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Chapter 9.23 GGGGGGGGG is the 31st chapter of Volume 9. The Gs all stand for Geneva Scala.
- Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of bodily horror, gaslighting, suicide, mental control, mental abuse, and torture.
tl;dr[edit | edit source]
- Geneva attempts multiple escapes, but it isn't until Niers is outside and the Second Mind sacrifices itself and the whole citadel that she is able to break free from The Minds.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Geneva's mind tampering that was revealed at the end of the previous chapter was truly damning proof that the Minacien Wall had been breached. The Second Mind acted swiftly, but it alone could not breach the citadel to reach other Minds. Even worse, it had no allies. All five other Minds were united against it as a battle raged for over nine hours between them. The result was inevitable. The following day when Geneva reported to the minds, the Second Mind was reported as alive. It was mentally beaten down into submission until they all thought alike. Geneva did all that she could from there which was mainly to get back to work.
During an experiment where she wanted to test the Periodic Table and magic, Geneva got a sample of Selphid flesh under a microscope and found it to be completely foreign. The cells themselves had no nuclei and had jagged edges that grew like fruit on a vine - completely different than any cell humans have ever seen. She dreamt that night of a Selphid-Geneva taunting her about the futility of her situation. She saw the other side of the Minacien Wall as she and the Second Mind drowned behind it. Geneva woke in a frenzy and tore through her belongings until she found a piece of flesh from A'ctelios Salash that turned out to be very similar to the Selphid sample she'd looked at previously showing that the two had some sort of common ancestry or relation. The following day, she reported this to the Minds, and they swore her to silence with which she naturally agreed. Geneva also entered the body of the First Mind and had blood drawn from her while she was there. From there, the Minds showed her bodies in their deepest floors that had once been dead but had been brought back to some semblance of life albeit with no levels or classes. Geneva tried to stop this, but did not get a satisfactory guarantee and was brought back up against her will.
Geneva's mind got more muddled in the following days. Her sleep was not fulfilling her, and her one ally in Contradiction was fading as well. It gathered the mental fortitude to remind her of the past by showing Geneva Okasha stuck in a jar and letting the two talk, but they could do nothing else. When Okasha was brought forth a second time Geneva forgave her and promised to speak to the Minds about the selphid's treatment, but she knew they would do nothing. Instead, she put in place a plan to end her own torment. She set herself to wake up in the middle of the night and poison herself by eating a piece of Tombhome's flesh. She was stopped from this at the last moment by Ressk and a few other selphids that realized the horrible path their Minds were going down. They had fought their way to her and attempted to fight their way out to the Titan. They took heavy casualties trying to escape and eventually made it to the second floor where they encountered Calectus. Calectus killed the remaining rebels leaving Geneva with only her original choice of eating the flesh of A'ctelios Salash, but even this was taken away from her by the Second Mind who knocked it from her hand. The days thereafter grew even more bleak. Contradiction stopped interacting with the outside world entirely and the Selphid-Geneva continued to taunt her. On the final day Geneva regained full lucidity, but at this point it was too late.
Niers finally arrived at the Gathering Citadel after making preparations with fellow fraerlings. They knew how to make Selphite and had a few pieces of the gear still usable. He announced his presence and brought forth those under his command. Notably he had a Rustängmarder still under contract named Theilo that he brought with as well as Eirnos and other affiliated fraerlings. Once Niers was gathered outside, Geneva and Contradiction gathered themselves once more. Contradiction would go to try to speak reason to the other Minds and Geneva would make a run for it to try and escape towards Niers. They pled for Idis' cooperation, and after an inner debate, she refused by trying to announce the traitors' plans. Contradiction killed her before she could get much out, and he gave Geneva Okasha once more so she could walk. Contradiction went down to the other minds and told them of their plans by making one final plea. They refused and announced that The Second Mind would be merged to the others. Not only this though, but in the process they would all merge together. Geneva's escape was also thwarted by a real-life Selphid-Geneva. The Selphid had been born partially from Geneva but also from the Minds and therefore had all of Geneva's doctoral knowledge combined with the strength of Galas Muscle and loyalty to the Minds. The Minds had used the sample from Geneva earlier to make clones of her, and their final plan was to destroy the source. Geneva was brought down to the basement while the Selphids appeased Niers outside. Calectus told Niers that Geneva would be presented to him unharmed in thirty minutes, but he would not wait that long. Theilo had a skill to sense honor and despite Calectus being an [Honor Guard], he found none. Niers began his attack as Geneva was being killed downstairs.
