"Is that how we are playing now?" his grandfather's voice sounded again. The pool of blood vanished, and he found himself standing beside young Jack, who had stopped crying but was still sitting, his back pressed against the wall for support.
"Tell me, how much money do you want to extort? I have enough to fill your needs," his grandpa continued.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Hauston? Don't you know that I could turn you in for attempting to bribe an officer on duty?"
"Then what else is there you would get out of this.. Unle—" before his grandfather finished, the sound of a call ringtone filled the room.
"It's my wife. I will have to take it. Be right back in a bit. You can teach your grandson how to behave in custody in the meantime."
Jack remembered none of this. After all, the only memories he retained were the ones that haunted him in his dreams. The officer stormed out of the room, and Jack noticed he had a smirk on.
"Yes sir, we will have him soon," the officer said, but as he was walking, his sleeve rode up a little, showing something which Jack instantly recognized as an Ortho Sapien wristband.
"Sigh~ So playing dirty are we? I'm game," Jack heard his grandfather's voice again.
A few seconds later, his voice rang through again. He was on a call.
"Hello? Vanthelis. It's me, Rick. I have orders for you," he spoke, his voice laced with authority.
Jack's ears shot up at this. Vanthelis? Could it be Draven Vanthelis? The same man who played the pivotal role in the festival incident? His mind raced at the thought, anger and disgust welling up inside him.
But instead of the deep voice of a man Jack expected, a chirpy and soft voice of a young girl came from the other side. She sounded like she was about the same age as Jack was at that time.
"Helloo!!! Grandpa Hauston? Is that you? It's me, Raven. Dad is doing the dishes," she said.
"Ah, hey there sweetheart. How are you? Is your stomach alright? Can you get me to your dad? We have some matters to discuss," his grandpa answered, his voice softening as well.
"Yes, wait just a second. I'm okay. My stomach hasn't hurt since the last time you treated me. It doesn't mean you shouldn't visit me otherwise. I have a lot of things to tell you... Dad, it's Grandpa Hauston. He says he wants to talk to you," she called to her father, followed by a distinct clatter of utensils falling.
"Jeez Dad, you're clumsy as always. Let me handle them. You talk to Grandpa," she continued after a defeated sigh.
"Greetings, my liege. You honor me with this call. What is required of me?" a deep voice of a man rang from the other side.
"Hello Draven. Your father did his job very well and produced astonishing results. You too are just like him, always completing your jobs. And thus, I have orders for you," his grandpa said, his voice returning serious.
"Say the word, Master, and it shall be done."
"There are two bodies lying in the mortuary of the city hospital, waiting for post-mortem. Their numbers are... 7986543 and 7986520. Get rid of them. The bodycam footages would be getting uploaded onto the cloud in an hour. I want you to steal the bodycams of all the officers of patrol group 13 before they get uploaded. Can you do it within the next thirty minutes?"
"Consider it done. Shall I bring them to you later? The bodycams I mean. I will destroy the bodies without a trace," Draven answered firmly.
"You can. I have a lot to discuss with you about it. Don't waste time now. I don't pester you, but this time I'm rather restless. Get the job done. I wish you luck."
"At once, Master." And with that, the call cut. Rick Hauston sighed with relief, and Jack Hauston stood there frozen at this new memory he didn't recall.
The door opened again, and Rick appeared in the doorway, smiling at young Jack.
"Come inside, young man," he said gently.
Young Jack straightened up and walked inside the room. Shuffling his feet nervously, he sat down after his grandfather on the couch, waiting for whatever was gonna happen to him.
"Grandpa..." young Jack murmured, looking at his grandfather, waiting for what he had to speak about this.
"Grandpa, I didn't do it. I am speaking the truth. I could see myself doing it, and during that time, I was outside my body and could see it moving around," he mumbled, understanding how ridiculous he sounded.
"I know you didn't," his grandfather said. At this, young Jack felt like Rick didn't believe him, and he didn't blame him. He was making a ridiculous claim, after all.
"They... they tried to... they tried to rape Diana. I had to step in, but I never wanted to kill them. I swear I'm not lying when I said I could see myself from outside my body," he stammered.
At this, Rick Hauston closed his eyes for a moment.
"Monsters tend to do terrible stuff. I'm glad you stepped up. I'm proud of you, my grandson. I would be disappointed if you had let something like that happen to your best friend and just watched just because you were scared to get hurt," his grandfather spoke, patting his head.
Jack nodded silently.
"Whether you killed them consciously or subconsciously, it doesn't matter. Acknowledge it. Whether you kill someone out of revenge, a sense of duty, it doesn't matter. Think what that person would've done if you hadn't killed them. If you feel a sense of relief upon doing so, know you did the right thing.
