Part 6 THE LIGHT SHIFTERS CHAPTER 40 Resonance
As Anthony Stevenson’s words echoed through Remembrance Day Square and spread elsewhere, the people of Rouen who participated in this Mass of Repose were both moved and saddened, warmed and downcast at the same time.
In different squares, different choirs recited psalms, and the ethereal and holy voice seemed to resound in the depths of everyone’s heart:
”The scarlet full moon rose and reflected upon the earth.
”and all sank into sweet dreams of themselves.
”Dreaming of parents and wives (husbands) and sons and daughters, which are forever ……” (note 1)
Without realizing it, all felt that their spirits were baptized and their spirituality naturally waxed lyrical.
They seemed to have literally entered a dream world, strolling through a serene darkness.
Here slept their children, their parents, their wives, their husbands, their friends, these deceased no longer suffering, no longer wounded, with peaceful looks and soft expressions.
”We will look up at that night sky.
”Warmly uttering the name of k:
”‘Goddess of the Night!’
”…… If k hears, he will surely say yes.
”would surely reveal a pure smile to the dead:
”‘Come, rest, and sleep in peace, my children!” (Note 2)
A strong sadness once again welled up in those who strolled through the dream world, as if they understood that it was really time to say goodbye.
They recalled all the beautiful moments of the past, the scene of a family gathered around the table enjoying a meal and laughing, the person who looked at them warmly, the pain that seemed to tear their souls apart when they saw them hurt and heard of their passing, and the clouds of gloom and parting that came with this war.
They rested within this peaceful realm, no longer troubled, but those who survived must suffer day and night, emaciated and withered.
One tear slipped down, and another, and those participating in the Mass in Memorial Day Square could no longer suppress their inner emotions, and silently and unreservedly gave vent to their accumulated pain.
A great sadness filled the air, intertwining in the chanting of the choir as if it had a substantial form.
”Cross your arms.
”and place them on your chest.
”say that wordless prayer.
”and cry out with your heart:
”The only place to go is to peace!” (Note 3)
Subconsciously the people who wept silently with closed eyes followed the Psalmist and made a similar gesture, and then, infecting each other, cried out in their hearts:
”The only home is peace!”
Grief reached its extreme, and over ten thousand hearts in Memorial Day Square resonated strongly.
At that moment, Audrey opened her eyes, bent her back, and took a magic potion from inside the small leather bag that Susie, the big golden dog, was carrying.
The potion floated with uncountable fragments of light, like a manifestation of the collective subconscious sea.
Audrey didn’t hesitate to unscrew the cap of the bottle and gulp down the liquid inside in such a scene.
Unlike in the past when she could still experience the magic potion sliding past her throat into her stomach pouch, Audrey experienced an abnormality at once.
She felt that she couldn’t sense her body anymore, and her entire being seemed to condense into a mass of ideas that merged into the illusory sea around her.
It was the first time she had ever seen the ocean of her collective subconscious without passing through the “islands” of dreams and mind, as if she had gone back to before she was born, back to her mother’s arms, back to the very beginning, washed over, disintegrated, and affected by the tidal wave of imprints that had been left behind by the forefathers of mankind.
There is fear, there is madness, there are all kinds of terrible spiritual pollution, Audrey momentarily difficult to resist, consciousness faded, “figure” shaking, about to dissolve.
However, the nearby “sea” is not quiet, there is a certain degree of ups and downs, rendering intense sadness and pain to the surrounding.
As a result, Audrey, whose self-awareness was on the verge of being assimilated into the sea of the collective subconscious, also resonated with an uncontrollable grief.
Grief passed from one thought to another, and soon filled the mass of “thoughts” that Audrey had “mutated” into, piercing into her mental body and her soul.
Audrey finally came to her senses, and skillfully soothed herself, giving hints and removing contamination until she regained her senses.
A voice in her ear grew more pronounced and louder, finally echoing fully into this sea of collective subconsciousness:
”The only place to go is to peace!”
”The only place to be is in peace!”
”The only place to be is in peace ……” Audrey repeated the prayer, her figure flying into clarity.
With a single thought, her transparently illusory multiple selves branched out and traveled within the collective subconscious ocean, arriving at and climbing the islands of the mind that represented different people.
In these “places” she visualized where different people’s grief came from:
From the shells falling from the sky, from the formation of airships, from the letters sent back from the front, from the bad news delivered by the letter carriers, from the blood splattered in front of the eyes, from the sudden fall of a loved one, from the pile of toys without their owner, from the violent coughing in the haze ……
”The only place to go is to peace.”
Susie, the big blonde dog, also closed her eyes in the mass and recited the phrase in her mind in human language, not realizing any change in her surroundings.
