Ian Sedia, the leader of Heathen, the mythical Sin of Sloth, was standing directly before us. It wasn't a proxy, and it wasn't an impersonator. I could tell from the sheer weight of his pressure alone and the condescending tone of his voice commands, that this was the man that'd been terrorizing everyone from behind the scenes.
"You'd done just as I asked up until now, Klyson. You even managed to kill Third and Fourth of the Upper Four. I'm impressed. You've proven to me today that you are worth inheriting the Null. You'd completed all the preparations required to use the Null, and even exhibited the right state of mind to exemplify the Null. That's why I am here, in person, before you. Because I am the only one who knows how to administer the Null into your body."
I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't fathom the fact that Ian himself was right before me. I was trembling on the inside, yet paralyzed on the outside.
Ian suddenly panned his gaze at Cynthia. "But you…"
I could see the panic settle in her eyes. Her body tried to shake and react, but it was no use under Ian's control.
"You somehow, with a foolish sway of words, managed to etch Klyson out of the mindset I'd imposed on him, even if just for a moment." His tone was descending. "And that in itself proves a risk."
My thoughts froze still to register what Ian had said.
Mindset imposed on me…?
"You can't inherit the Null if your mind can falter like that, Klyson. You're supposed to stay true to Heathen's word. To my word. I thought that after months of adapting to my control, your morals would ground and not waver. But I felt your connection coming loose for a moment when speaking to this nobody. Do I need to apply another dose to you? Or can you prove to me that you already have what it takes? Speak."
My voice reignited, and there was only one question I could ask with the hellish thoughts running through my mind at the moment.
"You used your Fractal on me?!"
"Did I ever say I wouldn't?"
"Yes!!" I shouted.
"I told you I wouldn't control you because it would stain your potential. But you know that there are two modes to my Fractal, right? The ability to control absolutely, and the ability to control the mind. Controlling you with absolute authority would prevent your Fractless ability from activating, so I opted for the latter. Ever since our first meeting, all the way back at that apartment, I've tweaked and twisted your beliefs to adjust according to my needs, and it all turned out perfectly. You left A.X.A. and seeked out Heathen as I needed. You wiped out nearly all of downtown Melysia's HP Fractal population as I needed. You even got rid of hurdles in A.X.A—Third and Fourth—as I needed. You worked for me and did my bidding as I needed. Does it add up to you now, Klyson?"
My heart was pounding. It was aching. It was about to burst.
This can't be true. This can't be happening. This has to be a dream.
"Klyson?"
Have I been an Inspired proxy this whole time without realizing…?
I panned a look at Soho, and she looked at me with immense worry.
I've been no different than Soho this whole time…?
"Klyson."
Everything I've done ever since the apartment was all curated? None of this was true to myself?
"Speak, Klyson."
I burst. "I did this myself! I chose this path myself! You had no part in any of this!"
"Denial. Rejection. That's all that currently runs through your head right now." Ian took a step closer to me. "You would have never sought out this power-trip of an opportunity without a little mental nudge from my Fractal. You won't believe it, but you needed me to get this strong, Klyson."
My mind was twitching. "That's not true. It can't be true."
"It's true. Just as true as
I looked at Soho with horror. She could tell that the information unfolding before me was horrid and incomprehensible. I could see her urge to speak out to me, reassure me, say anything that could comfort me in this moment. But it was no use. Her ability to speak was still withheld by Ian's command.
Ian's command had all of us, including me, chained by the neck.
Everything was a lie…? My desire to leave A.X.A. and pursue my own direction was never true to begin with? Just like those tenants back at the apartment, or the apparitions created by Darius, I'd been nothing but a puppet this whole time in Ian's hands?
My lungs had shriveled with the inability to breathe. I was chasing for air. The world around me had shrunk and become claustrophobic. I was asphyxiating. Reality had become the deepest part of the ocean. My limbs were constrained and I was being dragged into the depths where no light could escape. I was drowning by the minute, in a whirlpool of thoughts that tore my mind apart by the second. I couldn't handle the weight of everything revealed to me until now.
I can't handle this.
"Can you handle it?" Ian asked. "Can you still handle the burden of the Null, even knowing the truth?"
I shook my head, with the rest of my body frozen.
"No."
"Then what was the point of all this, Klyson? All these months, sharpening your senses. All those people, dead to your name. All that big-talk, just to crawl into a hole when confronted with the truth? Why be the coward, when you can be the one in power?"
"Shut up!" I shouted. "You're saying all of that as if I chose to do it all! I was forced! Fuck you!"
"Classic, bitter, Klyson."
"You're the epitome of a horrible human being!"
"They call me a Sin, after all."
"The Sin of Sloth, because you're too lazy to do anything yourself! You can only count on your proxies to do your bidding, you cowardly son of a bitch!"
"Plant."
My face slammed right into the floor, my cheek planting against the cold surface.
"Have you forgotten who you're speaking to?" Ian stomped right by my head. "I have the ability to take full control of you right now if I wanted to, and you could say goodbye to the free will you hold onto so desperately."
"I can't use the Null if I'm under your full control, can I?"
He went silent. "You're replaceable. I can find another Fractless. I don't need you."
"And delay the use of the Null by another year, or more?"
"I've been alive for decades already, Klyson. Another year won't hurt."
"Are you sure? It looks like you're already on your deathbed."
He scoffed. "What are you even trying to get at?"
"You need me. You know you do."
"Not while your mindset is like that. I may have to tune you to my liking once more. Would you like that?"
I froze.
So this is how it all happened. He distracted me with condescending, taunting words, while simultaneously implementing a shift on my moral mindset. Then, by the end of the conversation, I'll have been converted already.
I knew how it worked, yet I didn't know how to stop it. I didn't even know if I could.
Think, Klyson. Tap into your mind. Hold it off. Prevent it. Do something!
A migraine was settling in. It must have been from the stress of the situation, or, a direct sensation caused by Ian's meddling with my mind.
"Stop it, Ian."
He simply looked at me and said nothing. I knew he was working something out with his Fractal.
"Stop it!!"
Suddenly, the headache disappeared. The pain vanished in an instant, as if Ian had actually listened to me.
"Tsk." He looked off towards the opposite direction at the other end of the factory, clearly distracted. "What a nuisance."
"What…?"
Ian shook his head with annoyance. He turned and glared at Cynthia. "You've done something to bring them here, haven't you?"
A sudden explosion erupted at the back end of the factory, and dozens of people in black began flooding in. I noticed that they all wore the same clothing, were all equipped with night-vision goggles, and all weld the same blades, except for one individual. The one who stood out bore two blades at once, and had a familiar green eye.
Is that…?
"Primary form: Akimbo."