Cole discusses his revelations with The Enlightened Ones. They formulate a plan to stop Death.

Gin carefully collects Ktroll leading him away from the group. Cole uses this time to quickly change back into his regular clothes. Upon Cole’s return to the group, Papa comments while grinning, “You have evolved Cole. Like I said your aura is in a controlled state. It’s powerful as steel, hot as lava. This type of mastery doesn’t come overnight. How do you feel?”

“I feel like a new person. Before I was running on instinct, but now, I feel as though I can see clearly the road laid before me.”

“Yesss, aannnn now I can see you have a soul chain. Veeerrry rare.”

“Huh? Soul chain?” replies Cole while twisting his body around to find said chain.

“Indeed. It means you are connected to someone, a soulmate. Before your aura was too fierce, but now I’m able to see it clearly.”

Justice questions Papa, “I can see his aura but I don’t see a soul chain. Where is it?”

“It’s coming out of his chest. With more training you’ll be able to see it too.” says Papa. He turns, questioning Cole, “Tell me, do you know who’s tethered to the other side?”

“I know exactly who. It’s connected to Gaze. I can’t explain it. I just know it. She’s been with me my whole life, in my dreams.”

Ghiya speaks nodding and examining Cole’s soul chain protruding from his chest, “You are quite lucky. Soulmates are destined to find each other. Those relationships have their own mystical properties. Even I don’t know their full extent. What I do know is this type of connection is rare even among Ultras. Needless to say your connection with her is something special. You should feel blessed. Now judging from your transformation, take it you were able to uncover the will behind your ability?”

“I have. I did more than just unlock my potential. I went on a journey to my soul. Inside I was able to recover my lost memories from another dimension. Teacher and I have been training for this day for years. The day I stop Cain and Death in their tracks.

“Who is, Teacher?” asks Ghiya.

“He… He’s another version of me from another dimension. He’s wise, and a friend. He taught me about Cain’s plan to kill other Cole’s from different dimensions to absorb their power. He taught me about how Cain is becoming more powerful with each kill, but the power doesn’t distribute to just him. It distributes to all the versions of us. Meaning Gaze and I have increased in power as well. Now I also know I have two abilities. I’m not sure if you can explain this, but my wind ability does not belong to me. It was given to me by my nephew Dimitri. He passed his energy to me during The Event.”

“This is fascinating. Let me ask you this. Was Dimitri highly creative, and intuitive?” questions Ghyia.

“Yes.”

“Naturally intelligent, compassionate?

“I thought so, but I’m sure everyone thinks that of their kids.”

“True, but while I have never heard of someone passing their power to someone else, that is not something outside of the realm of an Indigo Child. Dimitri must have been an extraordinary boy on the verge of ascension.”

“He was very special. Wise beyond his years.”

“If this is the case, then I believe if we succeed in raising our dimensional frequency we will fertilize the spiritual land allowing more Ultrasapiens to awaken. You will be able to bring Dimitri back. As an Indigo Child he will be one of the first, primed for rebirth.”

“I’ll be able to bring Dimitri back?!”

“While we still have our will, and the fight in our hearts, yes we’ll be able to bring everyone back.”

A new look of determination comes over Cole’s face. He’s ecstatic brimming with hope. Ghiya questions, “But you never answered my question. Did you discover your will?”

Cole replies to Ghyia, but also makes eye contact with Justice, “My will is justice. Dimitri and I were left out of the bunker to die. Dimitri did nothing wrong yet he was killed. All because of the prejudices of men. It just wasn’t right. My whole life I’ve encountered nothing but injustices in the world. It didn’t matter how good of a person I was, I always was given the short end of the stick. This is my will. To fix that part of the world. To be a protector of what’s right.”

“And what is your true ability?”

“I’m still not sure what to call it, but I have the power of suggestion. I plant ideas in someone’s mind by speaking to them. I can force them to think or do what I command. I have the power of words. For example -.” Cole commands Shado, “Punch your shoulder!”

Shado punches himself, creating a terribly confused look on his face.

“That is a powerful and dangerous ability.” says Ghyia.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“How did you not know you could do that before? It had to have slipped out sometime?” questions Shado while rubbing his arm tenderly.

