13 - Paper Scissors Rock

“You expect me to believe that you slept last night?” Oskar asked.

“Yeah, I guess...” Sakuto said, barely keeping up with his friend. They explored the morning city that was shrouded by a rebellious entourage of dark gray clouds. “Just feel a little dizzy that’s all...”

“I’m still surprised.” Oskar continued. “They got soulfuls in a unit that is supposed to...kill soulfuls? I wonder how much they’re getting paid. It’s the BSBM’s unit, their ‘gift’ to the greater cause. Soulless fucking assholes.”

“It’s the same as...I don’t know.” Sakuto said. He stopped for a few seconds.

“We’re walking around with our presences upped to the max.” Oskar said. “So at any rate, either we come across our target, or...”

“Yeah...” Sakuto exhaled. For a moment, he looked confused, even lost.

“Or we come across Jackal.” Oskar said. “Who I assume those freaks wanna hunt down too. Maybe they’re killing soulfuls so that nobody else can kill Jackal but them?”

“Ah...yeah....” Sakuto agreed. “Dude...you got any painkillers on you?”

“Huh?”

“My head’s killing me.” Sakuto grunted.

“Nah, don’t have any on me.” Oskar said. “You know, you could’ve just told me if you didn’t feel well.”

“No, this one...is different.” Sakuto said, covering his left eye with his pale hand. “The last time I had this was...”

The sound of a steel object tumbling towards them caught them by surprise. The unbearably bright flash that followed, paired with a deafening sound, paralyzed both of them on the spot.

Sakuto swung his blade around in panic. Oskar, remaining more composed, quickly ripped off any piece of metal that was in the street, using them to build a shield around the two. Eventually, Sakuto’s frantic attacks got really close to badly injuring his friend.

“God dammit, Sakuto!” Oskar exclaimed, holding him still. “The hell’s wrong with you?!”

Sakuto bowed down, rubbing his eyes. Slowly, his vision returned. A shower of bullets was attempting to break through the shield.

“I don’t feel so good...is it because I couldn’t sleep?”

“No...it’s something else.”

“It’s that feeling again.”

Oskar tossed the metal plates and destroyed car parts around, knocking some of the assaulting soldiers down. He swung his sword around, sending flying slashes to decapitate his targets. No matter how well-equipped the soldiers were, they were no match for soulful power. That’s why the unit had a special ace up its sleeve...

“Sakuto, there’s the main target.” Oskar said, pointing at a man standing in the distance. From his stance, it looked like he wielded a bow.

“Y-yeah...” Sakuto said, trying to regain his composure. “I’ll try to get him.”

Though, their opponent took the initiative first. An arrow with a notable red trail was shot at Sakuto, who managed to stop it with his blade. Unbeknownst to him, the arrow didn’t lose its momentum - changing its trajectory and piercing him in his leg. A burning sensation caused him great pain, as he tried to forcefully remove it.

“This feeling...”

“This dream that I’ve constantly seen...”

“It’s trying...to tell me something?”

Simultaneously, Oskar tried to close the distance between himself and the challenger. He managed to land a jab, but the enemy escaped the distance and fired another arrow. It had an orange trail, and upon hitting Oskar’s shoulder, pierced right through it and blew a small hole in it.

“Sakuto!” Oskar yelled, trying to continue his assault. With the corner of his eye, he could see another group of soldiers approaching, ready to open fire.

“The world looks like it's the same as that dream.” Sakuto thought before swinging his blade, sending a slash at the unsuspecting soldiers. A small spark appeared on his chest.

“It looks so gray and colorless...”

“But the certain colored spots...shine so bright and warm.”

“They make everything look so profoundly beautiful.”

Oskar clasped his hands, preparing to fire an electricity bolt at the adversary. He, in return, fired another arrow, this one had a yellow trail. How does it feel when a snake bites itself, injecting itself with its own venom? If only there was one who could talk to Oskar about his experiences, because the young soulful was about to receive a rather heavy electrocution.

At this point, however, Sakuto had already caught up to the two. Still in a derealized state, he grabbed the electrifying arrow out of Oskar’s stomach. His own arm got pretty bad burns from the powerful current. Alas, a second spark appeared on his chest.

“Oskar, stay back. I got it.” Sakuto said in a shaky voice.

“These colors, that are amplified...”

“Huh? You figured it out?” Oskar asked, trying his hardest not to scream in pain.

“Fire off an EMP wave. Make it as strong as you can.” Sakuto said. His eyes were wide open. “And watch for soulless troops. I’ll kill this guy.”

“Right...” Oskar said, taking a step back. This time, a green arrow was fired at them. It pierced Sakuto’s stomach and started to expand spiky vines in his body, but Sakuto got rid of the arrow with relative ease. The third spark appeared.

