Normally when I use my ability…

My power to manipulate someone’s mind.

Things turn out a lot differently.

Granted everyone I used it on before couldn’t use Either.

But, I’m supposed to have complete control in this space.

Control to freely manipulate this space of reality.

I could easily alter memories and destroy people’s minds from the inside.

But, she’s different.

Terios, the real Terios. Not the one who stood over the distorted body of the researcher was floating aimlessly.

He was invisible here. This was him being shown a memory from his mind, a memory he didn’t want to see again.

Abigail was someone not to take lightly. Even with this surprise attack, she was able to defend against it and plan out a counterattack.

Not many could be this efficient. It was also very unlucky that she was also adept at mental attacks.

I can’t fuck around here.

I have to win!

I could end up in a worse state if I lose this.

Healing from physical wounds is easy. But, healing from a mental one…

Some people don’t come back from that.

He started to float away from the scene… and out of the exit he took when he first left Vin-Sync. As he did this he was left spiraling toward an endless abyss. Everything was dark… even so, he continued to press on until a light emitted.

It’s my turn… to attack.

She wants to play with my memories, let’s find something of hers to exploit!

The endless abyss started to be engulfed with light. A picture was painted by an unseen force. Kain was now floating inside an office building. It was a fair-sized room, most likely belonging to some CEO.

There was an older man with graying hair in a suit and tie. He was sitting at his desk which was in front of a large glass window. He was looking down at the world while drowning in money most likely.

“Ahh!”

The main groaned. His head leaned back against his chair. His eyes stared straight up at the ceiling. That’s when Kain noticed someone was under his desk. It was most likely Abigail if this memory had such significance to her.

“That’s a good girl. Abigail, I wouldn’t picture a pampered woman like yourself would be so good at sucking dick.” He said with a crooked smile.

This went on for a bit until the man finally reached his goal. While most would look away, Kain stares intensely at this scene. He was confused… but also intrigued by this.

She did this…

Abigail’s face was red. Her eyes were blank and she was seen swallowing something. As she did this the man seemed to smile at her before poking her rear.

“I did everything you wanted… that and so much more. Will you give me what you promised?”

“Abigail… you have been such a good girl~. Please attend this upcoming meeting. The results you seek will be there.”

“Okay…” She said as she held her head down in shame, walking slowly out of the office.

Kain walked out with her and soon a bright flash of light engulfed everything once again. He was now at the meeting with more people in fancy suits. There was a long ass table that many people sat at and the same man was standing giving a speech.

“I am proud of every single person here in this room today. Sadly, there can only be one person who can obtain this role. Everything I do… every decision I make, I want it to be fair. The numbers have spoken and the results are in.”

Everyone looked on in suspense. The boss loved this. He then turned his head towards Abigail and smiled. “Abigail.”

The woman stood up immediately. Tears started to flow down her eyes as she smiled. “Thank you so much…! From the bottom of my heart-”

“You were close… very close this year.”

“...W-what?”

“But I’m afraid Shelly had… a slightly better game plan. She sold more units than you in such a short time.”

The woman stood up and cheered. Another co-worker popped a nearby champagne bottle and everyone started clapping. The sound this made drowned out everything else. Abigail could only look on in shame.

“You… promised…”

Next.

The day was over. The CEO was walking towards his luxury car while Abigail was quickly walking behind him. She soon called out his name as she wanted an explanation.

“I don’t understand! I did everything you asked! I answered every late-night text, cleaned, cooked your meals, and even broke up with my boyfriend! Why wasn’t it enough for you!?”

The boss sighed. “I’ll tell you why, Abigail. It’s because Shelly was better. She had a better head game, she cooked better meals, and she broke up with her fiance!”

“W-what?” Abigail looked at him dumbfounded, dropping her purse in the process.

“You think you’re the only fucking one who sleeps with their boss for an easy promotion? You naive bitch. You want to know what your problem is?”

“...”

“Your problem is that you don’t want it enough. You cry, bitch, and moan about working here for five years and not getting a promotion. But, when I give you a chance you check out.”

