Cykopath- Birth

by Luca Braña

  Yes, whenever he activated his enhancing powers, he always felt a rush of pleasant feelings, the desire to crush his enemies, to bathe in their blood. Heck, ever since he activated his powers, he often caught himself daydreaming of slaughtering the guards and scientists of this cursed prison, sometimes imagining a glorious and bloody battle. What did this mean?

  “You remember, then. I’ll be honest, if we commit to this path, if we become one… We’ll no longer be the same person we used to be. We’ll no longer be you, but we’ll also not be me,” Path explained, his voice lowering as Cyko’s eyes widened.

  They would turn into something else? But… “How would that make us different from… from him?” Cyko wondered, unwilling to say the mutant leader’s name, it would madden them both.

  “The difference would be that we would know who to protect, and we would be stronger from it!” Path said, before sighing, “I am the representation of your powers. I am your desire to fight and to kill the people you hate, which is why I get angry so easily. You are the original Cyko—cheerful, friendly, protective… caring. Our personalities will mix and from that… Something else will be born,” the mirror image explained.

  “Then… who—what will we become? How will it feel? Will we still have our memories?” Cyko questioned, wary of the possibilities that could go wrong.

  Path took a deep breath before replying. “For all intents and purposes… It’s a deal with the devil. But ever since we ended up here, we were doomed to change one way or another. It will be a gradual thing, but from the start we will notice the differences, everyone who knew us will, but that can’t be helped. If you want to know what will happen to us… just say our names together,” Path replied with a grave voice, causing Cyko’s eyes to narrow.

  “Our names together? Cyko and Cyko…? No… Cyko and Path… Cyko… Path… Cykopath…” His eyes widened as he realized it.

  “Psychopath…” he whispered under his breath, earning a nod from his mirror image that made his knees feel weak. It was funny, how their names combined perfectly for the definition, a pun on the word for a ruthless and maniacal serial killer…

  “It may be some cosmic joke that our name, when joined with the path we will walk into, compares us to a deranged psycho who kills only for pleasure,” Path said, before shaking his head and looking at him with a serious expression.

  “No, we still will be ourselves, to an extent. A psychopath doesn’t feel emotions, but I’m sure we still will! Our bloodthirstiness will increase a hundredfold as will our love for bloodshed. Whatever may happen, the new us will be responsible for the person we will become,” he said with an affirmative nod.

  “Still… it is such a big change… Will we … be able to be friends with the others? Won’t we turn on Magy? On Tela? On our siblings?” Cyko asked fearfully, afraid that if he took this deal, he may end up hurting his loved ones even more than their prison stay ever did.

  Path shook his head, sending relief through Cyko’s veins. “No! We will be doing this to protect them, to save them! To avenge the fallen! We may no longer be the person they used to know… But we won’t hurt them, no matter what!” the mirror Cyko exclaimed with certainty, causing the real Cyko to let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

  “But in the end… The choice is yours, as you are the original Cyko. Do you want us to turn into another being, to gain the power to avenge Myo and protect our loved ones at the cost of our sanity? At the cost of our very being? Or do you wish to remain yourself until the end, staying the person you are now… At the price of not getting any stronger and possibly failing to save our friends and family once again? Which will it be?” Path asked, his eyes searching Cyko’s.

  Cyko sighed and took a deep breath. The darkness around him began to change, turning into a greyish void that seemed infinite, swirling around like smoke. He felt like he was in an abyss, a zone where, once a single step was taken forward, there would be no turning back. A great weight pressed itself on his shoulders. This was it, he had arrived at the point of no return, and he had to decide.

  Letting his tears of sadness fall for a few more seconds, he inhaled and used his arms to wipe off his face. Was he willing to throw himself away? To give up the chance at a normal life… so he could help others have a chance at one. Possibly turning himself into a monster… just so he could fight the actual monsters.

  Fight fire with fire, an eye for an eye. He already lost so much of his family and just now, he lost Myo because he was too weak… Those monsters were responsible for this, for putting them up against each other!

