Kestrel often watched battles on TV. They were exciting, full of surprises. The fighters would move back and forth, taking breaks in the beginning and middle to share their feelings.
But on a real battlefield, Kestrel found that everything happened quickly. Almost the second Ren finished speaking, she felt the sting of a blade cutting into her skin.
Kestrel grabbed her arm. It hurt, a lot. Even though there wasn't an actual wound, she could feel the sensation of skin being cut open and blood pouring out. The pain that her tendrils felt was passed directly to her.
She now understood that Ren's words weren't just a threat. If he cut off a tendril with his knife, she would feel the full pain of her arm being sliced off.
The tendrils holding the orca loosened a little because of the pain. The slippery, big fish took this chance, broke free from the tendrils, and swam off.
Once free, the orca darted straight at Kestrel at an incredible speed. Its powerful tail lifted high, causing a huge wave heading towards Kestrel.
Even under water, the powerful force of the wave was terrifying. If Kestrel were hit even a little by such a strong fin, she could lose half of her head.
Kestrel didn't know what would happen to her real body if she died here, in Ren's psychic sea. No one had taught her that. But it seemed like she was naturally born to deal with such psychic landscapes. In the middle of a super dangerous fight, she could quickly start to figure everything out.
The soft seawater flowing around her hid the subtle thoughts of the alpha. It was incredibly tiny, like dust scattered in the wide sea, but Kestrel noticed it.
She caught these dust particles and used them to peek into the alpha's thoughts. This allowed her to predict his attacks and just barely avoid the powerful strikes. A strong force brushed past her face, and although she barely dodged it, she was swept far away by the following whirlpool.
Kestrel clumsily spun around in the sea. She felt dizzy and confused, surrounded by memory bubbles made from scattered pieces. Each bubble held countless faces she didn't know.
Kestrel looked back while she was spinning. In the dark sea, a pair of light purple eyes shone like two cold flames burning deep underwater.
Those were the eyes of the orca. He was chasing her.
Those purple flames followed Kestrel at a speed that left a trail of purple light behind—Ren's huge psychic incarnation was catching up fast.
Kestrel was shocked because this guy, who was badly hurt and tired, with a weak spirit, could still have such a strong psychic incarnation. He could still launch such a powerful attack.
Kestrel had seen a lot of alphas before. They were all over the Tower, decked out in military uniforms and toting fancy guns, puffing up their chests like peacocks anytime a beta walked by. But their psychic incarnations were tame and their psychic landscapes so tiny that you could see it all in one glance.
They were nothing like this orca. This was a real soldier, battle-hardened from fighting monsters in the Polluted Zone every day. He was a fighter who'd come out bruised and bloody from countless fights. He fought fiercely and desperately, and his life was always on the line.
In the real world, Kestrel wouldn't stand a chance against this alpha, but here, in this psychic world, she felt she could win.
In this psychic world, their bodies were psychic forms, actual parts of their will. Here, she wasn't weak. In fact, she felt that as the fight went on, she got stronger.
Her dodges became quicker, her vision clearer, and she slowly learned to control everything. It was as if something was slowly waking up inside her, making her tendrils move. They grew even bigger, excitedly moving in some hidden place, continuously appearing from within.
Kestrel, who was quickly retreating with the help of the current, saw her tendrils finally catch the giant black and white orca again. They wrapped around his wrists, tail, and big body, pulling in different directions. They worked together to flip this sea beast over and pull him deeper into the water.
The half-human, half-orca alpha fought wildly in the water, messing up the peaceful sea grass and crushing lots of beautiful corals. The tendrils wrapped around him one by one. In the end, they pushed him onto the rough rocks on the sea floor.
Kestrel floated in the sea, watching the orca that was caught by her tendrils, stuck to the sea floor. The strong body fought a little at first, but then gave up. It let the tendrils cover it, one by one.
The tendrils seemed to have found a special treasure, moving freely, even going into the alpha's messy black hair a few times.
He didn't fight it. He closed his glowing purple eyes and when he opened them again, the glow was gone, turning them back to normal black. He was wrapped in tendrils, looking like he'd tried his best and was now accepting what was happening.
It looked like Kestrel had won this fight.
But something felt wrong to Kestrel. There were a few times when she was sure the alpha could have cut off some of her tendrils. She even got ready for the big pain that was coming. But it didn't happen, the super sharp blade seemed to stop at that moment. It was full of a feeling that Kestrel didn't have time to understand.
The recent battle had completely upset this beautiful and mysterious underwater world. Gorgeous corals were smashed, delicate sea grass was trampled, and all kinds of sea shells were turned over.
This was the alpha's built spiritual world. The broken, unstable things turned into memory bubbles. Tons of these memory bubbles rose from the sea floor, floating in all directions, open for Kestrel, the outsider, to see.
This was just the very outer part of the psychic landscape. If Kestrel went deeper, they would find twisting reefs and hidden underwater palaces to check out. They held countless secrets and had lost their only guard. They had no choice but to open their doors to the outsider.
Kestrel could easily go in, look around, control, or even destroy. But she knew she didn't need to go any further. The answers she was looking for were already in front of her.
Kestrel floated among the rising bubbles. She saw countless scenes from memory: scary monsters, soldiers covered in blood, endless dead bodies...
