Chapter 226: One With The Colony

By the time they returned to Climber Rift, the sky had already begun turning orange beneath the thick clouds. The settlement was noticeably busier than when they had left that morning.

Freebound patrols moved through every street in pairs, checking inns, taverns and temporary shelters while occasionally escorting restrained civilians toward the quarantine camp outside the settlement.

The atmosphere had become tense enough that even the merchants lowered their voices, sensing that something far more dangerous than the Eternal Snow was quietly unfolding around them.

As soon as the truck entered the main gate, Jade unfastened her seatbelt and turned toward Gideon, her expression already focused.

"I’ll arrange the meeting with the Merchant Guild and a couple of smaller guilds first," she said.

"We need people who understand northern aberrants, and if anyone has experience with long-range weaponry or containment strategies, I want them involved. This isn’t something we can handle with guesswork."

Gideon gave a small nod, his gaze still fixed ahead.

"Good. Make sure they understand the urgency," he replied. "We don’t have the luxury of delays. I’ll head to the containment camp with Patrick and assess the situation there. Once you’ve gathered everyone, send someone to notify me immediately. I don’t want to waste time repeating information."

Without another word, Jade called several of her subordinates over and began issuing rapid instructions. Within moments, they dispersed in different directions across the settlement, leaving Gideon and Patrick to continue toward the quarantine camp.

The old professor quietly looked outside the window throughout the journey, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee as if organizing thoughts he hadn’t yet spoken aloud.

When the camp finally came into view, even Patrick’s brows slowly knitted together.

The place had changed dramatically in only a few days.

More containment tents had been erected around the original compound until they almost resembled a small military base. Armed Freebound’s members stood at every entrance while medical staff wearing thick protective clothing moved continuously between isolation units carrying reports, medicine and food.

Even before stepping out of the truck, Gideon could already hear muffled shouting coming from several tents, followed by the sound of someone repeatedly hitting metal restraints.

"It’s getting crowded," Gideon muttered, his voice low but edged with concern.

He sent most of the staff he hired from the system there to help with the Climber Rift since they didn’t need to worry about Jace too much. He also lends them tents and everything they need, in return Freebound pays it with cores or information.

Patrick let out a tired sigh, rubbing his temple.

"Much faster than I expected," he admitted. "When we first set this place up, I thought we’d have at least a week before things escalated to this level. But whatever this is... it’s spreading quicker than any known infection I’ve studied."

Gideon glanced at him briefly. "Or maybe we are just too late to notice the infection. The Eagle Union members probably infected lots of people even before the winter."

The moment they entered the main medical tent, several nurses greeted Patrick before returning to their work almost immediately. Every containment cube inside had already been occupied.

Before he could observe further, two familiar figures approached from the opposite side of the tent.

Violet removed her gloves while walking over, her movements slightly sluggish.

"Professor," she greeted, though her voice carried clear exhaustion.

Azul nodded toward both of them. "Chief. You’re back sooner than expected."

Patrick immediately noticed the exhaustion on both twins’ faces. "You haven’t slept, how long has it been?"

Violet gave a faint, helpless smile. "Long enough that I’ve stopped counting. But we can’t afford to rest right now. Not when things are getting worse by the hour."

Azul opened the notebook in his hand, flipping through several pages filled with hurried notes.

"The man Aaron and Kilian brought this afternoon is awake and stable. We’ve been monitoring him closely. We’ve kept him inside the reinforced containment room exactly as instructed. He’s calm most of the time especially after we give him sedative, cooperative even. He answers simple questions without resistance."

Patrick exchanged a glance with Gideon. "Then let’s not waste any more time. If he’s still coherent, we might be able to get something useful out of him."

Gideon gave a slight nod. "Lead the way."

The reinforced isolation room stood at the very end of the camp, separated from every other patient by another layer of steel fencing and thick transparent walls reinforced with metal frames.

Two armed guards stood outside the entrance without moving an inch, only opening the security door after confirming Gideon’s identity.

The man named Ethan—based on the report Azul gave to him—sat quietly on the bed inside the room.

Both of his wrists and ankles remained restrained, but he looked surprisingly calm. He even lifted his head and smiled when he noticed people standing behind the reinforced glass.

Patrick picked up the intercom connected to the room, adjusting it slightly before speaking.

