129 Let Me Take Your Pains Away!

Saksham shook his head and decided to just take the upcoming mission as a time to steel his resolve and the final few days for his parents' ordinary lives. After he comes back, he would tell his parents about it without a doubt. But for now, he focused his mind on upgrading his [Shadow Clone]. He took a deep breath and said, "Upgrade my [Shadow Clone] to level 3."

"Are you Sure you want to use 60 EP?"

Saksham pressed yes without any hesitation and suddenly a familiar warm feeling rose from his mouth which spread to his whole body. Before long, a window popped up in his vision. He looked at the window with excitement, to see how his Level 3 [Shadow Clone] would work.

[Shadow Clone (level 3) – This is the upgraded version of the [Shadow Clone]. It is an exact clone of the host. It is real and not at the same time. It can see, feel, and interact with its surrounding like a normal human. It possesses 20% of the host's powers. It also possesses its independent thinking while being absolutely loyal towards the host. It can share its vision, memory, and even the control of its body with the host whenever commanded. Upon taking damage more than its bearing capacity, the clone would be destroyed, putting it on a cooldown for 3 days.]

Saksham read this and was visibly excited. He finally got his own [Shadow Clone] who could do his work for him. Now, he wouldn't have to be everywhere himself and take a risk by stepping into unknown territory by himself. Although he feels sad about his clone being destroyed too, at least it was better than him dying. The good thing was that he would be able to call his [Shadow Clone] back after 3 days. He thought it would cost him something before he can call his [Shadow Clone] again. Fortunately, it looks like 60 EP didn't go to waste.

Saksham sighed with relief and closed the window. He decided to see the [Shadow Clone] for himself. He said, "Shadow #1, come."

As he said that, something materialized in front of him. It was his Shadow which he named Shadow #1. Shadow #1 first materialized in front of him like a dark entity with no facial features. But then it slowly started to move. Changes started to show around its body. First of all, the dark feature disappeared. Instead, skin started to appear. On its blank head, facial features started to appear one after another. Soon, it became exactly the same as Saksham. In fact, it was wearing the same clothes as Saksham right now.

Saksham felt a bit weird seeing his clone at first but then he just shook his head. At this time, the clone fell on his right knee and said, "Yes, Lord!"

Seeing this, Saksham confirmed that Shadow #1 was absolutely loyal to him. Being his own clone, he could feel his emotions as well as thoughts. And all he could feel was absolute loyalty. He nodded and told Shadow #1 to stand up. As Shadow #1 stood up, Saksham started doing some experiments.

First, he closed his eyes and used Shadow #1's eyes to look around. Then he controlled Shadow #1's body a little and found out that Shadow #1's body felt really weak. He understood the reason being that it only had 20% of his body strength. So, he stopped bothering about it. He didn't have any way to increase the power unless he upgrades the [Shadow Clone] to level 4 or 5.

Then, Saksham let Shadow #1 read a book he had kept in his drawer. After Shadow #1 was done reading, Saksham touched its head and found that all the memories of Shadow #1 including the things he read in the book had been transferred to his own head. It didn't feel that it was someone else's memories. Instead, it felt as if Saksham had read the whole book himself. It was a really weird feeling but Saksham felt pretty good about it.

The next thing Saksham did was ask the system some doubts he had. He asked, "The clone has 20% of my overall strength, right? So does that mean it only had the physical strength only? Or will it also include the [Immortal] bloodlines powers and all?"

"Yes, it will include everything you have but only 20%." The System replied after a second.

"So that means, it is actually way stronger than it should actually be on level 3, right?" Saksham analyzed.

"You can say so." The system replied monotonously.

"Alright. And what about the powers I have? Will the Clone also have 20% of those powers?" Saksham asked with a serious expression.

"No. Only you will have those powers in this world. Your clones can never have them." The system replied sternly.

Saksham took a sigh of relief. He didn't want his clones to have that powers as well. Although it might be strong for him in the long run. He doesn't want his powers to be used unless it is himself. He can't trust anyone else, even his clones. He knows how powerful and dangerous his powers are. So, he doesn't want to take any risks. Getting the answer from the system made Saksham feel a lot better.

Then, Saksham opened his mouth and asked his final question, "The description said that the clone would disappear or be killed after it takes damage beyond its bearing capacity. What does this 'bearing capacity' means?"

"It means what it means. Since the clone is a life of its own basically, that means something beyond its capacity to bear the damage will kill it. If it is able to bear attacks worth 20 kg, then if someone punches it with 30 kg of strength, the clone will die. It will not fall into a 'seriously injured' state or fall into a coma. It will just disappear." The system explained.

Saksham heard this and nodded. He already had the answer in his head but he still wanted to confirm from the system. If the clone could fall into a 'seriously injured' state or fall into a 'coma' then it would have been really great, but that definitely wouldn't come with just 60 EP only. That's something he might get if he levels up the clones to a very high level, almost turning the clones into real beings.

But as it is not the case right now, Saksham just threw the matter to the back of his head. For now, he was done experimenting with the clone. Everything was perfect. There was only one thing left that Saksham wanted to confirm. He asked, "Does the clone have to be within my domain to function properly? Or is there any fixed distance or something?"

"There is no fixed distance. Your clone has independent thinking. It will work separately from you. It would eat, sleep, bathe, etc on its own. It doesn't need to require anything from you. It's just that if you want to control the clone or use other features, the clone has to be within your domain at least. Except that, it will work properly with no problems."

Saksham heard this and nodded again. Finally, the last of his worries were solved. Now, he can finally rest at ease regarding the clone. He has the perfect excuse now. All that's left now are meeting with Anitha and giving her the powers she wants and then making his own Hyper Occulus.

