Official Report
Above New Hebron, California
Sapphira hovered across the landscape as he reached out with his mind. This time he did not seek the minds of the people below, but rather a much more powerful one. He believed if Chemosh could track him, that perhaps, he should be able to do the same. That is if the other being was telling the truth.
Though uncertain of what he was looking, he believed he would know it when he sensed it. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut halting in the open air. His awareness stretched out across the city and he put both hands to his head overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information that flowed through his mind. He sensed every insignificant little insect, every human, and every nook and cranny of every building. From the cracks in the foundations of a dozen different buildings, to the mice living underneath their floorboards.
He gritted his teeth as more images and sensations flooded through his mind. The sheer volume of what he sensed overwhelmed him. He perceived the voices and thoughts of a thousand different people, but it was more than that, he saw what they saw; he heard what they heard, he even felt what they felt. It was more than his mind could comprehend, and a groan escape his lips. He almost let go, but then he sensed something amidst the jumbled mess of thoughts and perceptions, a darkness that seemed somehow familiar.
He furrowed his brows and concentrated, focusing all his attention on the darkness. His eyes grew wide, and tears ran down his cheeks as his senses narrowed in on the awareness. He let out a long sigh, the flood of sensations lifting away, but his relief was short lived. He’d come in contact with the personification of evil, it desired nothing more than complete and utter control of anything and everything.
He swallowed hard, clenched both hands at his side and ground his teeth. A high-pitched howl escaped his lips, his vision turned red, and he jerked his head around his lips curling into a malicious grin. Again his awareness stretched out touching the minds of Amelia, Hailey, Babalawo and Noah and he realized just how easy it would be for him to extinguish their lives. Amelia was a freak, Hailey a degenerate, Babalawo a thief and a liar, and Noah a murderer, why should he let any of them live?
They were weak, useless, pitiful beings, he was superior in every way. He reached out, ready to pounce on their minds and destroy them with a simple act of will, but he hesitated. The weakness within himself, a little voice that screamed out in protest. He reached inside himself, ready to snuff out those pitiful little thoughts, but a scream pierced the air. It had come from his own throat. All at once his connection to the darkness shattered, and he gasped for breath.
He shuddered, realizing how so close he’d come to succumbing. It was so tempting so alluring; it offered power the likes of which he would have never imagined. It terrified him how much he liked what he’d sensed. He perceived this evil creature in the distance and he understood without any doubt whose awareness he sensed, Chemosh.
Swallowing, hard, he twirled around in the air, turning to face the source of the malevolence. He didn’t know what was a harder pill for him to swallow, that he’d come so close to ending the lives of four different people, half of whom met more to him than life itself, or he that was seeking the darkness that influenced him to make the attempt in the first place.
He remained there in the open air, heart hammering in his chest, his mind racing as he sought to come to terms with so many conflicting feelings. If Chemosh influenced him with so little effort why hadn’t he done so before? Would it be such a wise idea to confront him? Despite all his concerns he came to one inescapable conclusion, he was the only one who stood any chance.
Sapphira must stop Chemosh, and he needed to be the one to do it. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his gaze, the once-god wouldn’t harm anyone else. The wind wiped around his face, freezing his tears to his cheeks as he swooped down. He didn’t, however let that slow him down.