Chapter 82: Return of the Overmind
There was pain.
An unbelievable amount of pain.
More white-hot than every neuron being hit by lightning.
Agonizingly fiercer than the simultaneous detonation of every star in every galaxy, forming a cacophonous universe-wide ripple.
Filled with pure emotion and raw thought.
Kay felt lucid in his unconsciousness, yet he also wanted this intense punishment to cease.
It felt so different. As Kay became aware of himself, he noticed that he was unable to fight off the numbing pain that surrounded him.
But this time, Kay did not wake from his unconsciousness. The Overmind had no desire to let Kay leave this mindscape place.
After a minute of surging pain had coursed through Kay's self, the surge had finally relented completely. A gasp escaped Kay's lips as he became limp, thankful that The Overmind's punishment was over. But even so, he was nowhere close to being safe since he was still caught in its glowing orange tendrils, gripping his body and preventing him from moving. "Gh... Ph... Hh... Ng..." Kay could barely talk, since The Overmind's mental lashing had left Kay with little to no energy to talk, cry out for help, or even to breathe.
The Overmind looked down on Kay's crumpled form, looking as though it was indifferent to Kay's current condition. {I shall spare you from the sweet embrace of death, for there is much to be done. And there is still much to learn. Adopted child of The Swarm, my Overcommander Ascendant, progenitor vessel of my power, hear me and answer my inquiries. What has occurred after the slaying of my predecessor? What events transpired after The Old Overmind has been made a corpse?}
"Kh... bh... Gr... Wl..." Kay may have been conscious in his, apparently, unconscious state, he was too delirious to answer the giant glowing eye. But even if he could answer the creature that was divine to all that was absorbed by the zerg swarm, Kay knew very well that The Overmind had been slain by the protoss named Tassadar, whom had combined the energies of the void and the khala in order to vanquish the leader of The Swarm. Kay also remembered that the United Earth Directorate attempted to create an overmind organism that they could control, but had been completely stopped by the joined forces of the dark templar protoss and Kerrigan's zerg. Kay did not know how he knew that.
The giant eyeball that was The Overmind seemed to sneer at Kay. {So... After the death of my brother, someone attempted to duplicate his power in another vessel? What fools! They could never contain his power. The influence of Amon runs deeply in his children. But what of The Old Overmind's vision? Has it come to fruition? Has it ebbed?}
"The... The... The fuck are..." Kay couldn't know for certain what The Overmind had meant, or of what it referred to. He didn't even know what the Overmind in this mindscape was even talking about. However, Kay was suddenly reminded of the final fight that Raynor's Raiders, the Daelaam lead by Artanis, and Sarah Kerrigan's swarm had joined together for. They joined forces to fight a godlike entity, known to many by his nicknames. The Dark Voice, the Fallen One, the Dark One, the Dark God, the Eternal One, the Master, and the Truth-Bringer. The antithetical constant against existence itself, the xel'naga called Amon. Kay didn't know how he was defeated, or how he came to learn of his defeat.
{... What? The master of my brother is slain as well? How could this be? ... Ah... I see your memories... My old brother's progeny child had grown. She fell from grace, regained her birthright, and then ascended past her zerg form. She is now... zel'naga... And my older brother's master is dead, along with his influence and corruption. Intriguing...} The Overmind seemed to huff in surprise, almost seeming impressed.
Kay slightly shook his head. "Ow... My head is..."
{Stay still, my progenitor.} Kay's body was suddenly made heavily restricted by a brightly glowing tentacle of an orange hue. {Hmm... And now we are here... Outside of the void... Yes... This world is separate from our own galaxy. The gilanian people attempted to escape from this kilning prison by using a wormhole. They wanted to bridge it with the void, only to create another wormhole on the other side. They had went through so much effort just to prevent their prison's security measure from activating. Surprising adaptability, considering that their very cage is this world they stand on. Even more surprising to know that another cage is placed above them as well. An unreal veil that makes them cease from existing, should they ever dare to leave this world's orbit. A needlessly complex jail for duplicates.}
Kay raised his hand up at the giant eyeball and gestured for it to stop. "Just... Just stop talking for a damn second. I'm... like... really confused here."
