A perfect memory, while to most, it'd irrefutably be a blessing, since it could actually make their lives much more convenient in various ways, but the catch was that, they couldn't be selective about what to remember or not.
To Jogin, it'd irrefutably be one of the biggest curses he'd been bestowed upon since birth. But if he had to choose... he'd want to remember how he murdered his own mother, to remember the sins he'd committed. There was no way he could lead any happy life at that point...
He couldn't control his powers and drained the "life force" of his mother, which was then transferred from his right arm to his tail through his bones and joints.
After what Jogrin did, it was only that the gynecologists wouldn't want to be in contact with him any longer, so he was dropped on the floor and sustained some scratches and fractures, but they were healed in mere seconds.
With the gain of self-awareness, all sorts of emotions welled up within him. Just like what happened back at the military hospital, his powers from Dark Matter was released. At the mere look at the ominous phenomenon that even Darkians had never seen before, the gynecologists ran amok, leaving Jogrin... and the corpse of his mother behind.
...
As Jogrin was about to use the bombardment at the hospital as an example, he was shushed by Proxer before he could. Having understood his intentions, Jogrin complied.
As for Naytia, there was no sign of her getting emotional like she did at the beginning of Jogrin's retelling of his past, from both observation and "emotional perception". Instead, she'd been the calmest since he first met her.
"If it's too much for you to keep going, you don't have to."
In response to Jogrin's pause, Naytia told him, again, in a composed tone. Proxer, on the other hand, was clearly feeling downcast. Other than fright, that was one of the normal reactions, but Jogrin couldn't comprehend Naytia's since it didn't make sense to him.
"It's fine. Let's keep going." Jogrin urged them to keep up with their steps as he continued.
...
Other than the gynecologists, there was one other person near him. He was none other than one of his parents: his father.
A dismal tragedy. Hopelessness, despair were what loomed within the room where Jogrin was born in.
After the atrocious display of his powers, albeit inadvertently, Jogrin would definitely, immediately become a target of condemnation.
However, that didn't seem to apply to his father who was standing on the side with a pair, blank look.
Other than fear, there appeared to be something else regarding his father's emotions. Though back then, Jogrin didn't possess "emotional perception", he could still tell.
Notwithstanding that, after realizing the cause of everything that'd taken place, Jogrin coerced himself to suppress his own emotions, so that the Dark Matter within him could be controlled.
Unfortunately for him, it was no easy task. Even with his utmost focus, he couldn't get the scene of his mother's death out of his head, and as a result, couldn't calm himself down.
His perfect memory was at fault.
Closing his eyes, the scene replayed as if it was recorded on a videotape. Opening his eyes, there lied his late mother. Averting his eyes, the room, and his father's expression would remind him of what he'd committed.
His father, on the other hand, had streams of tears on his face. Even Jogrin could tell he was feeling immense sadness and grief.
Jogrin didn't want him to cry. He had a thought that if he suppressed his emotions and keep his powers in check, everything would go back to normal... But deep down, he knew that it was nothing but delusion.
Somehow, looking at his father's crying face, he somehow manged to suppress it, albeit not completely.
"Maybe because he saw that I was in a trance, he suddenly came rushing over and wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up. 'What is he doing?' I wondered. After what I did to my mother, he still wanted to comfort me... He was a good father."
Jogrin wished to push him away, but he lacked the strength. Even so, at the same time, his inability to reject his father somehow brought him some peace in his mind, albeit only a little. Then he whispered something with a shaking voice.
Even with a well-developed mind, it still took time for it to develop its own language module. Hence, he couldn't quite comprehend the meaning of is father's words, but he could tell that they were words for consoling, words that meant well.
The tears of his father were dropping on his shoulder as Jogrin continued to push and push with all his might, but to no avail. Jogrin had to let his father know that he shouldn't stay so close to him.
With that desperate thought, Jogrin uttered his first ever words: "let go of me."
Upon hearing my voice which spoke those words without even the slightest bit of slurring, he inadvertently loosened his grip, so I swiftly backed away from him, so that he wouldn't suffer the same fate as my mother.
There was a shocked, uncomfortable look on his father's face. Jogrin didn't have "emotion perception" at that time, but he could tell that his father was fearful of him.
It was no surprise. A newborn being able to not only speak, but also jump backward and land so adeptly, was undoubtedly bewildering and eerie, let alone him taking the very life of the one who gave birth to him.
That was also when I had a clear look at my father. He was like a bigger version of Jogrin's current self, limbs that were like sticks, scrawny. The only difference was that, he had no tail.
Despite being clearly afraid, he was still steadily closing in on Jogrin, who kept glancing at his mother who wasn't moving anymore, signaling the consequences if he approached Jogrin again.
"I don't know if it was because he felt that it was his duty to stay with me because I was his son, or that he didn't want my powers to go berserk again, or because of a less likely reason: his fatherly love towards me... After he got close enough and squatted down, he grabbed both of my hands."
In other words, he even took the very hand that took the life of his beloved.
In contrast to his face that was distorted in fear seconds ago, it was now that of calmness. He wore a smile, but even without "emotion perception", Jogrin knew from the bottom of his heart that, that was a fake smile... His father was breaking down, but yet he chose to abandon his feelings to settle Jogrin down.
"What a great father."
No matter the motive, throwing himself at Jogrin was definitely a heroic deed.
At that moment, Jogrin hesitated to push his father away again. He had an inkling that if he did, his father's heart was surely going to crumble completely.
'Why should he have to suffer when I was the perpetrator?' That was how Jogrin felt towards his father.
"A dauntless hero, unlike me, who's a merciless killer."
Jogrin lost his strength as he looked at the state of his father whose heart and mentality were barely intact.
Some people entered the room abruptly, with hostile looks on their faces. It looked like they were there to eliminate Jogrin. Jogrin's father immediately stood up, with the infant in his arms. He grabbed the closest piece of cloth sheet and covered Jogrin's body with it.
Then, with the sound of a heart beat which reverberated in the room, Jogrin felt a huge impact, the next thing he knew, the wall was shattered. And with another heart beat, his father leapt out through the wall. Those who broke into the room shot at them with some kind of retractable, black line that extended from their palms.
Some of those lines grazed his father, but enduring the pain, he kept leaping further and further until they were nowhere to be seen...
His father then brought him to somewhere with no one else around, in an abandoned, dilapidated house.
"It looks like this one."
Jogrin pointed at a house with holes all over it. It was a surprise that it hadn't collapsed yet.
This house was, of course, their destination, where Jogrin would be staying in.