Chapter 78 - Mindscape (1/2)
When Cynrik arrived at his destination, the first thing he did was call out to Brance.
{Where are you all?} But there was no answer. For the first time since their reincarnation, Cynrik and Brance's mind-link was severed, and it would be an understatement to say Cynrik panicked.
{Brance… Respond.} Unable to hide his growing anxiety, Cynrik continued to repeat his callout, hoping to hear even so much as a snicker, but all he received was silence.
With no other option, Cynrik tried to calm his racing mind by taking several deep breaths and looking around the room he was in. His sight fell on a cluster of about 20 kids not far away, so taking another deep breath, he approached the group.
The room they were in was about the size of a typical classroom; the only thing missing were desks. His eyes lingered on the far wall, which appeared to be a massive black tv screen. Walking on his toes, Cynrik reached the group and caught a young boy around his age by the shoulders, spinning him around so he could speak with him.
”The heck? What are you doing? Let me go.” Startled the spikey green-haired boy, raised his left arm like he was going to throw a punch, but Cynrik pressed down on his shoulder and leaked a bit of Killing Intent, nearly making the kid crap his pants.
The boy's screams didn't go unnoticed, as several older boys stepped up and pulled the green-haired one out of Cynriks grasp, creating a stand-off between the four of them and him.
”No need to get testy, I just wanted to know what's going on,” holding his hands up and trying to seem harmless, Cynrik quickly stated what he wanted.
”What kind of lame excuse is that? Do you know who you just assaulted? If our Evasden family hears about this, see if you can go on livi…” the older boy, who was significantly more muscular than Cynrik, tried throwing the weight of his family around but was silenced.
Already in a bad mood and not wanting to deal with the boy's bullshit, Cynrik equipped one of his Creed Mk-1s and appeared directly in the boy's chest, with the tip of his hidden blade resting against his throat.
”Yeah. Don't give a flying fuck. Tell me what's going on, or not only you but all your little goons won't leave here whole.” Then, speaking low and lacing his words with as much menace as he could muster, Cynrik nicked the boy's neck, drawing a thin line of blood. The tip of Cynriks hidden blade moved slightly as the boy gulped down his saliva.
”We..we don..t don't know yet. We are just like you.” Studdering and trying to keep his knees from giving out from fear, the boy barely got out his sentence.
”Tsk, useless,” with a flick of his wrist, the hidden blade retracted, and Cynrik put it back into his inventory before walking off to a corner of the room and standing in it with his back against the wall and his leg raised.
The boy let out a shaky breath as he watched Cynrik go off on his own and turned to the green-haired boy he thought he was saving earlier. He had felt it when Cynrik unleashed a trace of his Killing Intent, and since the boy was his little cousin, he wasn't about to let him get hurt after passing Phase 1 of the exam.
”Quatre, who the hell was that kid?” The boy asked his green-haired cousin.
”I have no idea Nelson, he suddenly spun me around and was glaring at me. I've never seen him before in my life. I don't even remember seeing him in the testing hall.” Quatre replied, still visibly shaken from his interaction with Cynrik. It was rare for someone their age to come in contact with Killing Intent, and he hadn't ever felt the fearsome pressure before. Thinking back to that moment, Quatre felt his sphincter clench up and a bead of sweat form on his brow.
Nelson looked back at Cynrik, who was leaning against the wall, several feet away for a second, before turning around and facing his group. ”Listen carefully; whatever you do, stay away from that guy. When I tried using our Evasden name, he paid no mind at all to it and even threatened to kill us all. That's not someone we can deal with.” The boys all nodded in understanding while taking quick peaks at Cynrik.
{BRANCE FUCKING ANSWER ME, DAMN IT! TOBS, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?} His minor scuffle with the Evasden kids only further aggravated him and was like throwing gasoline on an already massive fire. Cynrik didn't understand what was happening; he was usually clear-headed, but right now, it was like an unfiltered, primal rage was surging in his body, screaming to escape from his control.
-Unable to form a connection to Host Brance Jetlensr with mind-link.-
-Reason Unknown.-
{Fucking bull shit, we both have 100 MIND, unless we are over a hundred miles apart, there should be no issues.} Unconsciously, Cynrik raised his left thumb to his mouth and started nervously biting the skin just below his nail.