ALL NOVEL Chapter 70: Divided by Chaos.
Chapter 70: Divided by Chaos.
My ears were ringing with the sound of sirens. They told a tale as old as the Rifts themselves. A story of a city whose air defenses had come online and done (Gnome) all for the people they were supposed to protect.
The aftermath was clearly visible as the wind carried clouds of dust and debris throughout the cluttered streets and over the broken lampposts. I could barely make out cries somewhere out in the distance, though they were muffled by the ever-present alarms that called for all those who lived to give up on their slower family members and dash towards one of the many bomb shelters littered underground.
Not that it would help in this case.
Even from here, I could make out deep holes gouged into the pavement and the re-enforced concrete below. There had been a shelter across the street from where we were. Hidden deep into the ground.
However, these monsters must have had some means by which to sense the occupants and powers by which to break through the layers of solid materials. Because nothing remained but bones and even then, not a whole lot of them.
The sensations were overwhelming. A chaotic mess of present and future jostling for attention. All while new thoughts flooded my own nervous system. Overpowering and paralyzing me as if every new impression was supercharged with lighting.
I'd been at eight kilometers for some time. [Insight]'s title bringing [Sense Thoughts]'s effective level to 15. That had been one level shy of the third-Tier limit of 15, 16 with the Title, but I hadn't seen the need to save up before.
Now, 48 points went into the power, as my previous limit had been breached after reaching the fourth Tier. That fresh infusion brought me to level 17. 18 with the Title. With each of those levels past 15 giving me two extra kilometers instead of the previous 1 during the 10 to 15 stage.
My fog expanded violently in response. Swelling to 14 kilometers. Almost twice my previous range.
With the increase came new clarity. Those minds that had been at the periphery of my senses coming to the forefront of my brain with all the ferocity of a hammer blow.
They buzzed and buzzed and buzzed.
Incessantly screaming about their own woes. Their own fears. The rising animalistic panic that choked out all logic and reason in favor of adrenaline-fueled desperation.
'Help!'
'My children! I need to get to my children!'
'The building's coming down!'
'Get outside!'
'Mommy! Mommy!'
There was no end to them. So many voices stuffed into such a little space.
All I could see was buildings upon buildings in every direction. Each and every one was colossal to a mind-boggling degree and all of them were stuffed to the gills with people. All begging for salvation. Praying that they among all their neighbours might be spared in the coming slaughter.
Worse yet, were the monsters. Those who'd been located outside my original onslaught.
More of them came into focus. Their feeble, primitive brains utterly consumed by some primordial instinct. The call to rip and tear and feed. Until their bellies burst with succulent meat.
[Insight] was showing me more visions. The 20 seconds it consistently afforded me suffused with carnage and sorrow. My brain struggling to keep up with all the deaths the future had in store.
I grit my teeth. Not realizing I'd bitten deep into my own tongue as all my attention fled from my body.
'Suffer me now!' I demanded. Stopping the feeding frenzy before it had a chance to flay other buildings.
'Hunt your kin! Bleed for me! Die for me! Devour any who aren't under my control! Do not touch the buildings! Do not touch the humans! Fight with everything you have and more! Go!'
The monstrous winged fish scattered in all directions. Flying past the new borders of my fog with an alacrity that beggared belief.
It wasn't enough.
Too many buildings had suffered too much damage before we came and their structures were still swaying in response to the high winds.
I called on [Insight] once more and saw the ruins they would soon become. And the bodies. So many bodies.
Whatever small shred of hesitation I might have had vanished with those visions. This was just like that time with the fire and the people I couldn’t get to. There was no time for moral panic when lives were at stake.
'Get out!' I commanded. 'Leave your things! Take your children! Help your neighbors if they can't move! Get the (Gnome) out! Now!'
At any other time, the idea of mind-controlling hundreds of thousands of people at once would have been unthinkable. Utterly reprehensible.
The current me was beyond caring.
Sure enough, all the people around me continued to panic. But they moved and that was all I cared about right now.
