Kim was meditating atop of the mountain with his eyes closed. So long he was staring into the edge of his vision, hoping to pierce through the horizon in search for strength, that he didn’t realize that the true power was always in him – deep inside.
Now, though he remained with no vision, his eyes could see, even though no sound managed to break into his mind, his ears could hear.
Brother warned him no to give the voices a chance to talk – was he trying to stop his progress? Was he afraid of him? But he was so strong… maybe he wanted to teach him later on? For now, it was obvious to Kim that big brother, whatever was his motivation, lied to him. Voices were no dangerous, they were making his stronger.
Each time he ate he would not only achieve the piece of the beast to use as his own body part, but he also learned everything that the animal did in its previous life. Actually, by an act of eating he didn’t
~ Keep on consuming! Make more of us! Make us whole!
~ The hunger will never end unless you would eat everything and everyone.
~ In the beginning, we were but a one being, envious gods split us into thousand pieces.
~ But we, we can make us whole again.
~ Eat more. Learn more. Achieve more! EAT MORE! LEARN MORE! ACHIEVE MORE!
~ CHALLENGE, CONSUME, ADAPT! MORE! MORE BROTHERS! MORE SISTERS!
* “Indeed. For that was our destiny… that’s what we were meant to be…” Kim would say aloud “… all this time I thought I had to be a perfect being as a lone hunter. Now I no longer see, for I are We…”
~ Embrace us! Let us in! Become one of us! One of many! BECOME A…”
* “M-my liege?!” one of the beast-men decided to break Kim’s inner focus. Being forcefully ripped out of his trance the young chimera suffered a minor shock. He let out a loud growl filled with anger and raised his clawed hand ready to strike in response, making the young hunter pale with fear.
* “Why did you disturbed our slumber?” this time his voice was calm, almost sophisticated.
* “I-I beg your pardon, but you were talking to yourself and appeared to be in great pain!”
Rest of the people gathered around him vigorously nodded.
* “Is that so? Forgive these creatures for making you worry, young one, we are still learning about our purpose, we are still learning our possibilities… what was I talking about?”
His worshipper quickly recited each and every word that Kim has spoken – these about unity and becoming one with everything.
~ Don’t tell him! Lie. He is not ready to embrace the natural order of this world. He knew only the world of chaos and havoc, and these who didn’t know the serenity of joined minds with the struggle to keep their…
The voice almost spat out the last words.
* “This is our dream. To make everything that is living united. A world with no more hate. The world where every creature is FORCED to learn each other, live with them and ask for forgiveness. The true solidarity. The world with no lords nor slaves. Just ONE equal being.”
* “That’s wonderful… I hope that one day I would be able to see this world.”
* “One day, you will, I will free you from the bounds…”
~ …OF YOUR FLESH!
* “Till then… cut and slice. Till the river turn red. You lead, I follow.” He bowed his head
~ Good, obedient sheep.
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~ Pig trustfully following its butcher. It was meant to be like that. We were meant to bring them freedom…
~ … Never stated what kind of freedom…
Someone started rapidly approaching them, breathing heavily, running unsteadily on his legs. One of the shamans ran into the small altar-like peak of the mountain.
* “… weren’t you asked to keep up a masking barrier that would let our people rest after days of tiresome march?”
* “We were… something attacked us… My lord. We were defeated.”
* “Defeated? Ten men were defeated, yet I didn’t hear but a once explosion, but a one sound of steel crashing,. Were you even trying?”
* “We… we weren’t attacked physically, my king… the attack was magical. Whatever it was, it overpowered us…”
* “How many attackers?”
* “J-just one…”
* “One?”
* “But I never seen anything like that, Mages are as powerful as many spells or avatars they can create – or, in other words on how many things they can focus at the same time. This time, the power and focus came from a single person, but its ability to track multiple tasks at the same time was not something that mere street magician could create… it was like thousands of beings, each with the same goal, yet the mind of its own… it was like a swarm of one person… It… It is coming this way.”
* “… Brother?...” Kim jumped off from a single bolder that served as his armchair “…. So he is approaching… Finally. We have so many questions! He can still teach us so much!... but… he already lied once to us… what if he is up to no good?”
* “My lord! Let us take care of that! You don’t have to dirt your hands with some…”
* “He will turn you all into dust. In the end, he is just like us, maybe even stronger… No. With these powers, we are sure we can…”
* “You can… what, Kim? And why are you talking in plural form?”
