The next morning, Regus found himself once again standing before Group Fourteen. It was time for the third and final test, the power output measure. Per his request, Anguis had loaded them up on power before coming to the field for the test.
They hadn't slept that night, at all. After Ardena had left, Anguis had made his way to their room, and then lay on the bed and closed his eyes. Regus had expected the Council to be called, but that was not the case. Instead, they got no sleep at all. The remainder of Anguis's energy had allowed them to stay up without any perceptible negative effects. They would have to experiment more on that before trusting it, however.
Regus had been looking forward to discovering their third fusion, but that could wait. Perhaps tonight there would be time.
Once again, Ardena was there. Ostensibly she was walking among the groups, but Regus knew she was watching him intently. Anguis confirmed it without a doubt.
Regus let out a breath. He could still feel Ardena's power faintly. It seemed that what reset his abilities was when the original power ran out and he didn't leave it any fuel, but there was also a hard reset at night when they slept, and his duality faded. That meant that since he and Anguis had remained in control this entire time, he still had Ardena's ability.
He felt the third duality begin to surface, theorizing about how exactly he replicated others' abilities, but Regus focused on the orb in front of him.
The third test wasn't an impact measure, but instead a battery of sorts, simply a large crystal designed to absorb power, and after the test was conducted, a metal plate would be pressed to the bottom of it, projecting the light out.
The brighter the light, the stronger you were. Peter, Rowan, Samantha, and John had already gone. John's had glowed a respectable brightness, Peter's had been weak, and Rowan had gotten somewhere in the middle. Samantha had walked up to the podium, stood there for a minute as the timer ticked down, then walked unceremoniously off the raised platform. Not a spark of light.
Regus's goal was to detonate the crystal. That was part of why he had gone last. But mostly it was because many other groups were done. Because Group Fourteen's cycling had been slower than the other groups, after waiting only half a minute once he got up on the podium, most of the students were congregated to watch him. He had made quite an impression to have drawn so many, though perhaps more than half of them were simply following the crowd.
He thought he had enough power to do it. Regus had allowed Anguis's power into his stores as he had absorbed it, meaning their stores were both overwhelmed and almost overflowing.
Regus raised his hand up, and the murmuring crowd slowly quieted.
"I am done toying with results!" Regus shouted, his voice booming through the crowd thanks to a slight power release from Anguis beforehand. "This world will soon know me for who I am! You have the unique option to be the first to support my reign!
"I would act as though we were brethren, but the time for subtlety has finished! These past two days, you have seen my power! Together, we can rewrite this world! The Academy seeks to control us, but we will not let them! If they want soldiers, then let us give them soldiers! Let us together become the strongest battalion! With our unique gifts, each piece placed perfectly, we are stronger than any that have come before!"
Regus paused, looking over the crowd of students. Some were still confused, but a large majority were taking it quite well, puffing themselves up.
But that was only the first year students. Anyone with a badge was furious. The Academy was supposed to be theirs, after all. They would fight him. He never expected this to be quite that easy, but he didn't intend to spend any more time trying to hide his strength.
"So, who will join me?" Regus asked after giving them a minute to think over it. Even more were drawn into the crowd, even some of the Academy staff and on-site researchers. Regus didn't challenge them, not yet.
They would slowly become terrified of him, and then he would strike, taking over this institution for himself.
Hands raised, some eager, some more hesitant. Everyone else filtered back, until there was a crowd of first year students in front of him, with the occasional higher student among them, surrounded by other students and adults, radiating out like he was the center of a wheel.
Regus could see the dark expressions on the faces of the older students. They were going to attack him if he didn't output enough power. Even the highest assessment possible wouldn't be enough to stop them with their confidence in numbers.
If I was a betting man... Anguis began the thought, but Regus cut him off. They had a more pressing issue. This had to be handled with care and precision.
Regus's eyes found Ardena's. She was there as well, standing in the middle of the audience. Around her was a small circle of space, and although no one else could see it, Anguis notified Regus that her gaze was too intense, too focused, to be simple observation. He thought they truly had her wrapped around their finger, but Regus wasn't quite sure. He was slow to trust anyone, especially someone who had fallen so easily.
Regus turned on his heel, pivoting precisely to face the orb. The overseer that had been there had already stepped aside, not wanting to be the one to get in the way.
Regus took a step forward, then another. Each movement became harder as his nature frayed. There was too much attention, too much, all on him. Regus grit his teeth, activating his ability. A small orange glow appeared in the center of his palm. A hint of Ardena's power. he rolled the plasma around with the telekinesis, and the repetitive motion eased him slightly, allowing him to take the next step, and the ability bound his mind tighter together. The expenditure of energy he allowed was so small that no one would be able to see it inside his hand, closed in a fist but not clenched, and it wouldn't bite too deeply into his power reserves.
Regus stood in front of the orb, practically touching it already, and he carefully released a small amount of power, enough to make it begin to glow.
But the performance wasn't done yet.
The overseer wasn't very surprised. After all, many people had aura abilities, and they wouldn't need to touch it to make it glow. In fact, he seemed a bit disappointed, and was already writing something.
Then Regus touched it.
A blinding white light shot forth as he poured all of his power into it, then he ceded control to Anguis, who also forced his power into it.
Anguis was tense, but he faded back into Regus without much trouble.
He waited for half a minute before he heard the jarring sound, like the shout of warring titans, slamming into his ears and tearing something inside them. Luckily, Anguis's power around him was enough to heal his ears and eyes before the others.
Regus blinked slowly, testing his raw eyes, and he grit his teeth as his eyelids scraped across the raw flesh. Everything hurt. He should have known that this was a bad idea.
Regus blinked again, swiftly this time to get it over with, and he sighed softly in relief as moisture poured back into his eyes, lubricating them enough so that the pain quickly faded as he rapidly batted his eyes.
He really was lucky that some of Anguis's power had been too much, because if he hadn't healed as quickly as he had, he would have been seen being hurt by his own ability, and that would make it that much harder for him to climb to the top in esteem.
Regus looked down, and there it was. The entire stand it was on was melted into the wooden pedestal, and the crystal itself lay in pieces, shattered.
Regus turned, slowly in case anyone was recovered, and waited. It was a few minutes before the series of students began to buzz, and that quickly built into a roar of blunt noise that hit his recently repaired ears like a wall, almost causing him to flinch. Only his solid stance kept him still. Before pain that one hadn't experienced, resolve was rarely enough.
Regus raised a hand into the air, and the hush that fell was immediate and deafening. Not even the older students had seen this before. Some were disgusted, others angry, and of course, some had hungry or jealous eyes.
Instead of speaking, Regus let a lazy smirk spread across his face, then he lowered his hand and drew his forefinger across his upper lip, wiping away the single drop of blood that he had felt trailing down from his nose. He extended his hand out, and the eyes were fixed on the single red spot. As it was about to fall, Regus flicked his finger, and it flew out into the crowd.
He lowered his hand, his smirk still in place, and the roars built to a crescendo again. Some were furious, but others shouted encouragement or fealty.
And Regus, he basked in it.
This was right.
Welcome to my reign.