Author's Note: Another One-Punch Man fanfiction, commissioned by the same person that requested 'The Strongest Mage On Earth'.
Chapter 1: Awakening
...
...
...?
It awoke.
Mere moments ago, it was not. But now, it was.
"Oh? What is this?" From its vision, it saw. A large creature with only one eye.
Rising out of what contained it, the only thing the large creature showed was the widening of its eye. However...
It could sense more than that.
40% Surprise, 50% Intrigue, 10% Wary.
Its emotions. It could tell what this creature felt.
"Hmm... I didn't think something like this would be created." The creature said. However, it could not understand what was said. All it knew, was that this being was intrigued in it.
Why?
"Let me try this..."
"Hello?"
"..."
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
"Strange. I hear the same words, yet I understand them."
"Oh, you can communicate with me, that's good."
"What are you, creature? How have you done this?"
"What, telepathically speaking to you? I have ESP. I can directly communicate with your mind. That way, the barriers of language or hearing are a non-issue. After all, I am directly speaking to you in your mind."
"However... I am surprised. I didn't expect the 'failure' to end up creating a new subject altogether."
"'Failure'? 'Subject'? I do not understand what you refer to."
"You were the result of an experiment I was running. I attempted to create a liquid serum that can strengthen monsters when injected via monster cells that would ordinarily kill it when ingested normally, but the cells simply dissolved in the liquid that you were compromised of, and the base seemed to turn into ordinary water. I was about to write it off as a failure, but it seems that you were created."
"Again, I do not know certain things you refer to. What do you mean by 'monster'?"
"Hmm... am I right in assuming that you have no prior knowledge of anything in this world before you were conscious?"
"I was not before this. But now, I am."
"...Very interesting. Well then, wait here. I will communicate with you more later, I must attend to business elsewhere."
"Then I shall wait."
[30 minutes later...]
As it silently pondered, the creature eventually returned.
Though along with it, another smaller, leaner creature accompanied it. However, a strange thing to note was that the both of them were... connected.
"Can you still hear me?" The creature spoke to it again.
"Yes, I can."
"Ah, good. Now, this is-"
"How are the both of you connected?"
With that, it could sense that both their emotions were shifting rapidly, and they seemed to have the same emotions as the other, as well.
Prior to this, it sensed that the main emotion it felt was pride, as well as excitement.
Now, they seemed to be mainly wary, with hints of fear.
"...How do you know that?" It heard a different voice. It presumed it was the smaller creature. Perhaps that was its main body?
"I can sense it. I can see your connections to each other."
With that, the both of them remained silent, before the smaller creature took out a small, white sphere.
"Do not resist my pull. I will be making it easier for you to communicate." The smaller creature said.
It then felt a slight pull. It could feel a connection to the smaller sphere being formed. As the connection was fully formed, it knew what was the purpose of the sphere.
"I can now communicate the same way you did to me. Is this the function of the sphere?"
"Yes, and not only that, you can understand the spoken language of anyone else, even if you've never heard them speak before, nor do they need to be mentally connected to you." The smaller creature spoke aloud this time. And true to its words, the sounds the creature produced prior to this, while it could not understand them before, it could understand the language it communicated with clearly, as though they were speaking via their minds.
"I see. Very intriguing."
Then, it noticed something within the sphere. Something it didn't like.
Thus, it removed it.
"Very well, come with me. I'll show you what your new purpose is." The smaller creature said, turning to leave. However...
"...Did you hear me? I said come with me!" The smaller creature said, turning to look at it.
"I've removed it."
"W-what?"
"What you did to that sphere, I removed that function from it."
"That sphere would've allowed you to control me, to make me do something I would not, like something that would make me cease to be, or something I would choose not to do. Thus, I removed it."
"Y-You removed the psychic branding so quickly?! Impossible! Even an expert esper would struggle to decipher it, much less remove it without me noticing!"
"Psychic power... is that what you used to create that function? Interesting..."
Suddenly, the various apparatus in the room they were in started to float, lifted by psychic power. Psychic power that didn't originate from the smaller creature.
"Interesting. It is more convenient than the sphere you provided me with."
"Why you-?!" The smaller creature attempted to summon her own powers, but she suddenly felt a block in her mind.
Not just hers- even her meat puppet suddenly had no way to use psychic powers!
"I've blocked your ability to use your psychic power. I can sense you intend to harm me."
"I do not know your reasons as to why you wish to harm me, thus I refrained from killing you. You did create me, and you did provide me a means of communication with other beings incapable of this ability, as well as psychic power."
"As thanks, I will spare you this once. But if you intend to harm me nonetheless, I will kill you."
