Akondo gazed at his new body, which was the old man's, the old man's weak body.
He looked at his hands, noting the thin, it was wrinkled skin. "I really did it," he thought, his mind filled with a mix of incredulity and wonder.
Then he looked back at the pigeon, lying still on the ground—the body he had been in only moments before. "Did… did it die? Really?" he thought, feeling a pang of guilt.
He tried to stand, but his legs gave way, and he stumbled back down. The old man's body was hard to control, every movement slow and stiff. Noticing a walking stick lying by the bench, he reached for it.
"This body… its bones, everything is so weak", Akondo thought within himself, bringing a bench forward to support him.
He, at last, struggled into it with an exhausted sigh; "I do not know..I do not know what to do now".
He leaned against the walking-stick and made it to his feet, inchingly, shakily. "I… got up, somehow," he muttered to himself, easing.
He slowly walked using the stick for balance, he hobbled over to the pigeon's dead body, gently prodding it. "Hey, little bird… wake up. Don't just lie there. Wake up," he murmured softly.
After a few moments, he realized the bird was dead. A cold realization hit him, filling him with dread. "So… my power… it kills. It kills the swapped body. My…speculation was real?" He turned his head back to his original body lying on the bench, unharmed.
"My original body doesn't die, but any other body I swap with… does?"
Twenty minutes later, Akondo, still in the old man's body, was seated in the back of a taxi, deep in thought. "I left my original body at the park, and I'm far away from it now," he mused, considering his situation. "If this old man's body dies, no one will be able to link him to me. If I'd swapped back into my own body, this man would've died right there in the park…too close to me. This way, even if something leads to suspicion, there's less chance of a direct connection. And since I have to lock eyes with someone to swap, it limits how easily I can be caught."
The taxi stopped and the driver said, "We're here, your destination
Akondo got out of the car and paid the fare from the wallet of the old man, finding himself in front of a quaint little coffee shop. "This old guy's phone has a wallpaper of this place. Looks like he's been here often," Akondo thought as he peered inside the coffee shop. "When I unlocked his phone, I found pictures that he took here, especially one where he noted it was the place where he met his wife. This place must be meaningful to him.".
Akondo went through the old man's phone gallery as he walked into the coffee shop. He browsed the photos for some time before finally sitting with a quiet corner seat.
"Okay," he thought, having a look around to make sure that no one was giving him much attention. "In case I had to dump this body, this might be a pretty good place to do it."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on willing himself back into his own body. "Please work," he thought, a tinge of desperation creeping into his silent voice.
Suddenly, the system interface appeared before him with a new message: "Use a swap spell for easier transfers. To activate, choose a unique spell word and confirm it by saying 'confirm' afterward."
" What the hell.. It's that hologram again. But is it responding to me?" Akondo thought and looked at the hologram text.
"A spell word? Something to trigger the swap by command?" Akondo pondered.
The system responded instantly: "Yes."
" Wait? It just responded to my question? Was it always like this? Or just now?" Akondo thought.
" Use words so that it can be understandable when you truly want to swap bodies. Please Make it Quick" The holograms text popped up.
" What the..ok.. alright… what should it be?" he mused, thinking of a word that would feel natural but unlikely to slip in conversation.
After a moment, he said, "Repel," and added in his mind, "Confirm.
The system replied: "Spell word confirmed."
" Ok.. So what's now?" Akodno Said but the hologram disappeared.
" Where did it go? Wont it respond to me now? I wanted to ask what's going on with me" Akodno thought.
"....."
"Great," Akondo thought. "So meaning if I use this word, the swap should activate."
" Ok..i Better try it now"
Taking a final, steadying breath, he whispered, "Repel."
Immediately, his body was wracked with sharp, stabbing pains, as though knives were piercing him from within.
The old man's body slumped forward, eyes closed, motionless on the table.
.
.
.
Akondo blinked, disoriented for a moment, then felt the familiar weight and presence of his own body.
He was back on the bench in the park where he'd left himself. "I'm… back in my body," he murmured, relieved, sitting up and glancing around to confirm his surroundings.
A pang of realization hit him. "So… the old man died?"
.
.
.
Meanwhile, inside the coffee shop, the old man's dead body slumped forward in the chair before slipping to the floor, unnoticed at first by the other patrons.
.
.
.
Inside a spacious mansion near a small forest, Ren sipped his coffee while focused on his laptop screen. Outside the room, Maxima called out, "May I come in?"
Ren looked up, surprised. "Mother? Yeah, sure."
Maxima entered the room, and Ren, turning his attention back to the screen, asked, "Where did you go?"
"Oh, me? I went to see an old friend," Maxima replied, her tone slightly hesitant. "You know how I like to catch up with people."
Ren glanced at her briefly and noticed the faint red glow around her soul, a sign she was lying. This surprised him. "Why would Mom lie? She never lies." he thought, growing uneasy.
He changed the topic. "Well, Dad mentioned that you should stay here. This country is safer for you right now, at least according to him."
Maxima nodded thoughtfully. "I spoke to him about it… Anyway, how was your first day at school?"
"Average," Ren shrugged. "My classmates seemed interested in talking to me."
"Well, you are a future king, after all," Maxima said with a soft smile.
"Not of this country, You know I have a dream to be the king of the world. I know it won't happen tho." Ren replied with a small sigh. Then he turned back to her, noticing the tension in her expression. "Mom, is something wrong?"
Maxima hesitated for a moment before answering, "No… no, not at all. Just… My brother will face the death penalty tomorrow. Your father made arrangements for it to happen at the Royal Execution Center here."
Ren's expression hardened. "Don't feel sad for a killer, Mom. I hate people who kill."