535 Internal Strife (2)
“Once I was done giving him a piece of my mind, I sealed the conversation with a firm and crisp smack, which shut him up and stupified Brancie for some time. After that, POOF, I vanished like smoke in the wind.” Feeling proud of herself and trying her best to ignore the strain on her body due to the Gravity, Selene proudly stated.
“And that’s the gist of it, Darling; your brother is a brain-dead ape who only uses his heart and muscles to get through life.” It took Selene over half an hour to thoroughly explain what had transpired after Cynrik left the arena, and by the end of her narration, Cynrik’s frown was so deep it threatened to become a permanent fixture on his face.
After hearing the whole story, Cynrik did nothing but sigh aloud while sitting in the lotus position under 15.75g of Gravitational pressure. From time to time, the muscles on his body would writhe and twitch under strain, but overall, he and Selene adjusted equally to the increase.
“You…you’re not mad at me…right?” Selene finally said after hearing her boyfriend sigh for the 4th time in two minutes.
“No, what you did was fine; maybe you knocked some sense into his thick skull. But I doubt it; for the record, he wasn’t always like that. Well, not totally, that is. Brance always had a rough temper, even back on Earth, but this skewed sense of justice he has developed greatly inflated since our reincarnation.”
“Originally, he was always a pretty narrow-minded person, you could call him Lawful Good, but often my brother would waver into the Neutral Good territory. But now…now he is a borderline fanatic regarding justice and all things good.”
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Unlike himself, who had taken over an hour to get used to 15.5g before increasing it further, Selene had rushed in, faceplanted, and practically crawled over to him.
“The thing that worries me the most is how little the changes to our personalities truly affect you and me. It can be seen as a perfect fusion of new and old, considering we were both pretty cynical, to begin with, so our Æsir Blood merged neatly, and there was no real interference. Whereas with Brance, he did nearly a total 180 in personality. Going from being a grumpy asshole to an overbearing hero type.” Sitting up straight and flexing his back out, Cynrik rolled out his shoulders and leaned forward while speaking.
“Will it get worse? As time goes on, and you both go through more Turning Point quests, or our Bloodlines increase, whose to say he won’t lose himself completely to that righteousness?” Mimicking Cynrik’s posture and movements, Selene said while finding it slightly difficult to breathe.
“I have no idea. But so long as Brance can keep what I call Divinity Sickness at bay, he should be fine…I think. At least that’s how it’s going for me.” Shrugging his shoulders, Cynrik fell silent, allowing what he had said to sink in while giving Selene time for her body to get used to the increased Gravity.
—
Meanwhile, as Cynrik and Selene continued their resistance training, Brance, MyrkLys, Headmaster Rivia, and Instructor Garrison stood in silence, with everyone watching Brance while wearing worried expressions.
After what seemed like an eternity, Brance’s shoulders slumped, and he exhaled loudly in defeat. No matter how he thought about it and how many times he replayed the conversation with Selene, he couldn’t understand where he was wrong.
It was bad to hurt others who didn’t deserve it; it was bad to inflict permanent injuries unless it was a life-or-death situation. From every angle and analysis, he could find no flaw in his way of thinking, yet having lost the verbal boxing match with Selene and getting slapped in the face, Brance realized something was off.
Maybe he had changed since being reborn on Vinestra. This thought rattled around in his head for so long that it was causing him to have a headache.
“Look, Brance, I don’t know what the hell just happened, and I am not sure what to say…but I hope you understand that what Cynrik did today not only painted a massive target on your backs but also has the VSFA Board of directors in an uproar.” Breaking the silence, Geralt stepped up and gripped Brance’s right shoulder.
“They are demanding I pull you all from the Competition, or at the very least, forbid your brother from taking part under our name, and frankly, after watching what he did, I have half a mind to follow through with their demands.”
“It’s not just your necks on the line, but mine as well, for if I allow things to go on as they are, I have no doubt the board will try impeaching me to remove me from the position of Headmaster.”
Chuckling at his misfortune, Headmaster Rivia ignored the glances of MyrkLys, and the horrified look plastered across Garrison’s face.
“But do you know what I told them in response to the ultimatum?” Hearing the question, Brance finally turned and looked at the Headmaster inquisitively.
“I told them to shove it up their fucking ass. You see, although I don’t condone that shit he pulled, you guys broke a National Record and came out on top. Never in the history of our Academy has a Tier-3 team broken a record. You guys were the first, so although I came in here fuming mad, I was venting my frustration and trying to rough you guys up a little to keep that unruly brother of yours in check.”
“Sigh, of course you did,” shaking his head, Brance couldn’t help but roll his eyes. With regards to matters dealing with Cynrik, Geralt had already firmly cemented his reputation as a pushover, so Brance already saw through the Headmaster’s tough-guy act.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, not only are you guys trending worldwide, but you all have fan clubs and websites dedicated to each of you, especially Gabby, Selene, and Melody, who are being called the Three Fierce Fairies of VSFA.”
Gabby and Melody bumped fists and outwardly showed excitement while Benny and Kurza chuckled.
“Let me guess, Cynrik has a massive fan club, and there’s already a storm brewing because of it, isn’t there?” Massaging his temple and remembering how fans reacted in his past life, Brance felt the urge to start popping painkillers because this migraine was bound to last forever.
“That…well, pretty much. The public opinion of Cynrik has split down the middle, with half the internet chastising him for his actions, while the other half applauded the entertaining show he put on. Needless to say, Cynrik has carved a name for you all, and whether or not you appreciate or even like it, MyrkLys is now famous….well, in our Country, that is.”
“Great, that’s just what I needed; once Cyn finds out, his head will explode, along with his ego. This is exactly what he planned for. He called it hiding in plain sight.” Looking at the ceiling, Brance shook his head in annoyance before sighing loudly.
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