Page V
Truth
A being that resides inside the gate of truth. A white, fog-like silhouette that mirrors whoever enters this world of white. He is seen as a god by those who know him, although he views himself as everything and everyone inside his universe. Able to give insights about reality, energy, matter, and alchemy. It is an entity that values causality and equivalent exchange.
Symbol: A two-stone door that resembles a twin gate inside a pentagram onto a hard surface, made by drawing it with chalk and charcoal.
Sacrifice: a glass container with a burning match inside sealed by a cork or glass.
[End]
"Sigh, I'm glad this one is more tame and docile than the last," I said before relaxing in my makeshift bed made of books and a broken shelf. While doing so, I beckon the book towards me as it suddenly appears on my side. Analyzing its change after the book ate the lich. "A skull of the lich, and a corresponding green spot where the picture appeared. Other than that, there seems to be nothing wrong with it." I tucked it away then proceeded to lie down and sleep.
The next day, I could now lead a squad of dementors with precision. Thanks to possessing one of them whenever they patrol the vicinity near the library while I pretend to sleep at my desk, only returning when I notice my appetite increasing near the threshold. There's no work today as it's now Saturday.
"Perfect timing, just after my lunch break, not needing food but still being able to taste is a godsend for working 12 hours a day." I waved at Galand who seemed to return to his normal self. "Galand, I was about to ask you before, but now that I have a chance could you maybe slide me in as a janitor like you at the Medhall corporation?"
I asked, more as a recommendation than just giving out a resume willy-nilly. He nodded before saying." Sure Sam, could maybe talk to the boss about you." I was relieved before I agreed with him and left his cleaning duty alone for the afternoon. I've already finished reading the programming books, practicing them on the computer provided to me in the library. My next agenda item today is learning what networks and preferred algorithms most people need.
The only ones I could find in this treasure trove of knowledge are those related or loosely related to PHO. "Honestly, is this the most advanced program this earth has ever known? Sigh, better start involving myself in it and maybe I could create an app suited for my liking without clashing with the preferred norm."
I held the book called 'Elite programming: used by the top 10 famous software in the world!' And brought it to my desk. While reading, someone walked towards me, I looked up to see the girl that I helped form before handing me the book and the memetic thing towards me.Last edited: Oct 5, 202529DavieSep 6, 2025View discussionThreadmarks Chapter 4 Addiction View contentDavieSep 7, 2025#9Chapter 4
"Hello, mister?" she asked hesitantly, though I noticed she was less shy about it this time. I eased the girl by replying, "The name's Sam B. Barley—or just Sam. You don't have to complicate things."
The girl looked at my face for the first time. "Oh, Mr. Sam, I would like to return this. It helped me a lot, but you might get in trouble if I keep it any longer." She presented me with the book and the dreamcatcher I'd given her before.
*A/N: Please suggest a name for these dreamcatchers. Don't worry about later chapters; I'm doing maintenance and am free for any suggestions.*
I looked at the girl more closely, past the stiff posture bullies liked to shove around. She seemed to be 5'9" tall, with curly black hair, glasses, and eyes that had seen pleasant dreams.
"Um, that's already… sigh, fine… So? Have you had any nightmares recently?" I asked. Seeing as it is the only way for me to check the girl's mental health.
I was aware of the effects of my creations—I was sure of that part. It's just that I didn't know if the drawing would make the poor girl into BB's first Sleeping Beauty incident. God, that would've been awful.
She replied with a yes, although I noticed her movements were more defensive than those of normal teens her age. It seemed the drawing only alleviated some of the burden. I then looked left and right, noticing no one was watching.
Usually, the library had a policy of no returns on weekends. But thanks to my wizardry, I had breached that alarm in the program and had been using it to test myself with breach tactics.
"Just a second. I need your name, child, so I can enter it as one of the returns. Is that alright with you?" I asked, while at the same time gaining administration status inside the server and access to the list of returns.
"Taylor. Taylor Hebert."A girl of few words, it would seem.
"Herbert, right?" I questioned, while working my magic on the device I would've called ancient in my last life.
"No, it's Hebert."I nodded, correcting the mistake. While doing so, I noticed her record of borrowed books had drastically declined in 2008. Where before she would have borrowed books left and right with gusto, now her only record in the past three weeks was this book I'd been holding.
I looked back at her, shook my head, and gave the girl something that had helped me through all of this.
"Listen here, kid. In my long life, good things could come out of a god's hand or a pile of shit on the ground. No one's sure, but family is the closest proof I can give you that good things happen for a reason. Trust your family. They might know how to solve your problems just by talking to them."
As for me, I'd been conversing with a book about its pages, so I'm not sure if my advice counts in this world. "But you look like you're in your twenties, Sir—Sam," she questioned my seemingly false chicken soup.
Taylor, your face really looked punchable right about now."I didn't say old, girl, I said long—longer than you, I would guess." I finished feeding the program with data and closed it again, not forgetting to hide my actions.
I wasn't good enough to delete it outright."Now that that's done, mind if you could stay for a couple of minutes? I'll try giving you a more presentable dreamcatcher than the one I gave you."I ignored her refusal and went back to my resting place.
"Oh, there you are. Why are you late coming back?" I said as the more transparent dementor handed me an emotion and a soul that I could now recognize as coming from a bird-like animal. I resealed the dementor and began finding scraps inside the warehouse.
I prepared scissors from the lost and found, string, a book cover, and paper from some old books around me, and placed them on my book-made table. "This should be easy enough to make two of them."
I traced the drawing, cut the cover into the desired shape. A minute or two later, I had in my hand two dreamcatchers that were more balanced than the previous model and would possibly not give the girl a month of pure dreamlands, preventing her from possibly never waking up again.
"Good, the Sleeping Beauty is now gone. Hmm, maybe my dementors could stick these symbols on an asylum or a hospital, alleviating some of their troubled dreams of either their past, present, or future."
As I contemplated the mental health of others, it distracted me from the present. I didn't notice myself already sitting in the chair while Taylor was waiting. "Can I go now?" The girl seemed more anxious than before I left.
"Oh yes! You can go. Also, here are the two dreamcatchers I've made. You can place one in your kitchen or the living room if you want. According to mysticism, this thing could help with calming the mind." I handed the dreamcatchers to her and returned to my plan for BB's mental health awareness.
