragi mafia changed their face to become covert civil servants in the form of Psychic vigilantes."

"Psychic… They are like me?"

"It would be more accurate to say that you are like them, most of the Sumeragi-gumi's members are Psychics responsible for uncountable successful operations against criminals and other Psychics who are hostile in the last two decades. They are still recognized by the government as liabilities to society, but that very society is the one that they protected."

We finally stopped and parked in front of an estate with a spectacular Japanese gatehouse.

"This is the main assembly estate of the Sumeragi syndicate. Follow me if you don't want to get lost here."

"A-ah, yeah."

We walked towards a man sitting against the wall like a half-dead drunk. He was quite tall with a calm yet exhausted expression on his face. It was when we got a bit closer did I recognize that he is wearing a creased butler suit and had silk gloves on his hands. Quite the costume for a guy who looks like he lost everything.

"Good morning. We'd like to enter the estate."

"Hmm? Ah, it's Lady Nakamura and Hinata… and a new face."

"A-Ah, Ephraim Chronia. I am a new recruit of Yurippe."

"Yeah… just give me a moment."

With a tired voice and sluggish raising of his arm while still sitting down, he knocked at the wall behind him and after a moment, it turned into dust and exposed the true gate behind it.

"Wow…"

"Amazing huh? Don't worry, from what I can see on your hand, you're one of us too."

"Ah, yes. I just awakened my powers, so I am here to-"

"Go under a master, I know. Go on, buddy. Don't make your seniors wait."

"Y-Yes!"

I followed Yurippe and Hinata-san inside and looked back once to see him raising his hands and reforming the wall behind us.

"You should get used to seeing that, there's more of it as we enter the main courtyard."

"Ah! And another thing. You can take the Diminisher ring off now. This place will automatically disperse your Astra energy if it comes out."

"Got it."

I took off the ring and the feeling of tightness in my chest disappeared instantly.

""Welcome to the Estate, Lady Nakamura and Sir Hideki."

"Good morning, Enka-san and Mira-san."

As we entered the open area inside the estate, we were greeted by two women wearing something that looks like shrine maiden outfits. With their similar appearances and synchronized mannerisms, I deduced that they are twins.

"This is Ephraim Chronia. The boy that we mentioned before we came here."

"Umm… Hi."

""It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Chronia.""

"L-likewise."

Yurippe tapped me by the shoulder as the two women walked forward and we followed behind. At the place where everything in the open area was visible, I saw what had been told to me earlier.

"<Pyrokinesis!><Fire bolt!>"

"<Hydrokinesis!><Wave Burst!>"

"Hyahaha! You two are yet to learn your true strengths, ain'tcha!? <Chlorokinesis><Bomb Beans!>"

""Hgya!!!""

Two grown-up men shot out a ball of flames and made water burst out of the ground respectively towards a young man who jumped back before tossing some seeds that exploded after hitting the two.

"Water… Fire… And are those plants?"

"They are psychics like you, Sir Chronia…"

"…Our comrades who protect our estates and the common people from behind the scenes."

"I see."

I was amazed with this scene that was so unfamiliar to me. For some reason, it felt like I left the real world and entered a place of sword and sorcery.

"This is the dojo of Kanbu Imamura Kirin-sama. She's the most compatible instructor for your Psychic type, Sir Chronia."

"Mm…"

"Let us knock and ask for her permission to enter."

The two women knocked simultaneously and shouted a request.

""We request an audience with Kanbu Imamura. We await your permission.""

"…"

The doors creaked open and out came a tall woman with a strict look on her face.

"Is this him?"

"Yes, Kanbu Imamura."

"His name is Ephraim-"

"I already read the request. Come on kid, get in and let's start."

"H-huh?"

"Did I stutter? I said get in and I'll teach you pronto."

"A-Ah, yes!"

I looked back at Yurippe and Hinata-san and they gave me a nod to tell me that I should go.

"We'll be here once you're out. Don't worry."

"If you'll take a bit of time to finish, do you have someone you know who can tend to your kids?"

"Umm… Yeah, here's her number. She's a neighbor who takes care of them sometimes."

