"I wonder how you'd react if you knew I was on the last legs of my life too… Hm? In a few hundred years, I won't be here anymore. And considering what my soul went through to make it back to your world, it won't last much longer than that either… I wonder. Will I see you before then?"
'Dammit! What kind of grand-teacher are you!?' Dyon huffed. His senses were still cut off so he couldn't even hear himself speak.
'Whatever. Step one is fix my meridians, I can't think of anything else right now.'
Dyon still felt like punching a wall though. He hadn't even gotten to ask how he could conquer the tower!
Sure, training was great and all. But, he still needed to get the Elves to the next universe over, and that would be a lot easier with this tower under their control.
If lotus tower gave them a death qi advantage, then Epistemic Tower was sure to give them a void qi advantage. Being able to move troops to and fro, and use void tears as literal defensive barriers, would force a drastic change in the landscape of the battles.
Suddenly a blinding light flashed, bringing Dyon to an all new space.
'A room? This looks like my room… from the mortal realm?'
Looking around Dyon found his room exactly as he had left it.
Piles of hardware and computers were thrown off to the side, having been tinkered with to their death.
A large computer station with seven monitors, four along the bottom and three on top, sat in another corner of the room.
And yet, maybe the oddest part about the room was that there was no bed. It was suffice to say Dyon didn't do a lot of sleeping…
In its stead stood another work table with elaborate blue prints covering them.
The numbers of patents, the jotted notes for coming and used ideas, and the details of new inventions down to their individual nuts and bolts were all jotted down.
Dyon jogged to the heavy curtains, pushing them open to look outside. 'Wow… Even the outside is the same…'
Dyon had never made too much money from his inventions. In fact, the only reason he bothered with patents was to prevent larger corporations from making use of his ideas to make a profit. So, he lived in a regular suburban neighborhood.
Because of his age, and the laws of the United States of America, he was technically not allowed to live alone. But, to Dyon, it had been a simple matter to use his knowledge and forge guardianship documents for himself.
The waves of nostalgia his Dyon again and again as complex emotions he had buried threatened to resurface. 'So… This is your test… Huh?'
True Empaths had to deal with the emotions of everyone else, so, wasn't it best they learned to deal with their own first?... The problem was that, as the old man had said, this wasn't a test for Dyon's right to become a True Empath… It was a test to measure himself.
It was to find out if Dyon would survive the mental damage of what was to come… Or if he'd fold like the Demon Sage had…
'Fair enough old man… Fair enough.'
Suddenly, a knock on the door made a shiver run down Dyon's spine.
He slowly made his way over, his hand trembling as he reached for the bronze doorknob. It didn't even occur to him that he had a security system to check who it was…
'Get it together.'
With that thought, Dyon no longer hesitated. In one swift motion, he opened the door.
"Huh? Ava? What are y – "
"You talk too much. It's my hour right now." Ava pushed her hand onto Dyon's bare chest, knocking him back into the room.
Confusion rippled through Dyon's features. 'Her hour? What? Wait!'
Ava didn't continue to speak. She pulled her tight leather tank top over her head, allowing her large plump breasts to fall into Dyon's view.
'I thought this was supposed to be a test… This old man is more perverted than me!'
Ava didn't seem to notice Dyon's confusion. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her soft chest against Dyon. "You're so mean Dyon… You leave such an impression on me just to leave for more than a year? How do you think that made me feel?"
A dull pain ate at Dyon's heart. 'Is this really how she feels? Or is this the illusion?'
Ava dropped to her knees, lightly kissing at Dyon's slowly growing bulge.
"Ava, wait! Stop!" Dyon protested, trying to step back. 'My voice!'
Suddenly, Dyon couldn't move of his own will, and his voice wouldn't project either. It was like he was in a dream – a non-lucid state. He could only experience what was happening and not take action. What kind of ridiculous trial was this!?
What Dyon didn't know was that just hours before, the old man had planned all of this. This was simply how the True Empath worked…
For much of their lives, they had no choice but to listen to the thoughts of others. They could only play an observing role in their own lives… There was no saying no… They could only learn to deal with and understand the emotions they felt.
And now, Dyon would have to do much the same. He would have to deal with all of Ava's emotions. How he made her feel. The things she was dealing with. And worst of all, he had to know and understand that he played a role in this. And he would have to accept it.
So Dyon could only watch as Ava played with his heart as he had played with hers.
Maybe to Dyon it wasn't true that he had. In fact, maybe, Ava also knew that Dyon had never intentionally played with her emotions. However, rational was never something someone should ever pin to emotions…
So, Ava poured her soul out to Dyon by giving him something Baal had almost taken away…
