As depressing thoughts flooded Stare's mind, a sudden realization swept through him, instantly altering his fallen expression. His eyes slowly regained life.
He had been so focused on escaping the Oracle's Path and outsmarting the Oracle that he overlooked two important factors in all of this.
Firstly, the Oracle, although akin to fate, followed a predictable pattern with minor adjustments. Stare, having been its puppet for many cycles, likely understood how these patterns worked. For instance, like how he could discern that taking the Algos and attending a Hero Academy marked the beginning of the Oracle Path in this Cycle.
The second realization was that he wasn't the only main character in this plot or the ones preceding it. It took two Dyyxs to complete an Oracle's path and cycle, after all.
A plan quickly formed in Stare's mind.
If there was a chance of finally breaking free from the Oracle's Path, he needed to find his counterpart—the one person who had suffered the same fate as he had from the beginning: Y-204.
Stare could tell by now, based on his own experiences, that Y-204 had likely also awakened to the Oracle's Path. This made it easier for him; he no longer needed to search the entire New Earth for a single person. Instead, he could just go to the place the Path intended them to end up anyway.
In previous cycles, the path always seemed to lead them both to places where they could rapidly grow stronger, ultimately encountering each other and beginning their struggle with that fate of the world on the line. For this era, the Phoenix Hero Academy was the only place that fit that description best.
A smile briefly appeared on Stare's face as his expression visibly brightened.
His gaze returned to the man who had been silently observing him throughout his inner struggle and monologue.
He was about to say something when his vision suddenly inverted, as if the entire place had turned upside down or as if he himself had suddenly flipped.
A tingling, strange sensation started from his toes and spread throughout his entire body. It felt like tiny electric spiders creeping all over him, and his heart rate increased simultaneously. Then, suddenly, everything went blank.
When Stare's sight returned, he found himself no longer standing in his previous spot but now standing behind the strange man.
Somehow everything seemed to happen slowly but at once as well.
"Did I just... teleport?" Stare muttered with slight confusion.
Stare had lived through various cycles, assuming different abilities and identities in different eras. From the magical era to one blending magic and technology, and then to an era entirely replacing magic with technology, teleportation wasn't new to him. However, this was his first time doing so with an inherent ability rather than relying on an item, so he wasn't too familiar with it.
By now, the frail man had also turned around to look at Stare, who was now standing behind him. His smile seemed to dim slightly as he nodded.
"The final confirmation of your awakening, your first surge," the man stated.
He then touched his chin, a deep thought crossing his face.
"Teleportation... quite an interesting power to awaken. I assumed you'd awaken something more sparky or flammable with your type of temper," the man remarked.
He walked a little closer to Stare, his expression and tone growing more serious.
"You've taken an Algos and managed to be among the lucky 5% that awaken. You've ascended to the prime class of our species. However, to best harness and fully awaken this new power of yours, you'd need guidance from people with more experience and in a suitable environment. Hence, my request for you to attend a Hero Academy..."
"I might have forced you to become a prime, but I would like you to decide on your own how you'd rather use this opportunity—"
Before the man could finish his words, Stare suddenly interrupted him.
"Can you get me into Phoenix Hero Academy?"
The man was completely shocked by both Stare's question and reaction. For someone who had previously tried to avoid taking the Algos, even going as far as being dramatic about it, to suddenly accept it so easily and even choose an academy of his choice... it felt strange, almost like he was being taken advantage of.
'Was he being taken advantage of?'he wondered
After silently scanning Stare for a few seconds, the man shook the thought off and his signature smile returned to his face.
"I have some connections here and there... so yeah, I think we could work something out," he said.
Stare seemed to contemplate for a moment before nodding his head. That was enough.
With that, the two reached an agreement.
The man stretched out his hand for another handshake; however, Stare's gaze instantly turned cold and cautious as he quickly stepped back, avoiding the man's hand.
Stare's reaction seemed to amuse the man, who chuckled before retracting his hand.
"What's your name, kid?" he asked.
Stare, still keeping a safe distance and despite lingering issues with the man, cautiously muttered the word "Stare."
The man's expression instantly changed, and the way he looked at Stare also turned weird. "Stare? As in the word 'Staring'?" he asked, puzzled.
Observing Stare's continued silence on the matter and the ugly expression on his face, the frail man could only chuckle playfully.
"Wow... that's... that's an odd choice of name, a very odd choice. Well, Stare, how about we go meet your parents? I'm sure they'd be delighted to see their son becoming a Prime, and even more delighted to learn about his awesome benefactor."
A/N: ps I pronounced this as dii-yx in my head, I remember someone reading it as d*ck 😂, it isn't.