Chapter 13
Awakening in Chains
Until we meet again, little-worm.
The King's words echoed as the graveyard began to unravel.
The Bloated King's throne cracked down the middle. And with it, my mind broke. I existed in multiple places at once. The world around me steadied. I was back in my cell.
My skin crawled with constant movement as thousands of tiny creatures adjusted to their new home. A worm broke my flesh and moved from my wrist and into my elbow.
"Holy shit… holy fucking shit."
I was one of the Sacred. I laughed. Couldn't help it.
Red lights began flashing outside of my cell. There was shouting coming from the hallway, and the rush of boots.
Guards rushed into my cell, their weapons drawn. Not regular guns—some kind of specialized equipment.
"Don't move! Stay down!"
I raised my hands slowly. "I'm not—"
"Shut up!" Another guard, this one aiming his weapon at me.
The guard spoke into his radio: "Confirmed Sacred emergence. Requesting immediate specialist response."
"I said don't move!" The first guard noticed the shifting beneath my skin. His finger tightened on the trigger.
"I'm not doing anything, I can't… control it yet."
"Bullshit, they all say that."
"Specialist team two minutes out. Keep him contained."
I felt a pressure building in my arms. The worms were preparing to burst out. I couldn't stop them.
"...Please, I don't want to hurt anyone."
The guard with the prod laughed. "That's rich. You hear that, Pete? The murderer doesn't want to hurt us."
"Shut up, Marc," the first guard—Pete—snapped. "Just stay still until the specialist gets here, kid. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
I nodded slowly. The pressure in my arms increased. I could feel the worms pressing against my skin from the inside.
"Something's happening… I can't—"
The cell door opened once more.
A woman entered; she was tall and athletic, with short dark hair. Her eyes locked onto mine immediately. She wore a tailored SDC uniform.
"Stand down!"
"Ma'am, he's manifesting…"
"I can see that, and I can handle it. Wait outside."
The guards hesitated, then backed out one by one.
"Who are you?"
"Agent Hazel, SDC Special Containment Division, and you're Fischer..."
"I can't control it," I said, nodding toward my arms where the worms continued to gather. "They're going to come out."
"No, they're not." She reached into her pocket and withdrew a collar. "Not once this is on."
"This is an Origin suppression collar." She stepped closer. "It won't hurt. Much."
The worms beneath my skin went crazy at the sight of the collar. I felt them trying to escape, pushing harder against my flesh.
"They don't like it…"
"They wouldn't." Hazel crouched in front of me. "Listen carefully, Fischer. You have two options right now. Let me put this on you peacefully, or I put you down hard and put it on you anyway. Your choice."
"Do it," I gasped.
Hazel snapped the collar around my neck. And locked it quickly.
The effect was immediate. The connection between me and the worms weakened. They still moved beneath my skin, but the pressure dissipated. The splits in my arms closed.
I slumped forward, suddenly exhausted.
"There we go, the first time's always rough."
"What happens now?"
Hazel leaned against the wall. "Now we have a conversation about your future. Or lack thereof."
I managed to get to my feet, swaying slightly. The collar made me dizzy, like I'd had too much to drink.
"What do you mean?"
"You're special… you're exactly what we need right now. The SDC has certain... programs for Sacred with your particular situation."
"You mean convicted murderers?"
"I mean assets with limited options. Your Origin is unusual."
"How do you know what my Origin is? I just came out of the Trial."
"We monitored your vitals during the transition. The biometric readings were distinctive. We've seen similar Origin patterns in the past." She tapped the collar around my neck. "This isn't just suppressing your power, it's collecting data."
"So what are these programs?"
"The SDC maintains special operations in the Infinite Reaches. The Shattered Front and the Grinding Flats. You've heard of them?"
Everyone had heard of them. Places where the SDC sent people they wanted to disappear. Dimensional hellholes where prisoners fought and died against endless waves of beasts.
"...You're conscripting me."
"Offering you an alternative to execution, the SDC needs Sacred on the front lines. The beasts keep coming, and we keep losing people. You could serve a purpose there."
"As cannon fodder."
Hazel shrugged.
"Initially, yes. But Sacred who survive tend to grow stronger. Some even earn their freedom eventually."
"You're a convicted murderer who just manifested. Usually, I'd put a bullet in your head. But command thinks your specific... condition... could be useful in the Reaches."
"So quick death versus slow death…"
"It's more than you deserve, Fischer. You killed your family."
"I didn't—"
"The committee will deliberate tomorrow. You'll be transferred the following day. I suggest you rest while you can," she said, moving toward the door.
"Wait… If I'm going to die in the Reaches anyway, let me see Mikkel first?"
"...Who?"
"My father. The one who actually killed my sister. The one who's still out there."
She turned back, studying me. "Your file says you murdered your sister in a psychotic break."
I laughed bitterly. "Of course it does. The SDC wouldn't want to admit a powerful Sacred has been operating in Freetown, consuming other Sacred, for decades."
"That's a serious accusation."
"He's eating them! Mikkel… my father… he ate Rell to evolve, he's been doing it for years right under your noses!"
"I'll make a note in your file, but it won't change the committee's decision."
"I don't care about their decision, I care about stopping Mikkel before he kills again."
Hazel opened the door. "Get some rest, Fischer. The Front or the Flats… either way, you'll need your strength."
I sat on the thin mattress, closed my eyes, and focused inward. The worms were there, thousands of them, waiting. The collar couldn't sever our connection completely; it just muted it.
I concentrated on my right index finger, trying to direct the worms there. Nothing happened at first. Then slowly, I felt a subtle shift as a few worms responded to my will.
It was a start.