The words uttered from Magda's mouth echoed in the room, as if they had a life of their own, and the Heroes continued to stare into her eyes, almost as if they were mesmerized.
In the beginning, it was normal- they were puzzled that their team member had said something like that, but as time continued to tick, it was as if her eyes had somehow taken a hold over theirs, not allowing them to look away, or even blink.
With each second, each and every Hero began to feel their entire body screaming that something was not alright. Alas…it was too late.
By the time they realized that those eyes were different, and that this was not the woman who was a part of their plan…they all slumped onto the table in front of them, as if unconscious, and with a smile, the woman transformed into a man who stood proud and tall.
Folding his hands behind his back, he looked imperially at all the Heroes present before saying, "Well, that wasn't bad…"
"Not bad at all."
As a different voice answered, Daneel looked to one corner of the room and nodded at the Head who had been standing there for a long time.
Walking forward, the man continued, saying, "It was quite an ingenious idea to use the same concept utilized by the Order to put people forcefully in simulations during the missions assigned to them. I don't think there is anyone capable of experiencing, and then recreating what they went through exactly, even with some added perks, in the entire Order! At least in the Champion realm, I mean. Isn't it too easy, though? Are there no limitations? If not, I don't see why this is not used on every battlefield…"
With a chuckle, Daneel decided to explain.
He had already been told the answer by the system when he had begun this plan, so he did not need to ask it to repeat.
"Well, of course there are limitations! Otherwise, it would be exactly like you said. The consciousness has always been the ultimate mystery of the World, but with research carried out over decades and even centuries during the Empire, certain things were found which proved instrumental in me understanding the methodology of the simulations used in the Order. Without the memories of the Emperor for me to draw on, it would have been impossible for me to replicate this feat."
Deciding to take a seat and continue explaining, Daneel flicked his finger.
Suddenly, all 16 of the Heroes who were in the room flew into the air and were thrown into a heap in the corner of the room.
They gave no response: it looked as if they really had entered a permanent coma, and although they were breathing, no other movement could be seen in their body, at all.
Even when a few unlucky Heroes found themselves in the bottom of the heap, they just continued to dream, and this made it clear that even if the World ended, they would not be able to wake up.
Seeing them and shaking his head, the Head took one of the vacated seats around the large wooden table that had been carved expressly for this meeting, and Daneel did so, too, opposite his tenth sovereign.
"Simulations that are at a complexity which exceeds the level of those who are entering them can directly take hold of the consciousness of an individual if certain conditions are fulfilled. First: they have to give some form of assent to be in the position where they are. This simply means that they have to be caught off guard- if they are completely on guard, it becomes slightly more difficult to sweep them away. Second: there has to be a way for them to leave the simulation. For example, it has to be that if certain conditions are fulfilled, the status of which is decided by the consciousness, itself, they can leave. Finally, if their real body is under threat of being destroyed, they can return. So…it can't be used on the battlefields, after all, Head, but for our purposes, it is perfect. All it is, is a self hypnotization that is forced on, and that the consciousness agrees to undergo as there is a way out. Survival is always the key metric on which decisions are taken at an intrinsic level: in this situation, there are two options presented. One, resist and risk being destroyed. Two, accept and at least get a chance to escape by yourself. It naturally chooses the latter, and that's how we are in this stage!"
Finishing and feeling thirsty, Daneel was about to conjure a bottle of wine, but spotting his intention, the Head raised a hand and made a bottle appear.
As soon as the pearly liquid that was poured from it entered Daneel's mouth, he could feel the rich taste of the earth, which was pretty weird.
On one hand, it tasted amazing, and on the other, it felt as if he was a child who was eating mud.
Seeing the puzzled expression on his face, the Head laughed and said, "This is a unique wine created by a passionate gentleman who used the help of his son. His son, like most children, loved to eat mud, and kept trying to persist in that action no matter how much he was stopped. In an attempt to put an end to it, he used the taste and essence of the earth to create this flavor. Half of those who drink it call it the gift of the Heavens, and the other half spit it out and curse. It seems that you are indecisive, King."
Daneel smirked and nodded. Indeed, that was the case.
Deciding to use this brief moment to relax, Daneel reminisced on what had happened since seeing the Emperor in all his glory.
From the beginning, the entire plan had hinged on obtaining some way to bind Heroes to him. After all, it was just not possible to kill them, somehow, and think that their deaths would go unnoticed, and it was also not feasible to think that he could give a speech, like in many movies, and make them instantly change their minds and characters.
