NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: The Speech.
Chapter 39: The Speech.
I smiled up at them.
Half anchored to this physical shell and half submerged in the lake.
I was getting the tingles again. The same ones that surged when Randall shook my hand. Part of [Premonition] and [Precognition] rolled into one. The golden strings supporting the rest. Making me say funny things that I didn’t fully comprehend.
No really. I had no idea what I was saying.
My heart, lungs, brain and limbs felt loose and warm and nice.
There was flow that led to what I wanted. To a good cause. I only needed to follow it.
I opened my mouth and words spilled out.
“Star and Moon. Strength and Chariot. The Hanged Man! The Emperor is the Fool. He dances with a paper crown and the bells in his motley jingle to mark his passing! The Empress is under the sea! Upside down where the Sun can’t reach! Her face is black and blue!”
I started laughing. Feeling myself being controlled from the insides for a second time. Just like that time with Randall in the coloured room.
“Fat birds are playing in the snow! Hiding a fox under their skirts! The Magician slays the dragon with her silver wand! Men cheer and Women weep! Her armor glitters and sparkles! The chains! Oh, the chains! They strangle me! They strangle you! But are they touching us?”
I stood on unsteady feet. No one tried to help me. Their faces were all a blur. Their bodies were moving away slowly.
Still, I heard what they were thinking and felt what they were feeling. It was up to me to take away the pain.
I giggled. Moving closer even as they retreated.
“Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.”
“Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.”
“He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.”
“The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.”
I pointed at the ripple. The almost imperceptible tear in reality.
“I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.”
For a brief, surreal second, space itself stood still. Unwilling or unable to believe it had been detected ahead of schedule. Terrified of the implications. It shivered and chose to flee.
I laughed harder. Pulling on errant strings attracted to the phenomenon.
Loud enough to shake the foundations of the earth.
Pulling on errant strings attracted to the phenomenon.
Ability Gained: [Awaken Organism] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Awaken Object] 1 has been added to the Status.
“The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.”
“The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.”
“The Coffin is….”
“That’s enough!” Says Charlie. Grabbing me by the hand.
Or rather, what he thinks is my hand. The Illusion is firmer than any reality he’s ever known. I walk past him unimpeded.
“The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.”
“The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.”
Another crowd had formed around me, watching in morbid fascination. I was still, somehow laughing at nothing and everything.
“You.” I pointed at a random person. “You will cast me out after seeing the movie. You and him and her and him and him and her.”
I continued pointing.
Calling out each individual after the other.
Soon, I was saying other things about them.
Telling them who was still waiting back home and who wasn’t.
Who had gone to the police to report them missing and who had run away with their inheritances.
I kept at it until Slab and Charlie found the real me and began dragging me back to bed.
“The butcher will come! With fire and sword! To cast you out of your homes and burn all that you hold dear! But I won’t be here! You’ll have driven me away! You’ll have no one to defend you! No one!”
I looked at all of them.
Really looked.
Taking in their joys and their griefs.
The scars they carry from yesterday and all the ones still waiting on the morrow.
I took a deep breath. Preparing myself for the moment of truth.
Then, I bared it all.
“Don’t you realize! I want to help you! I want to save you! I want to be selfless! To make sure you’re safe and fed and warm! I never expected anything from you in return! I never wanted gratitude! I never wanted to be loved! All I ever wanted, was to save my fellows! To save you! For no other reason than because it was the right thing to do! The only thing to do! Because I am a good person!”
I stumbled forward a bit, before catching myself.
“Don’t you see! It hurts! It hurts me so much when people die! I don’t want that anymore! I don’t want anyone to die! I want you all to live! I want you all to leave here alive with me! I want to stick it to the (Gnome)ing (Gnome) that put us in here and avenge all their victims! I’ve lived through rifts and wars and brutal subjugations! I know the only way for people to survive is by working together! So stop being so mother(Gnome)ing stubborn! Take my hand! My help! I give it freely! Because I’m a good person!”
[Precognition] activated. Through its golden strings, I witnessed a thousand Solomons falter and fall. Unable to bring these people up to where they needed to be.
I learned from their mistakes.
I prevailed where they didn’t.
“You are all blind! Your eyes are yet to open! See the world now! See it through my eyes! Feel it through my blood!”
Slab and Charlie falter.
The former shrieks and keels over.
The latter hurls, staining his new symbiote.
Abilities Converging:
[Precognition] 12 Has been undone. 78 Ability Points Gained.
[Meditation] 8 Has been undone. 36 Ability Points Gained.
[Premonition] 6 Has been undone. 21 Ability Points Gained.
[Psychometry] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained.
[Inspiration] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained.
[Awaken Organism] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained.
[Awaken Object] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained.
163 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII]
Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level.
