Chapter 140: Quinn Larisch (Part 12)
After that, I was running on autopilot for a while. It’s all just a blur when I think back on it. I wasn’t really conscious of what was going on as I tended to Hunter, one of the people I nearly manipulated to have killed. I guess the fear of Zeris coming to kill me then was too much.
At some point, I had gone to the stream to fill up his canteen. Everything was kind of fuzzy until Ace returned to the camp carrying Flora. Seeing Flora’s corpse, I was disgusted with both myself and Zeris. It was by his hand, sure, but I was the one who manipulated her to go into the forest, which got her killed in the end. And even worse, I took that sight as a message about what could happen to my parents. I couldn’t say anything about it… I had to stay quiet about everything.
At least Ace is alive.
That thought gave me some hope, but I remember how selfish I felt for thinking that back then.
I had to put on an act from that point onward, pretending I was just as oblivious to what happened as everybody else was. Still, I could tell Scar wasn’t fully buying it. At one point, while Hunter explained his side of the story, I received word from Zeris, and he informed me that there was already a change in plans. He wanted me to send Ace to the stream alone at some point that evening.
I couldn’t verbally acknowledge his orders, so I itched at the ear with the implant. Something back then told me he was watching, so it was all I could do without being too obvious… and I was right to assume so as we later learned about the crows he used like mobile surveillance cameras.
As I was ordered, I manipulated Ace to go to the stream later that day, and he returned a wielder of iris. It appeared that sending Ace to the stream so Zeris could awaken Ace with iris was a success, and I believed it would at least partially make up for my earlier fault. It was left unsaid, but I still inferred that Zeris wanted me to protect Ace to a certain extent, so I decided to keep an eye on him as much as possible. But that strategy was scrapped almost immediately as Ace declared he was going out into the forest the following day to figure out what happened to Flora.
Ace was now an iris wielder, so he possessed the traits of a superhuman even though he wasn’t conscious about it yet. My protection wouldn’t be as necessary, especially once he acclimates to using his ability. I was curious what it might be, but once again, I wasn’t going to risk taking any unnecessary moves without Zeris’s word.
I spent the next few days following Zeris’s orders to the letter. At first, it was to allow Ace to leave camp in the direction he provided without backup. Next, once Zeris learned the group would be conducting a trial to determine Ace’s fate, he requested that Ace be banished from the camp. This one was tricky, but I overridden the memories of probably a dozen people to get Ace exiled.
For example, after learning what Delta saw, I overrode Blue’s memory to make him believe Ace was the villain. I also had him wait inside his tent, listening in on the trial until it was my turn to vote. I rigged the name draw to where Scar would be the judge and ensured that Scar would leave the deciding vote up to me. That way, Blue would interrupt the trial when the tension was at its peak.
I already planned to say Ace was guilty, so I manipulated Scar long beforehand, assuring that when it was time to declare a punishment, Ace would be exiled. Based on her story, I knew Delta already felt hatred toward Ace, so I manipulated her so she would patronize Ace as outrageously as possible.
However, looking back, I don’t think my ability was necessary.
Lastly, I manipulated Ace into revealing his speculative powers in front of everybody after Blue confronts him. Not only would he appear dangerous, but his powers would turn nearly everybody against him. It's a risky move, but that way, I’ll also get a good look at what his powers really were.
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Once Ace was exiled, Zeris shifted his attention and gave me new orders. I was informed that Scar was the assassin known as Armaros, whom Kane had caught almost two years ago. By that point, I had altered my own memories numerous times, so when I think back, it’s tricky to work out what I truly wanted around that time. I don’t know if I’m even remembering correctly now. To this day, I still resent Armaros for ruining my last chance at helping at least one of my parents escape Iasa.
Zeris explained that Ace would be under his care from here on out, but Armaros must be eliminated but under the means where it would make sense for the trial. He proposed a plan where everybody would leave camp the following day in smaller groups, and he entrusted me to follow through on such a request, slyly throwing in a jab that he still has my father in his custody.
After we banished Ace, I sat down with Ember, Forest, Hunter, and Falcon. They told me about some weird markings near a cave, which could only mean it was part of the actual trials that Zeris was overseeing. It was late, though, so I proposed that we pick up this topic of conversation the following morning, and the others agreed.
That night, after everyone was asleep, I snuck into Scar’s tent and overrode him into believing the plan Zeris proposed was a great idea, spicing up the idea of it with what Ember’s group found. I also ensured that Scar would only be paired up with me.
As for everybody else, whether I thought they would go along with Scar’s proposal or not, I guaranteed that everyone else would leave camp the following day.
I pretended I was against the very plan I seeded in Scar’s mind so the others would be even more convinced by Scar’s argument while I countered with a weak one. I also began experiencing the consequences of abusing my override ability around that time, but I had to push through.
The others had split themselves into five groups at our morning meeting after I left, and just as I intended, I was paired with Scar. It was pretty difficult to act like I didn’t know who he really was and how much I loathed him, but all I had to do was draw him out in the open and let Zeris do the rest. If necessary, I could even kill him myself… it’s not like he knew he had powers.
As we departed from camp, Zeris whispered in my ear to travel a few miles away from camp before knocking Scar out. And that’s when an idea popped into my head.
What if Scar did know he had his powers? If I really think about it, Zeris is now my main threat, not Scar. If Scar is powerful enough to go toe to toe with Kane, he might be able to beat Zeris. And if he bests Zeris, would Kane move in to kill my parents? I doubt it.
I didn’t know Kane very well, but I knew him enough that he wouldn’t unnecessarily kill somebody based on their relative's crime… he wasn’t that much of a government lackey. And if Zeris is killed, my mother and I would be safe, and I could steal the monarch's ability from him.
It was a subtle doing, casual enough that Zeris wouldn’t think anything of it. I purposely got tripped up by a tree root poking out of the path while walking with Scar, and when he helped me up, I activated override. Overriding the effects of the memory gun to such a large scale was tricky… it was like traveling through a dark void while looking for a needle in a haystack. I quickly became nervous that I might be unable to do anything after all. Still, I found one tiny crevasse of hope I could work with, his assassin codename: Armaros.
I’ve only done this a few times before, and not every time has it worked out. Nonetheless, I took the risk anyway. Overriding that memory to potentially induce a chain reaction, as long as the name ‘Armaros’ is spoken aloud to Scar, the effects of the memory gun will permanently wear off. He will remember his life as an assassin.
What was looking to be an absolute letdown turned into the most perfect of scenarios. If I had brought back all of Scar’s memories, Zeris would be able to tell with orasi, but now, if Zeris encounters Scar, he will believe nothing has changed.
As for overriding some current memories of his, I implanted the idea in Scar’s head that traveling as far away from camp was the best thing to do. I also influenced Scar's conscience to where he would feel more hungry and drowsy the further we walked, designed to knock him out for a few hours if he ever decided to stop and rest.
A couple of hours later, after around thirty minutes of pleading with Scar that we should stop and rest, he gave in as planned. My job was nearly done, and once Scar was fast asleep, I separated myself from him. Leaving behind my backpack, I concealed my iris presence and hid in a nearby bush to see how this would all unfold. I had followed all of Zeris’s orders, so there was no reason for him to go back on his word. He would’ve already told me to do so if he had wanted me to kill Scar.
And soon enough, it was showtime.