Path to the Apocalypse

Chris glanced at Beth as she stared at the ring on her left hand with a soft smile. “Should you really be wearing that before I've actually proposed?”

Beth quickly pulled her hand to her chest and covered it with her other hand, glaring at him. “You'll have to pry this ring off my cold, dead body!”

“Okay… but then how am I going to propose? Or are we just acting like I already have?” Chris asked, scratching his head.

Beth frowned, rubbing the ring thoughtfully. “No, you're definitely going to have to propose… but you're not taking my ring from me. Maybe buy a second one?”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Then you wouldn't want to give up that one either.”

“Just buy something cheap and crappy to act as a stand in.” Beth countered.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you really want me to propose with something cheap and crappy?”

Beth paused for a moment, her expression twisting slightly. “No. I want you to propose with this ring.” She sighed, raising her hand to look at it with a light smile. She glanced at Chris. “Could you manifest a new ability that allows you to go back in time so you can already have proposed?”

Chris snorted. “I wish. Do you know how broken that would be, combined with everything else I can do?”

Beth sighed. “Damn it. Linear time sucks.”

Chris shook his head. “Alright, come on, hand it over. I promise I'll propose as soon as I can.”

Beth narrowed her eyes at him. “I want a serious proposal. You can't just throw something sloppy together to get it over with.”

“Of course.” Chris nodded. “If I wanted to just get it over with, I'd do it the moment you handed the ring back.” Beth grimaced, looking almost pained as she pulled the ring off and handed it over to him. Chris smirked slightly as he began to kneel. “Beth-”

“You-!” Beth yelped, slapping at him as he quickly straightened up.

“Kidding, kidding!” Chris assured her. “Don't worry, I'll think of something good.”

“You better.” Beth growled, shaking a finger at him. “I will pound you if you mess this up.”

Chris chucked. “Beth, the pounding comes after the wedding.”

*

“You want to dominate all the tribes in the Maze?” David asked skeptically. Chris and Beth were visiting her parents for dinner and they'd proposed their plan to dominate the kobolds and the imps. They hadn't been able to bring it up last time they visited since that visit had mostly been about catching up.

“Essentially.” Chris nodded. “At least as many as I'm capable of, but since my space is capable of growth, I think I should be able to get them all unless I hit some sort of limit. Though there are definitely certain tribes that aren't worth keeping around, so those would probably just get wiped out… but yeah, essentially the idea would be to completely populate the Maze with tribes under my control.”

David tapped his finger on the table thoughtfully. “That would be a… significant undertaking, and one that would immediately backfire if anything ever happened to you, as unlikely as that may be. Or worse, if you turned on us, you could send creatures directly into the City whenever you liked!”

Chris cocked his head. “I can't speak to your first point, since yeah, if I die, all the creatures I developed could pretty quickly become a huge problem. For the second though… Beth and I actually had a similar conversation the other day. You can order me to stop developing my space and my minions, but if I turn, an order won't stop me and I'll find a way to grow on my own, so it'd simply be a delay. But if you treat me like some kind of crisis waiting to happen, the odds of me turning are higher. On the other hand, if I'm happy and fulfilled acting as a protector of the City, my odds of turning are a lot lower, don't you think?”

“Ah, but you have to understand, politicians don't care if bad things happen, they care about if the public thinks bad things will happen.” David pointed out. “If the people think you're a threat, then all they care about is making it look like they're doing something about it, even if what they're doing is ineffective or counter-productive. Because in the end, it isn't about solving issues, it's about retaining and growing their power.”

Chris blinked. “Huh… Well, that paints a dark picture for me, doesn't it?”

“If we let things continue as they are, but that's why we have the most important political tool ever created! ‘Framing the narrative’!” David replied with a chuckle. “Why do you think telepaths are looked down on, while dominators are respected? Because when we talk about telepaths, we focus on how their abilities can be used on humans, reading your mind, digging through your memories, finding each and every secret you hold, while when we talk about dominators, we focus on how their abilities can be used on creatures, turning these deadly threats into stalwart defenders! But when you really think about it, the idea of someone having the ability to control your mind is much more terrifying than someone who simply has the ability to read it.”

Chris nodded slowly. “So how do we want people to think about me? The ultimate dominator or something?”

