ALL NOVEL Chapter 66: A Call Beyond.
Chapter 66: A Call Beyond.
“Why are you running!? Why are you running!?” I called out to Ryan as he hobbled away with all the grace of someone who’d recently had multiple bathroom accidents.
At the same time, my attention was being stolen by the things he apparently couldn’t see. The things holding and spinning the knives.
They looked like more complete versions of the thing that had fallen from the sky back there in the hedge maze, having the proportions of children. Only, they didn’t have porcine features and their pale wings had grown-in properly. Each one of them sported a stark-white suit with red stripes around the cuffs that snaked up until their collars and savage smiles painted on their faces.
Faces that looked disturbingly like the one I’d had. When I was six.
Solomonling
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 700 / 700)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonlings represent the least devout of those chosen to continue their service after death. They, like all of Solomonite variants, are re-born in the visage of humans, no matter what they originally were. They can usually be spotted in the service of Solomonite Chanters, where they act as shock troops or as the entourage of Solomonite Flagellants, where they lavish cruel punishments upon those who have strayed from the word of their master.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recovers Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 3.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
I shook my head in a flurry of motion. Thanking all my lucky stars that none of the others were paying particularly close attention to them.
‘Or maybe they can’t see them at all. Hard to say, with my fog being so messed up.’
What I did know, was that everyone that was staring at me was terrified for some reason. Some good reason, I wagered. Though my senses could not pinpoint what the reason was due to some kind of psionic static buzzing around my skull. My mind feeling like it was being seared with hot pincers from the inside out.
"Mittens is here!" Yelled the familiar voice as soon as a section of air imploded by my side.
It's owner sneaking over to where my feet were planted before continuing.
"Mittens is the stone beneath their feet and the stone above their heads! Mittens is the terror in their hearts and their overwhelming dread! Mittens is the seats on the plane and the tapping on the walls! Mittens is the fire in the sky and the blood that stains the halls! Mittens is the bone of his sword and the echoes of his bells! Mittens fills the Islands with sulfuric, caustic smells! Mittens will wear her skin and bones like a puppet made of meat! Her shell shall be re-forged amidst chaotic searing heat! Mittens will never, ever leave! Mittens is here!"
"Not now Mittens!" I yelled over at the kitten that was not a kitten.
Now knowing damn well that the cute, cuddly figure at my feet wasn't my childhood pet.
Either he didn't hear me or he didn't care.
"Mittens is here! Mittens sees and hears the Drake and all his coils! Mittens sings and Mittens bellows as all the bells now toil! They foretell the doom of spirits that the Tyrant shall despoil! Their ringing heralds his coming! False heroes and false kings cower in his presence! Waiting for the master to release his radiant essence! He suffers! She screams! They shall be enslaved! There shall be no respite for the wicked and depraved! Mittens sees the light and kneels among his servants! Mittens sings in gardens that remain forever verdant! Come now! Run now! You shall not escape! None can run and none can hide from the Coffin and the Drake! One head! Two heads! Three heads he shall have! Mittens roars and Mittens soars as his crown begins to laugh! He is borne anew! He grows new wings! Among the shadow of the manse and walls composed of screams! Solomon! Bane of evil! His return is now at hand! Let all his servants sing as he summons his expanse! Mittens does swear! Mittens declares! His Control shall brook despair! His rule brings bliss for all to wear! Let Ryan the liar beware! Under Solid Earth! Under Boiling Seas! Under Burning Skies! Mittens is here!"
Prudence and the rest of her team took several steps back. Kaito struggling to keep himself from hurling, as Gina started mumbling prayers. Whatever it was that they saw, it couldn't have been pretty.
I tried to take a deep, steadying breath. Only to be assaulted by the distinct smell of human refuse. Someone, or a bunch of someones, had lost control of their bowels. All while Ryan kept hobbling towards the exit. A heavy load now clearly visible under his symbiote. Near his rear end.
"Mittens! Shut the (Gnome) up for (Gnome)'s sake! I'm trying to think! I'm trying to deal with this headache! You're not helping! You're freaking people out! (Gnome) me! You're freaking me out!"
"Mittens will devour their fears! Mittens will drown them all in tears! Mittens is here!"
I staggered backwards as another wave of stimuli assaulted me.
It was too much. There were too many things going on at once. Too many sensations coming from all angles.
The turbulent, brackish waters of the lake within me were roiling with fury. The power leaking from behind my eyes coming out as undisciplined blasts that didn’t carry out their functions as they should have.
