35 Reflection of the Mind

Reaching out his hand Atlas focused on the spirit that barreled towards him in a mad rage, determined to end the life of the pathetic human before it. A deep calm settled over his mind as he concentrated on his cursed energy. He had tried many times before, but this would be the time he would do it.

To reach within himself and achieve something more. Feeling the dimensions crack, his property pulled on more power from beyond, drawing it into this dimension, letting it warp reality as it wanted. Letting it flow as it felt was right.

And something shifted.

Like glass, the world started to crack and shatter as it tried to right itself. Air splitting into fragments as the world twisted and turned as if countless mirrors reflected off each other. Thousands of repeating images spiralling off into an endless infinity. The fourth dimension reflected itself in the mirrors of the broken reality surrounding Atlas.

Lights and shapes of unimaginable and impossible proportions littered the reflections with twisted images beyond understanding.

Then everything snapped back to how it was, reality forcing itself to fix in a shattering boom of reality crashing into itself. Feeling the backlash slam into him, cracks shooting across his skin before vanishing as fast as they had come, healing instantly.

But that wasn't the worse of it.

With reality crashing back to its original form Atlas felt his arm explode into shard-like cracks, his arm ripping itself to shreds and bone and tendon hung loosely from his dismantled shoulder.

Gritting his teeth at the pain Atlas started to heal. Watching and bone and flesh slowly started to grow back. Taking a deep breath he focused more, despite the pain pushing his mind to concentrate on the task at hand and not the disappointment before him. The cursed spirit was unharmed.

Throwing himself backwards as the cursed spirit obliterated the spot where he was standing Atlas stumbled back from the shockwave as he felt his property fail to activate as it righted itself. Fixing whatever was thrown out of proportion by what he tried to achieve.

Dodging another blow as a giant blade shore through the concrete where he was just standing sending plumes of dust into the air Atlas got into a ready stance.

His entire arm grew back in an instant, flesh unfolding from the wound and expanding before settling into the form of his arm.

In annoyance, Altas raised his arm into the air swinging it up and bisecting the creature down the middle with a shattering blade of folding space that tore a deep grove into the concrete.

Walking forward as the dust cleared he saw the fading grey particles of the decimated cursed spirit slowly drift away. Looks like he wouldn't be capturing this one either.

"God damn it, why won't it just fucking work," Atlas said, gritting his teeth in annoyance as he shook his right arm getting rid of the lingering phantom pain. He had been here for almost a year now and he wasn't showing any results of getting his cursed technique.

Sitting down on the sidewalk he leaned back against a wall as he let out a sigh.

He had also been trying to capture what he could for Geto but it wasn't the simplest task. Since he could just throw them in another dimension, however, did help a lot. However, the stronger they were and the more they resisted the harder it was to keep them there without them breaking out. Which spirits could do apparently with enough time, it took them weeks, but he had been her far longer than that.

Sighing again he got up and walked a few steps forward, the large skyscrapers around him reached into the clouds littered the dark street around him. Towering upwards enough that he had to crane his neck to look up at the oppressive concrete jungle.

China was different from Japan, much different. And Atlas was starting to miss home, of course, he had teleported there once or twice but never interacted with anyone. Just watched, making sure that Kenjaku wasn't moving anything forward. Of course what happened with the star plasma vessel should stay where it was meant to be as Master Tengen would have to give the mission for it to start, at least he was pretty sure but it was better safe than sorry.

It had been about a year and Kenjaku hadn't shown himself since their last interaction... he was up to something, Atlas felt he was at least.

The sorcerer killer had made a real name for himself as well in the time he was gone. Never once having failed a job. Never once even harmed by those he attacked.

Chuckling to himself Atlas started teleported onto the top of one of the many skyscrapers and sat down, his knee tucked up to his chest as he rested his chin on it. Looking out over the countless lights that lit up the urban sprawl. A stunning sight, but an oppressive one nonetheless.

The current situation in China with its government... methods had led to quite a lot of negative emotion. Staring out over the flickering lights Atlas knew that many cursed spirits were still roaming the streets, unseen and unstopped. Far too many for the meagre amount of sorcerers in Japan to handle.

It was almost time, he could feel it. Things were shifting.

