But the second half of the price, that was the blade against their throats. The prospect of becoming an "empty husk," a hollow vessel of gnawing, soul darkening envy, paralyzed them. To lose their status was unthinkable, but to lose their minds? To spend the rest of their now long life as a silent, impotent spectator to the ascension of others, trapped within the sterile walls of their own intellect while their potential rotted?
It was a fate far worse than death for beings who defined themselves entirely by their own genius.
Countless oracle watched as the figures they have lead freeze. A ripple of retreat moved through the ranks as the weaker-willed stepped backward, their eyes darting nervously between the glowing transcript and the looming, shadowed form of the Oracle. Others remained rooted to the spot, paralyzed by a mixture of ambition and primal fear, too terrified to move forward, yet too obsessed to turn away.
Then, the static of the world seemed to tear.