"My name is Patrick," he began, his tone measured and steady. "I’m one of the people overseeing this facility. We’re here to understand what’s happening to you and others like you."

Ethan tilted his head slightly, his smile lingering.

"Hello, Patrick," he replied softly. "It’s nice to meet you. You seem... different from the others."

Patrick didn’t react to the comment. "I’m going to ask you several questions, I need you to answer them as clearly as you can. Can you do that?"

Ethan nodded slowly. "I can try... as long as the voices don’t interrupt and honesty, whatever you give me is working... my head is clearer now."

Patrick exchanged a brief glance with Gideon before continuing.

"What is your name?"

"Ethan Walker. I think you know it, the young man asking me the same thing a moment ago."

"We just want to confirm again. How about your age?"

"Twenty-six."

Patrick wrote each answer carefully into his notebook before moving on.

"Where did you come from, Ethan? Think carefully before you answer."

Ethan’s smile faded slightly. "I don’t remember. It’s like... that part of me is gone. Something gone from my memories like a black hole."

He clenched his clothes, clearly nervous.

"When was the last thing you remember clearly?" Patrick pressed.

Ethan frowned, his brows knitting together as he struggled to recall.

"I..." He paused for several seconds before rubbing his temple against his shoulder. "I remember walking. Just walking for a long time."

"Walking where? Did the voice tell you to do it?" Patrick asked gently.

"...Somewhere warm," Ethan replied, his voice softening and nodded, "Yes, yes, that voice keeps guiding me and sometimes I feel like I’ve gone crazy. I can’t control my mind. It feels weird, I’m so scared." He covered both of his ears and started to shake.

His answer immediately caught Gideon’s attention. Turns out the man was the same as Jade, the parasite control–even when it only changed their perception of reality—was strong enough their body couldn’t fight it back.

"Why did you come to Climber Rift?" he asked. "What brought you here specifically?"

Ethan’s smile slowly returned. "To build a colony," he said.

His body started to turn calm, not shaking like a moment ago as if he got back his control all of a sudden.

"What colony?" he asked. "Explain it to me."

"The colony," Ethan repeated, as if the answer should have been obvious.

His smile gradually widened. "The voices told us there were many lonely people here. People who were cold, afraid, disconnected. They wanted us to help them. To bring them together."

He slowly closed his eyes as though listening to someone standing beside him.

"No one should be alone," he whispered. "Everyone should become part of the colony. That’s what they said. That’s what they promised."

Patrick’s pen briefly stopped moving. "Who are ’they’, Ethan? The voices you keep mentioning, what are they?"

"The voices," Ethan replied simply. "You cannot simply know and comprehend if you aren’t part of us. No, you would never be able to. That’s why come, follow us, we will bring you to a warm place."

The man suddenly stood up and approached the containment glass and pressed his head into this. His smile never went away, it got bigger even making both Patrick and Gideon step back.

The effect of the sedative probably was gone.

"How many voices are there?" Patrick pressed.

"Why don’t you join us? You will understand if you do that. You will hear them like I do."

"Patrick, I don’t think it’s working. He won’t be able to answer anything anymore if you don’t give him the sedative."

"I know, I wanted to know how the parasite manipulates the host and how smart it is." Patrick said, his voice was still as calm as ever, "Let me ask you one more question."

"What happened to the Eagle Union?" he asked, his tone sharpening slightly. "Do you know anything about them?"

The smile instantly disappeared from Ethan’s face.His breathing became noticeably heavier.

Patrick repeated the question, more firmly this time.

"Ethan, what happened to the Eagle Union?"

Ethan’s shoulders suddenly began trembling.

"I..." he stammered.

His expression twisted in pain.

"I don’t—"

The restraints rattled violently as he started pulling against them.

"They..." he gasped.

He slammed the back of his head against the reinforced wall with enough force to make Violet instinctively take a step forward.

"They’re—"

Another loud bang echoed through the room.

Blood slowly trickled down the back of Ethan’s neck, yet he continued smashing his own head against the wall over and over again as though trying to destroy something inside his skull.

Patrick immediately grabbed the intercom. "Ethan! Stop! You’re hurting yourself! Listen to me, focus on my voice!"

But Ethan didn’t listen. His eyes gradually lost focus before widening unnaturally.

"They’re one with the colony! Inside that disgusting slug" he screamed as if he was able to free from the parasite, "Help me! I don’t want to end up like them!"