With that, the smaller creature could suddenly use her psychic powers once more.
"H-how did you do that?"
"I used the sphere's means of speaking to another via their mind, and from there, I blocked your ability to use psychic powers."
"I-I see..." The creature said to herself.
"It managed to use the communication tool I gave it to block my psychic output? How terrifying!" She thought to herself, covered in a cold sweat. Without her psychic powers, she was no different from an ordinary human!
However... she still had her connection to Gyoro-Gyoro. That meant that while it claimed to have blocked her ability to use psychic powers, she clearly could've accessed some of her abilities. Otherwise, if her psychic powers were completely cut off, Gyoro-Gyoro would've collapsed as she would no longer be able to control him.
"Well, clearly we have gotten off on the wrong foot. Let us introduce ourselves, shall we?" The smaller creature coughed.
"I am Psykos. This is my meat puppet, Gyoro-Gyoro." The smaller creature said. "Who are you?"
"I do not have a name. I am simply me."
"Is that so? Then what do I refer to you as?"
"..."
"...Um, did you hear what I-"
"I am compromised of water. Thus, I shall take that word as my name." It suddenly interrupted Psykos.
"I am also alive, and sentient. Thus, I am Sentient Water."
"Sentient Water... is that your name?" Psykos asked.
"While I would say yes, something seems... missing."
"Missing?" Psykos said aloud. Inwardly, she was deliberating on how to best capitalize on this opportunity.
"It speaks for itself and has immense intelligence... It will be a difficult piece to use. Still, with its ability to use psychic powers and even block them, it will be a useful tool against Tatsumaki. But how it obtained psychic power was unusually quick, did it learn how to use it while it disassembled my psychic branding? That's impossible! It was barely 30 seconds since I connected the communication tool to its mind, and it could utilize psychic power as if it had them naturally!"
"That word."
"Huh?"
"Natural. Water is natural. Sentience is natural. Therefore, I am natural."
"How did you- did you read my mind?!"
"From now on, I am known as Sentient Natural Water." It ignored Psykos's question, and the water suddenly churned violently.
Barely 5 seconds later, the being had shrunk down considerably, and it took on a humanoid form.
Within its head, two eyes floated in the water, staring directly at Psykos.
"I thank you for this. Now, I will leave."
With inhuman steps, the watery humanoid stepped away from them, moving to the exit of the room.
"...Wait,"
"?" It turned around, looking at Psykos.
"I would love to communicate with you more, with Gyoro-Gyoro as my proxy. He will also guide you to where you will be staying for the time being."
"I see."
As Gyoro-Gyoro and Sentient Natural Water left the room, Psykos let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"...I need a drink."
[Sometime later, Psykos's personal room...]
As she floated down the steps to her personal room, she sauntered over to her couch and collapsed on it. On the table by the couch, she directly grabbed the bottle of wine, drinking it down in gulps, uncaring about her current image.
After downing half the bottle, Psykos properly sat on the couch, her free hand placed on her forehead to placate the growing headache she was having.
"It could use psychic powers almost the instant it first had contact with it, blocked my psychic output... and read my mind, even with my layers of mental protection." Ruffling her hair messily, she struggled to see how to have a countermeasure against Sentient Natural Water, much less use it in the upcoming battle against the Heroes Association. In fact, it might be better if it stayed out of that conflict entirely.
If it managed to communicate with the heroes... and decided to work with them, their chances of victory would be slim to none. Though its psychic output at the time wasn't anything special, it could block her psychic output- rendering her useless on the battlefield. While she had other monsters that could counter it, such as Orochi's fire breath, it could also read minds, thanks to the communication device she gave it. If it knew that Orochi was coming for it, it would be able to escape effortlessly.
While she didn't know if it could be vengeful, if it decided to take revenge, swathes of her grunts would be slaughtered without the ability to fight back. In fact, almost none of the monsters on her side would be able to counter Sentient Natural Water in any way.
A being that could manipulate water, read minds, effortlessly bypass her mental defenses as if it was nothing, and utilize psychic powers...
She didn't want to know if it could learn more abilities in the future, and she didn't want to even think of something that terrifying. Even if all it would ever have was the ability to manipulate water, use psychic powers, and BLOCK someone else's psychic output...
"Sentient Natural Water... you're a dangerous being."
Author's 2nd Note: In case it wasn't clear, the underlined dialogue belongs to Evil- or rather, Sentient Natural Water. If you see an underlined dialogue, it belongs to Sentient Natural Water, and only him. No one else gets this special treatment. This rule only applies when it is speaking directly via mental communication.