"When power whispers in your ear, it doesn't speak of right or wrong—only of what must be done."
(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)
"How do you know about the Soul?"
My heart beat hard in my chest as I looked into my father's eyes.
My mother looked at us with an unreadable expression, but her eyes showed a bit of concern.
My father was said to be ruthless, especially when he was interrogating people, and now, I understand what they meant.
His eyes looked like they were peering right into my soul, as if he knew all my secrets.
I tried to calm myself down, steadying my breathing.
Should I tell him the truth? Be vague? Or lie?
My gaze remained locked with his, as if we were trying to see through each other.
Finally, I decided what to tell him.
"In the dungeon...I figured it out," I said, my gaze unwavering as his eyes narrowed.
"How so?" He asked, his voice commanding, demanding an answer.
"There was a book about it," I said, not telling him about the 'Prison'.
His eyes remained narrowed, but he dropped the subject for now.
My mother's gaze alternated between me and him, her concern growing as time went on.
She closed her eyes, finally speaking. "Why did you do it?"
I knew what her question meant. Why did you massacre the town?
I sighed internally. They would figure it out soon enough. The fact that I knew about the Soul was enough proof of my doings.
"The increase in size of my soul had started to stagnate," I said, trying to word my sentence well. "This was the only way."
They both sighed together. My mother's eyes remained closed, while my father leaned back into the couch, putting an arm over his eyes.
It hurt my heart to see them so worried, but I knew that this would happen, and I knew that they won't be too affected by it, which is because...
"Are you angry?" I asked, my voice solemn as I leaned towards them, resting my elbows on my knees.
My father sighed, not removing his hand from his eyes.
"We're not mad," my mother said, looking at me, her expression soft. "You were too...open with it."
I nodded, agreeing. But, I had Aiden Arceid tailing me, no matter how much I tried to hide it, he would find out, so I decided not to hide it at all.
After all, public opinion doesn't really matter, since I can control (blackmail) the World Nobles using the information I got from Shade.
"No use thinking about it now," my father said, straightening his posture. "We'll just have to deal with it."
My mother nodded in agreement, her expression was solemn, but her eyes were soft.
My father looked at me, his expression serious, but there was a glint of something in his eyes, it felt like...pride.
"What is the purpose of power, Amaya?" My father asked, his eyes closing.
"Survival, protection, and domination," she replied without hesitation, her eyes closing in sync with his.
My father leaned back into the couch again, his eyes still closed.
"Remember that Sukuna," he said, his voice grave. "Power is meant for survival in this world, first, to protect what you love, second, and to dominate the world, last."
A chill ran down my spine at his words. They hit something deep inside me.
"I understand," I say nodding, my voice barely a whisper as I tried to calm myself down.
They both opened their eyes, looking at me softly.
"Power is the currency of this world, but like money, one loses himself in it as well," my mother said, her voice carrying an undertone of concern.
"If you ever feel like you're losing yourself, Sukuna," my father continued, his voice solemn. "Talk to us."
I looked into their eyes, and all I could see was absolute sincerity.
A warm feeling welled up in me as I heard these words and the sincerity behind them.
Both my parents got up, the couches making slight creaking sounds as they rose to their feet. "We have a long day ahead," my mom said, slightly smiling.
My dad nodded in agreement, sighing. "Eva's up there, isn't she?" he asked, slightly smirking.
I nodded, a little embarrassed.
"She knows?" he asked, his voice becoming serious again.
I nodded, my embarrassment dissipating as my expression turned serious again.
"Make sure you comfort her," my mother said. "She'll be quite disturbed right now."
I nodded. "I will."
"But," I continued, grabbing their attention as their eyes turned to me. "I have something to do now."
They both sighed, but my dad was still smirking. "You never stop, do you?" he asked, playfully.
I smiled at them both. "I'll see you both later," I said as I started to walk away.
"Wait!" My mom suddenly said, causing me to turn around. She glanced at my dad, whose face gained a look of realization.
"You will be meeting Aiden Arceid in three days," my dad said, his voice going low.
I smirked, I was quite excited for this meeting, and the three day wait seemed to sound like forever.
"Okay, thanks," I said, smiling, as I turned back and walked out.
I could feel their gaze linger on me until I left their sight.
I wonder...how much will this change our relationship?
.
.
.
I walked on the stone path as the sun casted long, beautiful, yellow rays on the surroundings.
The flower along the path were shining brightly, their presence almost comforting as I walked up the mountain.
There was a slight smell of dew in the air. The smell was usually much more, but it was almost afternoon, which is why it wasn't noticeable now.
My sound of my footsteps on the gravel occasionally broke the peaceful silence.
I stopped, taking a deep breath, in front of a door, which was covered in vegetation, almost hidden from outside view.
This was a 'hidden base' that I created a long time ago.
No, it wouldn't be appropriate to say that 'I' created it, the one who controlled this body before I came here was the one who built this, in his childhood.
Sometimes, I wonder, who the person was who controlled this body before me, and...what happened to him?
I shrugged those thoughts aside, pushing open the door with a creak, which led to a passageway dug into the mountain.
I closed the door behind me as I walked, my footsteps echoing in the narrow hallway.
I stopped in front of a wooden door, my hand hovering over the knob as I took a deep breath again.
I pushed the door open, and what greeted my eyes was Elara, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
The bedsheet was crumpled, it was apparent that she had a hard time sleeping.