“Possibly, but you need to shift your focus from tribes to creatures.” David commented. “The public doesn't see tribes as a problem. Most people barely conceptualize them as an issue, since they only exist from the fifth level up. When people think of the Maze, they think of beasts and monsters. When they think of tribes, they think of people. People who are a threat, to be sure, but it isn't hard to make the leap from something happening to a tribe to something happening to them. In fact, a regular part of our propaganda is emphasizing the fact that if we don't subjugate the tribes, one day we could be the ones being subjugated. No, you need to be seen as a tamer of monsters, not as a conqueror of people.”

Chris frowned. “But there's no real point in dominating mindless beasts. There's only so many I can control at any one time, and for the rest, they're still just running around the Maze, doing what beasts do.”

David shook his head. “You're missing the point. Nothing about what you actually do is going to change. People don't care about what you actually do. They care about what they think you're doing. Dominators use sapient creatures all the time, but they call them monsters, so people are okay with it, because they aren't monsters.”

“The Demarcos work really hard to maintain that image too, so if you lean into it, the groundwork is already there.” Abigail added. “In fact, it's going to benefit you to lean into all the Families propaganda, because if anyone is going to see you as a threat, it's them.”

David slapped the table. “Damn! I hadn't even considered them yet! Thank you, dear.”

“Of course.” Abigail smiled.

David hummed slightly. “It may be a good idea to bring in your Montero heritage. Play into the Families’ superiority complex.”

“Wait, what?!?” Beth interjected. “What Montero heritage!?!”

“My mom was a Montero.” Chris explained, frowning as he cocked his head. “Did I never tell you that?”

“No, you didn't.” Beth growled, glaring at him.

Chris shrugged. “It isn't important anyway. I have nothing to do with the Monteros, and I want nothing to do with the Monteros.”

“It feels pretty important from over here!” Beth retorted. “How could you not tell me this?!? I thought you didn't keep secrets from me!”

Chris frowned. “I don't keep secrets from you. I wasn't hiding it, I didn't tell you because I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, the Monteros and I are complete strangers. I don't know them, and they don't know me. It'd be like telling you my favorite shirt in fourth grade was green with a picture of the Tunnelbreaker on it. Is it somewhat interesting? Sure, but I outgrew that shirt years ago, so I rarely if ever think about it, just like the Monteros.”

Beth narrowed her eyes at him. “Then how did my dad learn about it?”

“He introduced me to Belinda at the Ball, I was a bit awkward about it, and he asked.” Chris explained. “As much as I don't care about them, I'm still not exactly a fan. They did rather deliberately abandon me as a child.”

Beth continued to glare at him for a moment, then blinked as she suddenly remembered who she was talking to. Chris told her one of his parents might be a slime! There was no way he'd deliberately hide this from her. “Right, sorry, I'm just- ugh, all this talk of politics has my defenses up. Plus… well, you know. I have my own history with the Monteros.” She apologized, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

Chris nodded. “I get it. Honestly, this whole conversation has me feeling pretty critical myself. I don't enjoy the idea of everyone in power solely focusing on maintaining that power, whether it helps the City or not.”

“That's politics.” David commented. “Few people seek power because they want to help people. Most people seek power because they want power.”

“See, I just don't get that.” Chris shook his head. “Power is a means to an end. What's the point of having it if you don't do anything with it?”

“Because of what you potentially could do with it.” David replied. “A person with four hundred thousand dollars will attract much more attention than a person with a four million dollar house, because the money can be spent, while the house will only ever be a house. Similarly, a man who used his influence to reform the City may be respected, but never as much as the man who could reform the City. People never care about what you've done as much as they care about what you could do, because what you could do could affect them, while what you've done has already become a part of their lives, incapable of helping or hurting them any further.”

Chris scratched his head. “But that still means you have to use it sometime, right? I mean, if people keep begging you to buy them things, and you never do, eventually they'll learn not to ask you to buy them things.” There were a few kids at the orphanage who'd tried that with Chris once they learned how much money he had, and quickly stopped once they'd realized it was pointless.

“Oh, they use bits and pieces. The equivalent of buying everyone a meal maybe, or possibly a better than average gift, just enough that people notice, but never enough to put a dent in their reserves.” David explained.

Chris sighed. “I guess that makes sense… it still seems shitty to me though.” The only reason Chris hadn't already donated all his money to the orphanage was because he wanted to get settled in his own life first. But once he had a stable job and a home to call his own, what was the point of keeping all that money? Better to give it to someone who could actually do some good with it.

