A group of three people strode on a vast grassland as tension loomed over their heads. The past of Jogrin that he had to endure up to this point, or even shaped who he was today. Undoubtedly, what was about to be broached here would be a heavy topic. Both Proxer and Naytia were aware of that.
"To give some background, I'm despised by my kind..." Jogrin continued as he shifted his gaze to Proxer, whose expression turned even more bitter. "As for the reason... I'm a murderer."
Proxer's eyes widened in shock as he took a step back. But he quickly regained his composure.
"Did you say... murderer?" He inadvertently blurted.
"Yes... you heard me correctly. I am but a despicable murderer. As for the victim of my wrath, it was my mother. She passed away the moment I was born, the moment I came out of the womb."
"Ho... hold on just a sec!! How could anyone be so certain that you..."
"If you remember, Proxer. I've told you that I'm the most powerful Darkian. Even my senses: vision, hearing, touch have all matured the moment I was born. Even my cognitive functions, including thinking, memory, were of the same."
It was like what Jogrin was saying came straight out of a fantasy. Proxer was in complete disbelief. His emotions were fluttering like crazy. Having sensed that, Jogrin paused and stared at him without showing any visible change in his emotions.
Naytia, on the other hand, didn't react ostensibly, but from "emotional perception", Jogrin could tell that she was completely frightened. Perhaps this was too much of a burden for her to bear.
"I suppose I should stop now. You look like you can't take anym..."
"It's fine to vent. No need to hold back." Proxer was strangely insistent on hearing about Jogrin's past.
"Your wife can't seem to take it, is what I'm trying to say."
Proxer turned his gaze towards Naytia and noticed her shivering. He felt shameful for not realizing it sooner. Still, he hugged her with his gentle arms and whispered to her.
"I'm sorry for not considering your feelings since I was so focused on the current topic... I appreciate you staying here for my sake, but I don't want to see you become scared like that. It's painful for me to watch..."
As they came to a temporary stop, Proxer assuaged Naytia's intense fear and attempted to persuade her to not force herself anymore.
"... I will see this through to the end... Jogrin, please continue..."
Despite Proxer's persuasion, Naytia insisted on listening. While Proxer was nonplussed about Naytia's insistence, Jogrin was able to figure out the reason behind that. It was not for him, but for Proxer, who suffered tremendously 5 years ago...
She wasn't able to share his burden because she didn't know how she could "stay by his side" back then. She didn't know how to do it to this very day, but from her perspective, the best she could do was stick it out, even if everything that came at them proved to be arduous to get by. There was one more thing he discerned from this.
Jogrin shot Naytia a questioning look. Having perseverance wasn't a bad thing in theory, but depending on certain circumstances, it might lead to irreversible consequences.
Upon noticing Jogrin's gaze, Naytia shuddered intensely, but it swiftly subsided. She lightly slapped her face with both of her small, slim hands to ready herself.
"Naytia..."
While worried about his wife, Proxer was impressed by how adamant she was. Jogrin wanted to tell him about his interpretation of Naytia's behavior, but he refrained from doing so in the end as he deduced that Proxer'd feel immensely guilty about it.
"Jogrin, please go on." While still in Proxer's arms, Naytia told Jogrin so in a composed tone.
After that, the couple released each other from their embrace again, and held each others' hands. The bond between them, from how Jogrin perceived it, was unbreakable, not in the slightest.
"... Then I will."
'Even with her desire to stay with Proxer through hard times, this can't quite explain her insistence in listening on. After hearing what I said, there was no doubt that she wanted to run away... Then after Proxer's comforting, her emotions were just... alleviated? Either that I still have much to learn regarding emotions, or... could there be something else going on?'
Jogrin wondered about the sudden change in Naytia's heart. She was extremely frightened by the fact that Jogrin was "a murderer", but it dissipated almost instantly. Such a drastic change shouldn't have been possible. Emotions would never just come and go like that.
The involvement of "mind tampering" was out of the window from the get-go, however, as he didn't sense Naytia's emotions going haywire like with the soldiers. Besides, her emotions weren't intensified, but subsided. Whichever the case, they just felt ominous.
"Jogrin?... You good?"
Nonetheless, now was the time to reveal what occurred during the time of his birth. It was better to not keep them waiting.
"Anyway, back to where I was."
After being given birth to, just like any other newborns, they were afraid. Supposedly, their poorly developed senses would actually help them adapt better, aiding them in removing themselves from the comfort zone that they'd been in for 10 months. However, that wasn't the case for Jogrin.
As he said, his senses were already fully developed. With all the visual, auditory, tactile stimulation, it was overwhelming for an infant since they also needed time to learn to effectively integrate sensations. Although his thinking was also developed, without any prior experiences of anything at all, he still wouldn't be able to understand what all the sensations meant. That was why, it was reasonable for Jogrin to be afraid due to receiving all the sensations for the first time.
The next thing he knew... his mother passed away. It was indeed because she'd given birth to Jogrin, but not directly.
He remembered it very clearly. He could never forget what he saw and felt at that time.
"I drained my mother's 'life force' with this." Jogrin held up his right hand while repeatedly gripping and releasing it.
Because of that, his mentality, reasoning, as well as other cognitive functions, had their developments accelerated. It was then did Jogrin come to realize what'd happened, what he'd done.
It was something nefarious, unforgivable.