Child of Destiny

...

Shin stared at Alice with his eyes wide open after hearing what she had said. And when the other three saw that expression, they couldn't help but look at him with mixed wonder and worry.

It was their first seeing Shin react this way, especially with his trembling eyes. It looked like he was having a hard time calming the tremors within his chest.

It took him quite some time to close his eyes, inhale deeply, and calm his heart. It was only then he was able to regain the tranquility of his eyes.

Then he looked at Alice before saying with a serious tone. "Let's talk outside."

After saying that, he walked past Alice and headed to the door leading to the backyard of their house. And naturally, the latter followed after him while also trying to calm turmoil within her. She really wanted to confirm if her family was not wrong about what they had investigated, she had to confirm if her elder sister was really alive.

Cloe watched Shin with anxious eyes as he walked towards her. And when he was brushing past her, she couldn't help but extend her hand and grab the edge of his shirt.

Feeling that someone was pulling his shirt, Shin turned at her and quickly put up a smile. "Don't worry, I'll tell you about it later. It is not like you don't know about it."

Cloe cautiously raised her head to look at his eyes before asking. "Really?"

Seeing the look that she was making, Shin couldn't help but chuckle a little before patting her head. "What are you so anxious about? Am I going away or something? And did I ever fail to keep my word?"

Cloe wanted to say something but she couldn't bring herself to voice it out, especially since she could feel that there was something wrong with the current Shin in front of her. In the end, she could only lower he head and nod her head as she let go of Shin.

Seeing that scene, Alice unconsciously bit her lower lip and clenched her hands. She didn't know why, but she felt something heavy within her chest aside from the uneasiness that she already was experiencing.

In the meantime, Arthur and Leonard silently watched the scene from the side as they were afraid to provoke Shin for ruining the moment. Or at least that was what they were thinking after seeing the scene.

…

Shin walked a little further from the house while Alice was following closely behind him. And when he thought that they already distance themselves enough, he quickly flicked his wrist to cast an isolation barrier around them to prevent any from eavesdropping.

It might be a simple and low-level barrier, but it was more than enough to prevent others from overhearing what they were going to discuss.

"So, what do want to say. And how is it related to Big Sister Alyssa?" asked Shin with a cold tone and sharp eyes.

Alice hesitated for a moment since her father repeatedly told her not to disclose this information to anyone. But she couldn't help curiosity. Moreover, this guy was the closest to her elder sister when they were being held in the Mafia Training Camp.

Shin waited patiently despite wearing a cold look on his face. This topic was quite sensitive for him since it might trigger his 'Seed of Hatred'. Fortunately, he became aware of how to suppress it after learning the meditation technique of the 'Jade Kirin Scripture' that David thought him.

After a few moments, Alice steeled her resolve before asking. "Are you sure that she didn't die in the camp?"

Shin slightly frowned his eyebrows after hearing that before sighing helplessly as he answered. "I already told you. It is just my suspicion. I don't remember much about my time during the camp aside from my time with her and a few training sessions. Aside from those, everything else is quite blurry."

"I am not sure if it is due to mental trauma, or if it is purposely left this way by someone or those people from the camp," he added before taking a brief pause.

He breathed some air quite deeply before continuing. "But there are a couple of things that are vivid within my head. And one of them is the scene where I watched your elder sister die. Though, I am now quite suspicious why it is the only one that has the clearest picture within my head. It looks like it has been imprinted within my memory."

During the special lessons that he got from Grandmaster Benn, Shin learned a couple of things about the other uses of Mentalism aside from using them in battle. He also learned that there were some techniques that could have similar effects on someone. And if the Mentalist was skilled enough, then it was even possible to overwrite the memories of other people.

Brainwashing and Memory Manipulation.

Shin was not that foreign on these things since he was trained by the mafia and such methods were quite common in the underworld.

And because of that, he became even more suspicious about that particular memory within his mind.

He was not sure about it. But since it could trigger his 'Seed of Hatred', he was quite confident that they were somehow related. He was suspecting that it was purposely left behind by either the Mafia or someone else.

There was another disturbance within Shin's heart when he recalled those memories again. But he was able to quickly settle it after chanting a couple of phrases of 'Jade Kirin Scripture' inside his head.