So, the need of the hour was some way to force them into making an oath which they would have to follow, or perish.
Regular oaths were ruled out right away: even in the case of Champions, they could be overcome in a matter of months, and if it were Heroes, they could possibly break them apart and do as they wished in weeks.
So…that left only one option.
The Artifact left behind by the Emperor.
But how?
That Artifact was possibly the most treasured thing in the Big Four- it was the base of their entire model of allowing people to break through using Willstones. Without it, anyone could just betray the continent and go over to the Church, resulting in disasters of epic proportions.
A large part of the problem was solved by having the Head under his command: as the one who enacted these rules of the Big Four, he had the Artifact on his body, so there was no need to perform a heist to get their hands on it.
Hence, the only remaining problem was that of the formations placed by generations of Heads and members of the High Council to ensure that whoever possessed it would only use it after being given permission by a majority of those who held authority within the Big Four.
This was an intricate countermeasure laid down long ago by the survivors of the Apocalypse who still retained a large part of the power from the age before, and it was so complex that it couldn't even be analyzed properly by most in this age. This was also how the Artifact was even put to use by those who were not accepted by it, or those who were not powerful enough to wield it.
That was when the system had told him that the true owner could induce the Artifact Spirit to break apart all that is binding it, and that was when Daneel got the idea to restore the memories of the Emperor.
After all, what was life, but a series of decisions?
If all those decisions, and all the events that had led up to the moment of the fracture of his mind were showed to him, wasn't it possible that he might be revived, at least temporarily?
The system hadn't known whether it would work, as there was little to no research in that area. That was where his Master had helped- he had combed through the resources of the Church and declared that it was possible.
With that, the only thing left was to find a way to impart memories, and for this, the perfect treasure was one used by those who trained in Paths related to the mind, like Aran's.
They used the treasure to undergo difficult situations to hone and sharpen themselves, and it had worked perfectly.
Taking another sip from the glass and still being indecisive regarding whether he loved it or hated it, Daneel shot a glance to the corner of the room where the Heroes lay.
16 young Heroes, with such promising futures. 17, actually, if one counted Magda, who was undergoing the same thing in Lanthanor.
Yet…they had all chosen to go in the wrong direction, and hence, they had become Daneel's targets.
After obtaining the right to use the Artifact, the plan was simple: break the Heroes, and make them submit and swear the oath.
Physical assault was not preferable, as it might cause too much of a ruckus. So, all that was left was a mental one.
The moment Daneel had thought of this, he had been reminded of what he had gone through in the Order, and after asking the system, he had pleasantly found that his experiences were enough for even the Champion level system to assess and copy the spell that was used there.
The only problem was the extreme expenditure of the mind that would be needed to cast the spell, as it was exceedingly complex, especially when it was supposed to target 16 Heroes.
If it was one, Daneel could do it. But for 16…he would have fainted.
So, the Head was brought in again, and he was currently maintaining the spell without breaking a sweat.
Everything was laid out perfectly. Now, all that was left was to form the first Hero corp under Daneel.
He had already decided that it would comprise of all those who were ready to betray their Motherland. In a cold twist of fate, they would be forced to defend it with their lives, and it was just…perfect.
As he thought about what they were undergoing in the simulation, he actually felt quite proud.
For a long time, he had had idle thoughts regarding what hell must be.
This…was one version of it that he knew would be pretty effective in making people repent.
So, getting the odd idea that it would befit this situation, Daneel transformed his chair into a throne that was fit for the King of Hell- complete with wailing souls, affixed skulls and ghastly ghosts.
Meanwhile, in the room below the Palace of Lanthanor, Magda was still bound to the chair.
However…her eyes were closed, and a deep, deep frown was set on her face.
If someone could peek into her mind, they would see that she was a toddler who was being shown the first mistake she had felt guilty for in her life: there was a boy whom she teased and teased using her background until he committed suicide, and she had felt regret when she saw his body devoid of life.
Yet, rather than sorrow, there was only frustration on her face, and she screamed something that no one heard.
"IT'S ALREADY THE 45,689TH TIME! Please stop! PLEASE! I KNOW EVERYTHING I DID WRONG! I don't want to see it again! I can't make it to a million times to escape! I'LL DO ANYTHING, I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'LL SWEAR THAT OATH! Please, just make it stop!"