The world was starting to change, it was diverging. Cursed spirits were becoming stronger steadily... over the past year alone he had noticed it.

The vessel would soon be ready to merge and the start of this world's true distortion would happen.

Soon he wouldn't care about the Higher-Ups, he only let them live because he knew that Geto's image of him would be greatly affected if he just killed them all. After all, Geto had a kind heart if not a bit naive right now, he would hunt Kenjaku whether he was part of them or not though, even if he had to kill them all.

Atlas needed his technique. He needed his domain. He needed to gain control of his mind so that he could hunt that bastard.

He had made progress, he had talked to Hoshi more than once, or at least sat in silence with him.

He was almost there, he just needed one little push. And he felt that he knew where he was going to get it, not from an enemy, but from a friend.

Sitting down against the floor he closed his eyes and let out a small breath, letting himself fall into a trace as he dived within his mind ignoring the wiping wind ripping at his face.

Feeling his senses dull and the world faded to suffocating black he was suddenly sitting down on a cold floor or in a black void-like room.

No light came in apart from a small sourceless radius around a single metal chair holding a chained man whose hair hung down to the bottom of his ribs. His skin was gaunt and stretched over his bones and his eyes sunken deep within his skull. Large purple bags hung from under his hollow gaze, every time Atlas saw him it was like he had aged hundreds of years.

He had become more of a shell than a person.

He had tried to befriend Hoshi but he thought that Atlas might just want to use him as well, after all, Kenjaku had built trust just to rip it away to break the man. He was so buried in defeat he had convinced himself it was easier to feel nothing.

"Hello again Hoshi, will you let me stay a while this time?" Atlas said, his voice blank and toneless. He had tried to sound warm and caring but Hoshi didn't like it, he didn't like thinking that there could be deception.

He used to just kick Atlas out as soon as he had arrived but recently he had let him stay. At first, as soon as he spoke he was ejected, but now. Now he was able to at least talk to the other person if he got a response or not varied between visits.

Hearing no response Atlas didn't show any reaction. He just started to make small conversation.

"I feel I am getting closer to finding what my technique is… it's been holding me back for so long that I am eager to finally be able to find it." Atlas said, talking over his progress, soon his voice fading into background noise as he informed Hoshi of what has happened between his latest visit and now.

As Atlas talked he just rambled on about the spirits he had seen and how he was trapping them in another dimension of his when he was able to use binding rope and sealing Talisman he was stealing from some of the Chinese sorcerers, they were all too give to Geto when he got back, it would be a shame to just kill so many high grades. The only problem was he wasn't able to get the strongest ones as he couldn't seal them. "-The thing was horrendous, It didn't look like any spirit I have-"

"Can I become a reflection?" Hoshi suddenly asked, his voice holding something, anything. A fraction of hope.

Atlas had been using his reflections more and more to train with them so Hoshi had seen them more than once through his shared gaze.

Hearing Hoshi speak Atlas froze, looking at the boy, seeing him start to open his mouth to say something else Atlas quickly got in before the boy could claim how hopeless that was and send him away.

"I don't see why not. You just need to let me find your mind easier and I can put it in a reflection of myself." Atlas said from the side.

"If you were able to separate my mind from you… could you kill me?" The boy asked looking up through his greasy hair, his eyes hollow yet filled with a... dark hope. Finally maybe a way out.

Hearing this Atlas didn't know what to say so he answered honestly.

"I assume so…" he probably could after all, if he could find the mind then he could extinguish it but… he didn't want to. Hoshi might not have been a part of him exactly but he wanted to at least try and give him a decent shot at living some type of life.

But Frank's words still rung in his head… 'Yes… yes, I remember you Hoshi… I remember what you did to everyone. I remember the day we came here. I remember the memories that I had forgotten…'

Hoshi had a past he didn't know. For all he knew Kenjaku might be working with Hoshi, after all, Hoshi had given Kenjaku complete access to his brain but that was because he was broken and didn't have the will to resist.

As soon as he put his mind in one of his reflections then what?

There were too many questions, but he knew what he wanted to do.

