[Overlay detected. Would host like it to be removed?]
The voice which sounded in his mind pulled him back from the madness which had almost devoured him whole seeing this sight.
Although he had no idea what the system meant, he still answered "Yes" instinctively.
Suddenly, his vision blurred as a different face appeared over his mother's. Puzzled, he used his hand to turn over the two bodies, realizing that they were actually his Father and Faxul.
Yet, just like with his mother, their faces were blurring with different faces appearing on top of them.
After a few moments, Daneel breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the three faces now belonged to individuals he had never seen before.
"System, what is happening?", he asked, looking forward to finally finding out just what was happening.
[Host has entered a memory fragment. This memory belongs to an individual who saw his loved ones at this location. An overlay had been added to the memory so that the one experiencing the memory would see their own loved ones.]
"So all this happened to someone?"
[Affirmative. Memory fragments work by taking the real memory of a location with its surroundings from an organism's brain. Using special techniques, a trinket can be made which allows one to enter the memory and experience it for themselves. Such overlays can also be added in the process. Present information has been gathered from the Secret Library. Please collect more information for a better assessment.]
Daneel had never heard of such a trinket. In fact, he had never even imagined that something like this could be possible.
The feeling from before had been getting stronger, so Daneel used the stick to get back and start to move forward again.
As he did so, he pondered over what the system had said. Someone had definitely been in this situation, so this incredible amount of bloodshed had happened somewhere.
Who had caused it? And where was this location?
Having only questions he couldn't answer, Daneel continued limping while trying not to look at the bodies on the ground.
Each and every grim image of someone mauled, beaten or burned to death branded into his memory, making him more and more nauseated. He had thought that he had seen bloodshed in the King's chambers when the meteor killed the Nobles, but that was nothing compared to this.
Finally, seeing the body of a little girl cut in half with the intestines spilling to the ground, Daneel could take it no longer.
Bending to the side, he puked his stomach out.
After a few minutes of heaving, Daneel finally felt better. Looking in a different direction, he somehow managed to cross the body without throwing up again.
His mind started becoming numb from all the gore in front of him, while the occasional distant scream startled him.
There was no concept of time in this endless battlefield. Yet, he realized that he was getting more and more deranged by the second.
Step after step, it was all he could do to keep moving.
To distract himself, he started analyzing everything he had done since becoming King.
After seeing his Mother's body, Daneel had realized that he had neglected to spend time with his parents. He had been following up on the procedure to cure his father's condition, and it would take place in a few days.
Time, time, time. He had been scrambling to handle issues left and right, yet he had been foolishly ignoring the most important things.
With deeper analysis, Daneel realized that even his personality had been changing bit by bit. It had only been a few days, but he had already started to get used to being in power.
He knew that Faxul was suffering from his past, yet he hadn't taken the care to follow up and ask him about how he was doing.
He knew that his parents were probably bewildered due to everything happening in the palace, yet he hadn't bothered to go spend some time with them in order to reassure them that their son, Daneel, still had them in his heart.
He knew that Jonah had been pining for revenge for many years and must have had his reasons for doing what he did, but he had still allowed himself to get so furious back in the throne room when he had laid his eyes on him.
He had heard back on Earth that power was dangerous; that being in power changed people. He now realized that it was true.
The plain he had been walking on had been angling up for quite some time.
Walking with his head bent, Daneel hadn't realized that he had reached a cliff.
Looking up, his jaw dropped as he took in the scene in front of him.
The Capital City of Lanthanor was besieged by an enormous army from all sides. The outer city had already fallen, with the walls containing numerous holes at least 3 meters in diameter.
The attacking army which was mostly comprised of figures wearing shining white uniforms. Among them, Daneel could see many contraptions which reminded him of the war machines from Earth.
Although their form was different, he could tell that their function was the same. For example, there was a large 10-meter cube with an opening on the top, into which Mages stationed nearby levitated boulders which were shot out with explosive force, bringing ruin to the city in front of them.
He could see blood flowing in the streets, with men, women, and children being killed mercilessly while the army comprising of at least 5 million soldiers trudged towards the inner city gates.
A figure wearing fluttering white robes was flying in the air, repeatedly ramming into the formation barrier that had protected the previous King for so long during the struggle for the throne.
Yet, as Daneel watched, the barrier broke with just two more punches, making the waiting soldiers scream with glee as they rushed inside and massacring the people who had been hiding inside the palace.
This sight would forever remain in Daneel's memory. The system had already notified in his mind that this was another overlay, but he hadn't been able to even reply due to the sheer shock and terror he felt.
They were his people. This was his Kingdom.
Yet, he was powerless to stop anything.
"Finally, a live one! Now the archbishop can't scold us..."
Hearing a voice behind him, Daneel was pulled away from his reverie.
Yet, even before he managed to turn around, he felt something slicing through his neck.
A strange feeling of flight overtook him, making him look down to see his own armored body still standing at the edge of the cliff, with a clean cauterized cut on the neck exactly like the one he had seen before on his leg.
All of his senses going out of focus, the last thing he heard was the same voice speak again before he found his consciousness being swept away, responding to a call which seemed to be coming from deep inside him.
"One witness of the purge, captured. Let's get back to join the party."
.....
Feeling the hard floor of the cottage under him, Daneel woke up to a pounding in his head.
The cylinder was still in his hand, while Jonah still stood to the side, waiting for Daneel to come back to his senses.
Seeing him open his eyes, Jonah strode forward and helped him rise to his feet, saying, "First of all, those aren't your parents, and that isn't Lanthanor. This trinket enables you to experience the memory of someone, and it only makes your consciousness superimpose personal things such as your parents or your city onto what you are seeing ."
Of course, Daneel already knew this from the system. Shaking his head and trying to get rid of the pain in his head, he asked, "Where did that happen?"
"I do not know. But what I do know is that this is the fate that will befall Lanthanor if Angaria doesn't unite to repel the Church."
The chilling words made Daneel stand up straight and look at Jonah with wide open eyes.
What he saw ... could become reality?!