8th November, year 333 of the Dawn Era; a week after the Induction Day, Heima boarded a metro train, heading towards the 4th Academy. She sat on a window seat, her gaze lingering on the skyscrapers that flashed past, her mind deep in thought.
Alighting at her stop, Heima proceeded through the numerous checks, taking a long walk in the inner corridor that passed through a couple of buildings, finally arriving at the entrance of the 4th Academy—a narrow security check.
Once she entered through it, blinding sunlight fell on her face, making her eyes squint. There was a small pathway that coursed 100 metres, leading to a 32 storey building; the area it occupied was far larger than 20 skyscrapers combined.
Flashing her ID card and designating her purpose of visit in a register and getting official permission from the person in charge, Heima boarded a lift, heading straight to the 32nd floor.
A security personnel stood next to the lift, giving her directions the moment she stepped foot on the floor. She gave the personnel a perfunctory thanks, heading towards rehabilitation room number 1, the walls of which were painted light blue.
She knocked on the blue door, producing light knocks. The door opened as a nurse walked out, smiling at her, "He is already capable of speech; his recovery rate is also better than the Espers we had dealt with till date."
With a nod, Heima entered, closing the door behind her. The nurse didn't mind her actions, standing outside the room, ready to enter should a situation arise. Since everything in the room was monitored, not to mention the entire area being under the surveillance of her psychic energy, the nurse wasn't worried.
"Sister, you're back!" A cheerful voice resounded from Jyorta, his face crying. Heima stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded, noticing his contrasting appearance. Seeing her behaviour, anger flashed across his face, despite his tone sounding normal.
"I am unable to control my emotions yet. Everything feels erratic, hahaha."
"How are you feeling?" Heima inquired, taking a seat atop the berth, moving his feet aside to make some space.
No sooner had she asked her question, the blanket covering Jyorta's body trembled. Waves formed across its surface, similar to a tide, each crest rising up to a centimetre high. Seeing the scene, Heima gave a nod of approval. Jyorta's rate of deciphering his abilities was many times faster than the average Esper.
Most Espers took at least a month before they could emit psychic energy, not to mention controlling it.
"My experience helped me," Jyorta said, not emphasising further, his expression akin to raucous laughter. "The nurse said that I could be discharged after a week. It feels strange when I get angry over nothing."
"I also suddenly feel like crying, laughing, constipated, all sorts of emotions, for no reason at all. It also feels scary that I couldn't remember anything that happened over the past week, starting from the 4th Phase or whatever in the ceremony." Jyorta said, raising his hands, trying to hold his nose.
A psychic arm appeared, holding his hand in place. Seeing the scene, Jyorta spoke, "My body also behaves weird, and it sometimes takes actions without my thought. The first time was scary; thankfully, the nurse lady was kind enough to explain everything to me."
"Yeah, I heard about it from my Esper friends. They too had faced the same situation as you. By the end of the month, they all gained complete control of their bodies. For you, it might be faster." Heima said, standing up.
There was a perverted look on his face as Jyorta gazed at her, "Are you leaving already?"
"I have to go on a mission. I got the message that I could visit you today. So, I planned a visit before heading to my mission. Don't worry, it's not risky. I'll be back before you get discharged." Heima said, adjusting her dress, planning to knock the door.
The door opened before she could knock. The nurse entered, boding her farewell. With a nod, Heima waved at Jyorta, "If anything happens, contact me."
"Okay," Jyorta shouted, his tone filled with seething rage, the bedsheet on him forming tiny waves, their rate of movement faster than before.
Once Heima was gone, the nurse closed the door, noticing Jyorta's complexion. He had lost some weight as compared to 5 minutes ago, the energy stored in his fat consumed to actuate his psychic energy.
"You should try to control your psychic energy from leaking out as soon as possible." The nurse said, standing at a distance of 2 metres away from Jyorta, sweeping the entire room with her psychic energy, searching for any unwanted objects that might have accompanied Heima. It was a precautionary measure, the training of which was instilled into every rehab nurse.
"Your psychic energy is emitted from your brain. It is generated through your thoughts, will, and emotions. Try to maintain a meditative state as long as possible. I know it would be hard for you in your current situation but, just keep trying to achieve it." The nurse said, teaching him about the psychic energy, exclusive to Espers.
