Chapter 217
Chapter 217
Six hours later, Kyon woke up because someone was shaking him violently by the shoulder.
«Wake up. It’s time to perform your duty.»
«The conjugal duty?»
«Dream on.» – The girl impatiently lifted her blouse, exposing her snow-white tummy. – «Quick! I don’t have much time.»
«What keeps you busy at 3 a.m.?»
«A pillow and a blanket.»
«Fair enough.» – Kyon nodded. He put his finger in her belly button and started the key cleaning. He was almost there.
When he completed 99%, Kyon released Synergy with extreme caution, trying not to touch the girl’s soul. He would hardly survive the heavy burden of her developed soul. As soon as he reached the last fragment of the channel, some unknown power pulled Synergy into her soul.
~Whoosh~
A blue flash lit up the whole building.
…
Time stood still for Kyon… Then everything blurred into a shimmering blue fog. An instant or an eternity later, he could discern the sound of countless footsteps. He struggled to open his eyes and found himself in a spacious building that looked like a palace with a rich interior, luxury crystal chandeliers, expensive soft carpets. A floor-to-ceiling silver mirror drew his attention. It occupied the whole wall. He also noticed flags with the emblem of… the Weber family. Servants in smart uniforms were scurrying around.
{Fuck!} – Kyon cursed, biting his lip. He didn’t know that it was impossible to clean the hundredth percent of the key (channel) without touching the soul. There was nothing he could do. He had no game plan. He’d have to improvise.
Kyon calmed down and began to think soberly and rationally. – {So… The situation looks like the previous one: a total absence of development and Synergy. I still have the things I had at the moment of getting into this illusion. The only thing of value is the gun in the ring. But I can’t take it out without someone’s help..}
Kyon looked around, studying people. – {Apparently, I am in the lair of the ex-family number one in Rosarrio empire, the Webers. Servants are unlikely to bother me. They would never suspect that an uninvited guest could get inside. I must act decisively…}
He came up to the nearest three servants. The first helped him to take out the gun. The second told him the date, and the third let him know the exact location of the mansion.
He happened to be back in time, a decade ago!
{Damn it! Am I going to be a witness of the elimination of the whole Weber family?!} – Just the thought of it made Kyon’s hair stood up on the back of his head. The idea of what would happen if he died in this illusory little world struck a chill into his heart.
«Leon, where are you taking me?! What happened!?»
A tall, handsome man with strong facial features, dressed in elegant clothes, led a little girl by the hand. The black-haired beauty looked about ten years old.
«I don’t have time to talk!» – The man said sternly.
The girl was about to cry. Tears welled up her eyes. – «You’re scaring me, uncle! Tell me, what’s going on? Why are you being so rude?! I want to daddy…»
Kyon came back to his senses. – {If tragedy is inevitable, the uncle is trying to save the girl in some kind of shelter… I must follow them!} – An ominous feeling overcame him, a keen sense of impending danger. He ran after the girl and her uncle.
When they turned into the corridor, Kyon almost caught up with them and said loudly:
«Sir…» – At this very moment, Kyon felt immense pressure crushing him as if a many-ton anvil had fallen on his head. Everything went dark, blood flowed from his ears and nose. There was a weird metallic taste in his mouth.
The girl screamed shrilly. Leon closed her mouth, grabbed her by her side and disappeared at an insane speed.
It took Kyon some time to recover. A hammering in his head didn’t stop, his eyes were bloodshot. He could have been instantly killed. Leon wasn’t inclined to talk with anyone. He was about to finish him off, but for some reason, he didn’t. What a cruel, cold-blooded bastard! He might have taken Kyon with them!
Kyon hobbled to the hall and hid, expecting the inevitable.
A tall, handsome man entered the hall. A thirteen-year-old boy followed him. They resembled the girl a lot, which suggested the idea they all were closely related. The man and the boy smiled happily, carrying on an animated conversation.
The hordes of servants took a humble position, greeting their masters.
«Rafael, stop bickering! The red dragon saber will be only yours!»
«But dad, hundreds of families will fight for it at the auction! It’s too expensive! I don’t deserve to have it! Let the Valentines take it! Or The Steins…»
«Believe me, you deserve it! You are a born sabrist. Only master Yan can fight you on equal terms! Mother would admire you, and I’m so proud of you! If you still think you don’t deserve it, consider my gift as an investment in the future. You will pay off your debt when you are the leader of the younger generation in the empire.»
The boy grumbled. – «You’re a madman, dad!»
Suddenly, a powerful pressure wave swept over the hall. The front door was knocked down. The dead guards flew inside together with the door. A group of people in frightening black masks burst into the room, brandishing swords made of noble metal. Before the servants knew it, they all dropped headless. Blood squirted on the floor. Horror reigned. The scene was total chaos.
The patriarch furiously stamped his foot on the floor, sending cracks all around, and roared:
«How dare you break into my house?! Who you are?!» – With these words, he drew a large sword and attacked.
A sparkling arch of enormous power headed for the intruders.
The masked people held out their hands all at once, creating a powerful barrier.
~BAM~
The impact of the collision shattered the windows. The barrier cracked.
The man seized the moment, grabbed pale Rafael by the side and rushed to the shelter. However, dozens of people in black had already invaded the hall, cutting off their retreat.
