Psychic Parasite

Chapter 123: One of Calm, Optimism, and Filled With Focus
12th December, the year 333 of the Dawn Era, in a certain room situated underground, a figure tossed and turned, feeling a sense of discomfort. The discomfort stemmed from the new atmosphere, not to mention the state of things, the sounds, the smell emanating through the air, and the faint aura intermixed into it; they seemed to unnerve the figure’s beauty sleep.

Jyorta opened his eyes, feeling his sleepy state abate like the tide, giving him functional clarity in a matter of seconds. His eyelids felt heavy, a faint feeling of irritation apparent in his eyes, the burning sensation making him want to close his eyes and cool them down in slumber.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere wasn’t one that could grant him his wishes. Moreover, he experienced a couple of bad dreams, the contents of which he forgot as soon as he woke up. Jyorta leaned forward, tracing his hand on the adjacent wall, stopping when he came across an overgrowth.

It was a sharp, edged object, rectangular in shape, placed with an incline. Jyorta pressed the tip of the inclined object, making a sharp sound that rang out in the silent room. His surroundings lit up in luminance, making his eyes involuntarily scrunch up in order to shield from the light.

A minute later, his eyes adjusted to the ambience, taking a glance at the wall clock, noting the time.

6:12 AM; Jyorta plopped his face on the pillow, burying himself into it, leaking out a groan. The blue soul in him was just about to sever some connections and make him enter a state of forceful rest, paused in action, remembering the cause for its presence.

Jyorta sat up with a start, feeling wide awake. He closed his eyes and sensed the psychic energy coursing through his body, their paths apparent, due to him now capable of sensing them. His abilities were growing day by day, getting more comprehensive.

He felt like he could now map out the paths that his blood travelled through.

Even though such stuff was mapped out ages ago and stored in numerous documentaries and research subjects, Jyorta still relished in the novelty, stemming from his senses. He silently made the blue soul extract the relevant memory fragments from his brain, storing them in a separate corner, having a feeling that the experience might prove to be useful in the future.

The blue soul began to work on the false persona once again, siphoning out the energy from the Brain Crystal. Moreover, the excess psychic energy coursing through his bloodstream slowly gushed into his Brain Crystal, refilling its depletion.

In the meantime, Jyorta began to get refreshed. A set of clothes had already been prepared for him, not to mention the toiletries he required. All the necessities he would need on a daily basis had been prepared and arranged meticulously.

6:45 AM; Jyorta exited the bathroom, draping a towel around his hip, showcasing his lean frame. Despite him gorging on food whenever possible, thanks to his Wisdom Parasite’s increased rate of Nurturing, he wasn’t able to put on any weight.

Situated at one corner of the bed was the clothes he was supposed to wear, placed at the location on the previous night. Jyorta picked up the underwear, arriving at a conclusion based on his senses; it was new.

Moreover, it was meant for boys his age, saving him the embarrassment. The dress—made from cotton—was similar to his tracksuit, the only difference being its plain white colour, lacking any design, only sporting a red shade in the collars.

Donning the tracksuit, Jyorta sat on the bed, taking in the view of his blue soul, watching the state of the face mask. Having expended plenty of energy on it, the face mask was turning out to be sturdier than he had foreseen earlier.

The day before, while having dinner with Anruk Light and Anusha Light, he had listened in on their conversation, thanks to his Soul Cornea. Their contents were shocking, unable to be digested by him if he were his usual self. Having donned the false persona, despite being unfinished, he could perfectly control his emotions from being exhibited—on his face, his body language, his scent, etc.

It could perfectly suppress his emotions, the suppression being natural, leaving behind no side effects once he retracted it. Moreover, despite facing the brunt of his emotions, the unfinished face mask wasn’t damaged in the least, looking pristine.

It was a significant upgrade as compared to before. It was to the extent Jyorta anticipated its effects upon completion. In the time it took for him to get ready, the blue soul had already siphoned enough energy from his Brain Crystal to exhaust the psychic energy circulating through his bloodstream.

’I should use up the energy in my Brain Crystal before I head there. This would save the time spent on my false persona and give me more time to work on my sister’s Wisdom Parasite.’

7:00 AM, there was a light knock on the door, followed by a psychic arm entering the room, planning to wake up Jyorta. Sensing his awake state, the psychic arm exited the room, its actions quick. It was then followed by steady knocks on the door, in sets of two.

Jyorta exited the vision of his blue soul, walked towards the door, and cranked it open. Anruk Light stood before him, looking brisk early in the morning.

”It seems you maintain a healthy lifestyle, judging by your preparedness.” Anruk Light gave a light comment, motioning for him to proceed to Heima’s room. ”Madam has already arrived; since you are ready, you can go meet her. We appreciate punctuality but, we also appreciate being earlier than the stipulated time for most occasions.”