“Because it’s wrong!”

“Who gives a fuck if it’s wrong? Didn’t your parents tell you to put effort into whatever you do? That’s why you failed! There’s nothing more exciting than seeing someone fully submit to you. But, you want to know what’s even better than that?”

“...What…?”

“Someone so driven by their goals that they willingly give into their inner darkness. That’s the shit that gets my rocks off. You didn’t have that IT factor, but maybe it’s time for a change of scenery. I don’t think I have any more use for you.”

“You… you can’t just fire me.”

“I’m the fucking boss, I can do whatever the fuck I want, bitch!” He said as he hopped into his Tesla. “You have two weeks since I’m such a nice guy.”

Abigail was left alone… falling onto her knees as she began to bawl her eyes out.

The real Abigail soon revealed herself, floating beside Kain as she spoke out softly.

Stolen story; please report.

“I was an idiot. But, I was desperate to make a name for myself. I went to school for four years and I was still doing terrible.”

Kain didn’t even look at her. He just stared off into the distance.

“There are no shortcuts. Couldn’t you have found another job?”

“Like it’s that simple. I was lucky to get this job. I wasn’t going to take such a huge risk.”

“...”

“We shouldn’t hurt each other like this. We have access… to very private moments. We both aren’t ready to face that.”

“I would say that I’m sorry you had to go through this. But, where things stand you deserve this.”

“Look, boy. You’re pushing your luck.”

“Everyone goes through hard shit, so what? You ruined so many people’s lives. You’re selfish.”

“I’m selfish? After all the people you killed?”

“So what? Those bastards got in my way.”

“Look who’s selfish now. You killed all those people for your freedom. Yet, what do you think is wrong? You’re a hypocrite!”

“...”

“I wonder how she would think of how awful you turned out.”

“Abigail.”

“Why don’t we find out?”

“I’m warning you. If you do this I will kill you.”

Abigail soon faded. Everything went black one more. Kain was visibly upset and she was wandering through his mind. What the hell was she going to make him relive now?

“How can you be so cold all the time?” Terios’ voice echoed through the cafeteria of the research facility.

“It’s easier that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Killing demons… it’s nothing like the videos… when I first killed one it fucked me up. I felt so detached from myself.”

“Why? Demons are evil. They are the bad guys, silly!”

“That’s what they want you to think. But, anyone can be bad. Anyone can be good.”

“... I don’t get it.”

“I’m a bad person… because I’m afraid. I can’t run away, so I’m forced to continue killing. To cope with it…” She sighed as she looked down at her lap. “I have to become a very bad person.”

“Setsuna… you’re the kindest person I know. You’re always nice to me… You always look out for me.”

“You’re too soft, so I have to.”

“I know… and that’s why I… lo-”

“Can I join you guys?” A random genome asked.

“Go away,” Setsuna muttered bluntly.

The honest Kain floated above… watching all of this. He sighed a bit before clenching his fists in anger. Soon Abigail appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace.

“You never got to tell her how you felt? How you truly felt.”

Her touch and everything that he was witnessing was stimulating him the wrong way. He couldn’t help but feel a deep sadness swelling up within his chest. He did want to be held right now, but not by this person.

She was toxic. She made everything feel so wrong. He couldn’t help but feel a warm liquid sliding down his left eye. This was a rare occasion as he couldn’t even remember the last time he did this.

“Shut up…”

“Are you… crying? Oh Kain, you really loved this girl, didn’t you?”

This was a mental battle. The two of them were locked in a stalemate. They couldn’t move past this point, so they were trying to weaken the other’s resolve by reliving moments like these. Each one took a blow to their sanity. Once that composure cracked the other would win.

Kain couldn’t help but cover his ears. He didn’t want to hear this… not from her. However, this only gave Abigail more fuel as she taunted him.

“You love, love, love her! So cute~! Wait, what happened? Why didn’t you two get together?”

The tone in her voice was too cruel. It was pure evil to the genome. He pushed her off from him as he became agitated. He knew where she was going with this and he didn’t want to hear it. He couldn’t.