David shrugged. “That's politics. Like money, power is going to be held by someone. Unless you want anarchy, which I assume you know is a bad idea.” Chris nodded. “So yes, power will be held, because someone has to, usually by those who seek it for their own benefit, because as you've noticed, cultivating power is a chore, and no one does it without proper motivation, and since it is a chore, those who've gained it are loath to lose it, because who wants years or even decades of effort to go to waste? It may not be the prettiest fact of life, but that doesn't mean it isn't one. No, the really shitty part of all this is that we've created a system that shifts based on who's best at manipulating public opinion, not around who's right or wrong. But as they say, I didn't make the game, I simply play it. So how about we stop focusing on inescapable realities and start focusing on keeping you from becoming public enemy number one, hm?”

Chris blinked. “Could that actually happen?”

“Easily.” David confirmed. “You casually talk about dominating all the tribes in the Maze, but have you fully conceptualized what that means? You're talking about not only defeating, but controlling forces the City has been battling for longer than anyone has been alive, proving that you could just as easily do the same to us. It's enough to make even me nervous, and you're practically my son-in-law! How do you think the average person would feel if they truly understood the threat you represent, without the knowledge that the person you are would never realize that threat?”

“Probably not very good.” Chris muttered.

“Terrified. They'd be terrified.” Beth emphasized with a twisted expression.

“Exactly.” David continued seriously. “And so, we'll use our oh so shitty system to twist public opinion in your favor! To focus everyone on the good, which you actually will do, and turn their minds from the bad, which you have no intention of doing in the first place! Which is better than usual for this type of thing.”

Chris grimaced for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “Okay. What do I have to do?”

*

Lines of soldiers marched onto an open field, beginning with the Vanguard. No matter which branch you were in, there was a single graduation ceremony for all of them, to show that despite their different duties, they were all united in the defense of humanity. Which meant the graduation ceremony was an absolutely massive event. There were representatives from every Family, government officials, the Mayor, the Mayoral candidates, and anyone else who managed to win themselves a seat, along with the graduates’ friends and family. The Maze was the lifeblood of the City, and no one who desired any form of political influence would risk spurning the people who risked their lives to keep that lifeblood flowing.

Each group did a pass before the stands so the people they cared about could get a look at them, though they weren't allowed to wave back, before forming into ranks on the field, Vanguard up front, with the Defense Force in the back. Show of unity aside, the City had to make sure everyone knew who was really valuable. Chris had to suppress a groan as the speeches began, which were just as long and drawn out as they'd been at his high school graduation, only this time he wasn't in a seat he could nod off in. Chris struggled not to yawn through the endless repetitions of praise for their ‘noble sacrifice’, almost missing the moment they finally ended and the event he'd been waiting for began.

Belinda, David, and Samuel walked up to the podium together as a slab of an amber-like substance was brought out, a meter long and a tenth of that high and wide. “Now it is time for our new recruits to leave their mark for the Wall of Ascension, preserving their strongest attack in this slab, to join its brethren on the Wall. Each centimeter of its length represents one unit of ability power, forever marking the continual improvement of our forces, and honoring the sacrifice of every poor soul who passes through the Trial.” Belinda announced to the crowd, before turning to the graduates. “Unfortunately, only a single attack may be preserved, so I ask, who among you believes yourself worthy of this task!”

“I do!” Daniel immediately replied, stepping forward from among the ranks of the Vanguard, along with four others with similar eagerness, all eyeing each other competitively.

Belinda spared Daniel a small smile, quickly returning to seriousness as she looked the volunteers over. “Very well, since you all believe yourselves worthy-” She cut off as someone new joined the line of volunteers, blinking incredulously.

“Sorry, ma'am. I had to go around.” Chris explained, pointing his thumb at the line of Vanguards that had been in his way.

Belinda glanced at David, wondering what he was up to, but the man just smiled back. It wasn't that there weren't those with attacks capable of matching the Vanguard in the Scouts or even the Defense Force, it was just that anyone who actually cared about this sort of thing would almost definitely join the Vanguard. Also… wasn't this boy a healer? “Very well… If you all believe you are worthy, then you shall duel for it!” Belinda continued, putting whatever they were up to out of her mind. It would be handled by the duels in any case. “Prove you are the most capable for the task!” She glanced at Chris, pointing at him and Daniel. “The two of you will go first.” Daniel had fumed over Chris avoiding their duel before. It was only fitting to give him the chance to knock the Scout out of the running.

Chris frowned. David hadn't told him he'd have to duel to do this! He just said he'd have to show he could do better! “Is this really an accurate measure of ability strength?” Chris asked skeptically as he walked over.

