Chapter 3 96% Match
The scientists stared in disbelief at their compatibility test results, while Nixie sat quietly in the hospital laboratory room. The two of them looked at her with shocked expressions, and it made the girl with the heart necklace stare back in confusion.
"What are the results?" Nixie asked curiously.
One of them sat down in front of her with a serious expression. After the scene where she hugged the boy from 13 years ago, she was forcibly dragged by them into this room.
"Your compatibility rate is almost perfect. 96%! But there are a few things you need to know. Ziven is an SSS+ level Esper. That means his power is enormous, and he could lose control at any time."
"Okay, I understand," Nixie replied flatly, as if she had no doubt at all about Ziven’s power. Right now, all that was on Nixie's mind was saving that man from the hell that had bound him for so long.
"Aren’t you scared?" the second doctor asked.
"No. I’ll do my best!" Nixie answered casually.
They both let out a sigh, unable to believe it. Maybe this was what people called a fated pair. Usually, any Guide assigned to help Ziven would run away in fear the moment they saw him. But look at this young girl in front of them.
"It’s better if you go home for now. We’ll send the work contract tomorrow once it’s approved! And you know what Esper and Guide are supposed to do, right?"
"No. Are we going to play badminton later?" Nixie asked, making their brows furrow. A second later, Nixie gave a mischievous smile. "I’m just kidding. Of course I know."
They sighed together. This pair was equally unpredictable. Nixie stood up, bowed respectfully to everyone, and then walked out.
Along the way, people stared and whispered, which made Nixie wonder. Was this what celebrities felt like?
Before leaving, Nixie reluctantly turned back to look at the hospital lobby. Even though they had only just met, the doctors had already separated them. She wanted to ask so many things about what happened 13 years ago.
She thought the monster had devoured Ziven. A moment later, she held the necklace around her neck. It was something she found when the monster took Ziven away.
She wore it for years until it looked worn out.
"I’ll come back to see you!"
When she got home, Nixie threw herself onto the living room sofa. The hard times had passed, and now they could live a normal life, even though fear still lingered.
"You’re home?" a voice suddenly asked. It was a woman holding a cup of coffee in her hand. "How did it go?"
Nixie smiled. When the monster apocalypse happened, she was grateful that both her parents were still alive. Now, Mommy worked as a cashier at a convenience store, and Dad was an architect.
"It went well!"
"Is the Esper handsome?" Mommy asked, sitting beside her curiously. Both of her parents were ordinary humans. So how was it possible that she was an S-level Guide?
"Handsome."
"Do you like him? Oh, my daughter’s all grown up now. Mommy’s going to miss you so much!"
Mommy pulled Nixie into a warm hug, reluctant to let go. Her first daughter was going to leave with her partner soon.
"Mom, what if I choose an SSS+ level Esper?" Nixie asked, making her mother stare at her in disbelief.
"This is another one of your jokes, right?"
"No, Mom. I’m serious!"
Her mother frowned, eyes narrowing as if trying to detect whether her daughter — who was never serious — was telling the truth. "Nixie, are you sure about this decision?"
"He’s the one who saved me back then, Mom!"
"But how did he end up at SSS+ level? That’s a god-level Esper! If he loses control, you’ll be in danger, Nixie!"
Nixie grabbed her mother’s shoulders with both hands and looked at her seriously. "Mom! I just want to repay him for what he did for me back then. Besides, he’s chained up in such an inhumane way, Mommy!"
"An Esper at that level tends to lose control when their power is too great. That’s why they chain him, so he won’t endanger people around him."
"But that’s still inhumane, Mom! They’re treating him like a wild animal. He has feelings too!" Nixie said. She still didn’t understand much about how this world’s powers worked. Her thoughts were still pure and kind, so she didn’t know what was truly right or wrong.
"Fine. Since your decision is final, Mommy won’t interfere anymore. But if anything happens, you have to call me, okay?!"
"Yes, ma’am!" Nixie said, raising her hand to her forehead in a mock salute to her queen mother.
They hugged again, because it was possible Nixie would move out right after the work contract was signed. She would be living with her Esper.
Ziven stared at everyone with a blank expression. After the Guide process — the hug with the beautiful man — he felt much calmer, and that made the doctors smile in relief.
"You finally found your Guide, Ziven! You won’t have to suffer to suppress your power anymore," one of the doctors said.
"The girl looks so young. Did she just graduate?"
The handsome man sat there, staring at all of them coldly. The power he never asked for 13 years ago had almost driven him insane and made him want to die.
The pain he had endured for years — he would make them pay for every single bit of it. A few minutes later, the doctors fell silent because Ziven gave them no response at all.
This handsome man looked more like a living doll who would just follow their orders. If they looked at Ziven’s old photos, he should still be a teenager who smiled easily.
But after years of fighting monsters, his heart had slowly died. He was expressionless. He had even forgotten how to interact with ordinary humans.
"Ziven! Are you listening to me!" a female doctor said, thinking he wasn’t conscious.
"Yes."
"Whew, thank goodness. The girl will be picked up once she signs the contract."
The SSS+ Esper stood up from his seat. "No need. I’ll pick her up myself."
"What? No, you just got better!"
But Ziven refused to listen and walked out of the room. Everyone he passed on the way stared at him with fear and quickly moved aside.
The beautiful world was no longer the same for Ziven. Darkness began to close in on his life as pain and the spray of monster blood repeated over and over, carving holes into his heart.
Ziven opened the door to his expensive car. It had probably been sitting there for decades. All this time, he hadn’t had a normal life. Every day was spent imprisoned in the hospital and in iron cages that they thought could hold him.
But no. He was the one choosing not to lose control. The luxury car cut through the fairly crowded city streets. Rain was falling heavily this time, but it didn’t make Ziven stop.
"Since you’ve stepped into my life, then get ready to face the darkness that’s everywhere!"