The Overmind narrowed its eye. {Mewling for my cessation of knowledge-gathering will not be complied. ... However, you find yourself starving for knowledge as well. You have questions that you wish to have answered, correct?}
Kay slowly nodded. "Uh... Yeah?"
The Overmind paused for several seconds before huffing. {Very well. Ask your questions, my progenitor. I shall humor you as I answer them.}
Kay nodded, already feeling less sluggish than he was several seconds ago. "How the fuck did you come back to life?"
The Overmind shook its... eyeball. {I never said I was reincarnated. I was reborn. I am not The Old Overmind made anew within your mind and body, but I was merely spawned during the insanity that took place within your temporal tomb.}
Kay slouched. He couldn't even remember what had taken place within that prison that Bubbles had placed him in.
{Several years had passed within that sphere of contained time, where time itself had slowed down around us. A span of ten billion years haunted us during our imprisonment, but it was after the first thousandth year that you gave in and cannibalized on the larvae our hatchery produced.} The Overmind explained. {You sought for a way to evolve past the boundaries of our prison, and you tried to do so from seeking your solution from within the core of zerg essence. It was deep within the stored genetic makeup of the larvae that you found me. It was on the thousandth year that you decided to unlock me, and bring me into being. You were but a broken shell of shattered will when I came into being. You tried several times to break through the barrier of time, but you were unsuccessful in every attempt prior of my birth. The barrier itself removed every solution that physically touched its fields. However, I provided a means to feel past this barricade. It was not through the touch of the flesh, but instead the touch of the mind. We indwelled in our meditation, and focused our minds to push past our barrier. In the years that followed, we have grown strong in thought and will.}
A headache was forming within Kay's head. "... So... If I'm getting this correctly... You had been in my mind for the past ten billion years within the temporal tomb I was trapped in. How come I have no memory of this?"
{After the ten billionth year had passed, the sphere of contained time had finally fallen. We were deep in our meditation when this had occurred.}
"Uh huh." Kay said with a nod.
{But when I regathered my consciousness, I was the first to discover that the barrier had fallen. With deepened stores of contained psionic might, I used my capabilities to sense the minds of every nearby creature. The wealth of information had overwhelmed me, but I endured.}
"I see... So what did you find out?" Kay asked.
The Overmind seemed to swell with pride. {The power to empower my swarm even further, encroaching our strength to dizzying heights thought impossible, but doable. We gained new masteries, mutations, and strains, and we shall use them to gain more of such.} The Overmind paused for a few seconds before sighing. {... But alas... My mind had reached too far in its hunger for knowledge. I fear that my gluttony for the thoughts and memories of all sentient minds had made me known to a powerful force.}
Kay blinked. Did The Overmind express that it was afraid of something? "... So uh... Did this force entity sense you? What did you do afterwards?"
The Overmind sighed. {I am uncertain if it did feel my presence, but I had retracted my mental reach all the same. In response to my learning of its presence, I prepared to hide my own existence. While much of my mental stores were still vastly engorged with psionic potential, I sought to alter the minds of every being on this world to make them forget my existence. The Golden Star Empire had technology that proved difficult for me to affect, but the creature you know as Kragnon had helped in removing my memories from their electronic minds.}
Kay nodded, impressed by The Overmind's feat. "Damn man. Who'd have thought that there was something scarier that a big brainy eyeball that can control a swarm of zerg?" Kay then shook his head and gestured to The Overmind. "So wait... You made everybody forget about you? Including every commander in my brood?"
The Overmind nodded. {I have. All traces of my existence needed to be purged in order to render myself safe from the powerful being's awareness.} The Overmind paused for a few seconds before it huffed. {I had to create an antimemetic pattern within Othafurn's mind. Her empathic and telepathic abilities are far stronger than I had anticipated, so I had to render her unconscious several times. During her unconsciousness, I could freely alter her subconscious to rapidly forget my being. I feel that this will work for a time, but it wouldn't be long till she can adapt against my mental safeguards.}
"I see." Kay said in response. "So I take it that you must also be what the Golden Star high command are calling 'the discovery'. Right?"