Making it so that I couldn’t read any of the minds around me. Instead, I kept going back to the maze. The lake at the edge, with all the houses built along the shore. The way that shoreline never ended, going on and on and on as far as my eyes could see. The many, many happy smiles and adulations that came from things that looked human but did not behave as humans should. The visions of that (Gnome) getting close to Henry with a mob at her back.
‘Stop it, fool. Focus on what’s in front of you. You can go over the details of the Tall Man later. With Slab and the others. Same for Randall. Henry is all that matters now. Don’t lose sight of that.’
With that in mind, I waved off Prudence’s attempts at communication while using [Domination] on Peachy and Mittens. The merchant had been trying to flee while I was distracted and I couldn’t have that until she’d played her part. As for Mittens, well. I just needed him to shut the (Gnome) up and stop making this whole debacle worse by spouting cryptic nonsense.
"Leave." I ordered. "Go back to... wherever it is you came from!"
"Mittens is here! Mittens is demure! Mittens will show Ryan the true limits of agony, that humans can endure!"
Oh, boy. Ryan heard that loud and clear. I think he might have (Gnome) himself a second time.
"GO! AWAY!" I ordered.
This time forcing a veritable mountain of Psy down onto Mittens. Thankfully, that did the trick and the specter vanished. Imploding into itself with a rush of collapsing air.
Then I checked on Peachy. I nodded at her kneeling figure and looked back to Ryan.
“Why are you still running!? Why are you trying to escape!? Get back here this instant!”
Ryan only fell forward. Landing on his face and scrambling with hands and legs along the ground like a dog. Bolting forward on all fours as a foul smell escaped from the bottom of his Symbiote-turned-pants.
“Ryan!? Did you just (Gnome) yourself!? Again!?” I asked in disgust. “Get a hold of yourself man! All I want is to have a talk. With you. Alone. Is that too much to ask?”
Prudence jumped in front of me then. Growing to her full were-gator form and brandishing her monstrous fangs in my general direction.
“Stop it! I know he’s a creep but I won’t let you skin him! Get a hold of yourself Sully!”
I blinked at her mouth agape.
“Skin him!? Me!? Who the (Gnome) do you think I am!? I’m a good per…”
The Solomonlings didn’t let me finish. They were on her before I had the chance to blink. Spamming [Phantom Pain], [Blind], [Deafen] and [Anosmia] all at once. With an unhealthy dose of [Indigestion] to boot.
The sight of so many little copies of me biting and gnawing away at her scaly hide was… a scene beyond description. One more nightmare to add to the growing pile. Made worse by her agonized shrieks as she writhed in agony and clawed at empty air.
“Enough!” I bellowed.
Trying to use [Warp the Veil II] only to find that the string was missing with me. I panicked, using [Suppression] instead in order to do away with the murderous copies.
Then I went to look at my screen. Gaping at the way that my three remaining points had turned into 171.
I looked through the notifications and found the cause of the discrepancy.
Abilities Converging:
[Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 Has been undone. 78 Ability Points Gained.
[Warp the Veil II] 10 Has been undone. 55 Ability Points Gained.
[Psionic Conjuration III] 8 Has been undone. 36 Ability Points Gained.
[Solomon’s Overwhelming Avatar X] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed.
171 Ability Points Remaining.
[Solomon’s Overwhelming Avatar X]
Grants the User the ability to conjure a Psionic Avatar through the act of copying a portion of the User’s mind beyond the veil.
The Psionic Avatar may manifest at will within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at a cost of 50 Psy multiplied by current ability level. This Avatar consumes no additional Psy while conjured. The Psionic Avatar may freely travel beyond the User’s range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives once conjured. This avatar may manifest within other fields of distorted reality found within other dimensions.
This Avatar has access to all of the User’s abilities at their current level and has its own Psy pool as large as the User’s current maximum.
This Avatar may conjure dynamic illusions within the range of its own [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at will and at the cost of 1000 Psy per illusion.
Conjured illusions may become possessed by Intruders from the Avatar’s created domain at no extra cost and may act as gateways for Intruders of that domain to get through. Affected targets may be forced to perform random, counterproductive actions, lose control of their passive abilities, become paralyzed and suffer additional psychic damage when struck by these Intruders on top of any abilities these Intruders might possess. Dominated creatures may become possessed by Intruders from the Avatar’s domain at no extra cost. These effects scale with current ability level.
This Avatar may create distortions or repairs to the veil within the range of its own [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives, which is equal to the User’s own, at a cost of 500 Psy per minute. The potency and duration of distortions increases by + 2000% per current ability level and may increase further if ability is overcharged.
