120 – Leviathans (3)

The Leviathan that entered Samael's mind didn't expect much beyond the standard of an inferior species. It was supposed to be all rudimentary and easy to manipulate. But today, it faced a problem.

'What is this...?'

Its species was advanced, far beyond the Asari, the so-called leader of this cycle, or any other species currently living in the galaxy. Its specialty was the mind, so imagine the creature's surprise when it examined Samael's mind.

It was witnessing more than what the Headmaster saw, and remember that the Asari was shocked to her core by the little she could uncover. The Leviathan reaction to the raw state of Samael's mind was one of utter disbelief.

The mind was a chaotic mess, with parts that seemed almost 'sewn' together forcefully to ensure it appeared 'normal.' It was the first time the Leviathan had ever encountered such a phenomenon.

Even with its shock, the Leviathan decided to delve into the human's memories to see if the inferior species was telling the truth about the Reapers arriving. However, the situation became even stranger because, while it could clearly see the memories of the human floating around, it could not access them directly.

It was as if there was a barrier surrounding them.

"Now, are you curious?" A voice came from behind the Leviathan's consciousness, and the creature slowly turned to face it.

Sure enough, Samael piqued the creature's interest. "Why is your mind like this?... What are you?"

From the little fragments the creature managed to see, the Leviathan saw Samael creating and taking the Serum, so it was not surprising that the human could access the mental realm. However, it was intrigued by why Samael would go to such lengths. From what it gathered, the Serum granted a lifespan and strength far superior to that of a normal human, but the pain endured during the process... few would choose it willingly.

"Well, this is why I came here to ask for your help.'' Samael said while pointing around his mind. The place was a mess, and even without the Leviathan's innate mental ability, meaning he could not really see the state of his mind, he knew something was wrong. It always has been, ''There's something wrong with my mind. The last time I came here, inside my mind, there was another version of me, one that I wasn't aware of."

"It disappeared after our first meeting, and I moved on with my life. But I knew it was trouble, and while I pushed it back as best as I could, it was now time to face it. I can only do that with your help."

"And I'm just a normal human." Samael smiled at what he said. Both he and the creature knew it was far from the truth.

The Leviathan said nothing more and looked around Samael's mind once again. The situation was too intriguing to ignore: He could not access the full memories, the mind was sewn together, and there was another 'him' inside his mind.

It couldn't simply let it go. However, the creature still had his mission: to determine if the Reapers really had returned. To do that, he needed to access the full memories. Sure, he could forcefully watch them, but the result would likely drive the human insane or worse, and he didn't want that after what he saw. So, he could only say, "Show me when the Reapers appeared, and then we can consider fixing your mind."

While saying this, he had no idea how he would actually fix it.

Samael didn't hesitate and showed the memory to the Leviathan. He displayed Sovereign attacking Thessia and then the Reaper's assault on Illos, culminating in its death at the hands of Samara.

Sure enough, the Leviathan confirmed the truth. The Reapers were coming. It recognized that Sovereign was the vanguard, paving the way for the larger army. Its appearance meant that machines were approaching.

Another surprising aspect was the fact they had managed to kill the machine. It wasn't as if other cycles hadn't succeeded in doing so, but it was a rare occurrence.

The Leviathan paused, considering the whole situation. Although it was the only one who entered the human's mind, its voice carried weight around the other Leviathans. If it conveyed to the other Leviathans that they should help the human, they likely would.

However, it knew that some would not agree to help based on this alone. They needed more from the human, and something was telling the Leviathan that there was definitely more to uncover.

"I need to access more of your memories so that I can convince the others to help you."

Samael paused, aware of what the creature was attempting to do. "Are you sure?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. He could undo the barriers around the memories, but he doubted the creature would be satisfied. The next step would involve going further into his mind, which was something Samael didn't want it to do, for the creature's safety.

It could die. While he didn't like the Leviathans, he needed their help. So, one of them dying because of him wasn't good.

The Leviathan, however, was arrogant and ignored the worried tone in Samael's voice. "Yes. Undo the barriers."

The creature didn't bother to ask about the mental barriers because it saw them on the Asari they captured over the years. It could break it, but again, the human would suffer mental damage, and its fun would be ruined.

With a sigh, Samael complied. He intentionally hid the memories that mentioned time loops or anything else of great importance. He wasn't that reckless.

Of course, in order for him to gain the creature's interest, he had to 'show' a few things that happened to him, such as one of the cycles he lived and being 'born' in this one. So, the creature would have no choice but to listen to what he said.

If you think about it, the galaxy has many strange things: The Asari had the meld, the Leviathans could brainwash people, etc. So, time travel wasn't that far-fetched.

The Leviathan was pleased and slowly began to sift through Samael's memories, searching for something more significant. It discarded the memories from his childhood and chose to focus on those from his adult life.

It should be mentioned that time in the mind realm was different from reality, allowing it to move slowly and carefully.

After some time and sure enough, more facts caught its attention. The creature was watching the end of the galaxy.

'' What's the meaning of this...?''

The Leviathan questioned Samael and himself. The memories began to grow more and more bloody. They revealed how the galaxy united against the Reapers and attempted to build something that would have ended the machines once and for all, only for the indoctrinated to foil that plan.

