39 The Steel Legion (1/2)
We ended up getting our room and everything handled for us by the steel legion. After seeing how whipped into shape they were, it more like the legion of lackeys. I guess Torix scared the living shit out of them though. That and having two people over a thousand levels above your commanding officer tends to make that happen.
It was strange seeing how they operated compared with what I imagined they would. The steel legion wasn't a group of conquerors. They were a system that assimilates, much like Schema without the force behind them. They offered an efficient organizing element that was hard to not take, especially considering the alternative.
They sent a small force of only a few thousand towards new planets. This force would then spread out by offering a recruitment plan that involved ironing out disobedience. They then gave out armor, guns, and other resources towards the members of a planet. They would create a large military force that would proliferate.
That's what was interesting about them. They would use the previous knowledge of the planet for their rebuilding efforts. Of course they offered the basic enhancements for advanced technology, but they kept most of the previous tech intact. It had something to do with the utilization of planetary resources and such.
Made sense to me. It's hard to create a density bomb out of something like unobtanium. I mean shit, it's unobtainable after all.
Shitty ass puns aside, if I hadn't spawned in BloodHollow, I would've joined them for sure. You get protection, order, and some sort of stability compared with the utter chaos of the new world. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I didn't really get that kind of a choice though.
Anyways, the legion ended up letting us use the nearby warehouse as our own little hideaway. Honestly, working in the nearby area didn't feel that different when compared with normal. Everything, form the marble walls to the dirt floor was the same. The only difference was the red tin roof overhead.
That's where I worked for a few days. In fact, it took a few weeks before the legion organized everything. It turned out that old Whitley was one of the most important logistic officers for the legion on earth. That meant a much slower supply chain until someone learned how to operate everything.
Over the course of those three weeks, I studied the runic language. I carved dozens of different combinations onto my armor, trying out all kinds of effects. Quickness, hardness, even friction enhancing enchantments, I tried them all.
It took quite a while, but I made a few adjustments towards my armor. One of the most useful ones was the ten symbols etched onto my finger tips. Tiny as they were, they let me stick to walls and other surfaces. With boundless storm active, I could accomplish insane maneuvers near anything sturdy and stable.
I'd also accomplished carving two phrases into my palms. Each phrase had been a carved into a circle. They conveyed the fear of being helpless, the hatred of being used, and the weight of many burdens. At their center was the single symbol for the feeling of being overwhelmed. I figured these symbols would help with what I wanted to learn next.
I walked up towards Torix's new office thing. He'd made his own room in the warehouse, turning it into a place for his experiments. It was much like a doctor's office, with tables and benches with tools spread over them. Hunched over an operating table, Torix dissected one of the petal insects. Beside him was a jar full of them, each squirming for release.
As I walked up, Torix roared before slamming the scalpel through the creature. He leaned over the creature, sulking as I stepped near him,
”Did I catch you at a bad time?”
”No. Please, give me a reason to stop researching these insufferable creatures. They make no sense. No biology or rhyme or reason either. Just an amalgam of flesh and plant fibers.”
I shrugged, ”Yeah, sounds like something Yawm would make. Anyways, I was hoping you could teach me some dominion magic while we've got some spare time.”
Torix perked up, standing straight up as he pulled out his ancient tome. The pages glowed with a swing of his hand, ”I'd love the distraction, no matter how slight it may be. Did you have any particular thing you wanted to learn about the field?”
I weighed my hands back and forth, like measuring two different things in each hand, ”Hmm, mainly telekinesis and maybe something to pin people down. I figure getting someone to stop moving would be pretty damn awesome for me.”
”Indeed it is. Then telekinesis and gravity wells are an excellent start. Telekinesis is much simpler and easier than gravity wells, so we shall start there.”
He raised a hand, spawning a blob of black, writhing mana, ”This is the dominion form of mana. Can you summon it yet?”
”Sort of.” I raised a hand, and after a bit of struggling, a black ball formed above my fingers. The tendrils of black were gated by the spirals of red, just like last time.
I said, ”Not too terrible if I say so myself.”
Torix frowned, ”Unfortunately, you aren't the only one who has a say in the matter. That mana of yours is incomplete. It is only forming due to your unusually high affinity. That isn't true dominion magic.”
Torix pressed his fingers together before pulling them apart. As he did so, a blob of black formed again, ”This is true dominion magic. Think back to when you first discovered augmentation magic.”
I facepalmed, ”Of course. I got to embody what the feeling of dominion is.”
The ball of mana above Torix dissipated. He grinned, ”That's my apostle. You work on your summoning in the corner of the room as I work on discovering this...” He waved his arms over the petal insect, ”Enigma.”
I walked over to the corner of the room, sitting on a metal chair. The metal creaked a bit under my weight, but it held up. I lifted my hand, forming the same mana as before. Thoughts of control and domination filled my mind. I wanted to save Michael and Kelsey. I wanted to make this world my own.
Except, I didn't really. It wasn't in me to be honest. No matter how much I tried making the thoughts form, they never had any substance behind them. In the back of my mind, I didn't blame anyone but myself. As I realized that, the red bands built in density, preventing the mana from overflowing. I was holding my own magic back.
Struggling with it didn't make a difference. Trying to think a different way isn't that hard. Trying to feel a different way is much harder. Unfortunately for me, these feelings were deep in my bones. I understood exactly whose fault it was that my friends died. It was my own.
At this point, a red ball formed around the dominion energy. It made even interacting with it impossible. Even after an hour of trying to get this shit to work, the mana just wasn't having it. It was when I was ready to give up and try something else that the foreboding voice entered my mind like a distant echo,
”You must embrace your hunger. Release the chains you carry.”
I frowned, glancing back at Torix. He hunched over the table, mumbling about how idiotic the insect was and whatnot. Turning back to the ball of mana, I thought back,
”It's you again. Torix thought you were some manifestation of my inner turmoil. I call bullshit.”
”Interesting isn't it? Despite his vast wells of knowledge, Torix is still ignorant of my origin. That ignorance may well be his undoing.”
I turned back towards Torix, my mouth opening as I was about to tell Torix about the voice again. The ominous voice roared in my mind,
”No. Do not speak of me again.”
”And why the fuck not?”
”I will not help you with obtaining dominion of your own magic. These red gates will never relinquish on their own. I may teach you how to destroy them. You may choose to reveal me after I have taught you. Does that deal sate your appetite?”
I frowned, ”Alright then, voice thing in my head. What do I need to do?”
”I told you. Embrace your hunger.”
I rolled my eyes, ”Alright, maybe a little more detail?”
”Remember when you first fought the spawns of Yawm? You unlocked a portion of your mind you had locked away. Simply open those doors once more, and you will be able to use dominion magic as simply as breathing.”
I sighed before thinking back. The zombies were coming in from everywhere, and it was like the entire world had gone insane. Instead of trying to make sense of it, I just wanted to go insane with it. After thinking on it for a bit, I guessed embracing my bloodlust or hunger wasn't that far from the truth of the matter.
So I figured if I did it once, I could do it again. I steadied my breathing and leaned onto a nearby table. I grit my teeth and clamped my fists. I thought about Baldag-Ruhl trying to use me as a shell. I thought about Torix controlling me with his weird charisma voice. It was infuriating. I hated being swung around like a ragdoll.
I wanted them to all just stop. The voice murmured in my head,
”That is not what you thought about when you were surrounded. You didn't want more control. You relinquished it to your own bloodlust. You embraced the primal.”