"Elara," I said, my voice soft as a warm smile spread on my face.
Her head snapped to me, her senses alert, but as she recognized me, her tense body relaxed.
She got up slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed, her expression was normal, but her eyes carried uncertainty.
"How're you feeling?" I asked, walking towards her and kneeling on the side of the bed.
Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I'm fine...I guess."
I raised my hand, pushing a strand of her hair away from her face.
Her eyes rose, meeting with mine, glinting with doubt. "What now?" She asked, her voice a whisper.
I stood up, and there was a small smile on my face, which could only be said to be wicked.
It was as if I was about to commit arson.
I extended my hand to her. "Now you take what they took from you back."
She hesitated, before putting her small hand on mine as I pulled her up.
We walked outside on the gravelly path. The journey was silent, out footsteps the only sound we could hear.
We walked for a few minutes before we reached a certain place, which was bustling with activity, the noisy chattering of people in the air.
Elara stood beside me. Her grip on my hand tightened, and she instinctively stepped closer as she looked at the surroundings.
It was her school.
To anyone else, it would look like a normal school, even better than an average one.
But to Elara, it was a torture chamber.
There were children of many lower nobles studying here, who were also the ones who made Elara's life a living hell.
I could feel her hand trembling on my own as I tightened the grip on it, my expression unchanging as I looked at the children running around.
I pulled out my phone with my free hand, opening an app called "BIG Button Elara"
I showed her the screen, on which an ominously glowing, big, red button was seen.
"This is your only chance," I said to her, pushing the phone closer. "Press this, and they'll never hurt you again."
Her eyes widened as she stared at the screen. "But this...will they..."
"Die?" I said, completing her sentence. "Yes, isn't that what you want?"
I pushed the phone into her hands, which trembled as she stared at the button, her fingers hovering over the screen.
My eyes narrowed as I looked at her not being able to make a decision. I thought that she wouldn't do it, the kindness in her heart would take over.
But, right at that moment, something changed, her eyes were filled with a darkness, an unending emptiness.
Her eyes closed as she remembered all the times she had been tormented, the acts they had done to her.
Eyes still closed, she pressed the button.
Time seemed to freeze as for a moment, nothing happened, Elara's eyes opened, her breathing unsteady.
Suddenly, a deafening sound reverberated in the air, the ground under us trembled as a huge explosion erupted in the middle of the school.
The ground inside the school cracked, debris blasted in all directions. The school had turned into a raging wall of flames.
A girl, who was running in the field with her friends, was flung into the air due to the explosion.
Her clothes burned and stuck to her skin. As she landed on the ground, her limbs twisted unnaturally, blood pooling beneath her, staining the grass red.
Her face was barely recognizable, charred beyond repair as she lay there, unmoving.
I deflected all the debris that came towards us, protecting Elara, who was looking at this scene wide-eyed.
Her eyes had widened in shock, but there was something else I could see in them... Satisfaction.
I couldn't help but feel satisfied looking at her. She had done it, and there was no going back now.
A wicked smile formed on my face as I patted her head. "Good job, Elara," I said, rubbing her head gently.
She didn't respond, her eyes locked onto the burning figures of the students, running around and screaming in pain.
I could see it in her, she had changed...she had become something much more useful.
I kept my hand on her head as we both looked at the fire slowly going out.
.
We walked back to our base, Elara beside me, her steps sluggish as she seemed to be tired.
Her expression of satisfaction was replaced by an empty look, but her eyes still burned with something familiar.
We reached our base, the door opening with a creak.
"Elara," I said, to which she slowly turned to me. "Rest."
She nodded as I took her to the bed, placing her on it gently and covering her with the blanket.
I looked at her innocent face, her slow breaths that got slower as time went on.
She had fallen asleep.
A small smile formed on my face unknowingly as I walked out, glancing at her one final time.
I walked down the gravelly path once more, looking at the clouds slowly shifting in the sky.
Power...Survival, Protection, Domination...huh?
These words repeated in my mind, no matter how much I distracted myself, they never left me.
Suddenly, my phone rang in my pocket, breaking my train of thoughts, I took it out to see a call.
It was a call from Nect.
I sighed, picking it up and putting it to my ear. "Hello?"
"CAKE!" A loud voice assaulted my ear from the other side, enthusiastic and bubbly. I instinctively pushed the phone farther from my ear.
I couldn't help but let out a small, tired laugh. "What do you even mean?"
"Let's have cake tomorrow," the voice said, a little more silent now.
I sighed, this girl didn't know anything that was happening, but maybe that was good, I could use some rest.
"Okay," I said. "When and where?"
"YAY!" The voice shouted again, causing me to push the phone away once more. "I'll message you!"
And she cut the call.
I sighed, looking at the clouds once again, but there was a small smile on my face.
I was right...this girl really is an enjoyable pain in the ass.
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The fact that so much of my writing was considered AI generated was bothering me, so I did a test.
I took a random essay topic from the web, and wrote on it, independently.
I then put it on an AI detector and guess what? IT SAYS IT'S 50% AI GENERATED.
The only reason I can think of is that AI has influenced me.
I use many words and phrases that aren't used too frequently. Such as 'reverberated', 'picturesque', 'guttural groan' and so on xD
(or maybe I'm just part AI)
.
Anyhow, how was this chapter?
gimme POWER STONES :3
2250 words :>