  Even Snow… She defended the mastermind, thought of him as a father even after knowing how much they suffered every single day.

  He felt the wrath burn within him. He already knew his choice. Those scientists wanted a monster, a super soldier who could wreck entire armies by himself? Then they would get it. Oh, would they get it.

  As for the traitorous cat, he would deal with her when the time comes, but she would pay for taking the side of those monsters. He will make sure that anyone who sided with the scientists paid for their crimes, for every single child whose life was lost, whose chance for happiness was stripped away! He will kill them all… and enjoy it!

  By now, the world around him had turned into a brighter gray, with a glimmer of light blue coursing through it like veins of some sort. Stepping closer to his mirror image, who opened his eyes when he sensed his approach, Cyko opened his mouth.

  “I’ve made my decision,” he said in a determined voice, heart heavy but eyes gleaming and free of tears.

  Path nodded. He could feel the certainty coming from his reflection, Cyko’s entire soul could, too.

  “Then… what have you chosen? What will become of us?” the mirror image asked as a confirmation of his resolve, despite the world around him already telling him of Cyko’s choice. The original took a breath as if to steel himself, but let his emotions run free.

  “We will become Cykopath. We will be strong enough to avenge Myo, to avenge all fallen children! We will become strong to slaughter all the ones responsible for this torture! We will become the monster… SO NO ONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO!” Cyko yelled, his voice making the world around him shake at the weight of his choice, causing his mirror image to smile and nod.

  “Then, it’s decided. We will become the angels of death upon the real monsters,” Path said as he extended a hand, which Cyko clasped firmly, not looking away from his eyes.

  “Let this moment be burned in our souls as the point where we chose who we wanted to be, rather than let it be chosen for us. We are one, we are Cykopath,” Cyko’s mirror image said with a smile, to which Cyko returned the vicious, predatory grin.

  The world shifted once again, in a much more drastic manner than before. The cyan-colored veins running through the grey smoke got brighter and bigger. Soon enough, he was squinting against the strong light, but it wasn’t uncomfortable… In fact, it felt like he was being born again from the ashes of his despair. He could feel hope, anger, and anticipation.

  “Yes…” Cyko said, just as the light was engulfing both him and his mirror image. “Even if this choice was forced upon us… We will walk this path—we will change so we can create change! We are Cykopath!” He smirked and then both boys’ forms were engulfed in a brilliant, aqua-colored glow.

  The shining world, no longer resembling grim despair, shifted, a maelstrom of energy consuming everything. Any life present in such an environment would be destroyed… before being born anew in a great explosion of pure, cyan energy.

  5

  Magy had stopped struggling, instead submitting herself to feeling powerless. His death had hurt more intensely than any experiment, than any torture those jerks had ever inflicted upon her, and it was far from the pain she loved. No… she hated feeling like her heart was stabbed, like she would die from sadness alone.

  Scythe had been trying to console her, but even her trusted companion was feeling the anguish. Her friend had be
en emitting melancholy ever since the dragon had ordered the other mutants to interfere with their efforts to help Myo… It only increased when he died.

  It was not fair… He was so innocent… He was like a brother to her, someone she would fight tooth and nail to protect, and she did, but… It wasn’t enough. And Cyko… Poor Cyko… Even amongst her own internal turmoil, she could see how much he was hurting. Her dear friend had been rooted on the spot ever since he screamed Myo’s name, looking forward with an unblinking stare as tears flooded down his face. He looked so… so broken. Magy wanted to do something, anything to snap him out of it… But with her own suffering, and the restraints, she couldn’t do anything.

  “Cyko…” Magy managed to whisper before feeling another wave of despair hit her.

  “Myo…” she murmured between sobs, doing her best to ignore the jeering of the mages, whose laughter intensified as she cried.

  “Stop your weeping, rat!” Magy heard someone bellow from behind her, before something whacked her on the back of her head. She fell to the ground. Sniffling, she looked up at the perpetrator, and stared at the glaring visage of a guard.