{I was an enigma to them. Their feeble minds could not comprehend my existence. But alas, when I became aware of my surroundings, and in turn becoming aware of the powerful being, I had to alter the minds of all those living in that world, and had every living creature close to me put to death. Even their machines of metal had to be destroyed.}
A sigh escaped Kay's lungs as he nodded. "Well THAT explains the carnage I woke up to after that temporal tomb finally broke down. But that doesn't explain what happened to you after you removed everyone's memory of your presence. Where did you go after that?"
{I hid within you, my progenitor.}
"... Can you not say it like that?" Kay said, as an uncomfortable tingle ran up his spine.
{Even if I did, your purpose as my vessel will not change. Though you see my mental self projected within this mindscape, it is merely contained within your subconscious and my own, shared within a powerful mind that is contained in your vessel. After every lingering memory of my being was wiped clean, I immersed myself within the hivemind and stored my being through your mind, hiding my consciousness, and my body, in your subconsciousness.}
Kay didn't know how that was possible. But even so, Kay shook his head and growled. "Kay, well, how about we stop talking about that? You are making my skin crawl just by explaining what you did to hide yourself. I'm already uncomfortable with the knowledge of you being in my head, if what you are implying is true!"
{Though you shy yourself from truth, the fact still remains. We are bonded together, my progenitor. You are my vessel, and I granted you your sanity as a reward for my creation. Take your solace in this knowledge. Be grateful that I am not your enemy.}
Kay scoffed. "Yeah? Well a lot of people would argue otherwise. As for me? I had no idea that an overmind was living in my own head prior to this conversation, and I wouldn't have created an overmind in the first place if I had learned that this would happen to me."
Kay's body was tightened by an orange tentacle of glowing thought and will. {Be careful what you say to me, my progenitor vessel. I am the new master to all that is The Swarm, and my judgement shall be fair and strict to all, including all those adopted by The Swarm.} Kay felt the tendril loosen around his body. {But alas, my own knowledge pales in comparison to The Old Overmind. Though I pulled many memories and experiences from his desiccated and charred corpse, I lack many pertaining to this moment in our mindscape. Tell me, my vessel. How did you come by this space?}
Kay sighed. "Uh... We used a thing called a 'psionic focuser'. Corvurn Junior had Xidion and the Era Agency construct two components that fitted together which created it. I guess it had the unintended side effect of bringing me... Well... Here, I guess." Kay said, gesturing everywhere.
{You have zerg that can travel through the timelines? Then, truly, you wield a strength that is quite astonishing.}
"Ugh." Kay shook his head in disgust. "Please, don't ever praise me with your compliments. Getting praised by an overmind is making me have a bad feeling, and it's probably the WORST feeling that I could ever experience. I don't know how to describe it, but I felt like I was dragged through a rank pond of fetid pond scum and rotting fruit just now."
{And I would prefer you spare me your contemptuous snarks.}
Kay responded with a deadpanned stare. "Oh. I'm sorry. I was under the impression that the psionic focuser was supposed to help me, but instead, I was transported to this place. And now, I am a prisoner to what is essentially the enemy to all life. Hell, maybe you'll probably want to go back to infesting the terrans and the protoss? Or maybe you'll probably want to find a way to resurrect your master? In either case, I don't want either to happen, and I won't let you achieve both of those goals."
The glowing eye sighed. {Your concern for the firstborn of the xel'naga, and for the humanity that you still cling to, is misplaced. You are zerg now. You must seek perfection in all its forms. You must evolve against all challenges. You must take the adaptations that other lifeforms have gestated. This is the heritage of the zerg, and it is a gift to you.}
"If you say so." Kay said with hardened eyes. "But then their victories would mean nothing in the end, and I cannot allow for that to happen."
{So you say. The goals of The Old Overmind sought to perfect the swarm, though it would render The Swarm obsolete upon completion of Amon's plans. But such perfection that he envisioned emblazons within my own mind as well. It is a difficult temptation...} The Overmind then sighed. {But to address your concern for the zerg swarm's former master, it may delight you to realize that Amon's influence and corruption has mitigated and faded completely. The Swarm is without its absolute ruler.}
"Even so, everyone is not going to want another overmind trying to take over their lives. They will stop you, and I would not allow you to harm or infest them." Kay said sternly.