I took out my phone and tapped it over Yurippe's phone, transferring the number I sent to her.

"Since you're here right now, mind giving them a message so they won't be too worried?"

"Now that you mention it… Please give me a moment. I'll make one right now."

I walked away from the crowd and at a quiet corner, made a voice record for my daughters.

"Hello kids, this is me, Rai-nii. I'm sorry that I can't go home yet. I'm in the hospital for now since I got into a teeny-weeny accident. Haha! Don't worry though, Rai-nii is alright and I'll be home to cook some curry before you know it… Always remember, Rai-nii loves all three of you, okay?"

*Pip-!*

After I saved the record and sent it to Yurippe, she smiled slightly and gave me an encouraging pat on the head.

"Do your best and make sure that these kids of yours will see you soon as you said."

"Yes! I'll be off then, Yurippe!"

I entered the dojo and closed the door behind me. Even though I wasn't used to Japanese customs, I was aware of the courtesies in entering special areas and I bowed towards the small shrine at the main wall of the training area.

"You're respectful for a foreigner."

"It's in my nature."

"I see… Well then, sit there for a moment so we can begin."

I sat at the clean wooden floorboard in a crossed-leg position while she sat in front of me in a Seiza position where her legs are tucked under her thighs and butt.

"I am Imamura Kirin. A head officer in the Sumeragi Syndicate. Along with being the leader of my own division of men, I also provide training for Psychics like you who are sent here under special circumstances."

"Special circumstances… How?"

"Unlike most Psychics, your awakening belongs to the rarer kind that we call as "fight-or-flight" awakenings. These Awakenings happens during near-death experiences, in the verge of accidents or even in the state of extreme mental panic. You belong to this group."

"Yeah… I think I do since I helped out a girl last night who is being stalked. Both of us were kidnapped and while helping her escape, I almost died."

"I see… And you woke up at the hospital where Yuri sent you to?"

"Yes."

"You are an admirable young man."

"Thank you…"

She snapped her fingers and suddenly, a katana from the weapons shelf flew towards her hands. She then caressed the weapon carefully while talking to me.

"We have more than enough time to settle your training, so instead of rushing it, I want you to learn more about what you are now as a living being and why it's important for you to know how to defend yourself."

"I am ready to listen, Sensei!"

"Good."

As soon as she said that, she held the katana in a reverse-hold and plunged it into the floor. In that very instant, everything became black and white save for me, her and her sword.

"W-what is-"

"This is a Mental Subspace. A dimension inside the pathway that I formed between our minds. You can call it as some kind of shared imaginary world that only the two of us can interact with and not damage the real world."

"U-Umm… What?"

"Oh? Was I speaking too fast? I can repeat it if you want."

"A-Ah, no, no! I just… I am just not used to this yet. I've seen some Psychics outside use their powers already but this… this is something entirely new to what I initially thought."

I kept on looking around and sure enough, the world around us turned into black and white like those old detective noir films.

"Well then, listen up if you've already had your fill of sightseeing."

"Y-yes! Apologies, Sensei!"

"Ahem…

She cleared her throat and spoke a story that seemed like a fairytale, yet I accepted as true.

"The human mind is a complex concept that even the most brilliant doctors and philosophers can't agree about. Is it completely dependent on our brain? Is it something immaterial like our thoughts whose source cannot be clearly pinpointed? No one knows… except us Psychics."

"…"

"This Mental subspace is the image of our minds regarding our surroundings. Since this dojo has nothing that both of us define as significant to our current situation or something that we are willing to agree on is existent or objectively with life, it didn't enter this subspace with us."

"So, the sword is…"

"Both you and I viewed it as something that was attached to me, a living being who was also the one that initiated this Mental subspace's formation. If, for some instance, you noticed and recognized the existence of the dust mites around us, it wouldn't matter much because they lack the same thing that is allowing the two of us to maintain our spiritual forms in this subspace. And that this is-"

"Astra energy…?"

"Exactly. Astra energy is the source of power of us Psychics. It is the energy that is created by the human mind whenever they have a thought… and all of that energy used to just float around aimlessly until we Psychics came into being and became this mental world's inlet valve to return it into another form of energy out in the real world."

