Chapter 149: Bro Talk
Bro Talk
Time passed slowly, and soon, a few days went by.
Even though he was experimenting, Mike carried out his duty of watching over the others, refusing to truly drop his guard for a moment.
Thankfully, even though they weren’t as good as him, Theresa and Kris still healed quite quickly, and the few days were enough for most of their wounds to heal fully, with only the more serious injuries lingering, like Theresa’s eye, but even then, the wound itself had closed, her eye now just appeared cloudy like a blind person, but it was rectifying itself swiftly.
Kris’s arm had also regained mobility, but it was still stiff. What was truly important, though, was his mental state. Mike sensed that he was much more stable. Granted, a lot of his previous apprehension had returned, and he was back to giving curt and soft, almost timid responses, reminding him of the first time they truly interacted.
The three of them didn’t really talk during this time. Not because there was bad blood between them, just that, at the moment, they were a bit busy with some personal stuff.
If one were to look at Kris and Theresa now, they would see the two were meditating, and the reason for this was quite simple.
The Juvenile Spurt Theory was coming into play once more. Kris and Theresa had fought desperately against Mike and were subject to immense amounts of pressure. As such, they were pushed beyond anything they’d encountered in Naraka thus far. Such pressure caused their strength to experience a qualitative leap, and they were now consolidating their foundations.
This, understandably, made Mike feel a little torn. On one hand, he was happy that they had benefited from the otherwise vile situation. But on the other hand, well, he almost killed them. If they died, there would be no more getting stronger, and it would be a permanent scar on his psyche.
Still, he forced down the discomfort. They were fine now, that’s what mattered.
Another development was with the wolf pack.
More often than not, while Mike was experimenting with Lunar Energy, his evolution, slowly increasing his comprehension of the upgraded Vitalis Core, or making headway with the second project he had in mind after acquiring his movement skill, some of the wolves would come and lay next to him, especially the pups. But they never truly bothered him, just bask in his presence.
It was hard to explain, but Mike felt like after his evolution and subsequent linking to the Progenitor Moon, there was an odd connection between him and the canines. The sense of familiarity that had been there before was much stronger.
The biggest aspect of this change, however, was the Alpha of the pack. Now, whenever Mike made use of Lunar Energy, he Alpha would quietly come near him while carrying a specific pup with it. The pup itself appeared quite timid but had the same fur color as the Alpha, so Mike was pretty sure it was its child.
Whenever this happened, the Alpha would look at him as though asking for permission. When Mike gave his consent, the Alpha would simply sit next to him with the pup going to lay in Mike’s lap while he used it, and when he was done with the experimenting or ran out of Lunar Energy, it would promptly return to the cave with said pup.
He guessed that it was using the remnants of his Lunar Energy to benefit along with the pup. But he had no clue how. Not that he minded, he knew the Alpha had no ill intent, and if he could help it get stronger, why not?
Like these, 5 days passed since Mike’s first full moon, meaning the event was just a bit under half over.
Right now, it was nighttime, and Mike was staring at the moon high in the sky. As the full moon has just passed, it was now in its Waxing Gibbous phase. Mike had initially thought that the whole thing with moon phases and his Lunar Energy depended on what phase the moon was in, but tests showed that the natural phases and the phases he experienced were different.
He wasn’t too sure why, but he actually wasn’t too disturbed by the fact, since it let him know that even if he were to be in a place where there was no moon, like Eventide, he’d still be able to make use of his Lunar Energy since it wasn’t inherently dependant on a moon being in his vicinity.
’That said, I wonder if the phases are determined by the Progenitor Moon I’m connected to. Perhaps it has it’s own set of phases that are different from normal moons. But in that case, could I control it one day?’ Mike mused. He’d tried, but he had no clue how to control what phase showed up, so he was still stuck with the new moon phase.
He also tried to re-enter that strange space with the utterly gargantuan Progenitor Moon, but again, he had no clue how or where to even start, and the system was as unhelpful as usual on that specific matter.
He was about to take out something to eat when he tilted his head slightly. A moment later, Kris appeared and sat next to him.
Mike glanced at him briefly before staring forward again, and for a few minutes, none of them said anything to each other. Just sat in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Eventually, Kris spoke quietly.
"... I’m guessing you have questions?" This made Mike look at him properly.
Did he have questions? Of course he did. He witnessed... no, he experienced Kris’s lightning first hand and felt its terrifying effects, and while the pain from it had certainly left an impression on him, he was also awed by the sheer power behind it. It was an incredible thing, yet Kris only used it when the situation had turned truly dire, and he broke down afterward, which is why Mike refused to ask about it.
