An hour passed and activity in the camp had gone fully catatonic. Everyone was piled up in silent groups, no one moving a muscle. The scariest part was that Scalisth hadn’t gone out to venture throughout the woods but had stayed with us the entire time. His change in behavior told me all I needed to know about how safe we were in these woods.

It was later in the afternoon, and the sky was beginning to change color as red consumed the blue sky. Amaya had gone to rest as well, seeing no point in being the only one in camp to do anything. I understood her perspective, but I hated feeling powerless to change anything. This wasn’t an issue that raw power could solve either. No, what the people needed now was hope, but I didn’t know how to give it to them. Quentin and Levi were still largely out of commission, their minds still bearing the scars of witnessing a presence beyond their understanding.

The situation reminded me of when I joined the group and saw a bunch of lackluster people with no will to survive. It only took one person to have confidence in our survival for the others to follow. Looking back on it, we really were a strange group, weren’t we? It was like we were pretending to survive rather than actually doing it. We were constantly provided food and water by Scalisth, who was also keeping us completely safe from natural threats. The only real concern we ever had was the killer hiding in the group, but that was an issue that would eventually be solved with time, one way or another.

I chuckled softly as I thought about it. “No wonder everyone bounced back so quickly the first time. There really was no reason to be scared, we were all simply still disoriented from the confusing series of events.” Now though, things were different, and it was all Scalisth’s fault. No matter how awful he seemed, the man had always taken care of us, in his own way, at least. The Altum were known for many things, and chief among them was their reliability. Humanity had begun to rely on the alien race, and they had always been there to lift up our people in our time of greatest need.

Scalisth, to his credit, had kept his word. Sure, he was pedantic with how he followed the rules, but we all knew deep down we could trust his integrity. That’s where the crux of the issue is: What happens when even the all-powerful Altum can’t do anything to help us? It was a question humanity as a whole had been avoiding up until this point, and we were the unlucky few to find out the answer.

I looked to the center of the clearing where Scalisth was staring off into the sky again, thinking about who knows what. As I looked at him, I could feel his presence encompassing the area, in a lesser version to the transcendent beast from hours prior. Unlike the domineering tyranny of the great being, Scalisth’s aura was… inspirational? Reassuring?

Yes, that was it, reassuring. I hadn’t realized it, but I had also been looking to him as a beacon of strength. Perhaps my insights into will manipulation gave me concrete evidence of his overwhelming power, causing me to see him as the end all be all of power. That strength became a crutch for this small island of humanity, and I see now that we are all weaker than before, not stronger. Despite the hostile environment, few of the group could be said to have been hardened by the experience.

The realization caused my stomach to tighten into a knot. I believed I was training my powers to become strong enough to survive on my own, but now I see that wasn’t it at all. I never had any plans of surviving on my own, always knowing I would be saved in the end.

It was that way with the river beast. After fighting, I had resigned myself to death, and had to be saved by Scalisth. With the second animal carcass, I was warned of the volatile nature of the body and was told there could be drastic consequences if I failed to handle it properly. What did I do with that information? I flew in blind, opting for a brute force approach when my skills were lacking. My reckless actions caused us to lose our only source of food while also attracting the attention of a dangerous being.

I could’ve, no, almost killed everyone here with my actions, but felt none of the consequences. What would’ve happened if Scalisth weren’t there to hide everyone? Would I have woken up to black tendrils falling from the sky to skewer each and every person in the clearing? I clenched my fists tightly as the image lingered in my mind. “I was such a fool.”

Looking up again, I saw Scalisth looking back at me. His expression was rarely pleasant, but he looked especially… disappointed when he looked at me. Instinctually, I averted my gaze, ashamed of my actions. “He knew. He knew all along how weak we were, and even tried to guide us in the right direction.” I wasn’t so ignorant as to think the alien wanted to help us. Far from it, but the fact still stood that he had coddled us for the past four days, and we’ve truly done nothing for ourselves.

I felt anger rising up from my chest. I wasn’t angry at anyone but myself for being weak. It was my weakness that got us here, and I was once again bearing no responsibility for my actions. That burden was shifted to the people around me, who were still trying to recover from all I had put them through. I clenched my jaw as I began to dig my fingers deeper and deeper into my palms. The weight of all my mistakes pushed my gaze to the mossy earth and I sat there in silence.

///

Hours passed as absolute silence consumed the clearing. No one spoke, and barely anyone even shifted a muscle from their previous positions. Perhaps while their bodies were unmoving, their minds were living in the past, feeling the oppressive weight of absolute power freeze them in place. Just like that, day turned to dusk, which turned into night.

A few didn’t have the energy to sleep and stayed awake at the start of the night. A whispered word and an invisible web of energy from Scalisth coaxed the stragglers to sleep. Once everyone slept, the alien kept silent watch over the group. While usually he would be hovered a hundred meters above the vulnerable humans, he opted to sit in their midst through the night. Part of the reason was his fear of attracting too much attention, but the main reason was something else entirely.

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Standing in the middle of the clearing, his perceptive area had been reduced to less than 150 meters to avoid arousing suspicion from those with sharp senses. Still, the area was not small, and he had a good understanding of the locations of every living being in the clearing. It was this ability that allowed him to notice the presence approach in the dark of night. Despite the unwelcomed guest, he did not raise his guard or prepare to attack, instead keeping an eye over the group of humans.

Eventually the figure made its way to the clearing. Emerging from the brush was an Altum man with deep blue skin and pale white eyes. His gait was unhurried as he made his way to stand a few meters opposite Scalisth. Despite his lesser status, the man stood with unwavering confidence. Perhaps his successful track record allowed him his confident demeanor as he looked up at the leader for this mission.

