Chapter 16

Ryker

The arrogant woman's body stiffened, and all the color drained from her face. Despite moving her lips, no noise could be heard. I felt someone should step in and ask the question for her.

"Ruby, what are those things in the tank, and what do you mean by our first meal?" Ruby’s expression immediately softened. As her gaze settled on me, her tone took on a melodic cadence that was pleasant.

"Ah, yes, of course, Ryker. The tank before you is indeed special. It houses roughly 100 creatures. These beings have been a vital tool to raise warriors to brave the challenges of the Pyramid. The Vren, as we call them, were initially discovered in the lowest level of the Pyramid upon its discovery 185 thousand years ago by the first emperor. He found that the small creature had special properties, and when ingested, they imbued that person with the ability to perceive and draw in the energy that exists around and within all living things."

"This energy bolstered the young emperor, and with its power, he was able to reach the top of the Pyramid and solidify his rule. Ever since the first emperor's rise, the Vren have been kept under lock and key. Carefully bred and raised over thousands of years to only be given to those who will enter the Pyramid. Such power has been controlled by the emperors to ensure no rebel uprising had the strength to ever truly challenge their reign."

"Which leads up to the here and now. One by one, you will be allowed to enter their habitat. When fully submerged, you will be able to hear the song of the Vren inside your mind. The creatures are unintelligent but have an ability to form a psychic link with other beings and determine some sort of compatibility. We are unsure exactly what it is that they are looking for or how their abilities work, but we have found that if it is the Vren that has chosen you that is ingested, then the chances of death drop by 78%. Most that eat a Vren at random soon perish."

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The woman took one step backward, swayed, then fell backward unconscious. It must have been too much for the woman to handle, and she fainted. We all looked over at the woman with morbid curiosity, but no one made a move to help the entitled troublemaker. I felt no reason to stop digging, so I kept pushing for answers.

An uncomfortable look made its way onto my face as i said. "So you're telling me... you expect us to wade into that thing, and then eat one of those worms?"

With a pleased look on Ruby's face, she simply nodded and said, "Exactly! Don't worry, Ryker, when you actually get in the liquid, you will feel completely at ease. The Vren's psychic ability has a soothing effect that is supposed to feel very pleasurable. Then, when a single Vren approaches your face, you simply open your mouth, and it will swim inside, and all you have to do is bite down, chew, and swallow. Then you will unlock your body's ability to access vital energy, or you will swell and explode."

I tried to keep my cool, but what Ruby expected us to do and what could happen was… a lot to process. Amy beat me to it though."EXPLODE!?!?!?!? Oh! Is that all? No big deal then, let me have cuttsys and get this knocked out first… Ruby, are you messing with us?"

Ruby, to her credit, once again took it all in stride."Of course, I’m not messing with you, Amy. Unfortunately, this is one of the tasks that are mandatory, no matter how I feel about the outcome. You and everyone else here will eat a Vren. Whoever refuses to do so will be killed, and there is nothing I can do about it."

I looked Ruby directly in the eyes and asked, "You said that if we eat the Vren that chooses us, it increases our survival rate… what are our chances of dying from this?"

A comforting smile graced Ruby’s face, and she answered, "Roughly 120 million humans will die attempting this process in the next couple of hours. Meaning 50% will not survive. There is no way to know which of you have a better chance than the others, and there is no way to improve your odds. Your body will embrace the power, or it will flood every cell of your body until you explode under its pressure. This is the fate of all that choose to enter the pyramid of power."