Since first gaining my power—I don't know how many hours, and sleepless nights I've spent imagining what I could—what I should do with it.
Training, and increasing the abilities I possess is easy—simple. What lies beyond that isn't.
I knew I had the power to do something... To help people, and change this messed up world for the better...
But I didn't know what that meant.
And this feeling of wanting to make a difference has been haunting me since I first discovered my power.
When I first used my sixth sense, it was a blessing. It was like seeing the world in an entirely new way... Now though, it sometimes feels like a curse—a constant reminder of everything wrong with the world.
No matter how I use my sixth sense, no matter how hard I try to ignore everything I feel, I can't.
The pain, the suffering, the despair—it's all so overwhelming.
I can feel it everywhere.
Violence, crime, death, destruction—I can feel it all. All the hatred, greed, ignorance, and selfishness. The burning injustices, the unfairness.
And I feel every single drop of it.
I can't escape it.
Even if I wanted to simply turn a blind eye to all of it, I wouldn't be able to.
If I want to change that—I need my power to be strong enough, but in order for it to be strong enough, I continue turning a blind eye to everything else.
I can't let the world go on like this.
I can't stand by and watch while innocent lives are destroyed.
I can't let the world grow worse—no, I can't even allow it to stay the same.
It's been almost a full year since I first took the lives of humans—at first, I thought I could use my power as a weapon of justice to cleanse the world of the humans that cause such indiscriminate suffering.
But I quickly discarded the idea of simply killing everyone deserving it. Because, in the end, it'd be a pointless endeavor.
If I killed everyone who deserves death, I'd still only be putting a band-aid on a tumor. No matter how much I kill, if I don't remove the cancer—the infection will spread.
In order to cure this disease, I need more than just my power.
Using my power as merely a weapon of punishment wouldn't solve anything. I could spend every second of my life killing criminals, and evil beings with my power—but that wouldn't change anything. Killing every criminal wouldn't change human nature.
I need a way to prevent the poison infecting the world from spreading further.
Truthfully—even now I lack a permanent solution.
However, I'm not short of moves.
So long as humans exist, crime will also exist. That's a fact that isn't going to change.
I can't make them stop committing crimes.
There's no way I can take away their free will... Right?
But, what if there was a way to reduce crime while simultaneously increasing my potential?
***
"Yoru... Seriously~, I understand the idea, but I can't emphasize enough... Don't push yourself too hard, getting things to work out the way you want would be almost impossible."
Erika sighs as she speaks.
We're sitting together in her lab as she tries to explain her concerns regarding my latest plan.
"You're right. It's a gamble dependent on the actions of other people, but I think it's worth it. The possible benefits of success is worth the uncertainty."
"Hmph. If you say so..."
She shakes her head lightly. "Still, I can't believe you're crazy enough to go through with this. Honestly, I don't know if I should be proud of you, or terrified."
"I don't mean to ask you for anything dangerous, but I'm asking you anyway. This is for the sake of humanity. Without your cooperation, I'll have no choice but to do this alone. I can't do this without you."
Apparently my words have more of an impact on Erika than I'd expected, because although she's reluctantly nodding along with my words, the light blush on her cheeks is clear that she's embarrassed.
I chuckle silently at her reaction.
Considering everything she's accomplished, it's always surprising to me that she's weak to praise.
"Hmmm—Fine~. You don't leave me with much of a choice. Again though, as your partner, I have to mention that trying to control criminals—even just the leadership isn't going to be simple, even with your power. There's no guarantee that it'll work out the way you hope, and there's no telling what kind of consequences it could lead to. Not to mention that I'm not sure if we should be taking such a risk with our safety, considering how powerful your ability is."
"I know. But if we do this together, we have the chance to vastly reduce the the suffering inflicted upon innocent people by criminals."
"Well, I'm not saying I disagree with the goal. But I can't say I'm comfortable with the risks involved in this. Even if some of them are good people—they're still criminals. If you directly control them, they'll always be looking for an out. And if they betray us—it will have been a lot of work for nothing."
"Then we'll have to be extra careful in choosing those who we decide to involve."
"If you say so..."
As she murmurs, Erika's voice trails off.
"...Just don't go getting yourself hurt, please."
Her words come out in a whisper, I only notice them due to my sixth sense.
"...I won't."
Within New Eden, the vast majority of crime, and the darkest parts of society can in some way be tied to two primary organizations.
The massive crime syndicate based out of New Eden that also spans across multiple countries is known as The Triumvirate.
