Victor arose early in the morning the next day. His body had little ache to it but something felt off. Like he was a passenger instead of the one running it.
He got out of bed and realized he was the first to do so. Soon after that, he was invited to breakfast and woke up the others.
Amadeus and him went to grab the kids while Lillie and Yvette handled their Wielders. They were served a veritable feast once more, yet no one there could enjoy it to the fullest. That disconnected feeling remained with Victor even as he sobered up and ate his food. The sensations felt off, and he rubbed his head to get rid of it.
Am I sick? He wondered, but it didn’t seem like it.
When they were done, the kids were herded up to their rooms and told to pack their things. While they did so, Amadeus, Lillie and Victor were called over to the President’s tent to hear out his offer once more.
****
The tent was larger and fuller than the ones around it. From outside Victor could hear the President and Professor Cooper arguing about something, but their words were slurred.
But that didn’t make sense to Victor. He should’ve been able to hear them clearly.
He got his answer as soon as he stepped inside. Their words became clearer but the President and Professor stopped bickering. Inside of the tent was a long desk made for meetings and three individuals right beside it. The President, his assistant and the Professor.
“Good to see you, Victor. Are you ready to talk?” Jeffords asked him. the old man was as well-groomed as the day before. If someone had just plucked him out of the previous day and put him right in front of Victor, he would’ve believed it.
“Good afternoon, Mr. President. I…” he trailed off once he took a look at Cooper.
The Professor looked worried, like he’d barely slept the night before or the one before that. Something was off about the way he stood, like he was afraid.
A single darting of the Professor’s eyes told Victor the source of his fear.
“Are you alright, son?” Jeffords asked.
Victor couldn’t understand. Cooper darted his eyes again and again, until the President looked back to stare at him. the Professor straightened up after that, and Victor rubbed his head.
Why did it hurt so much?
“I’m fine… my head’s just killing me…”
His head. His head.
Victor looked back at Amadeus. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose and squinting his eyebrows.
Didn’t he… feel the same way? And Tiffany too?
What was going on?
“We have some Aspirin in the cupboard. Mei Li, if you would?”
His assistant got up but Victor raised a hand to stop her.
“Wait.”
Professor Cooper clasped his hands in front of him to stop them from shaking.
Shouts of the Earth.
Victor activated it.
Winds whistled around the man, forming into a conversation that was already etched into the earth.
“Dissenters won’t be tolerated. Do you know how many people we’re having to juggle here, Cooper?” someone echoed in the voice of the President.
He went wide-eyed in awe and stood there.
“You can do what you want with the adults. But keep the children out of it,” Cooper’s voice long past replied.
“My Wielders aren’t perfect, Cooper. Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to keeping people calm. If I had them checking every time to see who they were manipulating, we’d have been overthrown ages ago. It’s subtle, the kids’ll barely feel it.”
“If they do feel it, they’ll be brainwashed come the time they’re grown.”
“….That’s a price I’m willing to pay if it means uniting them,” The President finished.
The conversation went by as quickly as it had come, leaving the tent in silence. A thickness took over the air and no one spoke to pierce it.
The fog in Victor’s mind faded, and he felt in control of his body once more.
“You’ve been emotionally manipulating the people, haven’t you?” Victor accused the President.
The old man’s gaze didn’t shift, didn’t break. He was a trained politician, and his experience kept his feelings at bay.
“I have. For the sake of the people, I’ve been manipulating any rampant anger or rage they might feel against us,” The President explained. “But you have to understand, Victor. We cannot waste time on speeches to win the people over. You’ve seen how it is outside. Every moment that passes is another child dying at the hands of those monsters.”
“So, you fashion yourself a mindless population?” Victor replied.
“There are thousands of little groups of survivors out there! You expected us to walk up and talk them into the fold? Some of those same people had resources we needed. Resources they refused to share for some damn reason!”
“You take them over by force, then keep them complicit in New Columbia. That’s what a tyrant does,” Victor told him.
He knew the words wouldn’t get to the man. There was a fire in his eyes that refused to stop at that moment.
“The people need to know,” Amadeus added in finally.
And their fates were sealed right then and there. Victor saw the shift in the man’s expression, the resignation that came with making a hard decision. And then he saw him raise a hand.
Fire exploded out from the President’s arm. Professor Cooper ran out of the tent and Lillie raised a pane of light to stop the blast.
“Get back here!” The President shouted for Cooper, but he was long gone by then.
“Get the kids and get out!” Victor ordered Amadeus and Lillie.
“What about you?” Lillie asked.
“There’s no time!”
Amadeus grabbed her by the arm and she ran away. The pane of light fell as Victor rolled out of range of the blast. the fire hit the tent’s flaps and started burning it down around them.
Before him, the President started walking forwards slowly. Mei Li pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Victor. She never got the chance to fire as Victor shot his own guns.
The bullet caught Mei Li in the arm and froze it down to the fingers.
“Get out of here, Mei!” The President shouted for her.
She hesitated for a moment before nodding and running away.