Passively anchors User in reality and pierces Psionic Illusions as well as Psionic Stealth abilities.
Passively reveals Status information of targets within the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives.
Passively increases Psy regeneration of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per every 5 current ability levels.
Passively increases Experience gain of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per ever 10 current ability levels.
Forewarns User and selected targets within line of sight of the most probable undesirable future scenarios as well as ways to avoid them at a rate of 1000 Psy per second. Visions may take on the perspectives of targets in the past, present, or future.
Provides Enlightenment opportunities for living beings and objects within line of sight at the cost of 15, 000 Psy per second. Targets may benefit from usage at a rate of 1 instance per 15 ability levels per year.
Enlightenment bonuses scale with selected Target’s inherent talents, User’s inherent talents, length of exposure, and current ability level.
This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy.
Accuracy and Clarity of predictions scale with current ability level.
Oomph.
That…
That was some kick.
The little golden strings had grasped their neighbours and made another cord.
One that shone brighter than the noon sun.
There was qualitative difference as soon as the new dawn came.
The bonuses to Psy regeneration were less than what [Meditation] gave me and there was no mention or feeling of its previous calming effects. That confidence and stability I’d had was gone. So were the tingles from [Premonition]. I…
I could only see bad things coming now. No more slight hints at what the right words were.
No more superimposed outline of my own body.
From now on, it was all me.
A lesser person might have hesitated if they were suddenly cut off from their lifeline.
Not me.
I knew what had to be done.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 1 has grown to [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 17
Oh poo. 10 points left over.
Oh well.
I’ll find some way to use them.
Title Gained:
Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet.
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment.
This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves.
This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wilder at random intervals.
This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels.
This title increases Total Psy by 70%.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Nice!
I’ll make good use of these!
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 17 has grown to [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 19
My wobbling feet took me all around the little island of safety.
Giving me ample time to enlighten my comrades.
“Now do you see? The crows and the fish nibbling at your toes? The fires that consume and the spider that weaves? Do you see it? Do you see it?”
The poor folk did not answer immediately.
Opting instead to shiver and shake in the presence of things to come.
Gleefully, I noted that many eyes were opening.
A few were even mine.
“Monique! Dear Monique! So brave and so composed! How does it feel to see the cracks? How do the strings reveal themselves? Do you empathize with me, I wonder? Or do you despise me for showing you the truth?”
She did not answer.
Too engrossed in the sudden rush of levels and her own spreading fog.
“How about you Slab? You were so eager to know me, both here and in the visions. So willing to torture yourself for the sake of your clan. How do my eyes change your perception? Are you angry? That its not at all what you expected? Or are you pleased that it is so much more?”
He did not answer either.
“That leaves Ryan! How are you, my false friend? How does power feel as it caresses the inside of your skull? Does it please you? Does it sate your jealousy? Will this boon stay your hand?”
I giggled.
“The Sarcophagus was a fool. He could not see the whole picture. How even the tiniest variable changes the plot. You cannot betray me to Randall. Not anymore. Everyone here knows that you are the same as me. Neither can you try to win over Anezka. You see her silver armor and silver chains. She’ll keep you and sell you to her masters. Same as me! No. You only have one choice now. To grow strong! To fight! Against the lies and the greed and the follies of killers!”
I inched backwards.
Taking slow, measured steps towards the room and the waiting bed.
The waters roiled within me.
Rising like a tsunami to drown my strings and ropes and the light.
I felt it burn my cells. Waking my blood and my bones. Shocking me awake.
I felt it twisting muscles and shattering bones as it sent me sprawling backwards.
I could not breathe.
I couldn’t even think.
Until I could.
I blinked one, twice, seeing the way the lights and the stones beyond them swirl and shift like pools of platinum starlight.
I chuckled and drew in as deep a breath as I could muster.
That only led to more vomit and more scrambling on the floor like fat ugly roach.
‘Focus.’ I told myself, commanding my body as if it were one of my pawns. ‘These people need you. Do not cower behind niceties and propriety. Focus. Now.’
I stood.
Or rather, a puppet stood. I was far away, half drunk and teetering on collapse, with complete control of the shell.
‘Get up.’
The puppet did as it was bid.
‘Face the crowd.’
The puppet obeyed.
Its eyes took in the scared, confused mob.
‘Speak clearly. Be their leader. Be their hope. Show them the truth. Their eyes have yet to open.’
“FACE REALITY! FACE YOUR NEW MIGHT!”
A few were coming to, slowly and with great effort. Most were still writhing and whimpering on the floor.
“You cannot read me now. I am too strong. But you can read each other. You know their pain. How desperate they are to live! How real the visions I’ve shown you are. How each and every one of you will betray me after finding out that I can control minds. You’ve seen what happens next. Randall killing most of you, even though none of you were Telepaths. Anezka using her robots to cripple and puppet you! Turning you into shells screaming from the inside of metal casings! I will not be here to protect you and that will be your doom!”
