Chapter Five

  The Confession

  Cutie…

  Meowww…

  Nyxen stroked the cat. His second friend was always around his house. Almost every day, he saw the cat meowing from behind his bedroom window, or standing on its hind legs, trying to peek inside through the door.

  After that, he went to the station and then to school. The area around his eyes looked like a field from which red veins had branched out.

  The last period was P.E.

  Inside the boys’ locker room…

  Nyxen took off his jacket first, then his white shirt. The moment his body was exposed, one of the boys said:

  — Nyxen, do you feed on your own flesh or something? How are you that skinny?

  — Hahaha!

  The boys burst into laughter. A few of them flexed while they were changing. Nyxen didn’t care and forced a smile. From the side, his body looked like a wooden ruler that would snap under the slightest pressure. His pants seemed tailored for someone who only understood the word “butt” in theory.

  He quickly walked into the gym. The girls were coming in from the other side, their annoying laughter echoing through the hall. Nyxen warmed up a little and, as always, headed toward basketball—the only sport he could be somewhat decent at without much effort. In other sports, if someone’s pinky finger touched him, he’d snap in half like a measuring stick.

  People either laughed at him or envied his height and looks. But Nyxen had something more important to focus on. For the past few days, his mind had been fixed on only one thing.

  [If I do nothing, will it activate? I still don’t fully understand how it works. Though… I’ve kind of gotten the hang of it.]

  Since that day, his stupid dreams had increased too. Because of that, he wasn’t getting quality sleep anymore. He dreamed he was in total darkness, unable even to open his eyes. Creatures would pass around him as if he were just a toy. He couldn’t move, and they would tickle him. He couldn’t even laugh—only feel an unbearable itch. Still, he had found a ridiculous trick: if he held his breath for thirty seconds, he would wake up. He didn’t even know what the hell was wrong with him. It was absurd.

  After a few rounds of playing, Nyxen was out of breath. His stamina was clearly lower than everyone else’s. It was as if everything he had ever eaten had gone straight into his height.

  An idea crossed his mind.

  — Pass it!

  But apparently, this power was useless here. Nyxen frowned deeper.

  [It’s not that simple.]

  He tried several more times to use his power, but it only activated occasionally—and even when it did, he didn’t feel any noticeable change.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  After class, he bought a small notebook. He went to a café, picked a table, and started writing—writing down everything he knew about his power. For the past few days, he had obsessively thought about it, but when he realized that wouldn’t get him anywhere, he decided to put it on paper to find some kind of pattern.

  [The power doesn’t always work. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a group or one-on-one. I didn’t expect that just because I said “Pass it,” they’d immediately throw me the ball. If that were the case, I’d be an absolute manipulator. But it seems I’m not that powerful. That’s obvious. I’ve noticed it works better on girls. Is it stronger on females? No. Maybe it’s because I’m more influential around girls. But no, I can’t simplify it like that. I need to test it several more times. Still, I’m almost certain that…]

  He wrote for a few minutes. After a while, he checked the time, paid for his coffee, and left.

  Over these past few days, he had fallen far behind in school. You couldn’t even say he was studying—just barely enough to know what each subject was about. He knew that if this continued, he’d run into serious problems.

  A few days later, when the weekend came, he went to see Lethe again.

  A café on the outskirts of the village.

  — Hey, when did you get here?

  — Hey. Just now.

  — You always say that. Come on, let’s go.

  — Where?

  — The hill bench.

  — Why there?

  — Know anywhere better?

  — …Fine. Let’s go.

  On the way, Nyxen was thinking about a new form of manipulation. When he nudged Lethe to come along, he felt it again.

  [That strange feeling came back. So the power activated. Maybe if I compare two people—one it works on and one it doesn’t—I can figure out why and how it works.]

  — Nyxen, what are you thinking about?

  — Nothing. I was just thinking that if I get a good grade in geometry, I could catch the teacher’s attention and maybe study more seriously.