Jyorta closed his eyes, concentrating on his thoughts, his face morphing into one of pain. A drop of tear leaked out of his eyes while he got a runny nose. In ten seconds, his nose became normal while he felt a ringing sound in his ears, the sound ear piercing.
"Aargh!" Jyorta shouted, his voice tinged with anger and frustration. He flailed his hands, his right patting on the berth while his left sent a punch to his cheek. Just before his left hand made contact, it was paused, thanks to the nurse.
"Try it again," The nurse spoke, her expression unchanged.
"Shut up!" Jyorta shouted, his gaze filled with hatred, looking like he wanted to rip her apart into numerous pieces. After a couple of seconds, he became calm, speaking, "Okay, sister. But, this is really hard."
"I know it is. After all, it is not easy to control your emotions. Our actions are always affected by our emotions. But, try it. As long as you control your emotions, you will be able to stop your psychic energy from leaking out." The nurse said, not caring about his previous outburst.
Jyorta closed his eyes, trying to control his emotions. The next second, he began to cry, actual tears streaming out of his eyes. His mouth had a wry smile, painting a contrasting expression. He moved his hand, trying to wipe his tears.
The moment he touched a tear droplet, his forefinger shot forward, trying to poke at his right eye. The finger paused 3 centimetres before his right eye, the nurse reacting on time. Suddenly, his head jerked forward, intending to collide the finger with his eye.
The nurse detached another psychic arm from herself, pulling his head to the back, stopping it just a mere centimetre from his finger. Trace amounts of psychic energy emerged from him, coagulating around his long eyelashes, making them flutter like grass caught in a gentle breeze, brushing past the tip of the forefinger, numerous times, creating a tickling sensation.
The nurse increased the force applied through her psychic energy, separating his hand from near his head, creating some distance between the two, heaving a sigh of relief.
She looked at Jyorta; trace amounts of sweat appeared on her forehead. 'His actions are becoming crafty. Most Espers at this point would barely use their hands to touch their cheeks. What kind of life has he led to date?'
"Concentrate," The nurse said, her voice bordering on a shout, startling Jyorta. He hurriedly concentrated, trying to focus and control his emotions. A faint sense of exhaustion seeped through him, having used his budding psychic energy multiple times. He could also instinctively feel that he had lost some weight after using his psychic energy, the sensation becoming apparent after each use.
'It is not easy to gain power,' He thought, gaining a momentary clarity. His thoughts were soon filled with chaos, disorder becoming the norm, breaking his concentration.
Every piece of memory he had stored in his brain, the ones belonging to Jyorta, and the extensive memories he had as Kaushik, all appeared like a jumbled cluster, spinning everywhere around him, making him forget about everything, lost in the memory world.
"No!" He shouted, his tone filled with despair. His eyes were filled happiness, looking bright like a child who had just obtained candy for free. His breathing became ragged, like someone who had sprinted for a kilometre.
Ten seconds later, his eyes displayed sadness while his mouth let out squeals like a baby; his breathing turning stable like someone in deep sleep. It wasn't just his emotions and memories that were in disorder. Even his basic functions had become the same.
"This is hard," He sighed, getting it right for once. Immediately, his mouth opened up, leaking no sounds, imitating laughter. His hands rose up, spread wide, facing the nurse, seeking to give her a hug.
"Oh, my," The nurse laughed, her smile relaxed, gazing at Jyorta. She waved her hands, preventing his right hand from pinching his left, "If you manage to control your emotions for more than a minute, this sister will give you a tight hug."
Seeing her wink at him, Jyorta flashed a face of disdain, his mouth curling up into a wide grin, "Deal!"
He closed his eyes, intending to enter a state of meditation. Suddenly, his right eyelid opened up involuntarily, making it difficult for him to keep his left eyelid closed shut. His right eye slowly turned red, as if he had been crying for a long time. His left eye looked normal, painting a comical picture.
Jyorta continued to concentrate on controlling his emotions, getting some nutrient solution shoved down his throat by the nurse at regular intervals, and making a mess of himself whenever his sphincters performed wrongly or when he suddenly began to sweat a lot.
The nurse also secretly retreated in and out of the room, one of her psychic arms lingering around him. She replenished her expended energy in equal intervals, ensuring she doesn't run out of energy should a situation arise. She also switched with another nurse by the end of the day, taking a 4-hour nap, returning to her duty immediately.
The scene inside the room was a chaotic mix of everything.