Yes.
That’s it.
They all knew.
Both the nature and the magnitude of my power.
“You also realize that I have changed the future! Now you’re so much more. So much stronger than before! True Telepaths and other Types in addition to whatever you had before! The future is not written in stone! You can change it! We can change it! Before, Randall would have gotten stronger from killing the head penguin-fox thing sending me nightmares and Anezka would have come back with super-tech to kill the dragon. Which I think, from my visions is a giant, or giant-er seahorse with legs and big dorsal fins. Doesn’t matter! We can take those down before either of them gets the chance! We can overcome our future!”
Their levels had skyrocketed after the exposure and almost all had gained a second type.
Roughly 40 of them were newly minted Telepaths.
It was important that they knew what to do with that power and how to get more.
In addition, it was crucial that they had hope and a means to set themselves on a different path from the one I’d shown them.
“You also know that I have not retaliated in any way, despite knowing what you’ll do. That is because I love you. All of you. You are people. Like me. My own kin. I can prove the truth of my words too. You saw that I can share memories. I will freely show everything to anyone who asks. So, you know that I mean what I say.”
Sighs of relief echoed all throughout the hall.
They knew that it was true. They knew all that I went through and they knew that I loved them.
That no amount of pain had changed how much I wanted to be a hero.
To be a good person.
“Now, are you satisfied with this outcome? Are you okay with me being you guardian angel? Are you content with being weak? With being victims?”
“No.” That voice was alone. It came from a wheezing boy, shifting his mass to resemble a human-mantis hybrid. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
“Good!” I cheered. “Know that I was not always strong! I know what its like to be weak! I know what its like to have my bones broken! To flee from much stronger foes while starving and close to fainting! I know what its like to be hunted! I know what its like to be afraid! Now, I come to you wanting to lift you up! I’ve already saved you once! Made you stronger! Given you a place to eat and sleep in peace! Despite knowing what it is you’ll do to me!”
I paused to breathe, relishing the enraptured gazes coming my way.
“I know it isn’t easy. I know you’re weak and vulnerable and all you want is for it all to end. To go back to how things were. I’ve been there. (Gnome), I was there before I was taken. In my world, monsters come out of portals to dismember and disembowel anyone and everyone! Their appearance almost brought my world down! Countries fell! Entire Continents disappeared! It was pandemonium!”
Slab, Charlie and Borislav were coming to.
Shuffling to their feet.
Monique and Dusty had…gained more from my ability. The’d be down for a while longer.
“Heroes appeared in our darkest hour! Individuals who stood up for everyone else and put their own lives on the line to save the lives of others! When I stand by you today, I ask myself: What would THUNDER FIST DO?”
No one heckled or tried to interrupt.
Waiting for my answer.
“I’LL TELL YOU WHAT HE’D DO! HE’D GO OUT THERE AND KICK SOME MONSTER (Gnome)!!”
To my surprise and relief, a few heads nodded. Three had tears streaming down their eyes.
“Tell me! Are you satisfied!? Are you content, knowing that somewhere out there, other people are suffering at the hands of other monsters!? Other gnomes!? How do you feel, knowing there are…”
Survivor Count: 249/1000
“Almost 150 more people who are running and fighting for their lives!? That there are other safe zones that haven’t been conquered!? People that may still be suffering under gnomes!? I’ll tell you how I feel. I AM (GNOME)ING FURIOUS!”
A couple started yelling in affirmation.
Those two soon turned to four and then to ten.
“HOW DARE THEY!? How dare these freaks take us from our homes and kill us as if we were animals!? How dare they toy with our lives!? Torturing us for kicks and giggles!?”
The whole room had picked up the din, including the Mantis man and the Plant Telepath that had previously tried to kill me.
“THIS CANNOT STAND! They want to hunt us!? I SAY! HUNT THEM RIGHT BACK! WE ARE HUMANS! We’ve conquered our planet many times over! We’ve lived through ice ages and droughts and earthquakes and THREE WORLD WARS!”
“Wait, what?”
“Did he say three?”
“Individual experiences may differ! THAT IS NOT THE POINT! We’ve taken everything the world has thrown at us and kept going! We’ve formed communities, kingdoms, empires! We’ve made it through plagues and famines! Through nuclear explosions! Are you okay with this!? With them walking all over us!? With them killing us and caging us for their own sick pleasure!? Is this…!?”
I waved my arms about.
“Is this enough for you!? After all that’s happened!? Are you fine with hiding in a bunker when others are going through the same thing!? No! You don’t want safety! You want PAYBACK!”
I was gasping for breath at this point, heaving between words but the crowd was with me, their expectations invigorating me more than mere food ever could.