Suddenly, within her soul, in her mental body, Audrey’s voice rang out:
”Susie, I’ve succeeded ……
”I had been worried before, worried that I would become more and more affected by the magic potion as I moved up the sequence, becoming more and more apathetic, more and more like a mythical creature rather than a human being.”
Susie looked up in slight bewilderment, only to see that the blonde girl beside her had somehow managed to fill her face with tearstains, despite her eyes being tightly closed.
Then she heard Audrey say in her own mind:
”It’s good that I can still feel their sadness.
”It’s so good ……”
In the corner of Susie’s eyes, in the corner of the blonde girl’s eyes, another tear slipped, crystal and clear, respectively.
At that moment, the sun withdrew its last trace of light, and the darkness brought serenity.
All of them opened their eyes at the same time, and in a calm voice, they said:
”The only place to go is to peace!”
……
After crying without restraint, the originally sunny Audrey’s emotions sank in, more than a little slender, taking on a faint sadness that made everyone who saw her feel pity from the bottom of their hearts.
Under all kinds of protection, she returned to Queens and to her room.
It was only then that she had the opportunity to take a hard look at herself, to digest the knowledge and experiences she had gained from the magic potion, from the sea of her collective subconscious.
Others might not be able to see it, but Audrey was well aware that the beautiful blonde, statuesque young woman in the mirror already possessed superhuman strength and exaggerated dragonscale defenses, the kind that could break a piece of steel with a single punch.
”Well, I can also ‘Dragonize’, which is equivalent to using an incomplete mythological creature form, however, this has to wait until I’ve adapted to the magic potion and constantly stacked the right mental cues, otherwise I’ll just lose control …… Each ‘dragonization’ must not exceed a certain amount of time, or else even with treatments for the mind and heart, I will be deeply imbued with madness and chaos, leading to loss of control …… My current limit is around a minute… …
”‘Manipulator”s most core ability is called ‘manipulation’, I can allow the mind body to pass through the sea of collective subconsciousness and enter other people’s mind islands, directly tampering with their subconsciousness, reading their thoughts, and wordlessly drive them to do all sorts of things ……
”Paired with ‘Manipulation’ is ‘Virtual Personality’, I can virtualize many personalities and let them have corresponding Mind Bodies, which on the one hand can counteract many influences in the mind realm, and on the other hand allows me to talk to others in a While talking and communicating with others, with the help of ‘them’, I can invade the target’s island of consciousness silently and without any sign on the surface ……
”I currently have only thirteen virtual personalities ……
”The ‘Manipulator’ is also capable of creating horrific ‘mental plagues’, infecting all sorts of mental illnesses and extreme insanity with the help of a sea of collective subconsciousness… …
”Well, ‘Shock and Awe’ has become a wide-ranging ‘Mind Deprivation’, no longer just a shock and awe effect ……
”I’m also able to turn my own designated thoughts into a ‘Mind Storm’ that sweeps around and affects all enemies ……
”Oh, as a ‘manipulator’, the ability to swim in the sea of collective subconsciousness is definitely a must, it’s called ‘consciousness walking’, otherwise, when I arrive at the predetermined place slowly after complicated operations like before, the target would have already left. place, the target would have already left ……” Audrey looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly revealed a light smile.
Then, she puffed out her cheeks and opened her mouth as if she was about to spit something out.
Since her mythological biomorph was a mind dragon, she definitely had a spitting breath.
This could directly stimulate and damage the target’s mind and spirit, and belonged to the ranged, enhanced version of “Mental Piercing”.
Audrey immediately turned her blue eyes slightly, withdrew her sight, and sighed in her heart:
”This is half god half man ah, these abilities make me feel scared …… and can kill Hwyn Lambeth’s ‘world’ Mr. how powerful it should be… …”
……
Above the gray mist, inside the ancient palace.
With the participants of the hunting operation ready one after another, they decided to organize a private gathering to discuss the specific details.
”The ‘Manipulator’ is so terrifying?” “Magician” Voorhees looked at Miss “Justice” beside him and blurted out in shock.
Just now, “Justice” Audrey briefly mentioned the changes she had undergone after becoming a demigod, and although she didn’t go into detail at all in order to protect her cards, she still made “Magician”, “Hidden One”, “Judgement”, and “Magician” look at her. “, “Judgment” and “Star” were shocked for a while.
”It’s not really that scary, as Mr. ‘World’ well knows.” Audrey turned her gaze to the bottom of the long, mottled table.
Without nodding, Germaine “The World” Sparrow said with a “hmmm”:
”I, too, had powerful help to kill Hwyn Lambeth.”
He paused and turned:
”Before we discuss the hunting operation, I would like to know how to make the Abrahams feel my friendliness?”
Note 1: Adapted from Tennyson, The Lotus Eaters
Note 2: Adapted from I. B. Browning, The Crying of the Children
Note 3: Adapted from Thomas Hood, Bridge of Sighs and Tennyson, The Lotus Eaters