Taylor Hebert POV
Taylor could be seen leaving the library, running for a couple of seconds until she stopped when the people became fewer and fewer. Mr. Librarian seemed weirder today. The weirdest part would have to be this dreamcatcher he always seemed to have on him.
From the time he gave me these things, my nightmares about Mom, the bullying, and how my life seemed to crumble had turned into tranquil, calming dreams. Sigh. Two days from now, and I'll head back to school. I've been keeping it a secret from my dad for the last year or so.
"Mr. Librarian might be right. Maybe after a week, I'll have enough courage to tell Dad about what's really happening at Winslow." I looked back toward the library before heading home.
Emily Piggot POV
All the heroes were present at this meeting for one thing or another. Mostly it was me discussing ways to lock criminals down permanently, and other times just a report of either a new trigger or a cape causing a scene.
"I would like to apologize for waking some of you this late into the night. But I can assure you there's an important discussion we'd all like to address. I'll let Armsmaster and the Wards' findings explain the events."
What did I do to deserve this city? Criminals in every dark corner, criminal capes that the Triumvirate seem to just let pass since there's always the off chance they might be useful in driving away Endbringers… and just this city's way of screwing over people. Armsmaster stood up and walked toward the monitor before beginning his discussion.
"A couple of days ago, an incident people dubbed 'The Library Dementia Incident' caused a small panic and uproar among the citizens within the Brockton Bay Central Library. The suspect, now called online 'The Dementor' or 'Dementiaman,' is a cape that specializes in causing fear and dementia. I would suggest giving him a 7 in Master rating, just because of the already high number of parahumans in this city."
Armsmaster waited for a moment before I asked what that really entailed."Are you sure the Master rating really needs to be that high, Armsmaster? Most people don't want an incident similar to Heartbreaker happening in Brockton Bay, you know. That information alone could cause great panic among the people."
I, for one, would want all the villains to die in a hole or something. But as always, we're disappointed whenever we can be. Pair that with a Master 7 here in this city!? And all that's still not enough of a crisis for even one of the Triumvirate to visit and save this city.
The cape seemed lost for a moment before someone clarified to him the words that needed to be said."Armsmaster, we'd like you to clarify your encounter with the cape to reassure us of the threat we need to warn the citizens about," Miss Militia said—a voice of reason as always when it came to our head tinker.
"Oh, I apologize. To clarify: this cape is capable of altering the mind. Giving his victims an experience like that of a life flashing before their eyes, and being able to give people dementia by devouring the white mist that comes out from the orifices of the victims whenever the cape opens its mouth near their face. The majority recovered all of their memories, but described losing a certain spark or specialty once the memory returned. Thus I'm giving the cape a 7, since most likely it would require a pair of parahumans just to lessen injury to the people."
Armsmaster looked at both sides of the meeting table, planning to continue the description, before being interrupted by Assault. "Hey, guess if we ever had a trauma issue? We can just go to the library and forget about them ever happening." He smiled jovially while moving his shoulders upward, before he stopped when he saw me writing that down.
I considered reprimanding him but instead just looked him straight in the eyes. "Hey, that's supposed to be a joke, Director. Obviously, we won't recommend that as a way to fix mental health issues. Right?"
All looked at him, and no one laughed this time—which was quite rare for the Good Cop. Meaning, we agreed to make his joke turn serious. Of course, we needed to further test the limit of the Master being done. We don't want untested power going rampant, excluding Clockblocker.
"Assault is correct with that assumption. We all know how trauma can affect a cape, especially in the middle of a crisis. Even a small reprieve from that painful memory could make a big difference when encountering villains or accidents. And as always, we still need to know Dementor's alignment before we judge things. Currently, his only crime is chasing people from dark alleyways."
Battery commented that being a new member of the Protectorate of Brockton Bay, she would need a lot more experience with how this city is run.
Before we spiraled down into power analysis, Armsmaster coughed once before presenting us with another video of his battle with the unknown cape, complete with kinetic transfer, analysis of its bodily function, and more. In an ideal world, it would've been great.
"Armsmaster, why is it all drawings instead of a real person? Is that one of its capabilities or what?" Assault asked what everyone had been thinking.
"No, this is because the parahuman does not appear in any sensors or cameras except infrared. As you can see to the left, you can all see the silhouette of a hooded figure floating a few inches from the ground, displaying an outline of the cold—slightly below the freezing point of water above sea level."
As he adjusted the video and zoomed to the location, we all could see a man with a blue outline and a black shadow-like face that hid its features, leaving only the mouth that it used to feed.
Honestly, even I—who witnessed a dozen tinker-techs work in my lifetime—am still amazed by the level of tech tinkers have at their disposal. That also makes them hard to classify in threat, capability, as well as their convenience with different tech.
I sighed in my mind, mostly hoping for our little tinker in the Wards to find his specialization fast or I would be forced to cut down his budget yet again.
"Moving on, this cape also displayed abilities such as cloning, intangibility, and slight temperature manipulation the size of a living room. Cases like the library suddenly dropped in temperature, from a cool breeze to cold, which can affect the environment for a long duration," Armsmaster said, while showing another clip of four dementors being split in two. Before those same split capes turned into eight whole new entities that terrorized the people inside the library, and were still multiplying until it stopped at twelve as the fight continued.
Inside the meeting room, we analyzed the confrontation multiple times before all of us tried rating the abilities used by Dementor.
"We can all agree Breaker would have to be 6 in rating. Most of us couldn't deal with things that are not physical. It's like facing Crusaders' thralls. It's just that instead of a spear soldier, it's a grim-reaper-looking cape team that wants our memories like how the Merchants want their crystals. Desperate! Yo, Armsy, do you have any tech that could contain this guy?"
Assault was suggested, which was kind of appropriate for a cape that could walk through walls. Miss Militia also asked for ways to beat the cape using tech, then maybe try to mimic it using her gun.
"It has weaknesses too, Miss Militia—like its Manton Effect. It needs to be physical to eat the memories of its victims, which for us is long enough to try our luck shooting some containment foam to halt the process.
