Chapitre 12: Someone will die [1]
Chapter 20: Someone will die
"Ah, it hurts," Ryan inhaled with difficulty, opening his eyes to find himself out of his hospital bed.
White smoke was leaving his mouth due to the freezing temperature inside.
He sat in an uncomfortable position, half of his upper body dangling out of a chair. His burned back felt unbearably painful at the sensation of the hard wooden chair.
"Ha ha-aah," he let out a painful groan.
'Where am I?' Blinking his eyes slowly he hardly saw anything.
'What happened? Ah, we lost; Elsa pulled the flag. And then... and I almost destroyed my body... and then what? Tracy and Jacob were crying, and Astin also came to visit...' His line of thought trailed off.
"You're finally awake." The consistently gentle voice wasn't so kind anymore as the seer pulled a chair and sat in front of Ryan, helping him sit up straight in passing.
"Grand-pa," Ryan uttered, already anticipating the seer's return upon receiving the news of his use of fire power. Still, he had prepared a countermeasure for this kind of situation the moment he messed up and showed a different ability from what the world consciousness showed the seer.
According to the novel and the script, the seer should have been busy dealing with the lows of society, cleaning up some dirty businesses of his that went slightly out of control.
"Did you get a good night's sleep?" The man said with an amiable smile, gentle as ever even though Ryan couldn't see, he was aware of the underlying killing intent hidden carefully under that facade.
"Do. Not. Mess… With- Me... You're. not. That O- older. Than. Me - I've. spent- T- too much time- pretending. I'm some innocent child."
"I almost forgot my real age," Ryan said slowly.
Unbeknownst to the seer, at that moment, radiation started seeping into Ryan's hand, where the parasite resided.
"Mhm," the seer mused and asked in a gentle voice as if talking to a child.
"So, how old are you, my dear grandson?"
"Why. Don't. You. Drop. The. Act. Already. It's. no . fun," Ryan said, suppressing a groan.
"Huh, you don't seem to realize the situation you're in." The seer sighed helplessly.
"The Seer lost his real name in the search for the truth of the world and was erased from the world record."
The stuttering disappeared at irregular intervals, yet the seer didn't seem to notice.
The parasite, which had been fused by the illusion power he had copied from Anna, Anna Walker, had unknowingly started to dissipate through Ryan's voice and into the air, shattering the surroundings around the seer and creating something akin to a new reality, it was a weak power that left a noticeable scar across the spacious room, as though a damaged screen of a TV, but it was ultimately effective against the seer who has no ability to counter mental abilities.
Ryan exhaled a secret sigh of relief, if the seer wasn't using an ability card to protect himself from physical attacks but chose to protect his sanity instead, he would have had no choice but to suffer.
'Thankfully the seer's weak body couldn't handle the load of having to use more than one ability card at a time.'
It also helped that the people around the world with mental attack abilities were so rare, they could easily be counted on two hands yet not fill all, so it was natural to not think that the weak orphan he brought may have dual abilities or more, which was unheard of.
The seer patiently waited for Ryan to finish talking.
Ryan continued, "32... years old. The seer lost half of his lifespan in the process."
The seer's hand that caressed the armrest paused.
"Ho... Who sent you to me?" The seer's eyes narrowed but it was only for a split second as he immediately regained his composer.
"Nobody sent me. You brought me here."
It was true; if the person in front of him hadn't betrayed Hiro, he probably would have never transmigrated here.
"Since when?"
"Cough. Since... the beginning."
"Who are you?" the seer asked.
"I am Ryan Cassier."
"So, you're not going to answer." The seer relaxed his shoulders.
He was tempted to use his power to see Ryan's past. But unfortunately, even that was costly for him.
"How did you do it?" He asked, and even when he didn't exactly specify, Ryan understood. He was asking how did he manage to lift the brainwashing.
Considering that every one of his actions were monitored, he still didn't come to know how come that an S class brainwashing card wasn't effective. Unless--
'Could it be that he came in contact with one of his parent...' The seer touched his chin.
"I burned it," Ryan lied with an upright, straight face in a matter of a fact that the seer unconsciously nodded in belief.
It could be that Ryan's fire was special, but even if he wanted to check, he decided against it and instead pulled out a mana concentrated potion and put it in front of him.
