The Astral soul system-Chapter 150: Don’t stick it in crazy

Zyro watched his surroundings as Gary walked in front of him, leading him to a secluded area.

"Are you sure about this? It seems willfully suicidal" Theia said

’Honestly no, not at all, but it’s better to give him the benefit of a doubt right? Maybe we don’t ever need to fight. Besides, didn’t you say Zen considered him a victim of that Celia girl?’

"Yeah, but there’s no way to be sure he’s still not working for her"

’Guess we’ll just have to take a chance ’

Theia seemed a bit pensive but just shrugged.

"Alright, but just say the word and Freya will fry him inside and out "

’if she doesn’t fry me first’

Zyro thought, still averse to the idea of equipping souls. If Freya didn’t fry him from the inside out, Lilith would drain all his blood. There was quite a lot of risk for the momentary strength it granted.

He still had the memories of the injuries Zen and Zaine got from it. The only reason they’d managed to heal so fast was the beast crystals and "His natural healing factor" or whatever Theia called it. He wasn’t sure if he was born with it or it was a side effect of the experiments done on him but he healed extremely fast,at least in comparison with the average human.

The two eventually found a secluded corner to talk and when they did Gary just stood there staring at him for a few seconds.

"Uh,so you wanted to talk to me?"

Gary looked a bit uncomfortable, fidgeting slightly but eventually sighing. Taking a deep breath,he whispered as quickly as he could

"I’m sorry"

"what?"

Gary groaned and suddenly did something surprising, bowing slightly in an apologetic gesture

"I said...I’m sorry"

Zyro was a bit stunned. Even though he had accepted to talk with the hope that Gary wasn’t going to be hostile,he also acknowledged how low the chances of that were

"O...Kay?"

Gary sighed, scratching his head awkwardly as his previously tough expression softened

"Listen... I... was a jerk to you, and i was really childish too, but..."

Gary stopped, looking around nervously like he wasn’t even sure how to continue.

"Fuck it"

Gary groaned, facepalming and running his hand through his brown hair

"I spent all that time practicing and i can’t even apologize properly. Listen dude, I’m gonna level with ya . I have no idea what came over me. Everything feels like a blur and I feel like I just woke up in the hospital after a really deep sleep "

"You’re tellin’ me"

Zyro answered, amused by the irony in that statement.

"Nothing makes sense. I feel like I’ve been sleepwalking for the past few years . Appearantly i have a gang now and I’ve been acting like a total dick for absolutely no reason. It’s... weird "

Theia and Zyro exchanged glances, suprised by this development.

"Is he serious?"

’it looks like it’

"So what? Did Zen hit him so hard he lost his memories? Or maybe it was when he used the eye on him it wiped his memories"

’And had a complete 180⁰ change in attitude? I don’t think so. Besides , the eye doesn’t steal memories. It’s never done that before at least ’

"Hey are you listening?"

Zyro snapped out of his thoughts and replied

"Uh, yeah. Sorry"

Sighing, Gary continued.

"Dude,i know i sound crazy but you gotta believe me. I’d never act like that, and even worse is that appearantly everyone thinks that’s how I am now. I’m trying to apologize here. I shouldn’t have messed with you for no reason"

Zyro chuckled, waving it off

"It was nothing serious, besides I’m used to it. "

"Wait,so that means -"

"Apology accepted, it’s water under the bridge"

Gary looked like a massive weight had just been lifted off his shoulders as he breathed out, finally relaxing.

"Thanks. I owe you. Names Gary by the way" Gary said, stretching his hand.

Zyro suddenly realized this was the first time they’d actually been properly introduced and accepted the handshake, introducing himself.

"I’m Zyr- i mean Zen. Nice to meet you"

"Brilliant save"

Theia commented sarcastically, facepalming.

"Nice to meet you. Honestly, I’m not sure what happened in that fight. Maybe you did something or maybe i just needed someone to beat the shit out of me for me to get back to my senses, but I’m glad you did."

Zyro waved it off

"It’s nothing , really. Just... happy to see you whole "

"The string. That had to be it" Theia whispered in his ear despite the fact that no one could hear her except him.

"Just... one question Gary"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Where’s your girlfriend?"

Gary suddenly looked blankly at Zyro like he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Huh?"

Gary was at a loss. The worst part was that this wasn’t even the first time. People had been asking about his "Girlfriend" since he woke up, and he had no idea what to make of it.

"Uh... Celia? Celia ford. You two were..."

Gary’s eyes suddenly widened in absolute shock as he heard that name.

"That bitch?!"

He suddenly grabbed Zyro by his shoulders.

"Listen to me man. That bitch is Crazy, with a capital CRAZY. She’s absolutely nuts. We were never dating!"

Zyro was even more confused now.

"But you called her babe?"

Gary sighed

"Listen man, like i told you,it was like i was sleepwalking. Nothing made sense"

"Even that thing with you two in the woods?"

"!!!"

"shit " Theia muttered and facepalmed as Zyro once again did something stupid.

Gary’s eyes looked like they were going to burst out of their sockets as his mouth gaped open.

"...Oh, yeah. I...saw that" Zyro admitted, shrugging

"!!!"

"I wasn’t stalking you or anything " Zyro quickly added

Looking utterly disappointed in himself,Gary covered his face in shame. Someone had actually seen him acting like that monster’s personal bedroom pet. He remembered how he literally acted like a dog on a leash and couldn’t help but curse.

"I.. it’s okay. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of" Zyro quickly tried to cheer him up.

