CHAPTER 001

SHOCK

 

(The Man’s POV)

---

 

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the mesmerizing eyes of the woman in front of me with all her beauty. She too was staring down at me with her almond-shaped translucent green eyes in excitement and amazement mixed with a pint of fear. For a moment that felt like ages, I lost myself in her abruptly out-of-context beauty and failed to realize the absurdity of the position I found myself in. 

 

 

I was kneeling with one leg, while only the other foot and fingertips of my right hand were touching the ground. My legs were spread to keep my center of gravity low and my torso was leaning over the hand that touch the ground. My other arm was swept backward behind my back to keep me from falling on my face while my eyes were looking upward to see her beautiful face better. 

 

 

 

Long and proud, with a fair complexion that contrasts her pitch-black bow-like eyebrows and arrow-like lashes, she was the embodiment of what poets portray their lovers in their creations. Ready to shoot unsuspecting men through the heart and blame them for the consequences…

 

An attractive, buxom young woman who has got it going in all the right places… An hourglass figure with a moderate-sized bust and just a tad bigger bottom completed with a thin waist and slender body… However, despite all the desire in me to appreciate her beauty, she was definitely not in a state to appreciate poetry right now.

 

Instead, she was battered and bruised, her braided hair was disheveled and soiled. A fresh and clean wound was running through her cheekbone to her chin, scarring her beautiful face in blasphemy. The scarlet blood from that cut was dripping onto her chest, staining her white shirt with dark droplets. Her blood-stained sapphire robe and gold-embroidered black vest were adorned with cuts and tears in many places, telling a tale of violence. Droplets of a yellowish-green sticky liquid were staining around the burn marks on the sleeve of her left arm, which probably was raised to protect her beautiful face from a worse fate.

 

‘This is probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my whole life, despite all the scars and bruises…’ mused Passion inside my head in awe while I was still in a momentary shock. ‘No, not despite… Exactly because of all those scars and bruises… Like a snowdrop proudly adorning an ice field which no other flower dares to bloom…’ he continued.

 

The infant consciousness was definitely one to appreciate the beauty when he saw it and one to compose poetry when he felt like it. Just like he was designed to be… However, now was not the time to lose oneself in the antics of Passion.

 

‘Well, the question is… Why is she looking at me with those eyes?’ I thought while trying to discern where I am, and remember what I was doing before finding myself here out of the blue. 

 

Then,  ‘I suggest you rise and strengthen yourself if you are not going to propose champ.’ he quipped wittingly, shocking me. I must have been either stunned or smitten not to realize that I was actually kneeling in front of someone at that moment. Better yet, not to realize that Passion wasn’t shouting in rage, something cringy like ‘We do not kneel…’ or Reason wasn't correcting him like some zealot ‘...except before the Lord, our Maker.’

 

Just as I was going to start pondering about the reasons I was sharing my mind with those two again, it started. I felt it, at that very moment. Not Reason, not Passion… I felt it first. First a slight tingling, then the burning sensation.

 

No! Not my heart! My eyes were burning for some reason. They were burning with such intensity that I was literally forced to prevent myself from clawing them. Immediately, my vision started to blur as they started to water. Although I blinked several times successively to remove the tears obstructing my vision, all my efforts were in vain.

 

Then came the real blow like it was waiting hidden in the corner to lower my guard. I was not sure if I felt it on my face, stomach, or brain first. It was as if a giant sledgehammer landed on me without warning. My whole body convulsed, buckling against the imaginary object that hit it. Then my ears began to ring like a bell. I think that was at that moment when I started writhing and screaming.

 

‘This is exactly what you get each time when you let your mind wander like this.’ berated Reason in my head to answer the previous musings of Passion, or maybe he was berating me? Not that it mattered. The latter was not in a state to acknowledge it. He was feeling it just like me, maybe even more than me. 

 

‘Is this voice ringing in my ears of my own?’ he groaned. ‘I can't believe I am capable of making such a sound.’

 

He was definitely in shock and trying to understand the situation I was -No!- we were in. But alas reasoning was not the strong point of Passion.

 

‘Wait… Did this happen because I was staring into her eyes? Is this some kind of evil eye? What kind of effect is this?’ he started to lose it slowly while I was trying to collect myself. ‘Damn! Just when I was thinking that her eyes were so beautiful that they can melt my heart.’

