FILE 6
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"Gene, did you just say 'purgatory'? Mai said, stupefy, bewildered, shocked— or whatever what one would call to someone who just heard that her spirit was wandering in a place outside the the scope of the earth. What would Naru say if he's in this kind of situation? What kind of scientific approach could he have made in order to explain such phenomenon?
"Yes. Your people described it as the land of the waiting dead." Gene said.
"You mean meido?" Mai muttered. Based on Japanese mythology, Meido was a place where Enma Dai-O judged the souls. It was also the place where the spirits lingered before they received the final verdict.
"Wait." Mai raised her hand. "But all the spirits here have already moved on," She paused in disbelief, "And you said that it's not my time, yet.. isn't that illegal?" Mai swallowed nervously. She remembered Naru saying that only the spirits of the dead could access the information of afterlife.
"Actually, we're not the only one trespassing. There's one idiot scientist who managed to break into this realm without quite meaning to. And I brought you here because he needs you."
"Eh?" Mai blinked. "You mean, Naru? He's here?!"
Gene nodded.
"What do you mean he didn't mean to?" Mai said in irritation. Great, leave it to her high and mighty boss to pull a stunt like that.
"You could say that he performed an out of the body before his spirit could realize that he's not yet dead."
"That kind of phenomenon happens when a person undergoes a near-death experience. A spirit would always come back to its vessel after a short amount of time or longer. But in Oliver's case, it's quite different." Gene said with a solemnity that alarmed her.
"Different?" Mai said.
"My brother has ESP and PK— a rare talent even among psychics. His chi is also much stronger than that of an average person. Yet, his body cannot release a big amount of it. If he did, it could render him bodily damage or worse. Because of this, I forbade him to perform an out of the body when I'm not around to counterbalance his chi."
"What will happen if Naru did an out of the body on his own?"
"There's a great chance that he might not come back to his body for a longer period of time." Gene stated.
Mai clenched her hand into fist, remembering Naru's prone form at the hospital. It explained a lot why even a mere spoon bending made Lin so worried. And then at the Yuasa High School when they fell in the manhole, he used his power to remove the debris and then collapsed after they were rescued.
He didn't tell her because it would've revealed many things about him— things that he could not tell them at that time. But even so, he's still that way even after they discovered his secrets. It's not in his nature to ask for anyone's help..
Mai sighed. "When you said that he needs me, what did you exactly mean?"
"Well, it depends on how strong a medium you are."
"But, why me?" Mai pointed to herself. "You've contacted Masako before." Ugh. Her voice sounded more gruff than she intended. Well.. she crossed her arms and closed her eyes in deep thought. It's true that Masako was more accomplished medium than her and she could understand the spirits better than she did. It's also a known fact that she was more intelligent than her.
Mai pouted, her shoulders sagging in defeat. Excuses.
Gene smiled at the different expressions that crossed her face. Because you're the one.
"Eh? Did you just say something?" Mai opened her eyes and frowned. But Gene only smiled at her.
"Well, then, shall we put your skills to the test?" His smile softened.
To be continued.