So he would do it and deal with the consequences later. For now, he would do what he thought was right. Hoshi didn't know anything, that was what he truly thought. Whatever he did, whatever memories were locked away, he didn't know them anymore. Kenjaku had broken and used the kid, what was to say he hadn't done so in the past?

"Will you if you can separate my mind from your body?" Hoshi asked, drawing Atlas' attention back to the conversation at hand.

"If I know that it won't hurt me and that is truly what you want, then I can do that for you…" Atlas agreed.

"Then I will let you find my mind… please, don't break it like Kenjaku as you call him did. Please let me at least die being myself at least." Hoshi pleaded as he stared at Atlas.

Honestly… Atlas didn't want to kill him. Nor did he want to enslave him either. He just wanted to give the boy a chance to have a life… but after all, he had been through. What was the right thing to do?

Sighing Atlas nodded his head, it was probably right to just let him move on…

It would solve his problem as well of having Kenjaku be able to get into his mind unless some sort of link had been made through Hoshi being there but he highly doubted that was the case.

Opening his eyes Atlas sat atop the skyscraper looking at the world before him.

It was time to get Hoshi out of his mind.

---

Hoshi sat there, thinking about the talks he had been having with Atlas and honestly, they made him sad, sadder than he was. Because he truly felt that someone was trying to be nice to him but he couldn't accept it. He wanted to accept the help he did but the possibility of being hurt again was too real. He couldn't handle it a second time.

But what did he have to lose?

The only reason he agreed was because of the faint, the slightest feeling at the edge of his mind that was far too far away to properly be able to influence him.

But the voice of the man who was trying to control him had gone silent, it wasn't tell him not to. Since that would make him want to. And it wasn't telling him to do it.

No, it had just stopped one day.

Maybe the connection had worn thin and faded, but he didn't think that was the case because he still felt it when Atlas teleported to Japan… but he had tried his best to stop Kenjaku from getting in and it hurt. Like red hot needles stabbing all through his brain it hurt like hell.

But he endured it, he couldn't lose his mind completely, his mind might not be truly his own anymore but at least he had his sanity.

Taking a deep breath he let his mind open to Atlas, let him feel where it was and knowing that lowering his defences could mean that he was once more taken advantage of but he trusted Atlas. He had seen how the man had lived, what he had done for others and despite everything how he just wanted to be safe.

Getting rid of him would make him safe.

So he was sure that Atlas would do it.

Feeling the world suddenly start to spin he didn't understand what was going on really. But when his world fell into darkness a moment of doubt gripped his heart. Had he messed up?

---

Atlas created a simple barrier around him and infused it with his property, he felt his mind start to wear slowly as he did so. The pressure of pushing enough energy into a barrier to infuse it fully with his property was insane and he doubted that anyone but him could do so. Even healing his mind with positive energy he could feel it starting to fray.

Feeling inside himself he did his best to find Hoshi, and soon he did. Not another mind but another consciousness. Pushing his energy into it he felt it flow through without resistance, Hoshi was letting it happen. And with a thought he pushed it to another plane. Not a reflection of it. But the consciousness itself.

Feeling his mind lacking something he started to think that it was working. Continuing he took that conciseness and taking a reflection of himself from another plane put Hoshi in it. While the true reflection could only exist while he had the barrier up, it was real enough for the moment that he was able to put the mind of Hoshi in it.

Opening his eyes he looked at the reflection of himself. It was a perfect mirror of his body just flipped, the skin was a slight shade of dark blue, just ever so faintly and the eyes were a solid violet but that was it.

He couldn't feel the reflection anymore, he wasn't in control of it. Getting ready to fight he stared at it wondering if maybe Kenjaku was in control of it, the nagging paranoia rising as the figure didn't move before tears started to roll down its cheeks.

Watching as his reflection, no, as Hoshi raised his hand and felt his face he heard the mournful whispers of the man's voice leaked out of his lips as if he didn't know how to use them.

Turning he looked over the lights of the city and stared at them all in shock.

To be honest, Atlas didn't expect that to work… but it had.

Now Hoshi was standing here before him in his reflection. His mind however knew that he couldn't keep this body active for more than half an hour.

As if worried it might go away any second Hoshi looked at Atlas and said asked as if he didn't know, "I can feel the wind against my skin?"