The navy-skinned man gave a shallow bow as he said, “Preth-Ve, it is good to see you in good health, Master Scalisth.” He rose from his bow and looked Scalisth in the eyes, black meeting white.

“What else might you have expected, Honored Koreth? I am quite capable of fending for myself.” The man was none other than Koreth, the newly assigned Altum representative to humanity. Of course, his placement in that position would’ve seemed ridiculous to any knowledgeable Altum, as Koreth was a cold-hearted killer, through and through. Placing him in a political position was laughable, and he only got the job due to his borderline obsession with human culture.

“It is abundantly clear how capable you are, considering you and your group survived an encounter with a transcendent beast. Not many would still be alive to boast of the feat, that much I can assure you.” Koreth’s confident gaze held nothing but respect for esteemed Master.

“Ah, so you sensed it as well. Good, I meant to update the other groups about it tonight, so it seems you have saved me some trouble. I assume the other groups are doing well?”

Koreth nodded, “Yes, we haven’t lost any of the humans yet. We’ve thankfully avoided any major threats and haven’t had to deal with any… internal issues.” He placed a lot of emphasis on the last two words. The other groups were all keenly aware of the games Scalisth liked to play within his group. While many had disagreed with him allowing a human to kill other humans, no one else had the authority to challenge his decision, so it was left as is.

Scalisth hummed at Koreth’s words. “Good to hear. I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked for you to come tonight, right?” After receiving a nod, he continued, “You see, the humans didn’t take the encounter well, and have lost the motivation to continue. It is to my understanding that you know a large number of social and mental declarations, correct?”

Koreth nodded, “Yes, Preth-Ve, it is my specialty. I have even learned a powerful verdict that can alter memories. It is what got me my position as Altum representative.” The man beamed a bright smile, his white eyes brimming with pride.

“His skill is passing, but everyone knows he was really chosen because he’s one of the only Altum that actually likes the half-breeds,” Scalisth thought as he looked to the man, a serious expression on his face.

Scalisth continued, “Good that you mention it, Suni-Kes, because that is exactly why I called you here. I want you to erase the group’s memories of the transcendent so we can continue our current travelling pace.”

Koreth looked back at his superior, shock plain on his face. “Are you sure? There’s no going back if I do erase their memories, and there’s a chance I get rid of too much on accident.”

Scalisth waved him off with a simple smile, “Yes, I’m sure, and don’t worry about any side-effects, I just need them moving again.” He then gestured for the Honored to walk with him to where a majority of the humans were sleeping. They were all forced asleep by a simple declaration, but they still should be asleep until the morning breaks and Scalisth releases his hold over them.

Once they got there, Koreth took a few steps in front of Scalisth. As he always did when performing high-level World Speech, Koreth conjured two translucent arms to aid in his control. Despite the name, World Speech requires a heavy amount of physical manipulation of ambient spirit with a caster’s will, which is most efficient when done with the physical body.

Just before he started, however, Scalisth interrupted, saying, “Oh, and one more thing.” He gestured at Amaya’s sleeping form. “Leave that one’s memories intact.” He thought for a moment before grinning and adding, “And that one too, if possible,” pointing at Olivia. The request got a surprised expression from Koreth, which caused the man’s translucent arms to fade slightly as his focused dimmed.

“Wait, really? I thought you didn’t care about this group?” He looked back at Scalisth, his mouth wide open in shock.

“You’re right, but I find those two interesting. Look for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.” He waved his hands at the two sleeping women.

Koreth dismissed his arms as he inspected the humans in his spiritual sight. His shoulders flinched and his body language became tense as he looked at them closer.

After a moment he nearly shouted, “They, they’ve awakened their wills? That’s not possible, not for a human, at least!” He stepped closer, as if his eyes had deceived him when he was further away.

Scalisth chirped a light chuckle, “You see now why I’m interested. One of them started out like that, but the other awakened on the first day. It was quite remarkable to say the least.” Koreth turned back around to face Scalisth.

“Master, you know what this means, don’t you! This, this is discover completely changes everything we understood about humanity! The fact that hybrids can awaken-“

Scalisth cut him off, “-will never be released to the public, Honored Koreth.” His face had lost its jovial expression, and he became much more solemn.

Koreth was too shocked to speak for a few seconds. Eventually he said, “Wait, you can’t be serious! Even after learning this, you still don’t think their lives are worth preserving? Is a nascent will not enough to make them worthwhile?”

Scalisth scowled, “It doesn’t matter if they transcend, I won’t allow it. Their heritage is tainted, and they would only bring ruin to our society. Talented or not, they should not exist.” Koreth didn’t say anything, as he didn’t want to offend his superior. Instead, he silently reconjured his arms and began to work on the verdict.

Koreth found it odd that Scalisth was wanting to use a verdict on the group, and such a powerful one, nonetheless. A declaration or even a powerful whisper could get the effects he was looking for. Still, Koreth was nothing if not obedient, and he did as he was told. He was slightly worried about such a flashy display attracting something’s attention, but he decided to trust in Scalisth and continue anyways.

After a minute of casting, Koreth finished his verdict by waving his hands over the group. Small waves of spirit fell like powdered snow over the sleeping humans. The energy particles fell gently over their target’s mind, sinking into their heads and disappearing without a trace. Only two were left untouched, their bodies rejecting the particles from even approaching.

“It is done, Preth-Ve,” Koreth said with a slight bow. With a moment’s hesitation, he added,, “If there is nothing else, I will be on my way.”

“Thank you, that will be all, you are dismissed.” Scalisth said as he waved the Honored Altum away into the night. The group slept peacefully as their minds were altered and modified, their memories distorting and changing with every passing seconds. Scalisth watched all of this in complete silence, listening to the sounds of the night.

///