Yu Xi’s head snapped around, his eyes burning with emerald fire. "Get lost!"
Jian Rui rubbed his forehead in frustration, muttering, "Fuck..."
The door hissed open, and a man with an unremarkable face stepped inside. As the door slid shut, the illusion shimmered, revealing the unmistakable features of Eros. He turned to Jian Rui, his expression unreadable. "Leave."
Jian Rui didn’t hesitate. He knew better than to interfere.
The air became even more charged as two powerful psychic forces collided. Yu Xi, his eyes now completely emerald, focused all his energy. "Stay out of this."
Eros said, his voice calm but firm, "You know I can’t do that." The emerald power of Yu Xi crashed into Eros’ as the two psychics clashed.
He smirked, his voice low and sharp and said, "As you wish." He turned, his figure radiating an aura as imposing as Eros himself.
"Little Xi, you need to calm down," Eros said, his tone steady but firm. Yet the words Little Xi struck like a blade. Rage surged through Yu Xi, his mind clouded in a dark haze. His father’s voice echoed in the storm of his thoughts. Which one would you pick, Little Xi... your mother, or Xiaobao? The question twisted reality until Yu Xi could no longer tell hallucination from truth.
In his fractured vision, his grandfather’s form warped, becoming Gander, a man he long killed. Yu Xi’s emerald psychic power erupted, violent and unrestrained, slamming the almost lifeless Lord Leung against the wall. The chamber shook as emerald light clashed violently, Eros stepping forward to meet his grandson’s fury.
The two Espers faced each other, emerald flames colliding in waves that scorched the air. Eros, seasoned and composed, moved with the precision of experience. Yu Xi, younger and ruthless, fought as though he faced a mortal enemy, each strike carrying the weight of his rage and confusion. Their powers tore through the room, emerald sparks raining like shards of glass.
Eros held back, careful not to wound his grandson, yet Yu Xi pressed harder, relentless, his aura a storm that refused to break. The clash was equal in strength. It was Eros’s mastery against Yu Xi’s raw ferocity. Every strike rattled the walls, every surge of power threatened to consume them both.
Finally, Eros shifted, channeling his aura into a binding wave. With a decisive motion, he subdued Yu Xi, emerald light wrapping around him like chains. Yu Xi’s body trembled, his power faltering, and at last the haze broke. His eyes cleared, confusion flooding in as reality returned.
Breathing hard, Yu Xi looked around, bewildered. "Grandfather...?" His voice was uncertain, fragile, as though waking from a nightmare.
Eros exhaled deeply, relief softening his stern features. "You are back, Little Xi." His words carried both exhaustion and gratitude.
Yu Xi sat up abruptly, his breath uneven, the emerald glow fading from his eyes. His gaze fell on Eros, and his heart clenched at the sight of the bruises marring his grandfather’s skin.
"Grandfather I..." Yu Xi’s voice cracked with guilt. He leaned forward, his hands trembling as he reached out. "Are you alright?"
Eros, the most powerful Esper in existence, had already begun to heal himself. His aura shimmered faintly, knitting torn flesh and soothing the damage. If not for his unmatched healing abilities, Yu Xi’s outburst might have truly injured him.
Yu Xi bowed his head, his voice low and heavy with remorse. "I am so sorry. I don’t know what got hold of me."
Eros looked at him, his expression unreadable but his silence sharp as a blade. Inside, however, he was deeply unhappy. His grandson had unleashed all of this fury, all of this reckless power, for that idiot Jian Ci.
His jaw tightened. He could not understand it. Why Yu Xi insisted on hanging himself onto one tree when there were countless Espers under his command, handsome, talented and loyal, each one a far better match than Jian Ci.
He had always wondered what Yu Xi saw in him. Yes, Jian Ci had rescued him, but the debt had long been paid. Looking at everything Yu Xi had done for him since, the scales were more than balanced.
And yet, Yu Xi clung to him.
Eros’s eyes narrowed, his mind already moving ahead. He quietly decided that from now on he would introduce Yu Xi to the best candidates within his organization. He would introduce him to Espers who were worthy of his grandson’s power, his future and his legacy.
Jian Ci might have been the light Yu Xi once saw in the dark, but Eros would make sure that light was extinguished for Yu Xi’s sake. Yu Xi, still bowed in apology, didn’t see the cold calculation in his grandfather’s eyes.
Eros lowered himself to the floor beside Yu Xi, his movements deliberate, his presence steady like an anchor in the storm. He placed a hand on his grandson’s shoulder, his voice calm but weighted with concern.
"Don’t worry. I will be alright... Are you okay?"
Yu Xi rubbed his temple, his breath uneven. "Yeah, I just..." His words trailed off, frustration tightening his jaw. "I just don’t know what happened."
Eros gave his shoulder a firm pat. "It happens sometimes. You lose control when the emotions are too intense. I have lost control before."
His gaze drifted, memories flashing like scars. He remembered his own psychic surge. It had been akin to a storm, unstoppable and merciless. He had destroyed everything in his path the day he found his wife lying in a pool of blood, his daughter missing. That grief had torn him apart, and his power had answered with devastation.
Now, his eyes softened as they fell on Yu Xi’s ruined graduation uniform. The fabric was creased, stained with blood and torn in jagged lines.
"Look at your uniform," Eros said quietly. "It’s ruined. Let Grandpa get you a new one."
Yu Xi glanced down at himself, sighing. "I definitely need a new one."
Eros’s gaze shifted to the far side of the room, where Lord Leung lay crumpled on the ground. His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, his body broken but still clinging to life.
"Is he still alive?" Eros asked, his tone sharp.
Yu Xi’s eyes flickered toward the wreckage of a man. "He should be."
Hatred burned hot in Eros’s chest. He knew exactly what Leung was. He was a cog in the massive underground network, a man who had trafficked supplies to the illegal labs, feeding the machine.