"Why does the checkup need a blood draw?"
Mei stared at the little cotton ball taped to her arm, grumbling softly to herself.
Shiraha offered his reassurance. "Maybe the doctors just run a more thorough set of tests."
There was a psychological evaluation too. But for Mei, none of those probing questions left nearly as deep an impression as the needle in her arm.
Shiraha took it all in stride. It wasn't like they'd taken a pound of flesh. Letting others run their tests openly was actually a good thing. Who knew, maybe someday he could even take Bronya's place and succeed the Herrscher of Reason as the next Sovereign of Anti-Entropy.
By the time they returned to the doctors' small villa, Shiraha was quietly surveying his surroundings.
Anti-Entropy didn't have a headquarters. Due to their Executive polity structure, the organization had broken into scattered cells dispersed across various bases.
California didn't even have that many Anti-Entropy personnel. It was simply where Einstein, Tesla, and Welt resided, making it, in a sense, the de facto headquarters.
Einstein followed behind, noticing the two children were still somewhat stiff and cautious. She chuckled. "Relax. This is the UC campus. It's full of young people. Nothing to feel shy about. The students here are even more playful than you."
Indeed. Welt was a lecturer at the University of California. He truly loved teaching students.
But words alone couldn't make the children drop their guard instantly. Einstein smiled, a little rueful.
Tesla had her own unique solution. She emerged from her room carrying three controllers and a stack of game cartridges. Leaning against the wall, she spoke with a touch of pride.
"Ahem- anyone want to play some games with me?"
Shiraha instantly, obediently raised his hand! Mei hesitated a moment, then raised hers too, though she wasn't entirely sure why raising hands was required.
It looked, by all appearances, warm and harmonious.
Einstein grabbed her noise-canceling headphones and settled in to read.
That leisurely mood lasted exactly two hours until Einstein received the children's physical examination reports.
Mei was the same as ever. Though her Stigmata actually seemed more stable now than it had in previous years.
As for Shiraha...
Einstein reached for her glasses, which she hadn't worn in quite some time. She even took off her headphones. She read through the data again. Shiraha had no Stigmata.
Specifically, he didn't have a Stigmata by systemic definition. The Stigmata fragments present in every human being naturally didn't count.
Einstein felt a spike of something not unlike PTSD. Sky People? Or... Sugars?
She glanced over at the harmonious trio still absorbed in their games, then pulled out her phone and typed a message to Welt.
[GET HERE ASAP!!!]
...
University of California
The message on his phone made Welt falter mid-sentence. Einstein hadn't even had time to send more details. Just those three words and three exclamation marks.
"Class, please use this time for self-study. Your instructor has an urgent matter to attend to. We'll likely end today's lesson here."
After the hurried announcement, Welt strode quickly out of the classroom, heading straight toward home.
He was genuinely terrified of yet another crisis unfolding!
With the Authority of the First Herrscher, before he'd even reached an area free of surveillance, an extremely cool motorcycle materialized beneath him. The engine roared, tires leaving faint marks on the pavement.
By the time he reached home, his heart was pounding, dreading that he might open the door to find his two teachers lying in pools of blood.
"...That doesn't count! You definitely bumped my controller!"
"I did not! Shiraha, don't blame others for your own bad skills!"
The sound of game audio blaring, Tesla's brash voice, and two children loudly pushing responsibility onto each other made him pause.
He pushed the door open. Einstein stood waiting, documents in hand. She pointed toward Shiraha.
"He doesn't have a Stigmata."
Welt took the report. Shiraha's physical examination results were thoroughly ordinary. Well, not entirely, his Honkai adaptability was remarkably high.
"What are you worried about?"
"The Sky People."
Welt's expression flickered. He understood in an instant. The power of the First Herrscher coiled, ready to spring.
"What are you playing? Looks like fun."
His voice was gentle as he lightly placed a hand on Shiraha's shoulder. Nothing. No abnormality. No matter how he probed, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Shiraha glanced up at him but before he could answer, Mei's voice yanked him back to the game. "Shiraha, turn! You're going to crash!"
Still nothing.
So why did Einstein call me back here?
Welt was puzzled until Shiraha's character lost yet again. The little figure on screen bounced cheerfully onto the podium in third place.
The boy let out a mournful wail and turned to the empty air beside him.
"Help me! Elysia-nee!"
The controller was handed off to the empty space. Then Shiraha leaned against the "air person," his eyes locked onto the screen. Welt couldn't be entirely sure of that last detail, but standing behind him, he instinctively filled in the blanks, a kid getting way too into a game would look exactly like that.
Wait. Wait. The problem wasn't whether the kid was too into the game. The problem was: who was holding the controller?
He quietly retreated to the doorway. Einstein pulled her noise-canceling headphones down around her neck.
"Well?"
"Doesn't seem like them."
Welt had been in close contact with the Sky People's presence before. He'd encountered the Sugars as well. Just a year ago, he'd even briefly ascended to a higher dimension. He was intimately familiar with the aura of those alien races.
Aside from a patch of empty air helping him play video games, Shiraha was, by all appearances, just a perfectly ordinary child.
Einstein gazed quietly at the lively living room. She stated flatly, "A natural-born psychokinetic."
A very rare few humans possessed supernatural abilities, especially in this era. And most such abilities were tied to Honkai energy.
She didn't know the specifics of Shiraha's power, but Ryoma Raiden, based on the gruesome scene in that apartment yesterday, had already ventured a guess.
Welt opened his mouth, then closed it. The issue wasn't Shiraha's ability. It was this "Elysia-nee."
As if reading his thoughts, Einstein didn't keep him in suspense. "Schizophrenia triggered by giftedness."
Welt: ....
Einstein's tone remained calm. "Ryoma Raiden investigated Shiraha's past. When Shiraha was very young, he was exceptionally bright. He disliked the orphanage atmosphere. But as he gradually adjusted to life there, that brightness... faded."
"To put it simply: If I had taught myself calculus and linear algebra at age eight, and then at age ten suddenly became as innocent and carefree as any other child... would you consider that a sign that something had gone wrong?"
Einstein really had taught herself calculus and linear algebra at age eight. Shiraha wasn't on her level, but that kind of intelligence shouldn't have simply vanished without cause.
Of course, this was just her theory. No one knew the full truth.
Welt's expression remained deeply skeptical. "Are you sure schizophrenia looks like that?"
Einstein shook her head. "Perhaps another mental condition. Mental illnesses always manifest differently from person to person. Even more so for a natural-born psychokinetic."
She paused, then added, "His current burst output can effortlessly make a person's head explode. Skull included. Welt, you understand what that level of force represents."
Without factoring in speed or other variables, Shiraha's single-point burst already rivaled that of an A-rank Valkyrie without combat armor.
Frankly speaking, Einstein couldn't comprehend how a six-year-old child possessed such devastating burst power. After all, Shiraha was only six.
And after blowing apart three heads yesterday, he'd looked like nothing had even happened.
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Now its powerstones times🎉