[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 90 (Patreon)

“Astrid!” Leena shouted.

She broke free of her restraints and dashed forward. Leena wrapped her arms around Astrid’s shoulders.

The warmth that was expelled from Leena’s body sent a cosy feeling into her body. It was a feeling that she would never forget, and one that she would always long for.

Astrid placed her hands on Leena’s back.

“We will need a burial,” Astrid said and took a step back.

Her gaze landed onto the two dead Wayfarers. They were only first years, dead before they were even able to make their mark on the world.

The more fragile first and second years didn’t bother resisting against the restraints. Their gazes were locked to the dead bodies as tears fell down the sides of their faces.

Astrid could see that some had given up, yet others seemed to have bolstered up a strong resolve for the future. She wasn’t sure what to say. Would she be able to convince them not to give up, that it would become easier and there would be no more loss? Because that would be a lie.

“Astrid, your eyes,” Leena whispered.

Astrid could feel Leena’s stare, her pupils moved, looking at the details within her eye.

Astrid quickly covered her face and connected to the matter around her eyes. She could feel their peculiarity, like something within was dancing. With a thought, it was if she was placating it. The strange feeling disappeared and the matter returned to normal.

“Is it gone?” Astrid asked.

Leena nodded with a heaviness that told Astrid that she was concerned.

Astrid clasped her hands around Leena’s. She connected to the restraints and removed them with a yank of psychic energy.

Then she wandered over to the deceased Wayfarers alongside Leena. Josh scrambled to his feet and joined them, alongside Mina, Nick, and Gloria.

Mina crouched to the floor, and gently removed the Wayfaring badge from the young man's chest. Tears fell from the corner of her eyes, and wetted the hem of her shirt's collar as she mumbled the name on the badge.

Jeremy Booker. Astrid glanced at the name.

Josh was the one to remove the other. A young woman by the name of Jules Wilks.

Astrid steeled herself and clashed her fist sideways against her chest. She followed it by slamming her feet together and peered up into the deep ocean above the bubble layer. It was the common salute of a Wayfarer, but it also doubled as a send off for the deceased in battle. It was a sign of respect for the fallen.

“We’ll bury them here,” Josh said.

He grabbed a handful of dirt and watched it sift through his hands with a sigh. His hands trembled, then struck the ground with his fist.

“What about their family?” A young woman said.

Josh said, “there’s no burial that can beat the nature of the old world.”

Astrid agreed as she gazed around the environment. It was so green, and the air was full of vibrancy that filled one's lungs with clean air. It beat the never ending salt of the ocean or fish, and the industrial smoke of the factories.

When the day was to come when she would die in battle, then she hoped to be buried in the most beautiful city that the old world had. But she had too much to work towards.

When it came to the void world, who knows how many other locations were there? Was the void just a small section of a planet?

She couldn’t wait to find her answers, and now she was one step closer to figuring it out. Astrid brushed her finger against her soft eyelid. With her now hosting two black blob classes, instead of her mind becoming more chaotic, it seemed to have calmed down.

Astrid wasn’t sure if they were balancing each other, or if they were now complete. She tried to ask the question, but there was no answer.

She could feel a sense of tiredness coming from within her mind.

Are they sleeping, they really are children. Damn freeloaders. Astrid thought as she let go of her salute.

Astrid didn’t feel the sadness that the others had. She felt pain for the loss, and the thought of seeing their parents lost in grief dampened her heart. But she refused to dwell on it. She doubted Jules and Jeremy would want that either. This was the life that they had all chosen, and they died as warriors.

Is it because I’m a Sinwen? Are we just hardwired for battle? Astrid thought.

“We should bury them near the forest,” Mina said as she clutched onto the badge. “It has a nicer view than here.”

Josh nodded and picked up Jeremy. Froderick picked up Jules.

They left the mining area and approached an overlook on top of a hill at the entrance to the forest. It overlooked the entire mine, and the grassy fields surrounding it. Further in the distance lay the town with numerous buildings. Some were broken. Holes smashed into the walls from a previous territory war, or it was simply a result of time passing. Others were intact, displaying a world that was lost to the survivors on the surface. The sun had slowly risen into the air, the sun's rays pushed themselves through the dark ocean water. The light penetrated the bubble, and shimmered against the land.

“They would like it here.” Mina bit down on her lip.

Astrid walked forward and placed her hand upon Mina’s. She nodded with care. Just because she didn’t feel the same emotions as others, didn’t mean she didn’t know how to show compassion. Whether it was because she was a SInwen, or her psychic mana messing with mer mind.

She rubbed Mina’s back as the bodies were lowered into a hastily dug out pit.

