"That Ray Lin guy really loves to meddle in other people's business, huh."
John Chou sighed helplessly after listening to the three humanoid figures recount everything they'd experienced that day.
"The point of what they're doing is just to run some kind of experiment—an experiment on the three of you."
"Young master, should I just head over and forcibly bring that girl back?"
John Chou shook his head.
"Forget it, Mr. Brown. This has nothing to do with us. Even Redhair isn't bothering with it, so it's not our place to intervene."
"Experiment? What exactly for?"
The gray humanoid asked, while John Chou raised his hand, pointing at the three figures.
"Haven't you noticed yet? When you three touched my body that day, you spoke with Slaughter, didn't you?"
The black humanoid drifted up to John Chou.
"So that guy's called Slaughter, huh? Heh, what an interesting fellow. Tremendous power, too."
Mr. Brown's eyes widened in shock.
"Instinct, is it? Young Master."
John Chou nodded.
"If you want to speak with Instinct, there are only two ways: either the owner of the Instinct, or the Instinct itself, can communicate with other Instincts. That day, all three of them spoke to Slaughter."
"But, Young Master, Instinct is something that the heartless cannot possess. Take those thirteen from the Immortality Society—they can't have Instinct. These three had no hearts either. Only recently have they gained thought. Instinct..."
John Chou sat cross-legged, resting his chin in his hands, smiling.
"From the moment they were born, it was there. Their Instincts, I suspect, were formed from a wish for this world at their genesis. I remember Redmond once said, when they first met Rufina Howard, they wanted to devour her. That, too, was Instinct at work."
The three humanoid figures stood quietly to the side, saying nothing.
"How about this, then? If you trust me, all three of you—enter my Instinctive Space. Use the part of yourselves that can speak to my Instinct, Slaughter."
John Chou gazed intently at the three figures, a smile curling at his lips.
"It's dangerous."
The black figure spoke.
"Oh, is that so? Seems you still don't quite grasp it—what Instinct truly is."
The white figure grinned wide.
"Why not give it a try? Gray and I aren't dangerous—the only real threat is you, Black. If anything goes wrong, the part of Gray and me that's unknown should be just like us, able to restrain you."
The three figures circled around John Chou, red ghostly threads winding around them.
"Young Master, be careful."
Mr. Brown warned, and John Chou chuckled.
"It's always better to know more than your opponent."