38 The Overseer

I gawked at the enormous presence, “It's...It’s good to meet you too, Overseer."

The Behemoth turned to Kessiah, "You and Torix have joined forces again. Interesting. You both have quite the collection of tools at your disposal. Breaking the controlled territories shouldn't be a problem."

Althea unformed her rifle, and she made herself small. She murmured, "Hello, sir. I’m Althea Tolstoy. It’s great to meet you."

The Overseer tilted its head at Althea, “We shall see if our meeting is good with time. To Schema, you are an experiment. So is the Harbinger. Whether either of you manifest your potential is the real question.”

Torix turned a palm towards the giant, and the necromancer murmured, "Now, that is exactly what I am here for. This deal of ours will enable them to truly shine.”

Kessiah crossed her arms, “What plan?”

Torix spread his hands, “You, Daniel, and Althea shall clear out the infected areas. The Force of Iron will then go behind you and move up the quarantine zone past the cleansed regions."

I raised an eyebrow, "We aren’t exactly clearing the areas."

Kessiah leaned onto my head, and she sneered, "That aura of yours kills the plants and spores. You can just walk past assigned sections everyday. The Force of Iron could just walk behind us."

I glanced up at her, "Don't you think that's a bit risky to rely on my power like that? I’m pretty low level."

Kessiah rolled her eyes, "Letting Yawm’s operations continue has the same risk. Taking them out is the only option. The thing is, you guys are killing any living zombies and I don't know, like 99% of all the infected stuff. Considering the Force of Iron wants to get rid of the infected zones, your aura is about as good as it's going to get."

The Overseer turned back towards me, its voice commanding the room, "I will organize the legion's efforts for cleaning up behind your team." The Overseer lifted a massive arm and pointed a finger at us, "You three will act as a vanguard. Torix will support you at a distance. Simple enough?"

I nodded, "Sure. That’s not that different from what we had planned anyway...So, what're we getting from the Force of Iron in return?"

The Overseer lowered its hand, "Torix and I discussed an exchange of several goods, including several technologies and books. It should be a suitable compensation for organizing them."

While listening, I identified it.

Overseer | Level 20,000 - An enforcer of the monolith system within sector C-137. Invincible, powerful, but most of all, loyal to Schema. Do not disobey or else face elimination.

The status read with some bias in its voice, but the level alone verified most of what it said bias or not. The Overseer turned towards Torix. The behemoth mouthed like metal,

"All parties agree. Good. We shouldn't waste anymore time here. We shall head to the Force of Iron, and I shall give the administrative rights for this faction to you...For the time being."

Torix gave the Overseer a slight bow, “Thank you. If I might ask, when shall we leave?”

The Overseer raised an enormous hand, “Now.”

The giant raised a glowing arm, and arcs of blue lightning shot out of its palm before the giant clicked its fingers. Nothing changed in our room, but signs of a sudden shift ebbed in from outside. A factory hummed in the distance. Drilling machinery, revving engines, and firing guns echoed just outside the dirt walls. As I glanced around, Althea hugged herself and frowned. While I didn’t hug myself, it unnerved me how potent the Overseer was.

By comparison, Torix and Kessiah kept a steady composure. I turned towards Torix,

"Where are we now?"

Torix shrugged, “We’re in the Force of Iron’s base. The Overseer warped us just now.”

My eyes widened, “But...How?”

Torix peered at the giant. Torix murmured, “They have many of the same rights and abilities as Schema, as they are his most loyal paragons of destruction."

I turned towards the Overseer, "Were you made by Schema then?"

The Overseer didn’t peer my way as he announced, "No. I earned my own strength. I climbed through his system, and I was rewarded for my own accomplishments. Schema did grant me my own cybernetic enhancements." The Overseer raised his hand, energy rippling the air like a rock tossed into a pond,

"They are...Potent."

