World Filter

Grace’s POV - 4 days ago.

“Donny, for god’s sake. Please just eat it” Grace begged desperately while holding one of the Corrupted fruit near his mouth.

Donny’s body was a mess, littered with bruises, cuts, and swelling. Both his legs were crushed and unusable.

“Just eat it for me, please baby” she cooed.

That fucking healer was useless, he couldn’t even mend the most basic injuries even when she had forced him to with magic, all he’d managed to do was stabilized Donny on the edge of life. Now the old man lay passed out in a heap on the ground next to their bed. He’d better heal Donny as soon as he woke up or she'd stop playing nice. Donny had been hurt defending her and there was no ways she was going to loose him after all they'd been through together.

There was the sound of another disturbance outside her tent.

Her guards would take care of it.

A lot had happened since she’d followed that group back to the settlement. Taking over the place had been child's play but who knew how difficult it’d be running a group of survivors while still trying to keep them alive? Every day felt like she had to deal with a new problem or wipe a new nose.

The previous leader was a guy named Henry, who to be honest was strong but pathetically simple.

She barely even needed to use [Persuasion] on him, his second in command Felix was a different story. One night they had just upped and left, taking some of the strongest fighters with them. Luckily the power vacuum had let her assume control over the camp even faster. If they ever returned she had an entire settlement backing her, plus she would be able to test out her newest spell on them [Mental Control].

The noise outside was getting worse but still, she ignored it.

“Donny, Eat!” She commanded, pushing him through their link.

Donny shook in pain and finally, he parted his lips. Shoving the fruit in his open mouth, Grace watched as the dark nectar dribbled down his cheek as he bit into it.

The voices in the back of her mind murmured in jealousy but she drove them back. This was to save his life, the attributes in this fruit would make him stronger.

A scream of pain came from outside.

Donny was now using his one working arm to greedily shove the fruit in his mouth.

Now it just needed time to work. Getting up off the floor Grace moved to the tent flap. Walking out into the sunlight she took in the scene.

Their makeshift barrier of stacked cars had been knocked aside by one of those Titans, behind it numerous weaklings rushed in. Her guard was taking a beating but then that was their job. Their loose circle would fail the moment the Titan got to them. The bodies of her subjects lay on the ground. Useless.

Balin hobbled over to her.

“Grace we need to move you, it's getting too dangerous out here,” he said in a panic.

Ignoring him she stared down at the Corrupted with rage burning in her heart. She’d long since stopped trying to control her emotions.

The world had already taken so much from her and now it wanted more. Trying to rip away everything she had worked for here.

Grace’s fury had reached new heights. At first, she just wanted to make them hurt but when she called the Mana to send a [Lightning bolt] forward, something else responded. Grabbing onto it she drew it in and as if it knew what she needed, it guided her.

Drawing in that dark pleasure Grace pointed an open palm towards them and fed it into her [Mental Control] spell.

Normally the spell allowed her to make a connection with someone and maintain it, during this time they would follow any of her orders willingly, even self-harm was on the table. Grace got such a rush whenever she used it.

This time though she targeted the Titan and pushed.

All at once her mind tried to overwhelm the bastard but unexpectedly multiple minds began to fight back. Just as she was losing her footing the energy came to her rescue. As soon as it came into contact with the creature, all resistance instantly faded. Grace felt it willingly give up control through the connection. Putting more into the spell she expanded the network beyond the Titan to cover the Corrupted behind it and took hold of them too.

Silence filled the camp as the Corrupted froze.

Then with a tremendous push Grace impressed her will upon them and though they probably didn’t understand what the word meant, her intentions were clear enough.

‘Leave!’

The change was immediate, the Corrupted backed off and then turned, running away as fast as their disgusting bodies could carry them. Even the Titan fled as if it were being chased.

As the spell ended that pleasure turned to ice in her veins. Grace’s teeth chattered together but it couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

One by one, the people that had seen her defend their home came out from their hiding places. Slowly people began clapping and cheering for her. Grace basked in the praise, it felt incredible to show her subjects her power.

Ambition flared in her chest, turning to look at an enamored Balin, she said.

“Start putting together a team, I know what our next target will be”

She was worried about her limited supply of fruit, perhaps there was something else other creatures could offer her.

As she entered the tent a ping sound from the system.

