IDENTITY: TWELVE

ALEX POV

"Watch closely, Alex. See how strong you are." I stared at my past self, observing how he smirked evilly at the guy. I've never seen this side of me before, and knowing this gave me goosebumps. I was startled when a bone suddenly echoed in the air.

I slowly looked at the guy and instinctively covered my mouth when I saw his condition. His dead eyes were staring blankly at us. He collapsed, and I followed suit, lying lifelessly on the ground while the rain soaked our bodies.

I couldn't move after what I witnessed. My entire body was shaking, and no word came out of my mouth. The scene changed and returned to its usual look, but I remained standing. Stunned and unable to shake off what I had just seen. I wanted to ask my Alter why he did that. With the many ways he could deal with the guy, why did he kill him?

Summoning all my courage and strength, I finally spoke. "Why...why did you have to kill him?"

"Because he deserved it, Alex!" he angrily and loudly replied.

"But why kill him? You could have just broken his arm or leg!"

"Because if we let him live, everyone will know, including those who attacked the laboratory. And if they find out, Alex, they will hunt you. They will do everything to get you! Even if they have to kill everyone dear to you, just like your foster parents."

I was left speechless by what he had said. His point was right. Many would die if they knew who I really was. "But now, they know I killed him."

"At least they don't know how you did it."

I let out a sigh and looked at my Alter. "Thank you for showing me that."

"Tsk! I didn't have a choice."

"I should get going now."

As I was about to close my eyes, he called me. "Alex... never mind. Just go!"

"Okay."

I closed my eyes and visualized myself in my bedroom, sitting on my bed. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in my room again. I looked at my watch; it was already 7:56 in the evening.

"That took 3 hours?" I asked myself in amazement.

"Good thing you're back," a sudden voice said, startling me.

"Jesus, Sky!" Sky turned on the light using his psychic power, illuminating the room. Seeing his face right now was so irritating. "Why are you here?" I asked irritably, then tidied up the mess at my desk.

"Checking you out." I was surprised by his response. It sounded sweet, but I couldn't deny that we weren't on good terms right now.

"Wow! Thanks for that," I sarcastically replied, although I felt guilty. "If you don't have any other purpose, you can leave."

I didn't receive any response from him. Instead, he stood up from his chair and left the room. Guilt and pity wrapped around me from that moment, so I just bowed my head.

"You take care of this, okay?"

"Sky?" I called out to him before he could leave. I noticed him pause, indicating he heard my call. I slowly turned to him, but he still faced away. I let out a big sigh and gathered the courage to speak. "I-I'm sorry about earlier." I bowed my head. "I know what I did was wrong, so it's only right that you scold me."

I heard his footsteps, so I decided to look at him. He was looking at me. He walked a few meters towards me, and I was surprised when he suddenly pulled me into a hug. I felt his arms around my body, embracing me entirely. I was in total shock due to his sudden gesture so that I couldn't respond.

This is nice. He's so warm and smells good, too. It's been a while since I felt this way. I felt protected and safe. I felt like staying like this. I want to hug him, too. I won't—wait! I was shocked to notice my hands also wrapped around Sky's body. How did I end up like this?

I quickly removed my hands from the embrace and prayed he didn't notice. My cheeks immediately heated up, and I'm sure my face turned red. After a few seconds, he also released me from the hug. I quickly bowed my head to hide my blushing face.

"I used to hug you before as a sign of forgiveness," he reminded me, which surprised me. I quickly looked at him and was shocked by what I saw. He wasn't looking at me directly, but his cheeks. He was blushing!

My face got even hotter, so I bowed my head again. "Th-thank you."

"Hm." We remained silent for a few seconds. This awkward moment made me blush even more, and I guessed I looked like a tomato now. "I'll go ahead. Visit my room later; I have something to show you."

"O-okay."

******

I was in front of the door to Sky's room. Due to what happened earlier, I hesitated whether I should knock or—

"Come in," he suddenly said from inside. I immediately knocked and opened the door. I entered, but a dimly lit room greeted me. It wasn't too dark because I could still see.

"Geez, Sky, are you trying to save electricity?" I jokingly asked.

"Come here," he invited me while looking out his window. I went to where he was, and he gestured for me to look outside. I looked out the window and observed the people below as he said. "See that black car over there?" he pointed to the black car parked on the other side of the pathway, just in front of our boarding house.

"Yes?"

"They've been following you since you skipped class."

I immediately looked at him in surprise. "How am I supposed to believe you?"

"Because I've been following you, too?" I was surprised by his response. I thought he stayed behind when I went home.

