Chapter 8:

Chapter 6. First encounter. (III)

The Spirit In Me


-Two months ago -

Late nighttime.

A figure in a white hoody sat on the edge of the tallest building in town. The hoody completely covered its head and face, and slightly it's shoulders. The hoodie-like design had two black stripes, one for each shoulder. Under it, a black suit was all over its body. Surrounded by its Energia particles, it suddenly recognized something. Quickly, it set off in its direction.

Upon arrival, the hooded figure met another person.

His name was Masen Itan. A man in his late thirties. His body was fit, his hair short. A small scar is placed on the right side of his square jaw.

Masen stood on the edge of a large lake, right on the border of the water and the green grass. In his right hand, he held an Energia weapon, covering his palm. The weapon, a square disk in purple color had in the center of it a smaller disk with a small hole in the center of it too. In his left hand, he played with a large, long nail. He threw and caught it. Restless from his disturbing thoughts.

"You have an interesting weapon there" a voice suddenly sounded next to him.

"What?! Wha- Who are you?!" Masen shouted in a terrified voice as he raised his hands defensively.

"No one." replied the hooded figure nonchalantly. "I sensed you were in trouble, so I arrived. Is this some kind of compressor?" asked the hooded figure, pointing to Masen's Energia weapon.

"Kind of..." he answered hesitantly, studying the figure with his suspicious eyes, not sure what information he was interested in sharing with it and what he wasn't.

"It's an occupational Energia weapon... It lets me create greater pressure on any surface I touch, depending on the force I apply. In my distant past, I helped my father build our house with it…" he answered with a nostalgic, bitter smile.

"Those were the good times. When he was still alive. I was his favorite son. It is always said that the smallest child is the most loved. He tended to emphasize not to tell it to my other brothers.” he smiled. "Everything got complicated since he passed away…" He teared up as he closed his eyes shut and looked away. Peeking at his reflection in the shiny lake. In the reflection of the moving water, for a moment, his image blurred. He was startled, as he could swear that for one second, he saw his late father image. Nevertheless, they were very similar in appearance. he bent down on his knees to look at the water closely.

"Shortly after his death, I got into some troubles with the law and was arrested. In my absence, my family managed all my assets with my consent. But, as soon as I was released, my family fell apart. They did not give me back what was due to me, and illegally took over what was my belongings. All of the lies that the house was built on, fell apart in an instant when there was no one to hold them down... and I was the one to realize it when it was already too late…" he claimed in gloomy despair.

"Better sooner than later," argued the hooded figure, standing behind Masen. "The truth will set you free." he continued to claim.

"Set you free? Is this freedom?" Masen turned quickly, looking at the hooded figure whose night shadows contributed to its desire to remain undisclosed.

"Freedom?" Masen asked himself angrily as he stops bouncing the nail in his hand. Now, he held it tightly in his fisted palm.

"To know that all those I believed in, those I called family, saw me as a sacrificial lamb? To find out that my older brother, the one for whom I sacrificed my freedom to serve a punishment he committed - will be the one in the end, to leave me with nothing?" Masen asked in anger and frustration as he waved his right hand furiously.

"For what?! Because father loved me more?! How was it any of their business?!" he asked fiercely. "Each of us had their own personal connection with him! I didn't choose that all his inheritance would go to me! I didn't write his will! I didn't even know about all the wealth he hid from all of us all those years! No one knew! So, what did they want from me?! Why did they hate me for that?!" he shouted loudly as he pound his chest in anger and frustration.

"Despite everything I did for them?! Despite all my sacrifices for them?! They couldn't believe that I didn't know about it and claimed that my relationship with him was only for the money! That I did it against them!!! That was their justification for leaving me alone destitute! Is that the truth?! That money Is he the motive of everything?!" Masen rants as he yelled furiously at his reflection in the lake.

The calm temper that characterized him in many eyes, was lost in an instant. Unlike him, the hooded figure who stayed behind him kept its cool in silence.

"If that's the truth, I'd rather go back to the times when I believed that everything was good. Times when I would laugh with an innocent heart, along with my father and the rest of my brothers and sisters." Masen whined pleadingly, picturing them as children again, sitting together on the living room carpet.

Laughing. Smiling.

He picked up the nail and placed it in his right hand. With the help of his two fingers, he centered the head of the nail in the center of the inner circle of his Energia weapon.

He raised his right hand to the side of his head. One side of the nail is located in the center of the inner circle of the Energia weapon. On his other side, his temple.

"If that's the truth, I'd rather die than live in a world with it!" he shouted aggressively as he threatened every moment to release Energia into his palm.

One click, and it's all over.

Vforest
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