  “The robed guys over there told me you are responsible for this mess! I hope you are ready for a beating, fool!” As she rose, Magy noted that the whole Coliseum was brimming with security guards, stomping around, beating children up and yelling at them. The mutants, however, were being treated with caution rather than outright abuse. It was a nightmarish scene and Magy could do nothing to stop it.

  “I DIDN’T SAY YOU COULD GET UP!” the guard yelled before kicking the pink-haired girl in the ribs with his armored boots.

  She let out a strangled gasp as the sudden pain hit her.

  “You’ll stay down until I’m done with you!” he shouted at her before kicking her in the leg this time.

  “Gah!” She let out a loud cry, making the guard even angrier so he kicked her again. Pain, physical pain… This was something Magy could deal with, but in her current state, even that couldn’t take the suffering from her heart away.

  “Urgh…” she moaned as the guard grabbed her by the hair and brought her up to his eye level.

  “Trash like you doesn’t deserve to live! You all should sit like the lab rats you are and just stay in line!” the guard yelled, punching her in the stomach. The girl gasped as the air in her lungs was forced out. After watching her for a second, he grunted and threw her in Cyko’s direction, landing near him. Coughing, she looked up as the guard approached.

  “This rat is also responsible for this mess, is he not?!” the guard questioned, making Magy’s eyes widen.

  He wouldn’t… He is going to hurt Cyko! And unlike her, he is in no position to take the pain! He can’t even brace for it!

  “N-no! Don’t hurt him, I was the one who started it!” she begged in desperation until the guard stopped and turned towards her.

  “Hah! She is lying!” one mage said with a sneer.

  “That blue-haired brat? He is the one who sparked everything by attacking the barrier! Thanks to him, it was a lot of work to keep things from spiraling even further!” he seethed. Magy had to say something quick to save Cyko...

  “Oh, is that so?” The guard raised his eyebrows, approaching Cyko and lifting his armored fist. Magy’s eyes widened again. She had to act before—

  “NO!” she screamed just as the guard landed a hard punch.

  “CYKO!” She yelled, straining herself to move closer to him, but the guard grabbed her by the hair.

  “I don’t like being lied to, rat,” he said between gritted teeth before crouching down and driving her head into the ground.

  “YOU’LL LEARN TO RESPECT YOUR BETTERS!” he yelled before raising her head again and striking her against the ground.

  “DON’T LIE AND DON’T YOU EVER MAKE A MESS OF THIS PLACE AGAIN!” The guard bellowed, slamming her head against the ground at each word, causing a small crater to form before lifting her head and using his other hand to grab her by the throat.

  The blows hurt Magy’s face, but only a few bloody bruises were present. A plus from having awakened her powers, but that didn’t lessen the pain she was feeling in the slightest. She would have normally loved it and even mocked the guard to make him continue, but the emotional turmoil of losing Myo and from seeing Cyko hurt made the pain less pleasing and more agonizing. She let out tears of agony for what was happening to her, and to everyone else, too.

  “You lab rats sure are stubborn little roaches. I’ll have fun with you, girl, before making you witness me beat your little boyfriend up like a punching bag!” he mocked before standing up and causing her to hang from his hand by her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. The guard brought his free hand back into a fist and tightened his grip on her neck, making her choke and struggle in his grip. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see his fist meet her face repeatedly. She had to endure. If he got tired from beating her up, then maybe Cyko would… would be safe from him.

  “L-let…” a voice spoke up from under them and Magy’s eyes widened. The guard looked down to see Cyko’s glowing eyes glaring up at him with contempt.

  “Let her go, you jerk!” the enhancer demanded, somehow causing the guard to feel intimidated, however, it only made him snort.

  “Oh yeah? What if I do this?” the guard teased before tightening his grip on Magy’s neck, watching with a grin as she gasped as the oxygen was cut from her.