“Stop!!”

“Oh… because they put a bullet in her skull!!”

Soon the area started to shake violently. Terios clutched at his head and clenched his teeth. His eyes were clouded by darkness. Anger was swelling up within his body. A deep-seated rage was building up.

“Should we revisit that memory? Maybe I’ll alter it and have you witness her death! Would you like that~?”

She was about to win. He would crack and have a mental breakdown. Then after she endured his temper tantrum she would be free to alter those precious memories. It would be easy. She would just replace Setsuna with her.

Then she could control him; forever.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

Abigail smiled. Her eyes shimmered with delight as her victory was in sight!

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Her hand reached out to grab Kain’s throat as he was having his laughing fit. Her claws were now attempting to enter his mind directly, but before she could reach the center of his skull, his hand reached out to grab her wrist.

“You’re wrong.”

Something was very wrong. When someone was in this fragile state it would be easy to break through their resistance. Yet, she was stopped so easily. It wasn’t making any sense.

“What…?”

“I thought I loved Setsuna. But, I hated her.” His tone of voice was cold and empty.

“You’re… lying. You can’t fool me!”

“She’s the one who made me weak. Hearing things from her perspective. I thought it was wrong to kill. So I thought I had to detach myself as well. But, you were there, right?”

“...”

“When I killed all those people I loved it!”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Shall we go back then?”

Blood… the life force of one’s existence. Everything bleeds human… animals… demons… and even…

That pretty red liquid was splattered all over the wall… the floor and the ceiling. It was a gruesome tragedy. So many have lost their lives.

Bodies littered the place, lifeless and pale. Devoid of their vital essence. Why exactly did this happen…? The only person who knew this was standing in the middle of the room covered in the red.

There was no expression on his pale face. Instead, he merely stared off into the distance. It was calming…

. . .

. . .

. . .

The silence filled the room. Even the sound of the alarm had been blocked out. For once he could think clearly without any feelings getting in the way. This was true peace. This was true justice.

“There was something you left out… something you forgot, Abigail. My thoughts.” Kain muttered as he looked down on the scene and raised his arms to replay the exact thoughts he was thinking.

I… wanted to do that for years. I wanted to kill them all for years. I… finally did it.

I…

Finally…

Killed…

Them…

I only wish I could kill them all. I wish I could kill every last motherfucker in this place.

I hate them… I hate them all.

Abigail looked concerned with all of this. She soon started to bite her lip.

“These thoughts… these were my true thoughts! Years… if I didn’t have Setsuna’s bullshit in my head I would have done this years sooner!”

“Setsuna was your light! You cared deeply for her.”

“That bitch weakened me. She was the person I was closest to. I was mirroring her. Nothing else.” He sighed.

“That’s bullshit!”

His Either was highly attuned to feeling the emotions of others. The longer he spent time around them the stronger this link became. It was something he couldn’t control. Because he didn’t truly understand how it reacted he had no idea.

He could feel other people’s emotions. Sometimes this could warp his thoughts without him noticing. This often played tricks on his mind. It was a defect that the researchers of Vin-Sync made sure to fix with later models of genomes that may have had the same category of Either.

“It all makes sense now. Abigail thank you.”

“What the hell are you talking about!?”

“I never knew who I was. I still don’t. I can’t understand these fucking emotions. Half the time I don’t even know whose thoughts are mine.”

“Let go of me!!”

“Why? We’re just getting started.” He said as a smile crept up on his face. “All that extra noise in my head. They aren’t my thoughts. They aren’t my emotions. They aren’t my feelings. I’m numb to all of that bullshit! My only purpose is to kill demons. Now tell me something… what are you?”

“You can’t kill me. You aren’t stronger than me!”

“You’re in my world now. You’re powerless.”

“You’re bluffing!!” She struggled against Kain to no avail.

“Let me show you something…”

As he said this he released his grip on the woman. Everything became black… then light revealed… the truth.

“You bastard! You can’t!”

