Chapter 04 (part 2/2) - Mind Devourer

  In the same type of chair where he now sat, there was another boy, a few years younger, dressed in tattered rags. Black claws gripped his shoulders while a spectral abomination licked at his exposed skull. Multiple limbs extended toward nearby pedestals as the creature absorbed and transcribed the boy’s knowledge onto sheets of parchment. Several workers operated the pedestals, replacing the pages each time they filled with words or erratic symbols.

  Born from a demonic pact, the mind devourer fed on memories and fragments of its victim’s soul. With the skull pried open, the creature savored the brain with grotesque delight, while the men controlling it, numb to the horror, busily compiled the price of the sacrifice: knowledge.

  “This one doesn’t have much left.”

  Reported the extractor who had just come out, glancing at the freshly written pages, the ink still wet.

  “The devourer is already recording redundant data and personal memories.”

  “Good. Then prepare this one for when chamber five is vacant. Let me see what you’ve gathered.”

  Heidegger set the scalpel aside from Vincent’s forehead, shifting his focus to the newly extracted information. Even so, Vincent was still in danger. After witnessing that nightmare, he thrashed violently, screaming and struggling to break free. He was restrained and gagged, additional straps securing him to the chair as a padded iron guide was clamped to his temple to keep his head steady during the procedure.

  “MMmmm- mmmhhm!!”

  Vincent protested in vain.

  “Don’t move, the procedure won’t hurt… or at least, you won’t remember it.”

  Said another extractor, taking over for Heidegger and approaching with a scalpel in hand. He placed his fingers on Vincent’s forehead to steady his grip. The frantic movement, combined with the sweat on Vincent’s skin, made the glove slip, frustrating the man.

  “Ahg, give me the chloroform. This husk is far too restless.”

  Chloroform? So they have access to that kind of chemical too…

  As the man soaked a cloth with the sweet-smelling liquid, the door opened once more. The freshly extracted husk was dragged along the rails to the nearby table, where the stack of still-wet writings awaited.

  His forehead… just a red line now, but a moment ago his skull was open. That’s a relief, I guess…

  The rest of the scholars left the chamber with the papers, piling them in front of the dazed husk. The young man drooled and stared blankly, alive but vacant. They snapped their fingers and slapped his face in an attempt to wake him.

  “And what’s this about? Do you understand what it says?”

  Asked the scholars, holding the scribbled pages close to his eyes.

  If they’re asking for explanations, it means the information isn’t extracted but copied. Then why resort to these methods? Wouldn’t it be easier for the subject to write it themselves?

  There were too many unknowns about how the tower, the resurrections, and the memories truly worked. Is the information lost to the void? From what little he understood, it was normal to forget much of one’s past life. Yet both Lily and the extractors spoke as if he would be consumed by the void the moment he lost focus.

  Realizing he had no chance of winning, Vincent began planning for defeat, thinking of how to minimize losses when hope was gone. Just like a company facing bankruptcy. Losing all assets wasn’t the end. And in this case, his assets were his memories.

  It wouldn’t be the first time. He had gone bankrupt three times before. In each of them, he survived and emerged stronger after losing everything, thanks to his ingenuity. But if what he lost this time was the very thing that set him apart from others, then it would be no different from death.

  “Mmmmhh? Mmm!?”

  Vincent tried to communicate, putting emphasis on the questioning tone. He wasn’t screaming mindlessly or resisting. He was searching for a way to endure this, but the extractor didn’t respond. The scalpel kept moving toward his forehead. The obsidian blade grazed his skin, and a drop of blood ran down his brow, into his eye, mixing with his tears and tinting his vision red… and through that crimson blur, his savior appeared.

  Lily burst through the door, panting and furious.

  “What are you doing!? You have no right!”

  The extractor immediately withdrew his scalpel, knowing he was at fault.

  “Magister, please, quiet down. If you shout that loudly, your protests will be etched into the records.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The man pleaded, motioning for silence with his finger, but she ignored him and stormed straight toward Heidegger, the one in charge.

  “You know you can’t do this! You can’t subject him to this against his will!”

  Heidegger turned his head toward Lily, regarding her calmly over his focusing lenses. Despite being caught red-handed, he didn’t panic like the others. There was no guilt in his expression, no fear of consequence.

  “Magister Lily… welcome. What brings you to storm into my clinic in such a manner?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about!”

  Lily rushed to check on Vincent. When she saw the cut on his forehead, her glare could have killed. She tried to loosen the restraints, but the thick leather straps were too rigid for her hands. Frustrated, she turned to the other extractors.

  “Untie him! Now!”

  When no one moved, her desperation grew. She raised her arm and brandished her staff. She didn’t point it at anyone directly, but it began to hum and vibrate, a rising whine building within the opaline stone at its center.

  One of the guards quickly seized her arm and snatched the staff away, severing the connection and disarming the threat.

  “What do you think you’re doing!? If you dare touch me…”

  “Please, Magister Lily… there’s no need to make a scene. We would never dare to harm you. Please, calm yourself, and I’ll explain the situation.”

