Psycher Chronicles

The King Slayer

(Misha Tulley)

When Darcy asked for Misha to meet up with her at her favorite coffee shop, Misha was both relieved and a little hesitant about the offer. Truth be told, they had been drifting apart ever since the Thanksgiving Day trip home, and this was a nice way to try to bridge the gap that had been growing between them.

Also, truth be told, Misha had already made a mental note to come here and check out this odd coffee shop that seemed to run a deficit in cash, but somehow still managed to survive.

No illicit transactions, no money laundering schemes, just a plain corporation that was running and failing, and seeming to be perfectly content with that pace. Honestly, the fact that they weren't trying to do anything extra to draw attention was what first drew Misha's attention. Well, that's not entirely true, as the first thing that drew Misha's attention was the fact that Darcy had chosen to spend her time here, versus trying to insert herself as the third person in their trio. Making it so Misha and Jasmine would have more time together, again nothing truly concerning, but a sign nonetheless.

That was why Misha followed Darcy now.

"You'll love it, there is an ambiance to the place that is hard to describe. Also, they have this cool relic that I think you would enjoy." Darcy chattered on about why she loved this quaint shop. By the way she spoke, it became clear that Darcy seemed to enjoy the exclusivity of her time here, more than anything. Like it was some special secret that only she was privy to.

Again, this was fine, but an odd quirk that she had never previously associated with Darcy. Though if she looked, the signs were there, the secret infatuation with Hasty's music. The way she stowed away at the computer labs, all of these now clearly pointed to the fact that Darcy apparently liked being exclusive. Not a bad thing, but definitely something that Misha would keep an eye out for. From her research into various topics, exclusivity was something that a lot of people were drawn to, the idea of feeling or being noted as special in some way.

Whether it was part of her Psycher training, or just a part of who she had become after so many reincarnations of life, Misha did not feel this same way. That is, all ego had been stripped from her, the want for more was there, but directed. Her wants were always directed towards improving herself to be the best maintainer she could be. Something that she now felt was the worst thing someone could do to another. The idea of completely rewriting their entire existence so that they only felt enjoyment when they improved their efficiency for the collective.

That was why she forced herself to play basketball, a game. Which by its very definition meant it provided nothing but entertainment for those both participating and watching. This was her way of breaking free of her mental constraints that bound her, slowly.

Chime.

Darcy burst open the door, causing a metallic bell station above the door to ring gently upon their entry. An antiquated way of signaling that a customer had arrived, but one that apparently added character, according to Darcy.

Immediately upon entering the odd coffee shop, Misha felt a feeling of calm wash over her. It took her a moment to understand exactly why she felt this calm settle into her bones. There wasn't anything too particularly wild. No motion sensors, nor CCTV displays, there was barely an internet connection linked to the credit card reader that was active. And that was what Misha finally realized was off about this store.

The fact that it didn't seem to have any real modern-day presence. Yes, it had electricity for lights, blenders, perculators, along with other coffee related machinery, but besides the bare and the one connection to a banking interface of some kind. But other than those, this coffee shop lacked everything one would come to expect from a coffee shop. There were no WiFi hotspots, no available charging ports, nothing that would encourage people to stay for longer. The entire place was a relative dead zone to technology. It felt nice.

Was this what Darcy felt, and why she enjoyed it here so much? If so, then she might have made a great Technomancer, the fact that her mind could pick up on this relative seclusion, despite being surrounded on all sides by high intensity electromagnetic fields. For a moment she thought about trying some of the basic tests that she had been given. Only to realize that it had been so long that she had mostly forgotten the basic tests that apparently identified her as being able to be a Technomancer.

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"Here it is," Darcy squealed excitedly. Misha took the moment to look around with her eyes. From a personal perspective the place was nice, but seemed to be missing something, not just electronics. Yes there was wood paneling all over the room, which did offer a somewhat earthy feel to the room, but there was something off, and Misha was unable to exactly explain why.

Mentally she mused that this same feeling of something missing might be what caused others to avoid this place. Now the only question was, was the lack of symmetry done on purpose, or a complete oversight, that was what Misha wanted to find out.

"Dave!" Darcy cried out as she quickly moved to the counter where she would order her coffee. Seeing her exuberance at identifying the owner of this shop, this Dave character, Misha looked at the man and realized he was dangerous. He had an aura of battle to him, that Misha had grown to associate with many power Psychers. This was akin to the way Urasal Jarnic first set off Misha's danger sense. Which given that so far only two people had managed to set off her danger sense to this degree within her mind, showed that something was odd.