The light revealed the darkest aspect of people. Abigail was walking aimlessly through the city. No life in her body. Her skin was pale as she trod on while in her work clothes. Her life felt stagnant without the promotion she desperately craved.

“Men… are awful. They think they can get away with everything. They think they are untouchable. I wish I had… the power to…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a hand emerged and silenced her. She kept her mouth shut as she was dragged into a dark alley. Her body was tossed against a trash can as she cried out in pain.

“Fuck! What the hell!? Wait…” She looked up… seeing what had dragged her into this dark space. What she saw were red eyes and a disturbed stare.

“You look so good.”

“What the… no you’re a demon…! Help!? Someone h-”

She was once again silenced as he grabbed her face and covered her mouth. He slammed her against the dumpster and soon leaned in. Whispering into her ear as he begged for her understanding.

“I won’t kill you. You’re too beautiful to murder.”

Abigail screamed as loud as she could… but her screams were muffled. Soon she felt the man’s fangs puncturing her neck. It didn’t take long before her life force was drained. As he was sucking the blood she begged.

Nobody came to save her. Once he was finished he stared down at her corpse and merely left. Only then did people reacted and try to help her. But, it was too late.

The real Abigail stared at this and yelled.

“FUCK YOU!!”

“...”

“This memory was repressed… how… how the hell did you drag it up!?”

“You can’t hide from your past. I own everything I’ve done in the past and I don’t care. You… you still feel guilt.”

“You are a monster.”

“You lost everything on this day. Your humanity and your trust. You soon rose from your grave and realized that people would hunt you down.”

“... That is correct. Since you saw this… You know I’m not bad, Kain. I’m doing this so things like this don’t happen again!!”

“You lied and manipulated me and everyone.”

“Would you have agreed otherwise?”

“No. I have no interest in your goals. I don’t care.”

Abigail chuckled before she swore under her breath. “These men took everything from me! They made me feel worthless! Thanks to that damn demon I have to live in fear for the rest of my life!”

“Because of the hunters?”

“Hunters… other demons. I’m scared! I need a fortress of strong servants… so I can be protected! I won’t let anyone stand in my way! Not even you!!”

“To think I was afraid of you. But, deep down you’re just a scared little girl.”

“Demons are nothing but evil, Kain. What I’m doing could save everyone. We can stop these demons and keep you from Vin-Sync! That isn’t a lie. I plan on sticking by my word!!”

Her mental state was shifting. She was losing her cool and she didn’t feel in control. It was quite the opposite. He was the one in control now.

Terios merely shook his head. He held out his hand as his aura thickened. It easily went over and engulfed Abigail. She struggled for a bit, but there was no use. Once she realized this everything for her shattered.

“It’s over, Abigail.”

“...”

Soon they were brought back. This battle was decided.

Abigail started walking backward as her arms dangled. Drool was leaking from her mouth as her eyes stared lifelessly. “W-wh-” She tried to speak…

But, Kain knew he couldn’t waste a moment. His hand reached out toward her, blasting her back into a tree, roughly.

“P-please.” She was so dazed that she could barely form words.

He used his remaining aura to snap a tree branch off and then carved it into a makeshift stake. Then he flung it towards the demon. It didn’t take long, but soon she felt it pierce through her body, pinning her to the tree.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” She cried out as blood was gushing out of her stomach and her mouth. She tried to break free but was too weak and distraught.

“This… can’t be… it can’t be happening to me!” She cried out. She struggled, but even then she tried to remove the branch impaled into her body. But, it was like she was still waking up from a bad dream.

“It’s... over,” Kain said as he fell onto his knees. “Your manipulation is over. You’ll die from blood loss soon.”

Abigail continued to wince and whine until she finally realized that she had lost. It came as such a shock to her that she used what little strength she had to yell at the air!

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” After expelling all of her energy her body eventually fell limp.

Terios’ gaze then turned over toward Oasis. He was still knocked out. But, he was going to accept his offer. He didn’t know what was going to be in store for him. But, he was going to face it head-on.