Chapter 810: Shattered Bonds
by xennovel“How…”
“How could this be…”
After dashing a few steps, Lu Xin abruptly halted.
His body felt heavy, no longer as light and agile as before.
It was because his sister had vanished.
Lu Xin saw his sister’s shadow quickly disappearing from his embrace.
That familiar, slightly cool feeling faded away in an instant, like a wisp of wind that could never be grasped.
An indescribable dread overwhelmed him; he could feel that the bond between him and his sister had been cut.
Without his sister’s Spider-type Ability, he found himself powerless to escape.
Worse yet, in that moment his heart turned hollow and the will to run vanished.
In his confusion, he turned to look at his mom, who stood not far away.
His head felt empty and even his voice was weak: “Wh-why… how could you…”
Mom stood silently, her lone figure exuding a detached calm. She didn’t meet Lu Xin’s eyes; she simply said, “My Mind Palace is in their hands. They have always controlled me. I had no choice.”
“Staying by your side has always been their will bestowed upon me.”
“…”
Lu Xin’s heart pounded in painful spasms as he shook his head fiercely: “It can’t be like this…”
“Aren’t we supposed to be family?”
“So, so all this time… have you been lying to me?”
“…”
“…”
“Hmph, foolish…”
Just as Lu Xin pleaded these words, Mom remained silent.
From the direction of the worm, a man in a black missionary robe sneered disdainfully and shouted coldly.
“Sigh…”
At the same time, a researcher in a white coat murmured softly:
“With something so dangerous inside you, how could we ever feel safe leaving you alone outside?”
“This situation could have been avoided…”
“…”
As they spoke, the worm beside them suddenly opened its massive mouthparts and slithered across the floor. Wherever it passed, Lu Xin’s warped force field shattered instantly, its fine strands of mental energy scattering to fill the void, while countless mouths on the worm’s surface voraciously devoured the psychic energy.
“Fools only learn of their ignorance and weakness when they’re struck hard.”
Beside the worm, a man in a black cleric robe strode forward in step with its mental energy. Clutching a set of black playing cards, he spoke in a cold, disdainful tone as he looked at Lu Xin:
“Even if you have a natural gift for countering the force of anger, it still can’t change your foolish nature.”
“To think you’d mistake high-level, mysterious power for family is utterly absurd…”
“The power of Insight at your side exists solely to spot any abnormalities and trim away unnecessary thoughts.”
“The power of Fear is placed with you so you can truly feel terror…”
“Only by constantly feeling fear can you naturally suppress anger…”
“And you…”
“Hehe!”
“…”
“Buzz…”
Suddenly, Lu Xin’s head was struck by an excruciating pain.
Every word from the mysterious Bishop hit him like a sharp knife, piercing his body one after another.
They tore apart his memories and life into a chaotic mess…
In that instant, countless thoughts rushed back—things he’d longed to understand from his past.
Everything was suddenly clear.
Yet he found it hard to believe what he saw; he stared at Mom, hoping desperately to see her shake her head in denial.
But she didn’t. As the Black-clad Bishop’s words reverberated, she remained unnervingly calm.
In response to Lu Xin’s accusing, almost pleading gaze, she merely gave a slight nod.
“Yes, I’ve been deceiving you all along.”
In a tone both calm and cold, she continued, “Or rather, from the moment I came into your life, it was all part of a plan.”
“The power sealed within you is far too terrifying. Although we temporarily contained that all-consuming force by locking almost every infiltrating black particle inside your body, it also made you an extremely unstable element. No one knows what will happen if it erupts.”
“The Researchers couldn’t trust leaving you with them, nor could they confine you rigorously.”
“Any method to oppose you would simply be neither safe nor secure.”
“So after the incident at the Orphanage—after that near-loss of control—the Researchers took you back.”
“At that time, you were deeply tainted; your state had changed dramatically. Even the original will within you awoke, much like that man who despised them—casually chatting with them and instilling terror.”
“They could only use a series of methods to stabilize you once more, effectively silencing your consciousness during that period.”
“Even then, still not trusting you, they decided I should follow you.”
“Using Insight to monitor your condition and employing the severance power to trim away any dangerous thoughts or remnants that might trigger disastrous consequences, they hoped you’d remain calm…”
“Until forever…”
“The power of the Prisoner of the Night was drawn to you for exactly this reason.”
“The force of Anger can suppress Fear, and Fear can soothe Anger. Besides, it can monitor me as well.”
“Our family has always been a network of mutual prisoners.”
“…”
“Buzz buzz buzz…”
As Mom’s nearly indifferent words echoed in his ears, Lu Xin suddenly felt a clarity in his mind like never before.
Yet an equally unprecedented despair overwhelmed him.
Scenes from his past life unfolded with chilling rationality and an icy touch.
No wonder Mom was always so mysterious—knowing so much yet revealing so little.
No wonder his father’s memory exuded constant fear, and yet, in a way, he too was terrified of him.
No wonder whenever Mom acted oddly, Father would watch her, wanting to speak but too afraid to do so.
No wonder Mom was the one who subdued the eerie strangeness of the Old Apartment Building all by herself…
“There were no neighbors—only solitude.”
“Only one’s self, slowly growing up and inevitably generating a storm of emotions.”
“Desire and chaotic thoughts, longings and greed—all pruned away by Mom.”
Because to those Researchers, all these things posed a threat to their containment.
So in his life, there were only lies.
He had once been so proud, believing he was lucky to have such a warm family in this world.
But in truth, it was nothing more than a system of imprisonment and surveillance.
In reality, he had never known a truly happy life—he had merely lived within a lie…
He had, all along, been nothing but a joke…
“…”
“…”
“Buzz buzz buzz…”
It felt as if ten thousand flies were buzzing in his head; Lu Xin suddenly sensed all hope slipping away.
He was overwhelmed by endless pain, and what hurt even more was realizing that those he thought cared for him never truly did—every expectation was just an illusion.
The black particles in his eyes began trembling violently.
Every inch of his skin felt as if it were being torn apart, engulfed by the flames of despair.
He let out a beast-like scream and clenched his fist tightly. The black particles swirled wildly in his blood, making his fist look like a nest of furious hornets as he swung it desperately toward Mom.
Mom watched silently as the frenzied Lu Xin raised his fist to strike her.
She showed no sign of evading.
But just as his punch, laden with all his anger, neared her cheek, it suddenly halted.
The black particles surged like dark electric sparks, holding the power to destroy everything.
Yet as Lu Xin’s blow almost brushed Mom’s face, he abruptly retracted it.
“I… I almost forgot…”
A look of despair mixed with a forced smile appeared on Lu Xin’s face as he stared vacantly at Mom and said in a trembling voice:
“I’ve learned to control this power…”
“…”
At those words, Mom finally lifted her head to look at Lu Xin.
For a moment, compassion flickered in her eyes before she closed them again.
When she opened her eyes, one ring after another formed in her pupils. Suddenly, her figure blurred and fragmented as countless blood-red eyes emerged from the air, surrounding Lu Xin and weaving an intricate net that trapped him.
Insight inherently possesses a sealing trait.
Countless blood-red eyes intertwined, their gazes converging to form a cage.
Lu Xin stood at the center of this prison.
Not far away, a Black-clad Bishop strode quickly, a satisfied smile on his face.
The Keeper of Fate had flawlessly executed her mission, completely sealing off any chance of the Tyrant’s escape.
…
…
In the sky, the Red Moon silently observed the human realm.
And amidst the myriad of blood-red eyes, Mom’s figure appeared faintly, meeting Lu Xin’s despairing, dejected gaze.
Then a low voice resonated:
“You’ve truly become human…”