“What, are you scared, Scout?” Daniel sneered. “The Wall of Ascension isn't about having one strong attack, it's about being strong. About fighting back against the Maze! Of course we should prove ourselves through combat!”

Chris cocked his head, then shrugged. “That's fair.”

“Ready?” Belinda called out. Chris shifted into his mutated form, Daniel and Belinda both looking shocked as he rolled his shoulders. He was actually starting to get a little excited. He never got to really fight in his mutated form. He pulled on the abilities of all his minions, deciding to see what he could really do if he went all out. He paused for a moment, before letting Tibolt and Girolt's abilities drop. That would make things too easy. Belinda coughed. “Ready?” Chris nodded, Daniel following a moment later, though he now looked a lot less confident. An energy barrier snapped into place around them. “Begin!”

Daniel immediately fired a glowing bolt at Chris, simultaneously attacking and pushing himself away as the blast propelled him backwards. Chris easily twisted out of the path of the bolt, shooting a ball of ice back at almost twice the speed, Daniel's eyes widening as he quickly used an unfocused blast to push himself out of the way. “How-” He began, cutting off with a yelp as a ball of fire came at him next, using another blast to dodge. “What-” A cloud of darkness covered him and he frantically blasted his way out of it, only to catch an iceball to the gut which sent him sprawling and gasping for air, a healer quickly rushing forward to attend to him as the barrier fell.

Chris turned back to normal, glancing at Belinda and giving her a thumbs up. “Good?” And then his head exploded.

As the echo of a gunshot cracked through the field, barriers snapped into place around the crowd as people screamed and cursed. All the soldiers immediately went on guard, putting up their defenses and scanning their surroundings for the threat as healers rushed towards Chris, only to stop short as his body disappeared, leaving only his uniform behind. A moment later a horizontal portal opened above them and his head popped out. “I'm okay! Just naked at the moment. What hit me?” He'd barely caught whatever it was in his spatial sense, but he'd at least caught the direction, looking over to the far end of the field just in time to catch another bullet to the face, head exploding again as he collapsed through the portal. A moment later he popped up again. “If it didn't work the first time-” His head popped again. He emerged a moment later with a sigh. “Well, at least they're targeting me.” His head exploded for a fourth time, and a moment later, he yet again emerged, waiting patiently, only to find that his head remained blissfully intact this time. “Huh… did we get them?”

A soldier ran up on stage, whispering a report to the three generals, before slipping away. Belinda let out a cough as she stepped up to the podium. “The assailant has been dealt with, but please be patient as we secure the location against any further threats.” She announced.

Chris nodded, ducking back through his portal and closing it, before opening one facing down over his uniform and pulling it in. A quick scan with his material sense let him absorb any dirt he'd picked up as he pulled the uniform on, before stepping back out and falling into place with the other volunteers. The four remaining shared looks before stepping back into place with the rest of the Vanguard, clearly ceding the right to leave a mark to Chris.

Belinda glanced at Chris. “If you are the only one remaining, you may as well leave your mark.” She announced, waving to the slab.

“Yes, ma'am.” Chris saluted, moving into position to attack the slab, a few cameramen lining up nervously to get a shot of it. Chris transformed again, pulling on Fribolt's ability and forming a spike- forming a spike- Chris frowned down at his hand, which refused to form a spike of ice. He tried forming a ball, then pulling on all his other minions abilities and activating them, but nothing worked! It was almost like- Chris froze, opening a portal and stepping inside, examining himself with his energy sense. He sighed, transforming as he stepped back outside, turning to Belinda. “Sorry, ma'am. I can't leave a mark.”

Belinda glared at him. “Excuse me?”

“My ability energy is gone.” Chris explained. “I think it's because I died? I guess my body is connected to my space, but the energy isn't. I guess I could claw at it if you really wanted me to, but my physical strength is only around four ability units, so it'd be kinda sad.”

Belinda stared at him incredulously as David struggled, and failed, to contain his laughter. Belinda whirled on him furiously. “Do you think this is a joke!?! This is a matter of our pride as a species!”

David waved her down. “Right, sorry, Belinda, I get it, but- listen, give the kid a month, and I bet he'll be able to make an attack just as strong as before. Hell, give him a year, and he'll blow through the thing! If you want to talk about the pride of the species… well, you're looking at it. If anyone is going to take us to the surface, it's that soldier right there. And he'll just be getting started.”