Saksham dialed Anitha's number and asked her to come out after a while. She agreed happily and then hung up the phone. Saksham also put his phone down and freshened up. He went out and hung on to Savitri like a child and then talked with Arjun for a while. As the appointed time came, Saksham told his parents that he was going to meet Anitha and left the house.

After walking for a while, Saksham found Anitha standing under the tree shade at the side of the road. She was wearing full sleeve t-shirt with blue jeans. Her hairs were left open but they didn't scatter. Just looking at her from afar made Saksham's heart start beating faster. He quickened his pace and reached her soon.

As soon as Anitha saw Saksham, she smiled brightly and waved her hand. Saksham also waved back with a bright smile on his face. Saksham reached her and just silently looked at her from head to toe and sighed. Anitha found this weird and looked at herself before asking, "What happened? Am I looking weird?"

"Ahh no. In fact, you are looking out of this world. I am just wondering if I have saved a galaxy in my last life to have you in this one." Saksham sighed again.

Anitha heard this and her beautiful white cheeks were tainted with a rosy color. She rolled her eyes and started walking ahead. Saksham laughed as he saw her blushing. He ran and caught up with Anitha and gently held her hand. Anitha didn't struggle and let Saksham hold her hand as they walked.

Saksham felt unprecedented calmness and peace at that moment. He felt that he had the whole world right now. He didn't want to think anything else. He didn't want to do anything else. As long as he had Anitha's hand in his, he felt that there was nothing else that mattered in the world. He sighed a little before coming back to reality. Right now was not the time to drown in these thoughts. He had told her to meet him for a reason. And that reason was-

"So, have you thought about what powers you want?" Saksham asked with a serious face.

"Yeah, I have." Anitha nodded cutely.

"And what do you want?" Saksham asked curiously. He also wanted to know what kind of superpowers Anitha wanted. He had spent 6 days thinking about it. But in the end, he just sighed and stopped himself from further thinking about it. So, he was really curious about Anitha's answer right now.

"I want to have powers which can heal wounds and injuries," Anitha said with an incredibly determined face.

"huh?!" Saksham was surprised.

He had thought of hundreds, if not thousands of powers, Anitha could have asked. But in all of those, he never expected her to ask this sort of power. He was really dumbfounded. He couldn't help but ask, "But why do you want this sort of power? You can get anything you want you to, you know? From controlling electricity, weather, getting super strength, etc. Why ask for this?"

"Of course I could have asked for anything. What do you think I did for the past 6 days? I have spent less time revising for our next exam and thought more about this matter. And after a lot of thinking, I finalized this as the power I want." Anitha said.

"But…why?" Saksham still felt a bit unconvinced.

Suddenly, Saksham felt his hand being clenched tighter. He looked down and saw Anitha's hand trembling a little as she clenched his hands tighter. Looking back up, he saw Anitha's face become determined once again as she opened her mouth and said, "I want to heal your injuries when you get hurt. Having the powers you have, I am sure you will surely be involved in things which are very dangerous. I am not confident in me being a fighter. I am not sure if I will even be able to fight properly if there came a chance. But I want to be of help to you. I don't want to feel useless as I watch you risking your life for us. I…can't do that."

"And that's why I want the powers to heal you. There will always be times when you will be injured or may be suffering from something. I don't want to see you in pain. I can't…see you in pain. And that's why…That's why in the future, I want to be there to hold your hand and heal all your injuries. I want to take all your pain away."

As Anitha finished her sentence, her face bloomed with a dazzling smile. It was so bright that Saksham got lost in her smile. They kept walking forward but Saksham was still in a daze. No one said a thing, but it was due to one of them feeling shy, while the other was in a daze. It took a while before Saksham came back to his senses.

Even after coming back to his senses, Saksham said nothing and just kept on walking. Anitha's words kept resounding in his ears as he walked. Warmth and love flooded his heart as he thought of her words. He felt really grateful to have Anitha. He felt extremely happy for the thought Anitha showed. With a smile on his face, Saksham broke the silence and asked, "Are you sure you want that power?"

"You can ask me 100 times, and my answer will still be the same. I want to take all your pain away. That's why give me the power to heal." Anitha answered with a smile.

Saksham smiled and nodded. He said, "Alright then. If that's your wish, then I will fulfill it."

Soon, both of them reached the abandoned warehouse that Saksham had bought earlier. Right now, there was no one around it except some stray dogs and some beggars. Saksham had asked Rahul to reconstruct walls around the warehouse and set up a big gate as well. He didn't plan on keeping guards right now. He had let him set the gate as well as walls to prevent people and stray animals from coming inside. As for the guards, Saksham felt it was not necessary for the time being. It was just an ordinary warehouse. So no point in appointing anyone for now.

Saksham hugged Anitha and jumped over the wall and entered the warehouse. Anitha suddenly said, "Wait! It will be bad if we get caught here. Let's go somewhere else."

Saksham heard this and suddenly patted his head. He forgot to tell Anitha about the warehouse. For her, they were illegally trespassing someone's private property. He chuckled and said, "I have bought this warehouse. So, don't worry. We won't get into any kind of trouble here."

Anitha's eyes widened as she heard this. Then she realized that Saksham has superpowers. It's not surprising he can buy this warehouse. He had bought her such an expensive watch too. This warehouse looks cheaper than that watch. So she felt relieved once again. Walking inside, they saw a worn down and empty warehouse. There were scraps of metals and other materials left at a corner. Rats were running around at some places and some birds were sitting on metal pillars above.

Anitha looked around carefully before stopping. Saksham also stopped and said, "Here, I can finally give you the powers with no one noticing."

Anitha nodded and closed her eyes. Saksham also prepared himself to give her the powers but he suddenly stopped.