Chapter 182: The Gallery
After the "footage" from Kir’s eyes, he sat with his head in his hands.
"Any questions?" Kiryu asked.
"So she just... put you in control. Told you to-"
"Told me to have fun and keep you alive. Also told me what would get Maledict to back the fuck off. Honestly, our new dad’s got some big fucking blind spots in his thinking. And our bio-mom has..." Kiryu shook his head. "In case you haven’t figured it out by now, between the seals and the dungeon and losing half your friends, you’ve been dancing to her tune this whole time."
"What do you mean?" Kir asked.
"I mean exactly what you suspect. Bio-Mom can see the future. Or could, at any rate. That message your dad got was pre-recorded, the same as mine. Only in mine, she was staying in some ratty old shop, and she only had one wing. Also, that tech she used on us had the same feeling as the tech you’re focusing on right now."
"So she used a fulcrum to put you into my head?" Kir shuddered at the memory of how he’d just... given up. Not knowing whether or not it had been a manipulation made him feel even worse.
"Probably the best decision she made with regards to your decision-making, if she was the one who did it," Kiryu smirked. "Did you honestly not realize the seals were fucking with more than your mana? Seriously, they were keeping you on a path." With his hand bladed, he slid it along the table in a line. "Forcing your decisions that led to the dungeon, to the Black Sheep, to Amarena and Sreev...
"I... think I suspected... Fuck, Sreev outright told me, but I just... didn’t hold onto it."
"A dope chip might work the same, but at least you know when they stab it in ya. I think the point was to put you on fucking sidequests before bringing you back to Norneau. To a situation where you could not have completely stopped your father."
"How could I have done that?" Kir asked.