The hivemind is conquering for me?

Looking at the blue heart thudding inside the corpse, my mind began to race.

I of course knew what this was. This was my unique power. The power that gave life to Sapphire. I didn’t even have a name for it due to it being dormant over 99% of the time.

Looking at the heart. I had a decision to make. A big one. Do I use my power? Expend my soul energy and bring back a creature that would not be Sithrik, but an evolved version of her? My heart was saying yes. Do it. It was logical, but the other part of me was saying no for multiple reasons.

The first being, of course. Is that it wouldn’t be Sithrik. Sapphire wasn’t the jungle cat I killed on that Ker’min world. Her body was just the catalyst. Using Sithrik’s body as the catalyst. Someone I knew dearly. I wasn’t sure if I could do it.

Then the second issue arose, making the decision even harder. Using my soul energy weakens me. The last time when I created Sapphire, even with Jewels help, I was still unable to use Psionics for a year afterward.

I was in a warzone right now. I just got my shit rocked by a Warlord. If I gave up my powers at this moment, I would be defenceless. Sure I was stronger than a normal human by a lot. But without my powers...

Kneeling down, head in hands, I began battling my thoughts. Only one could win. Do I use the power or not?

While I was coming to this decision I suddenly felt something. Something I don’t think I would have felt if I was not still moderately juiced up from my survival reflex.

A chill.

Not a chill that circumnavigated my Thermokinesis, but a chill I was told to watch out for by a recent acquaintance.

It meant he was here.

Using my energies, I applied my Psionics to my eyes. To look for energy in the surroundings. Perhaps I could speak to him? To ask him to help? But I didn’t see him. I couldn’t see him.

A dead god that was still floating around was probably pretty good at being unseen.

However, even though I couldn’t see him. I saw something else. Lingering around Sithrik’s corpse was a pale, clear energy. Pure and unsullied. It was flickering, but knowing what it was, knowing how potent it was.

It was soul energy. Sithrik’s soul energy. I felt my hope grow. The energy had not been absorbed back into the universe just yet. I had a chance. All I needed now was a ton of Psionic energy.

’Ugh this is going to hurt.’ I thought to myself as I reached into Sithrik’s body and pulled out the heart and cradled it gently between my hands.

I furrowed my brow and instantly focused. Despite seeing it happen quite a few times at this point, I had not manipulated soul energy myself.

Fortune was on my side however as my power seemed to recognise what I was attempting to do and the soul energy around Sithrik began being sucked into the heart like it belonged.

Taking a deep, deep breath, as there was no going back now, I began to allow my body to become filled with Psionic energy again. Too much. I was pushing the red line. Any more and Psionic decay would start again, especially considering how fucked my body currently was.

The energy in my surroundings began to take on visible properties. Due to the density. I wasn’t controlling which energies entered my body either. I took everything, even the energies I was not compatible with. As a result, the surroundings became a cacophony of colours. Blinding the surroundings in a Psionic phenomenon.

It did not matter to me though as the energy would not stay in my body for much longer and I still needed more.

When I finally spat up enough blood to cause a reasonable amount of concern, I released the energy in ’controlled’ explosions out of my hands and into the heart.

Immediately the heart began to thrum harder, more powerful than before, but I couldn’t focus on that. I couldn’t focus on anything. My body was screaming in agony as the energy lost was being replaced in a moment’s notice.

All I could do was focus on the channeling. Making sure the energy was getting where it needed to go. Nothing else mattered. Nothing.

...

I wasn’t sure how long passed, but I felt my body reaching its limit. My survival reflex had ceased its heightened potential minutes ago and I was now running on fumes.

After expelling every last droplet of Psionics from within my body and every last reserve from my Origin, I was forced to stop. I had run myself to the verge of death.

Looking in my hands weakly, drowsily, the heart was still beating, but it was still just a heart.

”I’m Sorry.” I barely was able to mutter out. ”But I think I am going to pass out now... Yeah.”

As my eyes became heavy and my body lost control, I hallucinated for a moment a large flash of light emanating from my hands before blackness overwhelmed me.

...

The Warlord was rubbing his chest as he made it back to the fortress. Whatever Purple Reaper just hit him with, it was slowing down his regeneration and a few of his ribs were still cracked.

The act left him smirking. He really did expect a boring war for the favour called in, but this was just getting more interesting by the second. He. HE! Was injured multiple times in the first engagement.

”Hahaha!” He let out a low guttural laugh, startling the nearby clone chaff. He didn’t give them a second glance as he made his way through the fortress, following the trail at which he was launched to make it back to where the battle was taking place.

Or rather, had taken place. Humans were still present, but only the dead. He wasn’t really fussed about the humans themselves. A poor animal defending their den. That is all. No, he came back because of what he felt before being blasted by his elusive target.

Making his way to the other side of the battlefield, picking up his hammer along the way, The Warlord spotted someone.

A newborn. Clone no longer. Fifteen feet tall, surprisingly skinny for his size, stood beside a mech. ’Ah, a Dinnac... Right.’ He thought to himself as he approached.

The Newborn was rummaging around a fallen Chassis of the humans. The Chassis looked just about 16 meters in height. Not bad work. It would have been fun to fight them.

As he approached the newborn. One of the clones near it began speaking to him. Surprisingly, the newborn actually listened to the clone and looked over and took a defensive stance.

A smart move.

”Worry not, newborn.” The Warlord spoke in the mud language the local Drakoshi were using. ”I’m not here for a territory dispute. I’m just here to congratulate you. A Dinnac Warlord? You are a rare breed these days.”

The newborn kept his defence up, but surprised the warlord by speaking perfect high Drakoshi. ”I don’t care about rarity. If you are here to fight. I am not in the mood. My mech took more damage than I anticipated from my ascension and I am annoyed.”

”By the queens! You speak high so fluently! I did not expect this. What is your name newborn?” The warlord asked.

”I speak fluently because I have been learning it for years. And no. I haven’t used it verbally until now. I know the rules. And my name is Kragg. Nickname Skullbreaker.

”Kragg... Good. A strong name backed by your nickname. A pleasure to share a war with you Kragg. You can call me Vrakul. I am not permitted to tell you my nickname. Only my queen is allowed to call me it.”

Kragg simply nodded his head. He had an understanding of how the high Drakoshi worked, but he had never been in the core empire so he didn’t know everything.

”Is there something I can do for you, Vrakul? I need to get back to fixing my mech.”

Vrakul frowned and leant against his warhammer. ”You still want to fight in your armour? You are a Warlord now Kragg! You are stronger, faster. More durable! You don’t need it.

”You are right. I don’t need it. But I want it anyway. So if you don’t mind...” Kragg doubled down, he might be weaker than this Warlord, but he couldn’t appear weak. Not after all this time.

Vrakul looked the newborn up and down. This galaxy was on the fringes of the empire. A resource mine to fight the true foe. Local traditions and customs might have appeared since the last time he was here before his ascension. Not that he approved.

”Fine... But when you are finished. Come to me at once. We should finish this war quickly. I wish to return to my queen.”

As Kragg watched the Warlord walk back to the fortress for a few moments. He let out a sigh of relief in his heart. But at the same time. The warlord’s withdrawal paved the way to a new question.

His quirk had grown stronger with his ascension and something didn’t quite make sense as he looked in the direction of the humans.

’Why do I feel in danger again?’