A new Power is Rising (3/13)
[DAY 73]
Neo meditated for some time and afterwars finally opened his eyes again.
He was awakened by one of his Soulless who was currently kneeling right in front of him.
Although Neo has a mental link with the Soulless and can send them orders by thoughts, this link is a one-way link, meaning Neo can send them orders but they can not report to Neo in the same way.
Therefore, they have to be transferred manually, especially since Neo cannot share his senses with all of his soldiers all the time.
One of these reports is being told to him now by the Soulless in front of him.
The Soulless reports that more than 80% of the city has been taken and parts of the Legion that survived the Orbital Bombing have been found already and one of the Elite, the Enhancer has also been located.
Meanwhile, the Soulless Myriad is currently supporting an attack on a group of military soldiers holed up to the north.
All in all, Neo was very pleased with the conquest and current situation of Abeus and ordered another part of the Myriad to start rebuilding a new city, a fortress, from the Crater next to the Miasma Tower.
He gave some specifications, but left the rest to his Soulless, which included some architects and builders, and decided as long as the entire city isn't taken, to continue experimenting on his abilities as planned.
...
The next ability Neo is interested in, is creating the Soulless, which he refers to as CREATE SOULLESS.
This ability requires a Soulless Shell, Neo's other ability, SOUL ABSORPTION, is responsible for that. Only both abilities combined allow Neo to create a Soulless of his Myriad.
To add a Soulless to his Myriad, Neo must transfer a small Soul Shard of himself into the Soulless.
The Soulless then seems to come back to life at that moment. But not at the same time. His body functions as it did before he became a Soulless. If he was human before then he is that even after he became Soulless, if he was Undead then he stays that way too.
Neo also tried to infect a Soulless with a human body and turn it into an Undead, but nothing happened, the Soulless was clearly infected but didn't transform, remaining in its current static state.
If you look at it that way, being Soulless could be seen as immune against the Undead Virus. You only have to sacrifice your Soul to stay human forever, sounds tempting doesn't it?
On the other hand, Soulless don't seem to be able to improve their bodies, even as an Undead Soulless which normally evolve after eating a lot, can't improve their Body .
However, what Neo wonders most about, is whether the Body of the Soulless can age. He was wondering the same question about the Undead already, but to get his answer to that question, he must either have access to a lab with scientific machines and instruments. Or just wait and see for himself, if any change happens after sometime.
...
After Neo finished testing his CREATE SOULLESS ability, he decided to venture into testing what is arguably his most mysterious ability, the TOWER OF MIASMA, which he is currently viewing.
The Miasma Tower currently glows with a purple light and he can see the Purple Eye on top of it looking around the area. Meanwhile its arms are practically everywhere and are absorbing and creating Soulless left and right.
The entire Tower consists of Neos Miasma and has separated itself from his Soul and Body and can operate on its own.
Neo is sure that the Miasma Tower has some kind of basic intelligence to follow simple commands, so it could for example let the arms float around in the City and create Soulless on his own accord.
Neo then decided to examine the Tower more closely and touched it therefore.
His consciousness then drove back to his World of Darkness and there he could see a small Purple Eye in the distance, which was connected to him by a thin purple thread.
Every now and then Neo could see a small glow moving towards him along the thread. The lights were Souls received by the Tower.
Neo, on the other hand, apparently automatically gave the Tower small Soul Shards from his World of Darkness, which quickly reappeared after a while.
Neo then left his World of Darkness.
"The Miasma Tower seems to share some abilities with me. Firstly, it has my SOUL ABSORPTION & CREATE SOULLESS ability, but for the latter, it needs my Soul Shards. It sends a part of the Souls it absorbs to me, while using the other part to strengthen its own Soul Shard which I gave to it before. Like this, it's trying to get more Soul Energy to increase his level. So I think the Tower should be classified as a new type of creature." summed up Neo.
"The Miasma Tower, precisely because it appears to possess a Soul Shard of mine, is able to maintain its existence in this world without being bound to me. In addition, the Tower appears to have an ability to corrupt the land and darken the sky with its Miasma Clouds. Furthermore I feel that the Tower is, as loyal to me like the Soulless are." realized Neo.