Mina looked down, then her head uncomfortably shifted side to side. As if she was looking for something.

“What’s the matter?” Astrid asked.

“We need to say a prayer, but,” Mina said. “I don’t know any.”

Astrid nodded, she was about to step forward, when Leena took her place.

Leena bowed. “Eternal Iara, light of our lives, witness these souls and guide them to the universe above.”

Leena clasped her hands together, and everyone else followed.

The prayer to Godess Iara used to hold so much meaning to Astrid. She would pray to her every night in hopes she would grant her the Sinwen family class. Now, she wasn’t even sure of her existence any more. As the words were uttered, she waited for a sign, anything, but nothing happened.

The only thing she could feel were two alien existences within her body. They had planted themselves there, but she had let them do so. After all, if she refused the class, they would have died. They had ruined her faith.

“Wherever they may be, grant them eternal peace,” Leena said, and everyone bowed their heads.

Just as the words finished, a gentle breeze wafted towards the group. Astrid scrunched her nose as she could practically taste the metal within the air. It was something that she was so used to now, the reek of blood and death.

Tony’s eyes widened, as if he suddenly thought of something and shot off into the woods.

“Leena stay here and protect the others,” Astrid said. “I’ll find out what’s happening.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Astrid connected to the matter within her body. She could feel every minute change in her muscle fibres, and the strength coursed right through them.

She stomped on the ground and a small hole was blasted into the ground from the sheer force. She propelled herself forward and hurtled past the trees. In only a mere moment, she caught up with the dexterity user Tony.

She passed him as the stench of blood grew closer by the second. After a few minutes, she broke past the dense tree line and gazed at the bloodied chaos.

Blood and body pieces were scattered around the forest floor as if they had been shoved through a high powered cutting machine. She looked in aghast as intestines hung from the branches up above, dangling in the breeze.

Anger surged up within her, she wanted to release it but the culprit was already dead.

“No…” Tony stumbled forward as his eyes trembled from body to body.

Astrid’s mind twitched and she bolted to a secluded area just behind a few tree’s that was out of line of sight. Behind a thick tree, a budding red light emerged.

She dashed toward it and slid across the floor to halt her momentum. Laying down in a pool of blood was Calum, the leader of the second years. A wide gash had gouged out a deep layer of skin on his chest. Any deeper, and Astrd had no doubt he would have instantly died.

She immediately took out a higher tiered potion, and without waiting poured it into his mouth. His lips were cold to the touch, and the red surrounding his heart was waning. With the rest, she splashed it onto his chest.

Tony fell to his knees as he gently grabbed hold of his shoulders.

The red liquid fell down his throat, then as if it had a mind of its own, spread around his entire body. Astrid watched as a faint red mana followed the routes of his veins. After a couple minutes, the previous dying heart started to show life once more.

Calum’s ashen face budded with a hint of rose, it was a sign he was recovering.

He peeled open his eyes and blinked repeatedly. A splutter left his mouth as a thick blood clot was ejected from his throat.

“The others,” Calum said in a hoarse voice.

“They’re dead,” Astrid said without hesitation.

Calum’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if he wanted to say something, but no words escaped.

“It all happened so–” Calum stopped. He buried his face into his knees. His shoulders trembled, then his fingernails dug into the flesh of his legs.

“I ran,” Calum sobbed. “I left them to face those monsters on their own. What kind of leader am I?”

“Not a good one,” Astrid said as a matter of fact.

He looked up, his hazy eyes gazed at her.

“Astrid.” Tony glared.

“Are you going to give up then?” Astrid asked. “Are you going to disgrace their lives by giving up?”

Tony clenched Astrid’s collar. “Astrud, what the hell are you saying?” His cheeks turned red, and his chest violently rose.

“Tony, i–it’s okay,” Calum wiped the tears from his face. He tried to move, but he groaned in pain. “Can you help me up?”

“Calum…” Tony hoisted him to his feet.

Calum shifted around, and hobbled past the tree with the help of Tony’s support.

He gazed at the carnage throughout the forest and his body threatened to give up, yet his eyes remained. They moved from body to body, as if he was engraving every last inch of the battlefield onto his mind.

Tears streamed down his face, yet he remained steadfast. He refused to look away. He refused to run.

“Are they all dead?” Calum turned to Astrid. His eyes were bloodshot.

“I killed all of them,” Astrid repeated. “None remain.”

“They must have another party,” Calum said. “An organisation.”

Astrid nodded.

“Then, Astrid,” Calum continued. “This might sound pathetic from someone who cowered, but I don't care. With your strength, help me erase them from this world.”