Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
———————————————————————————
"Okay, that's it! I'm addressing the elephant in the room!" Exclaimed the twintailed girl, before narrowing her eyes at me and demanding, "Which Meta-Orb did you come across?"
Huh? What does she mean by 'which'? She did say something earlier about there being nine orbs, one of which was the one that crashed into my room, but I have no idea what she means by that question. Maybe there were different types or something
"Uh...not sure what you're asking," I responded, before answering uncertainly as she continued to glare at me, "The...glass one?"
"Let me rephrase her question. What kind of powers did you obtain after you touched the Meta-Orb?" Clarified the blonde guy.
Ohh, so that's what they're asking. They sure are grilling me a lot for a couple of kidnappers. Huh, come to think of it...
"Before I answer that, what are your names? I've already given you mine, but you haven't even introduced yourselves," I remarked with a frown.
"Wait, I didn't? Huh...could've sworn I did. Well, it's no big deal, I suppose...Neo Cronje, a Meta-Human with Harmony, nice to meet you," The blonde guy introduced himself.
"Hmph, I go by X, nothing more. I'm a pawn of Eden, and the only reason I'm doing this is because I'll literally die if I take any action that's a clear betrayal against Eden. Now, then, answer the question, you NEET," Growled twintails, glaring at me.
She was definitely trying to come off as intimidating, but with her height, it was more adorable than scary...probably shouldn't say that out loud though, she clearly has a temper. Also, while her appearance is attractive, I find her super bitchy and annoying.
"Okay, first off, I'm not a-...you know what, whatever, never mind. Let's see...I got a bunch of powers, the one I've mainly used so far is a glowing ball of light. It's useful at night when I've got insomnia and need to find my water bottle without having to stand up and flip the light switch," I remarked with a sigh...don't think I needed to say all that, but in my defense...it's been a while since I've held a conversation for this long, not to mention that it's absolutely scorching hot out here.
"So, you've got the Light Skill, huh? What other powers have you displayed?" Inquired Neo curiously.
"Well, all the small aches and pains I had suddenly disappeared, and yesterday, after I accidentally cut myself and jokingly thought to myself that since I have superpowers now, I'll probably heal faster or something...didn't expect to be right about that, I was pretty surprised when the cut started glowing and then just vanished," I replied, recalling what had happened.
I then focused on my broken nose, the bleeding stopping, before it straightened itself out, the pain fading bit by bit. Okay, much better...I let out a sigh of relief as I wiped away the blood that had flowed out.
"Tch, you looked better with your nose broken," Muttered X with an irritated look on her face.
Huh? The hell is her problem? I'm feeling a strong desire to break her nose now...
"The Light Skill techniques Illuminate and Healing, huh? Both very useful support powers, and there's every chance that you'll be able to master other Light Skill powers too...Inoka, let me formally welcome you to Harmony-," Neo began with a warm smile.
"Not so fast, dipshit!" Snapped X, latching onto his back, "I can't keep up Nullification forever, so I'm literally sticking to you in order to ensure that you can't abandon me!"
"Fine, I see that this is going absolutely nowhere...alright, how about this, I'll transport all of us to a place closer to inhabited land, we'll fight to the death, and the winner gets the Outlier. Deal?" He offered her...
Huh? That seems like an awfully generous offer. I mean, he could probably win in a battle of endurance out here...so what's he upto?
"Fine, whatever, just get me out of this place, it feels like I'm being roasted alive!" She grumbled irritably, as beads of sweat ran down her face...is the heat preventing her from properly thinking this through?
It is pretty hot, yeah, but it's not unbearable, not for me at least...I've been living in a room with a shitty ceiling fan and no A/C for over three years now, so a little sweat is no problem. And besides, this place may be extremely hot, but it's not all that humid, which means-...
Okay, who I am kidding, this is just what I'm telling myself to keep from complaining about the heat! Damn it, I wanna go home. I want my bed. I want a beer. I want the barely-noticeable air currents that emanate from my creaky-ass ceiling fan. This sucks!
"Hey, can we go someplace cooler, like a mountain or, I don't know, Antarctica?" I groaned, unable to bear the heat anymore.
"I like the sound of that! Hurry up already, the longer I cling to you like this, the more our sweat gets all mixed together and slimy-!" Complained X, starting to look a little bit light-headed...guess she doesn't do too well with extreme heat, huh?
"Okay, stop that, you're gonna make me vomit," Interrupted Neo in disgust, before gesturing to me to come closer.
I don't care what he's thinking, I just want to get out of this goddamned desert!