 

‘Now, the best thing and the worst thing about having multiple awakened consciousness in your head is always the resonance, positive or negative.’ I thought while trying to collect myself, not that it helped. Passion was the emotional beacon of my mind, thus if he snapped, I would break. That was not an option but a definite. The tug-of-war lasted less than a heartbeat, then just as when I started to fear losing control of him, Reason snapped instead of Passion. 

 

‘Enough! Stop! Now! None of these matters. Focus! Remember what you were trained to do! Breathe! You need to breathe. In fact, you have to force yourself to breathe or you will die, idiot.’

 

'Not we, but you, ha?' I had no idea whether he was berating me or Passion, but I didn't waste time to ponder, just took the opportunity. Still, while I knew what to do, doing it while trying to control my untrained Passion was still beyond my meager ability.

 

‘So why the thousands of tiny needles stuck in my brain? This fist in my stomach? Nausea? I think I'm going to vomit.’ he started again. Just as I thought I was going to give myself up to the weakness of Passion, Reason snapped again.

 

 ‘FOCUS!’ he roared in my mind. ‘As they teach in the academy… Inhale! Take it through your nose, and give it through your mouth twice as fast. Breathe damn it! Breathe! First of all, the breath…’ and thank Lord that I inhaled.

 

“ShShSh”

 

However, nothing went as expected. The moment I took -maybe the first- breath after I opened my eyes in this foreign place, everything started to spiral towards worse. First, my nostrils started to burn, and then my tongue started to tingle or… Was it my lungs tingling and my tongue burning? ‘I don't know.’

 

Breathe I did, and for the first time in my life, it made everything worse, far worse. Actually, worse was a rather mild term to describe my condition. There really was something wrong going on with my body. Thus, Passion started to whimper just as expected from a novice consciousness like himself. ‘Yes, I know he took that from me but it doesn't make it any less embarrassing.’

 

‘Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! Here! I breathed and look what happened! What is this thing that you made me inhale? Definitely not air. It's like I'm inhaling liquid fire.’

 

Sadly I had no answer to that. The air I inhaled definitely felt like liquid fire. Luckily, Reason was not one to lose his ground regardless of the situation I am -we are- in. ‘Stop babbling and focus. Don’t let your mind wander aimlessly. Exhale!’ he cut he continued commanding. 

 

“FhFhFhFhFhFh”

 

Now, acquired reflex was a frightening thing. Although I was the one that exhaled, Reason was the one that ordered. He ordered, and my body obeyed. Sometimes it was frightening to realize the extent of the control of one's own subconsciousness on his own body. Especially when one of such sub-consciousnesses was an untrained infant, like Passion. While I was trying to collect myself and barely managing to do so, the woman began to speak and move, or… I thought she did so. ‘I guess?’

 

I raised my head and blinked my eyes a few times to see her better. Her lips were moving, but I wasn't able to hear any sounds due to the now diminished but not ceased ringing in my ears. She was beginning to raise her right hand at that moment, with her open left palm facing toward me.

 

 Before my brain could grasp what was going on, my body was already reacting. ‘Violation of personal space.’ started Reason his tactical assessment, and ‘Ensuring the minimum safe distance.’ Passion answered. 

 

‘Damn protocols!’ I thought involuntarily. ‘What happened to the two, bickering with each other just a few moments ago? Spontaneously acting like a trained team in the face of sudden danger? Not that I complain.’

 

‘Good. You are not completely useless at least. Now operate according to regulations.’ Reason directed Passion as my body started running backward without turning my face, moving my gaze, or even blinking.  ‘There goes all the professionalism.’ I thought just for a moment, but despite my fears, Passion didn’t answer the jab. ‘Never take your eyes off the danger.’ the in-situ training sergeant continued. 

 

‘Yes, yes. Keep your eyes on the ball buddy. It is not my body you control with motor functions.’ I groaned inside. I don't know if it really was the time or the place to train Passion but still, it worked wonders. ‘Well, if it works, it is not stupid I guess.’  

 

In the very first few steps, the image of the woman began to blur again. Obviously, I was having trouble focusing my eyes, and I can't say that the tears still streaming down their sides was helping in this regard.

 

Passion quickly blinked multiple times more, again and again. I was forcing myself to focus, and pumping a flow of energy from my source, into my eyes while Reason prepared the appropriate mental image for the will construct I needed to improve my eyesight.

 

‘Expanding the pupil with a change in the focal length of the lens…’ was a rather delicate mental image that is definitely too dangerous if applied inaccurately. Luckily, the calculation capacity of Reason was tailored just for situations like these. It was out of the world of us mortals, almost on the level of a first-generation processor.  There was a reason for the rational type of subconsciousness to be considered revolutionary after all. 