And the second, much smaller organization that really only has a large amount of power within New Eden—The Revol Pact.
Although both of them are technically criminal organizations, they couldn't be more different.
Beginning around four months ago, I started brainstorming a plan that would allow me to decrease the number of criminals targeting innocent people, and also allow me to increase the power of my own organization.
Due to the fact that the majority of crime, and criminals are controlled by two groups, it gives me a ripe opportunity. The start of my plan was this: By using my power, I'd directly eliminate one of the organizations entirely by targeting their leadership, and their infrastructure. And while doing this, I'd convince the leadership of the rival organization to follow my orders.
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When the only criminal organization within New Eden follows my orders, I'd be able to reform it into a new organization that would act based off of my orders, and rules. I'd essentially monopolize the dark parts of society, and by doing so, I'll be able to better prevent the innocent from becoming victims. With this, I could ensure the safety of innocent people by directly controlling the aggressors, and keeping them in check.
The main question with this plan is of course which criminal organization should be eliminated, and which should be reformed? In order to answer this, I needed to identify exactly who the leaders of these organizations were.
I began searching for clues to their identities, but unfortunately, it wasn't easy.
Both organizations operate underground, and don't reveal their true identity to anyone outside of each others' inner circles.
They've become incredibly adept at hiding themselves from detection, and maintaining secrecy—so much so that finding out anything useful about either group was extremely difficult.
When I know what to look for, my sixth sense is the absolute pinnacle of search capabilities, but even then it's not perfect. If I don't know who, or what I'm searching for, it can be quite difficult.
Luckily though, my involvement with Rise, and the Painter investigation gave me the perfect opportunity. All it took was disabling a few security systems, a quick stop by the police's server room, and just like that—I was able to obtain all of the investigators records regarding both the Triumvirate, and the Revol Pact.
While it was certainly convenient, obtaining this data didn't give me any direct information on the specific individuals behind these organizations. Instead, what I received was a list of names, addresses, descriptions of various members of both organizations, and also the kind of crimes they were both involved in.
When I was first formulating this plan—I thought there'd be little difference between The Triumvirate, and the Revol Pact beyond the amount of resources, and power they possess.
My thought was "Well, they're both powerful crime syndicates—they're just different sides of the same coin." But when I actually looked at the details, I found myself surprised at how drastically different the two groups are.
To start with the basics: The Triumvirate is responsible for almost eighty percent of the organized crime committed inside New Eden, and they're in control of a similar proportion of the underground economy of New Eden.
During the Painter investigation, I thought that under my direction there was a possibility of The Triumvirate being reformed into something that could help humanity, and help create a better world.
I was dead wrong.
The Triumvirate can not exist in a perfect world.
By combining the data I obtained from the police with my sixth sense—I was able to concretely identify two of their three leaders. I'm still on the search for the third, but I've already found two of the three old geezers... But most importantly, I discovered exactly what kind of organization the Triumvirate truly is.
The Triumvirate is a culmination of the most disgusting, and evil elements of human nature.
In hindsight, it's obvious how they're able to control almost eighty percent of New Eden's underworld.
From the very beginning, it was built on a foundation of murder, deception, theft, extortion, blackmail, drug dealing, slavery, prostitution, child trafficking, slave labor, smuggling, human experimentation, torture, kidnapping... To name a few examples.
To the Triumvirate, blood, and human suffering are currency. No crime is too far so long as it gains them money, and power.
Even if it means destroying entire families, or even cities, it doesn't matter. As long as it increases profits, and the amount of power they wield, it's fine.
Honestly, one of the most surprising parts of this is that a lot of their crimes are entirely unknown to the police—I was only able to uncover the truth of what they are by using my sixth sense.
If I'm going to create a better world—There's no choice but to eliminate the Triumvirate.
Their crimes are far too abhorrent to ignore.
If I were to attempt to use them, reform them, or ignore their crimes—I'd be ignoring the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocents.
In a way, the Triumvirate made my choice for me—I'm going to eliminate them, and uproot them completely from New Eden.
Since I know which organization I'm going to erase—that leaves the organization I'm going to take control of, and reform into a group that follows my directions.
The Revol Pact.
Compared to the Triumvirate, the Revol Pact is much smaller. Upon learning what the Triumvirate was like, most of my research has been focused on the Revol Pact.
It's... An interesting organization.
Truthfully, I'd be tempted to call them idealists, more than criminals. They seem to genuinely care about protecting people from harm, and helping the powerless. Surprisingly, one of their most profitable revenue streams seems to be actually protecting people from the Triumvirate.