As if sensing the question in his gaze, Kris stared at his hand.
"... My chains aren’t really my main ability. No, that’s misleading. They aren’t the main facet of my ability. They simply help me channel my lightning better. I can use them independently, but their effectiveness increases greatly when used together." He explained softly.
Sensing that Kris was choosing to open up, Mike hesitated before asking.
"So... why don’t you use them together?" At this, Kris was silent for a moment more, then he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.
"... My lightning is the reason my family was..." He trailed off before continuing. "Whenever I use it... it’s like I’m back in that place, witnessing everything again in real time. It’s terrifying." He admitted, and Mike suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for his friend.
"... You don’t use it because it reminds you?" He asked gently.
"That’s not the whole thing," He shook his head. "You sensed it when I used it against you, didn’t you? How my lightning suppressed your aura?" Mike perked up at this.
Indeed, despite the pain of getting his nerves fried, Mike vividly remembered how his instincts had tried to retaliate with his aura, but some strange force within the lightning seemed to... burn it away before it could do anything.
"Fulgur Lightning has that property," Kris nodded when he saw Mike’s expression. "It can either negate, suppress, or be resistant to other abilities." Mike’s jaw dropped.
He’d sort of guessed it, but having it confirmed was a different story entirely. But his shock was quickly replaced with realization.
’I’m no expert on politics, but I know the different families are ranked by power and age. The Apex families have that distinction because they are the oldest and most powerful families. If a smaller family with the ability to negate other abilities appeared...’ Kris saw the moment Mike realized and nodded grimly.
Seeing this, a cold feeling settled in his heart.
"... The other families felt threatened by yours... so they..." Mike didn’t ask the question directly, but his meaning was clear.
And again, Kris nodded.
His expression went from shock to something far colder.
’So that’s how it is.’ He barely suppressed a growl. He wasn’t particularly fond of the Apex families, or any of the main families in general. If he had to describe them, he’d say they were a bunch of stuck up assholes who felt like everything should revolve around them. Namor and Agnes being prime examples of this.
But, perhaps due to his lack of exposure, he never guessed things would be that bad.
"The media said that it happened because powerful Lizardmen who says us a threat managed to infiltrate and ambush us. But I know better." Kris said hoarsely, then he smiled bitterly.
"As for me, the only reason I survived the initial attack was due to special means employed by my family. And the subsequent attention from being the sole survivor stopped anyone with bad intentions from acting rashly. Now, they want to recruit me and make me a weapon rather than kill me." When he finished, Mike was silent for a moment.
’If an entire family was wiped out due to having an ability like that, what would they do if they figured out I could steal people’s abilities. Or worse, what would they do if they figured out I could turn others into Lupines?’ It was a disconcerting thought.
He then looked at Kris again, and sensed the immense pain beneath his quiet facade.
’Our classmates are willing to lick his boots if it means getting into his good graces, but they don’t know...’ He sighed again, sympathizing with his friend, but also glad Kris trusted him enough to tell him this.
"So. What do you want to do, then?" Mike asked after a moment.
"... I want revenge," Kris admitted honestly. "But right now, I’m far too weak, and the ones involved won’t allow me to grow unhindered, especially with an ability as problematic as mine." Mike nodded at that, it made sense. Kris was, in a sense, a ticking time bomb. The families involved weren’t stupid. There’s no way they would allow a wildcard like Kris to roam freely when it doesn’t take a genius to know he has resentment against them.
’If they can take out an entire family, it wouldn’t be too hard to take him out...’ Mike frowned, suddenly at a loss for how to help his friend.
While his situation was precarious, it wasn’t too bad. People just thought he was very strong and had a potent Aura-type ability. Theresa was born out of wedlock so her family didn’t like her, but they didn’t consider her especially threatening, and her obvious reluctance to even interact with them made her less worth scrutinizing.
But Kris? He had the attention of some of the most powerful people among humanity. The pressure he was under must have been suffocating.
’What to do...’ Mike frowned as he found himself searching for a solution. Seeing this, Kris managed a small smile.
"Don’t bother yourself too much. I have my own plans." He reassured him, and to Mike’s surprise, he felt that Kris was being honest!
’Now I’m curious... but there’s probably a reason why he didn’t elaborate.’ He sighed, then returned the smile.
"Thanks for telling me all this. It must have been hard." At that, Kris shook his head.
"Actually, I feel a lot better now that I’ve spoken about it. I’ve never had the chance to tell anyone about it before. So... thanks for being trustworthy enough for me to do so." The words made Mike’s heart swell.
"Heh. No problem." Mike just nodded.
After that, both of them just sat in silence again, enjoying the brief peace before things started to get hectic again.