“How dare they cage us!? How dare they mock us!? How dare they torture us for their own sick pleasure!? I’ll tell you why! BECAUSE THEY FACE LONE PERSONS. NOT PEOPLE.”
I was shivering with a mix of bloodlust and anticipation. Spreading the feeling to all the monster waiting outside through my fog even as my words incited the fires in my fellow survivors.
“A PERSON IS WEAK. PEOPLE ARE UNSTOPPABLE! WE! ARE! INVINCIBLE!”
“Yeah!”
“That’s Right!”
“How dare they!?”
“WE ARE HUMANS! IF SOMEONE KILLS ONE OF OURS, WE KILL THEM RIGHT BACK! IF A SPECIES MAKES TROUBLE, WE MAKE THEM EXCTINCT! IF SOMEONE TRIES TO (Gnome) US, WE (Gnome) THEM BACK TEN TIMES HARDER! WE STAND TOGETHER OR WE DIE TOGETHER!”
Rapturous applause could be heard all around me. Incessant and all-consuming.
“THERE ARE MONSTERS OUT THERE! LET’S SHOW THEM WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ENEMIES OF HUMANITY! LET’S GUT THE PENGUINS! LET’S GUT THE SEAHORSES! LET’S GUT THE BLOODY GNOMES! LET’S BRING ALL THE SURVIVORS UNDER OUR BANNER! WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, AND WE WILL DO IT TOGETHER!”
In all honesty, I did feel an absurdly large amount of cringe from those words. It didn’t matter.
For the briefest of instants, they’d remembered who they were. Where they’d come from before the Labyrinth.
I saw them a little bit more clearly.
Beyond the blur.
Ryan the prideful, untrusting youth.
Merely 17 years old with straight blond hair and flinty green eyes flecked with points of gold. Handsome with a square jaw. Tall though not too tall and not muscular.
Jane and Lousie, with their clashing appearances and personalities. Both enamoured by the same man.
Helga, who’d once tried to ambush me with an illusion of her own.
Her previously crooked teeth had been replaced by empty gums and her messy brown hair had been shaved clean off. Scars ran down the uncovered parts of her body. Reminders of what she’d been through after capture. Her piercing grey eyes had lost nearly all of their previous ferocity during her ordeal. Now, she allowed herself to be cradled by Mantis-man. Shivering and twitching in his grasp.
There were others beyond those I recognized as well.
A tall, lean man of east Asian descent, with a narrow face and a huge beaked nose.
His hands had been missing when he was rescued and pale new digits had grown in their place once Borislav had tended to him.
There were a few scraggly hairs remaining of what might have been a beard once upon a time. Black hair sprouting from a prominent chin that had very obviously been broken more than once and healed improperly. His black eyes were sunken into his skull. So deeply that he might have passed for a ghoul or a vengeful wraith.
Next to him was a woman of average height and average build, with pleasing curves and a few scattered tufts of blonde hair left to her. Her deep blue eyes were not haggard nor listless. They burned for vengeance and I could sense joy and relief stirring inside her after mentioning Thunder Fist.
I knew who she was. I had her diary.
Finally, there was the man who’d tried to punch me.
His face had been marred by strife and suffering, tears flowing freely down his face. I saw that he had received Shifter as a second Type and that a few of his remaining wounds had begun to heal and close all on their own. He too, was cheering for me.
For the possibility of getting his pride back.
To feel safe again.
For the briefest heartbeat, a figure came into view behind him.
A tall, muscle-bound man wearing a white and gold toga, embraided with thunderbolts. His hair was chestnut brown with streaks of white and his eyes were as blue as the summer sea. Those eyes took on a surreal glow right as he brought up his hands and made finger gun gestures at me.
‘You’re the best Sully! You are truly my number one fan!’
The rest were much the same. Young and old. Tall and short. Lean and muscled. All brought together by my promise of protection.
This was good.
This was right.
This was how heroes behaved when the chips were down.
‘I…I did it, Thunder Fist. I’m going to save everyone! I’m going to beat the gnomes!’
‘That’s right Sully! I’m really proud of you! Now…’ His eyes changed from a pleasing, calming light, to a skewering red in an instant. ‘KILL THEM ALL.’
‘As you command, my hero.’
Things got a little confusing after that. My range had increased.
Up to something like 4 kilometres, more or less.
Thanks to the new bonuses form the Title.
I think.
Meh, don’t care.
I only knew that a lot more creatures fell under my sway the second I put in the slightest bit of effort.
That done, I ordered my loyal hordes of cannon fodder to clear a path for me and my friends and to lead us to the nearest unconquered safe zone.
I sort of remember taking a few bottles and Slab trying to take them away from me. I think I finished one or three before he took them.
Meh.
Whatever.
There would be more where we were headed.