Chapter 25: Brainwashing Cult
August 25, 2030. Sunday.
Religion was a very complex thing. It molded societies, created social norms, and served as pillars of support for communities. Religion had evolved into a fluid belief system among the conquered worlds, with polytheistic faiths spreading and intertwining as cultures merged. But the Kane Chaplaincy was different. It demanded monotheistic devotion from its followers, a singular focus in a world that was increasingly becoming fragmented.
Kane City was dotted with small churches and nondescript buildings that often went unnoticed, and their pews were empty more often than not. But today, something was different. The Faramese Church, one of the many fronts operated by the Kane Chaplaincy, was far from empty.
I had to admit, the Chaplaincy's approach was… effective. Religion had always been a tool. It was a means to an end. It provided comfort, structure, and, most importantly, control. But in Kane City, it was something else entirely—a weapon in a much larger game. And that made it dangerous.
The Kane Chaplaincy’s influence was growing, spreading like a virus through the city’s veins. I wasn’t sure what their endgame was, but I had a feeling it was tied to something much bigger than just a religious movement. Something that had the potential to reshape the balance of power in the entire planet.
The Faramese Church was just one piece of the puzzle, a seemingly innocuous place of worship in a city full of them. But I knew better. This was no ordinary church, and the people gathering there weren’t just seeking salvation.
So what was I exactly doing in front of this church?
The thing was… I forgot. A nasty side effect of mixing with the wrong people, I guessed. Heartstopper’s plot had likely caught me in its web, and perhaps I had been brainwashed in the process. As a defense mechanism, I must have wiped the infected memories clean using my power, leaving me clueless and standing here like some lost soul. I found myself walking alongside the churchgoers, blending in with the crowd, while a woman with short dark hair took her place at the podium.
Keeping tabs on the Kane Chaplaincy had been a matter of survival. I had no choice, especially with the trajectory of Ivory’s storyline that I had pre-ordained. I knew of Dead Whore’s connection to the Kane Chaplaincy through Heartstopper, thanks to my meta-knowledge. If push came to shove, I might have to kill Chris myself to stop this madness, to protect the mundanity I so desperately cherished. The irony wasn’t lost on me—how easily the thought of killing had come and how it had woven itself into my survival instinct.
Perhaps, by accepting this reality, I’ve also opened myself to the darker parts of my humanity.
“Greetings, followers of the faith,” began the woman on the podium, her voice carrying through the small church. “Today is a joyous day.”
I knew that woman—she wasn’t among the named selectable characters in the game, but she had made an appearance once in Heartstopper’s cinematics. She was a high-level mind controller. In the game, fighting her in mortal combat was never an option since she wasn’t a selectable character. Here, though, she was very real, and I was deep in enemy territory.
What was her endgame? And why was I here, of all places? The answers were buried somewhere in the memories I had erased, and I had a feeling they weren’t going to be pleasant. But for now, I had to play along, keep my head down, and hope I could figure out what was going on before it was too late.
I was dressed in civilian clothing, blending perfectly with the crowd. Gina, the woman on the podium, continued her speech with an intensity that resonated through the small church. “This world doesn’t need heroes, villains, and gods—”
Ah, so it was that storyline. The Kane Chaplaincy had taken the path of extreme anti-superhuman rhetoric. Even atheistic beliefs were a form of faith, and in this reality, the Chaplaincy was pushing it to the extreme. Heartstopper, also known as Chris, had decided on a social engineering approach to impress the Order’s upper management. It was a twisted strategy, but one that made sense in a world like this.
Back in the game, the characters had multiple bad endings but could only achieve one happy ending, it spoke just how bleak things could get in this reality. As the crowd cheered and echoed the preacher’s words, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Raven, the last person I expected to run into here. The guy had a mop of hair, stood fairly tall, and had a lanky frame that made him seem almost out of place.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Raven whispered, his voice low as he began to pull me toward the far edge of the church. “You into this?”
I glanced back at the podium, then at Raven, unsure how to respond. “Not exactly,” I muttered, letting him guide me away from the center of the action. This was getting more complicated by the minute. Raven’s appearance here couldn’t be a coincidence, and I had a sinking feeling that whatever was about to happen next was something I couldn’t ignore.
Raven and I had a complicated history, and our last encounter hadn’t exactly ended on good terms. Trusting him wasn’t an option, at least not yet. “How about you? Are you into this?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
Raven smirked, his eyes scanning the crowd before he leaned in closer. “Did you recall that job I talked to you about? The courier job?”
“Yeah, the one about the empty boxes,” I replied, my curiosity piqued despite my caution.
“They weren’t so empty after all,” Raven said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“What is it?” I pressed with urgency in my voice betraying my attempt to stay calm.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Despite all the meta-knowledge I had, it didn’t make me omniscient. There were still things I didn’t know—under-the-table dealings, plot twists, or even narrative corrections that hadn’t played out yet.
Raven’s expression was grim as he answered, “The packages weren’t so empty after all… and I don’t mean that literally. The real box was the ride itself. We were distributing some kind of mind virus…”
A realization hit me like a freight train. In the game, Heartstopper had developed a sinister method to forcibly calm people, reducing them to a state akin to domesticated animals. Superpowered psychosis was a recurring problem in this reality, and this virus seemed like his twisted solution. But how were the riders distributing it?
Raven continued, his voice low and tense, “A friend of mine stole the bike they lent us and decided to pry it open. He wanted to modify it, I reckon. Guess what he found hidden just under the fuel tank?”
“Tell me.”
“Human brains…” Raven’s words hung in the air, each syllable a chilling revelation.
