Damon walked into the palace of Arrakeen. His mind seemed hazy. He would find himself closing his eyes and ending up in another room. He felt as though his mind was not his own. He felt as though he was here but not. The whispering voice was like a drug he could not resist.
It was like Spice, but he had been on Arrakis since birth. How could Spice influence him? The truth was, it could not. The housekeeper, Mapes, led him to a room filled with vigor. It had many things, such as fine clothing and a nice bed, including a substantial amount of good water in a small basin.
"Something is very wrong with me," Damon whispered. " I'm meant to save my family, not sacrifice them. Indeed, something is very wrong with me."
The voice in his head had been telling him that its way was the only way, but in that instant, he remembered the words of his mother, Lokam the Fremen:
" There are many ways to accomplish your goals, Krelln. Don't be too narrow. I named you after the moon, my sweet child. You are meant to see all, not one road, and exclude the many that follow in front of it.
He remembered that he would sit in the caverns of seitch tabr and he would see the horizon through small slits meant to capture the sunlight. His mother would say it was the most beautiful time in the whole world. And she was right.
Damon was not a man who would cry, and never had he shown himself to cry to his men, but he was alone in this room, sitting on an empty bed. Tears ran down his face.
" I truly am a monster; what have I done? Condemned those that love me to a fate worse than death, I have chosen to sacrifice many for a greater good; this was not supposed to be the way, I was meant to be better. The people of Arrakis were supposed to look up to the skies and see hope, but now they will see a monster in human flesh.
What kind of man am I? Am I even a man? At least a man keeps his word. He honors them," Damon whispered as he hugged his knees to his chest. Everything felt so laud to him.
There was never a moment where he could show weakness; he had to be strong. But at this moment, he was not a king, a Fremen, or an Atreides. He was a reincarnated soul. The weight of his decision came crashing down on him.
Now, he could not think clearly, and he begged for a moment to breathe. But none was given to him. He was having a mental breakdown, one of many that he had suffered and endured alone, ones that he had treated by creating machinery.
His eyes were closed as he cried, but he opened them, and in front of him was the man on the throne. " it's time you know who I am, " the man said.
" I have been alive since the dawn of time, since the creation of the Bene Gesserit. I have been waited for and yearned for; I have been worshipped like a god to them. I am the man in your dreams. I am your sweetest of them. I am the worst of them. I am the one who gave the first dream. I am the one who gave the first nightmare.
I am the shadows in your halls, the footsteps in the dark. I am the one who is everywhere and nowhere. I am neither good nor bad, but I have a better future than those in the rivers below."
The man stretched his hands, and Damon realized he stood so close to him. Yet his face was obscured in a dark mist; all he could see was his body. Damon looked below the mountain to the rivers.
The waters showed countless futures in which he did not exist, where he died, where he told his father of the Harkonnen plan, and even one in which he was emperor, but he had turned to be like Leto the Second.
" Why are you showing me this?" Damon asked, turning back to the king. I show you because it is the only way they get to live; it is the only way we are together. The only way we are one ."
Then, an epiphany entered Damon's mind: why should a man with so much power yearn to be with his family? Why should this man care so much?
Damon stood up to the man. " Show me your face. I know who you are now, " Daom said. " I think it is about time we stopped playing this game; you are the Kwizats Hedarach, the one who shortens the way.
You have been giving me hints all this time, giving me visions, prescient dreams, and the power that not even Paul would have access to. Abilities that should be difficult to master came easily to me. "
"Say it, say it so that I may hear my name once more; " the King said. " say it so that we can be what we are meant to be. Say it, and I can hear the name once more. Say it." A silence enveloped the space, but then a trembling came. In the distance, the mountains turned to dunes. And out of the dunes came the Great SHAI-HULUD.
" The son of Lokam the fierce, the son of Rohan the wise. You are the son of Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica. You are me, and I am you. And we are the great mind that knows all secrets, the watcher of the way, the light of the night. You are Krelln the bloodworm of Arrakis, You are Damon Atreides."
The mist that covered the man's face faded away, and it showed the face of the one behind it. The two beings looked at each other. They had the same face, but you could tell one was older than the other.
The kwizats Hedrach raised his hands and grabbed Damon's head, and at once, they both shined into a white light. Together, they said, " Alas, we are one. There is nothing that can stop us. Finally, our goals can be achieved."
Damon opened his eyes and felt hands on him. His father had a tear running down his face, and he said, " Yes, this is my son." A smile came to Damon's face. He had gone back in time, or should we say his mind.
A/N: Some of you thought my plan was too similar to Paul's, but that was never the plan. Damon is very different from Paul. He truly is a good person, and now you see just how powerful he really is.
and yes there can be more than one Kwizats Hedrach but there can only be one LIsan Al Gaib. Damon is one of the most powerful Kwizats Hedrach but that does not mean there will be more than one in this story.