"Because the First law of thermodynamics defines that energy cannot be destroyed and canonly altered in form, the energy from the thoughts of all humanity became untapped and through us, we can return them into usable energy through Psychic abilities."

"Excellent, my student. You are very knowledgeable and responsive. I like that."

"A-ah… Hehe…"

I was slightly flattered with the compliment, so I felt bashful. But after enjoying it for a moment, both of us returned to normal.

"Now, now… I want you to be aware of this now more than ever. Being a Psychic is no laughing matter, kid. You didn't become a magical girl, or a pro hero or some jujutsu sorcerer. You became a Psychic who is now part of a war between us who wish for order and them who wish for freedom."

"Freedom? Why do you make it sound like something bad?"

"Because it is… Even I myself would be angry if I am told that I cannot be free, but the way that they fight for it, the people and lives that they are prepared to trample over and sacrifice for it and the ultimate goal that they have in mind… It is not good."

"Who… are they?"

The name of our enemy… it was something that I surprised me not because it sounded unbelievable…

"The Miyazono Conglomerate."

…But because I already had my own grievances with them.

"Them…?"

"You seem… disturbed."

"I am… because my friend and the one that he loves… they took them away from us."

"I understand your loss…"

She sent her condolence softly as I tried to repress some emotions that I have long buried underneath the confines of my mind. This was the moment when Kirin-sensei spoke something to me.

"Since you already have some welled-up hatred in your mind, I guess you have something to train with regarding your combat knowledge."

"Combat knowledge… you mean right now?"

"Stand up. It's time for you to learn how to use your powers. Since we're in a subspace, you don't have to worry about destroying the place… but it means that your enemy is your mind's enemy."

As both of us stood up, the place seemed to waver like a fuzzy video until a part of the wall was shattered and out came familiar silhouettes.

"W-w-w-wait… Sensei, this is-"

"This is your fight, kid. Your mind is your own foremost enemy now that you have become a Psychic. Unless you can defeat your mind's demons and conquer your fears…"

"Sensei!"

"You can never survive in this war where you can die if you cannot make the other side die."

Kirin-sensei dissipated into electric pulses before reappearing near the dojo's door behind a semi-transparent barrier that I bumped into while I was trying to escape.

"Sensei! I can't do this! I can't- Agwa-!"

"You have to, kid. I don't know who these people are… but I can feel the fear in your mind… those people must be the ones who gives you the most nightmares."

How can I not to?! How the hell am I supposed to not feel fear in front of these monsters?! Break down this barrier! I can't do this!

"Hey, hey, hey, kid~!"

"Want some good time with us again~?"

"Leave me alone! You bitches!"

I can still remember these sluts! I can never forget what they did to me!

"Sensei! Sensei! Take down this barrier! I can't face them and-"

"No."

"-!"

"I told you already. Your mind is now your enemy as a Psychic."

"No… No…!"

"Unless you are prepared to conquer this place that is your mind and cleanse it until it becomes peaceful…"

"Yoohoo~!"

"Come on, kid! Just like old times~!"

"No! Get away from me!"

"…you can never even have a chance to use your powers properly and fight to protect yourself and those that you wish to keep safe."

I thought that because this is just an imaginary space, they cannot interact with me. But I forgot that this is a place where our minds become a figment of physical existence. As Kirin-sensei disappeared and the dojo transformed into a familiar room, my anxiety hit its highest levels.

"Hehe… you've grown up to be a young man. But you're still as supple and succulent as the last time we got to play with you~."

"Do you have enough stamina to keep up with us this time~?"

"Get away… I said get away from me!"

The way they leisurely touched me… the way they spoke in a flowy manner that still haunts me in my sleep… All of them reminded me of that time.

"He's all dressed up~!"

"He's so cute! He's ready to play with us!"

"I'm not your plaything anymore! I ran away from all of you! I saw all of you paying for your crimes!"

"Ehh~? What are you talking about, Ephraim dear?"

"H-huh?"

"It's still 2064. What are you talking about you not being our toy~?"

My eyes that I was keeping shut all this time opened after she spoke and when I looked around, I wasn't in the dojo.

