Chapter #4Gazing Toward a New Tomorrow by: Aerodeth   Youve been taught at a very young age not to walk with strangers. But the same people that taught you that left you to die. Kinda sad... but you knew they would someday. You could see it in their soul. By just one gaze into their soul, you revealed the spineless, shivering, cowering cowards they were hidden beneath. They honestly believed wholeheartedly that you were going to kill them. Their own son.
It was a long, sad, quiet walk as you followed this Akiza girl. You didnt know anything about her, but you followed like a good boy.
"Where are we going?" you asked her.
"Keep moving," was her only answer.
She could be leading you toward her gang hidden in a alley to rough you up and jack everything in your pockets. But even if that were true, you'd know. Through one single soul gaze, under her hardened fierce exterior lied a lovely maiden covered in dying withered roses, twitching as if she were sobbing, but no tears fell down her eyes... cuz the head was missing. Abstract maybe, but it didnt seem evil. Just tragic. And vulnerable.
Anyway, you ignored the maiden behind the shell and continued following Ms. Izinski. After a while of walking, the two of you stopped in front of a large executive building that was probably at least 5 times the size of your dad's office building. Good. It looked like a wealthy place, but through the soul gaze, you could hear the cries of thousands of troubled lost souls. Each one seemed as lonely and abandoned as you. A home of lost souls, eh?
"What is this place?" you asked Akiza. As predicted, she just gave an unhelpful answer: "Home."
You paid it no mind and walked through the door. Typical office setting. Nothing out of the ordinary. Receptionists at the desk, lab-coats scribbling on notepads and typing on computers, janitor sweeping up... the only thing out of ordinary were the strange psychic waves emitting from each of these people similar to you and Akiza. Guess theyre all psychic duelists? Good... home of freaks.
"I brought him here like you asked, Sayer," Akiza said to the red haired man in a trenchcoat with a huge hair curl in the front of his forehead that's so huge, it's covering his eye! Strong, dominating psychic waves were emitting from this gentleman. Waves that demanded authority.
'Guess he's the Alpha of this wolf-pack,' you thought to yourself.
The Alpha businessman stepped toward the two of you and smiled at Akiza.
"Thank you, Ms. Izinski," he spoke in a confident yet shady tone, "once again, you saved another valuable life with a potentially bright future ahead of him. You should be honored." Is he talking about you?
"Er... nice to meet you too," you say to him.
He turned his head to you and smiled, "Let me be the first to welcome you to your brand new home. The Arcadia Movement!"
You raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. The Arcadia Movement?! You heard that name in tabloid papers and fantasy books, but you never thought such a place actually exists! A fictional refuge for Psychic duelists to train and hone their skills away from the outside world. Away from all the hate, fear, and persecution. The Psychic Utopia. It's REAL?!
Normally, you'd be incredibly skeptic... but it's not every day you get sense so many fellow psychics in one building!
"I know what youre thinking. Does a place really exist?" the man read your mind, "I can assure you that we most certainly do... and we would be happy to take in inspiring minds like yourself, [Roc] 'Gazer' Westwane."
"!!!" you flinched when he said your name. Dang! Guess he really saw you coming after all!
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, "I am Sayer. I run this entire place... I guess you can say that I'm the alpha of this wolf-pack!" You gritted your teeth from the surprise. Suffice to say youre not used to meeting other Psychics. Now youre a little too nervous to pull a soul gaze on him.
"N...Nice to meet you!" you tried to keep cool, "I'm... sorry I'm a little... nervous right now."
"I understand, Gazer," Sayer replies, "but rest assured, you have nothing to fear. We at the Arcadia Movement recognize your gifted capabilities. They'll be tested to their limits at the same time strengthened so that they flourish into something stronger. We welcome serious students determined to put their psychic duelist skills to the test and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty in the process." Sounds good.
"So I guess this is like the Mutant Academy and youre Professor X, right?" For some reason, the headless maiden in Akiza soul clenched her fists and emitted bad vibes, as if she was insulted by that!
"Where do you get off-"
Thankfully, Sayer cut her off and laughed, "Heh, I guess you can say that. Your story’s like many of the other residences here. They’ve all be shunned, outcasted, and abandoned by society. Many by their own families. What we offer is a whole new start. You wouldnt have to live in fear and hide among the shadows. Here, youre free to truly be who you are. You do not have to be afraid of your special gift, cuz that gift will one day save your life.”
So far so good. It beats sleeping outside in the cold. But something deep down told you something was off. You sensed something big was written in the fine print. And just as you thought that, Sayer continued.
“It’s fair to warn you, Gazer. The Movement isnt for the pacifists,” he explained, “we will expect you to perform a few crucial tasks you might not agree with. And you will fulfill them at your best performance.” Right then and there was shady.
“Like what?”
“If youre not the type to do what youre told, then I suggest finding refuge elsewhere,” He just flat out dodged the question.
“Like what?”
“You’ll find out in due time,” the shallowest answer in the world.
“Hell with that, I wanna find out NOW!” you demand, “Like what?!”
“Don’t you dare raise your voice at Sayer!” you flinched when Akiza got between you and him!
“Excuse me!” you tell her, “I just wanna make sure this is the Mutant Academy and not the Brotherhood!” BIG mistake!
The headless rose maiden intensified with rage to match the Akiza's face! Your eyes widened you noticed she was about to whip out a card! What the hell was she up to?!
"Akiza. Please," fortunately, Sayer alone was enough to sate the maiden's rage. She must be incredibly loyal to him or something deeper. He then turned back to you, "These are our terms. Nothing that we offer comes without a fair price. If you dont accept our terms, feel free to leave."
This was not good. If he's not even gonna tell you about these 'crucial tasks that you might not agree with', how can you trust living in a place like this? You werent the type to take risks as big as that! You'd need to soul gaze him to find out clues about what he has in store for you. But then again, what if he sees your gaze coming as is threatened by it? You have no idea what this guy could be capable of, let alone his pretty little sidekick!
But just turning him means you'd go back in the cold. You'd better think your decision VERY clearly!   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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