A fist landed on poor Astor’s face causing his nose to bleed and knocking him back into the bathroom wall. His assaulter paused midway before the second punch could land on our unlucky hero’s face. Astor did not notice the action because he paused as well. Information rushed into him like the boy that had attacked him.
> Congratulations [Astor Bracken]. Your skillsets have determined that you are bestowed the starter skill Charm. Also, for initial integration, you are granted the pool of Psi.
> Congratulations [Mitch Striges]. Evaluating your skillsets has determined that you are bestowed the starter skill Bash. Also, for initial integration, you are granted the pool of Aura.
Astor looked at his bully, holding his punch in midair above his face. Immediately before Astor was about to speak to him, the fire alarm went off and roared a blasting sound throughout the school. Mitch, the bully, As Astor came to think of him, set down his fists; both actors were bewildered about their new reality. Before either of them came to their senses or tried to evacuate the building, a little green creature came out of nowhere and jumped Astor, regrettably, to the floor with a tiny sharp knife in hand.
Mitch only glanced at Astor before turning and dashing away from the monster attempting to murder Astor. Astor, about to get stabbed, tried his best to fight the beast, grabbing the hands, holding the knife, and pushing it away. Unfortunately, Astor lacked the strength to stop what was, without mistake, a goblin trying to kill him, and with every second, the blade reached closer. Instinctively he did something he thought was impossible; he attempted to have his mind reach out to the goblin and try to mold it into being more friendly to him. As he performed the act, two bars appeared in his vision: green and purple, with the purple bar slightly beginning to decrease.
Astor started to hope for life as it does, but sadly it only lasted a second. Just like stopping the knife that is about to pierce him, Astor lacked the strength to change the mind of that goblin. Astor desperately searched for anything that could save him. In his frantic search, he saw the back of Mitch running away from him. And with no other option, he tried the same thing he did with the goblin a few seconds ago; Astor was terrified that it would fail like the goblin’s attempt and that Mitch’s mind would be too strong. He reached out; it was so simple to shape it. Astor could not do much to change the boy’s thoughts, memories, or actions. All he could do was make Mitch care about him as one might care about a friend, family, or loved one. To care enough that Mitch needed to save him. So, as the boy running toward the exit in the bathroom suddenly stopped and turned to look back at Astor, the guilt and desperation written on his face were enough to make Astor feel guilty for just a second. Only for a second, though, because that knife inched continually closer to ending his life.
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Seeing the fear in Astor’s eyes, Mitch sprinted as fast as he could, his fist raised to attack the monster attacking his ‘friend.’ As he ran, an Instinct took over him, and two bars appeared in his vision, one green and another red. As the red bar decreases, his hands start to glow red. And once he reached the goblin attacking his buddy Astor, he punched it as hard as possible; the little monster flew straight into the wall with a CRACK.
> Congratulations [Mitch Striges], you are a level 2 Aura user!
Green blood splatters everywhere, leaving only a dead goblin, Astor, and Mitch in the bathroom. Both boys were left looking at each other. As Mitch was about to reach out his hand to help Astor up from the ground, the feeling clouding his mind vanished.
He saw only the pathetic nerd on the floor, not the friend he desperately needed to save. And then a thought occurred to him, and Mitch boiled up with anger for what had just come to pass. He exploded, his fists began to glow a bright red, and he started to move toward Astor to kill him. Then he saw Astor’s eyes shine purple, confirming all his suspicions, but it was too late. Mitch could not hurt Astor. Yes, he knew Astor was controlling his mind somehow. He knew Astor undoubtedly was not his friend, but it didn’t matter. He did not like to see Astor in pain. He feared what Astor would think of him if he hurt him. He did not want Astor to hate him. So, the anger went away, and Mitch found it replaced with remorse, and he said, “Sorry.”
The fire alarm still screamed in the background. The corpse of the goblin was in front of Astor. He remained plagued with anxieties about what he was doing to Mitch. He did not like Mitch; Astor detested him. Mitch has humiliated, tormented, and beaten him for three years. He thought he would feel happy to hear a genuine apology. He was not. Not like this, at least. So, he turned away from Mitch and looked at the corpse on the ground. The smell hit him, and the fire alarm still blasted in the background. And it all became too much for Astor; he vomited on the floor, emptying the limited amount of lunch he had eaten before Mitch dragged him here.
The friendly pats on his back did not help. Astor tried to focus on the fire alarm. He sincerely wanted to ignore Mitch’s existence, but Mitch wasn’t allowing that. Instead, he led Astor to the sink to clean him up. Astor stopped Mitch from grabbing a paper towel to wipe the vomit around his mouth. He pushed Mitch away and splashed his face with water from the sink. Astor looked at himself in the mirror. He reviewed his pale skin, dark hair, skinning frame, small stature, and glowing purple eyes. The last time he looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes were not purple and utterly not glowing.
He looked at Mitch, who stood by the door watching him. He had to focus on his power. He did not know how long Mitch would take to regain control of his mind and body. He was afraid of what would happen when he regained control. Mitch would still be there, waiting to beat him up. It would be better if he stayed angry. He wished that he was still angry. But he was not. He was confused and scared. He wanted to go home. He was not supposed to be like this. He was supposed to hate Mitch. He was supposed to stay mad. He was not supposed to look like this. He felt weak and pathetic.
Astor wiped the vomit from his mouth with toilet paper. Mitch was standing next to him, watching him. He stepped forward and grabbed Astor by the shoulder. They walked out of the bathroom, past the fire alarm, and into the hallway.