As more of the tent caught fire, Victor and the President stared each other down.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“You shouldn’t have tested me, son,” he told him.
“You should’ve been buried with your family, old man.”
And they jumped at each other.
****
Amadeus ran through the camp alert. The people around him were confused and scared as he made his way over to the children.
Am heard Yvette’s cries from way over and began to run faster. He reached orphans and found a soldier holding her by her hair.
Red lightning scorched the man’s face. He fell and Amadeus grabbed Yvette by the shoulders.
“Are you alright?”
“I-I think I am,” she replied.
Amadeus heard more children screaming inside and burst into the room. At the far end the kids were cowering behind Jared. The teen was holding back a soldier. His right arm was covered up to the shoulder with armour, and a chest piece hung over his front. His other shoulder was bleeding as he held back the soldier.
Amadeus fried the man with lightning, cursing that he had to show it to the kids.
“Am!” Jared shouted for him.
“Jared! You and Yvette help me get the kids out!” Amadeus shouted back.
They left most of their things inside of the tents. The kids fell in line and Amadeus took their front. They got to running, and popped out of the tents out to the sight of more soldiers.
Damn it.
****
Lillie had a specific job. The kids would listen to Am better, so she had to bring back the Wielders. The only problem was, they were surrounded.
All around Lillie were bolts of magic flying through the air. She formed panes of light every which where to defend against the attacks that were aiming for them. soldiers surrounded the camps on all sides battering her shields with attacks.
“Ms. Aster! How do we proceed?!” one of the Wielders asked her.
Lillie bit her lip in consideration. They couldn’t stay here for long if they wanted to leave. Jeffords’ forces would be nearing the cars at any moment, and Amadeus and the kids needed defending.
“We’re going to charge! Follow my lead!” Lillie shouted for them.
“Ma’am!” the Wielders shouted back in unison.
Lillie thickened her panes as much as she could, then sharpened them to a point in front of her. The soldiers lined up behind her and Lillie charged right into the centre of the opposing force.
****
Victor shot through the air with a dislocated shoulder. He arced over and fell onto a tent which broke his fall. People screamed around Victor’s landing and escaped from the area.
He groaned standing up. Then put his hand up to his arm and pushed it back into its socket.
A portal opened up beside him and out walked the President solemnly. Victor aimed and fired at the man, but a magical knight appeared to guard him.
The knight was nothing but wisps of black smoke and magic come to life. It had the rough outline of something from a fantasy novel, a sword and shield in hand and armour. An inner light shone through, yet Victor knew there was no life behind the helmet.
“You can still give up, Victor. Promise to become my subordinate, to not raise a hand against me and I’ll let you and your friends escape punishment,” Jeffords told him.
“Spoken like a true politician. All promises, but no follow through,” Victor spat to his side. His spit came with blood, and he stood up on shaky legs.
He raised his pistols even as more magic knights escaped from the portals. Victor shot them down one by one, dispersing their essence into the winds.
Jeffords was surrounded in an instant by a whirlwind of black. Victor tried to pierce it, but his shots couldn’t reach the man inside.
“Can’t even fight your own battles, huh?” Victor taunted the man in hopes of aggravating him. but it seemed to have no effect on him.
Whenever he shot down the knights, Jeffords would just summon more. And he never seemed to run out of power.
When the knights closed in around him, Victor decided to stow his guns. He had limited ammo on him, and couldn’t afford to waste it on them.
Instead, he popped blades from his knuckles and started swiping at the knights. They came in with spears, maces and swords, but he slashed them apart before they could reach him. A hulking brute of a knight tried to squash him with a Warhammer and Victor jumped backwards.
He aimed at the knight and fired. His blades exploded in size and skewered the knight against a stone wall. The knight disappeared and Victor turned to the other monsters around him.
Tsk, too many.
It seemed the army around him had doubled. And though they were no match for him, the monsters would tire him out sooner or later. But those knights had a key weakness.
They were slow.
“Come on, son, give it up already,” Jeffords asked him.
“Not happening,” Victor jumped over a knight’s head and started running.
None of the knights could match his strength, and Jeffords would have to summon portals to stop him.
Portals opened up beside him and Victor ducked under a sword swing. He kept his momentum and kept running across the camp, startling people as he went by.
“Come back here!” Jeffords shouted for him.
Victor ignored the shouts and went on his way, only to end up meeting the worst possible people.
A force of soldiers blockaded the area in front of him. they had rifles in their hands aimed to shoot.
Victor ducked into an alley just as their volley started. People screamed around Victor, and he pulled out his guns once more.
When the volley stopped, Victor took a peak outside. He aimed for the boxes they’d piled high and fired his ignistone pistol. Their cover caught fire and the soldiers were forced to retreat.
Victor popped out of the alley just as another portal opened up behind him. This time Jeffords came through, and grabbed onto Victor’s arms.
“Stop!”
Victor popped blades from his forearms that sliced into the President’s hands. He let go of Victor and the Timewalker shot him twice in the chest. He then kicked him back into the alley and jumped sideways to avoid the second volley of gunfire.
