The X Guide

Khal would not do something he would regret. It was better to become overprepared to prevent anything that might happen.

Without asking them, Ayen quickly understood what they were supposed to be for. He nodded slightly and observed the box.

"When will we start?" he asked, eager to actually try it.

Ayen was not sure if he could really guide that curse wavelength, but he was one to try before making a conclusion. This time, the two espers were less opposed to the idea, but it was obvious that they were also nervous.

Devion glanced at the back, then shifted to Ayen. His hand reached out and brushed the guide’s soft hair.

"There’s no hurry," he smiled, amidst the conflicted emotion in his eyes. "Let’s eat first."

Khal and Ayen stared at him and slowly nodded their heads. The three tried to stop thinking about it first, even if deep down they were anxious.

They all made sure to eat normally, chatting about this and that. Usually, in the dining room, the three of them did not talk about anything serious.

It was as though it was one of the times, like when they were about to fall asleep, that they did not have any issues of the world dampen their mood.

It became part of them, especially as Devion’s cooking needed to be savored as always.

Once everything was done, and they finished washing up, they sat in the living room. Recently, they have always done their guiding sessions in the intimate space of the bedroom.

This guiding session was entirely different. It was not a typical one, and none of them wanted their intimate space to be tainted by the curse.

No matter what happened.

Khal put a barrier around their floor; no noise or disturbance could disturb them or vice versa. Ayen and Devion watched him become busy setting everything up; he was truly the most restless out of the three of them.

Not saying they weren’t, but Khal showed it even if he did not want to.

Ayen watched his back, feeling the concern emanating from his whole being. He then shifted to Devion, who was doing the same thing.

He took a deep breath, and his gaze softened subconsciously. Ayen’s gaze lowered to his hand and clenched it before unclenching his hand again.

Hopefully... All these efforts would pay off. Ayen knew he was becoming greedy nowadays, daring to wish for more after the miracle of finding his espers when he lived his whole life at the bottom.

He did not mind that. Humans were naturally greedy creatures. Ayen was no different from them.

"Ayen," Khal looked up and found the two were looking at him. "Are you ready? Please be honest," Khal inquired with a serious expression.

This was not something they could do halfheartedly. Even if Ayen said he was not ready, they could wait for him without risking anything.

Devion was about to say something. Ayen knew he would agree, but he beat him to it.

"I’m ready." Ayen did not have any hesitation in his voice.

He was greedy.

Ayen was so used to being with both of them that he did not think he could live with only one of them by his side.

He had only encountered Devion’s curse relapse one time, and that left a tragic impression on him, sometimes haunting his dreams. What was more for Devion? for Khal?

His lips curled softly in a smile.

"Didn’t you forget?" His dark pupils seemed far more prominent in the gloomy atmosphere. "I won’t risk my life that easily."

It was an assurance. When they heard of this, Ayen saw the obvious relief in their eyes, as if reminded by those words. It was a bit ironic, but Ayen could see how sincere those emotions were.

Ayen finally learned how to lie using his expressions. Using the smile he did not often use to reassure their hearts was quite effective.

When he said those words that time, it was the truth. But it was not the case anymore.

This was also a change he did not want to let them know yet.

After looking at each other for a few seconds, the three of them nodded, and Khal went to the box and opened it with his mana.

He did not take everything at once. Since they were miraculous items related to wavelength, the items were either without physical manifestations or needed special containers.

Khal took out an item inside, using his mana to manipulate it. The temperature quickly dropped, as Khal’s mana was cold in nature.

He glanced at the two and nodded.

Devion was not saying anything, but his eyes were already out of focus. Ayen had understood that he was already trying to suppress the curse inside him; the curse could hear and sense something in the surroundings after all.

He was making sure that it could not be prepared for countermeasures so easily before Ayen connected to his wavelength.

When they plotted against it, it was already aware. While Devion appeared calm on the surface, his subconscious and mental state were always in disarray, but Ayen’s existence helped keep them at bay.

The curse could not influence him for another relapse because Ayen always provided guiding to Devion and Khal; every bit of mana toxins and impurities were cleansed, and the curse could not feed off them at all.

Ayen held Devion’s warm hand. He glanced at Khal again.

"I’ll start," he said.

Khal gave a small smile and nodded.

"I’ll be here," Khal could only say.

There was nothing he could do here but support them. Using the items was his role here.

Ayen took a deep breath and gripped Devion’s hand. He felt Devion doing the same; when he looked up, the esper was already closing his eyes. It seemed a part of his subconscious could still react to outside stimuli.

That was a good indication.

Slowly, he also closed his eyes. Ayen cleared his mind as he trusted Khal on this side. All he needed to do was concentrate, and nothing else.