"So that means when I talked to Lola Vemine—"

"Yes," he interrupted. "I heard that." I facepalmed upon hearing his answer. Cursed you, clairaudience! "That's not our main problem here."

"Right. Sorry." I looked at the car again, and it seemed like it had no intention of leaving. "Is this related to my confrontation with Trisha?"

"Maybe yes, or maybe no. But we have to stay alert." Sky walked away from the window and sat on the sofa he usually occupied. I had no choice but to follow suit. I sat on the opposite couch and focused my attention on his laptop on the table.

"Any update about Maica?" I asked. He opened the laptop that was already on the table, and the same image from before was still on the screen.

"No changes. It's still the same location."

I felt relieved knowing that Maica's location hadn't changed. As soon as we knew where she was, I was okay. But I shouldn't be complacent. The longer Maica stayed there, the more difficult it would be for her.

"We need to get her as soon as possible."

"That's why I called you here." Sky adjusted his sitting position and looked at me seriously. "I'm now going to teach you."

******

We were on our way to our so-called secret hideout. Because someone was following me, we decided to take a different route. It was creepier and darker here, but it was safer. We already informed Lola Vemine that we might spend the night there, and she agreed. Given what happened in the past few days, I didn't want to leave her, but we couldn't train in the boarding house. It was too exposed.

Knowing that I was going to learn the art of our minds was making me excited. But aside from the excitement, I also felt fear. Fear that the events of ten years ago might happen again.

"I'm glad that you could contact your Alter," Sky recalled, breaking the awkward silence between us.

"I had to."

"That's good because it's the first step in learning all the techniques. Your conscience plays an important role in manifesting your desired outcome. You need to agree with each other so you won't contradict one another," Sky explained.

"Really?" I felt a bit worried, knowing that my Alter and I were not on good terms. "Well, good for me."

"Let's hurry. It looks like it's going to rain."

"Amazing! Can you predict the weather, too?" I said in amazement to divert his attention from my concern about my Alter.

"It's drizzling, Alex," he replied, and I raised my hand. To my surprise, I felt a drop of water. I just grinned.

And because we didn't want to get wet, we immediately ran. After a few runs, we reached the house. And just in time, the rain poured.

"What a good timing," I remarked. I looked again at the old house that was once my home. Nothing has changed. It's still broken and smells like mouse droppings.

Sky walked towards the stairs, so I quickly followed. But before I went upstairs, I looked outside the house, checking if the car followed us. After ensuring no car was parked outside, I didn't waste time and went upstairs. Upon reaching the second floor, I was disappointed to find out that the jerk had left me.

"He didn't even wait for me," I complained and continued walking. I reached the entrance door, and it seemed he had already entered downstairs. "This guy really has no consideration."

I entered the room and went directly to the stairs. Once I entered, the door to the room closed, followed by the door to the stairs. Lamps lit up individually until they were on, and then I walked downstairs.

When I reached the hideout, I didn't hesitate to enter. The A.I. greeted me as One the moment I stepped into the room. I found Sky busy with the screen table, looking at something. Since I couldn't relate to his work, I just headed towards the sofa and placed my bag there. I sat down and felt its softness.

"Shall we start?" I adjusted my sitting position and nodded in response. Sky grabbed something from the fridge and walked towards me. He put a soda can on the table as he sat opposite me. "Make that float," he pointed to the can he placed on the table.

"Levitation? Already?"

"Levitation is the foundation of telekinesis. If you can levitate an object, then you can move it anywhere you want," he explained. How am I supposed to do that? Isn't there a step-by-step process? "Visualize the atoms that made up this soda. Imagine their movement. Their arrangement. Its composition. After that, visualize a string extending from your fingertips towards the atoms. If you feel a connection, then bend. Understood?" I nodded in response.

"I have something to attend to. Call me if you already did it," he instructed.

"Okay."

He immediately left and returned to the screen table while I prepared to do what he asked. Concentrating was not that hard. As a loner, I mastered concentration. I used to focus on observing people in school, so this is a piece of cake for me.

I pointed my left hand to the soda can and started visualizing the atoms as he instructed. Since this can be solid, the composition and arrangement of its atoms were organized and compacted.

Done!

I followed the release of imaginary strings from my fingers and connected them to the atoms. Of course, all of it was just in my head.

I slowly lifted my hand when I felt the flow of energy coming from the can. To my surprise, I managed to make the soda can float. I never thought I could do this so quickly. I was so overwhelmed! I felt like exploding.

"Not bad for a beginner like you," Sky praised me, which made me happy. I slowly put down the can and let out a sigh. "Now try this," he warned while levitating three piles of medium-sized books toward the table. As soon as it landed on the table, I immediately started.

"I never felt challenged like this before."