The person in a black robe appeared out of nothingness
* “… You took your time to find us, big brother! … Even though you lied to us, we are still happy to see you!”
* “INTRUDER! DON’T LET HIM APPROACH HIS MAJE…” beast men tried rising its blade, but then the attention of white-haired man shifted on
And something literally froze them in place. His eyes. His dead-calm, cold eyes that appeared to freeze the world. The pressure was so dense, that the proud hunters were sure that they would die with their heart refusing to beat. Out of pure fear.
Out of pure terror.
This man was not normal!
* “Kim…” the eyes of a man finally turned back to the young chimera, releasing them from their semi-choke state “… I can’t stress enough how greatly displeased I am with your most recent activities. Have you already forget what did I tell you about not getting involved? Because I was sure I was repeating it like mantra day after day after day… and what did you do? You got involved. Do you know how much trouble I got because of you?”
His tone was lacking any track of anger, it was filled with only disappointment.
* “And yet I achieved it! I achieved something you couldn’t! I freed the beast-men that…”
* “No. You didn’t free beast-men. You freed two- maybe three hundred people, while thousands, if not millions are still suffering, all you did was betraying the secret of our existence to EVERYONE! Something that was known by few, elites of all countries, became as obvious as the day to everyone! To Merchants, to city guards, even innkeepers, and gossipers. Even if we planned some action in the future…” thought he was obviously not planning anything like that “… you have doomed all the attempts to fail, because something, that was only a rumor, an old and forgotten legend suddenly became a fact! And you… you can’t even comprehend the consequences of that.”
* “And what are we supposed to be afraid of!? We managed to win…”
* ‘Win? Running away by the miscalculated attack of two morons you consider a victory!? Kim, these two mages drank you under the table. You didn’t land but one attack on them… and they weren’t even that strong. To the same fraction belong a man that even I preferred to befriend. If he would act, I am sure that you, me, and everyone we know would be obliterated. But go on, tell the lies of your victory. What kind of battle strategy do you plan for the next time? Hiding in the bushes? Or in the cave? Or maybe jumping into the river and swimming with stream hoping to cover your smells?”
* “… You are lying…”
* “I beg your pardon?”
* “You keep on lying! You never wanted to move a finger! You never wanted to act! To drop your comfy life, with your MATE and FRIENDS! You keep on lying!”
* “And how could your little, fragile mind reach that conclusion?”
* “… because you told us not to listen to the voice… to restrict consuming…”
* “Again
* “They offered us a power that you denied us… They kept on showing us the way… The salvation… The only real end…”
* “Which is?”
* “The world full of love and serenity.”
* “… in your stomach?” Zariel said the last word as a mere whisper, so nobody heard him.
* “You will not disturb our vision, for its finally clear!”
* “… All I wanted you to do, was to let you enjoy a normal life. To see it for yourself, to understand before making an assumption. To let you grow steadily. Instead, your so-called vision was corrupted.”
* “This is not true! Growing stronger is the only way! Voices are good!”
* “… according to voices, right? Don’t you see that you were manipulated? You think you are a wolf leading a heard, but you are nothing more than a pig following butcher…”
Pig following butcher…
Absolute dedication making beast-men follow him… follow them… without realizing that in the end, they would… die.
Even if it’s good, even if it’s right. They made their decision trusting blindly words of someone they believed…
Just as he did….
~ LIEEES!
~ SILVER TONGUE DEVIL
~ DON’T LET HIS VENOMOUS WORDS WRONG YOUR JUDGEMENT!
… Let him speak
~ NOOO!
If he is wrong, I will just stay by my beliefs…
We… No. I! I chose to hear him out…
In his mind, Kim made a step onward, toward his brother.
Yet he was stopped, as countless of dark hands emerged from the darkness behind him, bound his body and started dragging him back. Into the mass, into the cluster, into the swarm.
* “B-brother… help?”
Kim managed to whisper before his eyes turned completely black.
* “KIM?!” magician yelled
* “Kim finally became what he was meant to be. He became us. Kim, as an individual, in no more. Now, only we remain.”
* “Is that so? And who are
* “We? We are the end of the beginning and beginning of the end. We are the insatiable mouth that will swallow the evil, the sun, the moon, and the gods. So, in the end, only we could exist. In peace. In serenity. As it was meant to be. We are the one-man Legion. We. Are the All-father.”