Chapter 99: Bubble gun

The fabric shifted as he moved his shoulder. Its dark color swirled softly under the dim light with an almost luminescent quality. Like a painting.

"That’s... that’s new."

Mia’s voice sounded behind him. Miles turned. The cloak did a little twirl in turn.

Even as he faced the others, his gaze and attention remained completely locked on the fabric of the cloak. On its softness. On the slight tightness around its clasp. On the odd feeling of safety the cloth gave him, like he was somewhere far, far removed from all this.

It all felt familiar.

’Ah. I remember now.’

Back then, so far back that his recollection felt hazy. A younger boy running somewhere, the sun on his face, coarse grains of sand between his toes, and a blanket tied around his shoulders like a cape. Behind, a soft voice followed, its laughter ringing in his mind like the most beautiful melody.

Something hitched in his throat. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to shake the memory off. He did, for the most part. The longing still remained for that strange, distant place.

The salty breeze on his face had grown stronger. His skin felt damper, colder in a way he couldn’t quite place. Self-numbing in a strange sense.

The low rumble of waves reached his ears.

"Ah..."

That was about all he could manage with the flood of sensations reaching his senses.

"What’s that?"

Ryan’s voice snapped him out of his trance. A light prickle went through his mind at the sound of his voice. Miles shook his head.

"Vestige, that’s what the system called it at least. It gave it to me after upgrading my ability."

"Is it part of the ability?"

"No, I think it’s part of my EGO."

His voice sounded odd to his own ears, like he was speaking to Ryan from a distance even when he stood in front of him. The others didn’t seem to catch on to the weirdness.

"So, did anything change? What does the cloak do?"

The others stared with interest, even the usually nonchalant Grimm.

Miles suppressed the weirdness, numbness, and sense of alienation plaguing him as he tried to consider his options.

’Should I...?’

He’d hidden [Delusion], or at least its capabilities, so far without much issue, but that was because it only affected him. This affected others, so they’d definitely notice something off eventually.

’Can I trust them?’

The memory of Jayce was still fresh in his mind. A year of being together had been completely flushed in a few short moments. He’d killed the boy with his own hands.

There was every chance someone else could betray him.

Still, he was stuck with them, at least till they reached whatever safe zone lay in Lincoln. They’d all divulged their powers too. It would be more suspicious on his part if he didn’t say something.

He scanned their faces, then stopped at Chloe. She’d had the chance to check his ability, and by all means, she likely could. But she hadn’t. If she had, she’d been awfully quiet about it.

He sighed.

"I can cast illusions now, I think."

Ryan raised a brow.

"Are you serious?"

Miles nodded. It wasn’t exactly [Delusion], or whatever that French name meant, but on a surface level they were pretty similar.

The next question on his, on all their faces, was evident before anyone asked. So he preemptively answered it.

He stretched the invisible string to Ryan, attaching it to him, then began visualizing. After a few moments, he activated [Delusion].

A pistol appeared in his hand. Ryan’s eyes widened.

"When..."

The others glanced at him in confusion. Miles paid no attention to them and pointed the gun at him.

"Wait!"

He pulled the trigger. Ryan stopped mid-dive at the lack of a gunshot.

Bubbles spilled out the gun’s barrel, floating a foot away from Miles before exploding into little fireworks.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Mia looked at him like he’d gone crazy. His eyes remained locked on the exploding bubbles.

"It’s an illusion?"

Miles deactivated it, showing him his empty palm.

"Yes."

Mia’s eyes widened with realization.

"Show me next."

His brows creased at the request. He could feel the intrigued gazes of the others on him too. If he showed her, then he’d have to show the rest too. He rubbed his forehead.

"It puts some burden on my mind, and I can only use it on a single entity at a time. Maybe later."

"Hmm..."

She still seemed to have her doubts but didn’t push it anymore. Neither did any of the others.

Ryan had recovered from his shock by now, so he changed the topic.

"What about that cloak?"

"I... I’m not too sure... protection I think."

"From the cold?"

"Maybe."

Although he said that, he had a feeling it wasn’t the right answer either. Still, with everything said and done, he headed back to his blanket.

He felt a pair of eyes following him, burning holes in his back. A discreet glance behind showed Grimm staring at him with a look of suspicion on his face. He was muttering something contemplatively under his breath.

’Is he on to me?’

He did his best to maintain his clueless facade as he settled down into his blanket. He raised a brow, acting surprised when he met Grimm’s gaze.

"Is something wrong?"

The boy just squinted, scanning him top down before letting out a reluctant reply.

"No."

’That was close.’

Grimm stood up and headed for the device after Ryan motioned him towards it, leaving Miles to his devices.

Ignoring any lingering stares on him, he pinched the soft fabric of the robe lightly, rubbing it between his fingers.

’How exactly does this protect me?’

He lightly punched a portion of the cloth covering his shoulder. Nothing happened. He could still feel the light impact hit his skin.

Frowning, he pulled his fist a bit further, then brought it down. This time, just before he made contact, the fabric flapped slightly; his hand hit only air behind the robe.

His shoulder remained completely fine.

’So it is just protection...’

Physical protection. An instinct told him that was about as far as it went for now. It wouldn’t protect from the cold or elements.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible for his instincts to be wrong. He could easily confirm it the next time he headed out.

’It might even be better this way.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

If the cloak only protected him from the cold, it would just be overlapping functions with his [Cold Resistance] ability.

All in all, he considered it a fruitful haul.