"Now, now… We promise to be gentle so…"

"No… NOOO!!!"

I was in that dormitory room in Old Manila's Kuroyama Colonial University. The date was the same as that memory that I have long considered as my worst.

"Hehehe~!"

"Relieve our stress now, would ya~?"

I returned to being a 9-year-old, dressed up as a girl by them, surrounded by lustful women… Helpless… powerless… awaiting pain, shame and inevitable trauma. At that moment, I feared that everything that happened was just a dream before I was returned to this hell.

I wasn't able to escape after all. I wasn't able to meet and feel the warmth of my friends who protected and changed me back to the normal me. I wasn't able to complete my thesis with them. I wasn't able to fly to Japan to find work. I didn't meet Hiro and got to take care of his sisters as my own children.

None of that seemed real to me. None of that felt like it happened as all reason, strength or courage disappeared in my mind and heart. None of it snapped me back to reality as I only felt terror as these women who broke me when I was nothing but a powerless and innocent boy surrounded me like a pack of hungry wolves ready to pounce on their helpless prey.

"No… Not now! Never again!"

"H-Huh?"

But deep inside, even though I was despairing, even though I was filled with fear and terror, as I said, I wasn't the same boy that I was 8 years ago. I… I will never let myself become like that again.

"Never again… Never again will I let myself be hurt!"

"W-What?!"

"Get away from me!!!"

The sword that Kirin-sensei plunged in the floor before reappeared in my vision. I went through those women and took it out as the place wavered slowly back to the structure of the dojo.

"You! You!!! And YOU!!!"

"KYA!"

"NO! DON'T!"

"DON'T KILL ME!"

I took the sword and in my uncontrollably brutal rage, used it to slash the women apart like a crazed maniac.

"I will not let you take anything away from me! Not my youth! Not my innocence! And never my hope in life!"

All the wishes that I had during that night… that night when things that I considered as normal became abnormal and frightening, and what I wanted to do to protect myself was out of my reach and I decided to just run away and continue to fear them… All of it poured out in this act of vengeance that I wanted to bring out all this time.

"Haah… Haah… Haah…"

With ragged breaths and bloodstained hands, I grasped the sword tightly as I felt the girl clothes turn into the clothes that I wore that day when I lost those that made me feel loved and protected.

The dojo turned into the abandoned resort that we repurposed into a livable home and there, I saw the rebels who in that day, killed those that I loved dearly right in front of me.

"Hahaha! Who would've thought that the Senator's disowned daughter really lives in this slum?"

"She can be of use to us in the hostage negotiations!"

"Are you stupid?! Kill her and everyone in here! Those were the orders given to us!"

"Stop…"

"Huh? Are you talking to us, kid?!"

"You wanna die first, you brat?!"

Here, I felt the familiar touch and voice of the two people that I considered as my guardians who protected me till the very end.

"Ephraim… don't-!"

"P-P-Please! He is just a kid!"

"Ate Risa… Arthur…"

I stood up slowly as I looked back at their faces that still reminds me both of the best days of my life and the worst day that hurt my heart even until now.

"Thank you for protecting me… I know that this is just my memory and not reality, but…"

""Ephraim…""

"I am happy that I became the child that you never got to have and love."

These were the words that I spoke before I waved my hand to draw out the blood from the corpse of Father Chris and solidified it into a shield to protect me from the bullets fired by the rebels as I charged with the katana in hand.

"Hyauk!"

"No, Alfred!"

"I will not let you take away my loved ones again! Never again!"

I jumped around with the sword and kept on waving my hands to take the spilled blood to either use it as a shield or spikes that killed the armed outlaws one by one.

"Ephraim…"

"Ate Risa…"

I looked back at that familiar young woman after I killed all of the rebels and the place wavered slightly.

"Take care, darling."

"…Thank you, Ate Risa… even until this memory."

The place changed again and now, I was in the university halls where the dropouts who has been using several loopholes to get my thesis declined is actively protesting my participation.

"Get out of here, you brat!"

"You think you're better than us just because you're smart?!"

"Eat shit, you loser!"

I can remember this day… They threw rocks at my diorama box and spilled drinks on my thesis papers just to drag me down to their failed state.