He took a moments pause before continuing again.
"In this case, they would've done a terrible thing to that little girl. It would've scarred her whole life. We couldn't have then said she fell unconscious on her way home like we did now when she awakened at home."
"Still, remove your shirt and lie down, I need to take some precautionary measures," his grandfather instructed.
Is he gonna hit me? The question echoed in young Jack's mind as he removed his shirt and lay down on the couch.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you or something," his grandfather chuckled.
Rick stretched out his right palm, concentrating his Kana energy around his fingers. In an instant, gentle blue flames started to lick his fingers.
"It never ceases to amaze me how much Kana energy he could concentrate," adult Jack murmured, watching it in amazement.
Rick placed the hand gently on Jack's stomach, right above his dantian. The energy seeped into Jack's body, illuminating his Kana network, his aura nodes, Kana pathways, kai centres, and dantian all visible as streaks and patches illuminated with a blue light inside him.
The energy continued to pulse inside young Jack for a few moments, and after that, Rick gently pushed his fingers further against his stomach and then withdrew his hand. The energy pulsated for a few more seconds and then vanished.
"Ah, he fell asleep. It worked," Rick said, smiling gently as he got up.
"Memories of such a terrible experience are not suitable for a child. It can be a burden and make him fear his own power. We wouldn't want that when we want him to grow strong, would we now? I will proceed to clear every other person's memory as well, and when Draven finishes his job, it will be like it never happened. Trying to frame my grandson when they should be awarding him—they will pay," his grandfather continued.
Wait, if I am asleep, then why is the dream still ongoing? Why can I still see what happened around after this? Jack wondered as he looked at the peaceful, tear-streaked, sleeping face of his young version.
"Wondering why you can still see what's happening around even after young Jack went to sleep?" his grandfather asked, looking in the direction where adult Jack stood.
No. He was looking at adult Jack.
"Hello, grandson. I hope you've been well," he said with a smile.
"Grandpa... can you? Can you see me?"
"It's a shame I can't see or hear you. I wanted to see what a strong young man my grandson would've become. All I can see is a bunch of Kana energy molded into your shape where you stand."
"If you are wondering what this is, lemme explain. Kana energy is one of the fundamental forces of the universe. It even exists in the space-time plane, and thus it can travel freely through time and space. What I did on your young body right now was inscribe a Kana circuit that would send a shard of your consciousness back to this day, manifesting your form in the memories that were loaded onto the Kana circuit."
Wait, if he can see Kana energy... Jack thought. Swiftly, he manifested Kana slabs and arranged them into a big "I See."
"Wow, so ingenious. That's what I would expect from my grandson. The Ortho Sapiens are getting stronger. Beware. What I did now was seal away the memories of the day. They will slowly leak into your mind once again through these dreams once you get emotionally stable enough to handle them."
How am I seeing this stuff then, when my younger self is asleep? Jack quickly formed words with his Kana manifestations.
"You are seeing them through my memories, which are actively being implanted into the Kana circuit. My mind and the circuit are continuously sharing information, allowing me to see your shadow as well. Why I did all this? You will know later. The Kana circuit's main purpose wasn't just communication."
"I don't know when you will discover these memories, but there is a message I have for you before I end this. The source didn't tell me much about the timeline progression. Anyways, if you are already wielding Orvenak, I want you to go to my study and pick up the eighth book I wrote for you about my fighting techniques. There is something for you there. Enak will explain its use later. And read all the other books too—they will help you grow stronger. Enak will guide you through them."
"Wait, Grandpa!" Jack wrote again.
"I'm sorry, my child, but I will have to end this here. Otherwise, it will draw in too much of your Kana energy and you might die. It was nice meeting you again. I'm grateful to have a grandson like you. I know I died with no regrets," he said, a warm smile radiating across his face.
"Stay strong, kid. Life's not all fun and games, though I know you must've learned it the hard way. I'm sorry, but fate is something I cannot change alone," his grandfather said with a nod.
There was a crack, and Jack was pulled back into his body. The dream had ended, but this time, instead of regrets and anger, it left him with excitement, curiosity, and happiness.
"Right on the time, huh?" he mumbled as he sat up to look at the time before slumping back into the pillows again.
"Enak, let's visit the other pocket tent and get it over with. I have some tasks for you afterwards," he mumbled as he replayed every dialogue he had newly heard this time around.
"I'm all set. Ready whenever you are, young master."
"Let's go," Jack said as he got up, a sentence his grandfather stuck on repeat inside his ears.
Fate is something I cannot change alone.