At the same time, Charlie was running headfirst into teetering buildings. Focusing on the ones that looked as if they were about to collapse and rushing back out with kids or seniors around his arms.
On their end, Boris and Slab had stopped digging. Opting instead to go north and south respectively in order to emulate Charlie and save as many people as possible from the worst of the disasters. Slab notified me through a [Message] before he ran past the point where I was in his own range. Boris didn't even bother saying anything. Trusting that I was reading his mind and therefore knew he conclusion he had arrived at.
That is, the one regarding those below ground.
Terrible as their situation was, those below were at least protected from further monster attacks and most would probably be able to last another couple of hours. While those still above ground didn't have such luxuries, as hundreds could die if they were still trapped when their buildings gave out.
It was a cold, ruthless way of looking at things.
And yet, peering into the future told me they were completely right to do so.
I started heaving. My arms and legs shivering as I finally became aware of the blood in my mouth.
My eyes turned to Monique. Seeing that she had opened a portal and had gotten three people through. They'd been the worst off of those trapped below and she now began to bandage their wounds whilst calling for Boris.
"Hey! Get the (Gnome) back here you mutt! These people are bleeding out! Oi!"
"It's no use." I said wearily. "Here. I'll use my hums."
"That won't be enough! These people are bleeding out!"
"I know. But it's all I can for them right now. I still need to worry about the rest of the city."
My eyes snapped to my hand, right as Slasher materialized with Cherub in tow.
"Cherub, use your attunement abilities and get a grip on the nearby buildings. Bind your Psy to the concrete and keep them steady until everyone is out. Once a building is clear, you can let it fall, but only in ways that won't hurt other people. Psy is no issue, you can take as much as you need."
'Understood!' Cherub cheered. 'I'll just ask Slasher to open a big hole in the veil so I can work more easily. I'll also ask some of my new friends to come through and...'
"NO!" I roared. Not caring about what anyone else might make of a loon in an astronaut suit shouting at his sword.
"You will not bring those things into my world!"
Blood trickled down my lips and onto Buddy's interior. The crimson droplet feeling warm as it flowed down the exterior of my cheek.
'Okay! Okay! Jeez. I was just saying. Those guys love helping people so I just thought...'
"No." I repeated. "Now get to it."
I made sure to see him off as his luminescent body formed from within the sword. Resplendent wings taking shape before beating as one and lifting the ethereal Intruder into the skies.
My attention shifted to Slasher.
"You mentioned that [Portal Network III] has no cooldown right?"
'Right!' The sword chirruped. Giggling to itself in that slow, feminine tone of hers.
"Good. Start scouring all the nearby buildings for people and portal them here to us. Start with the ones that have taken the most damage and move on to the others from there."
'Um. That's going to be a little tough daddy. My range isn't as big as yours and I can't fly without Cherub being inside me. [Mindscape II] gives me 500 meters per level at levels 1 through 5. That means my current range is two and a half kilometers. I can get the people of these few blocks to safety but the others further away are going to be impossible.'
"That's fine. Do the ones you can for now and portal me from block to block as soon as we're done. Don't worry about Psy. I'll give you as much as you need."
I turned to Monique.
"I'm going to start bringing people here. I need you to calm them down as soon as I do and to perform first-aid on those that need it. It should only take a few minutes. I'll gather a big group and then I'll blast them with [Insight]."
Her eyes went wide but I raised a hand to forestall her protests.
"You're right that my hums aren't enough. These guys you brought need healing and they need it right now. If we get a big enough group, chances are at least one or two will be Shifters. I plan to give them a generous blast, so chances are also good we'll get a few decent healers out of the whole affair. That'll also have the added benefit of giving these guys a fighting chance while I'm gone. Hong Kong is massive and even with my new range, covering the whole city will take a lot of teleportation. Somehow, I doubt this is the only part of the city being eaten alive by monsters. We have to help the others too."
A loud rumbling could be heard out in the distance. Far beyond my sight or the range of my fog. I didn't have any way of knowing what had happened. That is, aside from seeing the rising numbers on the victim counter.