“Sakuto, does your adaptation normally kick in this fast?” Oskar asked, a bit concerned.

“It’s color.” Sakuto said, tightly gripping his blade. “Each color represents a different effect. Red, orange, yellow and green...it’s a rainbow. They also get progressively stronger. As for the second part of your question, I have no idea what’s going on with me.”

“How surprisingly smart for a soulful.” The man replied, smirking.

“You’re a soulful too, dipshit! Don’t downplay your own kind!” Oskar yelled back.

“I’m Colonel Douglas, Lieutenant of the BSBM-funded anti-terrorism unit. Unfortunate enough to get divine powers, fortunate enough to use them for the right cause.” The man said, preparing to take another shot.

“Oskar, do what I said.” Sakuto said, before shattering the distance between himself and Douglas. Even Oskar was surprised by his speed.

“No matter how much I looked down, I couldn’t see your colorful gaze.”

“The mountain still felt cold...but a place where I needed to be. Where I was forced to be since the day I acknowledged it.”

Sakuto swung his blade at Douglas, who tried his hardest to keep evading the lethal strikes. A light-blue arrow was fired in between the exchanges, which hit Sakuto’s foot and created a large shard of ice.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Sakuto’s adaptation was an extremely dangerous toolkit to fight against. It requires fast and diverse attacks to destroy. Douglas had the chance to force Sakuto to miscalculate and adapt in the “wrong direction”, however, Sakuto’s own wits allowed him to see through his soul. The fourth spark appeared on his chest, the arrow was swiftly ejected and the ice destroyed. The freezing sensation, however, affected Sakuto deeply on another frontline...

“I get it now.”

Sakuto dashed back for a moment.

“I was wrong.”

“All this time, I was gazing downwards, trying to find you in a place you couldn’t be in.”

“What I hadn’t realized was that I simply needed to look in front of me.”

“There you were, Ichika. You stood on the same height as me. You breathed the same cold air, and had the same lonely wind gently blowing your hair to the side. That emerald spark in your eyes...looked so beautiful.”

“I couldn’t bring myself to reject it.”

Douglas was confused, and a moment later, terrified. Sakuto’s presence flared to a new level. Douglas fired off a dark blue arrow, creating a trail of water and striking Sakuto with tremendous force. He followed it up with a dark purple arrow that detonated beneath Sakuto’s feet, launching him up into the sky. But instead of falling down, he stayed there. The fifth spark was profoundly bright.

Oskar observed everything from the side, fresh after finishing off the remaining soldiers. He was concerned and confused.

“What the hell is up with Sakuto? It’s like he’s not even involved in the fight.”

“And how the hell is he levitating? What’s with his presence?!”

He took a few steps back, now in fear. He was bracing for impact.

“Is this...what an awakening looks like? For a monster of a soulful like you?”

Douglas felt the same way as Oskar. He was already extremely unfortunate to run into the two, but his bad luck almost sealed his fate when Sakuto’s soul decided to evolve. The next arrow Douglas prepared to fire was glowing, enchanted with all seven colors of the rainbow. He jumped up and retreated into the second floor of a nearby building, taking a firing position.

“It doesn’t matter what the hell is going on with him. Rain-Bow’s final strike will fuck him up for good!”

But Sakuto had no care in the world. The dark and cloudy sky was slightly broken apart, with desolate beams of sunlight shining down his body. It looked like an ascension.

“My stomach...feels strange. My heart beats faster the more I think about this.”

“The world seems more colorful...am I being deceived? Or am I simply seeing the truth?”

“No, the monochromatic and colorless fog still surrounds all...but beneath that, I can see your eyes, Ichika. They give a special color to my outlook.”

“A shade that I cannot describe. An unexplainable color that I want to be around and protect. Your beautiful soul, that was scarred like mine, has given me hope...”

“I thought I’d never see this day.”

Sakuto held his blade in his hand. Even the iron of his weapon shone a special color. The spark on his chest remained, and it left an imprint of a special power. Out of Douglas’ building, a pair of soldiers got outside. One of them placed the powerful rocket launcher down, while the other one held it from behind and helped his comrade aim. The heat-seeking explosive was aimed at Sakuto. But while it was in the air, it was forcefully repelled and shoved into the ground where it exploded.

“What’s taking him so long...?” Oskar thought, observing the sight. “I don’t even know what’s gonna happen...or if whatever Sakuto might pull off is gonna hurt me or not...but it’s fine. I trust him that he’ll be fine.”

Sakuto’s eyes focused on Douglas.

“Despite it only being a dream, it was the purest, most vivid image of a perfectly content life I’ve ever seen.””

“But what is this? Am I not seeing that very dream again, right now?”

“No...this is reality.”

“Being entangled in the soulful world. Being strong and acknowledged for it. Having an impact and a purpose...”