Distortions will cause random fluctuations in the local laws of physics at a rate of +250% per current ability level, as well as providing a +50% boost to the potency and range of all psionic abilities and reducing the cooldowns of all psionic abilities within range by -50% per current ability level.
Distortions will increase Psy recovery rate by +50% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures.
Distortions will increase experience gain by +15% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures.
The potency of all these effects increases by 350% every five levels.
These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes it so only forces above Tier X may dispel the wielder’s illusions or seal the wielder’s conjured Intruders.
This title makes it so that all of the wielder’s Telepath abilities gain a +1 to effective level per every 10 levels of active reality degradation.
This title anchors a domain within Pandemonium with the wielder’s power and decorates it to the wielder’s tastes.
This title allows the wielder and the wielder’s Avatar to drag willing mortal minds into the wielder’s domain in order to re-shape them into Intruders. These actions can be performed shortly after death, though not after brain death. Performing these actions on a living creature will result in the brain death of said creature. Physical contact is required.
This title allows the wielder and the wielder’s Avatar to physically travel to and from their domain at will and to grant access to willing or dominated creatures or minds. Creatures whose minds travel to the wielder’s domain in this manner will not become Intruders and will not suffer brain death unless their bodies expire while their minds are away. Physical contact is required.
This title doubles total Psy.
“Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.”
My eyes bulged out so much that I feared they might pop out my skull.
The first thought that came to my mind after skimming the thing was: ‘Holy (Gnome) this is saying there’s an afterlife connected to that place.’
The second thought that followed closely after was a bit of an existential crisis that hit me like an oncoming truck.
The third thought that managed to save me was: ‘No. It isn’t a real afterlife. Stop thinking about that and focus on Henry. You (Gnome).’
I put a good deal of points into the new ability. Bringing it to 15 with 120 points and leaving the rest for later.
Then I flexed, expecting the veil of reality to fix itself at my command and send the Solomonlings packing. Instead, the (Gnome)ing Tall Man peeked out of a (Gnome)ing wall and snapped its fingers. Doing what I’d asked of it.
I… if truth be told, I hadn’t read the new screen properly. Only skimming it in my haste to be done with it. So I was, unprepared for it to show up.
I screamed and started swinging my hands out in front of me. The others screamed too. Tripping over themselves in their frantic attempts at escape.
Yet, it was Ryan who was screaming the loudest. Kicking violently and spraying human (Gnome) all over the place as the Tall Man stretched out one of its suited arms and dragged the young man closer and closer to me.
And, of course....
Mittens chose that specific moment to manifest again.
Grabbing Ryan by another limb with his small, delicate kitten paws.
"Mittens will shake you! Mittens will break you! Mittens is here!"
Ryan yelled. Prudence yelled. I yelled.
It was havoc. Everyone running for the exits or dropping behind cover as some kind of primordial terror took hold.
Through it all, there was a soft, feminine voice close to me.
Singing: “Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee! Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee!”
Over and over again. I looked down at some point, to find that Slasher had transformed her hilt into lips and was using them to sing the horrific tunes at the worst possible time.
Ryan took note and his screams reached an even higher pitch. Somehow.
“Stop! Stop it! Stop singing! This is serious!”
“Seeeeeeriiioouuus Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee! Seeeeeeriiioouuus Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee!”
“Shut the (Gnome) up! Everybody just shut the (Gnome) up and go back to the mansion!”
That did the trick. I followed it up by using every single offensive ability I had on the Tall Man. Including calling on Cherub for his [Pyrokinesis III].
That, was perhaps not the smartest idea I’d ever had. I mean, yes. The Tall Man and Mittens did vanish back to whatever pit had spawned them, but the warehouse was now very much on fire. Smoke rising from the crates all along the aisles.
Which only exacerbated the sheer chaos on display.
In the end, it took Cherub less than a minute to contain the fires. Getting the others to calm down proved to be more, troublesome.
“Okay everyone! My bad! That was an accident! One of my new abilities upgraded and I didn’t realize… well. I didn’t know it would do that. I promise it won’t happen again.”
The others were either crying or shivering around corners by themselves. Rocking their heads back and forth as small droplets of blood fell from their eyes. The very eyes that were locked on to the spot where the Tall Man and Mittens had been.
Foremost among them, was Ryan. Whose pathetic pleading drowned out most others.
“Aaaaaaa! Waaaggaahg! Please! Mama! MAAAAMAAAAAA!!!!”
I felt my anger rising as he struggled to get back on his feet. Still trailing (Gnome) all over the floor.
“Dammit Ryan! I’ve got enough on my plate right now without having to deal with this (Gnome)ing bull(Gnome). All I’m asking for is a few minutes of your time! How hard is that!?”
