Chapter 8 - Conspiracy Theory

After sighing his turmoil out, Albion stared at the cute child in front of him and smiled, "How's your birthday been?"

"It's fun!" Dolian cheered and stretched his arms out to the sky. He wore a bright smile that would have even glowed brightly if he was in an anime.

"Is that so?" Albion laughed and stood up from his squatting position. Then, with a wave of his finger, an invisible hand seemed to wrap around Dolian's body and had him float up into the air.

Seemingly accustomed to this already, Dolian looked around with starry eyes and yelled, "Woohoo!"

"Look! I'm flying again!" Dolian said to Albion as they went towards one of the vacant tables full of food.

Albion wagged his finger once more after they arrived at the table and gently placed Dolian on one of the cushioned chairs beside the chair he sat on. Then, he snapped his fingers as cutleries and plates flew towards them, and an array of food landed on their plates.

With a glance, Dolian easily noticed another thing that made him have a deeper understanding of Albion, 'Even though he doesn't seem like it, he really is a big extrovert. He easily notices subtle things like my favorite food and puts the ones Dolian Tatori adores on my plate.'

The childlike Dolian Tatori gasped before he then turned around to look at Albion with a grin, "You really are a good guy, Uncle!"

"Oh?" Albion paused his fork and stared back at Dolian with a curious smile, "What made you say that?"

"You put my favorite food on my plate!" Dolian cheekily grinned, causing Albion to be taken aback before his curiosity was piqued.

"Of course, I'm a good guy. Your uncle here is a pro hero! Although… how did you notice it?" Albion asked as he punctured a piece of glistening meat.

"Kukuku!" Dolian smugly laughed and said with an aloof smile, "It's because of my quirk!"

"What?" Albion stopped and let the piece of marbled meat fall back to his plate, staring at Dolian in a daze only to then finally notice his strange vertical slits for eyes.

"You have a quirk already?!" Albion stood up and hurriedly grabbed Dolian from his waist, raising him up into the air with a celebratory grin, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

"I was worried too much that you won't awaken your quirk considering your golden period is already nearing its end." Albion dropped back to his chair and placed Dolian on the ground.

"You don't know how many sleepless nights I have because of you…" His entire body seemed to have lightened up as if an unbearable weight has disappeared.

Scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile, Dolian meekly responded, "Sorry."

"Well, if you want my forgiveness, you should show me what your quirk is already."

Hearing his request, Dolian thought with a twisted smile, 'My pleasure.'

Dolian went on to explain in the same manner as before, telling half-truths and misleading details that hid the true capabilities of his quirk. He didn't mention his deep understanding of the human psyche from the experience of his two lives combined, or how he can already do minor hypnotization and forceful emotional control using Mind Tether.

'If others were to know of my true capabilities in the domains of the mind, I'll easily be placed in the government's prying eyes and might become a hunted villain in the future.' Dolian inwardly shook his head and went on to inspect Albion's reactions.

'Is this for real?' Albion rubbed his chin with a complicated gaze. The answer he just heard almost made him stand up in shock at just how vast the kid's potential was.

'He might very well outshine both his mother and father in terms of talent and potential alone. If he were to achieve his full potential, there's no telling what his future would be. He can easily become one of the world's shining beacons of light…' Albion's eyes constricted ever so slightly, a detail Dolian didn't miss.

'On the opposite end of the spectrum, he can also become the world's cruelest and most terrifying villain.' Albion gasped as he already had this thought long ago when he first met both Ayumu and Hope.

'Having quirks like those two is just simply terrifying. They can influence and alter the minds of others, whether it be directly or indirectly, forcefully or through guidance. Both Ayumu and Hope can basically become master manipulators and cause a huge ruckus in the world, which is one of the reasons why the government makes sure to protect them thoroughly and not offend them.'

'But Dolian is simply way too different. He has both of their quirks combined, albeit immature and not that enhanced, it still acquired a qualitative change with how the two quirks are so compatible with one another.'

'If he were to gain even a tiny bit of experience, I can already expect him to easily control others…' Albion paused.

'His quirk should have enhanced his mind to an astronomical degree, so I can't discard some possibilities. Perhaps he has already realized how terrifying his potential is and came to the same conclusions as I did, so he lied about what he can fully do and might even-' Albion paused as his eyes suddenly reflected a pair of golden vertical slits that seemed to suck his consciousness in like a black hole.

"Hehehe, are you terrified that I'll soon become the world's number one hero, Uncle?" Dolian asked with a jubilant and arrogant smile. "Don't worry, I'll reserve the pedestal of second best in the world for you… Although that should be given to Star and Stripes instead."

As if brought out of the dark abyss, Albion's mind turned clear and serene. 'I really was foolish to think a child like him would do those things.'

Donning a big wide grin, Albion refuted with the same arrogant tone, "Are you sure you can even reach the top ten in the country?"

…

Time quickly passed and no mishaps happened. The party went on as expected, and Dolian can be seen playing with a group of friends from school as they ran around the wide garden.