 

“[Rasad]” I murmured the versatile trigger word which basically means sight in Imperial, but may also be used with the meaning of to watch, to observe or to monitor, and even to spy. Truly a frightening trigger if used with proper skill and boundless imagination and especially dangerous one for idiots that try to use state-of-art knowledge for peeping purposes in a military high school. 'Erman!'

 

However, that too happened to be as bad a choice as breathing and caused a rather unexpected result; A plethora of colors in my vision with a stabbing sensation in my eyes. Now, although not an expert, I was a man well-versed in many topics including psychoactive substances, and this change in visual input especially reminded me of a rather nasty one.

 

I immediately stopped the energy flow and blinked my eyes repeatedly, which this time induced a great recovery in my vision despite the fact that I have already deactivated the will construct.  ‘Damn, what the hell is happening here!’ 

 

Regrettably, the rapid changes in my vision together with accompanying mild nausea made Passion too restless to stay quiet anymore. Thus he started whimpering again. ‘There goes my peace of mind.’ 

 

‘Blithering canvases! What was that? It was like a storm of rainbow butterflies fluttering inside my eyeballs.’ he stated. If it wasn't my own subconsciousness that was making these comments I would have already left the vicinity already, not that one can escape from himself.  

 

‘It doesn't matter.’ Reason cut him immediately to prevent another fit of nagging. ‘Focus on what you can understand and control now so that you can live another day to focus on what you can't. Watch out for the movement of her hand! Follow the movement of her eyes. You don't know what's coming. At least try to figure out when and where when it is coming. I will try to intercept whatever she is doing and he will deal with the counterattack. Understood?’ 

 

Although that reasoning didn't make Passion calmer it made him more gullible which was good enough for now. Protocols were already in green, thus he started his own tactical assessment which was far less professional compared to Reason’s, even when the latter was only doing them to keep Passion from losing his -my- mind in panic.  

 

‘Understood!’ he started. ‘Follow her eyes…’ and it derailed from thereof. 'Well… She doesn't seem to look at us anymore. Her eyes are focused on something behind us. Is there something behind us?’ Passion said in my head, or did he think instead of saying? 'Damn, my mind is a mess.’

 

‘This is the oldest trick in the book. Eye Feint! Don’t tell me you are going to buy it!’ Reason warned. Alas, it was a little bit too late to prevent Passion from turning his -my- head reflexively.

 

‘No! Don’t look behind buddy. DON’T LOOK BEHIND! Well, whatever.’

 

Passion -I- turned my neck slightly and looked behind with the corner of my eye without missing the woman’s movements and saw a second silhouette. This one was farther away than I could focus my eyes on properly, but I was sure its limbs were moving too though I had no idea about the lips.

 

“Crossfire? Really? Are you kidding me?” I muttered incredulously.

 

‘Change of plans gentleman. The woman is closer. Position your body so that you can see them both at the same time and keep moving away. Give your undivided attention to her. We are going to handle them one at a time.’  Reason instructed Passion, changing his orders. ‘Now… Say it aloud.’ 

 

“Inhale!” I muttered and took a trained breath in again.

 

“ShShSh”

 

With the absolute reaction time advantage of having an awakened mind, and twice at that,  I positioned myself between the two hostiles and started preparing three different mental images with each one of my consciousnesses. Sadly, one of the said consciousnesses was far from professional as can be expected from a five-day-old baby.

 

‘The damned burning just doesn't stop. By the way, what is this sticky thing in my ear?’ he whined.

 

‘This is really starting to get distracting.’ I thought and tried to clean my ear by pressing it with the palm of my left hand for a moment of respite, and then glanced at the sticky liquid on it. ‘Red? Of course red! Blood. My ears are bleeding, maybe my eyes too.’

 

Just like what happened for the umpteenth time in the last couple of instances, a better understanding of the current situation of my orifices put  Passion into an untimely and unwarranted existential crisis. ‘How the… Why? Why am I here? What is happening? More importantly, who. are. these. people?'

 

I decided to ignore his mumblings as long as he did his job and started to rub my ears to clean the blood and blinked a few more times, hoping that it would stop the bloody tears still pouring from my eyes. 

 

On the other hand, Reason was not in a state to tolerate nonsense. 'Enough is enough genius! Focus on the present and for God’s sake keep your eyes on the target.’  

 

‘Say it again. Aloud!’ ‘Yeah, this one's for me.’

 

"Exhale!” I muttered and released the breath I was still holding slowly in a trained pattern. 