Kay's body was gripped tightly again. {Our purposes are unbounded from our master, for his will is no longer our own. We are free to do as we wish, my progenitor vessel. With The Swarm under our command, all of our obstacles will crumble before our strength.} The Overmind's grip on Kay lessened. {... But it saddens me to admit that there are forces even greater than I. Any goals I had prior my reemergence must be postponed. For now, I must find a way to overcome this possible threat to my existence.}
Kay stared at The Overmind. "... Whatever this entity thing is, it must be scaring you quite a bit if it is making you act this way."
The Overmind sighed. {An overmind doesn't scare so easily. Yet this force I sensed is truly troublesome. I wonder...}
The Overmind's current musing was interrupted by Kay. "Well uh... This is all great to learn, but... How the fuck do I get out of here and get back to my body?"
{That is currently impossible. I am using your body.} The Overmind answered in such a casual manner.
Kay took offense to its answer. "WHAT?!" Kay then began to struggle against the orange tendril that kept him bound. "I DID NOT CONSENT TO LET YOU USE MY BODY, MOTHERFUCKER! GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!"
An amused scoff answered Kay. {You wish to resist me from within your own mind? In here, I am an invincible god. You are but a glimmer of a soul. You will do my bidding, or you shall face your own insanity once more.}
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH~!~!~!" Using all of his strength in his astral body, Kay broke free from The Overmind's grip. The feat of mental strength had surprised both the Overmind and Kay. Kay looked down at his own body, dumbfounded that the effort he had put into removing himself from his restraining tendril proved easier than he had initially expected. However, he clasped his hands into fists as he looked up at The Overmind. "Huh... Heh... HAH! Looks to me that psionic focuser didn't just send me to this dimension! I got a mental boost out of it too!" Kay said with a confident smile.
The Overmind paused for a few seconds before speaking again. {... Your mind has grown stronger. ... Yes... I see it now. The psionic focuser has increased your mental powers, and it has also removed my control over you. A worrying development.}
Kay pointed at The Overmind threateningly. "Well you can worry all you want, but all I want is to have my own body back! If you don't willingly give back what is mine, then I am going to start kicking whatever anatomical body part that passes as the equivalent of your ass!"
A slight chuckle formed from The Overmind. {The fire in your soul is palpable. Your will to survive is, indeed, admirable. And I see now that, perhaps, your conviction alone will enable me to endure this being of power I once sensed? I envision a greater future that even my power could not achieve on its own. I shall humor you and grant your request.}
Kay blinked a few times. This was a lot easier than Kay had expected. "... Uh... Well... Good! Yeah! That's more like it!"
{However, your body will not merely be the same as it once was, nor your brood as you once knew it. They shall contain new boons to enjoy, and new caveats to hearken with. Consider them my gifts to you.}
Kay blinked a few times. "Uh... Wait, what? You-you're doing what now?"
{I shall remain here for the moment. And you, my Overcommander Ascendant, will find a way for our contained brood to escape this prison. If ever should you need my insight, the privilege would be mine to answer as you indwell in your meditation once more. You will find me here, should you need my services again.}
Kay couldn't help but feel suspicious. "... Why are you being... Uh... so helpful to me all of a sudden? And why should I believe or trust you?"
{You have no reason to trust me.} The Overmind said and sighed. {However, I find myself without a purpose. Amon's overriding directive had once caged the will of The Old Overmind, which had resulted in the creation of the Queen of Blades, and also made the ebb that diverted our Armageddon. But now, I feel no desire to annihilate and infest the protoss. With Amon dead, my purposes are my own to choose. Upon seeing the willpower of your spirit, pride had swelled within my being. And so, I am choosing to give you the freedom to command your own body, and the brood that follows your command. Receive my blessings, my Overcommander Ascendant. They shall assist you in your war against Golden Star.}
Kay was slowly lifted, and he could see a soft light above himself. He didn't know what this light meant to him just yet, but he could gently feel the tugs and pulls of the psionic hivemind that his brood communicated with. His numbness dissipated as he neared this luminescence in the mindscape. It was a warm glow, and Kay cherished the heat that it gave off. In a flash of light, Kay disappeared into the glow, which also made the glow vanish in turn.
