It was astonishing how he could somehow understand the psionic lifeform, despite the latter's use of esoteric means to communicate.

In his limited perception and knowledge, perhaps this was something akin to directly speaking with his soul, implying that emotions were possibly the universal language spoken by all existence.

It was an otherworldly concept that seemed too far away for him to comprehend, making him keenly aware that he still had much to learn about the metaphysical world.

Despite the unusual means of interaction, Jay could figure out that the psionic lifeform was somehow unable to express complex information.

In human terms, it was like communicating with a weird baby that could somehow fully understand his intentions but could only express itself in terms of simple ideas one word at a time.

To be fair, it was only born recently, so it isn't too strange for it to be this way at the moment.

Nevertheless, he could still interact with it enough to facilitate communication, which had been one of the most important things on his to-do list recently because there were many things unclear to him that only it could answer.

The hello that he had spoken earlier had actually been responded to with a similar greeting.

This was a good sign because it meant that the psionic lifeform could actually understand human words and was amicable enough to communicate properly.

Perhaps it didn’t really understand his spoken words but the thoughts and emotions that accompanied them.

With such a likely possibility, he tried to keep his thoughts as clear as he could, despite the fact that he was still maintaining a delicate balance in his mental state just to endure the psionic lifeform’s presence.

Now that he had confirmed that they could communicate without any problems, Jay could finally ask the questions that had been living rent-free in his mind recently.

“There are so many things I want to ask you. Do you mind?”

Fortunately, the psionic lifeform was willing to oblige him.

“Thanks. I truly need this, or my heart won’t be at peace.”

“Hmm. Do you remember the time you first showed up?”

If someone saw him right now, it would only look like he was talking to himself.

As he was speaking, he wondered when he would acquire the ability to communicate with his mind.

Although he planned on speaking with it in the seclusion of his room if he could, there was always a chance that he would let down his guard in the future and get caught in public talking to himself.

“Oh. So you didn’t mean to do that at the time? Was my presence distracting enough for you?”

“There’s something compelling about me? I’m flattered. Can you tell me about it?”

It seemed like there was something within him that had drawn the psionic lifeform to him. He would have to keep this matter on the back of his mind.

“Just an instinct, huh. By the way, I used my ability last time and I was dragged into an alternate reality somehow. Do you happen to know anything about it?”

Of course, he also provided a brief description of his ability to give proper context.

“Oh. Too bad. Okay then. Just tell me next time if you ever discover something.”

Unfortunately, it seemed like it hadn’t experienced the hazy alternate reality with him.

Although it was Jay who had been asking questions, the psionic lifeform also had some things to say of its own.

Of course, it was still in the form of emotional fluctuations. Jay was still the only one speaking.

“No, I don’t really hate you for it. Well, except for that one time I lost control of my emotions due to stress.”

“Yes, I’m actually struggling to keep myself in check as we are talking right now.”

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“No, it’s fine. It’s not really your fault. Actually, I even grew stronger from it, so I would like to thank you instead.”

It seemed like the psionic lifeform regretted its botched attempts at communication, expressing that it had been unaware of the possible effects and interactions its existence would have with him.

“Oh, right. Where have you been all this time? I have been wondering about that.”

“Always by my side but not quite… Can you clarify?”

“So you don’t know, huh… It seems like both of us have much to learn.”

It seemed like the psionic lifeform had always done things by instinct during this time.

It was quite understandable, considering its age and the absence of nurturing individuals around it.

Its previous host didn’t count, though. Although the salaryman was technically its parent, the former wasn’t metaphysically-inclined enough to interact with it, unfortunately.

“So… What made you decide to show up now? I mean, last time ended up pretty badly for me, and I don’t think I had grown enough since last time to be certain that I wouldn’t be affected as much.”

“You’re saying that my enhanced ability also contributed to my increased tolerance? By contributed, you mean that there are other factors just as important, if not more?”

“I see now. So, it’s not just because of you refraining from direct contact with me.”

“Indeed, having awareness is winning half the battle. I admit I’m more mentally prepared now compared to last time, so my mental state hadn’t destabilized that much, giving me enough time to reach a balance.”

It seemed to be a recurring theme in the metaphysical world that mere awareness of a problem was usually enough of an advantage over it.

He would have to remember this whenever he faced unfavorable situations in the future, even with mundane ones.

