The Mech Touch

5777 Astrid's Tale

Astrid Jameson exhibited none of the respect and understanding that she showed a moment earlier.ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelenglish.net . Fir(e).nᴇt

This was all business from the moment Mergan-Castelaus announced the start of the final session.

The RF officer no longer spoke for herself, but became a vessel for the Fifth Enforcement Fleet.

Many people spread across human-occupied space paid extremely close attention to her at the moment. The obvious cybernetic enhancements that enhanced her vision, voice and countless other properties gave her a more menacing air.

Few people cared about her age when her appearance and her uniform elevated her far above the common people.

This was a fleeter who clearly had something important to share!

"Good morning, people of the Red Ocean. I am here because the Fifth Enforcement Fleet has invested me with the responsibility of sharing a tale to you all. Be warned that this is not an ordinary tale, but a true story, for better or worse. In order to be as faithful to our sources as possible, I must share details that are not suitable to be heard by the faint of heart. It is highly advised that children under the age of fifteen be disallowed from listening any further. Their parents or caretakers can decide how many details they wish to share."

Any message that warranted such a disclaimer was bound to be bad for Ves and his cause!

"Now that I have issued my warning, let me begin this historic tale." The woman spoke as she allowed her vocal modulator to turn her into a better narrator. "It begins during the twilight years of the Age of Conquest. This period may already be ancient history to you, but both the Red Association and the Red Fleet still have revered heroes among us who have lived through these years. More importantly than that, what took place during this time has directly shaped our society as we know it today."

Why did the lieutenant-commander go so far back in history? Had the Fifth Fleet decided to open the book on the Big Two's rebellion against the Five Scrolls Compact?

"This is the time where the secret organization that has ruled humanity from the shadows has reached the peak of its power. The cultivators in charge of it have reaped enormous benefits from humanity's rise, causing their pride and egos to inflate beyond all reasonable boundaries. They could do no wrong. Their most powerful leaders literally see themselves as gods who possess an absolute right to toy with the lives of ordinary humans as they see fit."

Ves started to frown as he listened to Astrid's tale. If all of this setup amounted to a crash course of the Five Scrolls Compact, then that was not enough of a reason for him to feel so concerned.

"I can spend weeks, months or even years on describing the organization, divisions, cultures and the many excesses of this secret organization. I shall refrain from doing so as this is not relevant to the subject at hand. Instead, I shall highlight a particular member of this hidden cabal. She is an upper-

ranking member who simultaneously wields great personal power but also holds extensive authority over many subordinates."

Astrid waved her hand, summoning a projection of an incredibly old, tall and majestic wooden structure.

A powerful feeling surged within Ves' mind. There was something about this sight that made him feel a lot more apprehensive!

"This is the Wood Shrine. It is one of the five principal divisions of the aforementioned secret organization. An innumerable number of cultivators and slaves answered to the Wood Shrine when it was at its height. One of the more prominent sub-organizations that operated under this 'holy shrine' is the Apex Predator Cult."

The projection changed to depict an intimidating emblem. It showed a pale white beast skull surrounded by a green forest.

"The Wood Shrine is so large and has existed for so many years that many of its members have founded their own cults. These cults are highly exclusive, highly devoted to their ideologies and highly competitive towards their rival organizations. The Apex Predator Cult stands out among the rest for being exceptionally cruel but powerful."

Astrid's expression grew serious as she shared a few details about this mysterious cult.

"Initiation into the Apex Predator Cult is by force, not by choice. No cultivator can reject an invitation into this nefarious organization, because power trumps every other consideration. The reason why many of its initiates would rather not become a part of the Apex Predators is because their death rates are exceptionally high. Their cult has a well-

deserved reputation for having the strongest but least numerous cultivators under the Wood Shrine."

Ves was not stupid. By now, he began to make a frightening realization of what the opposition had planned for today.

"The reason why this is the case is because of the ideology of this cult. It is completely based on a warped and murderous interpretation of the concepts of natural selection, survival of the fittest and human evolution. Infighting and backstabbing is rife within the cult. Brothers and sisters are more than willing to tear each other apart in the hopes of promoting their ranks. No one is safe from getting eliminated. Only strength and cunning can allow the desperate cultists to prevail over their enemies."

"Survival of the fittest is a daily challenge to the members." Astrid calmly continued. "Each survivor who manages to live through their ordeals is shaped by them. The older they become, the less empathy they possess. Their humanity crumbles with every crime and injustice they commit. By the time they have reached the upper half of the hierarchy, they have become monsters in human skin. Even among cultivators, the practices of the Apex Predator Cult have generated a great amount of notoriety within this secret community."

A mix of expressions appeared on Ves' face. He could not imagine how cruel it would be to become a part of this cruel cult.

