Chrysalis - Chapter 396

Chapter 396






I'm not sure what I expected, honestly . Here in the base of Garralosh's psyche, I kind of thought I'd be talking to a person . Instead, her mind is represented by an amorphous shifting mass that is at any one time part human, part crocodile, part Escher painting .

[I WILL KILL YOU . ]

Good start!

[You do a lot of that . Killing I mean . Why do you have such a grudge against the people up here anyway?]

[THEY HURT ME . ]

When she communicates, it's like a psychic scream that punches into my mind with brute force . Unpleasant, to say the least .

[How the hell did a bunch of farmers and townsfolk hurt you? They could barely hurt me!]

[NOT THEM . OTHER'S . VENGEANCE . ]

So… . To get back at the person who had chopped off her arm, she annihilated a kingdom full of innocent people . Yeesh .

[So, care to explain that dragging feeling I noticed in your memories?]

The second I mention it, her struggles double in intensity and my mind starts to ache under the strain of pinning her down .

[GET OUT OF MY HEAD!]

[No . ]

Once again I'm able to master her, my will is superior . Neglecting her mental stats is proving to be a grievous error . I suspect the Karmodo has done a fair bit of mind magic on her and she doesn't even remember it . I can only imagine the Lizard Wizard would have magnitudes for control and finesse than I do . I barely know what I'm doing!





[THE PULL . I EVOLVED TOO MUCH . TOO FAST . I WAS CALLED TO THE CENTER . OTHERS LIKE ME . ALL DEEPER . ]

Called? By the System? Or something else?

[You don't like remembering that you were human do you? Tried pretty damn hard to suppress it . Must have been part of what kept you… sane-ish . Even a cruddy life as a human was better than being a monster in the Dungeon I suppose . ]

[DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER . ]

[Yeah, I know . I'm not minding it so much, you know . Then again, I've always sort of gone with the flow . The constant danger and the threat of death isn't great, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to feel like I have a purpose, you know?]
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[NO . ]

[Fair enough . So what was the plan in the end? You came to the surface, destroyed a kingdom, maybe two, and then what?]

[PULL THEM AWAY . BREAK THROUGH . KILL . ]

[Always the killing with you . It's never, just 'kick back and relax' or 'vacation from murder', just kill, kill, kill . What about my colony then, huh? What about us? We never did squat to you!]


[KILLED MY CHILDREN . ]

[They tried to kill me first, to be fair . ]

[THEY ARE MINE . THEY ARE FOR ME . ]

[In what sense? Wait, I'm not sure I want to know . ]





I honestly thought the mind of Garralosh would be… more than this . She's super old! More than a century! Maybe even two! Where's the accumulated wisdom of the ages? I suppose, if you spend all your time sunk in a brutal, animalistic fog of fighting and eating, your mind doesn't exactly develop a great deal .

She's a mass of instincts and emotions . There isn't much left of the human inside . Just enough for me to taunt her with, basically .

As fun and interesting as the conversation is, and I do genuinely want to learn more about this once human turned murder lizard, it's mainly a distraction for the careful spell I've been weaving . Here in this place, time isn't passing on the outside, at least, that's how I understand it . I've been in Garralosh's head for a minute or two but probably only a few seconds have passed on the outside . My goal is to try and bind her mind from her body, to trap her awareness here in this mental space, so that I can inflict lethal damage before she manages to free herself .

Not exactly a glorious victory, but I'll take what I can get!

So even as I communicate, the careful weave of my spell continues . A cage . A prison of mind magic that will bind this weak mind from its decidedly not weak body . Mind magic is so damn useful, who'd have thought?!

[What happened to you, huh? You were a human being at one stage . I get you felt like embracing your new life here, I can relate to that, believe me, but mass destruction? Seems a little off the deep end, doesn't it?]

[NO ONE CAN STAND IN MY WAY!]

[Well… obviously, they can . It already happened . ]

[I'LL KILL THEM!]