“Spending my days with my friend, who I know will have my back no matter what. Being surrounded with people whose souls are wandering in the mountains, not the fields beneath them. Getting closer to a soul on the same wavelength as mine, a soul so beautiful and vibrant. I didn’t reject it, and...they didn’t reject me.”

“All of this makes me want to live and experience it more...”

“It makes me want to wake up tomorrow and every single day like this. It makes me want to look forward to every single minute and hour of my life. It’s like I’ve forgotten about the cold...”

“So what is this feeling?”

“Am I...”

“Happy?”

Sakuto swung his blade. An absolutely monstrous slash fell down on the building, completely destroying it in one shot before delivering the same fate to a series of buildings behind it. The violent event threw debris anywhere and leveled decades of engineering work.

“Holy...shit...” Oskar said, covering his eyes from the dust.

“It makes sense that someone like you can do this.”

Sakuto started to slowly descend, as if still captured by that exhilarating feeling. Douglas, on the other hand, somehow survived the destructive attack. He aimed his bow.

“Don’t assume that scum like-”

“Sakuto!” Oskar called out, firing off yet another bolt, attempting to paralyze Douglas and stop him from firing. The effort, however, was rendered futile due to Douglas’ surprising endurance and willpower.

The arrow was fired at Sakuto. He saw it, and sensed its power and potential, but he was careless. He simply held his hands up. The arrow pierced his forearm and was grabbed by Sakuto. Immediately, the arrow’s fletches ignited with an array of vibrant colors. It regained its speed, and all of the previous effects were applied at the same time.

“Soul Interpretation.”

The arrow that he grabbed instantly lost all of its color. The effect was even extended to the archer himself, who felt weakened and confused. Sakuto broke the arrow in half.

“Perfect Counter.”

“What the fuck...he can do that?!” Oskar was amazed. He watched as Sakuto finally concluded the fight - the result was decisive. One last slash sent at Douglas targeted his neck. His already limp and weakened body, destroyed by the newfound ability, was decapitated. Sakuto descended...

“What the hell did you just do?” Oskar asked, rushing towards his friend.

“You got the EMP, right?” Sakuto asked back.

“Yeah, and the troops are dead too. Fuck, man, what was that all about?”

“I want to be with Ichika.” Sakuto said with a confident smile. “I want to be by her side for as long as I can. Even if I die, I still want to be with her.”

“Uhh...congratulations?” Oskar said, confused. “Did realizing that you’re into her make you grow a soul interpretation, or what?”

“It’s a bit deeper than that.” Sakuto sighed. “I felt alive for the first time.”

“I see...” Oskar said.

“I just thought of it, like...if I adapt to something hard enough, surely I can do something more, right?” Sakuto explained, looking at the destruction his antics caused. “That’s kinda what that thing did. If I completely adapt to something and understand it, it lets me conjure up something that not only makes it useless, but also acts as a counter-attack.”

“So when you fight fire, you not only become immune to it, but also get to use water?” Oskar asked. “Do you realize how absurdly overpowered it is?”

“Do I really care about it?” Sakuto laughed. “I’m not ashamed of being this strong. But I can be sure of one thing...”

“Hm?”

“With this ability, I can definitely kill Jackal.” Sakuto said. “And if that kill is reported, Dyeman will win the election.”

“Right, because everyone will support us as heroes.” Oskar said. After a brief pause, he continued. “Wait, what are we gonna do about this mess we just made?! If it got recorded-”

“I asked you to fire off an EMP so that no one can record anything that happens here.” Sakuto said. “Hopefully, we get out of here evidence-free.”

“Right...that’s smart.”

“Yuta’s gonna have a field day with this. He’ll represent this as Shellerists hunting down and killing the heroes of the public that fight terrorism.” Sakuto explained. “You get where this is going, right? We can frame Sheller as a pro-terrorist radical.”

“Makes sense. Never thought your acquaintance would be such an avid media person.” Oskar said.

“It feels fucking awesome...” Sakuto said, observing his own hands as if he were an infant.

“Sakuto.” Oskar asked, glancing at the destruction the gigantic slash caused. “What about the collateral damage?”

“What about it?” Sakuto asked back, appearing strangely intimidating.

“Things like this happen. Collateral damage is unavoidable.” Sakuto continued, walking away. “Let’s get out of here before the coppers arrive.”

“Who cares?”

“They’re soulless anyways, right? What if they’re Shellerists? We shaved off a few votes...”

“Hey, Oskar...”

“Hm?”

“You think Ichika feels the same way about me?”

“I think so. But it’ll be extremely hard for the both of you to get your feelings across. You’re both a fucking mess, but you’re both good for one another.”

“Yeah...” Sakuto sighed. “She adds color to my life.”