Chapter 1055 Aftermath 2
After the words uttered by the floating mouth in the room faded, Daneel began to walk towards one of the groups with determination clearly showing on his face.
The one he had chosen first was the one where he did not need to make a choice. He knew that he would need more time for the other one, so he had decided that he would take these two before going to them.
As soon as he neared those five droplets of blood, an unseen pressure began to press down on his shoulders.
It was faint but unmistakable, and as he marveled at the fact that just a droplet of blood could do so much, he focused his senses and found out that the pressure was coming from the droplet in the center, around which the others were slowly rotating.
What Godbeast was this, that refused to relent even though it was long dead?
With growing curiosity, he reached the droplets of blood and raised his hand, but just as he was about to touch them, the mouth spoke again.
"Study them at length after you leave. The Treasury must not stay open for too long - I urge you to make the choice, and leave quickly. Besides, the droplets are also sealed - these are all beasts who were proud in death, as they were in life. Hence, the Seven had to make a pact with them if their blood was to be stored here - a piece of their consciousness awaits in each droplet, and only if you gain its approval can you access the blood to do with it what you wish. If that does not happen… It will disperse. Tread carefully - all of these Godbeasts had no special love for humans when they were alive, and I doubt that that has changed in death."
Daneel frowned as he heard this, but on further thought, he realized that it was to be expected. As this Treasury was made by God beasts, there was no way that they would defile their brethren by taking their blood without their permission, even if they were dead.
So, he simply stored away the droplets and moved to the other object.
On close analysis, it turned out that all the shapes that were being taken were those of weapons.
"Godly weapons. All of those that we have are yours to see - but you can only take one. It is unprecedented that someone is even being given a choice, so use it well. You do not need to make the choice now - take this object with you, and when you see something that you might need, you can show its image to this trinket, at which time the weapon will be sent to you."
Now that was better. Daneel still remembered the amazement with which he had seen that first Godly weapon that had been shown to him when he arrived at the Treasury. Now that he could pick what he wanted, he was excited.
He did not think that the Treasury was being miserly by only offering him one. On hearing the mouth speak, he had gotten the suspicion that the existence of these weapons might be somehow tied to the existence of this Treasury, itself, and all the formations that were being maintained actively to conceal it, so without asking questions, he moved to the other group.
What awaited him here was something that he could never have expected.
Even after he read the text above the tablets, he could only blink and wonder whether he had entered a dream.
If so, it was a beautiful one, and he did not want to wake.
Blinking again and deciding to come back to reality, Daneel narrowed his eyes and began to carefully read through the texts once again, enunciating each word in his mouth so that he would not mistake its meaning.
'The Beast Within: Long studies carried out by multiple Godbeast scholars have discovered the fact that inside every living being, there lies a beast which can be awakened. This is simply a way to express the idea that one's consciousness can be taken through a few steps, which will result in the body being able to act as a conduit. This conduit would be able to directly channel Energy without needing to absorb it. Essentially, it would be like a shortcut being taken in the path that one typically follows if they pursue the mastery of magic, or that of the body. Instead of having to take time to slowly increase the capacity of one's body to store Energy and study elementary particles, these two steps are removed, thereby allowing even a base form of one's species to act as an experienced Mage, or a tempered Fighter. In short, an entire species can be empowered to become higher Energy beings for a short bit of time. The drawback is the permanent aging of all of these bodies and consciousnesses. Depending on the time for which this empowerment is activated, 10 to 50 years of one's lifespan will be shaved away. In exchange, an entire country can defeat one even many times more powerful than itself, in case enough Energy resources are available. Research has been stopped due to the cruelty being inflicted on all test subjects. However, the method is complete. Developed by Divine Elephant Ashlot.'
'Hivemind: Modelled after the study of the consciousness of the Great Mother Ant, Hepshoba, this technique allows a species to connect their minds together in order to wield an extremely powerful weapon. If the core of the continent can be accessed, this can be converted into a weapon that will need this technique to be used, if the intention is to use the core Energy of the continent destructively. The long-term effects of such an act are unknown, but in the face of extermination, one can say that the technique would be justified. Technique was given to the Emperor after he swore an oath that he would forget about it if he chose not to use it. The Emperor declined on the grounds that it would take too long to ally enough people behind him and train them to work together, as, at the time of the war, there were multiple groups who blamed him and would not be fighting if they could avoid it. There were also many rivalries between the groups of residents of the continent, too, so as trust is needed first and foremost, the technique would not have worked. There is also the matter of the cost: if this technique is used correctly, the probability of at least 10% of the individuals who make up the Hivemind going insane is high. This has been modeled after the general study of a species, where it is the norm to expect weaker minds to be present, which will not be able to handle the stress. However, because it is impossible to find out which are weaker and which are stronger in this aspect, the sacrifice has to be made if the technique is to be used. Developed by Great Arachnid Jabbar.'