Chapter 19
Ryker
After regaining control over my anger, I rejoined the others with morbid curiosity at the scene unfolding before me. Jeremiah was still attached to the floor, his arms floating out from his sides with his eyes closed. He resembled someone sleeping in the dark fluid. This continued for a few more minutes while the Vren darted from one side of the tank to the other, appearing agitated. Ruby narrowed her eyes and said, “That is quite perplexing...this is not typical Vren behavior. This does not bode well for Jeremiah. The protocol will only allow him 2 more minutes before he will have to choose for himself.”
Another minute passed, and the Vren appeared to have settled down, lazily circling Jeremiah in an underwater dance. Just before his time ran out, a single Vren broke off from the cluster and slowly approached Jeremiah. He must have sensed something because his eye slowly opened, and lips parted. The small creature swam the final few inches to Jeremiah's mouth and disappeared from sight.
We watched as a look of determination steeled itself onto Jeremiah's face, and he made an exaggerated biting motion, vigorously chewing. Then, with another final motion, he swallowed the remains of the small Vren. The moment he finished devouring the creature whole, all of the Vren that were circling him darted away in every direction—except one. No Vren could be seen going to the top-left portion of the tank where the light couldn't reach.
Ruby made another waving motion at the tank and said, “This is more of what I was expecting. None of the Vren want to be caught up in the... aftermath if this doesn’t go well. We will know in the next 15 seconds or so.”
Amy’s hand reached out and wrapped around my arm, squeezing. She apparently was feeling as much anxiety as I was. Jeremiah must have been feeling something as well; his body looked tense, and we all could see the muscles in his arms and jaw flex as if he was in a great amount of discomfort. We all could see his pale skin redden at an alarming rate, and I feared for the worst. I was counting down in my head, and when I reached 7, I saw Jeremiah's body go completely limp. His skin color slowly returned to its ghostly appearance, and the tension in his muscles seemed to lessen.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The foot restraints released their hold on the floor, and a mechanical set of arms deployed from the top of the tank, fishing out Jeremiah's unconscious form. He was deposited on the cobbles next to us, remaining there unmoving.
Glancing over at Ruby, I could tell she was ecstatic. The demonic A.I. appearance couldn’t have been more out of place with the pure elation showing on her face. She made one last little hop and turned to the group with both arms wide and said, “This, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of the best-case scenario and what I hope for you all. Jeremiah now has the potential to grow stronger than any of your kind that have come before you. He will remain unconscious while his body fully recovers from the shock of absorbing vital energy for the first time. He will wake up stronger in every way and will continue to get stronger with every ounce of energy he claims as his own."
A man with unremarkable features and a potbelly raised his hand until Ruby gestured for him to speak. “Hi, I am sorry to interrupt you miss, but uh….will we... I mean….how do we... um... absorb this energy you keep talking about?” It was a painful thing to watch the man stumble over his words while he stared directly down at his own feet.
Ruby tapped her bottom lip twice then smiled. “I myself obviously do not have firsthand experience with this process, but the records indicate that there are three ways of gaining strength after your awakening. One, you will passively absorb the ambient energy that resides in your environment. So the more energy-dense your environment is, the more you will gain. Like with the first method, the second is dependent on where you are. You can learn to actively draw the energy into your body through meditation techniques and practice. The third and final way you can grow is by ingesting incredibly rare alchemical concoctions that can be procured from some of the denizens of the pyramid, but I wouldn't count on the last option. The few known locations to get them are higher up the pyramid and prohibitively expensive to trade for. I hope that answers your question, but for now, we must proceed. There are 9 more of you that I must process, and it looks like my volunteer is waking up.”