[Yeesh . Back to this . ]

Distantly, I can feel my brains working that sweet, sweet mana with all the grace and dexterity they can summon . The cage is rapidly taking shape .

[I WILL KILL YOU . I WILL EAT YOU!] Garralosh began roaring at me, her words a psychic barrage of madness . [I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU . ALL OF THE INSECTS WILL BE CRUSHED BENEATH MY FEET . I WILL CONSUME THE HUMANS AND TURN THEM INTO MORE OF MY KIND . THEN I WILL DESCEND AND THERE WILL BE DEATH . I WILL SLAUGHTER EVERYTHING I SEE UNTIL I FIND THE THING THAT BROUGHT ME HERE AND I WILL KILL IT!]

Whoa there!

Along with her assault she once again tried to break loose from my control but I hold on for dear life . My mind strains to the breaking point, the very fabric of my mind coming apart at the seams as her desperate insanity gives the beast new strength . We fight a silent, mental war for a few minutes but I manage to subdue her once again . Come on, cage! I need you now!





[So you've spoken to Gandalf, then? Err . . The System I mean?] I gasp out .

[FOR WHAT I HAVE SUFFERED, I WILL KILL THAT CREATURE A THOUSAND TIMES . ]

Holy moly . Got some serious rage issues here . Not entirely unjustified, I suppose . It doesn't sound as if Garralosh has truly enjoyed her second life experience . One out of five stars, wouldn't stay again . My spell has almost completed . Just need to keep her talking a bit longer .

[One quick question . I know you don't want to remember, but I can't help but be curious . My name's Anthony, by the way . I've kept that name from my old life . May as well, right? Do you remember your name? From … before?]

I'm not sure what I expected from the twisting, amorphous blob of rage that is Garralosh's mind as a response . Perhaps she would fly off the handle again, or go nuts in some other way . Instead, she grows still . I can feel her searching . Reaching back into memories she'd long forgotten she had . It's as if, once I asked her, she had to try and remember .

Not that get an answer . Cage is ready to go! Finally! Enjoy jail!

BAM!

Wait . Why am I the one that's locked up .

[You have done enough here, insect . ]

What in the jimminy's!? A new voice speaks from nowhere, shocking me right down to my commercial zone . Unlike the mind of Garralosh, which is shallow, but wild and unruly, this one feels still, and old, and strong .

[Uh . Mr Kaarmodo, sir, I presume?]

I get a chuckle out of it for that . Desperate, I attempt to free myself from its grasp, but much as I had held Garralosh, I am now held . How the heck did the wizard lizard even follow me in here! Did he craft a bridge to Garralosh and follow me in… or…

Oh snap .

Did he have a bridge connected to me the whole time and concealed it from me?! That's freakin' scary!

[So uh . Heck of a time to intervene in the battle . I really had her on the ropes you know… Any chance you'll let me finish the job? Fair and square and all that . ]

I can feel a gentle probing from the alien mind as it considers my words and investigates my mental projection .

[You are like her,] wonder and confusion fills the voice, [you are not from this place . ]

[Nope . 100% imported goods . Does that mean anything?]

[It means everything . ]

A pause . That strange, powerful mind turns slowly as the Kaarmodo ponders . For my part, I'm freakin' out! I'm literally at the mercy of the Wizard Lizard! Stay cool, Anthony . Lizards can smell fear!

[I had decided that I would not interfere much in your confrontation with Garralosh . Should she emerge triumphant on her own, that would prove her worth . But when the opportunity came to take revenge on the creature who slew my Setsulah, I could not resist . Now . Hmmmm . I will let you go . I can say that I have aided Garralosh as I was instructed to do . That is enough . ]

[Well that's great . Good choice! I'm behind this completely . Let us both out and we can go back to fighting, all even . ]

[Not quite even . ]

A cold flash of reptilian anger .

[I let her out a few moments ago . ]

My awareness slams back into my body and the light returns to my eyes and I see a giant tail descend toward my face .

Well nards…