She looked at the trapped orca merman. The man was also looking at her through the twisted tentacles. His gray-black eyes stared at her through layers of tangled tentacles, like he was waiting for the end.
So, all of this was his plan. Kestrel suddenly understood everything. This was Ren's plan and his gamble. Kestrel was part of his calculated plan. But what he was betting was his own life.
"This guy is too tough on himself," Kestrel thought. To get out of the situation, he put his life and everything he had on the line.
Everything Kestrel saw in front of her was what he was willing to give up, what he was willing to show others. And Kestrel, even knowing everything was this man's plan, couldn't help but make a choice after seeing all of it.
Bubbles of all different sizes floated in front of Kestrel. Kestrel saw the alpha's countless past faces. There were smiles and sadness, faces full of blood-stained anger, and too much murderous intent. Not like now, stuck at the bottom of the sea, with a face full of dull gray, accepting his fate.
In the military yard in reality, more and more casual alphas were gathering from all around. The crowd huddled together, watching the beta who was standing on the gallows, in front of the criminal. She reached out her delicate, pale hand, and put it on the criminal's bloody forehead.
Not long after, the alpha, who had been tortured for several days but never made a noise, suddenly started struggling violently. His body, hanging from the gallows, swung wildly. The rough iron post began to sway, and the hanging chains clanked against each other, making a lot of noise. He was like a wild beast.
But the young and pretty girl, Kestrel, stood strong in front of the raging beast. She closed her eyes, her hand still pressing on the man's forehead, not letting him break free.
After a moment, Ren slumped like he had been beaten. His head hung low, his body went limp, and he let the iron chains tighten and suspend his arms.
"Can you believe it, is that a beta? Can a beta do that?"
"An alpha that strong was beaten by her?"
"Maybe Ren was about to lose his mind anyway. How many days has he been hanging here?"
"Still, it's hard to believe."
The crowd watching was shocked and started talking amongst themselves. Kestrel, standing on the platform, opened her eyes, looked around, and reached out her other arm. She touched the Cerebral Cylinder system, the machine that was connected to the screen, holding a human brain, showing the memories of the dead.
On Kestrel's wrist was something like a watch. As her hand touched the Cerebral Cylinder system, the screen on the watch lit up. Several small virtual screens popped up, quickly scrolling through rows of glowing characters.
This futuristic-looking device was way beyond the times and looked out of place against the dirt walls and iron racks around the yard.
"What is that thing?"
"You dummy, you haven't seen the world. That's an opticomputer, it can connect to all electronic devices."
"It's a fancy item you can only find in the old relics."
"Wow, this girl must be super rich."
"Don't be silly, how could any beta not be rich? If they're not matched with the royal family, then they're with the nobles."
While they were still talking, the big screen next to the gallows, which had been showing videos on a loop, went to static. After a moment, the screen flickered with several unstable images, then started showing some video again.
The scene in the video looked like it was still in the Polluted Zone, but the point of view was totally different.
The warped buildings in the Polluted Zone, the black path covered in snails, the huge spores in the sky, all were bright and detailed. Like they had been closely observed and firmly remembered.
A small group of soldiers was resting near a fire. Most of them were alphas. They were wearing tight uniforms and had all sorts of weapons.
Among them, a man wearing glasses, who looked like a researcher, was protectively situated at the center of the group. Even though the video had only been playing for a short time, the veterans watching it were nodding in approval. They recognized this as a highly trained, disciplined, and quite remarkable elite squad.
Their choice of resting spot was tactically sound. They were located within ruins that offered a high vantage point, and a large open area in front allowed them to spot any approaching threats from a distance.
Even so, they had sentries positioned at strategic points, and hidden guards lurked in the surrounding trees. The female alpha tasked with being the hidden guard was so still against the tree trunk, she practically blended in with it. If it weren't for the viewer's perspective on the screen, the viewers would hardly have noticed her.
Around the bonfire, the alphas were engaged in hushed conversations, eating, drinking, and regaining their strength. The firelight was reflected on their youthful or weathered faces. Even in such a relaxed moment, they held their food in one hand, while their other hand was habitually positioned near their side, ready to draw their weapons.
This was a seasoned team, able to handle any sudden emergencies. They must have built up years of mutual understanding, under the guidance of a disciplined and cohesive leader.
"This, this isn't the memory of the deceased researcher. Whose memory could this be?" Officer Hoo, watching from the window, stood up and took a few steps forward, murmuring in confusion,
"It couldn't be... could it?"
The alphas in the yard were still at a loss, each staring blankly at the new footage being displayed on the screen. The video playing on this screen, connected to the Cerebral Cylinder system, was someone's first-hand experience, a memory preserved in their mind.
Kestrel stood beneath the screen, one hand holding the criminal's head, her other hand on the interface of the Cerebral Cylinder system.
The crowd realized that the researcher they had seen in the photo, who was already deceased, actually appeared in the video, interacting with the group. "How can he be in someone else's field of vision? Whose memory is this?" They all wondered.
On the screen, a tall alpha near the bonfire stood up and walked toward the direction of the screen. He smiled, crouched down, and said to the 'camera', "Captain Sloan."