"Defeatist, a lowly dog, a cur..." In a theatric manner, Zia said these words as if she were in a play. She looked at Alfir pityingly.

Alfir didn't give a damn about Zia's words. Zia doesn't have any hypnotic powers, so it's a no-problemo~ Alfir turned his back from Zia as he slowly make his way outside the stage.

"Exile, outcast... Secrets, desires..."

Alfir stopped. That caught his interest. Zia smiled at Alfir's sudden halt in his steps, but more than that is her desire to mentally break someone. What she doesn’t know is that Alfir has the same thoughts as her.

'This lady, I am giving you a free win, and here you are... Tsk.' Alfir derisively thought.

Zia has precognitive powers like the principal. She can see about 2 seconds in the future. On top of that, she possesses empathic powers that allow her to get a subtle but accurate read of Alfir's mind. This means, Zia already saw Alfir forfeiting this match.

‘Fine,’ Alfir smiled ear to ear sending shivers down Zia’s spine. ‘Let’s play your game.’ Alfir added as he mouthed his words in a provoking manner.

His lips moved, and Zia read. ‘Oh, dear Zia. You must be eager to outdo yourself. Tell me, was it fun to destroy the minds of your opponents… make them suffer… make them slaves to their sorrows… make them fall to their worst?’

She was surprised by his rather provoking words. Zia thought, of this fellow as but a weakling, a side entertainment of sorts for her. However, people don’t always seem to appear as they would.

‘Oh, yes…’ Zia’s cheeks flushed in excitement, ‘It gives me joy, and pleasure, and even now, I am searching for my next meal. The delicacy, I want to savor it, revel on it…’

“…” A long silence ensued. Zia is shaking from excitement, it’s a shudder that only now she experienced. Perhaps, is she finally coming out clean for all people to see? Her arrogance, despise, and sadism… She’s struggling to control herself, but she’s doing better than Alfir can imagine.

‘You see,’ Zia cat walked to Alfir’s side. ‘I get my entertainment from people like you. By prying your mind, I believe I can taste the best of it... I am a cook, and you are the food.’ Intoxicated with her own thoughts… a different kind of craziness can be felt in her.

To the audience, all of this seemed irregular. What’s even going on? Even the principal doesn’t know of the silent conversation going on… This explains his current confusion. And it’s not just him… even Jimmy Simmons, and the other VIPs who gazed into this particular ‘fight’ shares the same confusion.

Is this even a fight?

Meanwhile, Minion#11111 Bon, is feeling a different kind of confusion. Is this what happens when two crazies meet? The two contender’s distance is pretty much nearly zero right now, but no one yet is throwing the first punch.

“You are doing better than I thought,” Alfir caressed Zia’s cheeks. ‘Do you feel it? The pleasurable shiver in your spine. The spike of oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin. Your smile feels too natural, isn’t it? It’s like falling in love, what do you think? If I tell you, I love you, would you die for me?’

“Ye—” Zia pushed Alfir away. Terror, that’s what she should be feeling right now, but her thoughts betray her. She almost said yes. No, she would’ve definitely said yes…

“What did you do to me?” She held her whip tight and tried to swing it at Alfir, however she failed. Her wrist won’t move as she commanded. She can’t hurt this man. On a biological level, the act of hurting this man has become impossible for her.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” She repeated, in a hysterical manner.

“What do you mean?” Alfir played innocent, not minding the curious gaze of the audience.

Terror, yes… It’s them… Zia is scared, she wanted to be scared… Only this emotion would sway the rising affection in her heart. ‘Is it a hypnotic ability? No, that’s impossible. An empath is immune to any hypnotic powers.’

Her mind is in tumult. A different kind of terror rose in her heart— what of her fate? What will happen to her?

“Do you… love me?” She asked through her gritted teeth. Hearing these words from her, the audience went haywire. ooooOOOOOOOOOHHHHHhhhhh…. The playful chiding and excitement permeated the arena.

Defeatist, a lowly dog, a cur... Exile, outcast... Secrets, desires... Truthfully, Alfir felt threatened by Zia's words. Among the mind-reading powers he knows, Zia's mutation is one of the best.

"That sounds like a threat... Do you plan to hold me through matrimony? How about a chat? We have to know each other first if you were to decide to pursue me." Alfir jokingly said.

‘An interesting choice of word, love? Why? Perhaps, is this your futile attempt to break off the spell… hahaha… Maybe, by me saying no, you’ll suddenly be free. Cute, but no, I don’t love you… I don’t like you…’ Alfir silently added mouthing word per word.

Zia felt hurt by Alfir’s words. She knows that it’s not even her own emotions at work, but she can’t resist it. The pain felt real to her. Why doesn’t he like me? It was him who placed her in this situation in the first place, so just why? She regretfully thought.

Suddenly, Alfir’s shadow churned in agitation. The man in question didn’t realize it. However, for an empath like Zia who can see more about ‘people’, the unexpected anomaly didn’t escape her eyes.

“W.hat wa.s tHat?” She asked, trembling.

“Hmmm?” Alfir was perplexed, oblivious of what is Zia experiencing.

There were eyes everywhere. She is surrounded by them, by vague shadows of men or maybe women, children… she can’t tell what are they, but she is certain… they are real.

“Is this a mental attack?”

“Excuse me?”

“What did you do?” Zia… doesn’t know what to do. Still possessed by a love-struck notion towards the person called ‘Alfir’, the fact remains that she does feel terror by seeing this man. Can a person feel both fear and love for the same person at once?

Alfir maybe in his good heart, decided to enlighten Zia. It’s not that bad if the Principal sees him show this much.

“Ahem… Since you are so curious, I’ll indulge you. It’s your Special Ability that is the cause of the love spell. In fact, I didn’t imagine you’ll be like this to this extent. My ability relates to ‘influence’. Knowing that your powers are based on the mechanism of the Endocrine System, I made your ability overclock.”

Zia was surprised that Alfir knows this much about her. So, what actually happened, is Alfir used her ability to his advantage purposely increasing certain hormones from her.

But… that’s not it. That’s not the explanation she wanted to hear. The eyes are still there. They started smiling at her.

Zia bit her lip. The taste of her blood is tangy. She forcefully gazed at Alfir, the act itself felt too difficult for her. As if an invisible force was compelling her not to do it.

The eyes, they say it’s a person’s gateway to their soul. As an empath, Zia knows that this has some truth to it. Alfir’s eyes are dark, like an abyss. Slowly, she felt herself sinking into the world of the subconscious.

…