"Also, the Soulless Myriad seems to be able to communicate and coordinate with the Miasma Tower." analyzed Neo.
"In addition to all these abilities, the Miasma Tower also amplifies my own powers many times over, my Miasma is very strong when fighting on the Tower 's corrupted ground. Also, even my Soul seems to be improving faster. And I can take control of the Tower like I do with the Soulless. Also it seems, that the Tower can change its inner space and design, but anything created by the Tower only exist inside it." said Neo.
"That should be all that I could tell for now." with that Neo ended his analysis of the Tower.
Neo concluded his experiments for now and was afterwards quickly informed by a Soulless that the City has now been taken and that all living and undead have joined the Myriad or Legion.
Neo has also been informed that some other members of the Legion have been found, they have all been summoned back to the Tower and will be arriving shortly.
Beyond that, Neo commanded some Soulless which did the best part and showed tactical finesse in taking Abeus and proved their worth to Neo, to also come along to meet him in a room the Tower created inside.
...
After some time, all summoned by Neo's army gathered in the Tower.
"My Master, I beg your pardon for not being able to prevent the attack on your live. I deserve punishment for my incompetence." Aaron said, who was kneeling in front of Neo at the time and looked at the floor.
"Aaron, how were you supposed to know that the Earth Defense Force was going to conduct the Orbital Bombardment of this City? Rise, there is no need to punish you. So far you have performed your duty conscientiously." praised Neo.
"Thank you my Master, I missed you so much, every day without your Excellency was a day of mourning." said Aaron, who suddenly became very enthusiastic.
'Sigh, is that guy trying to get me into bed?' Neo thought to himself at the compliments Aaron spoke.
"Sigh, Anyway, I want to hear the information the former Captain has for me now." Neo said as he looked at the Soulless Captain.
"Of course, my Master. I am originally from the Redinker Military Outpost, here in the city and therefore have some information that you, my Master, might be interested in." the Captain explained.
"For one thing, these Orbital Bombings happened in different metropolises all over the world at the same time. The aim of the attack was the destruction of the huge metropolises with more than
80% undead in them. Countless cities were bombed and the undead with them. In total, of the 40 billion people, 30 billion have already become undead or died. With the bombing more than 10 billion of these undead were killed and the Capitals and metropolises in which they were located along with them." explained the Captain.
"The Earth Defense Force, after the first days of the apocalypse, coordinated the troops on the ground and set up three major Safezones in all continents. These Safezones are supported with supplies and soldiers by the military and local resistance and survivors join the Safezones continuously. " said the Captain.
"Safezone 9 is where the Redinker Outpost with about 1 million civilians has withdrawn. There the civilians are trained into soldiers and receive basic food and a safe environment." said the Captain.
"As a rule, all Safezones have a huge wall to fight against Hordes of Undead and to ensure security. Safezone 9 also has such a wall, which is about 40 meters high and is permanently patrolled. In addition, some T1 Combat Robots are in Safezones 9 used, which can fight against the undead very effectively." said the Captain.
"However, after the orbital bombing happened on such a large scale, the military's goal is not to retake Earth, but to evacuate the few survivors still alive. Earth will be destroyed in the next few months due to plasma damage to the tectonic plates and atmosphere which were caused by the Plasma Beams. Earth will soon experience natural catastrophes of unbelievable proportions and all life on Earth will then no longer be possible." the Captain explained as he looked at Neo.
Neo, on the other hand, was silent for a while and let all the information digest first.
"A soldier can lose his arms and legs in war and give up. He can lose the battle and his comrades and return home as a broken man. But if he loses his home in war, there is no place to return." Neo murmured under his breath.
"Sigh, all right, do you know anything about the people I described to you?" asked Neo.
"I've thought about it again and know an Androld who fits your description, but he only had one child with him, the other, the girl my Master has described, I've never heard of her." the Captain explained.