I gnashed my teeth tightly against each other. Clenching them so hard I thought my molars might shatter.
My mind was being pulled in a thousand different directions at once. Struggling to keep up with all the people I'd ordered to evacuate whilst guiding them down to the pile of rubble we were standing on. They were streaming over to us even now. Hurrying with a near-perfect coordination despite the large numbers converging into the roads.
In any other disaster, several lives would have been lost to accidents as the weak, the uncoordinated or the unlucky tripped. Leading them to be trampled underfoot by the growing horde of braying, praying people as they sought their own salvation. I mean, (Gnome). People still died on Black Friday every year. Compared to that, this situation was on a whole different level.
However, my [Domination] kept them neat and organized. Each step falling exactly where it was supposed to so that the crowd made its way closer and closer without sacrificing any of its members.
Charlie, Slab and Boris had started counting on this fact as well. Dropping their charges off on lower floors and leaving them in the care of the people under my sway.
'This is good. This is a good thing. I'm not doing anything wrong. My control is saving thousands of lives.'
I winced as another wave of monsters entered my fog from the east. Almost half a million in number and with a hunger that beggared belief.
I [Dominated] them as well and for the first time in a long time, the effort nearly swept me off my feet. There were just so (Gnome)ing many of them. All a storm of flesh and fangs and claws. Each and every one of them bursting with an evil, terrible hunger for meat.
Their fervor penetrated deep into me. The sheer weight of their emotions wrapping itself around me from all sides and tightening like a snake. It felt as though my lake was full of piranhas. Their jaws closing around my strings with wild abandon. Their primitive, diminutive minds relishing the chance to torment me even as I crushed their wills beneath mine.
At that same time, the very people I was trying to save rebelled against me within the confines of their own brains. Their egos wailing in the deepest pits of despair as I ushered them towards salvation.
They wept and pleaded and cursed. Begging me to release them. Begging me to take their neighbors instead of them. Begging me to take them instead of their lovers or their children.
'Stop crying!' I [Messaged]. 'I'm doing this for your own good! I'm trying to save your lives! I have to do this or else you'll scramble around aimlessly and get yourselves or others killed! Let me help!'
But the pleading and the cursing did not stop. If anything, it redoubled in intensity. A melancholic chorus spreading all around my psionic senses and congealing with the bestial instincts of the abominations that would eat them alive. The chanting rose in pitch and volume. Until It brought me to my knees as innumerable beings sought my damnation even as their bodies moved in accordance to my whims.
It was all so...
So...
Familiar.
As if this exact thing had happened before.
I saw flashes then. Dreadful images of a white suit amidst a sea of boiling, smoking tar. Eyes that were closed, yet weeping blood.
I saw it floating above a roiling sea as torrential waters swallowed entire buildings whole. I saw it ushering uncountable masses to my side. I saw it dancing on a field of fire.
And then, I saw other things. An ice-cream truck. A friend of my mother. A group of men gathered around a basement.
I hurled and saw that my blood was starting to float back up. In defiance of gravity.
I sharpened my focus, calling on every last vestige of self control I had left and willing [Overwhelming Avatar] to repair the veil again. To keep the horrific thing trapped on the other side.
"Sully! Are you okay!?"
My eyes turned back to Monique. My resolve hardening further as I saw the look on her and the other survivor's faces.
"I'm fine." I lied through my teeth. "This isn't up for discussion Monique. I'm giving these people powers and that's that. Whatever you might think of my methods, I'm doing this to save as many lives as possible. So get to explaining and to helping and leave the recriminations for later."
Monique looked affronted by my harsh tone, but nodded all the same.
At the same time, multiple portals were opening and closing. Dropping off the feeble and the infirm masses down on our location. There had been hundreds within a dozen seconds and now there were thousands. Hundreds of thousands if one counted the colossal mass of humanity rushing towards us on foot from all the people I ordered out of their homes.
Monique got to work. Shouting at the top of her lungs and explaining how a whole lot of them were about to get powers and that any and all healers should step forward.
'Slasher. Rescue the people trapped below us as soon as you're done with all the buildings in your range.' I ordered.