The Overseer flicked his fingers, and above us, the ground dematerialized in a flash of light. Sun beamed in while I froze in place. Althea murmured, "So, why haven’t you killed Yawm? You, uhm, look like you could do it...If you wanted to, that is.”

The Overseer waved his hand, “You are not incorrect. I am able but not allowed.” Wherever the Overseer’s hand crossed, the dirt walls of our base disappeared in a wave of light. Tearing down the entrance to Torix’s underground base, the Overseer revealed the inside of a warehouse. Soldiers stared at us, their guns pointed in our direction. The Overseer flicked a finger, the barrels curving up for each and every gun present.

The giant spread his hands, “You all serve these people now. Understood? This is a directive from Schema, and the quests will reflect this change.”

The troopers gawked at the Overseer, anything it said like new laws spoken aloud. The Overseer clicked his other hand, creating a hologram of stars above us. Galaxies, nebulas, and quasars swarmed around each of us in real time, as if we drifted through the vast void of space. My eyes opened wide at the beauty and majesty of it all. I kind of whiplashed from all the changing scenery and circumstances, adding to the effect.

I appreciated the pause the Overseer gave us to relax. After a few seconds, the giant raised a hand towards the hologram, "As requested, I shall share what we know of Yawm. I relish in an opportunity to teach a little of Schema’s past as well. Try to listen as I won’t speak the relevant information twice."

The hologram honed onto a shiny planet that orbited around a red dwarf. It carried scars all across its surface, as if massive patches of glass reflected the nearby star’s light. The overseer sighed,

"This was Wohak, a planet that sustained a population of sentient life much like earth."

The Overseer waved its hand, reversing the flow of time in the hologram. Light coalesced from a monumental detonation. A colossal, dark, and writhing shadow molded off the planet, fire raining across its surface in reverse. The Overseer winced, mainly through the tone of its voice,

"Schema’s darkest instruments - Spatial Fortresses. They are disgusting but necessary. Schema could lob a chunk of iron at high enough speeds and simply crack a planet with ease. In that regard, planets are simply molten marbles floating in space. Your marble happens to be covered in dirt. If you send a large block of iron at it, the molten metal that composes the planet will split in all directions.”

The Overseer raised a hand, “Schema avoids doing so as it ruins a planet for millions of years. In reality, how different are the Spatial Fortresses? It’s a question for another day.”

The Overseer opened his hand, zooming in on the planet, "This is where Yawm was born. This is also where he should have died. He left his planet and served Etorhma before coming back to this place. It was only after he had been touched by Etorhma that he began spewing nonsense."

Closer to the planet’s surface, a writhing, dark mountain came into view, revealing giant beings. Cast in darkness, the dark blobs shifted over a scene of trees and other wildlife. It swallowed hills and lakes, crossing over them and igniting the surface as it passed. It carried no shape or reason, an incoming tidal wave of obliteration. The Overseer closed a hand,

"It's amazing how close Yawm came to creating what he wanted on Wohak. He converted his home planet into a fringe world, giving him an ample supply of materials for his experiments, most of it not of an animalistic origin. Wohak was a unique world in that regard. It’s primary sentient species, the porytians, originated from plants."

The view of the hologram closed in on a wooden, hunched thing that walked on all fours. Flowing strips of wood acted as skin, and a thick layer of large, fanning leaves covered its back. Several tubes composed the mouth of the creature as it sucked up some water from a nearby pool. With no eyes and no mouth, the thing felt around with thick, elephant feet with hundreds of roots for toes.

"This is a porytian, the plant species that Yawm hails from. They have several subclasses for their species, this one being a collector. Yawm was a member of the warrior sub race."

The Overseer twisted his finger, sending the viewpoint of the hologram onto a much different creature. This beast owned the same flowing strips of wood for skin, but it stood upright. It walked on wooden goat legs, three large toes for standing. The long, wiry arms latched onto branches, letting the creature carry itself along a canopy of trees.

