Chapter 27: A Father’s Hidden Power

A Father's Hidden Power

Kirk's pulse quickened as he watched his father, Damon Willo, step into the restaurant, oblivious to the betrayal brewing around him. The man in the trench coat whispered hurriedly into his communicator before slipping into the shadows.

Tanica gripped Kirk's wrist. "Did you see that? Someone's watching him."

Kirk's Soul Perception burned at full intensity, revealing threads of fate tangled around his father—some fraying, some being cut entirely. Danger was imminent.

And then, something stirred within Kirk. A memory, one buried deep in his mind, clawing its way back to the surface.

He was ten years old, standing at the edge of the dock behind their estate. The water reflected the moonlight as his father, dressed in the same tailored suit, knelt before him.

"Kirk, listen to me. Sometimes, people disappear for a reason. It doesn't mean they're gone forever."

His father placed something cold in his small hands. A silver pendant, engraved with symbols Kirk hadn't understood back then.

"One day, you'll understand what we are."

Then… Damon Willo was gone. Vanished. No trace, no explanation. Just a missing father and a grieving family left behind.

Now, standing in the past, watching his father fight against unseen enemies, Kirk finally had a chance to uncover the truth.

The Shadow War Begins

Inside the restaurant, Damon sat at a table with three other men—powerful figures in the business world. But Kirk could see it now. One of them had a corrupted aura, dark tendrils of deception wrapping around his soul.

"He's about to be betrayed," Tanica whispered.

Kirk nodded. "But if my father had power… why didn't he stop it?"

Before they could move, the restaurant doors burst open.

A group of men in dark suits stormed inside, silenced weapons glinting in the dim light.

But Damon Willo didn't flinch.

As the first man raised his weapon, the air shifted. A pulse of invisible energy rippled through the room. The would-be assassins froze mid-step, their bodies locked in place as if held by an unseen force.

Kirk's breath caught in his throat. His father was doing this.

The man in the trench coat stepped forward, unaffected. "Damon Willo. You should've known your past wouldn't stay buried forever."

Damon exhaled slowly. "I warned you before. I'm not the man I used to be."

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the frozen assassins collapsed, gasping for air as if released from a powerful grip.

Kirk's mind reeled. His father's hidden power—it wasn't just business acumen or strategic genius. He could control the minds and bodies of others.

Tanica whispered, "Kirk… I think your father has a connection to the Mind Stone."

Kirk clenched his fists. His mind raced with thoughts: "The man he had idolized, mourned, and resented had been hiding a secret power all along.

And he had disappeared.....For a Reason... but Why"

Kirk's heart pounded as he watched his father—Damon Willo—effortlessly subdue the assassins. The power he wielded was unlike anything Kirk had ever seen before. A mental force so strong it could freeze men in place with a mere thought.

The man in the trench coat smirked. "So, you still have it in you, Damon."

Damon's expression remained cold. "If you know that, then you also know what happens next."

The air rippled again. The remaining assassins, struggling to stand, suddenly turned on each other, their eyes glazing over as if their minds had been hijacked. Within seconds, the gunmen took themselves out, collapsing to the floor in unconscious heaps.

Kirk's breath hitched. His father didn't just control minds—he could rewrite reality in a person's head.

Tanica whispered, "Kirk… your father is terrifying."

Kirk clenched his fists. "And he's been lying to us our whole lives."

But before they could process what was happening, Damon turned sharply toward the door.

He sensed them.

For a split second, his sharp gaze locked onto Kirk's. His expression changed—shock, recognition, something deeper.

Kirk's stomach churned. Does he see me?

Then—

Damon's body stiffened. His eyes flickered as if something unseen invaded his mind.

"No…" he muttered, gripping the edge of the table. "Not now—"

Suddenly, his entire aura shifted. The controlled power he had just wielded fractured, and pain flashed across his face. The man in the trench coat took a step forward.

"You still don't know the truth about yourself, do you, Damon?"

Damon staggered, his fingers digging into his skull. A sharp buzzing filled the air, the same one Kirk and Tanica had heard before being pulled into the trial.

Kirk gritted his teeth. Something was interfering with his father's mind.

Then it hit him—his father wasn't the Mind Stone's wielder.

He was its prisoner.

The Mind Stone's Influence

Damon let out a low growl, his body trembling as he fought against an unseen force. His own power was turning against him.

The man in the trench coat smirked. "You've been running from it all these years. Pretending you were free. But you know better, don't you?"

Kirk's chest tightened. If his father was bonded to the Mind Stone, then whoever controlled the stone could control him.

Tanica grabbed Kirk's arm. "Kirk, we have to do something."

Kirk hesitated. Interfering in the past could be dangerous. But could he really stand here and watch his father be consumed by something he didn't understand?

Before he could decide, Damon's eyes snapped open.

His pupils were no longer normal. They glowed a deep, unnatural violet—the color of the Mind Stone's power.

And then—

He vanished.

Not teleported. Not physically taken.

His entire existence blinked out of reality.

Kirk gasped. What just happened?

Tanica's voice was barely above a whisper. "I think… this is when he disappeared."

Kirk clenched his fists, his mind racing. His father hadn't abandoned him.

He had been erased.

—

Where did Damon Willo go? What force was controlling the Mind Stone, and why did it claim him? Kirk and Tanica now know the truth or do they??—but can they do anything to change history—or will they just let the truth unfold?