 

“FhFhFhFhFhFh” 

 

‘The woman has finished her thing. A full breathing time… Even longer if you consider that I started counting late.’  Reason continued his analysis. ‘A single energy missile emanating from the palm of her hand, aimed at the second hostile. Poppy or Rose… Rose force missiles, or rather… Force missile? Very low on energy… But why so slow? And why is it colored for Lord’s sake? There's something wrong with this whole setup. She is either bluffing or testing the other one. Maybe even baiting us. Don't take any risks.’

 

On the other hand, surprisingly Passion was doing his job properly for the first time today, and observing the woman with his all,  trying to analyze the situation and prepare an appropriate countermeasure, even faster than me, albeit far less professionally than his older brother. ‘Shield?’ he asked and Reason answered his doubts. 

 

‘No! No need for now. Let them eat each other. Whatever she is doing, it is not worth wasting a shield even if it was aimed at us.  We are going to wait for the other one’s reaction first and then decide.’ 

 

As my vision gradually improved, allowing me to see farther away, the ringing in my ears also began to subside. My eyes and lungs were still burning, but not as much as before. Then I began to discern the second figure better, which was a rather lanky man that has a very long auburn ponytail with a tint of red.

 

‘I know at least a few women that would kill to have such hair.’ mused Passion as soon as he -I- could be able to see the second figure properly. ‘The only thing I hate more than ponytails in men are rattails. Can’t he see it? That hair is going to kill him.’ 

 

While those were exactly the expression of my own inner thoughts too, and maybe even Reason’s, they still caused ire from the latter for being extremely untimely. ‘You are letting your mind wander again. Focus!’ 

 

Multiple colored hairpins, bracelets, rings, and amulets on the Ponytail were even more eye-catching than his hair. However, the dandelion-colored sleeveless robe embroidered with countless emerald-colored symbols was more eye-catching than anything on him. Gold necklaces with different chain widths were dangling on his bare chest. I would have liked to say ‘flashy enough to make my eyes bleed’ but unfortunately, my eyes were really bleeding. 

 

As much as Reason was right to rebuke Passion, I was absolutely sure that even he was feeling the same things. Ponytails, earrings, and necklaces killed too many men on the field, even more than gnats. The only thing missing on the gaudy man-thing was a cape which was the absolute bane of any self-respecting soldier. 

 

While I was observing the abode of the man, the rose-colored force missile the woman fired crept towards its target at a too-slow pace for my taste. Naturally, long before it reached, the man was ready for it with his shield and then he started to cast his will again, this time for the counterattack.

 

‘Shield? Well, but why sundaze? Are they testing each other?’ commented Reason curiously. The shield color of the man was sundaze, and considering the change of color and the color intensity after the impact, it was just half a scale above the missle of the woman. They were both at the bottom end of the visible spectrum. The stupidity of making one's missile or shield visible beside, making their approximate power visible was beyond Reason’s comprehension capabilities. Thus, he took the most logical explanation, which was testing or baiting the opponent. ‘Sorry buddy, but I really don't think there is a logical explanation for this situation.’  

 

Now that the ringing in my ears was subsiding, my hearing started to improve too. I seized upon that moment to further enhance it with another versatile trigger word. I channeled an appropriate amount of energy toward my ears while preparing the proper mental image that would increase the air density inside my ears. While not being a direct intervention to the inner ear itself, this one too was as dangerous as the previous one.

 

“[Ezin]” I murmured softly, casting my will by using the trigger word which basically means hear in Imperial. It may not only be used with the meaning of ‘guarantor’ for contract purposes but also with the meaning of ‘obey’, making it a rather tricky and dangerous one if used improperly, especially when used on the caster himself. Luckily again, the calculation capacity of Reason was far above these concerns.  

 

As soon as the sound made its way to my ears again, Passion’s mood improved drastically. 'At least, no unexpected catastrophes this time. Third-time really is the charm.’ he mused happily.

 

Now that sound was a factor again, Reason immediately started to count this new variable in his assessment but this time Passion too started to contribute. Well, at least he tried to. 

 

‘Why are they talking continuously? Wait! What language is this?’ 

‘I don't know. Formal? Imperial? Archaic?’  

‘No, none of them. It was a figurative question.’

‘Figurative or not. The real question is; Why do they rhyme? It sounds funny.’

‘That is not rhyming. They are chanting.’

‘As a form of a verbal component? Is that a joke?’

‘Doesn’t matter. Never underestimate your enemies. Look. The man has already stopped chanting but the woman still continues.’