Falling from its back was a mane of leaves that looked like hair. The two glowing, green eyes on its face pulsed with green, ambient energy. The mana sent light through several cracks in its body. The Overseer stated,

"This is what Yawm’s subspecies looked like. Lithe and agile, they can use their own hard skin for killing any predators or herbivores trying to kill the collectors of their tribes. They relish in combat as well, making them prime candidates for Schematization."

The hologram moved outwards, back to a view of the entire galaxy. The Overseer sighed and said,

"Yawm saw the horror of this universe, but in a different light. Imagine what paper must have looked like to him as he went to other worlds?”

I put my hands on my hips, “I think it would be like seeing leather boots or something.”

The Overseer tilted his head, “The porytians view all plantlife as their own, a union and balance of all beings. That comparison falls flat. It is more the same as wearing human skin, or drinking from a human skull.”

I shivered, “That makes a lot more sense then.”

The Overseer turned back to the porytian, “But the horrors they found did not cease there. Paper would be writing on mushed bodies. Furniture and buildings are tethered corpses. Even something as benign as a flower bracelet is a terrifying prospect. This viewpoint is where Yawm’s own warped views began."

The space hologram disappeared before a picture of two armies clashing came into view, one made of flesh and the other of leaves and wood.

"Yawm believed that his species would never be able to compromise with any other species. They were too different in his eyes. Over the next few hundred years, a hostile species, known as the bracken, attempted taking over Yawm’s homeworld. This further entrenched his polarizing beliefs. During this war, Yawm was the porytians mightiest warrior."

An image of a single poryte hunched over a pile of torn bodies came into view. The glowing green of the creature's eyes webbed down its face and onto its chest. The shining lines ran down its shoulders, arms, and back, ending at its hands. Every part of the creature these lines ran over enlarged, turning hard and muscled. Wiry arms turned into muscled trunks.

The emerald viens linked together like a chain, keeping the creature's upper body heavy and in control. The curved legs looked more like a platform than the primary movers of this poryte. Its branch horns mirrored an elks, but too large and majestic for nature to create. It was a magnificent entity.

The Overseer simmered, "This...This is the image used to strike fear into the porytian’s enemies. This was Yawm before his change. He was their symbol. The porytes won the war, destroying the bracken and enslaving them. Their species wore the bones of the bracken. They used the bracken's skin as their own parchment. They ground up their teeth, and used the powder as an abrasive."

Althea shook her head, pointing at the old Yawm, "And, uhm, Yawm wanted that to happen?"

The Overseer cast a chilly gaze over Althea. The behemoth said, “Yawm wanted to show other species the horror of what had been done to them. A hundred years of this passed before Etorhma reached out to him. It was then that Yawm realized that there were more differences than merely plants and those of flesh."

An image of Etorhma appeared, causing gasps throughout the room. Kessiah spread her arms, "Don't you think you're telling them a bit too much?"

The Overseer waved her question away, "The Harbinger has been chosen as an avatar of Etorhma. You cannot tell me he has not already seen this entity.”

Kessiah’s face wrinkled like a raisin, “Daniel is an avatar? Really? Him?”

The Overseer turned to the image, “What matters is how different Etorhma is from us mortals. He is an immortal being who can move through space and time. Yawm saw him as a god and demon all in one. This interpretation is no further from the truth than what others have seen. Etorhma is enigmatic in that way."

On the hologram, a wave of white flashed over everything. Etorhma disappeared and the Wohak’s surface came back. The Overseer gestured to it,

"Schema assimilated their world and warned them of the eldritch as well. Now Yawm knew of many different beings. He knew that he couldn't kill them all, no matter how strong he became. In the end, he went into hiding as he struggled to find a way to solve the problem he saw with existence as a whole."

The Overseer spread his arms, "Yawm said, ‘How can beings, different to their cores, coexist? All differences are erased in wars and death and destruction. From that inescapable truth, there is but one way to prevent hatred and war, and that is through unity.’ Yawm’s twisted logic is wrong of course, but he saw no other alternative. He would create a singular creature, a singularity of all beings."

