Chapter 10: Collision Course

Nier could see in the darkness well enough, and even if the stale air wasn't particularly pleasant, he was starting to get used to it. At least this place was safe: the dark cave could only be reached through teleportation, its labyrinthine tunnels too narrow to crawl through.

Nier pressed his forehead to the cold surface of the stasis pod, looking at his daughter's unmoving figure within. The technology was working fine, just a few drops of his blood enough to keep the generator running, but it was still only a temporary measure.

He still hadn't found a way to stop Yonah from relapsing.

Nier stared at his unmarred wrist, the wound healed without a trace. His blood had helped Angiolina, but he knew it wouldn't be enough for Yonah. His daughter was so far gone that unfreezing her even for a few minutes was too dangerous without a body to put her in.

…Right. Body.

He still felt unsettled after meeting Yonah's Replicant. Seeing her so scared of him then growing braver, smiling, hugging him… To have his daughter in his arms again…

Nier dragged a hand down his face. No, he shouldn't think like that. No matter what she looked like, she wasn't his daughter, just like his own Replicant wasn't him. Replicants were their own people, not just copies. He had to remember this.

Nier pressed his back to the stasis pod and slid down, holding his head in both hands. He didn't really need a physical body himself. He was stable and he wouldn't relapse, so this magical construct suited him just fine. But Yonah…

What was he going to do if there really was no other way to stop her from relapsing? Could he really sacrifice another child to save her?

…No, he couldn't. Yonah would never accept it.

He had to find another way.

Sleep seemed to be the one thing still necessary for him. Nier might be able to go without for some time, but even the not-quite-physical construct he called his body eventually demanded rest.

He woke up feeling much better, despite falling asleep on the rough stone floor. The stable maso in his blood had recharged fully, drawing energy from other worlds to power his magic. And… was it just his imagination or were his energy reserves slightly bigger than he remembered? Well, he supposed regular exercise could do this.

And he did unlock another ability not too long ago.

It was strange how quickly he got used to his aura, because he didn't even notice the energy radiating from him until he thought about it.

Nier concentrated on the dark aura, trying to suppress it. It wasn't particularly hard, but the energy coiling under his skin and struggling to get out made him feel like a boiling pot with a too heavy lid. He let it go and the energy immediately flowed out, settling at the same level Nier supposed was his new normal.

Could he do the opposite? Nier gathered his magic, pouring it out, and the aura responded, growing in strength. He stopped the flow of power and the additional energy dissipated, his aura once again at the normal level.

And now to test its effects…

Nier hovered in the air, staring at the group of relapsed Gestalts. The Gestalts silently stared back, which was more unnerving than he wanted to admit.

Well, at least it proved that they could feel his aura.

Nier landed and immediately regretted it. An average Gestalt was much taller than him and the memories of being a regular human surrounded by monsters, unmarred by his centuries-long sleep, made alarm bells ring in his mind.

Except he wasn't so helpless anymore.

Nier arched his wings and flared his aura. Even if those Gestalts attacked him, he could easily take them down. But it would make him feel better if they didn't tower over him like this.

The Gestalts knelt down.

…This again? Honestly… It was better than being attacked but he felt ridiculous. And since those were relapsed Gestalts, Nier couldn't exactly tell them not to bother. It wasn't like they could even understand him…

The Gestalts stood up.

What.

…Did- did he make them do this?

This aura was proving to be surprisingly useful. It wasn't just magic he could project, he could lace it with thoughts, emotions… orders. Thankfully, it seemed less like mind control and more akin to a different method of communication. Relapsed Gestalts were simply more susceptible to it, while the sane ones could easily brush his commands aside.

At least it was better than killing them.

And speaking of… Nier could faintly feel the presence of Replicants and relapsed Gestalts far closer to each other than he liked.

It was time to defuse another fight then.

He flew towards the disturbance and sure enough there was a battle straight ahead. Three Replicants, all of them already injured, were about to be overrun by relapsed Gestalts.

Nier flared his aura, commanding the Gestalts to stop attacking and leave. The majority obeyed immediately, but some ignored him. Nier could feel how severely relapsed they were. Were they too far gone? …Then so be it.

He teleported in, cutting down the mad Gestalts in a few strikes. He flared his aura, urging the others to leave once again, just in case they turned on him, but they didn't seem to care about the death of their brethren.

Nier lowered his sword. That was easy…

He forgot that Gestalts weren't the only danger around.

Nier barely managed to dodge the Replicant attacking him. He rose into the air, unwilling to fight them and preferring to stay out of their reach. The Replicants simply switched targets, chasing after the ground-bound Gestalts instead.

…Hell, no.

Nier shaped his magic and landed, letting the spell loose. The Replicants halted when rows of crimson sharp-edged constructs rose from the ground, blocking their way.

"They are already leaving," Nier growled, pointing his sword at the Replicants. "Let them go."

Of course, they couldn't understand him. The same Replicant attacked him again, but Nier was ready. He blocked the attack with a summoned hand, tightening the grip of the magic construct around the sword until it snapped in half.

He stared the Replicant down, letting the construct dissipate. That seemed to get his point across, the other two Replicants backing off and dragging the first one away.

Nier waited until they left and sighed tiredly. Not for the first time he wondered if it was still possible to stop this war. He felt like an ant before the enormity of the task. All of his bumbling around with no idea what he was doing… Did it even matter in the grand scheme of things?

He shook his head, trying to chase away the depressing thoughts. He had to believe that he was making a difference. Even a single life saved was more than worth it.

Nier perched above the entrance to some sort of an underground facility. He could faintly feel the presence of Gestalts inside it and if his magically enhanced senses were correct, they weren't relapsed.

And that meant another round of revelations.

Nier didn't like telling people that everything they believed in was wrong, but if peace was to be achieved, spreading the word was crucial. At least his status as the Shadowlord made them more willing to listen to him.

He jumped down and opened the heavy doors, when another feeling brushed across his senses. Relapsed Gestalt! And a powerful one too…

Nier immediately rose into the air, flying towards it. A Gestalt this powerful could only be a fused one and those were the most dangerous. He couldn't just let it run free.

He gasped, freezing in the air at the sight of the monstrous thing climbing the mountain cliffs. It was huge, bigger than any land-dwelling creature had any right to be, and Nier felt his stomach drop, realizing that he might not be able to defeat it.

The monster jumped and landed in the middle of an ancient air base, repurposed into a village. Nier could feel the presence of Replicants who had no defense against the relapsed monster and suddenly it was no longer a question of whether or not he could defeat it.

He had to.