Second, when its intangibility works against it. It could not harm us physically. And even if it could, its strength and speed are only comparable to those of a normal grown man.
Also no, I have nothing but machines that could only work on Crusader's Ghost, which at least I built something for when the next time I see the Empire cape in battle." Armsmaster added to the side, which suggested an increase in funding I don't have.
"That's good. I thought I would be a goner, being a brute and all that," Battery commented, which held a good point. I fiddled with my tablet before locating the rotation for today's patrol. "Battery, I want you to reschedule your patrol and adjust the route near the E88's territory. We need to find out the gangs' reaction to the new parahuman in town."
Battery nodded before answering. "Yes, Director."
I got back on topic and suggested, "A rating of 4 for Shaker would make it so that close-range powers that hit like a truck and fast enough to outrun a bike would be good whenever Dementor is in his vulnerable state. Also, a rating of Changer just in case this parahuman could change to human form."
I looked at Armsmaster and Assault who both nodded their heads in agreement. The last to voice her thoughts was Miss Militia. "Shaker 4 and Stranger 1—the heat that it takes away from the surroundings and being unnoticed by conventional cameras."
A small sentence, but it held key information. I looked at the monitor again now displaying the Class, Rating, and threat level of Dementor.
—
Cape Name: Dementor (Independent)
Sighted: Jan. 24, 2011, inside the Brockton Bay Central Library, Brockton Bay.
Mover 4 — Using intangibility while diving underground.
Shaker 4 — Slight temperature manipulation to lower the temperature of a medium-sized room.
Breaker 6 — Intangibility from any harm before or after using its ability to devour memories.
Master 7 — Can cause dementia or fear of death when in proximity to its face and can also clone. (Lower rating to not cause panic.)
Striker 5 — Needs to be tangible for its Master ability to work.
Changer 1 — Suspected that it could change its state due to its continuous disappearance and reappearance.
Stranger 1 — Inability of conventional cameras to capture their image.
—
The meeting was about to end, and my session with my health complications was about to start, when a PRT member who handled part of the Wards' duty knocked rhythmically.
I didn't even have the strength to glare at his would-be excuse and just let him enter. "Don't waste our time. What is it that you want?"
The personnel gulped nervously before saying, "—I—uh, I was supposed to be showing the result of the patrol of the Wards near and on the library premises?"
We all looked blankly at him before turning our gaze to Armsmaster. "I did assign him the work. But it would seem he did not finish it on time," the cape said rigidly as always. I sighed and just let the personnel hand the papers out for review.
I could not fault the guy for failing. If the most obsessed cape when it comes to efficiency gave you the task, 100% of the time you would fail to do the task perfectly on time.
We held our papers in silence for a couple of minutes. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost close to 11 PM. God, another overtime for the month.
With free healthcare, we attempted to promote and increase the security of Brockton Bay both failing at the same time, which makes you question what this city is made out of. It seems like a hand is pushing us to the breaking point in every move we make.
"Armsmaster, you might need to add another weakness to our mysterious cape," Battery said while still studying the paper—which, based on how many flipped ones he had, seemed to be the part where Kid Win used his taser gun to hit Dementor through the chest. Which unfortunately only worked to halt the cape's advances.
"I agree. I would also like for Shadow Stalker to be punished for ignoring protocol during her confrontation with Dementor as recorded here," I said. I agreed since it could be arranged immediately. Thankfully the report was short enough that it only took 30 minutes to analyze the accomplishments and mistakes the Wards made.
We also watched how Vista's space manipulation could halt Dementor fully—except when he was on the ground, likely due to our cape's inability to interfere with Dementor's use of his intangibility. Followed by Kid Win's use of a tinker-tech taser gun and laser gun, which only worked to keep the cape from advancing further.
Next was a clip of Shadow Stalker, at an abandoned-looking part of the city this very night. They fought at old-style houses that were built to last, only to be abandoned by owners who wanted nothing to do with Leviathan. In the end, I was still not satisfied with what happened today.
Sam B. Barley POV
"Deep breath, man. I can make this work. I just need to think that this is where I start fixing things, and by the end, I will live my life in peace."
I said while I held one of my dementors on the shoulder with my now-tattooed left hand. In a minute or two, I felt my left hand give a phantom sensation of a burnt-open wound delivered straight into my brain, which caused me to grunt in pain.
I bit down hard—hard enough to hear my teeth creaking from pressure. "Third time and it still feels weird and wrong every time." I sensed my remaining tank of now-confirmed animal souls and emotions from humans before I looked at the dementors in front of me.
"Sigh, three souls and twenty-four emotions should do, for now."After my previous patrol through the library, I'd concluded how best to utilize my powers.
An example would be that whenever I want to interact with reality, I always need one random emotion to briefly become physical—likely one emotion per minute. Summoning costs a single soul, meaning I'd just wasted five animal souls to summon these five dementors that would patrol the more abandoned places of this city.
The cold and fear aura costs one emotion and one soul respectively. That's also why I gave the one I'm going to possess three souls—just so it could use two for confrontation and one to wake me up. As for memory wipe, it costs only two very specific emotions. Those emotions are despair and dread.
All in all, three souls and twenty-four emotions should suffice for a three-hour patrol. "Time to become a cape once more," I whispered to myself before I possessed my dementor in front of me.
"Having the ability to pass through ground and walls really makes traveling easier compared to walking on foot," I said while passing through old houses built in the nineties.
After about thirty minutes of floating, I saw small clusters of souls gathering from an old-looking warehouse. When I came near it, I heard the voice of a man using an old-school mic and speakers.
"Good fucking night, you bitches! All the crystals are fucking double in price this week!! But, as long as one of you can last an hour with this new drug shoved in your damn ass, I'll let you break the deal and fucking have it in ten or less. So what do you say, idiots, ready to snort your way through the fucking MOON!? … Sounds like a fucking dream!? Now let's get fucking started! Hahahaha!"
I popped my head underground to make sure what I heard was correct. Sure enough, it was a drug party of the homeless, numbs, and addicts trying their very best to shove something where it shouldn't go. Lights of different colors were shining in a glass ball, and rave music was blaring out through every car speaker I could find. Some looked emaciated, others straight up giggled while foaming at the mouth. One even tried to climb into a beat-up car only to dive in headfirst toward the concrete like it was a pool filled with water.