It was almost like Misha knew that he was a Psycher, though a quick probe proved this thought to be wrong. His mind was weak, or rather not refined from being killed and forced to maintain your consciousness through countless deaths. Rather he had the markings of someone who could make a Psycher, likely one of the hunter psychers like Urasla was, but was this the reason that Darcy was drawn here.

"Oh if it isn't my favorite customer," Dave began. There was a certain disheveled appearance to Dave. While his white apron clearly revealed coffee stains well, there was something else about the man that raised Misha's hackles as well. It took a moment, but then when his gaze shifted to Misha, she saw the reason he made her feel uncomfortable. Namely the fact that he looked at her with the eyes of a predator, shifty, and wild. Almost like he was trying to figure out how he could strike at Misha. Seeing the gaze, Misha stared back for a moment, before lightly smiling, trying to appear nice for Darcy's sake.

"Oh and who is this lovely lady?" Dave asked the two.

"This is Misha, my best friend," Darcy squealed.

Hearing that, Misha paused as she realized this was like the first time anyone had introduced her as a best friend. It felt odd, like a rite of passage had been met and passed, as if her ability to assimilate into human society was finally coming to fruition. At that comment, Misha paused and made sure to give a genuine smile at Darcy, for she knew Darcy actually meant that comment.

"Oh, well in that case, welcome to my establishment. Anyone that is a friend of darling Darcy here, is a friend of mine." Dave said with a smile, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Thank you." Misha replied cordially while nodding, not really knowing what other social etiquette she was supposed to exhibit at this point in time.

"Can we show it to her?" Darcy asked excitedly after an awkward pause filled the completely quiet coffee shop.

"I don't see why we couldn't," Dave stated.

"Check this out, it's like a magic trick. I still can't figure it out." Darcy stated excitedly.

Then going back, Misha saw something that made her blood run cold with chills. For there on the back wall, scattered amongst blenders and other mechanical devices was something that Misha instantly understood, but was not sure how nor why such a device would even be here.

Kingslayer Blade.

The name of the odd device called out to her, in the way all Psycher technology did, almost unbidden in its attempts to mentally connect with someone or a handler.

"Yep, this is a very cool relic that I found at an old estate sale." Dave began, not elaborating more than that, but it was fine as it was clear that Dave could not have created such a piece. Though now the sudden odd and concerning nature of Dave seemed to make sense. If he had been in contact with such a blade for long enough, it could explain his altered aura that he now exuded.

Thump.

With that, Dave placed the Kingslayer Blade directly on the counter that separated Dave from the two of them. Looking at the blade, it was clear that it was still sheathed, though Misha was fairly certain that this blade could be lethal against Kings, or Bakshee Rulers, even while sheathed. That was why Misha began feeling suddenly concerned.

"See check this out, Dave touches it, but nothing," Darcy cried out excitedly, the way a little child would call out a magic trick that was about to occur. "Then, he removes his hands and I touch it and, boom."

Target Detected. Identifying dormant Bakshee ruler class markers. Engaging extermination protocol.

"Disengage, remove target from list. Target it needed confidential informant, keep alive at all costs." Misha responded almost instantly. There was a fight, as the blade initially refused the commands from Misha.

Unauthorized command, unregistered user identified.

With that, there was a quick battle for dominance, fortunately the blade itself was not sentient and again only seemed to work like most devices in a linear fashion. Meaning that just like the defenses of this world, you could find a simple gap, go vertical for a moment allowing you to bypass the normal registration events, then quickly find the core of the device and add her name and mental imprint as the super user, and never have to deal with the persnickety object again.

Authorized user identified, sole Root User commands heard and accepted.

Fizzle, fade.

With that, the quick mental battle that felt like it took minutes, but was actually closer to seconds ended.

"What?" Darcy cried out, as the relic that she had been touching and causing to glow for a moment suddenly began to fade.

"Looks like it broke," Misha replied.

"Aww, well you should try too," Darcy cried out still touching the device, no doubt trying to see if it would come back to life by her continued touching.

With that Misha went over to the device, and felt a slight thrum of energy as the blade began reading and acknowledging her biometrics.

Sole Root User's direct psychic signature identified. Any resting commands?

"Well look at that, it seems that it works for your friend." Dave replied, apparently reacting to the way the blade now activated under Misha's direct touch. Though the colors being exhibited were far different.

"Yeah, figures she'd get the trick to work. She can make anything come back to life." Darcy replied somewhat jokingly.

"Really, now that is a talent I would love to have," Dave replied.

Hearing Dave speak, Misha realized that the prompt could be used to help out. With that though in mind, Misha smiled as she began to enter the next commands.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have an important command that you must follow. I need you to slowly kill. . ."