"All of you…"

"Hah? Hohoo! Are you trying to make a scene and fight us, you brat?!"

"Bring it on! I will break those spindly arms of yours so you can't graduate and- Kak!"

"…I have always wanted to kill all of you."

As soon as I ran the sword's blade through the body of the protest's ringleader, I focused on the blood that is flowing on his back and instantly formed spikes that killed everyone else in the scene.

"You will never let you take away my hope of a better life for those that I still have!"

The place wavered as I looked back at the damaged items that in the real world, was still accepted and made me an ACES graduate.

The next scene was in the Foreign Affairs ministry when some high-ranked immigration officer who was pissed that I passed the ACES system that failed him again and again applied to have me banned from leaving the country under the pretext that I was included in the rebel attacks that killed my friends. He spun the facts and made me appear like I was a rebellion member when I was the actual victim.

"I will have you stay here, regretting ever aiming higher than you should and fearing me."

"…"

"I am higher than you. Don't you dare try to ever think that you are- Gyak!"

"You've pissed me off more than you should. In the real world, you were just arrested for drug smuggling… but for me…"

"Argh!"

"I should have killed you the moment I met you."

I plunged the katana deeper into his chest as he writhed on the ground and died.

"You will never take away the opportunity for a better life that I earned after suffering for this long."

I looked into my pocket and sure enough, there was my passport that I earned after months of fighting against this corrupt and high-chinned bastard officer.

The place wavered yet again and now, I found myself at the morgue where Hiro's cold and dead body was being kept while Mio and Yukari were crying outside.

"You were a fool… but you are a fool that has a good and innocent heart."

"…"

"Rest in peace. My friend… I am now someone who can avenge you."

I looked at the katana that was stained with all of the blood that I have been shedding throughout the test.

"The Miyazono conglomerate's cronies killed you and maybe even Arata Chikako whom you loved and loved you back. I will not let them to just get away with this."

I wiped the blood off the blade with my own shirt sleeves and placed the sword over his body.

"This time… I can fulfill my promise now… This time…"

I have decided what will become my new goal with this power that was given to me.

"They will not take away anything that I love. Not my friends. Not my family. Not my children… and never my wish to see them live happily and safely."

Nothing will stop me… Even if the world will die for this promise to be fulfilled…

"If it wishes to get in my way… then let it die."

I will go against it. Because I have decided that it's my time to fight back.

"You have done well… I didn't expect you to have so many memories of suffering in your mind. But you soldiered on and passed."

"Sensei…"

"Close your eyes for a moment before opening it again. You have released all of your pent-up hatred and you have done well to overcome all of the things that used to hurt you."

I did as she said and once I opened my eyes, I saw that I was sitting again in front of her while the dojo now had its own color back.

"W-What?"

"The Mental Subspace was created as your test area. As you have come to defeat the bad memories in your mind and has returned your self into a state of equilibrium, the subspace has served its purpose and there was no more reason for it to exist, so it dissipated and returned us to the real world."

"This is…"

"Your Psychic power has stopped following the random and chaotic instructions of your previously cluttered and disturbed mind. Now that you have a clear mind and focus on the present, it is now following your real and voluntary instructions."

Kirin-sensei opened a bowl filled with blood and it levitated into the shape of a ball before floating between us.

"Amazing…"

"That is just basic control… just imagine what you can do with it once you receive real training on it."

"H-Huh?"

Just as she said those words, her eyes glowed with an electrifying purple glow as all of the metal weapons in the dojo levitated out of their shelves and floated only a hairbreadth above the floor.

"…My Psychic power is Electrokinesis. The Psychic control over electricity. A run-of-the-mill electro Psychic can probably only control a pair of spoon and fork, but for me who has years of experience in both sparring and actual combat scenarios, I can do something like this."

*BYIK! Hng! Hng! Hng!*

"Electromagnetism…"

"That's right."

The metal weapons became imbued with electricity to the point that it was buzzing loudly around us while it is levitating.

"Unlike me who controls pure energy in the form of electricity, a Psychic like you who controls blood should be taught by someone that uses liquid-based psychic power."