’The only reason I got up this early without two alarms ringing nonstop for at least 30 minutes is because of my uneasiness. This place is not fit for sleeping.’ Controlling his mind voice from leaking out, Jyorta accompanied Anruk Light, watching him knock the door to Heima’s room a couple of times.

The knock proceeded with varying frequencies, their amplitude changing per each knock. Soon, the door vibrated, producing a sonorous tune. Having received his reply through the sounds, Anruk Light turned around, glancing at Jyorta, ”You can enter.”

Saying his piece, he stood next to the door, leaning on the wall.

Jyorta felt a slight difference in his surroundings, as if the air, the floor underneath him, the ceiling above him, his clothes, his hair, etc. were all under Anruk Light’s control, every change and difference noticeable to him.

’Is this the domain of a Ground Controller? Omnipresent and omniscience; seems pretty overpowered. No wonder Espers are said to be capable of moping the floor with Warriors at Tier 4 and Tier 5.’ Jyorta raised his hand, wanting to twist the doorknob, finding it opening without his actuation.

He then gazed inside, noticing Atika Light seated in the same position as before. There weren’t any changes in Heima, still unconscious on the bed, sporting a peaceful expression, akin to a doll.

”Good Morning, Ma’am.” Closing the door upon entry, Jyorta greeted Atika Light, his tone polite, brimming with the innocence that came with the age. Atika Light gave him a perfunctory nod, the frown on her face replaced with a trace smile, infected by his vibrant attitude.

”The Brain Crystals have been replenished. Tell me when your preparations come are completed.” Atika Light threw a small rectangular box towards him, her actions sudden. Jyorta hurriedly caught hold of the box, feeling his heart thump in response to his trepidation.

’Thankfully, I didn’t drop it.’ Jyorta heaved a sigh of relief and slid open the lid of the rectangular box, noticing a hundred Tier 1 Brain Crystals. He sat cross-legged on the floor, occupying a spot next to the bed, leaning on the wall, activating his psychic arm.

His Brain Crystal was almost filled with psychic energy; hence, he could create his psychic arm without trouble. The blue soul in him stirred up, creating five soul tendrils, attaching them to his Brain Crystal, siphoning the psychic energy in excess.

The siphoned psychic energy was immediately converted into soul energy, transmitted through the hundreds of soul tendrils the blue soul had created. The face mask hovered before the blue face as the over hundred soul tendrils worked on it.

On the face mask, only the jaw area remained; the white hexagons needing to be overlaid in the region were already piled up next to it, their individual positions calculated to create a coherent false persona.

The blue soul overlaid the ’curtain’ on the subsoul belonging to his Wisdom Parasite, subtly affecting its actions.

Two blood tendrils gushed out of his nose, condensing into a crimson sphere, soon transforming into his Caterpillar. The Caterpillar landed on his right palm while the rectangular box was placed on his left. His psychic arm lifted a Brain Crystal and brought it to the Caterpillar, intent to be devoured in regular intervals, the timing noted based on his prior experiences and calculations.

A steady stream of energy entered his body through the two blood tendrils—connecting him to his Caterpillar. They circulated through his body before entering his Brain Crystal, immediately siphoned into the blue soul to be used in the creation of the face mask, creating a cycle.

Finally, when the last white hexagon was overlaid on the face mask, the blue soul experienced a small stir. The face mask looked like a jaded sculpture, with each indentation on its face conforming to an emotion, their total amounting to distinct personality traits.

It was finally created, the false persona, one of calm, optimism, and filled with focus. As the blue overlaid it on the blue face, it activated its corrosion ability. The blue face opened its mouth, gushing out a jet black ink, passing it through the mouth area of the face mask, producing creaks due to its effects.

The force eventually made slight changes to the face mask, turning its lips black, having been coated by the ink-black substance that formed the essence of his corrosion. The mouth of the face mask now retained some flexibility, capable of opening and closing.

After exiting the vision of his blue soul, Jyorta inspected the number of Brain Crystals he had consumed. After spending three hours, he had expended 21 Brain Crystal today, not to mention the 54 Brain Crystals expended the previous day, altogether adding up to 75 Brain Crystals.

’Thanks to the abundant energy reserves, I could make such a sturdy false persona. If not for this, I would have to use a fragile version of it, only trying to strengthen it over a long course of time. Now, I don’t have to fear it getting destroyed when I experience high-intensity emotions. Its sturdiness is more than enough to handle my emotional state.’ Jyorta’s thoughts clashed in synchronised steadiness, giving him the access to ponder on them in more detail, noticing the issues that he wasn’t able to spot before, thanks to being affected by their connected emotions.

”Ma’am, my preparations are complete.” Jyorta stood up and bowed towards Atika Light. Seeing the other party nod in response, he walked towards Heima and seated himself on the berth, occupying the spot beside her legs.