And then another.
“Perfect! Ready for another?”
He’d never heard her sound so excited. It took Varius a second to find his speech again. “Yes.”
There was no possible other answer. Not now.
Theira added another golem, and another, and Varius adjusted.
He tried different movements, testing their range of motion, their speed, their strength. A controlled punch was difficult because they didn’t coil or spring well, but a swing of the arm would be deadly. He felt resistance when he hit another golem as strong as the first, but no reverberating pain. And after a quick adjustment from Theira, the cursed things could jump—Varius could level a house in one move like that, smashing through the roof.
Once he had the hang of controlling them separately, he told Theira, “Give me all of them.”
A beat. “Are you sure?”
Was she hesitating, now that she’d granted him access to this terrifying power? No, she could disconnect him at any time—this was worry for him. “I need to know what I’m working with.”
She took him at his word. “One full golem army, here you go.”
And then it was like Varius’ brain exploded.
He didn’t know what his real eyes were seeing. He could see at the same time everything the golems could see—all of them at once. And he was aware, suddenly, of all the different bodies around him, like they were extensions of himself.
What would it be like, to command an army like this?
Could his mind truly handle this?
Varius took a breath.
With the whole golem army, he took one single step.
Boom.The sound resounded through the underground.
Then another.
His head felt like it was splitting from the pressure.Just one more step.
Just one more.
Just one more—
Varius’ eyes snapped wide.
“Varius?” Theira’s voice, almost distant. “Are you still with me?”
In answer, Varius took another step.
Then a separate golem took a step at a different time.
And another.
Slowly, breathing deeply, Varius moved hundreds of monstrous clay warriors with his mind as if running an army maneuver, like the most precise of his soldiers in tandem.
Inexorably, they surrounded where Theira stood tall in the center of the arena, her hair floating wildly around her. He arrayed the solid clay forms he controlled around her.
And then every golem but his bent down on one knee, while Varius’ extended a hand.
“I’m with you,” he said. “Let’s see what we can do together.”