“Oh my (Solomon)ing…! Don’t skin me man!” Ryan answered in-between pathetic mewls. “I’ll do anything you want! Anything you say! Just don’t skin me!”
“Wha…!? Are you serious!? Did you turn into a gnome when I wasn’t looking? I’m not going to skin you man! I got a camcorder from one of the earths I visited! I’m going to pass it on to Granny Golden and then to your sister through her! Where the (Gnome) did you get skinning from!?”
His sobbing grew even more pathetic as everyone else’s eyes went to Slasher.
I looked around at them. Scoffing at the fact that they’d seriously thought I was capable of such a thing.
“No! You idiots! This is for Peachy!”
Peachy wailed in abject terror. Begging and weeping even harder than Ryan.
“No! No! Its for you to pass over to Granny Golden! There’s a gnome in Henry’s instance that means him harm and I will not suffer him to live. Why are you making me out to be the bad guy here!? All I’m planning is the brutal gruesome death of a gnome! When did that become a crime!? You should all be thanking me for making Novice difficulty safer! Ryan! You should be thanking me for making your sister’s instance safer!”
Ryan kept sniffling. Trails of snot falling down his face in a manner that was strangely reminiscent of Randall’s own visage.
I turned to see the others and realized that they too were paralyzed with fear. None of them daring to look me in the eye.
“Oh, come on! You can’t seriously tell me that you care about gnomish lives all of the sudden? Those guys eat people! Literally!”
“It’s not about that.” Prudence gurgled. Slowly getting back to her feet in her human form. Her wounds closing far more slowly than usual.
“It’s about you. You… did that so easily. (Gnome) me Sully.”
“Hey! I just told you, that was an accident! I’m in a bit of a rush due to my best friend being in danger, so you’ll have to forgive me for…”
I stopped myself. Realizing what I was about to say.
Recalling that I was strong and they were weak. That I had been voted into a position of authority over them and that I had a responsibility to conduct myself to the standards of a hero.
‘And a hero must have self control.’ I reminded myself. ‘I will not bully those weaker than myself. I will not become an animal like Mason.’
Then I used [Domination] on myself and willed my body to stop moving. I then commanded my lungs to expand and contract. Taking deep breaths without allowing myself any expressions which might have been thought of as aggressive.
“No. You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It won’t happen again.”
Prudence looked up at me. Eyes partly filled with horror and partly filled with relief.
“You promise?”
“Yes.” I said immediately. “And I will personally apologize to everyone here. My emotions shouldn’t matter when the safety of the group is at stake.”
I turned to each side of the Warehouse and bowed. Giving more and more apologies and making sure my sincerity was conveyed. The responses were mixed, though still a great improvement over what they’d been a few minutes ago.
“Now then.” I spoke. Drawing everyone’s attention before they had a chance to scatter.
“I think this is a good time to have a calmer discussion about our stay here and what all of you voted for. I will be taking Ryan over to film that video. Not just for my friend’s sake, but for the sake of everyone else in that instance. If you think it isn’t necessary, just ask yourselves. Would you trust a gnome to have a position of authority over you or your loved ones?”
I didn’t need my fog to see that I’d gotten their attention, as well as some of their approval. There wasn't much of it, but it was a start.
“Good. We’re all on the same page on that front. Aside from that, I’ll also be taking Ryan in for punishment.”
I walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Using [Domination] to make sure he didn’t try anything funny. He fell limp as soon as I touched him.
“This has nothing to do with his sister and everything to do with what he’s been doing. Seeing as Slab and Monique aren’t here, I’ll ask Mr. Park to step up and share what me and the council have been discussing. The recent uptick, in Ryan’s own crimes.”
I expected him to protest then, but he didn't. Indeed, when I looked down towards him, he wasn't even thinking. As if his mind wasn't even there anymore.
There was darkness all around me as I woke. Stretching on forever and in all directions.
‘Am I dead?’ I thought. Panicking at the notion.
‘How did I get here? Where even is here?’
Solomon, that freak. Had touched me in the shoulder. After that, it had felt like the ground had crumbled to dust beneath my legs and… and then I was here.
Swimming in nothingness.
I kept turning around. Sideways at first, then upside-down. Panicking more and more as the silence and the darkness stretched on to infinity.
“Oh great. That freak went and put me in some kind of coma. (Solomon)ing fantastic.”
Rage swelled inside my heart. Fueled by righteous indignation. He, he’d actually had the nerve to say that all that happened was a mistake. That it had all been an accident.