“Mr. President!” a soldier shouted for Jeffords. Victor could hear the stomping of feet, so he looked behind himself towards some piled crates.
Good enough.
By the time the soldiers reached him, Victor had climbed up and away from them. The soldiers tried to look for the President but he was long gone himself.
“Don’t let Victor Amadi get away! Search for him and bring him in!” the squad leader shouted.
****
Victor’s legs began to tire when he reached the edge of the city. He Whispered words into the wind, informing Amadeus and Lillie of his plans.
You get the kids and the Wielders out. Break through the walls if you have to. I’ll meet you outside near the southern wall.
When he finished, another portal opened up in front of him. He was surprised to find the President there, looking no worse for wear.
“How did y-”
Victor tried to say but the President punched him in the face. Victor rolled across the ground until he came to a stop. He tried to push himself off of his arms but the President got to him first. He pulled Victor up by the hair and put him into a chokehold.
Victor struggled in the man’s iron grip. It was like he was being strangled by a machine rather than a man. His heart quickened and he couldn’t get air no matter what.
A cloud of storms formed in the distance, and Victor heard cries followed by blasts of blinding lightning.
Amadeus.
Am was close to the cars. Victor needed to get out and meet with the man. When he looked around, he saw soldiers approaching from in front of him. Victor panicked, trying to free himself even further.
“Mr. President, are you alright?” the squadron commander shouted.
“I’m fine, son, just…” he struggled to keep Victor from moving.
“Let us handle it!”
Victor’s face was turning different shades and he felt himself growing lightheaded. That’s when an idea came to him.
“H-he’s manipulatin…. Everyone!” Victor shouted with the last of his breath.
“What?” the squadron commander said.
Jeffords put a hand over his mouth.
“Ignore him. Go grab his allies. They’re trying to make a run for it!” Jeffords shouted.
“Are you su-”
“Now!” Jeffords reiterated, and the soldiers started running.
Victor got a finger in his mouth and bit it off. Jeffords screamed in pain and let him go.
Victor fell to the ground and sucked air like it was his last breath. The bloody finger fell out of his mouth and he looked back to watch the President holding a shaky hand.
“You bit me!” Jeffords growled in pain.
“Lying… to your own soldiers. I wonder… what would happen… if they found out,” Victor said.
He Whispered into the winds, to every single person he’d met in the camps. Though he couldn’t remember their names, he knew their faces. And that was enough to deliver the message. He Whispered till his Whisperer’s Tongue cracked, and only then did he let it rest.
While he did, a light enveloped Jeffords and spread across his hand. it regenerated the finger out of nothing, and not for the first time did Victor wonder what kind of Seeds the man possessed.
He reviewed his mental list, trying to think of any that could fit the powers. Summoning, regeneration… what was it that Jeffords mentioned before? Subordinates?
Then it hit Victor.
“You’ve got the Lord’s Domain,” he spoke to him.
“How do you know its name?” Jeffords asked accusatorily. “Never mind. You won’t live to tell it.”
Then Jeffords summoned more knights against him. Victor could see his power waning, and he shot two holes in the summoned knights.
He jumped back from one of their swings, and took cover in a tent from the blast of fire Jeffords summoned.
A portal opened up next to Victor and he shot his pistols through it. He then ran out of the tent and looked towards the wall.
I need to get out.
More knights came from the tent and grabbed onto Victor. He popped blades from inside his clothes, cutting apart the smoky monsters apart. But they rushed out of the tent quicker than ever.
They tackled Victor into another tent. He popped more blades from his body, but they kept piling on and on. He felt the weight crushing him underneath, and the tent fell around him. The pile grew taller than the tent itself, and Victor saw the sun blotted out before his eyes.
In the darkness of the knights, Victor could hear nothing, see nothing. It was… oddly peaceful.
If he just gave up then, what would go wrong? He could leave the world to its own troubles. Free himself of the power. Maybe it would even do others some good. If the Timewalker’s Origin found its way over to someone else, they could probably use it better than him.
But then faces flooded his mind. People who counted on him. Who, even if they didn’t remember it all, cared for him. He’d be letting them down if he gave up then.
Victor grabbed onto a knight’s helm with his arm. He steeled his mind and body alike. His metallic nails felt anew, and Victor focused on the sharpening of swords inside his soul. He was the blade itself.
A thousand knives exploded from Victor’s body. The knights fell all at once, exploding outwards in a blast of black wind.
The President watched as Victor stood up in the middle of that black, more metal than man at that point. Those blades retreated back into his skin, all except one that extended perpendicular from his arm.
There were more knights surrounding Victor. They rushed for him in that moment. Victor raised that single blade and it expanded around him. then it spun around in fraction of a second, and cut apart the knights with a single circular swipe.
[Ability Unlocked: Metallize Boost]
[Ability Unlocked: Metallize Boost]
[Ability Unlocked: Moving Blade]
[Ability Unlocked: Quicker Blades]