"Oh... tell me everything you know about Androld." said Neo
"Yes Master, Andorld showed up one day with some of his people in the Redinker Outpost and because he knew the leader of the Outpost, he was quickly integrated into the military as an advisor and has since successfully completed a number of military operations. Therefore he was appointed lieutenant and has received the command of some combat units. Before the apocalypse such an appointment in the rank without a previous military career would have been completely impossible, but after the apocalypse, in which there is a shortage of personnel, officers must be found quickly and therefore anyone who has a few achievements, gets promoted easily." the captain explained.
"During the retreat from the Redinker Outpost, the child von Androld was injured and other than that I don't know anything else about the two, but they should be in Safezone 9 together with the rest of the military from this City." said the Captain and finally ended his report.
"Alright that was a lot at once, I will give more thought to our future plans, meanwhile I ask you to continue building our stronghold here. In addition, I will shortly introduce a new military rank system in which each of the Legion and the Myriad will be entitled to a rank coming with privileges and new duties." explained Neo.
Afterwards. the Undead and Soulless all bowed to Neo and then left the room they were in, leaving Neo alone with his thoughts.
...
Neo continued to think about the Captain's report and was particularly worried about the destruction of Earth and the evacuation.
Humans will escape the chaos they have created in this world, while Neo will face the catastrophes with his Legion and his Soulless.
"Damn people! Abominable creatures! First you attack me and destroy my city, my home and now you want to get out of my grasp as quickly as possible? How foolish I won't let go of you, you might fall in this world, but my crusade for Vengeance and Subjugation only begins here!" Neo explained as he hit the table in front of him and destroyed it immediately.
"My revenge on Androld and the culprits who murdered my father, this revenge drives my existence! As long as I haven't achieved this, I must not fail!" screamed Neo as he stood in front of the ruined table and looked out the window.
Below him he then saw his Legion of Undead and his Myriad of Soulless all working together on different parts of the City, while the arms of the Miasma Tower helped them to clean up the debris.
"I will not allow my army, My Legion and My Myriad to be annihilated again! The Earth Defense Force, the military, the Sol Parliament, if I must, all of humanity, I will fight anything and anyone who stands in the way of reaching my goal!" Neo spoke determined and then fell silent
...
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UMI CHANGE: ABILITY EXPLANATION
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SOUL SUBJUGATION ACTIVE ABILITIEY: CREATE SOULLESS (Explanation: Neo can add Soulless to his Myriad with this ability. To do this, Neo has to put a small Soul Shard in the shell. The Soulless retains their memory and intelligence, but loses their personality and will of their own. The Soulless are loyal to their Master, Neo. Furthermore, Soulless cannot upgrade their bodies after being transformed into Soulless, they remain on the stage they were in. Also, Soulless cannot be transformed with the Undead Virus either.)
MIASMA ACTIVE ABILITY: TOWER OF MIASMA (Explanation:
Neo can create a Miasma Tower if he wants, which requires tons of Soul Energy and various materials. In addition, Neo must provide a Soul Shard to the Miasma Tower.
The Miasma Tower, can use SOUL ABSORPTION & CREATE SOULLESS. A part of the absorbed Souls is used to strengthen its own Soul Shard and the other part to strengthen Neo's Soul. The Miasma Tower can, when receiving Soul Shards from Neo, create new Soulless independently of Neo which are immediately added to Neos Myriad and are all loyal towards him.
The Miasma Tower, corrupts an area up to ~200km around it, causing Miasma Mist to darken the sky. Neo is stronger near the Miasma Tower and on the Corrupted Ground. His Soul and especially his Miasma are improved many times over and the growth of his Soul is increased as long as Neo is near the Tower.
The Miasma Tower has a Purple Eye that can examine the surroundings, and Neo can share the view with the Tower. In addition, the Tower can create claw-like arms that can operate within the it's sphere of influence. Finally, the Miasma Tower can customize its interiors and create furniture that cannot be taken out of the Tower)
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UNDEAD LEGION STRENGTH:
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LEGION COUNT: 68,917 -> 109,401
ELITE OF THE LEGION: 1
PREFECT: 1 (Aaron)
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SOULLESS MYRIAD STRENGTH:
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SOULLESS COUNT: 1,131,214 -> 1,242,942