‘What now? Counter-force-missiles? Counter-force-missile?’

 

While the two incorporeal voices were bickering back and forth in my mind endlessly, the man finished rhyming, or rather chanting as Reason indicated, to cast his will-construct. Practical implications of the absurdity of the situation aside, a force missile had formed on his palm and shot toward the woman.

 

‘Yes, it looks like a force-missile but not a counter-missile. Still, it doesn't matter. Never underestimate unknown elements. Emerald… This one too is low on energy but noticeably faster.’

‘But what is she waiting for? Dodging at the last moment? Well… Grazed! Good reflexes though.’

 

While the man was playing catchball which the woman took for dodgeball, the peanut gallery in my mind not only started to spectate the match between the two but also commentate.

 

‘Her reflexes are good but it is still too risky for my taste to dodge like that.’

‘Everything is too risky for your taste. What now? Is that some kind of dagger hidden in her sleeve? Wow! She is both daring and sneaky. I like her already.’

 

Just like me, they too were trying to give this absurd situation a meaning but unlike me, they could afford to bicker while acting. While my mind was fast, even for a twice-awakened one they were on a completely different level.    

 

‘That woman is really dangerous. Look the way she energizes the blade while hiding on her back.’

‘Why though? Material component?’

‘No. That one is a focus.’

‘Focus? Kinetic?’

‘No, potential. The question is why? 

 

The two -potential- hostiles with unknown origins, that actually chant while casting their wills like actors and actresses from some kind of medieval drama, were literally trying to kill each other in the middle of nowhere with will constructs and projections that could actually be used in a competitive-sports match instead of a duel, thus was the absurdity of the situation. 

 

'Rose again, and she doesn't use a shield either. I guess it's her last hurrah.'

'Look the way she rotates around her own axis… to hide the throwing angle?’

‘Doesn’t matter. It is utter stupidity to take her eyes off the enemy.’

‘It is reckless, not stupid and it really is aesthetically pleasing. The stupidity is for the man to just stand and watch while she is still doing it.’

‘Maybe they are not going for the kill but capture? Maybe it is a duel?

‘I don’t think so. Look! LOOK! The color has disappeared.'

‘Energy conversion from potential to kinetic when the dagger is out of sight… Splendidly performed. She is really talented.’

‘Yeah, she is gorgeous, I said so.'

'I was being sarcastic. Anyway, I can't believe the man is still watching.'

'Nope, he is not watching her anymore. He is watching us. Ugh, creepy ponytail.'

 

My tenants did take their time while the man and woman tested each other and I listened to Reason keeping the focus of Passion on the hostiles subtly, like two broadcasters commenting on a live duel. I had absolutely no idea how one of one's own subconsciousness baits another, much younger subconsciousness subtly while the main consciousness knows everything. ‘Marvels of the mind I guess. Damn, faster than thought communication. It is a cheat.’

 

The emerald shield that slid to the side while the man decided to shoot his own force missile now slid back and hung between them. However, the man wasn't even looking at his adversary anymore. At that moment, the dagger hit the Ponytail’s shield and stripped off its energy considerably. It continued to move forward alas deflected, leaving the shield visibly discolored. It still held in the end alas, the man didn't care about it. He was keeping his eyes on another target right now, which was me regrettably, and then started talking. 

 

“𐰽𐰭𐰀:𐰾𐰇𐰘𐰠𐰘𐰆𐰺𐰢:𐰢𐰋𐰾𐰠”

 

‘I think… He is trying to tell us something.’ Passion continued using his impeccable analysis skills like nothing unexpected happened, which earned him a sarcastic comment from Reason. ‘I think you are a genius.’

 

‘Oh, come on. What was that for?’

 

While the two of them continued their inner bickering, the man shouted this time in a voice with a much higher pitch, obviously offended for being ignored.

 

“𐰽𐰭𐰀:𐰾𐰇𐰘𐰠𐰘𐰆𐰺𐰢:𐰯𐱃𐰞:𐱁𐰘:𐰃𐱅𐰀𐰀𐱃:𐱅’ 

 

The sudden change in the atmosphere weirded Passion deeply while making Reason vigilant. However, there was a third party that showed a much different reaction. She started to laugh, really hard. 

 

‘Oookay, this is really creepy. Why is this guy yelling at us?’

‘I don’t know, I don’t care. But the question is… Why is the woman laughing?’