Half had already tried shoving the drug into their holes and were having seizures."So this is the Merchants' game. If someone told me this was hell, I would believe them just because of the statement alone."
I tried coming up with a plan to make this as painless as possible and also a more permanent one. While I was thinking, four of my dementors spread out and covered the exits to the warehouse.
"I could maybe give them nightmares about drugs to distance them from such substances? I could wipe their memory of ever taking drugs? But that would cost me more emotions than I've got in my hands… Hmm, I could possess the leader silently, then hunt down his dealer and supplier until I clean this part of the streets."
Just then, someone shouted from the crowd who seemed not to have taken enough drugs to pass out. "Fuck, it's Stormtiger!"After his scream died down as he left, the already chaotic warehouse became even more chaotic.
Just then someone stomped in from the top, breaking the roof of the warehouse before unleashing some sort of ability that left the floor and walls with deep gashes that looked like a cat had clawed some cardboard. While that was happening the man who broke the ceiling landed and started waving his fists. When I looked closely the dust that covered his knuckles resembled claws.
"Those guys are good. Sadly I don't have time to plan out how to de-escalate the situation. Where's the skid mark?" I didn't wait long as I saw the drugged-up guy powering some sort of barrier from his surroundings and trying to protect the vehicle below him. "Damnit, Squealer! Start the fucking car!!"
Someone was running toward the car from the left where the skid mark was. I phased through the car and appeared behind his back. I did not activate any of the abilities of my dementor and just passed through the guy several times, trying to get familiar with something strange in him, like oil trying to fill a water cup and removing that said water at the same time.
"Shit, who are you, sweeping? Get in here! Seems to be a Crusader doing! Fuck your white skin-headed ass and your useless ghost!"
While this was going on, my dementors were collecting emotions throughout the warehouse exits, draining them one at a time. Usually one could give four types of emotion which I give back by wiping their memory for two emotions, and implanting a nightmare-and-dream memetic effect combo using one.
The effects are mostly superficial: if you ever take drugs you experience a nightmare while high—which is a horrible thing to experience, mind you—and pleasant relaxing dreams whenever you do not. I hope to encourage them to find a better crib by selling scraps rather than finding a better high by selling scraps. Every second or two they switch targets, making collecting emotions easier.
The emotions I need them to collect mostly were loneliness, frenzy, despair, depression, and madness. Those would hopefully alleviate some symptoms of dependency on the addiction.
Stormtiger was still rampaging through the area and stealing the Coke the Merchant had in stock. "Finally… go, go, go!!" I phased through inside the car where Squealer and Skidmark were chatting. "Damn this ghost, you got anything to stop this guy from going in my fucking back?"
In the end, Skidmark failed to get me off his back. From the moment I started familiarizing myself with Skidmark's vessel until we stopped in an abandoned-looking house, it took us nearly thirty minutes.
"Shit, I can't sleep with this fucker clinging to me like a whore. Squealer, go to some junk and fix this, you bitch. The reason this ghost is on me is because of your bitching." While I floated near Skidmark, still connecting us using my hand on his shoulder, he stared up and tried using a cross to throw at my face.
"Shit, didn't fucking work at all."Of course, it passed through, which I hoped was a sign from Big G that I was still human. Before long, when I felt that it was time, I began leaving Skidmark.
The funny thing about liches' power to possess is that I can squeeze myself into the vessel that was only meant for one soul and as I dominate the other I can puppet its memories, body, and mind. Acting like them when I want to and finding things in their recollection whenever I want to.
Skidmark's body fell to the bed, seemingly paralyzed from the waist down while his upper body wiggled and shook. His mouth could not scream, his touch became cold, his eyes tinted green. Not a second before he froze and rose to a sitting position before looking at a clock.
"Not bad—8:00 PM. Only took me four to five minutes to possess someone I did not have any familiarity with. Coupled with my using thirty emotions to wipe the ugly side of this man's life. When I finish my task this guy, who I now know was Adam Mustain, will thank me for his remodeling."
I let Adam keep his shrewd business—albeit criminal—sense and his life before his drugs."Wait. Why did I notice like I've lost something?"
I looked at the memories again hoping to find what changed. And sure enough, I found it, specifically the memory of the time I analyzed every instance he used his powers, finally noticing some pattern in his use. When he triggered, he was coked up so much that his trigger required him to either be on drugs to utilize his powers or just be in a chaotic mindset.
"Fuck this. How can I prove to the dealers and suppliers that I'm the real deal when I can't even go there and show my powers off?"I looked at the time again showing me that it had been thirty minutes of mind-sorting work I did with this man.
"I still have time. I need to find a way to have a chaotic but focused mind."I looked for ways, my mind buzzing with ideas. At one point I even opened this guy's laptop, only to be greeted by PHO once again. Damn, even criminals use this shit.
I searched up research, correlational, or methods for identifying what disorder I'd need to achieve my goals—which was nothing much. God, if it were the twenty-first century, different disorders would have popped up by now.
Finally, I noticed a study about Dissociative Identity Disorder—having two or more personalities that switch from one identity to another, or having both existing identities coexisting. I read more about the course, its effects on the host, and other related things that might help me mimic what this disorder does."This is a good way. My only way of even experimenting with this is with an animal."
For now, I went back to the garage where Squealer was and told her not to wake me up, and also reminded Trainwreck, who was watching some reality show in the living room. After that I let the body eat as much as it could from the kitchen before heading to bed.
"I'll let him sleep here for the rest of the day and maybe possess him again after I figure out how to give him DID to utilize his power for the benefit of this city."
I commanded my dementors to go underground and waited for them to freeze my body long enough that my repossession of my body would be permitted. And after waking up in my real body, I woke up straight and ran toward the small forest at the back before throwing up gallons of coffee and donut vomit.
"WHY DIDN'T I THROW UP WHEN I POSSESSED THAT GUY? The things he did were gross to the point I'd wash my eyes with bleach. Does that mean I only possess the guy using the mind of a dementor and not my flesh brain? If so, then that means I just escaped a more confrontation with his habits and… ugh, trauma. Shifts are not great even with this loose connection."