“I know I’m confused how I haven’t noticed it before too. Have I really never told anyone what to do since I got here? Wait! I just realized that’s why Death never gave me a tattoo. When he tried to force it on me I told him to stop. No wonder he started acting so strange. I wonder what else I’ve accidentally forced on someone… Well, now that you guys understand the nature of my true ability, you can understand the danger we are facing, because Cain has the same abilities. He’s been using his power manipulating Death to do his bidding this whole time. That’s why I’m special, why I’m here. Without someone to defend against his powers we would all fall victim to his suggestion at the drop of a word.”

Shado replies with his voice trailing off as he goes deep in thought. “With both you and Gaze that might be enough to counter Cain’s abilities.”

“Here’s the problem guys. By manipulation of Cain, Death is capturing Ultrasapiens to create an army of the undead. He’s converting them into assassin machines called Blood Hunters. This way he’s able to remove pieces from the board without killing, without summoning the demon. This is happening right now. They are being transformed in the old human bunker right at this very moment. We have to leave now, to go stop Death. Then when we do we can expect Cain to show himself. I have some ideas, but we need a solid plan.”

Shado begins to pace in circles speaking, “That’s not going to be easy. Death has many abilities that he’s harvested from the NGP. I’ve been spying, documenting which ones he has.” Shado pulls out a piece of paper from a pocket inside his armor, “I’ve been scoping out Ultras with tattoos to determine what ability they have, what Death has. From what I’ve been able to figure out he has the ability to create matter by thought, super speed, quick healing, nightmare eyes that drain you of energy, manipulation of emotions, Blazer’s strings, manipulation of gravity, perfect marksman, manipulation of fire, learning the complete history of an object by touching it, energy beams, telekinesis, creation of illusions, power of electricity, luck manipulation, increased pain endurance, rock skin, creation of force fields, infinite endurance, poison gas, ability to become huge and small, turn into water, control over ice, sensing energy, jumping super high, x ray vision, ability to stretch, control over magnetism, turn into an ogre, super hearing via sonar vision, seeing in the dark, seeing through illusions, perfect navigation skills, and finally the ability of imitating voices granted by annoying Amy who seems to be the most useless Ultrasapien alive to date. Those are just the ones I’ve been able to figure out. Not only that, but he has many loyal followers at the NGP, excluding his small army of ogres. What you’re asking for is impossible.”

“See, that's a mouth full. It’s overwhelming actually. Don’t you see the advantage? His greatest power is his greatest downfall. He has too many abilities. If it’s confusing for us then it has to be confusing for him. In the middle of a battle he won’t be able to remember them all. Under pressure he’ll probably even hesitate trying to figure out which one to use next.”

“You’re right! Plus using all those abilities will require a huge energy cost.” replies Shado.

“Have you noticed how Death uses those black crystals before using his powers? He’s reliant on them. Once he uses up all the power from his crystals I think we’ll have a shot. Here’s my teacher’s theory. Once the crystals have been drained I think he’ll be forced to pull energy from the hosts with the tattoos, and if the hosts are busy using their own power that would put even more strain on the energy distribution. If that works it could take down anyone with a tattoo, Death’s whole army.”

Shado strokes his chin, “Ok then… Well at least we can predict which powers he’ll likely use. Healing, speed, flames, and illusions, would be my go to reaction powers. I wish Arch was here with us right now. He’d know what to do.”

“Then that’s the plan. We have to hit the bunker hard and from all directions to confuse him. We have to get everyone involved. The bigger the fight, the bigger the drain on Death. When it starts we’ll need to send word for help quickly. We’ll need anyone from camp that can help, and anyone on our side at the NGP.” Cole calls out loud, “Who here will join me?! Who here is ready to stop Death!?”

“Just get me near him and I can take care of the rest.” says Justice with a look of determination on her face.

Shado and Cinder quickly step up next to Cole. Cinder speaks, “If you’re a friend of Shado, you’re a friend of mine. You can count on us.”

This is the first time Cole has really noticed Cinder. Before he had no memory of her, but now with his memories coming back, he knows so much about her. Years worth. Though, this version of Cinder knows almost nothing about him. To her, she’s just meeting him for the first time. This brings a smile to Cole. He calls again, “Who else will come to our aid?”

Brody steps forward, “I can’t help too much in combat but I can fly. I’ll help any way I can.”