After that, he turned his focus on Alice once again before asking. "But why do you want to talk about this again? I already told you about this before."

Alice bit her lower lip once again before answering. "Since we didn't find the remains of my elder sister, my family is still not fully convinced that she died."

"Especially my grandfather. He said that even if her spiritual candle died, there was still a chance that she could be alive somewhere. And he is more convinced that her connection with the spiritual candle is severed which is the reason why it died."

"Such occasions are pretty rare from what he said, but at the same time, it is still possible as long as the Mentalist who severed their connection is pretty skilled."

Alice took a pause when she reached this point and stared at Shin while trying to calm herself. And after a few moments of silence, she quickly continued. "What's more, we also don't have a way to confirm if the time when she 'died' in the training camp and the time when her spiritual candle loses its flame is the same."

"Especially when you claimed that you don't remember the exact date of her death," she added as she closely watched the expression that Shin was making.

But to her surprise, he seemed to be pretty calm compared to their first meeting regarding this matter.

The two of them were silent for a couple of moments until Shin broke it as he couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. "So, what do you want from me. I already told you everything that I knew. There is nothing I can share about this matter."

At this point time, Shin saw Alice hesitating once more. But instead of urging her to tell him what she had in her mind, he chose to wait patiently and let her tell him about it herself.

Minutes passed, Alice finally resolved herself and took a couple of photos from her pocket before handing it over to Shin with trembling hands. "Since you spent quite a lot of time with her in that place, I guess it is the right thing to share this news with you."

Shin was quite confused at first but still took the photos that she was handing over. And the moment when he saw the girl in the photo, he immediately trembled and his heart was suddenly thrown in turmoil. "T-This-… This-…"

He flipped through the photos for a couple of moments before turning to Alice while. "I-is this true?"

Alice was taken aback by his sudden reactions as she was not expecting that him to act this way.  But she was still able to nod her head and shake it at the same time. "This photo is taken from the Dark Continent and my family is still investigating this matter. We are still not sure if it is someone with a similar appearance as her or if it is really her."

"But from what my grandfather is confident that it is really my elder sister after surveying the area. He confirmed that he sensed her unique aura in that palace. He is a Mentalism in Exalted Realm, so the chances of him making a mistake are pretty low," she added with a serious tone.

After that, the two talked about this matter for a few more minutes before heading back. And when they entered the house again and arrived in the living room, the others already went to do their own thing.

Aside from Cloe who was patiently waiting and Arthur who was lazing on the couch, everyone else was currently not present.

Cloe quite stood up when she saw that the two finally came back. And she immediately noticed that there were some changes in Shin that she was not sure about.

She quickly headed towards him and quickly asked. "How is it? Can you tell it to me now?"

Seeing her acting so panicky, Shin smiled gently at her before saying. "What are you so anxious about? Just wait for a little. Let me talk with senior brother for a moment."

Then they heard David's voice as he walked down the stairs. "What is it? Did you need me for something?"

Shin and the others quickly turned their heads at him and saw that he was currently wearing a training outfit and seemed to be planning to exercise a little more despite finishing his morning training earlier.

Then Shin quickly headed over the stairs before asking. "Can you lend me a moment, Senior Brother? There is a favor that I want to ask from you."

David didn't mind it and just answered with a casual tone. "Sure! But let's discuss it as we go. I scheduled a sparring match with that guy Elijah from before. Can you give me a ride to the Academy?"

Hearing that, Shin didn't even hesitate and quickly agreed. "Alright."

After that, he turned to the others and said. "I will be back before dinner time, so wait for me until then."

Then he left the house together with David, leaving the other three behind.

Arthur got an ominous feeling about this, so he quickly got up and sneaked away towards the second floor. But he didn't want to miss such a rare event, he just hid on the rails near the stairs. "They are not going to fight, aren't they?"

Then someone unknowingly appeared beside him and answered quietly. "I don't think so. Cloe Sis is not the type to pick a fight."

Unfortunately, they immediately learned the answer after hearing what was happening below.

"Can we also had a sparring match?"

A direct challenge!

Arthur and Leonard turned to each other before having a quiet exchange.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Cloe Sis, obviously!"

"Then I will take the other side. What is the at stake?"

"A lesser legendary material."

"Call!"

...…