The hivemind is conquering for me?

”Hey, Apollo, congratulations on how well you did during the elite expedition test. Almost wiping everyone out. And using Pylons of all things! That is ingenious! I would never have thought to use them.” Circe said, greeting me not long after entering Hecate’s study room.

I smiled. ”Thanks Circe, but don’t give me all the credit, my partner was the one that had the idea for Pylons, without her idea, we would have been hastily overrun. Luck and figuring out their tracker’s power early by sheer luck was what got me through it as well as I could.”

”Modesty is a valuable trait to have, Apollo, but you should also know when to admit you did something amazing and own it with pride.” Circe followed up, prompting me to simply smile at her before I heard from behind.

”Oh, big whoop. So he beat up some weaklings? I can do the same thing. He was right about one thing, ”It was most likely all luck.”

I rolled my eyes and was about to turn around and diffuse the situation, to the best of my ability, but fortunately, I didn’t have to.

”Is that so?” Hecate suddenly asked, appearing from nowhere. ”Tell me Jack, how did you perform on your elite expedition test? Enlighten us all.”

Jack suddenly lost his posturing at Hecate’s presence, looking down meekly before replying. ”I opted out of the elite course... To focus on my academics entirely. I don’t need to train my combat skills, they are already at their peak aptitude. It would be unfair to the rest of my peer group to engage in those hunts. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

...

”*Cough*Bullshit. *Cough*” Someone chimed in at the man’s spouting prompting a wave of chuckles to make its way around the room before Hecate silenced everyone.

”Alright. Now is not the time for childish nonsense. Today is an important day and we all need to focus up. Our months of research come down to this. Thanks to Apollo, we cracked the final piece of the puzzle. Follow me.”

Hecate then began floating away and doing as she asked, the group followed. At the other side of the room, the summoning circle was still there, but now inside the circle were six individuals bound, gagged and chained while completely stripped bare.

”Um, Lady Hecate? Who are they? ”Rebecca asked, not wanting to get close to the naked strangers. Hecate continued forward until she was hovering right beside the, what I assumed to be prisoners, unless Hecate was freaky like that.

”Why our catalysts of course! Now everyone, on the table to the right there is a cloak that will amplify your mental defences with an artificial power, wear it and an amulet that will encase you in a powerful dispersion aura in case something goes wrong. Wear that too and then take your places around the circle.”

I looked at the group on the ground before shrugging my shoulders to put on the stuff, it was only after putting the amulet on I realised I was getting weird looks as no one else was moving.

”What? Shit, was that a test? Did I fail?” I asked, prompting Vera to yell at me while pointing at the individuals on the floor. ”Don’t you understand what is about to happen? Those are meant as sacrifices! They are alive! They are human. Are you fine with just killing them?”

Hecate then turned her attention from them to me with a curious expression on her face, causing me to frown in confusion. ’Is this a test?’ I decided the answer was ’no’ and simply replied.

”Well, sort of, but also not really? I mean, if they were innocent people, civilians. Had not committed any crimes worthy of death, I would be against it. But I have the inkling that they aren’t that. Hecate. Am I correct?”

Hecate hummed after I said that before looking back at the group. ”You have all made the mistake of thinking these creatures are humans. Calling them human, calling them anything but monsters is an affront to every living human. My students allow me to introduce your bleeding hearts to those you do not want to harm.”

Hecate then stopped floating and walked on the floor behind the six individuals. ”These six are serial rapists given the death penalty. Let’s see. We have. Oh yes. Boys, boys, girls, girls, women and ah, war prisoners. So, should I let them all free now since you have a problem with putting these monsters down? Or shall you DO AS YOU ARE TOLD AND GET PREPARED!”

After raising her voice and exposing the parasites for what they were, I walked towards Hecate after who then asked. ”Did you know what they were before Apollo?” She asked, still giving me a curious look.

I shook my head and replied. ”No, but a techno-mechanic named Jocasta accidentally let slip that even she needs grants and stuff for human experimentation. So I assumed only the worst beings in existence would be brought here like this. Like I said, if they were normal people, I wouldn’t be cool with this. You don’t need living things as a catalyst after all.”

