"Ugh..." Lucian groaned as he felt millions of foreign entities enter his mind. Each one of them demanded something from him. Do this, do that, be this, be that. They were all telling him how to live his life, trying to change his course.
Some were louder and more persuasive, others were quieter but more persistent. The entities never stopped talking, making him unable to think for himself.
The language was foreign but he somehow understood it, like someone's wishes and desires were being passed to him, not through words. Language of the soul was what he would describe it as.
It was maddening to have so many want to take over his body, not in a way where they wanted to become themselves, but in a way where they wanted to use his body, his skills, his knowledge, his relationships, and everything he had built up so far to live the life they wanted.
Not a single entity cared for Lucian, not a single one considered his feelings or his desires. It was all about what they wanted and how they wanted it.
Lucian's body shook with disgust as he reached for a bucket and vomited again.
'Welcome in my world, halfwit,' Voice said, releasing him from the torture, 'I shield you from this on a daily basis, yet all you do is blame me for mistreating you.'
Lucian panted, his body covered in a cold sweat, a bad feeling churning in his gut, 'You sound too tolerating, Voice. It's unlike you.'
'Rules are not made to be broken. I'm only following them.' Voice became eerily calm as it assured itself of not breaking any rules, accepting its own defeat. It already did everything it could to help Lucian fulfill his wish, and all Lucian did was postponing it.
'It has been decided that keeping you alive will only cause trouble,' Voice continued, 'We are going down together, you and me.'
'That's a bit dramatic, don't you think? I'm still alive, and I haven't given up on my goals, Voice. If you are so tired of being my Voice, then just stay silent or ask another one for assistance.'
Lucian felt like his last words were a bit harsh, but he didn't know how else to handle it when Voice suddenly decided to be the one who was giving up.
'I won't stand in the other shackleds' ways. If you want Karina to self-destruct then I won't stop you, I will even help you if I can. Just don't end this, Voice. Please.'
Lucian begged, his fingers bending the bucket he held so hard it began to crack under his fingers.
'So are you going to sleep with another woman?'
'NO!' he rejected the idea the moment Voice brought it up. 'It will only make the wish become more impossible to fulfill.'
'Like you care about the wish,' Voice snorted, 'Who knew giving up would feel this good?'
Lucian roared into the bucket, his scream echoing from the metal as he vomited the hatred he felt for his own powerlessness.
How he couldn't save himself and everyone else in his life who needed his help. How he could only watch as the world conspired against him and his people.
'Do you want to see something interesting?' Voice suddenly asked, as if remembering something.
A scene of Celine being whipped by her father began to play in Lucian's mind, her back bleeding as she took the punishment with her head high. She continued to confess her love for Lucian, even when her father tried to change her mind.
'No, it's not real,' Lucian denied, his stomach twisting from the sight of her scars. 'It's just another one of your tricks to make me angry.'
'It's from another awakened shackled, and they are trying to send you a message. Listen.'
Lucian's eyes snapped up as another Voice joined in, overlapping Celine's image with its words, '...We see everything that goes around our hosts, and she so happened to be close to mine, so I witnessed her punishment. And I'm glad I did. Because now I know how much she loves you—'
'STOP!' Lucian shouted, closing his eyes to shut out the vision with images of a fairy-tale wedding between him and Celine, 'STOP LOOKING AT HER! STAY AWAY FROM HER!'
Another voice came to mock Lucian, 'We will give you one more year to your life. All you have to do is to kiss Bianca Lacroix on the lips exactly like you kiss Celine. A fair deal, don't you think?'
The wooden walls began to crack from the pressure Lucian was exerting.
'We know everything,' yet another voice joined to set Lucian straight, using their combined influence to make him succumb to their whims, 'You think you had gained enough power to take on the world? It's just because we allowed you to. Nothing you have now is out of your own merit. It was all handed to you on a silver platter, and you think you earned it?'
The ship began to tilt, the wood creaking dangerously as Lucian used his last seconds to connect to Lion King.
The feral reacted instantly. Lion Head tapped the ground with his fingers to say his farewell to Celine. She was sleeping on his desk, with her head on her arms, tired from taking care of their son.
"Lucian..." she mumbled in her sleep, her brows furrowed as she moved restlessly, sensing something was wrong.
She glanced down at the feral, who was staring at her with round eyes. She lifted her foot, and he immediately got up from the ground, grabbing a paper and a pen from Lucian's desk. He didn't plan to reveal to her that he could use the astral plan to talk to his people, otherwise his freedom would be restricted. But now was different, he had to inform her.
'The ship is sinking,' Lion Head wrote, 'Take care of our son.'
Celine pushed herself up, her eyes wide, her face pale. She jumped to her feet and grabbed his furry head, "Where is he? Which ship?!"
He saw the fear in her eyes, her worry for Lucian so intense that it burned him even from such a distance.
"I can't live like this anymore," Lion Head continued to write, "They want me dead, and I can't do anything about it. I'm sorry for making you wait for me. I love you."
Lion Head dropped the pen, his own body shaking, unable to withstand his master's unstable state.
Celine screamed at him, shaking him by the shoulders, "What do you mean? What are you saying? Where is Lucian? Tell me! ANSWER ME!"
She was hysterical, her eyes bloodshot, the grip on his hair so strong that it pulled his skin. She screamed for more answers, but Lucian could no longer hear her. The connection was cut off.