True Power

"It's displeasing that a war crime is judging me. Could you stop that? It's disgusting," I said coldly.

"... You're right, sorry." She apologized without a warning. It bewildered me and I was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say next.

I cleared my throat, "Anyway, I know someone that can project one's memory so it can be seen by others.

"Wait for my words, and don't do anything that makes the Synth suspicious of you." I gave her a warning.

"You don't have to say that, that's my plan from the very start. However, you might need to take care of those in the shadows, watching us from outside at this very moment."

"I've already prepared for that. I'll leave your house without them noticing, and if that fails, I have plan B."

"I see, good luck then."

I walked to the entrance and halted my steps. I said without turning around, "That rat on the roof… is it your doing?"

"There's no point in hiding it after it was discovered. Yeah, it is my doing, why?"

"Lend me one."

"Sure, but why?"

"It's for a present."

After receiving a small rat that can be snuck into a pocket, I left her house. Before that though, I used the rat and planted a cotton sized smoke. I put it on the floor and it left through the tiny gap on the bottom. Through this rat, I can 'see' them.

I knew how Synth works. With Yurim being involved in such a high classified mission, and its information mustn't be known by anyone, it would be weird if Synth didn't keep an eye on her.

I didn't know how many people were watching her, but I'll find out with this rat. Once it is near them, the smoke I attached to it will pick up its 'flame' and I'll be able to detect their position.

This way, I didn't need to cover the whole neighborhood in the area and was afraid of alarming them.

Once the rat left, I could sense it was moving somewhere. I'm not exactly sure how the rat knew their position, but it seemed to be attracted to Honor, or at least that's what Yurim explained.

I stood at the door for a few more seconds before my body turned into smoke and dispersed. My vision went blank, and when I came to my senses, I was somewhere else. Hum, not really somewhere else because I'm inside my bedroom. It seemed she put my clone here before doing her routine.

How did I end up here, one might ask. I replaced the location of my clone. 

It wasn't exactly teleportation, but transfer. I can move freely between clones or possess a smoke that comes out of my body

Even if that smoke was the size of a sand grain, I'd be able to possess it and basically recover. Of course, the repercussions would be quite fatal.

The more frequently I move my soul, and based on how much energy I need to recover, the more likely my body would change into mist particles. If I kept doing it without limit, I would slowly change to ordinary mist.

To prevent that, I tested how many times I can move between clones, and the answer is five.

Of course, it'd be different depending on the situation. If there's Hakku– his power is to change anything into raw food with any buff he desired.

For example, food that recover one's stamina to use powers– I can move freely between clones for up to ten times.

As I recalled my ability, my mind abruptly remembered the time when I'm at war. I made a grave mistake. Memories from that time flashed through my eyes. 

Dead Honors, ravaging shadows, screams of terror, shrill shriek of the shadows, the hasty steps of retreating Honors, the shout from the commander to retreat, and when all of a sudden, my mind went blank.

A painless death…

I'm not sure what happened. We were in a mission to secure east of Africa when the shadows came out of nowhere and ambushed us. They shouldn't be able to set a trap, or strategize, yet we got caught in their trap.

We had assumed the shadows has retreated. This happened if there was no source of food left in the area, and at the time, that place was quite desolate.

Not only that, we triple check the surrounding with our senses. Honor senses were quite sensitive to shadows and we can sense them within five kilometers in range.

Yet, that happened. They came in army and without a warning. We managed to fight back, but there were two colossal shadows.

These creatures... Its shout disabled one's power for a few seconds. They're the reason we lost.

No, perhaps we were too weak and too careless.

I take a sharp breath after remembering such a painful memory. Sweat trickle down my forehead. 

Why did I suddenly think of that moment? I thought to myself, a bit confused. 

I looked at my palm and eased my nerves. My palm immediately became mist particles, it slowly dispersed and my palm became translucent. 

I focused myself and the mist gathered before forming into a palm. I stared at my hand absentminded, wondering about something when my ears picked up something.

Someone opened the door and I turned my head to the source.

"Mira." I called out her name without thinking. I observed her. She looked at me, annoyed, but maybe not. I'm not sure. She had a furrowed brow.

"So, why did your clone turns into an idiot?" She asked quickly, demanding an explanation.

"I guess it would be okay if I told you." I take a drag and filled the room with smoke. To outsiders, this room became extremely quiet.

Yes, there were people watching us. I'm not exactly sure where they were. The rat hasn't found anyone yet, and hopefully they didn't found the rat.

Anyway, with my room became quiet all of nature sudden, they'd notice it, yet there was nothing they could do. I've been with Synth for a few years and knew how these spies works. Their mission is to observe, not to fight.

"I used my true power." I replied to her question.

"Your true power?" One of her brows raised, conveying doubt.

"Yeah, I can blue concepts with the smoke I control. I call this technique Smoke of Concept.

" I used it when I opened a tightly sealed briefcase that is filled with information I'm looking for. I blur the concept of the seal, confusing it, if that makes sense, before opening it.

"Each time I used Smoke of Concept. The smoke I controlled became unstable, and my clones became an idiot." I explained slowly and wait for her response.

"That's not all, is it? What are you hiding, Big Bro Synnefo?" She asked and call my real name. Her tone filled with hidden rage. Perhaps because I disclose the important information.

Just when I was about to open my mouth, she threw something at me. I caught it swiftly and looked at it. It was a package with six pills. However, four was missing, leaving only two.

"That's your medicine, right?"

"Where did you find this?" I'm not mad she found something I hide, but genuinely confused. I hid it good. No, that's not the main concern here.

I added immediately, "How did you know this is my medicine? I rarely take them and never bring them around."

She paused for a moment, contemplating something before responding calmly,

"...You'll find him sooner or later anyway, so I'll save your time. His name is Trick."