After confirming that their plan had succeeded, the Reapers launched a full-scale attack on the galaxy, devastating everything in their path. The Leviathan watched as the Asari fell, alongside their homeworld. Next came the Turians and Palaven, followed by the Krogans and Tuchanka.

The galaxy tried to resist, but the machine's power was too strong. Nothing managed to stop their momentum.

Eventually, the last stronghold, Earth, fell, marking the end of the galaxy. Sure, there were stragglers here and there, but their numbers meant nothing to the Reapers.

For some reason, the Reapers were mercilessly tracking the survivors down. Time passed slowly, and the survivors lost more and more of their numbers.

Finally, only a handful of them were left, hiding on an unknown planet and doing their best to survive. Unfortunately, the Reapers found them not long after, and the last battle began.

Well, "battle" is a nice way to describe what turned into a massacre. The remaining inhabitants of the galaxy fell one by one until the Leviathan saw Samael in the memory make a choice.

He took one of the ships that was still functional and charged at the Reapers. The memory then ended as the ship collided with one of them.

The Leviathan slowly looked at Samael. The content of the memory was too shocking, and it knew it was impossible to change it. Even its species could not alter memories, meaning it was all legitimate.

"So, you're a time traveler, huh?" The Leviathan theorized that it was possible, but at the end of the day, it remained just a theory. So, seeing someone who actually did it was strange, to say the least.

"Yes. As you saw, I lived my life normally, and when I died, I returned to when I was a baby. I used my knowledge to better prepare the galaxy for the upcoming war, but after doing my best, I realized something was wrong with my mind and came here seeking help."

"Hmmm... and how did you know our location?" That was something puzzling to the creature.

Samael smiled. "You didn't check all my memories, right? You jumped to the end and missed key details."

Hearing that, the Leviathan looked at Samael's earlier memories and, sure enough, found him learning about their location before he died at the hands of the Reaper.

Still, noting that he missed something so crucial, the Leviathan meticulously examined Samael's memories from the beginning to the end.

It saw Samael being born, growing up, and finally reached the point where it discovered everything it wanted to know. Safe to say, it now knew a lot more about the human.

And the creature was impressed. Its species had watched the galaxy fight the Reapers, but this was the first time the galaxy had a chance to win before too many casualties occurred.

By the way, the time it took to check all the memories wasn't long, only a few hours. It had checked all of Samael's memories, so by now 19 years or so of life in only a few hours.

And it discovered something intriguing in Samael's past life: The Crucible. From what it could gather, it was constructed by the leader of the last cycle, the Protheans, as a means to stop the Reapers.

Unfortunately, just as it had happened with the human's past life, the indoctrinated acted in a way that made it impossible to use, causing the galaxy to lose the war.

Still, it saw the blueprints, and in more than one way, it appeared that the Protheans had help from them, even if they didn't realize it. The project was remarkable in many respects, and the best part: it should work.

That alone made the Leviathan grow bolder, and it had already started to make plans to escape this prison once and for all. To achieve that, it would have to assist the human before it, but that would not prevent it from thinking of ways to come out on top.

It also made sense, as its species was the apex of the galaxy. If the Reapers were gone for good, they would reclaim that position. For now, though, it would help the human, although it was uncertain how.

"So, are you satisfied?" Samael asked the creature after some time had passed. He could almost hear the creature's thoughts but did not let on that he knew their true nature and had plans regarding their behavior.

Just like the Batarians, only a fool would believe the Leviathans. He was here only because he had no other options.

The Leviathan regarded Samael with a different gaze than before. The arrogance and annoyance were still present, but now it acknowledged the human who challenged the rules of time. "Yes. I saw your history, your past, and I must say I'm impressed—not only with you but with the galaxy as a whole."

It was referring to both the past timeline and this one. This cycle had been… entertaining to watch. It was a shame they had almost no visitors, otherwise, they would have learned more about the overall situation of the galaxy by now.

"But I have no idea how to help your mind." The creature was honest about that. "I can talk to the others about joining the war effort; considering that the galaxy has a real chance with the Crucible, but that's it."

Samael knew how cowardly those powerful beings were, so for them to mention joining the war effort meant they were somehow confident. Still, he said nothing about that and replied, "I don't need much. I only need your help to find this other me. To fix my mind, I must deal with him first."

Samael would not say it was just a hunch because the other party didn't need to know that.

The Leviathan looked at Samael with a strange expression. "Only that?"

Samael nodded. "This other me… has a peculiar presence. I fear he is related to the Reapers."

At that last part, the Leviathan grew concerned. However, it still believed that the others would help. As soon as Samael mentioned that, it attempted to find this "other him," but to no avail. It could only uncover a few pathways deep within the human mind, which had been forged and then closed.

It was unusual but effective in hiding. Therefore, it would need the others' help; by showing them what it had found, it should be easy to gather their attention.

"I'll talk to the others about you and your situation. I don't know how they will respond, though."

Samael understood that it was his best shot, so he nodded. "Please do so."

The Leviathan then unilaterally ended the mental connection, and both he and Samael returned to the real world.

Samael looked at the clock and noticed that exactly three hours had passed since then. " Not too bad.''

The Leviathan that had entered his mind joined the others of his species, and they began discussing something.

Samael knew they would help in the end, he just didn't know how long it would take for them to reach that consensus.

Regardless, the tools he needed to ensure his survival in this place were all on his ship, which was floating on the water. For now, all he could do was wait.