  Lethe, not fully convinced, said:

  — I don’t know. I just feel like you’ve been a little weird lately.

  — Weird? How?

  — You never used to ride your motorcycle this fast. You never asked questions. You never cared about getting someone’s attention. Maybe you were always like this and I just didn’t notice.

  When Nyxen thought about it, he realized she wasn’t wrong. He had been riding so fast that the wind ripped words right out of their sentences. Startled, he slowed down.

  — I don’t know… Maybe there’s something I should tell you.

  — What?

  …

  By the hill.

  Nyxen locked his motorcycle, and they walked up together. He had already found the best path. In fact, he had been coming here before and after school, lying down and thinking.

  When they reached the bench, they both sat. Nyxen noticed Lethe was slightly flushed, her posture shifting every few seconds. He quickly said:

  — There aren’t any animals here except birds. I checked before. Maybe just a few cute stray cats.

  Lethe looked confused, nodding like a child.

  — So… what’s new? Don’t you think you’ve been acting a little strange too?

  She replied with fake irritation:

  — Look who’s talking. At least say that to someone who can’t see the coffee in your eyes.

  — Oh, come on. What’s your obsession with coffee? It’s just a hot drink. No different from water, really.

  — Yeah, sure. I totally believe you. So what were you going to say?

  — Which part?

  — The thing you mentioned on the way.

  — Oh… that. Yeah… Have you ever felt something strange? Like not understanding what you’re feeling?

  — Everyone has. It usually happens when you’re friends with someone but don’t know what you’re supposed to say.

  Nyxen barely seemed to be listening.

  — Yeah, like that. Listen, ever since I found this place, some things have happened to me. You say I’ve changed. I think so too. I felt like I couldn’t answer my questions alone anymore, so I wanted to tell you. But you know—you can’t tell anyone.

  His tone turned serious.

  — I won’t tell anyone. Who would I even tell? And even if I had someone, why would I?

  — Okay… Just don’t make fun of me. I know you’re going to think I’m crazy. So one day, I was heading to the station, and then…

  …

  An hour later.

  After taking a deep breath, Nyxen said:

  — That’s all of it. I know it sounds stupid, but…

  Lethe cut him off:

  — You keep saying it’s stupid. So what if it is? People talk about stupid things all the time. We’re just talking. Why do you keep saying that?

  Nyxen raised an eyebrow.

  — You’re right. Maybe I’m a little sensitive about it.

  — A little? I think a lot more than a little. But I don’t think it’s completely wrong either. You just hurt me a bit.

  — No, listen. I didn’t mean to experiment on you. I just wanted to bring you here and show you this cool bench. I swear I’m not lying. The others were just experiments. Not you.

  Lethe smiled.

  — Teasing you is actually pretty fun.

  Then she grew serious.

  — Jokes aside, what do you think you should do?

  — Do you know what this means if it’s real? If the world finds out and you prove it, you’d become the most famous person alive. You’d be recorded in history and—

  Nyxen cut her off sharply:

  — What are you talking about? It wouldn’t even take a second for governments to find out and use me like a lab rat to replicate this power. Even if I died, they wouldn’t leave my corpse alone. Nothing would ever make it into history. It would just be politics and deals over me. In short—I’d be destroyed.

  Lethe fell silent.

  — I’ve only told you this. If you tell anyone, or if I ever find out someone else knows, I’ll know it was you. So please—don’t tell anyone.

  — I said I won’t. You trusted me, right? You do trust me?

  — As long as you want me to… yeah.

  A few seconds later, Lethe said:

  — Wait. Were you manipulating me just now? Were you feeling that thing?

  Nyxen laughed.

  — Exactly. I didn’t want to manipulate you, but since my request was genuine, I felt it activate. I have a question—did you feel anything? Like it was easier to

  say yes?

  — No… I didn’t feel anything. And you’re not allowed to use it on me again. Or else—

  Nyxen spread his hands.

  — Relax. I won’t mess with you. I promise.