The Over-Break System

"Looking at things objectively, and from their point of view, we indeed may be corrupted and dangerous, so Jessup isn't willing to take any chances."

"What's the plan? I don't expect you want us to go in guns a-blazing as that will only ensure they think we are zombied out…" Selene asked with concern on her face. 

"If they attack, we fight back, but our goal is only to disarm, not maim." Heaving a sigh and realizing things could go south very quickly, Cynrik steeled his resolve and looked up at Brance specifically. 

Apart from Jessup, who could single-handedly deal with them, he didn't doubt that Brance would be the first one to lash out and attack, especially given the fact that when they were teenagers on earth, the two had made a vow that if the zombie apocalypse occurred, one brother would put the other down without hesitation as they didn't want to see their sibling become a zombie. 

With that vow in mind, Cynrik knew the one he would need to convince, first and foremost, was Brance, and the others would fall in line. But that still didn't mean there was no need for a fight, as Brance would act first and ask questions second. 

If there were even a shred of doubt in Brance's mind, he would move to put Cynrik and Selene down, and this fact wasn't lost on the older brother. 

---

Above in the training room, tensions were high as Jessup began briefing everyone on the situation. 

"When I saw the two of them, I noticed they have absurdly high levels of Divine Particles in their bodies, indicating they have been corrupted. They may look and seem like Selene and Cynrik; however, with so much Mana stored in their bodies, there is a high likelihood that they have become Corrupted Divines." With a stern expression, Jessup swapped into a suit of heavy plate armor, not unlike Brance's, only it was leagues more potent than the youngest Jetlensr's. 

"I will only step in if you can't handle the situation; otherwise, it is up to you to use this as a training experience. And bear in mind, no matter what they say, the people you know are gone, and all that is left is a cheap imitation; they may have their memories, but that is where the similarities end."

"Be on guard against any attacks or skills they use, as everything will be laced with potent Divine Particles and yield higher and more dangerous forms of damage." With that said, Jessup glanced around those in the room, and his eyes fell on Brance and Cinyah.

Brance seemed to be fighting an internal battle with himself, and if it weren't for the steely expression the young man was wearing, he would have never understood the turmoil swirling in his mind. 

Cinyah, on the other hand, was an open book filled with despair and sadness. It was clear to Jessup that the two were taking the situation hard and blamed themselves for not being there to stop Cynrik from leaving and getting himself into the current predicament. 

Pushing those thoughts aside, Jessup snapped his fingers, and a 3x3 meter ring opened in the floor's barrier across the room, indicating that was where the two would appear. 

'Tobs…why won't you answer me…' Brance asked with sorrow in his heart for the millionth time. 

Ever since he had woken up after healing the Governess, he was greeted by silence every time he attempted to converse with Tobs, as if the AI had vanished completely. 

Stricken with grief and concern, Brance didn't know what to do and was exasperated to find his brother; however, Jessup refused to allow him to leave the Mansion, and it wasn't until a couple of days ago when the old man called a meeting that he found out about the fate of his brother. 

Unknown to him, it wasn't that Tobs didn't want to respond but that she couldn't; now that not one but two of her hosts had begun adapting and absorbing Divine particles, she could no longer sustain the connection with Brance since he didn't have access to the particular particle type. 

It was an unforeseen consequence that was entirely out of her control and outside her scope of knowledge since what was transpiring wasn't something that had ever happened with a Being under Tier-5, especially not at the Peak of Tier-3. 

As such, she had unfortunately found herself cut off from her third host, thus spending all of her time dealing with Selene and Cynrik while worrying about Brance. 

She had wanted to bring the subject up to Cynrik time and time again; however, every time she did, he would shrug it off and say he would deal with the fallout later, but now that the "fallout" was about to occur, she couldn't help but be concerned, especially with how Brance would react. 

---

Down below in the Shadow Realm, Cynirk was furious. 

"God damn it, they aren't even going to listen to logic and plan on killing us, FUCK!" He shouted, startling Selene.

  -I warned you, Cynrik, I told you that my connection with Brance had collapsed, but you refused to listen to me and continuously put it off. Now look at where we are; everyone has turned on you two due to their lack of knowledge.-

Franticly flapping around and punching Cynrik's cheek, the tiny Tobs screamed at the top of her lungs. 

"Shut up, I KNOW, OKAY, I FUCKED UP!" snatching Tobs out of the air and holding her by the back of her shirt, Cynrik shook her twice before tossing the tiny fairy over to Selene, who caught her and cradled Tobs to her chest like a mother. 

"Change of plans, Selene; you go down and stay out of the way. I am pulling Brance into the Shadow Realm and explaining things to him," Cynrik stated with a chilling edge. 

"But won't he try and fight you?" Selene whispered in concern. Although she knew full well that Cynrik was powerful, that didn't mean he would be comfortable fighting full-out with his younger brother. 

Of anyone, she was fully aware of their bond, and Selene knew that this would cause a lot of unseen mental anguish on her Eiginmaður.

"There is no other choice, and I just hope I can get things through his thick skull without beating it into him." With a sigh, he released Selene's hand and sent her away with a gentle wind. 

At that moment, Jessup opened the barrier enough to allow for a portal to be opened, and that was when Cynrik moved into action. 

With a snap of his fingers to open the portal, he punched the air, expelling a thick tendril of Umbra Mana, and launched it into reality and the training room. 

---

Everything happened too quickly for even Jessup to react; one second, the barrier was opened, and the next, a snaking-like construct of divine-infused Umbra Mana flew out from the portal, wrapped around Brance's waist, and yanked him down into the Shadow Realm before the portal closed up. 

"NO!!! NO, NO, NO, NO!!!" The next thing anyone heard was the horrible screams of Cinyah as she rushed to the sealed ground where her youngest son had disappeared. 

However, when she arrived, she noticed something: a sheet of paper was resting where Brance had vanished; on it, three simple words that struck Cinyah's heart like lightning. 

The note read… "I'm Still Me."

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