"Kidnap me or whatever, I don't care anymore, let's please just go somewhere cooler," I sighed, as I stepped up next to him.
"Yeah, in a second...hey, Fake, mind undoing your power?" He remarked, before shifting his gaze back towards me and gesturing, "Step in front of me, if you don't mind."
Hm? Does it really matter? Well, I guess he would know. And I see no valid reason to argue, so I guess I'll do as he says. I stepped out in front of him, facing each other.
"Alright, my Nullification is no longer active. Do it already, shitface," Grumbled X, as she clung even more tightly to his back, her legs wrapped firmly around his waist.
"Fine, here goes...Space Skill: Portal," He remarked, as a portal opened beneath us and we dropped through...but something was different this time, as he added with a faint smirk, "And now, Space Skill: Dimension."
We hadn't dropped into a new area...at least, not a normal one. We were floating in what looked like an endless dimension, there was nothing but darkness, stretching out in every direction, but despite that, I could see the two of them clearly.
"What is this...where are we!?" Exclaimed X, looking around in alarm, "Hey, what the hell are you upto, you asshole!?"
"I really hoped that I'd never have to reveal this particular power of mine, especially not to you," Sighed Neo, before turning to me, "I'll send you on ahead, Inoka, I'll be right behind you."
"Wait, what-!?" I began to inquire in bewilderment, when suddenly, I felt myself falling, before landing in a strange place...also, there were a couple of people staring at me.
Shit. I don't do well with crowds. Or being stared at.
"Huh? Uh, where'd you come from?" Inquired one of them, narrowing his eyes at me.
There were several things I wanted to question, the last few minutes have been nothing but bizarre, but the main question I had floating around in my head right now was...where the hell am I!?
———————————————————————————
Point-of-View: X
———————————————————————————
"Hey, what the hell are you upto, you bastard!?" I snapped, tightening my grip around his neck as I felt a sense of rising panic in me, "Damn it, why the fuck isn't my Nullification working!?"
"I'm not going to give you the details of my powers, Fake...but I guess it won't hurt to tell you this much; so long as we're in here, I'm the only one who can use any Skill powers. I'll see you around, if you manage to survive, that is...," He remarked with a smirk, "Now, then, Space Skill: Portal Filter."
An opening appeared beneath him and he began to fall through it...but I didn't.
"Y-you piece of shit, I'm not letting go, I'll tear your head right off-...hahaha, d-damn it, s-stop, hahaha!" I began, before he interrupted me by reaching back and tickling my sides, my grip around his neck loosening.
N-not good, I can't go through this portal, it felt like solid ground was beneath me, my grip continuing to loosen as he dropped down through it. I was stuck, my desperate attempts to ignore the tickling and tighten my grip on him were to no avail, and it wasn't long before he'd wrenched free of my grasp and was gone, the portal closing, leaving me floating in the darkness.
No...no, no, no, no, no...damn it, no! What the fuck did he just-...suddenly, another portal opened under me and this time, I fell through it...and the next thing I knew, I heard a loud splash, as a strong scent of salt invaded my nostrils, before I choked as water flooded my nose and mouth. Oh, no...ohhh, shit. You've...you've gotta be kidding me...
That shithead, Neo Cronje...that goddamn piece of shit bastard, he...he dropped me in the middle of the fucking ocean...!
———————————————————————————
Point-of-View: Neo Cronje
———————————————————————————
Whew, finally rid of her. Hope she dies, but she's annoyingly tenacious, so it's not impossible for her to find a way to survive...maybe I should've gone with a volcano instead. Nah, it's fine, it's only right that I let her cool off after subjecting her to the scorching heat of the Sahara desert. And even if she does survive, that's fine too, I'll just kill her next time. Assuming she survives, hopefully, at the very least, it'll take her a while to rejoin with Eden again.
Still, I'm not too pleased that she forced me to reveal more of my powers. I couldn't decapitate or cut her with my initial portal because she was clinging to me, I'd end up killing myself too.
And after I use my Space Skill: Portal and follow it up with Space Skill: Dimension to enter a separate dimension instead of connecting the portal to a different place in the physical realm, I can't cut anything or anyone using the portals, I have to fully discard them within a minute, or they'll end up being randomly portaled out somewhere.
"Hey, where is this!?" Snapped Inoka, as I entered the place I'd dropped him off at...specifically, the spot where Zoraiz was training with Mike.
Alright, then, let's forget about Fake for now, she's not going to be a problem for a while, maybe ever. Gotta say, I think I've done pretty well with this so far...considering that I've effectively been made to handle this assignment solo, I'd say that I've made some good progress. Three down, six more to go...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP