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“Did you push my children to such a state simply to talk to me?” the Mother asked, their voice entering Sam’s mind in a manner similar to his familiars’ method of communication. There was a difference; the Mother’s voice was much more overbearing, causing it to fill every portion of his mind, taking up room that would’ve existed for idle thoughts.
“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but yes,” Vercedei said, lying through its teeth, “that’s precisely why we did it. It’s hard to get your attention with other methods.”
“Really?” the Mother asked, her voice dry, giving Sam the vibes of a scorching desert. “And what other methods of contacting me have you tried before robbing my children of their essences?”
“You know, the standard routine,” Vercedei said. “When we first discovered Oterra, we asked around, tried to figure out the history of the plane before entering. There wasn’t really much information, so we had to enter ourselves to figure things out. Then, once we found out, we also discovered the method of contacting you.”
“Ah, yes,” the Mother said, “the classic breaking into someone’s home to figure out who owns it. Rather than wanting to contact me personally, you’re just interested in speaking with the owner of this plane, is that it?”
“You’re quite astute,” Vercedei said.
“I am,” the Mother said, “now, get out.”
“You haven’t even heard what we wanted to say,” Vercedei said.
“I know a solicitor when I see one,” the Mother said. “They never say anything worthwhile. I have the sneaking suspicion it’s the same this time; though, there are more of you than usual. I’m not interested in what you’re selling nor am I interested in the services you can provide. If there’s nothing else, I’d appreciate it if you left peacefully.”
“You must have many annoying encounters like this one with all the planes you own, huh?” Vercedei asked. “There’re probably a few planes other than this one being occupied as we speak, am I right?”
“Am I not speaking frankly enough?” the Mother asked. “You’re not welcome here. Please leave.” The aura radiating out of Paula’s body intensified, making Sam feel as if he were underwater, the air becoming thick and heavy, pressing in on his chest like a weighted blanket. For someone the blue avians claimed was temperamental, Sam couldn’t help but think the Mother’s methods were a bit lenient since she hadn’t resorted to violence right away.
“What would it take for us to get in your good graces?” Vercedei asked. “Oterra is such a lovely place; we’d hate to have to leave so soon. Perhaps there’s something troubling you that we could help with: planting seeds, growing planes, offing pests, anything. You may find us useful, who knows?”
“You break into my home, terrorize my children, and ask me for a quest?” the Mother asked. “What are you after? People don’t offer to help without expecting compensation. I do have some troubles I need resolved, but I doubt it’ll be worth the price to hire you.”
“Allow us to live freely on Oterra without being pursued by your children,” Vercedei said. “That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”
“As if,” the Mother said. “You’d ruin this place like mold on an apple. Then, you’ll spread to my other planes, destroying them all using Oterra as your foundation. I’ve encountered enough entities similar to you to know how your kind work.”
“Some individuals would take offense to such unkind words,” Vercedei said, “but we won’t. We understand your concerns, but we can still discuss and work things out. We’re different from the rest of our kind.”
“I’m not a fool nor a pushover,” the Mother said. “When I said I’ve encountered enough entities similar to you, I mean I’ve clashed with thousands of your kind. I know the easiest way to get rid of you.”
“Really?” Vercedei asked. “That doesn’t sound very”—
Sam couldn’t hear the rest of Vercedei’s words as his senses were shut off: his psychic vision disappearing, the sounds entering his ears fading, and—thankfully—the stench of Ess’ wings going away. It was a bit unsettling to lose his sense of touch as well, leaving Sam behind with only his thoughts. He couldn’t help but wonder if the Mother had killed him, turning him into a soul without a body. It wouldn’t be surprising for a higher-dimensional being like herself to kill him in an undetectable way; perhaps this was how the victims of Raindu felt moments before dying.
Without a frame of reference, Sam didn’t know how much time had passed with only his thoughts to keep him company. He tried counting for a bit, but he stopped after reaching ten thousand when he found himself speeding up to count faster. Negative thoughts filled his mind. What if he were stuck in this state forever? It was worse than sitting in an empty room, staring at a white wall. At least, his eyes could drift, and his body could move if he were trapped in a room by himself. As Sam’s thoughts spiraled, a light entered his vision, causing him to blink. When he did, all his senses returned to him, but they felt strange: his muscles ached; his feet hurt; his upper back felt knotted as if he were cramping up. Also, his skin was a different color, and there was a pair of breasts attached to his chest. He reached down and groped his crotch, a stone appearing in his stomach when he realized something important of his was missing.
Before he could lament the loss of his little brother, a fierce headache erupted on the right side of Sam’s head, causing him to wince and hunch forward. He took in a deep breath as a flood of memories entered his brain or, rather, her brain. She was Donna, a mother of three children, two of which were exceptionally talented awakened. Unfortunately, due to their talents, they had gone missing along with the other high-ranked awakened who had been swept up in the wave of human abductions by the blue avians.
“Mommy? Are you okay?”
Sam activated his All-Seeing Gaze, only to find his psychic vision failing him. His forehead scrunched up, and he turned his head towards the source of the voice. His daughter, Mel, was staring up at him with a worried expression on her face. Her daughter? Was he Donna, or was he Sam?
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Mel asked. “Are you worried about Peter and Nora?”
Peter, Nora, her missing children, they were talented, exceptionally so. Their lives should’ve been smooth sailing; when it was discovered they had top-notch talent, Donna had been so excited. They were guaranteed stable careers, great healthcare, the ability to financially support a family, their futures were set, so why had they been kidnapped? What wrong had she done for the world to take away her children in such a cruel manner? The authorities had told her it wasn’t her fault, but if she hadn’t pushed her children to their full potentials, would they have been noticed by the abductors?
“They’ll come home soon, won’t they?” Mel asked. “Daddy said so.” The girl frowned and took a step back. “Mommy, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything? Your vibe is scaring me.”
Sam’s frown deepened, and he looked around. Was he inside of an illusion casted by the Mother? What if he were actually Donna, and she had experienced Sam’s life thanks to her talent? She had wondered why the world had taken her children away, and she learned the cause was due to Sam destroying the calamity detector. Although she wasn’t sure of the purpose, she knew humanity was facing the blue avians because of Sam’s actions. Sam opened his mouth and spoke, “Sorry.” It wasn’t his voice; it belonged to Donna. “I was thinking.”
“About what?” Mel asked. “Dinner? Can I help you make it again?”
Sam reached up and pinched his cheek hard. The action stung quite a bit. Then, Sam attempted to poke his finger through his palm. It didn’t work. His methods of confirming whether or not he was within a dream, the ones he commonly used in the subconscious expanse, all pointed towards the fact he was stuck in reality. With the majority of his chakras locked, save for his root chakra which was only partially open, he couldn’t do much as Donna either; a grayling could probably end his life without him making a meaningful struggle, so what was he supposed to do in this situation? Perhaps Mel, the only other individual there, was the key to solving his problem, so Sam did what any reasonable person stuck in his situation would do: he made dinner.
“This tastes awful, Mommy.”
Sam thought he couldn’t be blamed for the meal’s lack of taste. Donna kept her herbs, spices, and other seasonings in identical white jars without any labels, relying on her memory to remember where everything was. With Sam still sorting through Donna’s memories, it was understandable for a few mistakes to be made. Although he wasn’t weighed down or robbed of his senses by his familiars, his lack of an All-Seeing Gaze and telekinesis made him feel as if a huge part of him was missing. However, the more time he spent in Donna’s body, the less uncomfortable he felt with the things he lacked.
After the meal, Sam went to Donna’s room and lay on the bed, the memories of Donna’s life playing in his mind as if he were watching a movie. She was born with a mediocre talent, one that barely afforded her a living. Her husband’s talent was just as lowly ranked as hers, and he had to slave away for fourteen hours a day, destroying his body to make money for rent. Their children were their pride and joy, but ever since two of them had gone missing, things were tense between herself and her husband with both of them filled with frustration and anger they had nowhere else to direct. A few hours passed, and Sam raised his hand up in front of his face. He felt more like Donna than he did like Sam, and after that realization came to mind, his vision faded to black.
“Get your ass in gear!”
Wet spittle sprayed against the side of Sam’s face, causing him to flinch and whip his head to the side to face the mean-looking man standing with his face less than a few inches away from Sam’s own.
“What are you looking at me like that for, recruit!?” the mean-looking man shouted. “I said drop down and give me fifty!”
Sam’s brow furrowed as he looked around. There were dozens of people around him, all of them on the ground doing push-ups. He didn’t get more time to observe his surroundings before a heavy hand pressed down on his shoulder as a force struck the back of his knees, forcing Sam to the ground. A splitting headache assaulted Sam’s head, and memories flooded his mind. His name was Locke, and he was a new recruit for Dynasty’s armed forces.
“What are you doing kneeling in a daze!?” the mean-looking man shouted and pushed Sam’s upper back, causing him to fall flat on the floor. He barely had time to catch himself with his hands. “Were you dropped on your head as a baby? Which words of mine do you not understand? All of them!?”
Sam got into a push-up position despite the pounding in his head. With the mean-looking man shouting at him, it was making his headache a lot worse, and if doing push-ups would shut him up, then Sam was going to do them. The push-ups were difficult, much more so than Sam had remembered them being. Locke had been overweight all his life, so it was understandable it was harder for Sam to do push-ups in Locke’s body than in his own. Despite his muscles crying out against him, Sam forced Locke’s body to move. After doing ten push-ups, Sam found himself admiring Locke’s ability to push his body up and down; after all, Donna couldn’t do more than a single push-up. Why did he still have Donna’s memories despite being in a new body?
“All done?” the mean-looking man asked after the movement from the recruits came to a halt. “Next, give me two hundred hollow body rocks!”
Sam glanced around and copied his neighboring recruits, lying down while lifting his arms and legs off the ground while pressing his lower back down. He rocked back and forth, feeling the burn within his core. He took in short breaths through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, but it didn’t take long for him to begin panting. As he exercised, Sam observed Locke’s body and found the man had only recently unlocked his Manipura. It was hard to say whose body he preferred, Locke’s or Donna’s, since they both paled in comparison to his own.
There wasn’t much time for idle thoughts as flashbacks and scenes from Locke’s past entered Sam’s mind. Locke’s parents were highly ranked awakened, so when they found out Locke’s talent barely met the minimum requirement to enter dungeons as a combatant, they had practically disowned him, leaving him to his own devices. Eventually, he found a way to work for one of the six big companies, but he had to start as a recruit. While Sam digested Locke’s memories, he continued to participate in the grueling exercise routine, following the mean-looking man’s orders. Eventually, the session ended, and Sam was set free. Relying on Locke’s memories, Sam exited the building and looked around; he wondered if he had entered Locke’s mind at a different time compared to the one Sam existed in since the sky wasn’t fully visible with towering buildings blocking his sight. It wasn’t the human capital his familiars had created where only the plaza was allowed to be more than a singly story tall.
Sam wondered if he could walk over to his residence, Sam’s not Locke’s, but when he moved in that direction, his body twitched, and he wondered why he would even bother going to such a wealthy district when he was Locke. It was far, the day had been long and tough, it’d be a waste of energy to walk over there simply to be turned away by a guard; not only that, Locke was famished, and dinner was the best part of one’s day. Sam had to agree with Locke’s line of thinking given the state of his abused body. He went on home through his reliance on Locke’s memory and stepped into a messy apartment, a mess that’d forever be cleaned tomorrow when there was more time.
Another day came, and another day went. A week passed, and Sam felt more like Locke than he did like Sam after walking a dozen miles in Locke’s shoes. The grueling exercise continued, but it got easier every day, and Sam felt a sense of satisfaction along with Locke when he examined his muscles taking shape in the mirror. Eventually, after a few months, Sam stopped thinking of himself as Sam or Donna, only thinking of his future as Locke. At that moment, Sam’s vision went black and returned, but his point of view had shifted; towering over him, there were two reptilians, and when he looked down, he discovered a scaly body hosting his mind. His name was Craig, and he was a reptilian child who was barely three years old.
***
“Sam?” Vercedei asked, receiving no response from the man who had suddenly collapsed. “What did you do to him?”
“Your kind love preying on those who feel as if they’ve been slighted by the world,” the Mother said. “All I’ve done is broadened your host’s perspective. He’ll experience the life of every living creature on Oterra, and then we’ll see how devoted he is to having the plane destroyed. If he disagrees with you after seeing the bigger picture, I’m sure it’ll be troublesome for you to take action with him resisting all the time.” After a pause, the Mother continued. “Well, I wonder if he’ll even know who he is once he wakes up.”