The Overseer closed the hologram with the wave of his hand, "Yawm found a way of bonding plants and creatures of flesh. He turned himself into the new abomination he created. His entire world burned and his species was torn asunder by his corrupted vision. Schema allowed this to happen."

One of the Overseer's hands clamped shut, and his voice rose, "And during the very apex of Yawm’s power, he assaulted one of the Sentinels with an army of corrupt porytians. They warred for weeks until Yawm slayed Schema’s guardian, and the porytian’s hero stole the Sentinel’s dimensional slicer. Wielding it, Yawm has traveled between worlds at his own leisure, bending them until they break."

The bolts on the Overseer glowed bright blue, "We will crush him here, before he destroys yet another world to support his own delusions. He has destroyed thirteen world’s too many, and we will crush him before he completes his goal."

My heart sank in my chest. I mumbled, “Th-thirteen? Thirteen planets? Like, actual worlds?”

The Overseer deadpanned, “Yes.”

I peered down, overwhelmed by that absurdity. Althea chimed, "Uh, how are we supposed to do what thirteen world’s couldn’t do?"

The Overseer lowered his hand, "Using your unique talents, you will dismantle Yawm’s forces before killing him while he lingers alone. Know that Yawm has sweet words, his voice laced in honey. He speaks in convincing riddles and compelling lies. Always remember, Yawm is a misguided fool with a reckless goal. He will stop at nothing to accomplish it, no matter how many worlds he decimates. Yours will be as those before it, should you not stop him."

I ran my hands through my hair, keeping my breathing calm. A long pause pressed onto the room as if an anvil weighed us all down. Torix appeared confident still, his will unshakeable. That made sense. The lich already resolved to duke it out with Yawm regardless of the situation. Althea remained brave as well, fighting Yawm being her only way of escaping his experiments. She’d be turned inside out if Yawm got a hold of her again.

For me, my reasoning was the simplest of all. This was my home planet, and I wasn’t about to watch humanity die without a fight. Unlike the three of us, Kessiah lacked any real reason to fight to the death, and the remnant was all too aware of that fact. She took a few steps back, leaning against a wall. It soaked in, and her hands trembled. Her breathing scattered into short bursts, turning sharp and rapid like she breathed in broken glass.

Kessiah blinked, “I’m...I’m stuck here. And...And I’m fighting something like that?”

The Overseer’s stare might as well have been a hammer crashing against her cheek. The titan said like stone, “Yes. You will fight or you will die.”

Kessiah blinked, her voice rising, “But...but you sealed this planet off. How are we going to get reinforcements?”

The Overseer announced, “You won’t.”

An awkward tension spread across the room as Kessiah gazed around in shock. She fumbled out her words, “There’s no dungeons we can level with here. There’s no craftsman or tech hubs or system analysts. We can’t find any ancient secrets or hidden treasures either. We...We’re being sent off to die? And for what, exactly? So you can pretend you tried to stop Yawm? You...You can’t do this.”

The Overseer tilted his head, “I can. I must. I have.”

Kessiah raised her hands to the Overseer, “None of my contacts or friends are going to come here knowing they won’t be able to leave, even through ‘illegal’ means. I was fine with fighting Yawm before because I thought it might be an uphill battle, but this...We don’t stand a chance in hell of winning. We’re all going to die here.”

The Overseer remained unmoving, “You cannot decide that. This is the will of Schema, and each of you shall enact it...Unflinchingly.”

Kessiah unhinged, her voice rising, “We’re trapped in a wasteland. A dirtball with no technology, magic, engineering-” She turned to Torix. She shouted, “What the hell is this? This was supposed to be a nice side adventure. I was supposed to just see runes, take a few pictures, and sell them for cash. I wasn’t supposed to be trapped in a primitive world and forced to die.”