A/N: Forget the previous Chapter 4 now you have a new Chapter 4 in place. Thanks for reading.Last edited: Oct 31, 202521DavieSep 7, 2025View discussionThreadmarks Chapter 5 Testing theory View contentDavieOct 20, 2025#12Chapter 5
Sam B. Barley's POV
By the time I made peace with what I've done to that scum of a human being, I rested my head against the book table I thought about what could've gone wrong with my plan and the limits of the things the book has given me. " I could not fathom how my dementor state works. Intangibility, emotion, and soul devouring, I can lower the temperature and release an aura that makes beings feel dead. All are magical in nature, yet why are they working in a world without magic?"
I also thought about how I made possessing Skidmark turn him into a poppet because of my power combination. "I have taken the majority of his emotions and memories, possessed him to read his thoughts and mannerisms, and implanted a memetic effect that induced dreams that would last a long time. I practically turned him into a vegetable!" I reached for my head and squeezed it. Logically speaking, that was the only way to both stop the merchants and also achieve my plan.
Along with the realisation of dark methods used in saving the city, I also thought about how even my ability to possess I still could not access the full potential of a parahuman's powers. "There's zero part of their brain that seems to hold all the memory involving the utilisation of their parahuman abilities." When my mind tried to find some connection. I was only able to see blank and nothing else. Suddenly, the remaining dementors emerged from the ground. They became more transparent than before. "Again, every time I left you to return here, you seemed to randomly get paler. I did not give you an order to wonder, and still here you are having less emotions than normal." I released my head from my grip and stood up before walking towards both of them.
Shadow Stalker POV
I've gotten fond of my costume the PR gave me. Black heavy cape, black skin, tight suit with metals for details and defence, and pockets. I checked for the location again, as described by the caller. "Abandoned part of town, two Dementors. Correct?" I heard a confirmation from my earpiece that confirmed my location. I jump from roof to roof. I've practised this a thousand times in the ward base. Jump, change, then turn back again. I phase through walls in my way. "Console, ice reached the location. Seems clear. Reportive--."
I suddenly stopped and heard the end of the line speak. Which annoys me more since it's the good-for-nothing tinker who is in charge of today's console duty. "Good, in a minute or two, you'll see two dementors on your left. Please try to assess the situation before heading in." I did not care about his useless information since the dementor did not appear to my left and instead appeared right in front of me.
"Good for nothing." Observing more closely, they appear to be floating a few inches from the ground, wearing a thin black robe that acts like a cloth in water. Before long, I saw them phased through an abandoned house's wall before emerging from the others' idea without stopping. Finally, I could not wait any longer and opened my mic.
"Console, I'm charging in." I was about to engage with the new cape before the cowards stopped my advance. "Wait, Stalker, you were instructed to negotiate and ask for his agenda. You can't—." I scoffed and mocked his complaints. "Oh, heavens, I should talk to villains before we apprehend them. Talks like that get you nowhere, Kid Win. Now shut the hell up and let me protect the city." I turn off the earpiece and dash toward the two Dementor clones.
I must have been moving faster than usual because by the time I reached their side, they were still moving towards another wall. " HEADS UP, DUMBASS!" I aim my crossbow towards the dementor while thrusting a spare bolt with my other hand towards the other. Both carry the same shadow-like state as I had planned to return them when they were already deep in their stomach. Both were struck, and both reacted the same way.
What I didn't understand was the way I felt their state. They were like air — nothing tangible, yet they acted like they'd been hit with a powerful blow. I was so stunned by their powers not behaving like mine that I only managed to turn my shadow state on before the two of them phased through me.
In that brief moment, I saw two images of patterns in a circle that drew me in only for the drawings and dementors to disappear after phasing through me. Dementor also became paler after they passed through me. "What the fuck was that?" I dash towards them and reapply the same effect I did with my bolts as the ones in my fist and arrows. Intending to strike again. The same thing happened again with the only exception of they did not dodge at all.
I did not sit idly by and followed it by kicking them both in the face. This time one blocked my punch while the other passed through me in my breaker state. The same strange drawing appeared again. Since I am still unaffected by the memory wipe powers of Dementor the report seems to suggest, I continue the fight more freely, sometimes kicking them, other times shooting them with my bolt. Gradually, I notice they are becoming more transparent, until I thought that I only needed one last hit to finish them off. I try to strike again, but they vanish through the ground.
I could've followed them to find their real hiding spot. The short explanation would be that I am blind underground. I couldn't see shit down there. While both of them seem capable of navigating their way just fine. I shook my head and turned the earpiece on again. " What the hell—!" "Chill, I still have my bodycam on, go save it in a computer or something. That way you could be useful this time. Tinker."
I search the surroundings before I get annoyed enough that I continue my assigned patrol instead of my normal outing with Emma. "I have to text her about cancelling our plans for the week. I'm sure we could find other ways to have fun." I only keep that thought for a moment before heading towards the Empire turf to continue my assigned patrol.
Sam B. Barley POV
Now standing in front of them I just shrugged and lifted my left hand that's been feeling like an open wound for a moment. "I don't really care, just returned here so I can sleep." I did not forget to take back the memory of the nightmare catchers in both of them. "Even if it's shit I'll find a way to give Skidmark some disorder." At least it could make his powers more accessible to him and maybe do something good with them. I did not complain about what I did when I possessed a dementor since I've known deep down how messy my mind was.
Next morning
Monday morning. Currently, I have in me. $124. Not much but enough to finally afford a decent meal. And the chosen meal for today is a random pizza joint located in the Docks. I've been craving that large pizza since the moment I saw their advertised toppings. I entered the building and waited in line like the others. Only minutes passed before I was already in front of the counter." Good morning sir, what would you be? And is it a dine-in or take-out?" Although the current situation happening around the world is shitty at best. I could still find people like this guy working hard.
That's why I did not dilly dally and looked at the man in front of me and said. "Could you give me the double cheesy double pepperoni pizza large with cola as drinks, it's a take-out?" The man calculated the amount before stating. "That would be $23.77. Do you require a large box?" I agreed and paid the exact amount before sitting in one of the chairs nearby. I looked at the large window and gazed at the scenery. While doing so my mind drifted to what kind of things I should test my experiment on.
