Page 404 of Light Leech

“So you stayed their prisoner for years then finally set yourself free?” Don asked.

“More than a few years and I made my time a little more interesting than by serving as a simple prisoner. You see, I was bound to them by the light they had from Nuwa until Deleon divided us into the bodies of these two and their fellow Luxists or whatever they call themselves. I could not escape my bounds, but I could do as I do and a little trickery to the mix. So, I befriended Sha the Heavenly General, as I do many people, got him to understand me despite our opposing convictions, and devoured him. What, no shock? I suppose you haven’t the faintest idea how gargantuan he was.”

He faced Don and spoke in mocking mimicry of his deep voice. “But didn’t they notice that you killed him? Why didn’t they just kill you there? You were going to say something along those lines, right?”

“No, I–”

“Not buying it, you thick-headed bastard. Why are you here? Sorry if that was so harsh, I think my fragment inside Dear Leader Kim is sending me a bit of his hatred for you. At least it’s pretty obvious, right?”

“Finish the story!” Kim shouted.

Dokkaebi laughed. “Look at me! I’ll be on his hitlist soon enough too! Maybe we can convince one of these tooth-eating freaks to eat his? What do you say, Don? Oh yeah, a Predecessing Homunculus doesn’t have real teeth, at least not big enough for them to enjoy. Oh! He’s getting angry again! You see? Messing with people is one of the best ways to control them. Control emotions, control the outcome. Manipulate the input, control the output. That’s how information works. I’m not just here to annoy, but to use deception to form the ideal outcome for what we call ‘the greater good.’ In order to achieve that, we had to play such a game on the Journeymen. I took Sha’s form, though it changed over time to fit my desires. To them, I was their beloved brother. Their restraints on me couldn’t be broken, but that did not mean they were free of deception. I appeared in their little cell when they needed to believe I was still there. They never cared to see how I escaped and did away with the beloved Heavenly General.

“The Correction is an ancient organization. I have always tried to manipulate information to suit my needs. When I knew our lives were coming to an end, I split my existence to let the Light Leech fragments of myself pilot the organization that you run today. I am here to take back what was mine and what Gong entrusted unto me.

“Time passed, I was able to wipe my existence from their memories, and I came here. I look more familiar now, don’t I, Zhu?” He stared at me. “You remember the wars in Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla? Oh, I can see it in your vessel’s eyes.”

He turned back to face everyone, arms spread like a showman. “Now we come to the present. The Luxist and Gongtide drama brings the ‘Journeymen’ Gui into Deleon’s hands and we finally have a way to separate us from the realm of light. My light binding was broken and replaced with my ties to Ralia. The funny thing is, I don’t think our dear Deleon ever had the faintest idea who I was. He just wanted to force Nuwa’s Journeymen to do his bidding. No one knew and I could not escape this shell of a woman until she almost died in Arabasia. All of these implants, many of which keep her alive, allowed me more freedom. The Luxists were always set on sending you here, but we were fortunate enough to be their third Beacon of choice. Though they knew about our location and who I am, they never knew that the core me was within you, Ralia. I knew they would come for my Correction eventually, seeing that the truth as they see it is necessary to turn the tide. Fortunately for us, I had planned on bringing you here myself.

“So, I proceeded to send forth recruitment calls, as we do, but made the targets these toothsuckers. I never had the faintest doubt that they would survive and follow my trail. The rest of it was easy. Once they were in the test, I could push them to the end. Why was it so easy?” he asked, looking at us. “Because I was the one who let you two succeed. Ralia, you were basically my puppet by the end with how easy you were to control. You stubborn girl. You resisted for so long, but my experience is monumental compared to the drop of wisdom you have.”

She cried out through sealed lips.

He smiled as he faced Kim. “And I couldn’t have done it without my Light Leech fragments seeding my wisdom to you and the others to bring me home.”

The council asked clarifying questions, but I couldn’t hear them. My numbing astonishment overtook everything with a deafening ringing in my ears.

With every perceived victory, we only fall deeper. Victory never felt so far out of our reach.

I hated myself for every negative feeling I had ever expressed over Ralia’s hesitation to use her Gui.

She was right.

There was nothing to deny that she was the smartest among us.

But what did that avail her?

“Satisfied?” Dokkaebi asked Kim.

“Yes.”

“Great. Delightful. Wondrous, and so forth. Remove her implant and the rest of the brainstem while you’re at it and let’s move on.”

Mister Kim pulled out a violet light knife and began to cut into the back of Ralia’s head. Though much of it was chrome, blood ran down her neck like a river.

Chapter twenty-nine

My Beloved Sister

With the innovation of the neurospace, brainwashing no longer required the prying open of eyes like I had seen in older mindshows. If anything, it made my efforts to fight more futile, but I would take the relief where I could have it. Ad campaigns, subliminal messages, and all other forms of cognitive viruses were so commonplace that brainwashing was almost forgotten.

Dokkaebi and the Correction didn’t have time to subtly shape my mind. I was in their possession and a danger as long as I believed in the Luxist conviction.

So they did what they had to.

Odd colors and sounds that inspired revolting thoughts of betrayal began, but that agony was short-lived. Rather, I was given a brief reprieve, though what came during that pause was worse than any form of torture or conditioning. Zhu had shielded me from the initial barrages of cognitive warfare, but he could not save me from this.

Ralia lay prone on a surgical table. No oxygen to keep her breathing, no IV tubes with anesthetics to keep her asleep, no blood transfusing into her paling body. She was naked. Her scars were a tapestry of the vile nature of our work. Looking at her bare body, I knew she would have made some remark about it, turning even this dire circumstance into a joke. I let out a noise that sounded like a laugh, though it was the pained, tearful beginning of an agonizing bereavement.