Kessiah stomped over, but Torix could only peer away and murmur, “I...I’m sorry. I couldn’t have imagined it would end up-”

Kessiah lifted the lich, and she reared her hand back. She howled out, “I’m going to die alone here, and it’s your fault. It’s all because you lied about what was going on. It’s because you-” Kessiah turned away, and she bit through her lip and tongue. Blood dripped out, dropping onto the freshly teleported dirt.

The red dollops channeled from the ground, siphoning around Kessiah. The remnant’s face gnarled into a twisted visage of rage,

“I just got everything back together in my life after you came in and tore it all down. This was supposed to be a break from all the mercenary work, and now-” Kessiah seethed, “You can’t do this to me. You can’t. Not again. Not this time.”

I winced as her voice radiated in the Force of Iron’s garage. Kessiah’s wrath oozed from her, a palpable aura. Torix shook his head, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing that can be done. Forces outside my control have trapped us here, and I aim to make the best of this situation. Perhaps you should as well.”

Kessiah shook Torix as she stated, “Outside your control? You saw the ritual. You knew something could go wrong, but that’s not how you explained the situation to me. You...You just can’t leave things be. You always have to put your hands and fingers on everything and warp it however you like. You like to be a puppet master with all the strings.”

Kessiah’s hands tore Torix robe as she grimaced at the lich. She seethed, “And it’s all because you know better, right? You always know everything, so everything always works out just fine and dandy. Hah, yeah, just like when we first met. Just like right now, huh?”

Torix’s eyes flared green, and he peered away. Kessiah spit as she spoke, “I...I wanna kill you. I want to end you and your little lich body. Gah.”

Torix winced before sighing, “Hah...If you kill me, I can’t repay you for my mistakes, now can I? My death dooms you as well. Regardless of your current feelings, you need all of us to assist you in this effort. Control yourself.”

Kessiah heaved a few deep breaths. She threaded the line between rage and reason. Kessiah shook in place, not from holding Torix up but from fury. She turned away, nodding her head in disgust. She turned to Torix and smoldered out,

“Oh, you’d better pull me out of this, or else I’ll show you a dozen different ways you can die despite that phylactery of yours.”

Althea murmured, “Uhm, you know, Torix is in the same situation as us. I-I don’t know-”

Kessiah tilted her head to Althea. Kessiah radiated, “Oh, you think so, huh? He’s a lich, honey. If he dies, his soul will be sent to his phylactery god knows where. If we die, that’s it. We’re done. It’s over.”

Kessiah glowered at Torix. She fumed, “He’s risking us, but not himself. That’s how he always does things.”

Kessiah’s words fell down on me like icy water. I numbed all over, wincing as Kessiah’s anger over her situation made sense. Torix’s eyes flared red, but the lich stayed silent. Kessiah hurled Torix through the dirt wall of our just warped base. Torix’s equipment, charts, and graphs crashed into the air before the lich’s frail body hit the edge of the garage’s wall. The lich wasn’t as decrepit as I imagined, however.

The metal wall stretched before popping in a violent rupture. Torix tumbled on the dirt just outside the warehouse before he pushed himself up. Brushing himself off, Torix simmered, “Is your anger out, or perhaps you’d rather breed further animosity between us? And just as well, I didn’t lie to you about what occurred here. I was merely unaware of what would happen in the future. Excuse me for not being an all knowing oracle as you presume me to be.”

Torix pointed at his chest, “I never told you to think I had all the answers. I never told you to believe my words as law. You have a brain too, Kessiah, whether you believe you do or not. So yes, your highness, I’m oh so sorry I’ve made mistakes, but unlike some people, I do all that I can to prevent them.”

Torix looked down at Kessiah, “And I have done everything in my power to assist your escape from here. Accusing me of otherwise is far worse an insult than merely tossing me around.”

Kessiah closed her eyes as her form shifted, the air condensing around her in a wave. She howled out, and the air pressure shifted. A wave passed over us, knocking people back and against the wall. The howl loomed across the landscape, a brutal, hateful cry. Kessiah walked over to a car, and she squeezed her hands into the steel, the metal crumbling.

