Chapter 126: Ch164. Sickness - 19 (Dark decisions...)
Kurt held back a wave of nausea that hit him violently.
The pieces had already fallen into place in his mind, and he already knew what it all meant.
But still, just a human, a tiny part of Kurt still hoped he was wrong.
But it wasn’t...
"I... I’m the host..." The woman nodded. "But... Why did the Ishir try to kill me, then? Aren’t they under Kha’Ur’s command?"
"The Ishir are extremely proud creatures, and some dees still cannot accept the fact that a human was chosen as the perfect vessel for their master, rather than one of their own, who, even after being altered, physically and mentally by superior intelligence of the Conquerors, they still consider themselves to be creatures more evolved than humans."
Kurt thought about Arias, who was somehow also an Ishir, and how he had said his people were free.
Had Arias lied?
"No, Kurt... Your friend didn’t lie to you." The woman said, taking Kurt by surprise. "He is just one of the few original Ishir, the result of a somewhat sadder and more tragic story, but that is a story for some other time, and one that must be told by himself."
Kurt felt Arias nod inside his shadow.
"Right... So... I must understand that I can feel stronger than before now, despite not being able to use my skills, because of the red smoke in the forest, right?" The woman nodded again. "And that red smoke was none other than Kha’Ur’s soul..."
"Yes. But it still lies dormant within you, in a latent state. So it doesn’t pose any danger, for now."
A heavy silence fell over them, with harsh truths and uncomfortable answers being fired from all sides.
Kurt tried to hold back the torrent of emotions crashing against him.
A bitter chuckle escaped Kurt’s throat as he carefully weighed his possibilities.
After some time, he asked.
"Is there any way to reverse the process? So that I can only use the abilities that come from the power you gave me?"
The woman gave a weak smile, looking at the floor.
And that was more of an answer than Kurt could have gotten through words.
"So I’m going to become host to this thing... Regardless of what I do...?"
"Actually... There is a way." She said, uncertainly.
Kurt felt a spark of hope light up inside him.
"Say it. Why did it take you so long to say it?"
"Because... Because the price is too high, Kurt Blake..."
***
[HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF JAPAN]
Nikolai’s mouth was wide open, looking at the walls, ornaments and furniture of the spacious place where he was, along with Rodrick, Evellyn, and a few other irregulars, who had been handpicked to go there.
Evellyn, however, was impassive, having already seen in advance what the destination of their journey would be.
Japan’s house of representatives, a place of politics, where decisions on a national scale were made.
But at that moment, they were there for another type of decision to be made.
One that would affect everything and everyone, on a global scale.
After passing through the hall, sober and decorated with some paintings and busts that Nikolai kept looking at, thinking, and being surprised by it, how much he could get if he sold each one of them to an antiques dealer, they headed towards the chamber itself.
A gigantic auditorium with hundreds of seats, and a central tribune, in front of all the seats.
But this time, in place of the central tribune, there was a huge white screen, and a man dressed in a black suit, simple but very well cut, standing in front of the screen, waiting for everyone to sit in their respective places.
With a somber and solemn expression, the Japanese Prime Minister watched everyone, knowing that that moment would be a watershed in the history of Japan, and the world as a whole.
Accompanied by Toshinori, Evellyn, Nikolai, and the others found their seats, and prepared themselves for what would happen next.
Around them, members of various guilds from around the world were present.
Some faces, not so familiar, but others, so well-known and prominent, that it seemed like a miracle they had found time in their busy schedules to attend such an event.
You could also...
That guild meeting was about to decide the fate of all remaining wielders in the United States of America, and many others around the globe.
"Gentlemen, ladies..." The Japanese prime minister greeted everyone with a deep and cordial bow. "Japan appreciates your efforts in traveling such long distances to attend this meeting."
Everyone was deathly silent, feeling the weight of the atmosphere around them.
"This..." The Prime Minister said, pressing a button on the control that lay in his palm, and immediately lighting up the huge white screen with the image of a face. "It’s the president of the North American Wielders Association, Octavius Blake." Everyone’s gaze turned to the screen.
Evellyn felt a shiver run down her spine, knowing that whatever was said there, the choice had already been made, so there was no going back.
"Octavius Blake, as you well know, has been the center of many controversies these past few months. One of them being the alliance of an entire nation with an alien race who, not long after, revealed themselves to be nothing more than oppressors seeking conquest. .."
Several indignant murmurs spread throughout the large auditorium.
But the silent clamor quickly gave way to a dead silence, heavy and solemn, as the prime minister pressed the button in his palm again, lighting up the screen with countless photos, one after the other, of faces on ’MISSING’ posters, and other, more disturbing photos of regulars killed, clearly, by wielders.
"... Another of these controversies, being that he founded, or allied himself, since we still don’t have much information about the certain origin of this group, a guild of fanatical purists who call themselves New Dawn. Their objective is purge the world of regulars they deem useless to society, which, in their twisted eyes, means at least the majority of the unawakened population around the world at the moment."
The prime minister paused briefly, letting the information, already familiar to many of those there, settle in their minds.
And after the brief pause, he continued.
"And with this being their goal, taking into account that various internal groups within various guilds, including many of whose masters are here today, have decided to ally themselves with this New Dawn, I have called them here today, to vote for the creation of a task force to put an end to these pockets of purist initiative around the world..."