  “Yeah… I thought this would be the case. I made the right choice then...” Cyko’s voice got louder, which the guard and the mages ignored in favor of mocking and laughing at them. However, the moment Cyko’s eyes raised to meet the guard’s, the man froze as a massive wave of hate enveloped the room. He slackened his grip on Magy and she fell to the ground and coughed, gasping as she tried to regain her lost breath.

  Turning his face to look at the child, he met his eyes. They were wide open, glowing stronger than they ever had before. His face, an expression he had never seen before in his fifteen years of mercenary work, was an expression of murderous intent so strong he could almost feel it.

  “I’ll kill you all,” Cyko said before a large sphere of blue energy engulfed him. There was a loud snapping sound and, as if he had never been there, the sphere of cyan energy disappeared.

  Suddenly, standing tall and strong on his feet was Cyko, but he looked different from before. Body glowing with cyan-colored energy, his presence made the guard nearest to him cower in fright. More terrifyingly, he was free from the restraints and their broken remains were scattered on the ground, vanishing from lack of magical energy.

  His hair, which was never quite tame, was tousled as if he had just escaped a tornado, but that was not the biggest change…

  No, the biggest change was in his face, where an expression of psychotic and murderous intent could be seen beneath two wide, glowing lines that went up and down on his cheeks. Small bolts of lightning flashed across his body as he surveyed the surrounding scene, his shining eyes scanning the room like he was looking for victims.

  Then his hands went to his sides as if grasping for something. Lightning appeared on his palms and in a flash, two weapons materialized in his hands. They were shaped like arrows but with every part, aside from the handle, made of blue light.

  Twin holo swords.

  He looked at the guard who had been hurting Magy and was now pointing his gun at Cyko with his whole body trembling.

  Cyko grinned.

  “S-STAY AWAY YOU RAT!” the guard yelled. Those eggheads had assured them that in case of emergencies, the blasted bracelets would act as handcuffs and restrain them! How did this happen?! How did that brat get free?! Even the giant, bulky mutants couldn’t do that! Someone yelled from his right, making him look up to notice two other mercenaries had joined him, weapons aimed at the glowing enhancer.

  “R-Right!” The guard rose to stay in formation with the rest of his team, aiming his large weapon at where the brat was… well, used to be. Where did he go?!<
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  In the seconds he took to notice this, he heard two thuds on both sides. He shifted towards his left, eyes widening underneath his helmet. He whipped around to see the same scene on his other side.

  Death.

  Both soldiers who had arrived to back him up were dead, gushing blood through their armor! How?! Those things were designed to take a lot of punishment!

  “Hey, maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings,” a voice said from behind him, causing him to jump and turn towards the source, before he felt a terrible pain in his stomach.

  Looking down, he saw the large blade the boy was wielding before he disappeared again. It had passed right through him, and it was covered in blood. He tried to turn towards the boy, to say something, but both the pain and the pressure he was exerting was too much. The boy chuckled maniacally at his feeble attempts to free himself.

  “Looks like those idiot mages are trying to set up their barrier again. Pity, I wanted to play with you more for hurting Magy, but I guess it can’t be helped… Instead… I’ll give you the privilege of bleeding out on the ground!” Cyko gave a sly grin before kicking the guard off his blade and sending the man tumbling to the floor, where he twisted and gasped in agony at his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

  Turning towards the mages, he could see many pale faces trying to erect the barrier they use for the battles. Even with his newfound strength, Cyko knew he wouldn’t do much against that by himself, and so… he decided to kill them before they had time to cast their first spell.

  Taking a step forward, the enhancer vanished from sight, surprising those who had been looking at him. The mages continued chanting the spell required for the arena barrier, which would keep them safe from the killer’s attacks long enough for reinforcements to arrive. But because they were only looking at the direction he used to be, they didn’t notice Cyko appearing behind the farthest mage on the opposite side of the Coliseum. They only noticed something was wrong when that person gasped in pain and fell to the ground in a loud thud.