Kyrie sat on the table, his mind everywhere and nowhere.
Should his pursuers find him, how was he going to handle them this time or should he focus on getting help first.
Getting to the crown casino was reaching much safer grounds but even that would be putting people like Elaine and maybe Katherine in the cross-hairs of his situation.
He had to think of a fast and smart plan. If only he didn't arrive in this world only three days ago. He would have more information to work with.
He didn't waste any more time and instead focused on the things he could reach for now.
He quickly opened the system interface, fully aware he had being ignoring the notifications amidst all the recent chaos.
He looked through the rewards that were stacking and the present abilities and skills he possessed.
He started with the basic and yet important thing right now, which was his attributes.
He mentally directed the system to in-state the pre-determined quest stats.
[Attribute Points Available: 2]
[Fortitude: 11 → 12] (Automatic)
[Strength: 9 → 10] (Automatic)
[Unassigned Points: 2]
Kyrie studied his stats. He needed balance, strength has a boost but he needed speed to evade and precision to strike.
He wasn't going to act like some web-novel protagonist, dumbing everything into strength. At least not for now.
Let's try a new path, he thought.
[Dexterity: 9 → 10]
[Agility: 13 → 14]
The moment the stats came into place, he felt the changes in his body as even the additions seemed to have elevated his stamina.
If this men were still coming for me, they definitely wouldn't meet the same Kyrie of earlier.
Even as he went through the interface his eyes caught something.
[Empath Sense → Psyche Resonance (Evolved)]
His first and last try of it was with Negan which yielded only frustration almost as if Negan broke the skill itself.
Now seemed as good a time as any to test it out again.
Kyrie closing his eyes, focus from within before expanding outwards.
The skill expanded like ripples. Not in water but air itself. Fifty meters, it kept going. Seventy, and yet it expanded. Only stopping at about hundred.
Several thoughts drifted into his awareness—soft, surface-level.
*...need to finish this before my shift ends...*
*...hope she forgives me...*
*...just want something warm to eat…*
Workers in the nearby factories. Mundane people with ordinary concerns. He felt their emotions too—exhaustion, worry, hunger. Their day to day struggles.
Kyrie opened his eyes, quite satisfied. The range had grown. And with it, his ability to sense intent.
In a fight, that was enough to determine if one lived or died.
He dismissed the interface as he had to prepare should those relentless men came looking for him. There was also something unsettling about the blue-eyed man.
In the back room of the safe house. Kyrie found a small arsenal. Knives, batons, steel wires. No guns. They weren't his style anyway.
He quickly felt the knives, weighing them and they felt just right, it seemed this body might have an affinity for knives.
He concealed the baton as well and then he surveyed the safe house, pinpointing points of entry and escape routes.
Within a few minutes of checking around, he had found three escape routes that he could take advantage of. Should the need ever arises.
There was a basement tunnel that led to the next building. A window on the east wall, it was connected to a fire escape and the roof.
The last was a false panel in the back,it was a hidden passage that was part of the walls and led to an alley, two buildings away.
With each escape route accounted for, he moved close to the centre of the room and waited, still getting a sense of the entire ambience.
Even while Kyrie was preparing himself should danger come for him. Negan was finally entering into Strevus again.
He sat in an unmarked steam carriage while his car was left somewhere at the borders.
He and the mystery woman faced each other, her legs crossed in a relaxed manner. Her face was still shadowed.
"You're completely sure about this?" she asked, her tone quite serene.
"Wouldn't have called if I wasnt."
She studied him carefully and sighed.
"You never call unless it's serious. What exactly am I going to see?"
"i'm not too sure, the last telepath I had look at him fell apart." Negan said. "She kicked us out, wouldn't even explain what she saw."
The woman's expression remained the same. Completely unmoved.
"And the boy?"
" He has been stable. Actually more stable than usual."
Negan leaned forward slightly. "But that's the problem. He shouldn't be. Not that I don't like it but especially not after what I saw."
"What did you see?"
"Telekinesis" Negan's tone was direct.
"He used it in a fight. It was clean and controlled. Like he'd been doing it for years."
He paused looking at his own hands.
"Like the younger me"
The woman's eyes narrowed.
"Both routes, so he's Omni?"
"It's the only explanation."
Silence shifted into the carriage. Outside, the city was changing as they arrived at the housing areas.
"That's rare " she said finally.
"Quite dangerous, too. Especially if he's unstable—"
"That's why I need your help." Negan's voice softened.
"I need to know if he's really okay. If the episodes are done. If... whatever is keeping him together is trustworthy."