After taking a few breaths she lashed out in frustration. Kessiah lifted the jeep and heaved it at another wall of the garage. The enormous collision left my ears ringing. The jeep tumbled into the distance, banging on hard dirt and harder pavement. Kessiah stomped out, her feet piercing concrete with each earth-shattering impact. She leaped away, getting distance between everyone and her.

I let out a held breath, not really remembering when I stopped breathing. Everyone else in the room did the same as Torix hopped over the large hole in the wall. The lich interlocked his hands behind himself and turned to us, “Hm, I must say, that went far better than I anticipated. She’s not nearly as angry as I would’ve expected. She may even help us later if we’re lucky.”

My jaw slackened as I mouthed, “That...That was good?”

Torix put a hand on my shoulder, “As some of your literature has stated: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In this case, she’s a remnant as well, so you may double that phrase’s magnitude.”

The Overseer turned to Torix. The giant said, “You believe she will assist you?”

Torix paced back and forth, “For now, yes. She is the strongest of us. We will need her assistance, else we will most certainly struggle against Yawm’s Followers, let alone the cretin himself.”

The Overseer peered where Kessiah left. The massive figure’s tone lightened, “Did you trap her here on purpose? Perhaps you actually anticipated the quarantine?”

I frowned, wondering that myself. Torix stuck his nose up, “I’d never use underhanded methods like that. How could I anticipate a seal being placed here like that? It seems less like a method of killing Yawm and more a way of ensuring this planet’s death.”

The Overseer turned its hulking frame to Torix, “Schema’s motives aside, this wouldn’t be the first time you’ve predicted unlikely outcomes.”

Torix’s eyes flickered, “And it most certainly shall not be the last either, but this isn’t one of those cases. Unfortunately, Kessiah has many reasons to doubt me on that account, but I aim to regain her trust.”

Althea walked up to the Overseer, "Uhm, hello Overseer, sir. Would you mind if I ask a question?"

The Overseer opened a palm towards her, "What would you like to know?"

Althea murmured, "You were really angry about Yawm. It sounded personal, so I was just wondering if something was wrong...Er, that’s all."

A silence lingered before the Overseer sighed. It hissed out with the sounds of steam and metal. The Overseer raised a hand, "Do you remember the bracken? The species that Yawm and his kind enslaved?"

Althea scratched her cheek, "Er, yeah. I do."

The Overseer pointed at himself, "I was one of their slaves. This is the first time Schema has let me actively work against Yawm. The other Overseers have failed to stop him. I will not."

I took a step back, stunned at his honesty. Even Torix’s eyes flared white with surprise. The Overseer brushed us off, "I won't speak of those times further, but I will act in accordance with them. That means being the intermediary between you and the Force of Iron.”

The Overseer turned away, “I've spent more time than I should here already. Speaking of history catches me at times. Even further, history has a way of ensnaring people in its web, whether through its repetition or its curiosities."

The Overseer stepped forward, and we passed through the warehouse as a group. The Overseer pointed a single finger at the gated doorway. Several tiny spikes of lightning arced from the giant’s fingertips, making the door pop off its hinges and open. We all walked through the doorway before Althea murmured, "Overseer, I was wondering why you have emotions. Anytime I've spoken with Sentinels, they seem more...Robotic, I guess."

The Overseer opened a red status screen, typing on it, "Overseers are given full control of their conscience. Schema tried making Sentinels and Overseers completely driven by AI interfaces before. They were never as successful as a sentient mind. It was mostly due to risk management. The AIs take no risks, meaning they sacrificed many worlds to the eldritch without due cause."

Althea glanced forward, "Oh...Thanks for the answer."

The Overseer closed his red screen, "And it will be the final one before we meet again."

We walked in front of the Force of Iron. The warehouse amped up the security, and I spotted it all through the massive whole Kessiah left behind. The soldiers installed several turrets at the top of the building. New guards walked around other warehouses, and the troops even put up some barbed wire along the windows of the building, though it wouldn't do them any good.