“Perfect, we’ll need you to spread the word when it starts.”

One last person steps forward. He’s tall with a bow. His cloak is green with a hood. He kneels speaking to Cole, “My name is Ryder. My power allows me to nullify all powers near me for a short time. I can create your opening.”

“Thank you Ryder. Your power will be our left hook.” says Cole.

A powerful silence fills the air. Even though Cole is surrounded by Ultrasapiens, even though he has explained the importance of what’s happening, nobody else is stepping forward.

“Really? Nobody else is willing to help?” asks Cole.

“I’m sorry Cole, but most of the Ultrasapiens here are not made for battle. We are peaceful and our powers have developed away from violence.” says Ghyia.

“Even Clio? We need someone who can see the future. Especially in battle.” says Cole.

“I can’t help you. The dark energies surrounding this battle cloud my vision.” replies Clio.

What a Clio thing to say. Cole thinks to himself. “Ok once we leave the forest we’ll need Ryder, Shado, and Cinder to buy us some time. We need to lure Death out. Once Death and his Ogres are distracted, Brody, Justice, and I will try to gather as many allies as we can. Arch, Cake, Gaze, Blazer, Rush, whoever can come to our aid. Once there I have a few things I need to pick up from inside the base.”

With the plans ready to set in motion Ghiya steps forward, “Before you all go, I want to say a few things to prepare you for what’s ahead. Remember to trust. Trust in yourself, trust each other. What does it mean to trust? It means having such inner knowing that your thoughts create your world. To simply be quite certain with divine nonchalance and inner knowing that if you think of something, it is. Remember, emotion is key to all of this. As Ultrasapiens you need emotions to connect you with your spiritual self, because emotion generates feelings. You need emotions to comprehend the nonphysical. This is why emotions were so controlled before The Event. Don’t fear your feelings, trust them, no matter what they are. When you are not afraid of your feelings, and you move past judgement, allowing yourself to feel all the ways you feel, that’s when you can tap into your tremendous power. I speak to you all as if you are not human, because you are not. You are members of the family of light.”

Ghiya’s voice gets louder, swelling with emotion as she speaks, “As beings of light you are as powerful as the sun. Can you feel it? What you have been seeking for so long is already inside of you. It’s not a matter of trying, forcing, working, or pushing, it’s only a matter of allowing. Many get stuck in the thought of holding the light, finding it, aligning with it, but the truth of the matter is you are the light. You cannot remove yourself from what you are. You can only choose to hide it. You cannot erase what you are, you can only momentarily forget it. The fear and anxiety you may feel is only when you are choosing to believe something about yourself that isn’t true. This is because all your lives you were taught that you need to hide the truth of who you really are. That you must play your part, and bow down to the system because you are not worthy. That could not be further from the truth. The greatest light that anyone can think of is the sun. The sun does not question itself, it doesn’t worry that it is too bright, or that anything else may not approve of it and its light. The sun survives without question and without fail because that is what it is destined to do. Your inner light is powerful just like the sun, yet so many subconsciously choose to turn to turn their back on it. Simply because they don’t believe it is their power, or they are not worthy of it, or they can’t handle it’s power. My dear Ultras, beings of light, this is simply not true. You are nothing more or less than an aspect of the divine. You are made of the same stuff that makes the universe. You are diamonds. You are eternal, infinite and without end. Why would you think you are given the power if it was not yours to wield? There are many who will try to convince you that you are not worthy, that you are not strong enough, that you must kneel and bow before them. But ask yourself, does the sun need permission, or approval? No, it will do what it is destined for, long after we have all transcended into our next incarnation. Don’t fear your problems, those who will oppose you. Focus only on your best self, to shine to your full potential which you have been given. Focus on this energy, the frequency, feel it build, surround yourself with it. Use that energy to light the path in front of you, use it to attain what you desire. Asks your spirit guides, ask your higher selves to stand by your side empowering you. It's your birthright to call upon your inner energy and to move to your future self. Understand that there is no force more powerful than the light, the same light that burns within you. The forces that oppose you can never attain this power no matter how hard they try. Be like the sun with the unwavering truth of who you are, and what you are meant to do, to become. Open yourself to the light so it can pierce your heart to fill you, to guide you. You have it in you! Take your destiny and become as powerful as the sun!”