She rested her hands on her chin.
"You think there's something else in him."
"I know there is. He told me as much."
She exhaled slowly, her eyes much sharper. "And you still trust him?"
"He saved my life." Negan's gaze remained steady.
"Twice now. He's still K-Y. He's still my boy. But I need to be completely sure"
The woman nodded slowly. "Alright then. But if this turns into something else—"
"It won't."
She still followed every of his nuances before chuckling
"You always say that."
Negan smirked. "And I'm always right."
—---
Outside of Negan's main house, two men were watching the locked door and darkened windows.
"Still nothing," one of them muttered.
"Boss simply said to keep watch"
A third man approached them from the side. His expression exhausted.
"Just got confirmation. Negan's not in the city. Border checkpoint has confirmed."
Both men quickly straightened.
"So the kid might be alone."
"For now."
One of them pulled out a prompter, recording a quick message.
Moments later, Rudolf's voice came through.
" That's perfect. Expand the search. Check the casino, the docks, every property we know about. I want eyes everywhere now!"
The men dispersed.
Across the city, more of Gilead's people moved. There was surveillance in the crown casino—two men in worker's clothes, watching the entrance and exits.
There were no signs of Negan or Kyrie.
In the industrial district, informants asked questions. Taxi drivers, vendors, anyone who might have seen a young man, barefooted and half-naked.
One driver recalled. "Yeah, there was this weird kid. Disappeared halfway through his ride. Thought I was going crazy."
Another recalled a similar fare. "He disappeared when we were near the factories on the east side."
The came in and Rudolf pieced them together, trying to narrow down the information.
There were four potential safehouses in the eastern industrial district.
"Send squads to all of them," Rudolf ordered. "If he's there, I want him found."
Rudolf finished his sentence and got to his feet in the company of another man.
Time passed
Suddenly Kyrie's eyes snapped open
He hadn't been resting merely focusing, keeping his senses sharp. His Psyche Resonance Skill active had flared.
He sensed Malice.
It wasn't just a single source.
Within the full extent of his skill range, he felt them approaching.
His body charged in both excitement and anxiety.
Moving to the window, he looked through the dirty glass, where he saw movement—there were figures on the street spreading out and surrounding the building.
He sensed four but not the last two—Psions maybe.
"Hmmm" Kyrie grunted.
While the men finally pinpointed Kyrie's position.
Negan's Prompter buzzed.
He quickly pulled it out. As he stared at the screen and immediately his expression changed.
"What is it?" the woman asked, noticing him.
Negan didn't answer. He leaned forward, tapping the driver's aperture.
"Faster."
The driver hesitated. "Sir, the streets—"
"I don't care. Faster."
The woman watched him, then sighed. "Negan—"
"Saul's men are searching for him," Negan said coldly. "I think they found him."
She sighed, sliding across the seat closer to the doors and just as the carriage slowed nearing a corner.
"You handle this first. When it's done, contact me."
Negan nodded.
"I'm not getting involved in this petty squabbles."
Her tone was firm but not unkind.
The door opened, and she was gone in a blur.
Negan watched her disappear then turned back to the driver. "Step on it." He ordered.
The carriage's speed picked up, tearing through the streets.
—
At the Safe house
One of the thugs kicked in the door.
Kyrie still stood near the center of the room,his red eyes calm and attentive.
Four men had burst in from different directions, guns and clubs in hand. They looked aggressive and confident.
Since they tried flanking only three came directly at him. The thug who kicked the door in and two others from behind him.
Behind the thug, the two men that followed, looked different and felt that way as well—one was tall with broad shoulders. His body was oozing with energy.
The other was none other than Rudolf Stanks, his blue eyes cold and calculating as ever.
Rudolf's gaze swept the room before landing on Kyrie.
"Kyrie" he said evenly. "You're a difficult kid to find."
Kyrie smirked.
"So he speaks, was thinking you were dumb"
All the while his psyche resonance was active. Their emotions which included aggression, confidence and even a bit of fear came to him.
The man that came in with the psions raised a revolver aiming at Kyrie.
"Boss said we could do this quick or messy. Your choice."
Kyrie's hand moved to the knife at his belt.
"Messy, works."
---
Evening had fell over Strevus, the slow and inevitable darkness swallowing everything.
Negan's carriage still moved at high speeds.
Negan's hands were steady, but his mind raced.
Hold on, K-Y.
I'm coming!
Author's Note: I have created a system where the thoughts the MC senses or read would be in (**).. This should make it easier to keep up.
Please drop reviews and power stones. Also add to Library if you haven't