We walked out of our building and towards a different one. As we approached, several of the armor clad soldiers aimed their rifles at us. Once they identified the levels of our party, those soldiers lowered their aim and threw themselves into a frenzy. Several even ran away when they saw the extra question marks beside the Overseer's name.

I didn’t blame them.

Before any stragglers got too far, the Overseer raised his hand, and everyone stopped in place. As the titan lowered his hand, the force was allowed to move again but none of them did. They stayed frozen in place, terrified of the giant walking with a group of high leveled unknowns. We walked into a warehouse clad with flags and radio towers. It was the command center for this faction.

The Overseer faced his hand forward with his fingers pressed together. He opened his hand, and the walls separating us from the commanding office unfolded like wet tissue paper. Torix didn’t even flinch, and I managed to stop myself from showing my amazement. Althea didn’t quite restrain hers, her eyes still popping open with surprise.

To me, the Overseer’s absurd telekinesis fell right in line with my expectations for him. At the end of this newly created hallway, a man specced out in a different, fancier model of armor leaned over a map of Springfield. He didn't have a helmet on, letting us see his face. With gray hair and a grayer beard, he looked like an old sea captain put onto land against his will. Carrying a look of utter confusion, he just stared at the five of us.

The Overseer reached a hand up to him,

"Hello, Sergeant Whitley. This group of four unknowns will assist your section of the force with containing the infected area. They will clear out invaded sectors, and your troops will lock in the containment field behind them. Do you understand?"

Sergeant Whitley shot up into a salute before shouting, "Sir, yes, sir."

The Overseer loomed, "As long as you understand. Don’t disappoint me, but more importantly, don't fail Schema." The Overseer turned to us, "Good luck to you all. You will need it."

The Overseer typed out some coordinates into his red status, and his commands generated a portal. It showed a world of fire and brimstone, and the juggernaut trotted in without a care in the world. As the tear in space-time clashed shut, we all stayed there for a bit. Everything happened so suddenly, air rushing past my ears to fill the void he left behind. That air reflected his aura, as if a void in power existed.

Everyone stood still like statues, stunned by everything that happened. The first to speak was actually me. I scratched the back of my head,

"Hey. Whistley. I, er, want to say sorry about the other day. I wanted to find my friends. It makes sense why you guys contained them, so thank you for doing that."

Sergeant Whitley stepped out of his salute and shouted like a drill sergeant,

"You crippled several of my best recruits. We’ve had to re-break several limbs and have them healed back properly. You totaled several vehicles, you nearly killed three different people, and we had to replace nearly a dozen sets of armor."

Whitley turned to Althea. He shouted at her, “And you...You disgusting maggot-”

I stepped up and nudged my palm on his chest. Whitley fumbled back, and I sneered at him, “Don’t talk to her like that. You can say that about me, but not about her. Got it?”

Whitley met my eye, and we glared at each other. He broke first, and I gave him a slow nod as I simmered, “It’s good you understand.”

Whitley turned and redoubled his efforts, “My point is that changing the commanding officer like this...It’s going to result in more confusion than good. I understand that...Thing was strong, but does it understand our situation? I doubt it.”

Torix stepped up, his hands interlocked behind himself, "Excuse me, Whitley was it? I do believe you and I haven’t been acquainted. I’m Torix Worm-"

Whitley thundered, "You’re already called a worm? Superb. That makes your new nickname easier."

Torix tilted his head, his eyes flaring red, “It is the name of my family, one of a reputable heritage. We managed the graveyards of many centuries worth of the dead. They acted as an excellent learning ground for my own necromancy. Now, unless you want me to do the same for you, perhaps you should watch your words more wisely, hm?”