Hecate raised an eyebrow at something I just said, but didn’t linger on it as her attention was brought to everyone getting in position. She started getting everyone ready for what was to come. I felt a little out of the loop as I was supposed to do some research on all this stuff, but the time I was planning on doing the work for this was taken up by running through a jungle and recovering for two days.

”Wait, where am I supposed to stand?” I asked, noticing that all the positions around the circle were manned.

Hecate then looked at me before yelling. ”Freddie, set up auxiliary position two from your plan.” The man in question then ran out of his position, pulled out his scythe and with a shocking dexterity began drawing a pattern on the ground, a bit away from the circle, close to the ignis glyph.

Hecate then reached into her wormhole and then pulled out a bag and passed it to me. ”Apollo, stand in that circle and when we start chanting, start chugging those tonics. Your Psionic energy is going to be gradually sucked out of you to support the summoning. I apologise for tomorrow though as your stomach is going to hate that stuff.”

After Freddie finished whatever the auxiliary position was, I stood in the circle and watched as everyone focused on their respective tasks. I was mesmerised by their coordination and excitement. I then felt a dangerous aura from all around me and tried to identify it.

After a moment I realised it was Hecate. She was activating some kind of defences within the room? She must have sensed my trepidation and explained. ”We are exploring something new, Apollo. And while I know it’s going to be safe, nothing gets in or out until we are finished. And if we don’t make it out, this room implodes.”

’Great. Well there goes my escape plan if something goes wrong. Guess I’ll fall back to plan B if something goes wrong. Good ol’ stick and Onyx. The Psionic banes.’ The plan wasn’t fool proof, but better than no plan.

I still thought these people were absolutely insane doing this, but at the same time. I wanted to see what happened and what this mysterious Psionic parrot in Freddie’s head had cooked up.

Once prep was complete there was no faffing around. The group had done this dozens of times already, the only different thing today was the output was going to possibly be different.

Each individual present took a deep inhale and began chanting. The moment they began, I felt the room become saturated with Raw Psionic energy. Proof it was the raw stuff was the six, heavily sedated, prisoners began screaming in agony through their gags, their throats making sounds I didn’t know were capable as their bodies were lashed at by the energy collecting above them.

It was as beautiful as it was dangerous, I could look at the cacophony of colours coalescing in the centre of the circle for hours while chugging the tonics, but just as the power began to grow even further until something changed, like a rip in reality occurred and then I felt danger... Entities.

A minor tear in the fabric of reality had given a pathway to the Psionic plane and we were offering things on the other side a body to enter this plane. I felt my emotions spike. I could feel violence, anger, wrath, death. More things came, more violence, anger, wrath, death on repeat over and over.

I was not even aware that death could be felt as an emotional state, and I had died before, yet I was feeling it. It was haunting. It had almost stopped all of my senses, but I powered through and continued to drink my tonics as my energy was being sapped.

What I assumed was a warzone on the other side of the tear continued for hours, all the while the energy in the room continued to grow. All that could be heard was the others chanting and somehow the prisoners were still screaming in agony, long having chewed through their gags.

Just as I finished the very last tonic to improve my absorption of the raw Psionics in the room, I was wondering what would happen when I was sapped, but I didn’t get to find out as my Mindspace barrier felt a colossal impact batter against it. Almost shattering it. An impact mind you that I could tell wasn’t even an attack.

Half of the group collapsed after a painful yelp while the others, except Hecate, ceased their chanting as they held their heads in agony.

Before anyone had a chance to recover all the Psionic energy in the room was sucked through the tear in reality alongside all six catalyst hosts and a moment later I felt a presence. Only a single one, bigger, vaster... Coherent...

Before I could even issue a warning the room was soaked in power and all I could see was red as something began to claw its way through the tear. As I looked at the disfigured, unnatural hand that was opening the tear with pure force, all I could think about was the group blindly following some pattern in someone’s head and a single word came to my head.

’Idiots.’