“By the way, did Mr. Arthas and Mr. Vergil have any instructions for you? I don’t quite know how to proceed from now on. I’ve just been doing my own thing during this time.”

“Yes, the two middle-aged men, a long-haired one and a bald one.”

“They really said that? Then I’ll try my best to take care of you. No problem.”

The elders had already communicated to it that they intended to entrust its future to Jay.

Not that he had any problem with it, though. He felt that it was interesting to take care of such an unconventional but pleasant youngling.

It was like raising a baby, except that it wasn’t as bothersome.

“No, I don’t think they’re being mean to you. It’s just that your presence is actually dangerous to the people in our world.”

The psionic lifeform seemed to still hold a little bit of grudge towards the elders for capturing it out of nowhere.

However, during its time with Jay, the fact that its mere presence was somehow detrimental to the lifeforms of this world had gradually sunk in, which saddened it greatly.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it too much.”

He felt sorry for it, as it was unable to avoid the fate of unintentionally harming others due to its inherent nature.

Perhaps when he grew powerful enough, he could help it create a vessel that would allow it to interact with the physical world without negatively affecting others.

“Even so, we’ll find a way around it. Don’t you see what I’m doing right now? I think I’m handling things quite well.”

“You’re right. I can’t really maintain this deliberate balance for too long, to be honest.”

He had been engrossed in communicating with the psionic lifeform that he didn’t even notice that he still needed to counteract the intruding sadness.

To be fair, he quite enjoyed chatting with it, which actually greatly helped maintain the balance in his mental state.

Of course, he still had to consider mental fatigue in the end. There was just no way around it, as he was quite far from an ideal monk, who could somehow alter their mental states at will.

“Well, I still have a long way to go. I’m sure the time will soon come when I can actually perceive you with my own senses.”

He hoped that time would come sooner.

The possession of metaphysical senses would allow him to interact with it in a more engaging manner, not to mention that it would greatly improve his life in the metaphysical world in general.

“Alright, goodbye for now.”

Not long after the psionic lifeform had disappeared, Jay realized that he had forgotten to ask about its name, if it even had one.

He had already asked many questions yet he forgot to ask about this one.

It seemed like he had been too engrossed with the novelty of interacting with such an entity that he had forgotten about basic communication etiquette.

To be fair, it wasn’t like he was speaking to another person face to face.

It wasn’t unexpected of him to overlook certain things considering the strangeness of the situation.

Of course, they were bound to have many interactions in the future, so it wasn’t considered a pressing matter.

He planned on suggesting the name Sorrow, if it didn’t already have one.

He felt that it was the most poetic one among the synonyms for sadness, at least according to his tastes.

Of course, he could have chosen other names, such as Gloom, Grief, Weep, or Woe.

They were more concise and sounded more like actual names compared to the likes of Anguish, Despair, Misery, or Lament.

However, they also sounded like the names of fighting creatures from a certain franchise, so he wasn’t too keen on picking them.

-

It was around one after midnight, at the observation base on the southern outskirts of the city.

Arthas and Vergil were once again at their usual duty, conversing with each other every once in a while.

Of course, Jay would eventually come up in their conversation, especially when interesting things had happened concerning the former only recently.

“This student of yours is quite interesting, my friend.

First, he set up some sort of anonymous online investigation business, which is quite impressive. Then, he had actually managed to communicate with the psionic lifeform in such a short time.

I thought it would take him months, but the young man just never disappoints.”

Vergil spoke while fiddling with his phone, as usual. He didn’t have anything else to do at the moment, as the monitoring role was performed by his partner and he was only responsible for the action.

“Well, what can you say. I have a good eye for talent.

It’s also worth noting that we are somehow similar as a person. Excellent performance is nothing to be surprised about.”

Arthas felt happy for his student, and couldn’t help but flaunt in front of his partner. He was currently manipulating the Amplification Orb as he performed routine observation of the city.

“But enough jest for now. It seems like I would have to meet with him some other time to explain a few things.

It would be irresponsible of me as a teacher if I just let him explore on his own without guidance.”

“Oh? You’re not bringing me along?”

“I intend to visit him during this evening, and I recall that you have some business to attend to at the time.”

“Right. Then say hello for me, and also sorry for just leaving him out of nowhere last time. I hope he’s not too vexed about that.”

“I don’t think so. He’s more reasonable than that, I assure you.”