Revol apparently has very strict rules regarding the involvement of civilians. Their members must never commit crimes against civilians, nor participate in acts that cause unnecessary pain or suffering. Honestly, it's a surprise such a 'criminal' organization exists.
Somehow, they're able to function without putting their entire focus on money... It's really an anomaly.
Despite their seemingly noble intentions, however—the truth is, the Revol Pact is absolutely terrible at handling things.
They're completely incapable of handling the rapid growth, and resources of the Triumvirate. The Revol Pact seems primarily focused on protecting the people within their territory, rather than the usual goals of increasing power, and wealth.
I've spent a lot of time investigating them—trying to understand how they can function in such a manner. It just doesn't make sense from the perspective of a criminal organization.
And I believe I finally understand the situation.
Throughout the dark parts of New Eden, it's common knowledge that the Triumvirate has three leaders, however, the leadership of Revol Pact is less known.
In the police data, the leaders of Revol Pact were referred to as 'The Twin Monarchs of Revol'.
By continuously scanning all of New Eden, I was finally able to figure out who leads Revol—the 'Twin Monarchs of Revol' title makes quite a bit of sense.
No matter how I think about it—the only way an organization like Revol can exist is by having incredibly talented, and unquestioned leadership. Someone who could command respect and obedience from every member of their organization, and inspire them to protect everyone else.
As I observe the leaders of Revol with my sixth sense, I can understand how they'd be able to create, and lead such an organization.
Senovia Mavis, Age Twenty Four, born October Twentieth, 2012.
Ryu Mavis, Age Twenty Four, born October Twentieth, 2012.
Currently sitting together in an upper-class bar is the two 'Monarchs' of Revol.
It was quite the surprise to learn that the leaders of the second largest criminal organization in New Eden are twins.
Senovia Mavis... It's completely impossible for me to deny how beautiful she appears—even when I'm observing her with my sixth sense. I'm usually the last person to be affected by beauty alone, but her appearance is stunning enough that it feels like a physical blow.
Her dark skin is smooth and flawless, and her hair is a breathtaking silver color. Her eyes are large, and a deep brown color—the sharpness within them is unmistakable.
She wears a simple black jacket with somewhat plain looking street clothes, accentuated by a black choker. She looks elegant, and refined. There's nothing flashy about her outfit, yet despite that, it exudes confidence, and strength.
Ah...
Considering how impressive her... assets are, I feel as though I should avert my sixth sense from her.
She's sitting across from a young looking man—based on what I've learned, he's her younger twin brother. Ryu Mavis.
Like his sister, he has flawless dark skin, but unlike his sister, his hair is a deep black color, and slightly messy. His eyes are a cold brown, and while they may appear childish, they're piercingly intelligent.
He's maybe a bit shorter than average—he's pretty much the same height as his sister...
...yet they're both taller than me.
Again like his sister, Ryu Mavis is wearing casual black dress clothes, and a black choker adorning his neck. When observing them with my sixth sense, they really give off a similar feeling.
I wonder if they're aware of their similarity?
Scanning them closely, their faces do seem to resemble each other...
These two are undoubtedly the leaders of the Revol Pact...
Hmmm...
They're already locked in a bitter conflict with the Triumvirate—a winner takes all, loser gets destroyed situation. And they're losing.
I can use that.
These two siblings—everything I've learned about them points to them being idealists. In fact, I'd maybe go so far as to say they might actually be good people.
If they were simply ordinary criminals, I wouldn't hesitate to destroy them—but they're not.
That said, they aren't saints either.
If they had a chance to defeat the Triumvirate—and become the undisputed rulers of New Eden, I doubt they'd pass it up.
From their perspective, they're totally trapped in an unwinnable war. Their enemy has more money, more weapons, more men, and more power—and based on the grim expressions adorning their faces as they speak to each other, they know that as well.
But the thing is, they don't want to lose.
The logical choice may be to capitulate, and escape with some of their money, and resources. But if they're idealists wishing to make their ideals reality—then escaping isn't an option.
So instead, they're making the best of their current circumstances, and fighting until the end. Even if they die doing it.
This is why they need someone to lend them strength.
Someone strong enough to fight alongside them, and help turn the tide of war in their favor.
After analyzing everything I've gathered about them, I'm confident that Senovia and Ryu will agree to join forces with me—if I can provide them with a suitable plan to win the war against the Triumvirate.
I'll show these two heroes a miracle that proves I am worthy of their belief.