At the time of her death, Geneva realized all of the ways she had been altered in the past. Many inconsistencies in her personality and actions primarily dealing with her willingness to act in the sole benefit of the selphids was revealed to her. She temporarily stopped her death with [Hemostatic Pause] and showed what the Minds could never change: the fact that she was a doctor. The other clones around her rose up as Geneva and together with Okasha and sheer numbers managed to overpower the Selphid-Geneva. Geneva saved the selphid's life at the end due to her code of ethics and the Genevas scattered towards the surface. Above, the citadel was in chaos. The Second Mind did not go down quietly, instead it ate the flesh from tombhome keeping a small portion of itself sane. When the other Minds went to merge with it, the poison from A'ctelios Salash spread as a ravenous hunger. This hunger quickly got out of hand and with the lack of control from the other Minds, the Second Mind was able to lift up the citadel revealing better entrances to Niers. The Second Mind renamed itself as Redemption and with its last strength announced to the world that the Minds here had breached the Minacien Wall bringing destruction down on the citadel. Niers slowed the destruction for long enough that some Genevas could survive, and she finally met him and escaped her imprisonment. She had her negative conditions removed and evolved her class once more into [Psychic Surgeon].
Characters[edit | edit source]
( * = First Appearance)
- Geneva Scala
- Idis (Deceased)
- Calectus (Deceased)
- Second Mind / Contradiction → Redemption (Deceased)
- Combined Mind (Made → Corrupted → Deceased)
- Third Mind / Dictum (Deceased)
- First Mind / Continuum (Deceased)
- Fourth Mind / Inconsolable (Deceased)
- Fifth Mind / Sympathy (Deceased)
- Sixth Mind / Egress (Deceased)
- Niers Astoragon
- Foliana
- Shoike *
- Eirnos
- Gindal
- Barlevos (Name Revealed ? ) - Geneva's college classmate (Flashback)
- ? - Earth's Coroner (Flashback)
- Okasha
- Ressk (Deceased)
- Seve-Alrelious (Mentioned / Mental Image)
- Selphid's rebels (x17) (All Deceased)
- ? - [Rogue] of Forgotten Wing Company *
- Theilo *
- Selphid-Geneva (Geneva's altered mental copy clone) *
- ? - [Mage] of Forgotten Wing Company *
- Geneva's true mental copy clones (Created - Some Deceased) *
- Beastkin-Geneva
- Dullahan-Geneva
- Lizardwoman-Geneva
- Drake-Geneva (Deceased)
- Human-Geneva (Deceased?)
- Drowned Woman-Geneva
- Oldblood Drake-Geneva
- Gnoll-Geneva
- Garuda-Geneva
- ? - 1st Mind [Psychic Guardian] (Deceased) *
- Noa (Mental Image)
- ? - [Barrier Magus] of Forgotten Wing Company *
- Minds of Baleros (x10) (Mentioned)
- Othius the Fourth
- ? - [Emperor] of Drath
- Gwelin Fellstrider
- Fetohep
- ? - Keyholder of Samal *
- Feor (?)
Locations[edit | edit source]
- Baleros
- Gathering Citadel - The one Geneva is held in (Destroyed)
- Itelloi / Itelloi Under Shadows
- Rhir
- Drath Archipelago
- Chandrar
- Terandria
- Wistram Academy
Undead[edit | edit source]
- Ghouls
- Draugr
Creatures[edit | edit source]
- Old One (Deceased)
Items[edit | edit source]
- Selrite gear
- Microscope
- Galas-muscle
- A’ctelios Salash's flesh/meat (Eaten)
- Healing crystals
- Arrows of Razzimir
- Tier 7 scroll of [Zone of Slow Time] (Used)
Statistics[edit | edit source]
Geneva Scala[edit | edit source]
- Classes/Levels: Revealed and Removed = [Prisoner of the Minds]
- Conditions Revealed and Removed = [Haze of Delirium] + [Corruption’s Accomplice]
- Conditions Met: [Surgeon] → [Psychic Surgeon]
- Class Consolidation to [Psychic Surgeon]: [Telepath]
- Classes/Levels = [Psychic Surgeon] Lv. 37 (+1)
- Skills = [Greater Resistance: Mental] + [Enhanced Telekinesis] + [Dexterity of Thought] + [Enhanced Telepathy] + [My Oath Binds You Like My Conviction]