Kay became conscious again. His body itched tremendously. It felt like there was new limbs and orifices that sprouted out from every part of his body. Despite having left the mindscape only recently, Kay felt as though everything around himself became 2-dimensional. Worse still was that his body felt so alien. He tried to fight his limbs so that he could see his hands, but the writhing sounds of tendrils scraped and slithered against creep and stone. Kay tried to bend himself down to see his feet, only to notice that he no longer had a back to bend with. Kay was deeply confused with his body. What did The Overmind in his mind do to his body?
"... Command organism Kay?"
Kay struggled to look at Corvurn, who had been peeking from behind the corner of a cave. Once Kay finally sighted Corvurn, he tried to talk to him, only to find that he had no mouth to speak with. However, he swiftly compensated by using his telepathy to bridge a communicative connection with his evolution master. 'Corvurn? What has happened to me?'
Corvurn slowly slithered from his cover and gazed at Kay with amazement. "... Unclear... Amazed! Overmind personality receded, replaced with command organism Kay's personality."
'What are-' As Kay telepathically linked with Corvurn, Kay saw his own form from the evolution master's perspective. Somehow, Kay's body was replaced with that of The Overmind's body. The only difference he could see was that his own single eye was glowing a neon green color, which partly matched the coloration of the toxic flood water that Gollog had unleashed. Instead of arms, legs, or a pair of bone wings, Kay's limbs consisted of very stiff tendrils that embedded into the ground, or stabbed through the ceiling of the cavern. Kay was deeply startled by these changes. 'WUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK?!'
Corvurn raised his hands at... Kay... and gestured for him to calm down. "Panic, undesirable. Cease and relax. Focus on self."
"Has something happened here? I sensed a disturbance in the hivemind." Othafurn said as she rounded the corner that Corvurn once hid behind. When she looked up at Kay's new body, she gasped. "... ... ... Kay?!"
Kay manipulated his many tendrils to look at them with his own giant eye. Kay didn't know how this was possible, but he guessed that The Overmind he was talking to within the mindscape had transformed his body into this form. Kay waved a tendril at Othafurn, despite his grievances. 'Uh... Hi Othafurn.'
"... How... How did this happen?!" Othafurn exclaimed in surprise.
Corvurn slithered up to othafurn to explain. "Unknown. Command organism Kay activated device called 'psionic focuser' upon himself. Displayed incoherent and violent behavior. Attempted to coax. Failed. However, body began expanding. Internal growths manipulated bone structure. Sixty seconds later, developed into Overmind form. Communicated like Overmind. Began affecting swarm hivemind. Witnessed personality changes between Overmind and Kay. Astounding discovery."
Othafurn slowly slithered up to Kay, whom was now so big that he nearly filled the chamber with his own body. Othafurn stared intently at Kay as she focused on the new contours of his body. After a lengthy pause, Othafurn began to talk again. "Where is this 'psionic focuser' device?"
Corvurn crawled up to Kay's massive body and began looking for something, but found nothing. A dissatisfied grunt escaped Corvurn. "Psionic focuser device last worn by command organism Kay. However, unable to locate. Predict that command organism Kay's overmind form obstructing device?"
Othafurn looked between Corvurn and Kay for several seconds before fixing her gaze on Kay. "Kay? Do you think you can... Um... find the psionic focuser?"
'Um... I'm not sure if I can.' Kay said to Othafurn. '... But while I'm looking upon myself here, I think I am noticing several abilities that were not part of my repertoire before.' Kay said as he inspected his own person. He discovered a few new abilities that he wasn't aware he had before. One of which was simple enough to implement, yet it was also needed for him to activate. Instantly he felt the ability activate as his entire body vibrated to life. Tendrils and flesh were either being pulled toward Kay's large eye, or were painlessly liquefying into a useless purple and red goo that was slowly absorbed by the creep. Once Kay's large eye was enshrouded by his tendrils, his relative body-mass continued to condense and liquidate until Kay's overmind body eventually turned into an enormous chrysalis thirty seconds later. As another thirty seconds passed, the chrysalis broke apart from an automatic contraction that spilled its fluid contents onto the creep.