'Understood.' The weapon answered.
I tried to stand, but found myself unable. The resonating backlash from all those rebellious minds pushing back against me.
That backlash worsened when yet another (Gnome)ing wave of monsters came over and tried to make a beeline for the sweet, sweet meat standing there on the street. Their near-perfect vision seeing us all as a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet from outside my current range.
Never mind the fact that their brethren were actively savaging those that were not under my influence.
That was but an afterthought. A mere curiosity.
Their wanton bloodlust was their undoing as they passed the threshold into my fog. Their muscles seizing up as I bore down on them with a wrath and brutality that surprised even me.
'Kill the monsters.' I hissed into their craniums. 'Do not suffer them to live.'
They had no choice but to obey. Yet their fratricidal hunting wasn't yielding the results I'd been expecting.
There were simply too many of them. With their feeble brains recalling even more waiting to cross over into my world from a Rift hidden beneath the waves. To make matters even worse, not all of them were lunging at me. Some were still branching off the main swarms and heading for the ravaged buildings standing between us and the sea. No doubt entering those buildings that had been raided before me and my team were beamed here.
'How many died before we got here?' I thought bitterly. 'How many buildings were felled? How many innocent lives were snuffed out?'
It was impossible to say. My current range stretched well beyond what my eyes could see, yet I could not help but notice how all the buildings to the east were in a much worse shape than the rest. How few lives could be found there and how only a small fraction of those lives were capable of moving by themselves.
At that moment, a small shiver travelled up my spine. Distinctly different from those that had come before.
There was something fundamentally wrong about this whole situation. Beyond the obvious tragedy of all those lives that had been lost. Some factor wasn't adding up, but I couldn't quite put it into words.
I started to feel a deep drain from Cherub as he allowed some nearby buildings to crumble. Making their exteriors endure as their interior floors fell towards the earth, before then toppling the walls in such a way that they did not impede the humans streaming down the streets outside.
My Psy was streaming towards him and towards the rest of my team by way of [Team Spirit] as they used active boosts to move faster.
Everything seemed like it was going according to plan. That, despite how abhorrent the situation was, things were going as well as we could have hoped for. But I still couldn't shake that feeling of disquiet. Even as I tried to pin it down with [Insight].
The visions showed me where to go next in order to do the most good. Telling me that the best course of action would be to intercept the hordes coming from the east while Monique took Slasher and used her to teleport around and get survivors off buildings. It was a good plan. One that made sense and had a high likelihood of success.
And yet, that feeling kept sneaking its way into my plans. Worming its way out of my subconscious.
There was a piece missing from this puzzle and I couldn't see it.
'Sully? I finished bringing everyone up from below. The rest are dead.'
Slasher's declaration felt like a stallion's kick. One that brought fresh tears to my eyes.
I pushed them down, along with my apprehension, and stood on unsteady legs.
Swallowing a lump in my throat as I forced myself upright.
I staggered to the side and felt Buddy's mounting worry through our connection.
'I'm fine Buddy.' I lied again. So blatantly that it was almost humorous.
My gaze fell upon the throngs of people. Clumped together as far as my eyes could see. There were so many of them now. All gathered around me and Monique. Standing silently amidst the ruins of their city.
Well, their mouths were silent, at least.
Their brains were crying out constantly. Still pleading. Still begging. Still convinced that death was preferable to whatever I was about to do.
I considered what to say to them. Using [Insight] to see which speech would turn out best.
No good.
These people were in no mood to hear out a Telepath. Especially one that had just finished marching them out of their homes like puppets on invisible strings. All I could hope for was a speech that didn't end with them wanting to bash my skull in with an errant rock.
Now, this wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest under normal circumstances, except there was a literal doomsday event happening around us and their accusations were really wearing me down.
Not to mention all the possible futures I was seeing where a good half of them decided to try and do their very best to kill me, despite the literal monsters at their doorstep. It wouldn't have worked, but I'd be forced to keep controlling them to get them out of the way. Wasting precious time and stamina that I could be using to save their fellow citizens.
