Chromium

Chapter 19.4

Dia observed the creature warily. Its eyes were closed but she knew the truth. The creature was awake. As soon as she approached it, she felt some kind of resonance, a sense of kinship. Before she knew what she was doing, she'd already established a link with its mind. An image flashed through her mind, and her perspective suddenly shifted. More importantly, she felt what it felt in that moment. 

She could hear its cries of pain, she could feel its rage, its desire for destruction. She somehow knew that the creature before her and the monster she'd met in that mine on Daxum were one. The Shinigami was just an avatar, the manifestation of the creature's fury. She also knew without a doubt that the long captivity had twisted its mind irreparably. She was about to probe further, delve deeper into its mind, when the creature's gaze focused on her.

She suddenly felt very small under its scrutiny, just like a child before her parent, or a human being before a god. And that god was furious,  so furious that at some point its anger seemed to take physical form. Dia felt like she'd been punched in the stomach and staggered backward, a low rumble rising in her throat as her other self started waking up. 

She went into a panic and hurried to sever the connection, only to discover, much to her dismay, that she couldn't. The creature may be weak, but its mind was still strong, and it was much more experienced than her. She was trapped, unable to fight back. The only thing she could do was endure in the hope the creature would lose interest. A few seconds, or maybe a few minutes later - Dia couldn't really tell - the assault subsided, but the creature still didn't let her go. Instead, it started showing her a series of images.  It looked like a wordless picture book, a report of its captivity, but it wasn't just that. 

She could feel its emotions, its pain, its rage, its agony like she was experiencing first hand. Above all, she felt its hunger. The creature was starving. Little by little she began to change, her resistance fading away as her thoughts, her own mind was being altered by the creature's experiences. As she started losing her sense of self, she realized the creature wasn't just reacting to her intrusion as she'd thought at first. It was using those images to change her, taint her with its insanity. But even now that she knew the truth, she couldn't do anything. She was too far gone, utterly unable to resist. She lay there and let out a single choked gasp, her eyes unfocused.

She was about to surrender when she felt her body, her own blood freeze. The crushing pressure on her mind gradually lessened, vanishing for good when the link between them was severed.  All of a sudden, Dia found herself on the floor, unable to understand what had happened. Still breathless, she looked around but the room was pitch black. 

She was trying to stand up, when someone said, "Apologies, miss Zephyr." The Umbra's unmistakable voice came from behind her. "It can be a little moody from time to time."

A second later, when the overhead lights flickered back to life, Dia noticed that she wasn't alone anymore. The Umbra, clad in his power armor, but without his helm, was less than ten steps from her, while dozens of cyborg surrounded her. When Dia saw that face, Reyes' face, she felt her anger mounting.

"Umbra." She hissed. 

"Miss Zephyr." The Umbra greeted her with a half bow, the metal joints of his exo-suit creaking slightly. "Welcome to the Greenhouse."

Dia looked around, searching for an escape route, but the situation seemed hopeless. She was badly outnumbered, and her rifle was on the floor, out of reach. She must have dropped it.

"I have to say that it's...appropriate to have you here to witness my triumph. After all, none of this would have been possible without you..." The Umbra paused, looking up at the creature. "...and without it, of course."