I call upon the Wightingale, my only undead capable of flight. The plan is to have it guard these Sky-Fish eggs. They're self sufficient once hatched, but before then, the male defends them against predators. With their father now dead, the least I can do is ensure his children are born.
Whilst waiting for the Wightingale, I reach towards the minds of the two Harmekian soldiers. Shadow is much better at the whole 'keeping an eye on the big picture'-thing, so I've more or less got no clue as to the situation with these two.
Ah, I see. Although slightly disorienting, my mind is surprisingly adept at sorting through the memories of those connected to me via Hivemind. Seems that after the last time Shadow was in contact with them directly, they've been traveling to the capital of Harmek.
And now... They're both in a gloomy room, tied to chairs. I take control of the body of the woman, who seems to rapidly blink her eyes before my control is absolute. Their agreed-upon secret signal to tell the other that they're not them anymore... I'm unsure if it's for their own benefit, as my access to their memories means I'm aware of its meaning.
The man, Vasper, situated opposite the woman, pales when seeing her signal, and beads of sweat start forming on his brow despite the temperature of the room being low.
Through some experiments I've done on the three Aurellium members, I've learned that I can channel certain Skills through the bodies I control. Most of them are of the cognitive kind, such as Predict Movement and Keen Hearing. I'm glad to find that Sense Presence also works this way.
The only drawback seems to be a cost of MP that increases as the distance between me and the other body grows longer, so the cost of using Sense Presence is rapidly draining my MP. I scan the room, spotting the human man standing a corner. His shape seems misty, as though he's using a Skill to conceal himself, but I can see him all the same.
"I see you. Why are we here?" I address the shadowy man. Ever so briefly, the hint of a surprised expression appears on his face.
"Ah, pardon me, I'd hoped you'd converse among yourselves in the belief you were alone. You'd be surprised how often people spill their shared secrets if they think they're the only ones listening." The man steps out of the dark, the misty aura fading as he does so.
Recognition, then horror. Those are the emotions of both the soldiers. Spymaster Jax, the Queens' loyal spyglass, all too keen to ensure the secrets of her enemies are laid bare.
"I'm sure you're aware of why you're here. Her Highness refuses to believe your story." He walks over to a plan wooden table, some parts of it seems to be stained with a dark brown substance. I'm unable to see what's on the table from where I'm sitting, but the unmistakable glint of steel when Jax next raises his arm makes it clear what's there.
A small dagger, its edge most likely able to cut skin like it was paper. He caresses the knife theatrically as he turns around to face us. I grit my teeth, knowing full well his intentions. If he's going to force my hand, so be it. I will not let these two be tortured. "So I will be requiring you to tell me what really happened during the fight with the Monarch." Jax flashes a sadistic grin.
Briefly, I release control of the female soldier, Faye, in order to move away from the vulnerable Sky-Fish eggs. I'm in need of more MP regeneration, and Manaphagy set to drain living entities is the most effective. Once I'm out of range, I once again reach my mind out to those of the soldiers.
This time, however, I'm controlling both at once.
Although it's slightly dizzying to have the viewpoints of two people sitting opposite each other, I'm somehow able to make it a split-screen view of sorts. Jax seems to have noticed something is off with them, as he hesitates, raising the dagger he'd been bringing down onto the tip of Faye's index finger.
"Ohoh, s-seems we've got a visitor." His stutter betrays him, shattering the illusion of calm.
"I am the Great Monarch, Millibelle." I speak through both of them at the same time, hoping it will make him realize the truth of the situation. "For what reason do you distrust these soldiers? What they've told you is the truth. At least, part of it." Jax is sweating bullets, clearly not expecting this situation to arise.
"Why are these Harmekian soldiers under your control? What have you done to them?!" He flinches at his own raised voice. He seems to be the kind of person that rarely gets flustered, and once he is, it's not pretty.
"I saved them from certain death as that armor you'd outfitted your Hero with spread Malice onto them, transforming them into a chimeroid abomination. I was unable to save the four others, and they were swallowed up by the Malice." I state, making sure to betray as little emotion as possible.
"Wh-wha-?" Jax is stunned.
"Using my Skills, I secreted them away from the battle, before fighting and killing the Chimerified Hero. However, I was gravely injured in the battle, and I was infected by the Malice as well." I take a pause to reign in my own emotions, as well as those of the two soldiers.
"I just barely managed to Purify myself before I turned Hateful. Before that though, I used Hivemind to join my mind to those of Vasper and Feye here, intending to use them as spies. I sent them back to you, honestly not expecting you to resort to torture to get a version of events that don't paint your Queen as the villain who nearly destroyed all life in the World."
"I-..." Jax's face is an ashy white, and the dagger he's holding slips from his grasp as his hands shake uncontrollably. "Y-you're lying! H-how- why- !?"