Unaware of the situation, Whitley walked up and poked the necromancer’s chest. Whitley shouted in his face, “You listen to me worm-”

Torix raised his hand and snapped his fingers. An invisible force crushed Whitley's neck. The veins on Whitley's neck bulged as his face purpled. His legs flailed against the ground as Whitley tried stopping the strangulation. The sergeant writhed in the air as Torix looked up at him. The lich spoke with a casual ease,

"Actually, you shall be the one who listens to me. I attempted politeness, but you wished to be used as an example. Well-" Torix swiped a finger sideways. Whitley crashed through the window of his office into a series of other makeshift offices in a large warehouse. Kiosks lined up with quests and assignments while people helped organize the flow of data from the terminals.

Torix took casual steps through the doorway into that room. The lich peered at everyone present. The officers and organizers gawked at the lich, their jaws slack. The necromancer pointed at Whitley, the sergeant’s struggling intensifying. Torix spread his hands,

“Ah yes, I believe I have your attention. Simply superb.” Torix flicked his other hand. Whitley's right arm bent backwards, causing a gasp of agony from the military man. Torix snapped his other fingers, and Whitley’s convulsing form enveloped in silence. The sergeant still screamed, but no one heard him - not even himself.

Torix turned and looked at everyone, "Do you see your commanding officer?"

Everyone nodded, their eyes glazed over like animals of prey. Torix flicked another finger, sending Whitley’s knee bending the wrong way. Torix spoke with a cordial finality,

"This is what happens to those who speak to me with rudeness. Need I reiterate? Likely not, but I shall regardless."

With another flick, Whitley's other arm and leg twisted like pretzels. The crack of bone and crumpling of steel stayed silent. Whitley struggled against the compressive forces around him, but Torix swaggered about without a care in the world. The lich tapped the edge of his robe, and Whitley collapsed down, his form unmoving and unconscious.

The soldiers watched the pseudo execution, all the eyes of the legion pinned to their commanding officer. Bent and broken, Whitley at least lived. I frowned at Torix, and all of a sudden, it made sense why Alfred left the guy. Torix owned surprising benevolence, but the lich also carried a grating cruelty. That’s how he learned and became a philosopher, a scholar, but also a necromancer and lich.

He must’ve calmed down over time, but in Torix’s heyday, the guy might’ve been a complete monster. It disturbed me, but at the same time, he never directed that at any of us. Torix made firm lines between his enemies and friends, and that calmed my nerves. Some, anyways. For Torix’s anger, I preferred standing where the grass was greener. After watching Whitley, I intended on keeping myself there.

Torix stomped one foot, Whitley’s limbs reforming back to their normal proportions. Torix peered over the soldiers, and the lich boomed, “This will happen to anyone who belittles me, ignores me, or treats me and my compatriots unfairly. If you should follow me with sincerity, however, then I shall return the gesture. I will bestow my vast knowledge of the arcane arts, tactical warfare, and even philosophy to those willing to listen.”

Torix walked between Althea and I. Torix gestured to us, “These two are prime examples of that, and you may ask them if you don’t believe me. Now-” Torix walked forward and stepped onto a cloud of mana, “Get me an empty room and the next officer in the chain of command. We will work out a deal while you make sure my compatriots are comfortable."

The crowd of troops burst into activity, each of them obeying Torix as if their life depended on it. It probably did. One trooper walked up, his hands shaking inside his armor. He stuttered,

"Uhm...Uh...We can get you Seargent Briggs. He's the next highest member, sir."

Torix gave the soldier a nod, "Then let's go meet him."

Torix walked off with the scared trooper guiding him. The rest of our group stood in the middle of the room. After another awkward pause, Althea coughed into a hand, “Ok...So...I’m just gonna go.”

Althea ran off, leaving me surrounded. In the distance, a soldier clasped his rifle. I put my hands on my hips,

“So, none of you know me, I’m sure. I’m Daniel. Let’s...Let’s hope we don’t ever have to see that happen again...Am I right?”

An unarmored scientist vomited his lunch, and I sighed. This was going to be a long day.