Chapter 98 War?

"In here." A man said while gesturing to a room without any light. John stepped through the door and it shut behind him. Without any light in the room it was difficult to find his way around, but eventually he found a bed to sit on.

'Two whole weeks huh...' John thought back to the conversation he had with Silas the day before.

***

"This is your last chance to decline. Once I tell you of the process you will either have to go through with it and join us or be killed." Silas said.

"I'm sure. I have to get stronger so I can stop that vision from ever coming true. Please, give me the power I need." John was determined to go through with it, no matter what it was.

"Alright. Starting tomorrow you will be confined to a room without any light. The walls and door are so thick that no sound can pass through them. You will be deprived of all human interaction for that time."

"You will not be given any food during your stay but there will be water supplied once every 3 days through a pipe that runs into a bucket in one corner of the room." Silas finished explaining about the room and waited for a reply.

"That's... Why is going through that necessary? It seems like you're trying to kill me more than anything." John hesitantly asked, unsure of how much he was allowed to know.

"Your body needs to be severely weakened for the process to be successful and this is the quickest and most effective way. The changes you will undergo are going to cause your body to panic and try to fight back. If your body is too weak to fight back, the changes are much smoother." Silas answered the question without hesitation.

"What!? That doesn't really make that much sense. " John understood the logic behind Silas' words but was unsure of its effectiveness in reality. "I know it sounds like it's made up but I assure you it's necessary. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure your safety and success during the process." Silas' answer helped to calm John and allowed him to move forward to different questions.

"What happens after the two weeks are done?" John asked, still hesistant. "I will personally come and collect you from the room and take you to the altar. There, I will cut your arms open using a knife and all the blood in your body will pour out. Essentially you will die, only to be reborn a few moments later with new power." Silas got excited towards the end of his explanation, with a smile appearing on his face and a slight glow in the eyes.

'This sounds crazy... None of it makes much sense. They have no reason to lie about this though... If they wanted me dead they would just kill me, and they have had that opportunity many times. So I don't see a reason to decline this, not to mention I don't have a choice now that he's explained it to me.' John was afraid, but he had decided.

After some thought John decided there was no point in any of this if he declined now.

"A-Alright...I'll do it."

***

'The process to obtaining this power is really weird... But it makes sense to be that way since the Great Ones are above humanity. How could we possibly understand their methods.' John thought as he lay down on the bed.

'Hopefully my time in this room will feel quicker than it is. Two weeks isn't exactly a short amount of time...'

***

Inside the military headquarters, Lieutenant Anders and General Zogarth were having another meeting when suddenly a man wearing military uniform burst through the door.

"Sir I have an urgent report!" The soldier said in a panic as he ran towards the general and placed a document in front of him.

The General picked up the document and read through it's contents with wide eyes. "Leave us." The general said to the soldier who was standing to the side awaiting orders. The soldier immediately left the room.

"What does it say?" Lieutenant Anders asked. "Grove village was destroyed by the Cult of Umbra three days ago..." General Zogarth replied with a serious tone.

There was a look of shock on Lieutenant Anders' face as he struggled to process that heavy news.

"According to the reports, just over half the citizens died during the attack. Almost every building was damaged beyond repair and the village has since been deserted." General Zogarth added after he noticed Lieutenant Anders reaction.

"But why now? And why Grove Village of all places?" Lieutenant Anders asked with a confused and shocked expression on his face.

"There was a group of ability users who appeared within the village who were asking around for information about the Cult. According to the survivors the cult seemed focused on these individuals, but they intentionally targeted the village as well."

"I can only assume that this would be Leofalor and my daughters group... The report doesn't include their names among the deceased so it appears they survived. There were three cultists that died during the attack and apparently these were the three responsible for the village damages." General Zogarth placed the report down and looked in Lieutenant Anders' eyes.

"It also says that the cultists all displayed abilities. One of them even used multiple during a battle on a rooftop with one of Leofalors group members."

"What! Multiple abilities... That shouldn't be possible! I know there are those who have unique abilities that could look like they have multiple, maybe that's what they saw!" Lieutenant Anders seemed highly concerned about this piece of news.

"Perhaps... Regardless of that, we can't just sit by and do nothing now that they have officially attacked our people so openly. We must prepare ourselves for a war with the cult."

Lieutenant Anders seemed surprised by the generals plans to take aggressive action against the cult, to the point of declaring it a war. "How should we proceed with preparations then, General?"

"We will start with informing the king of our intentions to declare war on the cult. At the same time I'll have the military presence within the smaller villages increase, as well as increase the security of the city walls." General Zogarth stood up and walked around his desk and stood next to the seated Lieutenant.

Placing his hand on Lieutenant Anders shoulder he spoke with a more solemn tone

"I hope it doesn't come to this, but I need you to prepare the trainees with abilities. They need to be prepared to join the war at any time."

Lieutenant Anders seemed to match the Generals solemn attitude in this regard, but he didn't object "I understand, General. I'll prepare them for war."