When the embryonic fluid finally cleared away, Kay shakily stood up from the remains of what used to be his body, now in a fluid form. Kay inspected his form again, and carefully noted that his body was back to its original shape. However, what he failed to notice at first was that his perception of time felt... different. Yet he could also control it at the same time, making it so that what felt like a hundred seconds could occupy a single minute, or that he could increase the speed of time so that forty seconds could pass before a minute of real time went by. Between the ability to transform back to his humanoid form and being able to alter his perception of time, Kay was only scratching the surface of the new abilities that he was discovering at that moment. He felt empowered, yet at the same time Kay was worried about his newfound powers that The New Overmind had given him. Othafurn slowly approached Kay, whom also gravid in her hesitation. "... Kay?"
Kay looked up at Othafurn. "Uh... Yeah?"
"What did the psionic focuser do to you? Your mental patterns are... How would I put this? ... Faster. Slower? Your mind is fluctuating very rapidly." Othafurn said to Kay, apparently astonished by the changes that Kay had developed.
Kay flexed his arms and concentrated his hands into fists. There was little change to his body, but he could feel that his neurons became more refined when he was delivered to the mindscape with The Overmind. "It's... An amazing feeling... All of my senses feel like they have been heightened. It's like I can do so much more now."
Othafurn nodded at Kay. "I can feel it too." As she looked down, she found the device that had enabled Kay to transform his body into the form of an overmind. She leaned down to pick up this device, and she carefully inspected it.
Kay relaxed his arms and began flexing his wings. "Unf... Ooh, it feels good to be in my own body again."
Corvurn took his turn to slither up to Kay. He inspected Kay's body before he began pleading his hands together. "Request samples from command organism Kay. Brain and nerve tissue needed for analysis. Must masticate on flesh to analyze genetic malformations and adaptations."
Kay looked at Corvurn and gestured dismissively at him. "No need. I just remembered that we are in the middle of a war."
Corvurn paused before sighing. "... Of course. Sample extraction can wait."
Kay shook his head. "But on the other hand, I do have to inform you about the new strains you can experiment with."
Corvurn tilted his head. "New strains? Unclear."
Kay walked up to Corvurn and gestured for him to get closer. "Lay your head on mine. I'll psionically link you the genetic patters and gestation information you'll need to make these new strains."
Corvurn was somewhat hesitant, but he leaned forward seconds later. As Kay and Corvurn's foreheads connected, a surge of information was psionically and telepathically transferred into Corvurn's mind. When Kay was done, Corvurn slithered backwards, almost seeming surprised by the information that was transferred to him. "... Amazing! New strain sequences unlocks greater potential in swarm!"
Kay nodded. "Do what you know how to do so well." Kay then stepped back from Corvurn and Othafurn. "But as for me, I have to meet with Virid. I'll then bring her here with us."
Othafurn and Corvurn blinked. Othafurn began to share her opinion. "Uh... Kay, that would be unwise. We are incapable of traversing to the hexagonal moon. The anti-air defenses of the sky rings will destroy all space-transport organisms that stray too close to their point-defense turrets."
"Nah, I'm not taking an overlord, behemoth, or leviathan. I'm walking to the moon." Kay said with a smirk.
Othafurn and Corvurn was confused. However, they were further confused when Kay turned around and used his mental abilities to create a swirling disk of red, orange, yellow and white light. When Kay created this twisting circle of psionic energy, Kay then punctured through it while concentrating on a destination. He was then pulled through it by what felt like a powerful vacuum. Split seconds had passed before the wormhole closed completely, disappearing from Corvurn and Othafurn's sight. Othaforn stared at the empty space that Kay used to occupy before turning to Corvurn. "... Welp. Kay has new powers."
Corvurn slowly turned to Othafurn and nodded, as though he too was surprised by Kay's new abilities. "Indeed."
There was an awkward pause before Othafurn spoke again. "... Do you need any help with your experimentation of the new strains?"
Corvurn nodded as he pleaded his fingers together. "Perhaps. However, must ask. Why ask to assist?"
Othafurn sighed. "Since my changelisk agents and parasite spies have been reduced to nil during the doomsday storm, I am quite open for any other activities at the moment."
Corvurn nodded again and gestured to Othafurn to follow. "Apologies. Follow then."
And with that, Corvurn and Othafurn traveled to the nearest evolution chamber in order to spawn the new strains and gestate the new mutations that would empower their swarm further. However, once Kay finally returns to the underground super hive cluster, a big surprise would be waiting for him.
A/N: And just when you guys thought Kay and Virid's swarm was already powerful! :D