"Birds are hard to catch and are open for outsiders to see me catching them. Dogs and cats are a no-go.. rats would be best. Especially riddled in the sewers, the faeces, a pest, and could carry diseases that 3veryone wanted to get rid of. Also, the fact that they are social animals makes experimenting with the mental disorder more accurate." Before long my order was given to me at my table. I finished two slices before I left the entrance with a large pizza box in hand. "Hmm, this is some good pizza. I'll definitely find a place to live near here." Minutes after Sam left another group of individuals entered.
"Hey Lisa, any leads on who the new Cape?" The boy's voice was low and whispered.
Lisa shook her head. "Not a single one. My 'thing' is only giving me things like it's alive, he is alive, dead, mastered, servitude, loyalty, unknown, or undead. It's no clearer than what my own eyes can see. My only lead was that its base would be the library." While they debated the elusive information concerning the Dementor, the man they sought was already deep inside a long, unnoticed stretch of sewer pipe.
"Ugh! The smell is horrific. I despise having to do this, but it's essential to cut the flow of those street drugs into the city." He set two final slices of pizza onto a mostly dry ledge before a familiar, searing heat on flesh flared across his left hand. With a silent surge of wispy pale smoke comes twelve Dementors materialised before me.
"All of you, head into the tunnels," I commanded, pointing to the four massive holes. "Split into three Dementors per passage. Drive every rat in the vicinity toward this area alive.. also you can fill your stomach in the process, especially you two i don't want to see you pale while you work. Understood?"
I received no visible complaint, only the immediate, chilling obedience of my dementors. Soon after, dozens upon dozens of rats swarmed the central pipe. To avoid being bitten in the chaos, I briefly allowed myself to be a dementor. Finally, I ordered all of my dementors to siphon half of the scattered vermin's souls, netting them a total of twenty-four souls while leaving the remaining twenty-four rats to cower, utterly terror-stricken.
After the remaining rats were put inside the box. I thought about whether I could only find a shoplifter to experiment on, which would greatly increase the results.
I immediately recoiled from the thought, the dark robes receding as I snapped back to his human form. "Ugh, that was close. I can't act on that. Remember, Sam, even if it's necessary, they have to face punishment fairly. Just like the code of Hamurabis an eye for an eye." I retreated where I came from and still carrying the large pizza box now filled with rats.
When I walked a couple of paces, I heard beating and shouting from across the way. As I snuck in to investigate, I saw a Black man being kicked in the face by what I assumed were "E88" gang members. I also noticed that this was far from their normal operations in the Docks. "Speak of the devil who deserves some of the thoughts I've been having. One would be enough to make some preliminary findings on whether my theoretical Split Independent Chaotic Personality Disorder is even possible."
I began turning myself into a Dementor before I dove underground, only to emerge at the feet of the would-be leader. By the time I reached there, the victim had already passed out. I, of course, emerged quickly, followed by two more Dementors to deal with the other two. We then utilized both the aura of death and the devouring of emotion to completely make them temporarily vegetative . Although I could not hear their panicked voices .
What I could see were their eyes, which held fear to the most primal part of their mind. This, to me, sounded and tasted like the most delicious dish imaginable. After some time, long enough to stop myself, I examined my test subjects side by side. "Transformation of the human mind could require…" I possessed the would-be leader and devoured the memories of her fundamental motor movements.
After that, I gave her a mental image of a dream catcher that would give her either a dream or a nightmare about becoming a rat. While doing so, I released a rat's soul and found the most likely area where the subconscious is placed and let it run wild in there until both the two souls and the body adapted. "It's a brute force approach, but that would yield a more obvious result if my theory was correct or not."
I then moved to the next one. Here, instead of just shoving a rodent's soul inside the subconscious, I actually just have them share the space. Both minds would control the body. "This was the extreme approach to see if I really need to make them work together to prove the split personality needed for Skidmark's powers."
And last but not least is the most extreme, and maybe what these creatures have been waiting for. I summoned one of the Dementors and put it inside the vessel that housed the soul and just let it have the body. Of course, the original emotions of the soul were devoured by the Dementor . This would make him appear indifferent, and also, the Dementor could choose whether to imbue certain emotions in the soul, thus gaining two minds where one is superior.
The operations cost me all the rat's souls in the large pizza box for me to perform such a feat in such a short time. It'd been practically 30 minutes, thanks to their vegetative state and the amount of souls I'd used setting it all up. I wasn't afraid of someone stumbling upon this place since it's secluded from the main streets and usual places people go to. It's also maybe the reason why they beat this guy up here, hoping no one would notice.
When the three gangsters woke up, they adopted different postures, body language, and mannerisms from before they were beating the poor fellow . "The obvious thing about the first one is his inability to walk on all fours. But he seems to still be mentally sound. The second became restrained, what? Oh, maybe the resulting minds not cooperating with each other created mixed signals in the brain that make it look like he's having epilepsy."
I looked at the third one and noticed no abnormal movements, his posture was great, and no symptoms of split personality were happening inside him. "Well, it's time to see the results inside." After I repossessed the first one, he did something I would expect a woman would do and not some gangbanger in the streets.
" M-m-master —get away from m-me , GET THE FUCKING HELL AWAY FROM MEEEE !!!!" He actually ran. I have no choice but to possess him again first. While looking around, I noticed new forms emerging, not human and not rat either. It seems to be an abomination born from a subconscious need to find a dark place while also the fear of the self. You could picture a rat-like figure with no hair and a face like that of a human.
Then said the human rat had melting skin and coagulating blood and pus surrounding it. "Awful, long-term it's shit . Short-term it's also shit ." I end his misery by undoing all the things that I did, except the draining of his emotions. The next one gave some promise. "Whenever they gained control over the body, one would produce the chaotic personality I seek. But the unpredictability of which is controlling the body makes the risk not worth it."
I also undo what I've done in him. I also remove both their memories about what happened here permanently, except the part involving his emotions. When I faced the final one, he knelt before me and offered his head for me to possess. "Quite polite." The thing did not speak, but when I entered inside, I could only see someone trapped inside a foggy sphere and in constant anguish.
