198: 5.8 Terra

5.8 Terra

Warning: non-consensual touch but don't worry no harm is done :)0

Lu Yizhou tried so hard to not react visibly at that. "The President demands me to. Do you have something to say about that, doctor?" 

"Oh, of course not." Doctor Wyatt blinked. "It's good for a three-sense sentinel to look for a guide, even more someone with conditions such as yours. I can't always be here all the time so it's good to have a guide watching your back. Good luck with that, though. I heard the highest rank guide that's available in the association is B and their compatibility with an A rank sentinel is only 86%."

Lu Yizhou carefully observed the doctor's expression as he said so. Either he was a gold award winning actor, or he was genuinely inquiring about the situation. Lu Yizhou's cautious trait made him lean more toward the former. He still hadn't seen the whole plot yet and even though Doctor Wyatt had his lover's scent stuck to him, Lu Yizhou still couldn't make a conclusion whether he was a friend or foe. 

"I see…" He nodded minutely. "It is always difficult for a dark sentinel like me to find a suitable guide. Do you have a solution for that, doctor?"

Something flashed in Doctor Wyatt's eyes before it swiftly disappeared. Hesitation? What was he hesitating about? Lu Yizhou tucked the doubt to the back of his mind when Doctor Wyatt sighed in resignation and said. "What can a poor doctor like me do in this kind of circumstance? Just so you know, General Kai, you are placed in a private ward in the hospital where we treat unstable sentinels. The President is telling us to keep an eye on you for the next few weeks so you should get better as soon as possible and prove to them that you're still sane and healthy. Don't worry too much about guides. You will surely be able to find one in your life." 

He didn't even hide the fact that he was blatantly changing the topic, Lu Yizhou mused. Something must be going on here. 

Then, the doctor patted his shoulder and Lu Yizhou vividly sensed a thin thread of spiritual power trying to worm itself through his barrier. His eyes chilled as he slammed his barrier up against the probing and Doctor Wyatt pulled his hand back as if scalded. Lu Yizhou gave him a heavy scrutiny whereas the other person merely smiled as if he hadn't been caught trying to probe Lu Yizhou's mind. Definitely a gold award winning actor, then. "Get some rest, General Kai. I will see you later in the evening."

[What is he trying to do?] Lu Yizhou asked after Doctor Wyatt left the room. [Wait, no, don't answer that. You don't know anything either way. Just pass me the plot.]

[666: …QAQ Host is so cruel. 666 is also useful at times, okay?]

[666: *grumble* all right here it is.]

Lu Yizhou laid back on the bed and made himself comfortable as he started reading. 

The villain in this world was named Terra, a wild and unregistered guide. 

He grew up in an unhealthy environment; his father was a drunkard whilst his mother often brought men home to soothe her loneliness. Both of them were ordinary people thus they expected Terra to grow up as a normal person too. 

Terra had inherited his mother's beauty, with luscious dark hair, eyes that shone like gold and skin as fair as snow. When he was small, he always hid in the closet as her mother engaged in various carnal acts in the room, tightly clamping his ears shut to prevent any repulsive groans and moans from slipping through. Her father turned a blind eye to it and sometimes, he wouldn't even come home for a few days. Little Terra would often be forgotten and it was only when he couldn't endure the hunger any longer did he climb out from the closet to scourge for leftover food.

One time, her mother's… boyfriend — if they could be called so — inadvertently caught a glimpse of him. At first, the man would come and find him when he was done with his mother. Terra would be given little snacks and unsuspecting as he was, he started to open up to the man, thinking that he was far better than Father who didn't even care for him and left him starving for days. From small talks and questions about his day, the man started to take it up a notch by guiding them to sit closely together on the couch whilst watching television (also bought by him because they were awfully poor).

Terra was uneducated but it didn't mean that he was stupid. From the gossip he'd eavesdropped from the neighbors, he found out that whatever his mother did with her boyfriends was what she should have been doing with father. And it was even more wrong when the man started to do the same thing to him. The arm that draped over his shoulder in a more intimate way than normal, the curious fingers that started to stroke back and forth from his arms down his body, trying to creep into his shirt and feeling him up… 

Horror dawned on him the same time as the realization did. No… this was wrong. The man shouldn't be doing this! Terra wanted to protest, wanted to run and hide but to his dread, he found out that he couldn't even move his fingers. Why couldn't he move…?! 

His entire body was paralyzed with fear. Tears brimmed in his golden eyes and his throat choked up, the cries of help dying before it could form into words. Fear, disgust and anger clouded his senses. Go away, he screamed inside. Get away from me! The feeling was so strong that his chest started to shudder with each breath he took. It shot to his mind and clouded his senses; the fear. Desperation. Until finally everything reached a breaking point and gave birth to an offset that triggered his first awakening as a guide.

His frenzied emotions slammed into the man's mind with the force of a crushing tsunami, causing him to black out all of a sudden. His hands around Terra loosened and Terra seized the chance to slide off the couch and crawled on the floor until he curled himself on the corner of the wall, hugging his knees to his chest, making himself as small as possible as if he could disappear this way. He had expected the man to berate him, hit him yet nothing happened. 