  Heidegger gestured for the guard to release her and return her staff. She took it and held it tightly against her chest.

  “You see… this husk is highly unstable. I can’t detect a circulating flow strong enough to sustain him or allow him to defend himself. So, I made the executive decision to extract his memories before they’re lost entirely. He won’t be able to consent in a few days, so we’ve dismissed his will.”

  “That’s not how things work! Release him!”

  Lily stepped between Vincent and Heidegger like a wolf defending her cub. Heidegger adjusted his lenses and gave Vincent another glance. Finally, he made the connection.

  “Oh, I see… so this is the pet from the rumors. I’d heard you’d taken a husk under your wing, but I didn’t think it was this one.”

  Heidegger sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s a shame he woke up so late… there’s nothing that can be done.”

  Lily slapped his hand away and kept protesting.

  “You know you have no right to do this! The procedure will kill him, and it’s obvious you’re doing this against his will… isn’t that right?”

  She turned to Vincent, who nodded vigorously in agreement.

  “Untie him!”

  “He’ll be dead in a few days… you know that.”

  “T-there’s no certainty of that!”

  She replied firmly, both to Heidegger and to Vincent, as if to reassure him.

  It’s not the first time I’ve heard this… what is Lily still hiding from me?

  “If you don’t release him immediately, I’ll report this!”

  “Do it! Go ahead and report me to the council. Even if they respond this week, they won’t sanction me. Not with a husk in this condition. You know very well there are special clauses for the dying, catatonic, and comatose.”

  Lily clenched her teeth in fury. There was something personal in his words.

  “Even if you stop me now, you can’t watch over him every hour of the day. The moment you let your guard down, we’ll bring him back here again. You can’t stop it.”

  The opal at the head of her staff flared with light, its hum making the ornaments rattle like a cobra ready to strike. She nearly lashed out but stopped herself, violence wasn’t the answer.

  “This is the most humane thing, little Magister… I can let you keep him for a few days, but every hour that passes risks losing valuable information… you know Lazarus’ doctrine; even one memory could save thousands…”

  The extractor reprimanded her with citations of ancient cases, arguing for the moral stance. She knew he was right, but still…

  “He can hold on… I will take care of him.”

  “But what will survive? Lives are fleeting, magister; souls are lost in the sea of energy that surrounds us, the end that awaits us all. But knowledge endures. A woman in your position should know that; such sentimentality only erodes your accomplishments.”

  The empty rhetoric did not convince her, but it gave her an idea.

  “If it is knowledge you want, you may take me,” Lily replied.

  Heidegger was surprised, unsettled... but after weighing it for a moment he dismissed the notion.

  “You know I cannot do that, magister; that would get me in trouble.”

  “And since when does that concern you, huh? Isn’t it knowledge you want? Very well, I propose the following: if Vin ends up as an empty husk or dead, you may expose me to the devourer for five minutes.”

  “Only five? That’s nothing.”

  “You want my power, don’t you? I do not even know how it works… it is innate. The only way to understand it is with one of your beasts.”

  Heidegger considered it; a man of science and ravenous curiosity, the chance to prod the mind of someone as unique as Lily excited him. His withered face could not hide the grimace of a macabre smile.

  “Ten minutes.”

  “Five, no more. It will remain between us. Just let me take Vin.”

  The final plea weakened her offer a bit; Heidegger could have demanded more, she was desperate, but memory extraction is a hostile process for the psyche. Even if he could rummage through her brain for hours, each minute with the mind devourer increased the chance of lasting damage. If they found him tampering with the mind of a piece as valuable to the tower as a magister, it would land him in trouble.

  “All right, five minutes it is… release him.”

  The guards untied Vincent from the rigid hold of the chair. When they removed the gag he coughed from the disgust. He trembled with fear as they finished freeing him.

  “Know that, as much as the prospect of examining you is something I long for, I hope this young man survives. It is obvious to me that his late settling was due to the volume of information he had to download into this body. I am sure there is great will in him and much to explore… so I hope he at least survives with a trace of lucidity.”

  Heidegger watched Vincent this time.

  “But whatever remains, even if he returns to his empty state, I will extract his memories at some point… And if any part of him remains intact enough to function and his debt is restructured, rest assured he will end up in my hands.”

  Vincent weighed those words; there was so much about this world he did not understand: husks, debts, memories and spirits. He needed to sit quietly and talk with Lily; he needed to know why the extractor was so sure he would die in a few days.

  Lily motioned for Vincent to stand. It was important that he demonstrate his faculties, whether walking straight or following simple orders. Her plan to keep Vincent’s awakening secret had been thwarted; even if Heidegger kept his mouth shut, rumors in the tower spread like fire through dry grass. They left the chamber without a word, but as they disappeared from view, Lily reached out and took his hand so he could lean on her, helping him walk.

  It was in that closeness that she whispered to him:

  “Don’t worry, Vin… I will save you. But it will not be simple, nor free of pain.”

  Vincent turned his head; he wanted to meet her gaze to show determination. After what he had been through and how much she seemed willing to risk, he needed to express to her that he would do whatever was necessary.

  “You need to learn how to use magic…”