"The part where it needed to be in constant pain is sub-optimal. I could replace that by imprinting a memetic effect of constantly shifting moods. That way, it might, in theory, trick the powers that Skidmark is in constant high." I hesitated before finally deciding to keep this guy as a long-term test subject. After undoing the possession, I asked the still kneeling man. "What can you do? What's your power? Oh, also what's your name?"
It uttered the words slowly. "The body is John Da Baptist, I have none that could be considered a power. As for my abilities, I would dedicate my life to you as the contract dictates." I gave an appreciative nod and said. "Well, John, I guess you'll be helping me in the library from here on out. Also, I don't really want to know about breaking the contract. It seems kind of dangerous, don't you think?"
I asked the now standing man , only to see him nod. I noticed that maintaining the Dementor state would do me more harm than good and decided to return back to human . In doing so, I was given the full package of guilt, fear, and also some relief. The guilt was about being unable to return the old John or bring him into the authorities. Fear for what I've done when turning into the Dementors , and also relief that at least throughout the ordeal I saved someone at the nick of time. I checked his condition before I searched for his phone to call the police here.
By the time I called the police, it was already lunch time, which meant this incident did not really give me the appetite to eat. At the end of the day, I walked until I reached the library's warehouse and sat at my table for a long time. As I was doing so, I noticed the book slowly open until it reached the page where the description of Truth was . "Right, I also have to do that. Sigh."
A/N: Busy with finals and part-time. Anyway, good day and night to y'all.18DavieOct 20, 2025View discussionThreadmarks Chapter 6 The Crown of Flesh and MindView contentDavieOct 31, 2025#14Chapter 6
Sam POV
I held the book for a minute or two, my neck tilted forward as I studied the page titled Truth under the warehouse light. "Nope!" I said, voice low but certain. "After this is over, I'll work on the contract involving Him." I closed the book with a heavy thud and tossed it onto my makeshift bed, the echo filling the warehouse of books and shelves. The air smelled faintly of rust, old oil, and the dementors I let ram inside. I tried to sleep, and yet my mind refused to rest. "Now that I've finished the initial testing, I might as well do something productive," I said, forcing a yawn down. "Hey, John, come here. I want to run the first actual test on you." I sighed, rubbing my temple. "More work keeps piling up."
John was already sitting at the table, his posture unnervingly perfect, his eyes vacant but waiting. He was patient in that inhuman way—too still, too precise. The silence was heavy enough to make the faint hum of cars passing by seem deafening. I possessed him to enter inside his mind, I could hear the distant screams of the E88 thugs soul bound within, the pitiful echo of a man whose sins outlived his usefulness."Please, let me go!" the trapped voice wailed. His agony bled through the walls of his mindscape, shaking the edges of the fog-like sphere he was trapped in. I focused on him, watching as his panic twisted into something grotesque. Every wisp of fog that touched his skin turned instantly to ice. Each convulsion of his limbs shattered them like fragile glass before they reformed into flesh again. "Sorry, man," I murmured, almost absently and with the emotionless logic of a dementor's mind I said. "You almost beat the guy to death while smiling like a lunatic. You deserved this more than the other two."
It was strange how detached I felt. When I wasn't in my own body, my moral compass simply... stopped working. Emotions felt like echoes bouncing through a hollow shell. A morbid thought crossed my mind—if I did feel anything in this state, the guilt might consume me whole, dragging me into a madness that I am trying to prevent. "Honestly," I whispered, half to myself, "I should be thankful I'm not emotional right now. I'd rather not see my manic self shaking hands with eldritch horrors from beyond reality and sacrificing this earth for my madness."I pushed the thought aside and extended my hand, summoning the pale, wavering soul of an animal from my tank of souls. Three rats floated upward, their translucent bodies quivering as I split them into separate conceptual threads that I fused with the memetic effect given to me by the first page. One I imbued with pure dreams, one with pure nightmares, and the last with a fragile balance between the two. Their squeals faded as I rewove their essence into something new—something metaphysically alive and wrong.
While I worked, the man continued screaming and cursing, calling me a monster, the devil, and a dozen other desperate names. I barely noticed. The mindscape echoed with the wet sound of creation, the air thickening as the souls intertwined. When it was done, I no longer saw three rats. Instead, I held a pulsating, fleshy crown, its surface crawling with veins that shimmered between light and shadow. At its crest, three unblinking eyes darted in different directions, never resting, never blinking."Oy, you're the psychopath of the century, mate," I said in my best Australian accent, grinning despite myself. "Here's a crown for ya." I placed the abomination onto the man's head and stepped back. The crown screamed—no, sang—as it fused with him, the sound vibrating through the air like distant church bells underwater. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Is this going to haunt me when I return to my body, I wonder? Oh, John, I didn't know you were the fog the whole time."
The struggling man went still. The mist surrounding him condensed, twisting and folding until it resembled a cloaked, Dementor-like shape. Then, with a shiver of air, it reshaped itself into a human figure—John—standing beside me once again."I was only trying to help, sir," he said in his usual monotone. His voice was smooth now, almost refined.
I blinked, surprised. "Wow, you've gotten more fluent! Guess I have my own personal butler now." I laughed, the sound too sharp and nervous. John tilted his head slightly, confusion faintly passing over his otherwise serene expression. The man on the floor—my unwilling test subject—had gone utterly silent. Around us, the air warped and twisted. The walls melted into something grotesque—a pulsing room of gray matter and veins, with faint faces pressing against the fleshy surface. Some laughed; others wept or screamed. And at that moment I recalled the thing I received from the second page of that book only to be interrupted by John's comment.
"It would appear the experiment was a success, sir," John said calmly, unfazed by the surreal horror.I shrugged. "Technically, this isn't where the Corona Pollentia is located, but I guess it'll do." My eyes traced the shifting walls, cataloging every new abnormality. "I can just undo things and repeat the process. No big deal—well, unless my tank runs empty after four or five more tries."
I exhaled and thought about the man I've given a mini comatose to. "He should be waking up any second now, after his most pleasant dream in a long time."I nearly didn't make it back to Skidmark's apartment on time, mostly because John insisted on eating first. Watching a former Dementor enjoy human food for the first time was... something. His first bite into a burger looked mechanical, his face unreadable—until his eyes softened with something like confusion. "So?" I asked, sipping my drink, "how was it?"