«If you want me to fight you, I will! But let my son go! Be decent!» – His roaring voice sounded imploring.
Three uninvited guests with a particularly impressive aura stepped out. They left a high-speed motion blur and aimed their weapons at the boy.
«BASTARDS!» – The patriarch roared, trying to protect his son but was seriously injured.
Then something terrible happened. Kyon, who was hiding under the table, felt a chill crawl up his spine.
The masked people cut off the patriarch’s arms, slowly as if enjoying the process. Then they beheaded him, ignoring his pleas to spare his son’s life. The desperate father suffered in agony, letting out loud death rattle. He had enough time to realize what was happening and see the pale face of his shocked boy. They were holding him by the hair, slapping him in the face so that he wouldn’t faint. Before his death, the patriarch could see the whole scale of the catastrophe that his family was facing…
«А-аа-а-а-аа-а-аh! Don’t kill me! Have mercy on me!» – Raphael cried, hot tears rolling down his cheeks, horror writhing in his guts. The innocent boy hadn’t yet known life. He had big plans for the future. He was not ready to die. His time had just come!
However, the ruthless people ignored his plea. They grabbed the boy by the head and began to cut it off slowly. Seconds dragged like hours. It wasn’t just a massacre but hell on earth with Satan as a leader. The poor boy died with a petrified face. Desperation froze in his tear-stained eyes. The patriarch’s son, lady fortune’s favorite boy, died a terrible death.
Kyon was in a state of shock. Suddenly, he heard a high squeal, or rather death howl resounding everywhere. Goosebumps rose on his skin, dread choked his throat. The world itself seemed to be in unimaginable pain, letting out a desperate groan.
Somehow the howl resonated with the nucleus in his soul. Kyon identified its source – the massive mirror on the wall. And then it dawned on him. It was a one-way mirror! It was transparent from the other side like ordinary glass. That’s where Leon and the girl had been hiding. She saw her father die in hellish pain and her elder brother’s terrible death. This piercing death howl was coming from her. Kyon couldn’t even imagine how terrified she must feel after seeing the execution of her family.
Before Kyon could open his mouth, he saw a masked man sending an azure flash with his hand. An instant and he died.
…
Kyon woke up in the same room. The little thief was standing near him, shaking and shuddering. Her face was swollen, her eyes running; she emanated a very dense aura that could burn with cold and gloom. She looked like she was about to kill someone.
After a moment’s hesitation, she disappeared and left the room. She didn’t even check the result of today’s cleaning. The events in the illusory world must have greatly affected her emotional state, just like it had happened to Juno before. The girl had left because she needed to be alone to get through the horrendous moment of her life.
Then things started to go weird. Kyon couldn’t believe it was really happening to him. The connection with his soul had disappeared, his vision had become blurry. His hearing had deteriorated drastically. The sounds he could hear were like an echo in a huge trumpet. He had lost his sense of smell altogether. His sense of balance let him down, making him dizzy. His developed nervous system failed: his limbs were trembling, his heart started beating irregularly, his organs and muscles didn’t perform their functions properly. He couldn’t make any movement, even an ordinary wave of the hand as easily as before.
{Uhm… What the fuck?}
When Kyon scanned his body, he was horrified by what he found out. He saw his body collapse. He had already watched this process when the rat’s soul left its body. The neural connections were tearing apart, the cells were gradually falling apart. His metabolism was disrupted. Chaos reigned everywhere. Everything was slowly breaking down, and the process of destruction was gradually accelerating.
He found out a simple and frightening truth. A game of chance started every time he touched someone’s soul with Synergy, with his soul at stake. If he won, he would capture the loser’s soul and body. However, if he failed, he would die…
Kyon had lost, and now his soul belonged to the little thief. He had given her the most valuable thing he had. His soul had changed frequency and was now equal to the girl’s. Consequently, all the energy in the physical world that had the previous frequency was being gradually erased from the universe. His body was falling apart, all his formations were smoldering and dissipating.
Kyon could tell that his soul didn’t belong to him anymore. It was trying to take away his memories and life experience. Perhaps that’s why his soul was still holding at the keys and had not left him, turning him into a spineless zombie.
{Fuck!} – He cursed loudly. Only Synergy had remained. It didn’t betray him and still had the same frequency.
Kyon ordered Synergy to heal his body, run all the mental processes, hold tight to the memories and never let the soul take them from him. As a result, his movements became more confident, even his organs worked properly again.
The situation was taking a dangerous turn. The situation was far from the best. Kyon had no idea how he was going to survive. With time, he would run out of Synergy die.
{What shall I do?! I have to find a way out!} – Kyon was thinking hard. Synergy was running out with every second. His life had become like water, slipping through his fingers.
He thought about hundreds of books he had read, about everything he had experienced, everything he had known or believed possible… Then he came up with a kind of rescue plan, even though it was highly unlikely.
Kyon ran out of the house so fast as if demons were chasing him. He came to the stable, mounted his horse and headed to the Stone territory. It was a dangerous place for him to be, where everyone was looking for him, his grandfather wanted to get him executed, and his mother wanted to look him in the eyes and ask “why are you such a terrible son?”