‘Like (Solomon)! How do you accidentally take down someone like Prudence? How do you accidentally summon something like… like…’
I shuddered at the merest hint of the recent memory. My muscles tensing as I recalled the fiend. The monster calling itself Mittens. And the... the thing. I shuddered as I tried to focus on what it had looked like. Recalling its long limbs. Its lack of a face. It’s bleeding eyes. Those eyes…
The world itself had shifted and turned and lost its usual dimensions when they gazed at me. Each heartbeat feeling like it was pushing jagged shards of ice down my very veins.
Thankfully, that feeling was now fading. Along with everything else. Until I couldn’t, couldn’t…
‘Huh? Why can’t I feel anything?’
I tried to move, but my nerves didn’t connect to anything. My nerves couldn’t even feel my own body anymore.
I begun to wonder if I had moved in reality. If my body was flailing, how would I even check?
“Where am I?”
I was startled, having spoken out loud without moving my lips. Or maybe it was a thought that felt like spoken words.
A voice came up beside me then. Within me, as well as without. Frantically babbling about some nonsense.
“(Noble)! Who the (Noble) are you!? How many eons have passed!? How many thousands of years!? Has he ascended!? Has he no more use for us!? Tell me!”
I tried to make another turning motion. To look at the speaker, but it was no use. There was nothing there and there was nothing where my arms and legs should have been.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I told the voice.
“Solomon Carter, you fool! The Savant! The monster! How long has he been alive!? Where is he now!?”
I sputtered, taken aback by the sheer desperation carved unto every word.
“He’s 22 years old. I think? We’re both in the Tutorial.”
The voice sobbed. So pathetically that I was taken aback for a few seconds.
“No! NOOO!!!! That cannot be! I could have sworn, no! It must have been eons! Thousands of years! There’s no way it hasn’t even been one! I’ve been here longer than I’ve been alive!”
‘This one is insane.’ I thought bitterly. ‘Or perhaps he isn’t here at all. This must be some kind of hallucination. Yes. That has to be it. That freak trapped me in here with this, figment of his imagination.’
A burst of light interrupted my reasoning and I looked forward. Seeing through eyes that were not my own. There were colors, but there was a wrongness to them. Being too, clear.
It was disorienting. So much so that I almost didn’t notice the woman.
She was, without a doubt, the prettiest thing I had ever laid eyes on. To the point where she made Jane look like Louise by comparison. Her hair was silver, as were her eyes. Both sparkling like diamonds under the soft light of the mushrooms.
“Come on you piece of (Gnome). Don’t (Gnome) around with me, or I swear you’ll be stuck in limbo for the rest of our trip!”
‘Huh?’
I, couldn’t process what was going on. Only noting that the voice that been so aggressive previously had retreated into itself. Soft whimpers escaping from its general location inside the nothingness. Curiously, I thought I heard two other voices back there as well.
“I, I don’t know who you are.” I tried explaining.
“Really? Did you forget this pretty face, Sully? After everything we’ve been through together?”
A hand slapped something hard and the sound of metal was heard in the tunnel.
My focus went to her form. To her face and hair.
“No. I don’t know. Wait. Did you just call me Sully?”
She laughed in my face. Her beautiful silver hair swirling about as she collapsed backwards into as tone wall and begun to strike it with her fists.
As if my plight was the most hysterical thing she’d ever heard.
“Oh, that’s precious Sully. A real hoot. Don’t tell me you forgot the way things are.”
She came back over and pushed me. I didn’t feel anything, even as the sound of metal hitting stone overtook my senses.
“You are not a person anymore Sully. You are property. Say it with me now, P-r-o-p-e-r-t-y. I took a sizable loan back home for those nanomachines. All so I could take you and the other juicy Telepaths alive.”
I was so confused.
“Lady, I don’t know what’s happening right now. One moment, I was in the Warehouse and the next, I was here.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Are you going senile on me Sully? Or is this some escapist fantasy of yours?”
She grinned maliciously. Like a serpent who just found an unguarded nest of eggs.
“Have you been making up stories for yourself Sully? Imagining a different world when you’re locked away?”
She laughed again.
“Oh my gosh! That is so hilarious! Wait till I tell all my friends back home! They’re going to laugh so hard at you!”
“You think this is funny?” I asked, fury rising once more. “Shut the (Solomon) up you (Solomon). Wait till I get out! I’ll make sure Solomon and his (Solomon)ing friends get what’s coming to them! Maybe not now. Maybe not anytime soon, but someday. Mark my words, I’ll figure out how to do this too and then we’ll see who has the last laugh!”
She looked at me again, surprised. Her mouth hanging open as if my speaking out was as incredible as the walls doing the same.
Then she scowled and pressed a button on her glove.