But as they did, Dolian had his eyes move from place to place, inspecting everything in his vision through his peripherals as he absorbed every little detail he could.

'That guy over there walks around slightly off, perhaps an injury sustained from hero work.'

'The young girl glued to her phone seems to be an introverted child of a rich upbringing. Even though her outfit is simple, I can tell that it comes from luxurious brands of noteworthy quality.'

'Those three in the distance seem to be discussing a pressing matter. Perhaps a business partnership. Even if it is my birthday, it's still an important event for adults as they can establish relationships and rapport with one another.'

Slowly but surely, his experience and insight into others grew with each passing second. He can't stop doing it as if he was addicted to the feeling his quirk gave him.

Not only did his body got enhanced to a monstrous degree, but his mind also evolved to the point of far exceeding what a human should be capable of. His memory has already reached eidetic memory, and a single glance alone would allow him to remember the face and names of others with ease.

His keen insight seemed to have gotten stronger, as a single glance alone was all it took for him to gain a basic understanding of another person with high accuracy in his judgement. It was similar to first impressions but more accurate and detailed, and a single stare at another person's picture was all it took.

Just as he was inspecting another person, he saw his mother waving at him in the distance and paused. It was a signal they prepared earlier before the party started, and that's why he turned to his friends and said, "Sorry! I gotta go real quick!"

"Aww, why are you leaving so soon, Dolian?" They asked with saddened faces.

"Don't be too sad. I'm just gonna prepare real quick and we can play all we want after that, okay?"

"Okay!"

Calming the kids down, Dolian hastily walked toward his mother and wore an excited smile, "Is it time now?"

She chuckled and pointed at the luxuriant throne on the pedestal beside them, "Of course!"

"Yay!" Dolian grinned and hurriedly sat on the throne, grabbing the attention of everyone else as they already knew what this meant.

'Gift giving!'

"Everyone! Line up! It's the event you've all been waiting for!" Hope shouted with a knowing smile as many others had their grins tightened up for a bit before thinking, 'Wow… Nothing really does escape her gaze.'

Dolian's birthday was no small matter for many people in the upper society of America. Many wanted to get closer to the Tatori family through this event and gain a stronger foothold, but Hope and Ayumu knew that clearly and weren't the least bit perturbed.

They had been in this part of this social structure for years already and were experienced in handling matters such as this. So for them, this was just another way of getting free stuff for not just Dolian, but also for them.

Just like they say, free stuff comes at a price.

One by one, numerous people gave Dolian their gits. The gifts ranged from expensive jewelry to cars, ownership to some real estate, cars, planes, jets, century-old wine, high-tech products that are only given to a few people all around the world, and more.

As the child of two genius psychologists, Dolian Tatori would of course not be oblivious to this situation. Not finding their gifts strange, he accepted them one by one with a charming and grateful smile that made those who came here for their own ulterior motives feel pangs of unbearable guilt inside them.

"Thank you for the gift!" Dolian said and accepted a wrapped box before then placing it beside him alongside numerous other wrapped presents. 'I'm glad that I showed my maturity way before this, if not, a normal child would have thrown a temper tantrum already.'

Just as he was thinking wistfully, he straightened his back and made his eyes widen in clear, unrestrained joy, "Aleks!"

In front of him, a young girl walked toward him with a blushing face and stretched out her hand. Then, she pushed her hand into Dolian and gave the unknown item to him, turned around in a hurry, and said, "Happy birthday…"

She ran away without turning back, and the crowd before her easily noticed the young girl's blushing face. Arriving at her mother, she once again hid in her shadow to not be seen by Dolian.

As he opened his palm, Dolian stared at the brilliant piece of diamond tied to a golden chain. Etched on the diamond were a few rough words that can be read, "Victory."

"A good luck charm…" Dolian smiled and wore it on his neck, but deep inside his mind, he thought, 'Perhaps I can use this as a tool to capture the attention of others so I can hypnotize them…'

Just as he was delving into his future, Dolian stared back at the line of people and saw a man approach him. The man wore a strange full-body suit colored black, accentuating his muscular physique hidden underneath. Over his head was a black helmet of the same color as his suit, with its shape and appearance being similar to that of an owl. A black cape draped over his back as it flowed along with the wind, giving him a mysterious presence.

'Pro hero, Owler. His quirk gives him powers similar to an owl, allowing him to fly, an enhanced body, great eyesight, and using his gadgets and tech, he's a relatively famous hero in the country nearing the level of Psy.' Information about the man in front of him quickly entered his mind as he wore the same bright smile.

Holding out a cage, Dolian stared inside it and saw a strange, dark blue-feathered owl standing inside.

"Woah! Is that an owl?" Dolian asked out of curiosity and grabbed the handle of the cage.

"It is." The man replied.

"What's its name, Mister?"

"I haven't given it a name yet." He said with the same monotonous voice.

"Really?" Dolian stared at the owl and grinned, "Then I'll name it…"

"I'll name it Stolas."

AN: This chapter has 2095 words.

Welp, I should have revised this chapter but that's life.

(March 18, 2023 - 478th day of writing)