"But… I thought you were the one who is the most compatible with me?"

"Ah. Were you told about that? That's regarding your post-awakening and mind clearing test. As someone who uses electricity, I was compatible in the form of being given the responsibility of frying your brain if ever you can't handle it and you go on a rampage."

"I-It's good that I was able to hold on, then…"

"Yeah. It is. Can you place that ball of pig's blood back to the bowl? You might lose control over it."

"A-ah! Yes…"

I put down the blood and asked Sensei a question.

"What will happen now? I was able to get through the test and control my power."

"That is easy. You should go home and rest now. Forget about all stressful things for a while and sort what will you do now that you have fully become a Psychic."

"I guess I can't show up in school anymore, huh?"

"Of course. Legally speaking, you are already dead. But since Yuri-kun found you and took you under her wing, I believe you don't have to worry much about that."

"I… I see."

I looked at my hands and for a moment, thought about what I have done earlier during the test.

"Were you bothered that deep inside, that is the form that your hatred took shape on?"

"I… I do not. In truth, I was glad that even in the very depths of my mind and heart, I hated each and every thing about what happened back them… but at the same time, it's difficult to accept that I have returned to where I didn't want to go to anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I… I don't want to be hurt. But this world keeps on hurting me. I didn't have the power to fight back before, but now. I have it and it scares me."

Kirin-sensei sighed for a bit before replying to me.

"Kids like you are supposed to live normal and joyful childhoods… but this unfair world where everything interesting to the majority can only be achieved through the suffering of the few is something that I have also loathed…"

"Sensei…"

"Let's be realistic, kid. You're too old, traumatized and hurt to genuinely experience what you didn't get to experience when it should've counted… so instead, I want you to have this mindset that will allow you to use your new powers without being afraid of it."

"…"

"You have children under you, right? Use your powers to not let them suffer the same way that you did. Without any doubt, without any reservation, without any kind of dilemma that will stop you from doing the right thing…"

"You mean…"

"This world and those that fights against us for the sake of their own selfish desires always implies that having control or being under control is something evil or worth to rebel for… but they are hypocrites who also says that the right thing is relative according to each other's own definition of what is right and wrong."

"…"

"But what I am about to say is the truth and only the truth. That tolerance and relativity of morals has already destroyed innumerable lives. This freedom that they propose as the one and only true doctrine is not only flawed but the perfect definition of what is wrong… and because of that, I want you to decide."

She drew out the katana and handed it to me.

"Freedom must not be given, lest it spoil those that receive it, and they use it for evil. Therefore, if you wish to be free, fight for control and define what is right and wrong to earn that freedom."

"Understood, my old friend."

As I held the blade that she gave me, Kirin-sensei became limp as she bowed slightly. I was about to reach out to her when my body became stiff and the one who spoke a reply wasn't me but someone whose voice I already knew before.

"I see that you have also come to choose your vessel after so long."

"I have heard your pleas and heeded the Principle that I gave long, long ago."

Kirin-sensei too, spoke in a tone and voice that she didn't use to have as she kept on sitting with her face slightly down.

"Has it begun?"

"Yes, the Divine Challenge has begun."

"I see…"

Once Kirin-sensei raised up her face, the glow of her eyes wasn't its purplish glow but rather, a silvery-white sheen.

"That fool has declared itself a deity… It has broken the Principle that kept this world balanced and in peace."

"And because of that, I have come."

"…Can I ask, why this boy?"

"That is a secret, Justice."

"I see. I can't believe that you really are in the mortal realm as a Spirit guide. Well then, our reunion has concluded. Once "that time" comes, you have my permission, Law."

"I appreciate your help, old friend."

After hearing all of that, I felt my head hurt so much like an instantaneous migraine.

"Argh… what was that?"

"Kid… Kid! Are you alright?!"

"Sensei… what happened?"

"I don't know… my head hurts too. It's like… It's like I was hit at the back of my head with something."

For us that day, everything was normal. But little did we know that that conversation and almost coincidental meeting that only I had slight memories of moved this war between the groups of Psychics closer into total chaos.

Law and Justice… who are these beings who speak from inside our minds?