Crouching next to Donny, she happily opened her prompts, fully expecting a new spell. As she read the prompt she took hold of Donny's hand. In just three little lines her mood was spoiled.

Warning:

Prohibited energy use detected!

System punishment will be invoked if this energy is used again.

She’d chosen to take this step on her own, and this is how it reacted. What the hell did it know about survival? Everything she’d done was for their survival, and the system was more interested in telling her the path she came up with was cheating. Well, fuck that. She was done listening to others; now they would listen to her or get lost. Grace swiped the prompt away.

Mark's POV.

It was late morning by the time enough Corrupted had been killed to consider them at manageable levels. Mark had used more ammunition tonight than any of the previous nights, even having to buy from the system three times. Though for the most part, the wall held pretty well, with the exception of the groups of Titans that had gotten too close for comfort. If they had managed to get there they probably would have put a hole on the wall regardless.

However, people worked efficiently and focused them down whenever they showed up, their size working against them in this regard.

Besides that Mark was relieved to say that the wall probably would have been fine, even if they had not made it back in time. Of course, Mark didn’t regret rushing back, they got to relieve at least some of the burden and if he was real with himself, he’d welcomed the challenge of night travel.

He’d gained a lot and still hadn't had a chance to check his prompts but it would have to wait, right now he was traveling with Sam and Jonathan to the soldier's quarters. They were on their way to report to Major Karter. Everyone was still on high alert and non-combatants were still holed up at the fallback point behind the second wall, while finally sweeps were being done.

After this, a real inventory of the damage and missing persons could be done.

When they got to the wall Mark looked up to see Captain Martina manning the top of the wall. The soldiers deployed on top spotted their little group right away and they were let in soon enough.

When they got inside Mark saw the packed conditions everyone was working under. The streets were filled with people moving about, with tents and bedrolls scattered haphazardly around the area. Their group moved through the crowded space where people literally couldn’t help brushing shoulders with their neighbors every two seconds.

The conditions were cramped but at least they were alive, Mark could only imagine the desire to get out of here.

Moving through, Sam led them away from the command tents and up to one of the wall sections. Mark was surprised because he expected the major to stay at the back to maintain the chain of command, but it turned out Major Karter was the type to lead his men from the front in times of disaster, because as they got to the top, they saw the Major looking out over the wall into the rest of the settlement.

He looked the same with the exception of his right arm in a sling and simple armor covering his body.

“Dad!” Sam said rushing towards him with a worried expression.

Turning Mark saw a smile break through the man's usual stoney exterior. Accepting her hug with his one good arm.

“Why the heck didn’t you get a healer to look at this”

“Language Samantha, and why would I waste our healer's precious time and energy on a clean break when it could go to my men? Come let's get inside.”

The Major directed them toward a turret and when they got inside Mark saw the normal layout but someone had put up a thin divider to create a small space that functioned as an office. Really it was just two crates to act as a work surface and simple chair but it was leagues better than anyone else had right now.

“Right tell me what happened, I have an account from the men that returned yesterday but it's limited”

Sam opened her fist gently as a bubble of air formed in her palm, it expand to fill up the space, placing all of them inside it. The sounds of busy soldiers passing by faded to nothing.

After that Sam launched into her explanation. When she got to the part about the Guardian Mark showed him the staff. He nodded but his interest was only peaked when Sam mentioned the Prophet that Cara had talked about.

“Hmm, just before the influx arrived we had a group of survivors come to the wall. They did not want shelter, instead, they said were delivering a message from the Prophet, warning us of the coming disaster. On a hunch, I sent some scouts out and they confirmed the signs of the growing influx. It's the reason we managed to evacuate everyone here in time”

“Is there any news from them since?” Sam asked.

“No, they left soon after but I’m weary of people coming to my walls bearing gifts.”

“But the end result was that they helped right?” Jonathan said.

“Yes, I supposed they did…”

The rest of the debriefing was normal. Sam seemed much calmer now that she knew the Major was alright.

“Oh one last thing, there will be a video conference with Command this evening to assess our situation. Apparently, inspectors have been dispatched to assess how we are running things. Be at the main command tent at 1800 hundred hours”

Jonathan frowned.

“That's cutting it pretty close.”

The Major seemed to agree but said.