I reach my mind out to his via Telepathy. Although not a full bonding, I'm more than able to make him realize the truth of my words by sharing with him my memories of being infected by the Malice. Seems he has some form of training in preventing a two-way communication, and as such I'm only able to extract fragments of his memories in exchange, but what I learn is more than enough for my needs.
"M-Monarch, stop! You're breaking him!" Vesper cries out to me mentally. Indeed, I might have gone a bit too far. Jax's eyes are glossed over, a dribble of saliva in the corner of his mouth as he curls up into a ball in a vain attempt to escape the mental anguish I'm inflicting on him.
"I- I didn't know- S-she didn't know... It was all that Aurellium's doing! He proposed to Her. He provides the resources, She grants the legitimacy, She gains the benefits of having removed the Parshuran Kings greatest asset." He's mumbling incoherently, but his thoughts are finally open for me to see.
I make the most of this moment of weakness. Fully bonding my mind to his, I gain complete control of the Harmekian Spymaster. His knowledge is extensive, and I make sure to copy it and make it my own.
I focus in on Jax's mind. Trying to emulate Shadow's ability to manifest mentally in my own psyche, I drag him into a one on one within his own mind. Let's leave the two soldiers out of these next steps, it seems the punishments, should I mess up, are quite steep.
"W-where are we?" Jax looks around bewildered. I've stabilized his mind by shutting off his fear and stress responses for the time being, so we should be able to converse without his actual state of mind interfering. The mindscape I've created mimics the floating island my real body is currently on top of, so I'm not surprised he's confused.
"We're inside your mind. I thought a little heart to heart was in order." I sit down on my haunches, having deliberately taken my monstrous form in order to disguise my true nature. "I've successfully bonded your mind to mine, and your life now belongs to me." I inform him.
Jax guffaws, perhaps it's due to him currently being incapable of feeling fear or stress, but he is quite nonchalant about the situation it seems. "Was that your plan from the start? Infiltrate the Harmekian government and undoing us from the inside?" He asks.
"My only goal is keeping those in my service safe, and to maintain Balance in the World. Your kingdoms incessant war with Parshura aren't exactly making it easy for me. Of course, I now know the reason for this war, and I intend to end it." I state, coldly.
Indeed, I've learnt the asinine reasons several tens of thousand soldiers on each side has been needlessly killed in this war that's been going on for over thirty years. Typhona Vileclaw blames the King of Parshura, or rather, the father of the current King (I don't think she's aware of that) for the death of her husband, the former King of Harmek. She's also somehow convinced that her malformed child, which died hours after birth, was also the work of the King.
Needless to say, at this point in time, the day to day running of the kingdom is effectively that of a meritocracy with some touches of democracy. All the Queen does is force them to waste resources on a war that has alienated their former allies and killed far too many.
"You can't! Imagine the political fallout if you were to-" Jax begins, but I cut him off.
"I won't be appearing at all. All I need is for you to get into the same room as her, and I'll do the rest."
"H-how?" His fluster is almost cute. Knowing what I know of him now, he is the kind of man that has always prided himself on presenting a cool and collected facade. I consider for a moment whether or not I should tell him.
"... Actually, I think it's best for everyone involved if I know as little as possible. J-just, please, don't do something that incriminates me." He solves my dilemma for me. As for his fear of getting caught, I perfectly understand. After all, the punishment of even attempting regicide in Harmek is the summary execution of the entire family of the convict.
Grandparents, parents, siblings, children, siblings children, grandchildren, siblings grandchildren. An entire lineage, wiped out.
"I won't. Once she is dealt with, I want you to issue an unconditional surrender to Parshura." Let's see how to handle the aftermath...
"That has always been the plan once the Queen dies. Of course, it would also depend on her successor..." He trails off before seeming to realize something. "She... doesn't have one. What would we do then?"
"Why not do away with monarchy? You're already doing ninety nine percent of the whole 'running a nation' without her. Isn't Yo'ud a democracy? Perhaps get some pointers from them?" I float the idea.
"I- could you- please, I have so much to do now, I need to prepare everything!" Jax flusters again as his mind runs rampant with thoughts and plans of how to position himself for the coming political nightmare that will follow the death of the Queen.
"Hm, you should rest first, after all, currently you're not feeling even a third of the emotions you do in real life." I advise.
"Hm, yes, I suppose you're right." He mumbles as I slowly ease control back to him.
"But what about us?" Vesper asks out loud as he and Faye stare at Jax, who has gone from gesturing and talking wordlessly with himself, to laying curled up on the stone floor, fast asleep.
"I'll get you set free, but for now, the safest place is here. Jax will look after you, and once it's safe, I'll let you go." I inform them. Of course, the fact that Jax knows that they're my spies might complicate things, but for now, let's not worry them too much.
I retract my mind from the dimly lit cell in Harmek, waking back up in my own body. There's a patch of dead grass around me. It crumbles to dust as I move about. L-let's not forget to turn that Skill off, shall we?
I yawn and stretch before returning home to catch a few hours of sleep, these next few days are going to be busy indeed.