"Literally, I’ve seen you in action and you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to that. You’re pretty impressive in fact, and so is... it "

Theia looked at Zyro with a mix of horror,shock, disappointment, and just plain disgust.

"Did you seriously just say that?"

’I’m trying to be supportive, and it’s true isn’t it?"

Theia groaned in disgust and disappeared into the system,her voice ringing in his ears

"I can’t listen to this anymore. I’m out"

An oppressive silence reigned for a few seconds between the two boys before Gary just sighed.

"Thanks,i guess"

Seeing he still looked a bit disheartened, Zyro gave him a few encouraging pats on the shoulder.

"I stuck it into crazy, and someone actually saw me"

"It’s alright" Zyro said trying to encourage him

"Besides, it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone"

’Though Zaine probably would’

Gary took a deep breath, calming himself

"Really?"

"Swear on my life "

"Good, and you better mean it because now I’ve got to see yours too to even it out "

".....What?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Zyro asked, blindsided by the straightforward manner in which he said it.

He stared at Gary, waiting for him to laugh or say it was a joke but the green eyed brunette matched his intensity, staring at him with a determined gaze.

"Wait...."

"Pft! Hahahahaha. Chill dude, it’s not that serious"

Hearing him start laughing, Zyro calmed down a bit, nervously laughing along.

"Phew"

Gary’s laughter suddenly came to an abrupt stop

"I’m being serious though"

"What?"

"Anyway, what were we talking about again?"

"...."

Gary was all smiles as he waited for a reply.

"I....i was asking about your girlfr... Celia"

"Crazy bitch?! I don’t know where she is. Appearantly she just disappeared a few weeks ago without taking leave. Good riddance if you ask me"

"Did she ever act... weird?"

"The question should be was she ever not weird. Everything she did was either weirdly sadistic, obnoxious and arrogant or insanely cringe. She was always disappearing for periods of time, sometimes even days. One time I just caught her alone in the dark, talking to the air like there was something there. Creepy "

Zyro couldn’t help but notice the parallel between Gary’s description of Celia and how people saw him and laughed awkwardly

"Y-yeah... Super creepy, and weird "

’Says the schizophrenic’

Gary shuddered a bit, recalling his experiences with Celia

"You don’t know the half of it. She flipped out and totally started raging out, saying i had disrupted her... sacred commune? Or something like that?"

Gary sighed, squeezing his fist

"Then she..."

Zyro sensed a deep dissatisfaction in Gary’s voice as he struggled to get out the next few words.

"She... she beat me within an inch of my life... and i just stood there, and took it like a bitch!"

Gary squeezed his fist even tighter, his knuckles turning white.

He grit his teeth, his emotions threatening to explode

Theia suddenly appeared flying next to Zyro and the two exchanged glances. This was serious, more so than they originally thought.

Thinking he could probably calm him down with soul bridge, Zyro looked into his eyes but he had barely even activated the skill when almost immediately.

[Skill activation cancelled]

Gary suddenly tensed up and started checking his surroundings as Zyro felt the wind noticably pick up and start to swirl.

Although shocked by his failure , Zyro didn’t let it show and acted like nothing was wrong.

"I heard she was your friend. You two were... close?"

Gary eventually calmed down and sighed defeatedly.

"Yes? No? I don’t know. I don’t know what happened to her,all i do know is that she...changed,or maybe she revealed her true colors. All i can say is she wasn’t like this when we were growing up. Cece was....something changed, a few years back"

Zyro recalled what Zen had told him about Celia and after a breif deliberation answered .

"She’s no good, never was. Actually, I met her before coming to the academy,i thought she was nice and sweet too, but..."

Understanding the silence,Gary sighed.

"Guess that settles it. I wonder if she ever actually cared about me"

"She didn’t. She... she cheated on you,or tried to cheat on you... with... me. She even tried to kiss me,more than once"

Hearing that,Gary seemed to have dropped any hope he had for Celia. He had originally hoped he could still talk to her and maybe get a reason for her behavior but now it seemed she was really...just an awful person.

"Thanks,i needed to hear that"

"It’s only natural. So...do you know where she MIGHT be,or, just a clue that i can use to find her"

Gary thought for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Sorry,no clue. She kept to herself a lot and didn’t come to meet me unless she wanted me to fight for her or...F....The other word that starts with F"

"I see..."

"No worries though. My mind’s still a bit foggy but If i think of something, I’ll come to you. I owe you my sanity, and I never leave debts unpaid"

"I’d appreciate it. We... should probably get going to class now though"

"Yeah. See you soon?"

Zyro nodded and stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"It was nice talking to you... without you trying to kill me"

Gary stared at the open hand for a few seconds, making Zyro a bit worried that he wouldn’t take it but before he could do anything Gary suddenly grabbed him, pulling him in for a rough hug.

"Get over here" Gary laughed, squeezing him to which Zyro reciprocated enthusiastically.

The two exchanged details and were about to leave the corner when he suddenly noticed Gary behind him whispering something into his ear.

"I’ll make sure I see yours next time."

"What?!"

Zyro looked behind him and realized Gary was gone, he looked forward and saw him running to his class, waving at him as he left.

Zyro sighed, smiling defeatedly and waving back.

He couldn’t help but feel like he’d just gone and gotten himself a second Xavier. Hot headed, hot-blooded, reckless, straightforward, and absolutely no grasp of the concept of boundaries.

"I wonder if he remembers Daryll. Hmmm,i wonder what Daryl’s doing right now"