It's bad.
Very bad.
Immortal cultivators have a lot of perks mortals do not have. Sensing others' emotions, more so the ones closer to me, is very easy. It is akin to a 'divine intuition'.
Looking at the dazed Sirin who opened the door…
She's on the verge of committing suicide.
No wonder Kiana felt something was wrong. Sirin's mind is a tangled mess from thirty five years ago. While Kiana had a serious talk with her, it wasn't enough to fully deal with it.
Sirin did not say anything when I came in. There isn't anything inside her dwelling, either.
No, it is not right to call it nothing. There is a bed, carpet, table, and a pair of chairs.
I carried the chairs to face each other. The simple telekinesis is nothing but a trifle to the current me.
Sirin understood what I wanted and sat across the other seat.
For a while, nobody spoke. Her gaze wandered around me, though it did not linger much. I turned speechless when her gaze ended up landing on me, only for Sirin to turn away.
I am speechless. It isn't embarrassment, but complete aversion. Sirin developed a dislike for interacting with others, turning into a pufferfish with social anxiety issues…
"Kiana wanted me to talk with you."
"..."
I chose to tell the truth. Their connection through the auxiliary technique allows them to grasp each others' emotions unless they actively block it.
Kiana never did so.
"I want to hear it. The things that bother you."
*****
'Ah…'
Envy.
That was Sirin's most prevalent emotion. To have someone who understands them is a peerless treasure. At the very least, she also wanted to have someone like that.
All of her pent-up frustrations, mental burdens, trauma, hatred…
A certain idea began to reappear in her mind.
Sirin viewed herself as unworthy, to the point she wanted to disappear and let her other self live her good life in peace.
But…
'I want it too..! I want it too!'
Her internal thoughts turned into a messed up blender. The aura she emanated turned extremely heavy, echoing her similarly heavy thoughts.
Shi Tian never expected to elicit such a response just after a single sentence.
Just then, Sirin thought of something. It was a bucket of cold water to her head. A vague sense of disappointment emerged from her heart.
'He must be doing it for Kiana…'
Her pressing aura was retracted. Her eyes flashed a look of doubt.
"Does it concern you?"
"Yes."
"Because it will hurt Kiana?"
"Because it hurts you."
"..."
Sirin wanted to retort but failed to do so. The look in Shi Tian's eyes said it all. He was never lying.
Her heartbeats started to quicken. Still, she vehemently denied everything.
"Hah. As if you'll care about someone you wanted to kill back then."
"Why can't I? Back then… I am powerless to do anything else. I cannot convince you to stop your revenge. I can only fight for Kiana's safety."
Shi Tian did not shy away from her accusation. He lacked the power to take Sirin down 'safely'. He opted for the killing blow to save Kiana.
"There are a lot of things I could not do because I was weak."
His statement resonated with Sirin.
'Weakness is a sin…'
The more it did so, the more she leaned towards accepting… no, stealing Shi Tian from Kiana. Her internal thoughts could barely be contained. All of her mind's mess slowly transitioned into an obsession.
As a last resort, Sirin voiced out the final piece of her doubt.
"You're talking as if you wouldn't get in my way…"
"There's nothing wrong with your revenge. I wouldn't get in your way if it was possible."
"..?"
Seeing the look of utter confusion in her eyes, Shi Tian took it as a sign to continue.
"Otto did unspeakable things. He practically robbed you of your entire life. Being used as an unwilling experimental subject, and then humanity's common enemy… I would have gone even crazier than you if it happened to me."
Shi Tian saw Sirin's life in the lens of a bystander—of a player. This perspective gave a lot of insights on her story. It is something unimaginable to the people of this world. Nobody can calmly evaluate Sirin's story as much as Shi Tian did now.
"There's no use talking about morality at that time. Everyone who gets in your way is an enemy. Even the general populace of humanity is also your enemy. Part of the reason they experimented on you is to protect them. Your revenge is understandable…"
He hesitated for a moment and completed his words:
"So you don't need to think much of it. I would rather see you two let go of it… of your past. Though I know more than enough this won't happen."
"..."
Sirin's world stopped.
She was utterly stunned. Bewildered. Words tried to escape from her mouth, only to form unrecognizable sounds.
"Ah…"
Her mind broke. She stared blankly at Shi Tian. The more she did so, the more captivated she got. His words resounded repeatedly in her mind.
The hesitations and doubts she previously had dissipated into nothingness. His final words pushed her to make a choice.
'Someone… who understands me…'
Buzz-!
The surrounding space cracked. Black slits appeared all over the room. The ground shook rhythmically as the sounds of explosions appeared one after another.
Amidst it all, Shi Tian watched as Sirin's gaze turned into something he is familiar with:
Obsession.
'It's worse than Seele's!'
Those golden eyes saw nothing but Shi Tian. Her love was so suffocating it was an utter disregard of herself.
Everything else lost meaning in Sirin's eyes.
Shi Tian…
Only Shi Tian exists in her world.
'This is dangerous…'
Before he could say anything, Sirin's figure reappeared in front of him. She unhesitantly sat on his lap, facing him. Her hands pressed on his shoulders. Shi Tian had his back pushed against the seat.
Sirin's eyes housed uniquely-lined irises. It formed a geometrically perfect criss-cross pattern akin to a focused sniper scope.
Now, this scope is aimed solely at Shi Tian.
No words were said between them. The deafening silence did not hamper Sirin's turbulent emotions.
"I… want you."