"What about my magic?" Konrad whispered on his way out of Pripyat. "You said you'd find a solution, but won't tell me anything."
He scouted forward while diverting patrols if he had to.
Or rather, letting the brain do it, as he was still completely useless.
And sick of that feeling.
'Oh, sorry,' the voice snickered. 'Didn't you complain that I aired your secrets out? Or poked my nose where it didn't belong? Not that I have one, mind you, but—'
"Don't act like you couldn't tell me stuff without others hearing it," he scoffed.
And they were alone now, anyway, crossing the street behind the laundromat.
Hold on. Did those bastards bring a second tank?!
'That's a BTR-1,' the brain corrected. 'Armored troop transport.'
Okay. Great, but—wasn't he changing the topic?
'You're the one avoiding it,' the voice accused. 'You already figured out what's wrong with your mana, but you're too afraid to fix it because of some rumors—'
"You mean what Welf told me?" Konrad grunted, pulling behind cover.
He had to give it to those Monolith guys; their patrols were like clockwork.
'Yeah. That priest—sorry, shaman with the exploding head.'
He got the chills.
And it was already a cold night. Was it snowing, too?
At least the clouds blocked the moon so he could hide in the dark.
'Who's changing the topic now?' the parallel brain mocked. 'You're the one who knew what to do, even without me. And despite me confirming your theory—'
A patrol passed him too close, Konrad holding his breath.
The chitin guys with their heavy machine guns and Psyonic shielding. Ugh.
'Exoskeleton,' the voice corrected. 'But, yeah. The Blowout had corrupted your mana. It's still there; your pool's full, you're only numb to it somehow.'
Which described his feeling pretty well.
Or rather, the lack thereof.
Konrad tried meditating. Opening cracks between worlds—which didn't work in Tokyo, but he had already done it in the Zone. And nothing. He could no longer feel his essence.
'You did when you played guitar,' the brain pointed out. 'And you still drag it everywhere.'
Which was true, but that was a tiny amount—and the new mana got corrupted again.
'That's why you have to expel it all at once, and you know very well how.'
Ugh. He did have an idea—or a tool, rather, that he also carried in his guitar case.
But again, to chew on those crystals and either break his teeth or explode his head—
Neither of those seemed like a good solution.
'Well, I do have an alternative for you,' the voice offered once the patrol finally passed. 'If you gave that spoiled mana to me, I could put it to good use and become stronger.'
Oh boy. As if he wasn't already overpowered enough.
Konrad didn't respond immediately.
He waved the rest of his group while sneaking into his next position.
'See, I can offer you all the solutions if you're too afraid to use them,' the brain scoffed. 'This is why I didn't bring it up earlier—why paint my carrier as a coward?'
"Oh, so that's your angle now?" Konrad grumbled. "Trying to tease me into giving you—"
'What? Unlimited power?' the voice asked as he dropped behind cover again.
Another patrol? Shouldn't the brain have warned him?
'See. We're way past that point,' he whispered instead. 'You have to depend on me despite all your grumbling. But at the same time, you still don't trust me.'
"Evil monologues like this are one of the reasons," Konrad noted, voice low.
He heard an engine roar to life, and the next thing he knew, that BTR drove past him.
The darkness was a double-edged sword.
His hearing felt much sharper than usual, and every little sound made him jump.
'It's me being honest,' the voice claimed. 'We both know I could've brainwashed you a long time ago. But I'm not so stupid to piss off your demigod friends. Why are you even afraid of—'
"Giving you true, unlimited power?" he grunted. "Yeah. That's exactly why."
He was no match for this thing, and was very much aware of it.
Before going down that lab? He could have handled the parallel brain, but not anymore.
So knowing that even his corrupted mana could make him stronger—
How much more powerful?!
At what point would this brain decide that Lily and Gabrielle were no longer threats?
And what would happen after that?!
'Ugh, man. You sure are a scaredy-cat,' the voice sighed. 'Then don't give me your mana. Expel the corrupt essence with a full overcharge. Except, of course, you're afraid of that, too—'
"Well, duh," Konrad scoffed. "Exploding isn't much better than becoming your slave."
And, something, in fact, exploded in the distance.
The wind brought the sound of small arms fire towards him, too.
A stark reminder that he should have kept his voice down.
'So you're scared and have no confidence,' the brain summarized. 'Should charge you for being your therapist. Not like I have anything better to do—since we won't achieve anything like this.'
Konrad let out a deep sigh, but at least he kept a yell in.
'Am I wrong? You cry about being useless without magic, but are too afraid to get it back. If you think I'm so powerful, rein me in with your spells—or you already gave up?'
Yeah. He wasn't sure whether he could overpower the brain, magic or not.
And the risks were too great.
It wasn't only about him, after all, but the entire world.
Many worlds, actually.
If he failed, Lucifer would remain unstoppable, and whatever his plans were—
'Delusion of grandeur?' the voice interrupted again. 'That's new. So you're too important to fail, or to take risks, but you go into that Powerplant like this, hoping for the best. Now, that's funny.'
Ugh. Konrad hated the fact that every word sounded true.
'Because they are,' the parallel brain claimed. 'And don't you dare come at me with this brainwashing crap. If I wanted to, I could have done it long before going down that lab.'
Yep. He believed that, too.
That was the problem.
What if—assuming he didn't explode—Konrad got his magic back, and he was still too weak?
Still useless, no matter what, and instead of his demigod wives, now he had to rely on a brain floating in a tank. But unlike those women, this ally would not hesitate to betray him.
'That's cute,' the voice scoffed. 'Yes. Pretend that your first wife didn't ruin your life already.'
Ugh. Touché.
'Or that Gabrielle didn't use you—and still does—for her overarching heavenly plans? This is sexism. Hot girls can have their ways with you, but if it's nothing but a floating brain—'
"Okay, now you're being ridiculous," Konrad whispered, suppressing a laugh.
But there were still too many Monolith soldiers around.
'Am I, though? Prove me wrong. I know I'll never have any, but it'd be about time you grew some balls. And if you're so afraid of my power, get yours back, and show who's boss.'
Yeah. He would if he could.
But his own indecision had already paralyzed him.
"We're out," Strelok grunted, appearing by his side. Dmitry sighed, too.
"Whew, that was nerve-wracking."
Hah. And they didn't have to go through the conversation he had.
Which was—for all intents and purposes—still far from over yet.