It won't be long until others run towards the guy's body, so Messa and I left the scene. He got a good look at the guy before we left, just to make sure he was knocked out. It is "he" right? Messa sounds kinda like a girl's name...
"Let's head to the bar, don't get spotted by anyone else so we're not seen as suspicious."
I couldn't tell before, but I can tell that this guy's an experienced Psynesis user. There's this badass vibe he(?) gives off.
"Also, I really wanna get drunk."
...or maybe it's that he(?) doesn't care about what others think.
"Sooo... what are your pronouns?"
"He/him. I know Messa can sound like a girl's name, but it's not the case. But there's a lot I need to teach you, so-"
As we pass the first corner as we're leaving, he's cut off by the sound of a saw! It's incredibly loud, and catches me off guard, hearing it scratch and grind up against another piece of metal really hurts my ears. Messa doesn't seem to be as bothered about it though. Then, Messa grabs my hand, and runs away from the scene as fast as he can, dragging me along as well!
About 5 minutes of hiding later, Messa finally decides it's time to go to the bar.
"What the hell was that all about?"
"The saw was loud enough to warrant suspicion, so plenty of people will come running when they hear something like that."
"What about the gunfire?"
"I wish I could say the same about gunfire. Truth is, this city is corrupt, down to the core."
Corrupt?
"How? There's no money or anything that someone would gain from having cops police so... aggressively."
"The guy running this town is paranoid."
"Oh."
"Racist too."
"Oh."
"When he first came here, this entire setup, including the hotel was used by everyone, with the rooms completely filled, and when someone new came in, they usually just made room for them."
Damn it, when Elizabeth described him, he seemed so nice. She seemed so nice, how can she let him do this?!
"I don't understand..."
"It's hard to understand stupidity. Anyway, we're here."
He's right, we made it to the place... I think? It looks like it was originally a normal home, with the top floor almost completely destroyed just like many of the other buildings found here in Dirpending. Whether it is or not, it's important to stay blended in with everyone, but...
"Make sure to stay sober for this next part, because I'm about to explain a lot about Psynesis."
"Ah, okay."
"I know you've been spontaneously remembering things, but going through everything as fast as possible might help you remember something before you need to use it in a pinch."
We enter the bar, and find a table to sit down together. As Messa's description insinuated, it seems all, or at least, most of the black people have been kicked out of the hotel, forced to survive in the broken, previously abandoned buildings. Despite that, the setup for the bar on the inside, while clearly not fancy by any aesthetic standards, it's definitely practical.
"First, (and don't demonstrate if you can) you remember how to use basic physical abilities, yes?"
"Oh, you mean the forcefield thing? Because I do."
"The one that protects you from physical attacks, yes. I assume you know how to do the one that defends you from mental attacks as well?"
. . .
"No," I say, a little sheepish.
"Ah, so it seems I need to explain to you how mental attacks work."
"This is gonna take a while, isn't it?"
"Yeah, let's order ourselves a couple of drinks, just stay sober."
"Believe me, I wasn't planning on getting drunk."
We order our non-alcoholic drinks before he gets started.
"Psynesis, as a whole, is when your mind ascends to a higher state, allowing you to use extraordinary abilities. So along with being able to affect the physical world, it also allows you to mess with other people's heads and such.
"So, like illusions and stuff?"
"When it comes to the basic usage of Psynesis, that's actually not an application of the mental side. Although, as you may have realised, being able to sense the emotions of other people who don't have their mental defenses up is a universal Psynesis ability."
"See, your mind is separated into three distinct parts."
"Oh, I think I remember! Something like Core, Heart, and Mind, right?"
"Well... probably. There's no universal names for any technique, but there's a lot of local terms. I'll use the names I used back before the world went like this."
Ah, so he's known Psynesis for five whole years?
"Think of your mind like a padlock. This lock has three components, the chains, the lock, and the key. Each part serves a different purpose."
"The chains are like your nerves, they're the system that allows your brain to communicate to the rest of your body. When someone hits you with a basic mental attack that wouldn't count as someone's special ability, that's where they're gonna hit you, nine times out of ten. If someone "Breaks the chains" in your right arm, you will no longer be able to move your right arm, as an example."
"If mental attacks can only hit your chains, then what makes the other parts worth explaining?"
"Because they can hit the lock and key, but it's most practical during a fight to break the chains, since they're by far the easiest to damage."
"So it's still important to learn the others just in case?"
"It's important to learn because of many things. Continuing on, next is the Lock."
"The lock stores our memories, and is incredibly hard to crack. While it does contain memories, it doesn't necessarily contain the feelings or information behind them.
Doesn't contain the feelings or information behind them...? Wait a second..!
"You just figured it out? For these past five years, everyone's locks have been heavily damaged. I've yet to meet someone who hasn't been like this, so I still have no idea how it was like this."
"That's... insane."
"What do you think happened?"
"I don't know!"
"Well, your guess is as good as mine."
"Even still, it's not something I want to waste my time on. Can you tell me what the key is?"
"The key is the emotional core of someone. It's way tougher than the lock. It's very difficult to damage the key of even an average person, and it becomes nearly x10 as tough when you awaken and learn Psynesis."
"I'm guessing if someone's key got broken, then you would lose your ability to use Psynesis, right?"
"Exactly."
"So, how do I use the mental side of that force field ability?"
"First, stop calling it that. Even if it's accurate, it's easier to say bodily enhancement."
"I'll agree to disagree."
"Whatever. It's hard to explain how to use mental energy, but since non-Psynesis users can't see it, the feeling is like... being actively aware of your body."
"Being actively aware?"
"Yeah... it's a little hard to explain. Try to focus on just your hand. How does it feel? Try to pay attention to the smallest of things."
The smallest of things? Alright, I'll try...
. . .
I need to focus... the smallest of things. It's hard... But, I think I'm starting to understand. It's almost like I can feel the blood flowing through my hand.
.
. .
. . .
...Wait! I feel something even smaller! It's like electricity, flowing through my veins! I need to call upon this power!
Just then my hand bursts with a calm, yellow aura! I remember this feeling now...
"There you go, now try moving it around your body."
This is easy, I can make this energy appear at any part of my body, it's almost like a bubble of water.
"Can you surround your whole body with it?"
And sure enough...
"I can."
"Can you keep yourself surrounded, but empower specific parts of your body?"
"Yeah."
"Then no doubt about it, you've already mastered this 3rd of Psynesis before your amnesia, and your muscle memory let you remember how to do it just fine! Just remember that you can't use fundamental mental and physical techniques at the same time!"
Awesome!
"Wait, what do you mean "This 3rd"?"