Imagine Terra's shock when he looked up to see the man sprawled on the floor, blood pouring out of his ears, nose and mouth with his eyes bulging out in horror etched forever to his face. Terra's blood ran cold when he sensed the life dissipating from the man's body which slowly turned cold.

He had killed someone…

At the age of 11, he had become a murderer.

He had no idea how he did it but… this was his doing, right? Terra hugged himself tighter, so terrified that he couldn't bring himself to cry. No! He couldn't let anybody know. He couldn't remain here either. His mother… Terra snuck a glance to the bedroom door that was still shut and sucked in a trembling breath. How could his mother react when she saw her boyfriend's corpse in the living room? Terra's body shuddered despite the sweat that was rolling down his skin. His mother would be furious, he knew it. She would convict him as a murderer and hand him over to the authority. Who knows how Terra's fate would be from then on? 

Run away, a voice inside him urged, run away before she found you!

And he did. 

For the first time in his life, Terra ran out alone into the darkness, away from that house that had offered him anything but a home.

[...]

[666: C—Calm down, calm down, Host! The doctor told you to calm down or else…or else…]

Lu Yizhou tightened his fists and slowly, slowly took in a deep breath before exhaling. Again and again. Even then he couldn't hold back the rage and heartache. He wanted to strangle that man who had touched his lover and more importantly, he wanted to hug him and tell him that it wasn't his fault. His heart squeezed for the pain that his lover had to go through. Again.

His right eye throbbed painfully and he massaged his temple. Now the headache was coming back in full force. [How long.]

[666: H—Huh?]

Lu Yizhou breathed. [He's eleven when the accident happened. How long has it been? How old is he now?]

[666: OH! Don't worry, Host! 666 has wanted to tell you sooner that Terra is fine! If you read further, you can see that he has been brought into this hospital for protection. He is currently 23 years old.]

Twenty three, Lu Yizhou swallowed thickly. He scrolled down and 666 was right, Terra had indeed been brought to this hospital but the harm had been done. For eleven years, Terra had fend for himself. He lived deep into the mountain, in between the branches of dense forest, anywhere that could offer him a roof away from people whom he perceived as a threat. One time, he had even bumped into a group of bandits that wanted to take advantage of him and he… killed them, mercilessly.

Terra had learned from watching over people from afar that he was called a guide, that he was supposed to be an anchor, an emotional support for sentinels. But he also learned that dangerous and offensive guides like him would be immediately killed if he was found. He couldn't afford to be discovered, Terra decided. He didn't want to struggle so hard to survive only to be caught and executed!

But it was so hard. How could there not be a place where he could belong?

Thus he continued to hide, continue to rely on himself and become strong in the process to the point where he could even take down a rank B sentinel just by relying on his mental power. 

It was then that a peculiar guide learned of his existence. Guides were born with the ability to sense each other and as soon as the guide stepped into the forest, Terra recognized his own kind immediately and he was sure that the other guide could sense him too. A reckless and fearless guide — that's how Terra perceived him — scoured through the forest for the whole day to seek him. Terra observed him from the top of the tree, his golden eyes shining amidst the dark in a sharp predatory glint. What did this guide want? Terra had never killed a guide before but he didn't mind trying. At this point, he was already numbed of guilt. Everyone who got close to him either had an ulterior motive, or they wished to lower his guard so they could take him down. Terra had learned it in a harsh way hence he was more than cautious when he spotted the guide, ready to attack as soon as the other so as to show the slightest of aggression.

Terra had certainly crossed paths with guides before but not… never this kind of guide. Powerful, he noted. The guide's spiritual power covered the entire forest in a soothing wave. Terra tensed and prepared to attack. 

The guide spoke. "Come out. I know you're here."

Terra held his breath and cocooned himself in his own spiritual power. 

"You know that you can't keep on like this. The government has been notified of your presence. Soon, they will send a rank A sentinel, or even a dark sentinel to hunt you down. They are immune to the guide's power if they erected mind barriers. By then, you will have no chance against them. If you follow me, I will protect you and hide you. Trust me, I mean no harm. I just want to help a fellow guide."

Terra didn't want to believe; how could there be such a kind person who didn't want anything in return? Surely, in exchange for protection, he must have wanted something from Terra. But the man exuded nothing but confidence, sincerity and sympathy. Terra frowned, he couldn't sense any ulterior motive or the hint of bad intention from him. 

He had never sensed this kind of emotions from others before; their mind would either be filled with immense greed and when Terra showed his might, they feared him. 

What if he was tricked? But like the guide had said, did he have another choice? If he didn't agree, he would be hunted in the near future. His opponent would no longer be mere rank B or C sentinel, but rank A or even dark sentinels whose fearsome reputation he had heard wide and far.

When Terra finally jumped out of his hiding place and appeared in front of the man, he received a smile. The man didn't show any disgust at Terra's disheveled long hair that reached his knees and his state of undress. The spiritual power he exuded didn't change. Calm, steady and comforting. He offered a hand. "Good choice. Let me introduce myself. I am Wyatt, and you can call me Doctor Wyatt."

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