"This tale is not centered around the Apex Predator Cult. Rather, it is oriented around its last and most infamous leader. The cult has existed long enough for multiple so-called cultmasters to preside over its affairs. Each of them have survived the most arduous of tests, the most challenging of duels and the most convoluted of plots. None of the cultmasters are incompetent for that reason. We even suspect that the entire purpose of the cult is to train the ultimate apex predator among its hapless members. Every other life is dispensable aside from the cultmaster. Before you develop the wrong impression, the rest of the broad secret organization is hardly any better. The only difference is that the Apex Predator Cult is less tolerant towards the weak and the failures."

The way Astrid described the Apex Predator Cult made it clear that no one would willingly become a part of such a crazy organization.

Its ideals contradicted every value and principle that Ves held dear. The cult sounded like the polar opposite of the Larkinson Clan!

The fleeter officer switched the projected image to portray a loose sketch of a woman.

The woman wore disturbing familiar robes.

Instead of being shaded in a welcoming pattern of green and white, the projected figure wore a chilling robe that was predominantly pale green and black!

The odd combination along with the frigid air exuded by the figure gave off the impression that the woman had completely drained herself of any semblance of humanity.

Ves noted that the sketch deliberately did not draw out the details of the woman's face. Instead, it remained obscured in shadow, causing her to look even more intimidating!

"Our records do not contain any mention of the final cultmaster's real name. It is ultimately irrelevant because the cultivators of the secret organization are much better known by the titles they accrue over their eventful lives. This woman has earned several of them as she has killed, deceived and plotted her way up the ranks over many years."

The projection changed to show the shadowy figure stretching out her hand in front of a crowd of kneeling people.

Trails of blood and energy erupted from their bodies and flowed to the merciless woman that was literally draining them of their lives!

"She was known as the Lifestealer for honing and perfecting the art of devouring the lives of other beings to fuel her own growth."

The projection shifted to depict the same woman tending the plants and trees of a dark and abnormal forest.

Every growth only superficially looked normal. What betrayed their true nature was the multitude of human bones that littered the ground!

"She was known as the Lady of the Cold Forest for cultivating plants that complimented her nefarious methods."

Several more sketches appeared that depicted the faceless cultmaster engaging in multiple acts of cruelty.

One of them showed the woman torturing a man by planting flowers into his eyes.

Another showed the woman unleashing her Cold Forest onto an entire city!

Suffice to say, none of these sketches showed the woman in a redeeming light. Anyone who saw them would naturally conclude that this was not a cultivator that was capable of expressing any value towards human life!

"However, upon her ascension to the highest seat of the Apex Predator Cult, she assumed the title of Original Sin. Ostensibly, she earned this moniker for displaying greater cruelty, heartlessness and cunning than all of the preceding cultmasters. In any other environment, a mass murderer as evil as her would have been hunted down and executed long before she has reached this height. In the hypercompetitive community of cultivators, the reverse is true. Her exceptional notoriety has not only earned her the admiration of the rank-

and-file members of this secret organization, but also earned her the appreciation of some of the highest leaders!"

Wow. This woman had certainly done a good job in building her career.

Astrid briefly paused in order to allow her message to sink into the minds of her ignorant audience.

None of them had ever heard of the Five Scrolls Compact. Their modern sensibilities caused them to develop an immediate and escalating degree of fear and disgust towards the practices of this mysterious organization!

"Cultmaster Original Sin is known for committing many deeds at the time, but what you may not know is that she holds another name. If you have already managed to deduce the truth, then congratulations for possessing a sharp mind. To the rest of you, let me inform you that multiple centuries later, this powerful cultivator has birthed a son called Ves Larkinson, otherwise known as the Devil Tongue!"

Audible shock erupted from the hundred-thousand spectators within the grand hall.

Few people had managed to connect the dots, so the surprise was nearly universal among the folks who never expected to be confronted by yet another shocking revelation!

Ves completely froze as he finally learned about the origin and the history of his mother.

To think he would hear this tale from a fleeter rather than his actual mother!

Why had Cynthia never answered his questions about her past?

Why did she insist on keeping so many of her secrets close to her chest?

What sort of cultivator did she used to be back when she was a member of the Five Scrolls Compact?

Ves initially assumed that his mother had been born after the downfall of the Five Scrolls Compact, but that was obviously false according to the Red Fleet.

When was she born?

How many years did it take for her to fight and kill her way to the top of the Apex Predator Cult?

How much of her original personality did she manage to retain to this day?

All of these questions and more swirled in his mind.

Ves belatedly realized that he never truly understood his mother from the beginning!

The side of herself that she especially reserved for her family was only a fraction of her true self!