"Run! There’s a Calamity! It could return at any mont!"
These words gave the sa sensation as a whistle after a long marathon. There was no longer any doubt—I had succeeded.
To understand better, we need to go back a few monts.
As my consciousness was subrged in a fog, I began to perceive everything around . More specifically, nothing could escape as long as it entered my radius. When I tried to probe the ether around , it suddenly beca visible to .
It was there, like air, omnipresent, fluid as water, constantly in motion, perating everything that existed. I perceived a fine thread, drop by drop, flowing into , filling my soul with energy.
Normally, the ether was invisible; even an Initiate could only feel it. It was more like a sensation than a vision. Yet, here it was, bare, in front of my eyes.
This vision fascinated , and I could only explain it with one esoteric word.
It was as though I was once again subrged in my soul. The only thing that could explain this was the very matter that made up this fog. If I had doubted before, it was now a certainty: this was the fusion of my soul and the ether. Their union had given life to this matter.
As I imrsed myself further into this fog, I discovered several invisible threads that ford a spider’s web. These threads emanated from each of us and seed to converge toward the sa source, far away.
Wait... This reminds of sothing... They are invisible threads, forming a web...
Eureka! These are the famous threads of fate. Strangely, no thread was attached to .
Do I have no destiny? Am I the only one master of my fate?
Hmm, no... No, that can’t be it.
These are just stories told to children to make them sleep. I’m not stupid enough to believe in such nonsense, even Iris wouldn’t buy it.
After so thought... what if they were real? If I can perceive them, could I manipulate the fate of others? No, that would be too powerful. Then again... I won’t know until I try.
As I focused all my attention on these threads, a connection was established between and the network they ford. A flow of data reached .
The next mont, my consciousness nearly detached from the fog, so unbearable was it. A severe migraine struck , and I felt like my head would explode from the sheer volu of information I was receiving.
It wasn’t until I forcibly cut off the flow of data that I was able to breathe and comprehend what I had learned.
There was good news and bad news.
The good news is that the web of fate doesn’t exist.
The bad news is that these threads aren’t those of fate.
They are sothing much more terrifying.
The source toward which all these threads converge is a Calamity, and these threads co from the parasites present in the bodies of Initiates. I finally understood how these damn parasites operate.
Normally, when we hear a sound, like the ow of a cat, our ears aren’t capable of identifying it imdiately. They then transform these sound waves into nerve impulses, which are sent to the brain for processing to determine whether it’s a cat or a dog.
These threads I saw are actually nerve impulses that should have been sent to the brain, but the parasites intercept them to redirect them toward the Calamity.
There, the Calamity alters them before sending them back to the brain via the parasite.
In other words, if it started as a cat’s ow, the Calamity will convince the brain that it’s a dog. And this phenonon isn’t limited to hearing; it affects all our senses. Whether it’s sight, sll, taste, or touch.
For example, if the temperature drops, the Calamity will tell the brain it’s hot, and the body will start sweating in the snow.
All of this happens instantaneously, making it impossible to perceive the difference. It creates the perfect and foolproof illusion. For our brain, it’s reality.
It’s impossible to detect the illusion, and even if we beco aware of it, we can’t free ourselves from it.
The only solution would be to prevent the nerve impulse from reaching the Calamity.
The parasites are like Wi-Fi relays, unable to alter the information by themselves.
So, if I create a fog that blocks the connection between the parasites and the Calamity, the nerve impulse will be transmitted as it is to the brain, thereby breaking the illusion.
Everything beca clear. This explains what happened the last ti I introduced steam into the Enforcer’s head. His consciousness returned for a mont, as if the signal had been cut off and the parasite no longer had orders to follow.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t effective enough, as his head exploded the second after. The Calamity overloaded his brain with information until it imploded.
If this sa web passed through thousands of parasitized individuals, and the Calamity altered the information received, the amount of data it would process would be absurd.
Imagining that a single being could process all of that seed impossible. It would take a supercomputer. If such a volu of data were delivered to an average human, they would automatically explode. Even I, as an Initiate, couldn’t last even a second.
If the Calamity wants, it can make anyone with a parasite’s brain explode.
God damn... she’s holding the lives of thousands of Initiates hostage with her illusion.
I hope Iris will be careful, whatever she has in mind...
As I stared at the point where these threads converged, I realized they could no longer hide from .
The battle was near.
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