"You already know why I brought you here."
"To. K- kill- me," Ryan nodded, closing his eyes tiredly. If he drank that potion, the radiation in his body was bound to clash with the forcefully invading mana, ripping and melting his internal organ as a side hustle.
The seer merely smiled and didn't react much. The mark that he left on the boy has disappeared, meaning the brainwashing was lifted.
He didn't need a pawn that didn't listen, much less one that wasn't his from the start.
He wasn't planning to let him die just yet; however, this little fellow in front of him was dangerous to keep alive.
He wasn't willing to gamble anymore.
The chair started burning, and Ryan's pain-filled screams could be heard.
"Ahh AHH!"
Sizzle-
"You're the one who didn't understand." Ryan, whose whole body is covered in bandages, reappeared from behind, sitting on a chair, while the same chair in front of the seer's eyes was still being burned to ashes.
Agonizing screams echoed inside the room.
The cold black interior of the room was closely oppressed by the sense of dread; the fire formed a cracking pattern as if the surroundings were crumpling rather than burning, casting out folded paper lantern-like 'artworks.'
Coldness and warmth were intertwined, while darkness and light coexisted.
"I've never been in danger the whole time." Ryan's voice echoed beside the seer's ears; the screams faded into the background.
Crackle-
Another Ryan appeared from the other side."Pressure from society and the union."
"Don't mess with me. The whole time, you did this for the sake of one thing." Ryan, who was burning, stopped screaming and smiled indifferently, his eyes were cold.
"This is just an illusion," the seer said calmly. "I don't know how you got your hands on an ability card like that. It doesn't matter what rank it is; it isn't enough to trap me."
"You're wrong," Ryan said, "that power is just a medium to put radiation into something more powerful than a mere D-rank illusion ability."
"The parasite?" Seer's eyes widened in realization and shock.
"So, what are you going to do now? You're trapped like a rat with no escape, a useless puppet with no purpose, a worthless existence born to serve a master."
Another Ryan in a chair talked to him from the side in an expressionless voice, neither at a slow nor fast pace, uttering the same words the seer had once told the caged Hiro.
SCREAM.
"There is nothing you can do, even if you know." The fourth chair spoke.
The four chairs simultaneously started to burn, and he cried out, "I was forced to; I only wanted to retrieve my lost lifespan." Ryan cried tears of blood, though his face remained motionless.
Flames swallowed them until all four Ryan burned to ashes.
Ryan stood on both legs, no injury to be seen, staring straight into the seer's eyes.
"I'm the one to set the rules here." Ryan reappeared behind him, but the voice echoed from everywhere.
"Immortality!"
"Let me tell you a secret." He whispered, "The world laws will never allow an immortal existence on this land, much less a God."
The seer looked at what appeared to be his younger version, his eyes blanketed by confusion.
"Tell me, Grandpa, can you do something for me?"
The seer nodded dully. "Yes."
"There is someone I need you to get for me," Ryan said. He wasn't used to putting on such a ridiculous show but it was necessary. He never planned to become a target for bullies this time around, so it was important to bring that person over.
"Yes," the seer nodded as the parasite integrated itself into his brain, residing peacefully as it fell asleep and a small circle appeared and disappeared on Ryan's palm.
"Thank you, Grandpa." He smiled slightly, satisfied.
* * *
Powers in this world are largely imperfect; no matter how strong one's ability is or how tricky it is, it could never destroy the natural laws of the world.
Only another world's law can destroy another, and even then, it is against the rules.
As a testimony to that, abilities that involve some being able to manipulate time and space are nonexistent in this world. Not even a magician would be able to reach a higher level than an archimage.
Taking the power of brainwashing as an example, you cannot just brainwash someone; you need to establish a connection with the target.
Now, it could be anything, and it doesn't need to be successfully established as long as you make the effort; the brainwashing would be successful; however, the effect would be minimal.
Referring to the seer as an example:
The connection he tried to establish with Hiro and Ryan in both timelines was 'family'.
The word 'grandpa' is good enough to set the link, and the brainwashing would work, mainly because the parasite was strong enough to overwhelm the mind of an ex-rank potential individual.
The other way is the connection Ryan established with the seer: 'curiosity' and 'fear', fear of the unknown, and curiosity about someone who knows his goal.