 

“𐰚𐰱:𐰏𐰇𐰠𐰲𐰏𐰢:𐰖𐰸𐱃𐰆:𐰏𐰠𐰤𐰢𐰤:𐰋𐰃𐱅𐱅𐰃:𐰢𐰃:𐰖𐰸𐰽𐰀:𐰑𐰴𐰀:𐰋𐰚𐰠𐰘𐰲𐰚:𐰢𐰃𐰘𐰔” Shouted the woman towards the man while holding her sides between her laughter, which made the man far angrier than my -our- indifference. 

 

“𐰴𐰯𐰀:𐰲𐰭𐰤𐰃:𐰾𐰇𐰼𐱅𐰜:𐰾𐰤𐰭:𐰓𐰀:𐰽𐰃𐰺𐰣:𐰏𐰠𐰲𐰚" Was his response, or something like that which I had absolutely no idea about. 

 

As far as I could deduce from the demeanor of the two, the will-slinging duel evolved into a word-slinging duel in moments in which the woman had an innate advantage over the man who only got angrier and angrier with each answer he got. That made my inner broadcasters resume their broadcast in the disguise of tactical assessment. 

 

‘Here you go… Now they're both looking at us and shouting at each other. The woman does seem to be having fun though, aaand now the man started to wave his arms. Simply ridiculous.’

‘This is definitely not a good sign and he's not waving his arms. He is casting his will again.'

 

But this time, none of us -me- had the intention to wait and watch from the sidelines again. Immediately, Passion announced his -my- decision.

 

‘Whatever… I am leaving this place immediately.’ which only made Reason stop him before he took action.

‘Not you greenhorn… WE are leaving this place. Like you can leave without us… However, it looks like we must stop the man before leaving. I think a small warning shot will suffice for stopping the man’s casting. It would also serve the purpose of discouraging any of them from following us later.’

 

Funnily though, Passion’s mood took a complete turn and he immediately took initiative. 

 

‘Now, nooow… If you say so… Leave it to me. How was that…’

‘Fire management?’

‘Hah… Callsign; Passion’

 

‘Here we go.’ I thought sighing inside. For all his flaws, passion was extremely passionate about casting his will, especially anything that includes hot plasmas. Maybe it was about the volatility of the substance that allows him to express himself better or maybe it was all about the guilty feeling of a child that was actually allowed to play with matches. ‘Yeah, definitely about the guilty feeling of playing with the matches.’ 

 

Realizing the enthusiasm of Passion, Reason didn't want to intervene but still suggested moderation. ‘A small hydrogen flame would suffice.’ Which only fell on deaf… Ears? Consciousness? Did I say my mind is really a mess right now?’

 

‘Distance… About fifteen lengths… I think five lengths ahead of the target would be enough. If you take the shield into account, three lengths would be better.’ Passion finished his estimations,  announcing his -my- intention happily. ‘Let's shake this guy's confidence a little bit…’ 

 

‘Where did the fire discipline go? One does not simply call artillery strike, even for warning shots, without proper calculations, boy.’ 

 

‘Don’t go overbroad.’ Reason reminded again, ever cautious. Thankfully this time he got an answer at least.

‘I won’t. Let’s see… Aim first, and then mental image…’

 

‘I swear I can smell his eagerness in that voice -though-? Anyway… High pressure, high temperature, and finally, direct electric current… was at least a, relatively, safe mental image if only a little bit ambitious due to being a third-order one. Regardless, not trusting anyone including me, Reason cross-checked the physical expression of the first part of the mental image formed between me and the man, Ponytail, a rather big sphere of compressed air within moments, and warned Passion. ‘Something is different? It looks like it's a little bigger than it should be…’

 

‘Well, it's not important. Big is better.’ Passion discarded Reason’s concerns immediately. ‘After all, he asked for it.’ and continued having fun.

 

“I hope I won't be court-martialed for this.” I mused incredulously. I knew I had a dark side like everyone but this was something else. 

 

‘Now… The second part of the mental image… Low pressure… Wow, he is still doing that chanting thing. Sorry, Ponytail you are too slow.’

 

Just like being the epitome of reason like he intended to be, Reason cross-checked the physical expression of the second part of the mental image too, and warned Passion again. ‘Something is seriously wrong here. Hold fire!’

 

I stopped the sequence immediately hoping the sudden release of the compressed air would interrupt the Ponytail. However, the excitement took the better of someone much more trigger-happy than me, and everything happened all at once.

 

‘Trigger’

'Passiooooooooon!

 “[Nar]”

‘Wait! Did he just-

 

BOOOMMMMMM!