“I’m aware but orders are orders. The Colonel will be contacting us directly, so we are going to use the time we have to tally the damage and give her answers. We will be removing lockdown restrictions in a couple of hours. In the meantime, you should all get some rest”

“Dad, I’m not a kid anymore. Let me help”

“And you will, I can’t protect you from the world any longer but things are going to take a while to get moving here. Take a couple of hours to yourselves. No matter how old you are, you just came back from what was no doubt a life-or-death mission. Sleep, relax, I don’t care, but take a moment for yourselves. I’ve seen strong men collapse under the pressure you three are under. I'm sorry I have to keep relying on you so heavily but we don’t choose our situations only, how we respond to them.”

The Major had an almost proud look in his eye and Sam seemed to straighten her spine involuntarily as a satisfied grin tugged at her lips.

“Alright Dad, but just a couple of hours.”

The major nodded and said.

“I’m glad you are back safe.”

Mark pulled his construct back in, setting a slow-acting [Regenertion] on the Major which would finish off the treatment. Mark had been working to heal the Major's arm during the conversation. After this, he'd be back in top shape in a matter of minutes.

As they left the room and looked out over the settlement Mark saw the destruction across the whole camp. It was widespread and looked like it would take a long time to recover but they would.

Jonathan stretched and said while grinning.

“Gotta say I’m looking forward to some sleep”

Mark couldn’t agree more, when was the last time he slept again? He probably should have collapsed hours ago but now that things were winding down he felt the fatigue setting in. He’d love to just go to his tent and sleep - if it was still standing- but he had one last thing to do.

Lifting off from the wall he said.

“Alright see you two later, Sam keep an eye on your Corruption, we’ll have to deal with it soon”

She waved and lifted off the wall herself heading in the opposite direction, Jonathan just walked straight off the other side.

Mark headed towards the Knight's campsite. Arriving in the area that had once been littered with large tents there were now dozens of smaller tents filling the space. As Mark landed he looked for Daphne’s tent and soon enough found it near the edge.

Calling out to her there was no response, frowning Mark extended a construct into the tent. He could feel Daphne sitting in there, quietly staring into space. Opening the tent Mark made his way in.

This seem to wake her from her stupor and she looked up at him.

“Mark…”

Mark stepped further in and had the construct conform to the shape of the tent. With a bit of focus, he managed to imitate Sam's trick to block out sounds by thickening the walls. It wasn't as effective but it would do.

Daphne looked up at him but she seemed to be deep in thought.

Sitting down next to her Mark waited.

After what felt like minutes she broke the silence.

“I lost so many people today Mark… I led people into battle… Me. I did that. They trusted me and I couldn't protect them”

Her voice was shaky and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“We can't save everyone, the fact that you tried is all that matters.”

It was a lesson that Mark had only just started to grasp. The memory of Jaya surfaced to mock him once more.

“But if I’d been stronger my people wouldn’t have suffered”

Daphne blinked rapidly and Mark felt her Aura begin to fill the space, it felt like a heavy force was starting to push down on his shoulders.

Mark bore the weight as it fluctuate throughout the space.

“And if I’d been stronger, I wouldn’t have had to leave you guys like I did. Regretting our lack of strength or inability to save our people is always going to be a part of this world”

He could tell she was tired beyond words, now that things were winding down, everything was hitting at once.

Mark took hold of her gauntleted hand and turned her palm to face upward. Working steadily he unfastened the leather straps and pulled her glove off. Then he began working on the next. She continued to talk so Mark just listened calmly. Mark would reassure her each time she tried to turn it on herself.

As he worked, the fluctuations in the room began to hum and the force changed to that of a burning of a hearth. The sensation was one of safety in a storm.

Mark finished working on her last piece of armor.

Looking up, Mark made eye contact with Daphne. Her eyes glowed gold and red.

“You saved as many lives as you could, that's all anyone could ask of you. Now that the battle is over we’ve earned some time to ourselves”

Mark got up and helped her get under the covers getting in behind her. She complied but as he leaned over her and their faces got closer, she reached up and brushed her lips against his.

Heat spread through Mark's chest as he looked down at her.

Her confidence was back and there was no hesitation in her eyes.

Reaching down Mark supported her head and crushed his lips against hers.

They both gave everything they had to this new world, it demanded it but in that moment, the outside problems could wait as they rested in each other's arms.