Whether he succeeded or not, establishing a distraction was the best he could do, taking into consideration his body's condition as well as the fact that it was too soon for him to conduct a more secure escape root with his current level of power.
"Hah huh..." Spoon feeding Ryan on the side, Tracy was cheerfully humming a melody, while Jacob was recounting what they did in class, and Ryan listened absentmindedly to some random general knowledge.
The nurse entered soon after and clapped slowly with a smile on her lips. "The visit time has ended. It's time to leave. I need to change your friend's bandages."
The two of them bid their farewell and left, one reluctant and the other pretending to drag her feet.
Ryan sneezed. He looked at his right hand, which no longer had a sleeping parasite in it; instead, a 'Seer' written in purple energy the size of his fingernail appeared on the back of his palm.
Indicating that the brainwashing was successful.
The nurse handed him a card. It was a simple card with only a name of it purpose and the radiation imprint of it's creator, but it looked very elegant.
Crack-
With a snap of his fingers, all the wounds on his body disappeared the moment he broke the S-grade healing ability card.
"How useful." He commented, relieved. He wasn't fond of being in pain.
"The thing you asked for is waiting for you, young master Ryan." This same nurse was one of the maids who served him in the mansion, she said with a flattering smile on her face.
The corner of Ryan's mouth flattened a bit at the 'thing' mentioned, but he soon recovered, recognizing that something inside him churned with discomfort.
'I'm sure not making the wrong choice...' He got up from his bed, changed his clothes, threw all his bandages in the bin, and left through the front door using invisibility, followed by the nurse, who closed the door afterward.
"Let's go."
Walking out of the academy grounds, a helicopter was waiting for him at the foot of the beach, where he met a guy wearing silver clothes.
To be more specific, Ryan's gaze only perceived his figure.
The radiation running through his body was much faster and stronger than that of any of the students or teachers in the academy. Meeting his gaze he took off his mask and bowed slightly to Ryan.
He had silver hair that was as bright as snow under the illumination of moonlight and a pair of vacant silver eyes that looked at nothing.
The nurse was taken aback by how unbelievably handsome he was.
She thought Damion was impressive enough.
"This is the man you asked for. He would be a loyal dog and surely follow your commands," the man who was accompanying him standing a couple of steps ahead made his presence known in a flattering voice.
He looked at Ryan with a hint of interest.
He didn't know why his master had ordered his most promising trainee to be given away to this young man.
But for sure, he must be related to the seer, right? he thought secretly.
"May I ask your name?" The brief question, lacking in answer or even a glance from the recipient was met with the maid's cold stare. He quickly changed his words.
"Cough, in this suitcase is a set of poison and an antidote. As long as you inject the poison regularly, he'll remain forever loyal to you."
Ryan's expression remained unchanged as he tolerated the chilling feeling of not being able to notice the predator despite being followed, spied on, and observed the whole time. No wonder the seer came back early.
The nurse behind him, exuding a faint murderous intent was apparently a B to an A-ranked assassin specialties in stealth. He wasn't sure but only when she showed her power briefly to intimidate the man did he finally realize she was more than just a simple servant.
It seems like one of the characters that his sister didn't mention and played no role in both the original novel and the script was to die as an unknown servant of the seer.
Someone whom he yet to know the name of.
An extra character, one of the Seer's shadows, has been assigned to him in this timeline.
It seems like he needs to dismiss her from his side soon enough.
Ryan shifted his focus back on the man and nodded, hearing him go on and on explaining how many doses he needed to inject and that he would probably never need to use the antidote unless it was an emergency.
"That's enough," the maid coughed slightly and said, sensing that Ryan wasn't very much interested in listening to the man's babble. "You can go."
"Hahaha," the man quickly hopped in the helicopter, leaving as silently as he came.
Ryan walked up to the silver-haired guy in the silence of the night.
As the footsteps grew louder and closer, the sound from Ryan became quieter to a whisper only the two of them could hear.
"Someone... Will-. Die. Tom- Tomorrow. I- Need... You... To- Get. Rid... Of. The. Corps."
He said with difficulty, trying his best not to bite his tongue."If... you do. I will. give. you- the antidote, Noah."
The silver-haired guy nodded his head, his shadow wiggling at Ryan's words and soon a mangled corpse appeared.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone