47 Gaining Tools (1/2)
The voice in my head rang, ”He will obliterate you, Daniel. I will save you. Please, let me.”
”Find someone who needs saving.”
My heart racing in my chest, my thoughts raced even faster. At that moment, a realization snapped in my head like a whip across someone's cheek. My armor was a part of my soul. That meant it was a part of my will and ambition. In other words, this voice in my head, it wasn't some darkness trying to creep in. It was the darkness in me trying to creep out. It was mine.
So instead of fighting the voice, I embraced it. The frenzy of before came over me, like a rush of hatred. The voice laughed in my mind like a mantra of madness. It threatened to consume my mind like a flood of fury. I refused to yield to it.
”Why do you refuse to surrender?”
”Because nothing will control me. Not you. Not Yawm. Not Schema. Nothing.”
I crushed the wrath under my will and wielded it. The frenzy bent under the heel of my mind, like Atlas crushing under the sky. I dragooned the fury like a hammer driving a nail into wood. I commanded the insanity to obey. It would be my rage. It would be my savagery.
The voice roared, ”You will not suppress me. I am the darkness that cloaks the hunter. I am the wolf that eats the stag. I am the lion that tears the zebra. I am the bear that rips the throat of the lion. I am the might of the hunger that eats the world. Defy me, and I'll smash your mind to pieces. I'll cave your head in.”
”And I'm Daniel motherfucking Hillside. Go fuck yourself.”
The red mana surrounding the discordant energies melted into them, molding them, crushing them. The red mana overwhelmed the other colors of mana, turning them crimson. Still contained within the shield, the mana stayed silent during the entire process. After a moment, the mana stabilized.
Unique skill gained! (Requirements: High affinity in both augmentation and dominion magic) Fuses the skills Augmentation, Augmentation Manipulation, Dominion, Dominion Manipulation, and Primal Frenzy into the unique skill Ascendant. Gives half of missing tree points from skill fusion.
Ascendant (lvl 1) - You rise by crushing aspirants under your heels. Augmentation and dominion magic fuse into ascended energy. Ascended energy contains the properties of both augmentation and dominion styles of magic as well as the capacity for corruption.
The mana sunk into the palms of my armor, melting into the dominion inscriptions I placed there. With the mana came the same rush as augmentation magic, along with the frenzy of the voice. Unlike the augmentation runes that hummed when charged, these runes sounded like silence. It was like they drowned out any white noise around me.
With the mana charging my palm, I reached out my hand, willing the man to be quiet.
New skill unlocked! Telekinesis (lvl 1) - You mold your world with the might of your mind. +1% towards strength and ease of telekinesis.
The burning sensation of using mana flowed up my limbs as I poured all my strength into pinning the man down. I couldn't have him shouting and exposing me, even if the fucker wanted to. As the mana channeled, the man froze in place, unable to move an inch.
Besides for his eyes. His eyes glanced around the room before glancing at me. As frantic as a rabid dog, they darted in his skull like a hornet caught in a jar. More and more of my mana poured into keeping him quiet as Ajax lifted his head off the wall. He headed back up the stairs, his steps heavy and downtrodden.
After hearing his steps creak the wood above me, he left through the front door, slamming it. I waited a few more seconds before releasing the man in front of me. Like a ragdoll, the guy flopped downwards. He didn't make any attempts to stay up. He was a puppet with his strings cut.
I was still reeling over the whole endeavor, so I walked up to him. I grabbed his shoulder and whispered,
”You alright man? Sorry about that. I couldn't let old badass reaper guy kill us back there.” I let his shoulder go and reached out a hand, ”The name's Daniel. Good to meet you.”
He didn't reply. His eyes were empty. His skin blue. For some reason, it was like I was rejecting the obvious. Looking back on it, of course he was dead. We held our breath for over six minutes. Way back when I unlocked the endurance perk, it halved the requirements I needed for living. That included air, so I could hold my breath with the best of them.
This was just a normal guy for the most part, probably level fifteen or so. I hadn't kept him quiet. I choked him to death. That realization stunned me, so I stood there until someone else walked down the steps.
I figured out who when Kessiah grabbed my shoulder,
”Hey, you alright?”
I was fine, physically speaking. I should have been mentally too, but up till now, I hadn't murdered anyone. Sure, I killed tons of zombies, maybe even a few normal stragglers with oppression even. That wasn't the same as purposely willing them someone to die.
Even with Michael and Kelsey dying, a part of me just rationalized the entire thing. I told myself that I couldn't have known. I told myself they were dead anyway. Saying that stuff helped. This guy though, I killed him just to eliminate the risk of dying.
What made it so awful though was the look in his eyes. He was staring at me from where I stood, unblinking and cold like ice. I wanted him to look away, but that couldn't happen. If I looked away first, it made the whole thing real.
Before I could get a grip, Kessiah grabbed my hand and pulled me,
”Get your ass moving. We have to get out of here before that thing comes back.”
Midway up the stairs, I came to my senses. I shook the shock out,
”Oh fuck. Uh, sorry. I can go on. Just stunned for a second.”
”Well get un-stunned. We gotta get out of here.”
We raced up and out of the restaurant before heading back down into a sewer pipe. After sprinting for a few minutes, Kessiah opened her obelisk as she said,
”Excuse me, you two. I've got a skeleton to verbally abuse.”
Without her there, Althea and I stood there alone. I glanced at a palm, wondering what the fuck I'd done. Althea walked up,
”You look bad. What happened?”
I frowned, ”Uh...I killed somebody, I guess.”
”You kill people all the time. What's the big deal now?”
”I don't know. It doesn't make much sense to me either.”
After another minute of standing there, Althea shrugged, ”Well, you'll learn to live with it. I did. Kessiah did. Everyone does. Give it time, and the wound will heal.”
I nodded, ”Thanks. Yeah, I think you're right. I just need to give it some time.”
A minute or two of silence went by before Kessiah's obelisk closed again. She put her hands on her hips,
”I just gave Torix a piece of my mind. He apologized and said that one of Yawm's followers broke off from the world tree and sprinted right over here. He honestly thought we were dead, but apparently not. Neither of us know what's going on.”
I sighed, ”Well, Ajax made a lot of noise in the bar I was in. After that, he walked downstairs and leaned on a wall. It looked more like he was frustrated than angry. I'm guessing our tearing up the district wasn't what made him come over. Maybe it was more like we were unlucky?”
Kessiah glanced down at her obelisk. She waved us over, so we walked beside her before opening it up. We were surrounded by sheets of metal and windows that viewed into space, Kessiah's background looking gorgeous.
Over an intercom, Torix spoke to us,
”I'm leaning towards what you claimed, Daniel. Ajax wasn't searching for anyone in particular. I think he was trying to find somewhere quiet to think.”
Althea murmured, ”Who's Ajax?”
Torix said, ”He is Yawm's first of his four followers. I know little of his history outside of his exploits with Yawm. He assisted with destroying the Bracken who attempted invading his homeworld. They both shared a similar goal after that.”
Kessiah nodded, ”Yeah, I've heard stories about Ajax too. He wasn't far behind Yawm when it came to crazy bullshit. There were rumors he blew up a moon when he got pissed one time. No one really knows though.”
I cupped my chin, ”Do you guys think there could be some interpersonal strife in Yawm's camp now?”
Torix replied, ”Hmmm. If that were the case, then this presents itself as an excellent opportunity. We'll need to know more before we act, however.”
Althea chimed, ”What if this happens again?”
With annoyance leaking into his voice, Torix said, ”What do you mean by this?”
”Us almost dying. Again.”
”There's something you must understand Althea. This is a risky mission, regardless of how many safety nets I put up for you all. Perhaps if you spent less time relying on me for all your needs and more time learning to fend for yourself, then you wouldn't have to worry about dying, would you?”