"My emotions are delicious," he replied evenly. "The food is also delicious."I paused mid-sip, then chuckled. "Right. Because you're literally tasting your own emotions while eating." The thought made me wince and laugh at the same time. A self-sustaining emotional machine—great for theory, terrible for reality. "Good. You'll need that energy. We're visiting Skidmark after this. And I need to sleep after that." The burger shop overlooked the ocean, the neon lights reflecting across the dark waves. The sea breeze cut through the smell of grease and salt, grounding me briefly in something normal.
"Sir," John said after a moment, "this body's home is located near the library. If it comforts you, it can be yours."I stared at him, blinking. For a brief second, I almost forgot to breathe. "You're a damn genius, you know that? Alright. First thing tomorrow, we'll move my stuff there." I grinned wide enough to hurt. John gave the faintest ghost of a smile before finishing his burger in precise, calculated bites.Later that night, we stood before a decaying two-story apartment. Its windows were covered in plywood and trash bags, the light bulbs flickering erratically like dying fireflies."Sir, is this the place?" John asked, tilting his head.
"I'm sure it is," I said, scanning the darkened windows. "Hide in that bush. When you see Skidmark leave, follow him. If I don't nod when we meet, it means the transfer failed."John nodded, then added quietly, "Sir, just so you know… we only seek to transfer ourselves into a new system of souls. We don't wish to linger. We want to hijack a soul and gain access to reincarnation, as this body understands it."He walked away, his steps soundless. I stood frozen, the implications sinking in. "So that's it," I muttered. "A soul system transfer… not possession, but migration. That could work perfectly." My mind spun through the possibilities—applications, replication, control. "A stable interface between the physical and metaphysical... a soul-integrated cognitive processing device." I almost smiled at the thought. "SICPD. Nice ring to it."
The transformation came easy now, like breathing. My form unraveled into a cold mist, my essence stretching thin as I entered Skidmark's mind. Inside, I repeated the ritual—two Dementors, two rat souls, and one chaotic will to fuse them. The result was a crown of gray and red, veins pulsing like molten wire. When I placed it atop his head, it screamed and sank in."Now," I whispered, "let's see if it works."
Nothing.
I waited, probed, adjusted. Still nothing. "No output? How? When I possessed him before, I could use his powers although to a minimal extent but not nothing." My voice rose, frustration sharpening every word. "Why isn't it responding?" I dove deeper, scanning the fragmented mindscape until I found it—the crown couldn't pierce a sealed region of the Corona Pollentia. It resisted intrusion, like an immune system rejecting an implant."I need an adaptor," I realized aloud, "to bridge the metaphysical and physical. Something that allows power access without drugs."
So I built it.
Nine Dementors, twisted into shape. A framework of rats, birds, and a lizard whose cold-blooded mind became the perfect heat sink. I molded the structure—an analog neural engine of flesh and fog, a living circuit board humming with emotion and thought. Symbols shimmered across its surface, memetic symbols only souls could see align with biological pathways. The birds acted as regulators, their erratic minds stabilizing the feedback loop. The lizard absorbed overflow—cooling the torrent of emotion while the Dementors managed the flow of consciousness. At its center, Skidmark's soul pulsed, suspended in a cage of metaphysical gears. "Time to wake up, this abomination of an adapter," I whispered.
The construct shuddered to life. Emotions rippled like static through the mindscape. The rats screamed in both agony and joy as the lizard convulsed, processing their madness into order. Energy surged—hot, alien, and unrecognizable—before everything went silent. Then, a flood of information hit me, raw and unreadable. The source of Skidmark's power twisted and changed shape, rewriting itself before my metaphysical eyes."What the hell did I just do?" I breathed.
I withdrew from skidmarks and snapped back to my body. Skidmark lay motionless, then slowly opened his eyes. His voice was calm, eerily composed. "Thank you, master. We've been given a chance at life. What would you have us do?"I blinked, half-delirious. "No master please, just call me sir or Sam. Can you still give the original Skidmark back?"
"Yes," he said. "But doing so would allow him a potential escape."
"Don't worry. I'll handle that. Just let him talk."The man's eyes sharpened, his face contorting before settling into something close to humanity. "Son of a bitch, what did you do to me?" His voice trembled. "Why can't I move? Why can't I *feel* my anger?"I smiled faintly. "Simple. I optimized your brain. You used to have high input but low output. Now, even mild irritation could fuel a powerful barrier unlike what you've conjured before."
I didn't finish before a sudden burning sensation tore through my left hand. I looked down to see the tattoo fading, burning away like ink under sunlight. My connection to the Dementor state—gone.Then I laughed. Slowly at first, then harder, uncontrollably. "Hahaha! Would you look at that!?" I raised my bare skin to Skidmark's face, still laughing. "No more seal, no more curse. That was easier than I thought!"Relief bled into mania. "You know what? You deserve what's coming. Enjoy being an emotional battery for the Dementors. You'll feed them well." I gestured toward him, and they obeyed, sealing his soul beneath metaphysical gears and circuitry.
"From now on, your name is back to Adam Mustain," I said. "Your record says you disappeared years ago after a minor drug charge. You can blend in easily with that. Lucky enough for your predecessor to have fewer trials than expected."Adam rose from the bed and bowed slightly. "Thank you, master. I am honored."
"No 'master', you're a little slower than John but that would have to do for my plans to succeed." I corrected."Just sir. Now, call squealer and mush—we're heading to John's place. He's waiting outside."I turned to say more, but the world tilted violently. My vision blurred, nausea hit, and I barely managed to whisper, "Oh, not again, Adam tell John that I'm safe and to lead the four of us to his place—." before vomiting the remnants of my last meal.
When I woke, sunlight streamed through a cracked window. My head pounded like a drum. For a moment, I lay there, staring at the ceiling, realizing that I'd done it. I'd built the first true bridge between the living mind and the metaphysical. And in doing so, I'd burned a piece of myself away forever freeing me from the deal I did with the dementors.Still, as the light touched my face, I couldn't help but smile. "Worth it," I whispered, before closing my eyes again.