I wrote this chapter like 6 times. The convo and pace didn't just clicked. I am quite happy with what I am posting, courtesy of writing like 5k words for a single 1k chap.
Also, my grammar checker is not working, extremely poor network persisting for someday due to god know why. I will edit this chapter after.
Also happy extremely late valentines day. I hope that my beautiful and handsome readers spent a lovely valentines, I think 90% of you are single but still.
Here goes nothing.
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"Say, Sunny, why don't we talk about you flaw now? And also, about your peculiar aspect."
Sunny decided to open his mouth first. By this time, he has already figured some things about his flaw. Once asked a question, he could not keep quiet. He also couldn't lie. But he can influence his words.
It was like this: after receiving a question, his mind automatically produced a truthful answer. After that, the Flaw would force him to say that answer aloud. Refusal to speak would result in the buildup of pressure, then piercing pain. The longer he kept quiet, the worse the pain would become. Eventually, he would have to surrender and reveal the truth.
However, in these moments between receiving the question and surrendering to the pain, the actual wording of the answer could be changed. The more it strayed from the initial thought, the more resistance he would meet — once again in the form of pressure, then pain. It still had to be truthful, but it didn't have to be so stark.
For example, if Ascended Jet were to catch him staring again and ask what he was looking at, instead of embarrassing himself Sunny would have been able to endure a bit of pain and simply say "You."
So, Sunny decided to take the lead:
"My Flaw is simple. I can't lie. If asked a question, I have to answer. But…"
He hesitated, his shadow twitching as if mirroring his unease. "I can… bend the truth. Twist it. As long as it's not a lie."
Sunny decided to be completely truthful on this one because no way he can hide anything related to his flaw. If Ascended Jet decided to push there is nothing he can do.
Jet's gaze sharpened, "What about half-truths?"
Sunny grimaced. It looked like this woman would push till the end.
"I am not sure how my flaw works yet. But what I understood is that half-truths are still truths. The Flaw doesn't care how I phrase it—only that I don't lie."
Jet leaned back against the PTV, her arms crossed. "So if I ask you, 'Do you plan to kill me?' and you say, 'Not today,' that's acceptable?"
Sunny's jaw tightened.
" I think so. As long as it's true."
"And if it's not?"
"I can't lie. Refusal to speak will result in piercing pain and even trying to said a single lie with make my throat lock."
She pushed off the PTV, closing the distance between them. "Let's try it. Are you afraid of me?"
The pressure hit him like a vice, tightening around Sunny's head. His mind screamed the answer: Yes. But he gritted his teeth, battling the rising pain as he trapped the words in a web of half-truths.
"I'd be stupid not to be."
She smirked, "You are definitely afraid of me. And your aspect?"
Sunny thought for a while, as long as his flaw allowed.
"It is what it is. If you know my True Name, you become my master and become your slave, literally. I don't know if it works for more than one person. When you said, "Follow me," while leaving the police station cafeteria, I couldn't defy it. My body stood up and walked behind you on its own.
Ascended Jet didn't say anything after hearing all these. Sunny was holding his breath; the suspense was too much.
After a few seconds which seemed to stretch to eternity, Ascended Jet just sighed.
"I think I understood the main bits. I will be honest with you, if you were just a normal sleeper with this weird aspect, I would have just dropped you off in the academy and never see you again. I would have pretended nothing happened. You could've lived your life as you wish but with a leash on you will which I would never use. But you have a divine aspect. Do you even know what it means? Actually, let me test something."
"What's the name of the city we are living in?"
Sunny was baffled hearing that. After a few moments he said:
"The name is….uhh city? Wait it even has a name?"
She rolled her eyes.
"The official name is Northern Quadrant Siege Capital, or NQSC. But that's not important right now. Do you understand what just happened?"
Sunny was totally dumbfounded. When he walked into the alley, he was totally thinking about having sinister talk about how Ascended Jet would use him for her own gains and how he will escape her clutch.
When did it turn into a quiz game?
"Please enlighten me Ascended Jet."
Taking a deep breath, she said:
"The truth is relative Sunny. You can't answer something you don't know about."
Seeing that he was still puzzled, Ascended Jet decided to make things simpler.
"Let me ask you another question. Is the earth flat or round?"
Phew. At least he knew the answer to this question.
"Obviously it's flat. Everyone in the outskirts know that."
Ascended Jet closed her eyes and massaged her temples.
"Wait, it's flat! You are messing with me."
Sunny heard her mutter something along the lines of, 'I am not paid enough for this.'
"No Sunny the earth is not flat. It's round, spherical to be precise. Like an orange. Let me guess, someone told you that the earth is flat in the outskirts and you didn't bother asking 'Where is the edge then?'. But do you get the main point. Anyone who has a tiny bit of education knows that the earth is round. But you believe that earth is flat and your flaw didn't count it as a lie since from your perspective it's makes sense. The truth is relative Sunny."
"Now let's do it again. Is the earth flat or round?"
This time Sunny decided to think for a long time before answering and his flaw actually allowed him to. Maybe its because he still has not made up his mind.
"You said that the earth is round. Someone said that the earth is flat. But since you supposed to be somewhat educated, I will believe you. So, yes, I think that the earth is round."
"Don't get stressed. Even I believed that the earth was flat for a period of time. After I awakened, I studied a bit. It took me a while to cover the basics after leaving the outskirts, as well."
Ascended Jet smiled a little.
"Any more questions? If not, we can move on."
Sunny innocently asked:
"Uhh….what is an orange? "
Jet's smile flattered immediately.
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Also did i manage to make Sunny and Jet behave like canon? Drop your opinion.