One Punch Man: Heroics Start with Dual Kamui

Chapter 165 165: Successfully Rewriting Consciousness

Looking at the screen and seeing a self that was almost identical, even Boros felt a momentary confusion. The only clear difference lay in the armor. The other suit appeared to have been violently damaged and then repaired with inferior materials, giving it a patched, beaten look that contrasted with Boros's own pristine plating.

"Lord Boros, what should we do?!" Geryuganshoop, utterly stunned, could only turn to the Boros standing behind him and ask.

"Do not panic. Let him come here," the Boros on board answered calmly. His instincts told him that the other had come looking for him. He might be the battle-hungry manic right now, but he was not without reason. After all, he was the leader of his crew.

"All right..." Geryuganshoop remained uneasy, but since Lord Boros gave the order, there was no choice but to hold position and wait.

Soon, the Boros who knew every inch of the ship arrived in the control room. There, the two versions of Boros finally faced one another.

"You... you are me...?" the past Boros stammered. He scanned the other's energy signature. The nature of that energy matched his own exactly, down to its specific frequency. Another version of himself made no sense, yet the evidence was there.

"That is correct. I am you, five years from the future, and you are my five-years-ago self," the future Boros explained plainly. "Due to certain circumstances, I traveled back five years, and then I found you."

"I see... so why did you come to see me?" the past Boros asked. He hesitated, then added, "And five years from now, have you already found that prophesied planet?"

That prophecy weighed on him. He had spent fifteen years wandering the cosmos searching for that foretold world, so his first instinct on meeting his future self was to learn whether the prophecy had been fulfilled.

"I have found it. It is a planet called Earth. I also encountered the prophesied strong one, but he defeated me. However, near death, he saved my life," the future Boros said, offering a bitter half-smile that carried more pain than pride.

"..." The past Boros fell silent for a beat, absorbing the information. Then he asked quietly, "Was that battle the predicted equal fight?"

"Not exactly. Although the battle was exhilarating, I was the one who was suppressed from start to finish," the future Boros admitted without evasion.

"I see..." the past Boros nodded slowly, turning the revelation over in his mind. "So you came back five years on purpose to tell me this, but for what reason?"

"I did not come back only to tell you that," future Boros said bluntly. "I came back with that person."

He met his younger self's eyes without flinching. "As for why, you are me, and I know you well. You would never be content to be crushed and accept defeat. The one who beat me said there are beings on Earth stronger than him, and that he himself is not the strongest. What do you think you would do upon learning that?"

"So I need your power, or I can give you mine. I am you, and you are me. There is no difference," he continued.

That was his true intent. For Boros, energy fusion posed no difficulty, especially when the other self's energy aligned perfectly with his own.

"..." The past Boros thought quietly for a moment, then replied, "You have found Earth five years from now, which means I will still need five years to reach it. I do not want to wait that long. I will give my power to you. Please return to five years from now, take my portion, and fight to your heart's content."

His obsession with battle outweighed everything else. He did not care if offering up his strength meant he would vanish afterward.

"No problem."

Boros gave his past self a firm promise.

.....

In the Origin Sphere, Psykos' condition gradually stabilized. Before long, she slowly opened her eyes.

"President Shinji...? Where is this...?"

The moment she awoke and saw Shinji in a completely unfamiliar environment, Psykos could not help but ask.

Since Shinji was the one who had taken the lead in founding the Monster Research Association, he naturally became its president. Psykos, by contrast, was the vice president, completely opposite to how she remembered things.

Shinji did not answer her question. Instead, he asked, "How do you feel now? Any discomfort?"

"No..."

Psykos rubbed her temples, trying to recall something. "For some reason, it feels like I just had a really long dream..."

"Vice President Psykos, do you still have any thoughts about exterminating humanity?" Shinji probed.

"Exterminating humanity? Why would I ever want to do something like that?"

Psykos shot back with a question of her own. Yet as soon as the words left her lips, she clutched her forehead, her expression tightening with pain.

Fragments of memory surged back. Her old plan to wipe out all of humanity, her falling out with Fubuki, and her departure from the Psychic Research Society.

"The me from before... actually had such thoughts..." she murmured in disbelief. "When I awakened the [Third Eye], it felt like something invaded my brain..."

Seeing this, Shinji felt almost certain that Psykos had broken free of God's influence, most likely because the Origin Sphere had completely severed their connection.

[Ding! Host successfully rewrote Psykos' consciousness. Reward: 200 points!]

"It's fine now. Just rest for a while."

With that, Shinji removed Psykos' glasses and gently placed his hand over her eyes. He was preparing to take her out of the Origin Sphere.

But Psykos seemed to misunderstand.

"President Shinji?! That kind of thing... not yet..."

The next moment, Shinji lifted his hand, and the scenery shifted again.

Shinji and Psykos were already back in the Monster Research Association's activity room. Psykos' cheeks were tinged red, as if she still had not processed what just happened.

"We're back already. By the way, what did you mean just now by 'not yet'?" Shinji asked curiously.

"Ah..."

Only then did Psykos realize she had been overthinking things. There was no way she could explain it to Shinji now. "N-nothing... it was nothing..."

Shinji suddenly felt that the Psykos of her student days seemed far more innocent than she would be decades later. She even blushed!

How cute~!