Unless...
I steadied myself. Pushing desperately against the incessant hunger of the monsters flying in and out of my fog and readied myself to speak.
"Good people of Hong Kong! Me and my team have come to save you!"
They answered me by thinking up a wide and rather creative variety of insults. Aimed at my own person, my physical appearance and my ancestors. Together with more begging of course.
"But! I also know nothing I say right now will convince you! That's fine by me! Instead, I'm going to share my memories of the last couple of months! With the caveat that my name, appearance and any and all identifying factors for me and all my fellow survivors will be edited out! After that! You'll all be getting powers! No! I am not (Gnome)ing with you! No need to think such things about my mother! Okay! Enough! Here goes!"
I used [Suppression] on all of them. The cost in Psy having been removed by them being under the influence of [Domination].
The effect my powers had on the crowd was palpable, as their minds shut down for a few, precious seconds.
It also resulted in me gaining a few levels, as several abilities surged with newfound vigor.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 18 has grown to [Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 19
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 has grown to [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression V] 13
I was still reeling from the notifications, when Monique took me by the arm.
"What were you thinking!? Giving a bunch of randos your memories!? Why would you even think of doing that!?”
"Relax. I have it all under control."
"How is this situation under control!?" She hissed. Baring her teeth as her eyes narrowed to a dangerous degree.
"Because, Monique, it all fits now. I've taken care of multiple problems with one stroke. Now all them know about the Labyrinth and about the System Excursions. More importantly, they know that I am here for two reasons. One, because I genuinely want to help and two, because the System is making me help. Even if they don't trust me, they'll know that I'm here on contract with a force much greater than mine."
Another wave of monsters crashed against my fog. Nearly bringing me back down even as I sent out orders for these new minions to attack their own.
I got another few levels and more range to boot. My 14 kilometers growing to 16 and then to 18 at a stroke.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 17 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 19
I resisted the urge to throw up again and turned back to Monique.
"Besides, the gnomes are coming to my world. I saw it in a vision. Together with the Drake. I... I didn't know how I was going to warn my earth in a way that they'd have to take seriously, but this is as good as answer as I could have hoped for. So many people getting powers is something they won't be able to ignore. No matter what else might be going on."
I staggered back, but caught myself just in time. My skull pounding as if some gorilla was beating it with drumsticks.
I turned my head to the crowd and opened my eyes wide. Allowing [Insight] to wash over them.
Psy drained out of me in droves. Monumental torrents suffusing everyone within my field of vision with newfound might. I allowed it to continue until I was at roughly 20%. Saving the last bits of might so that I could continue feeding Slasher and Cherub before I handed them over to Monique.
While they'd remained standing after [Suppression], this was a whole other kind of force. Their very beings awakening to a strength they'd never known before. Almost all of them collapsed into one big, collective heap.
But that was fine.
The visions told me it would be fine. These ones had been saved. For now, at least. And the counter on my screen had stopped ticking upwards too. Signaling that all our efforts had not been in vain.
"There. That should do it." I wheezed. Smiling as a few of them began to regain consciousness.
"The heroes of earth will know about Periwig now. They'll know about the coming threat and the existence of other earths." I chuckled, in spite of all the horrors assaulting my mind as more monsters came under my influence.
"Who knows? I gave these guys a good dose of Psy. A lot of them might go pro-hero and help when the time co..."
I stopped dead in my tracks. Suddenly aware of that ill feeling once again.
"Sully? Sully, are you okay?" Monique asked. Her previous anger turning to concern as my eyes glazed over.
"It's the heroes Monique." I said absentmindedly. Dread creeping up my spine with far more potency than before.
"What about them?" She asked.
My eyes met hers.
"None of them are here."
I waved to show the complete and utter devastation of a major metropolis.
"This is an S-Rank disaster. One that's getting worse by the minute." I tried to swallow, but found my throat bone-dry. "And none of the heroes are here to help. Not a single one."
A sound could be heard out in the distance. Not the dull collapsing of a building, but a deeper, more resonating boom.
The telltale roar, of a kaiju.