In the game, the sickness had been nameless, but Heartstopper had called it the Web—a horrific application of his power that allowed him to create a moving electric grid with humans as the focal points. But this wasn’t just about the brains jacked into the bikes; it was about the entire population of Kane City being turned into nodes of this twisted network.
This grisly detail wasn’t shown in the game—perhaps too gory even for its dark narrative. Heartstopper didn’t strike me as an inventor, though. Could it be that he made a deal with the Masters of Steel at the behest of the Kane Chaplaincy? It seemed likely.
It looked like I had to give up on Kane City.
If Heartstopper continued on this path, he would either miserably fail at the expense of millions of lives, or he would succeed, possibly saving thousands of superhuman lives in the future with his cure but at an unimaginable cost.
A dark thought crept into my mind, and I had to suppress a grin. The prospect of mass murder right in front of me shouldn’t excite me—it was wrong. Yet, I couldn’t help but recall the time I punished Ivory after remaking her into the ideal hero. I could almost taste the chaos to come: Heartstopper’s twisted morality colliding with the World Order’s cold pragmatism, and the devastation that would follow.
The morality of it all blurred as I considered the possibilities. Would I step in, or would I let it unfold? The thought of witnessing such a catastrophic event, of seeing the world order challenged, made my pulse quicken. I needed to decide—whether to stop Heartstopper or let him play out his hand and in doing so, see what kind of world would emerge from the ashes.
I asked myself, did I still want Ivory to suffer for killing Lois? Letting Heartstopper run rampant would certainly bring her pain. Ivory had already begun to voice dangerous opinions about the Order, the Union, and the Guard—she was no longer just fighting crime; she was making speeches, challenging the status quo. The higher she rose, the higher she’d fall.
As these thoughts swirled in my mind, Raven’s voice broke through my reverie, shaking me out of my stupor. “Hey, are you listening to me!?” His voice was urgent, almost frantic. “Do you remember the kids from the arcade? One by one, they went crazy, started raving mad… My friends were dragged into the asylum, and some of them committed suicide.”
The gravity of his words pulled me back to reality. The church service ended, and I made my way back to my apartment, Raven’s warnings echoing in my mind.
Once inside, I found myself pacing, grappling with the conflicting emotions that were tearing me apart. Ivory had killed Lois, and a part of me still burned with the desire for revenge. But was I really willing to let Heartstopper unleash his chaos on the city, just to make Ivory suffer? The thought was both tantalizing and repulsive.
I collapsed onto the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling. Ivory’s words, her defiance against the powers that be, echoed in my mind. She was walking a dangerous path, and I knew that if Heartstopper’s plan succeeded, it would break her.
But at what cost?
The city was on the brink, and I had to decide whether I’d let it fall into the abyss or do something to stop it. My mind raced with the possibilities, each one darker than the last. What kind of person would I become if I chose to stand by and let it all unfold?
It should be fine. I was merely a nobody after all.
I sat in the silence of my apartment with the city outside teetering on the edge. I realized the choice was mine alone to make. I headed for the hideout underground, searching the place thoroughly. It had only been three hours since I woke up in front of that church, and if I had been brainwashed and lost my memories, I should have left countermeasures for myself.
Inside the file cabinet, I found USB after USB filled with video footage, serving as my journal. My last clear memory was from July 30th, so that’s where I began. I started skimming through the USBs on my laptop.
Most of the footage was uneventful, but then I found what I was looking for.
I played the recording.
"Neighborhood started becoming weird. People are talking less. Crime is going down. Fewer visitors in the park. It’s so quiet."
I made it a principle not to mention my meta-knowledge in these recordings, so if anyone ever questioned my sources, the footage would be misunderstood at best. It was the lesser evil between the delusional and the other. I continued listening to the video.
"People from the local churches started knocking on doors. It’s definitely the Kane Chaplaincy. It fits their MO. This is most likely a brainwashing case, but this time, they’ve become bolder and bolder… I locked my door, and never let them in my house.
"Heartstopper has been gathering a cabal of mind controllers from any rank without discrimination. The strategy is fairly simple: preach. I imagine Heartstopper can’t singularly mind-control the whole city. Essentially, it’s not mind control, but merely a very strong mental suggestion that suppresses violent urges and dark emotions.
"Heartstopper will make his final move by December, most likely running for election under his civilian identity. Once mayor, he’ll set his sights on the rest of the world. Enforcers have started joining the preaching. Ivory was seen killing a man in plain sight.
"Today, brainwashing attempts were made against me. Criminals at large have begun breaking and trespassing into homes, disguising their true motives with robbery. I can’t just remove the implanted mental suggestions immediately, or they’ll notice. I’ll bide my time, and then I’ll erase the infected memories.”
"This will be my last recording until I remove the infected memories. If you’ve woken up near the Faramese Church the next day, it means the Kane Chaplaincy has your trust now. I’ll leave it to your discretion on what to do from now on."
I sat back, digesting the information. The situation was more dire than I’d anticipated. The Kane Chaplaincy’s influence had spread deeper than I realized, and now it was up to me to decide how to move forward.
I wondered what the other me was thinking, throwing this at me. I already had a plan: to lie low during the entire ordeal, which I was fully capable of. No one could have found me or forced me into anything I didn’t want to do. The question was why I wouldn’t stick to that plan. And here I thought I was resolved to live a mundane life.
But the other me from the past month pulled this shit over on me.
What was that guy’s problem?
"I am so fucking corny," I muttered to myself.
I wished the other me had just robbed a bank if he wanted to vent his frustrations. At least that would’ve been straightforward, and less messy. But no, he had to drag me into this twisted mess, tangled up in the web of the game’s storyline.
Now I had to deal with the fallout.