The hivemind is conquering for me?

Everyone present was understandably shocked by my sudden declaration of my health, but Valerica being the elder that she was, realised I was not panicked in the slightest, and considering that I did not seem saddened by my news, assumed something else was happening in the undercurrent.

Getting a grip on the situation before the others present begin clucking, she calmly said. "Now Apollo, I assume by your calm demeanour, that you are prepared to deal with this 'Psionic decay' you speak of."

Hearing Valerica talk calmly, had an aura like effect and the women who were about to fly of the hinge, calmed down as they waiting for me to respond. Looking at the three women, I put down my food and nodded my head as I replied.

"Yes, I have had my Psionic decay for a short while already. I was already planning on going home to deal with it as I had plenty of time, but with the Anti Psionic energy, and this is speculation as I have ran no tests yet, destroying some of my genetic code, It has weakened my body considerably and pushed the timetable up by quite a margin. Thankful, I already know how to treat my condition."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Intriguing. Apollo, if I may. Psionic decay is a serious condition. I have known many a powerful Psionic wielder to end up perishing to it after pushing their body too far. How do you propose to treat your condition?" Nerissa chimed in from the side.

I paused a moment after Nerissa asked that. Kathrine and Valerica already knew my secret, but Hailey did not, and with her position in Spartari military... "Hailey." I said, causing her to jump as she was not expecting to be called upon.

I did not give her time to speak however, as I began. "What I am about to say is illegal in the empire. Can you be in the room while I say what I am about to say, or will it corrupt your morals? If you stay I will trust you, If you leave I will understand. I am asking you to make this decision as your friend."

Hailey's heart beat sped up as a blush threatened to encroach her cheeks. 'He trusts me?' The words pierced her heart greater than any love sonnet could ever. Trust was a hard thing to come by in the noble landscape of Spartari, and to be trusted by a man she was so heavily interested in. Well, he could say some pretty heinous things at this point and she would keep her lips sealed.

"I promise as your friend, whatever you say to me now, will never leave this room. I trust you as you trust me." She said with a loving smile. I smiled back happily at the result before turning to Nerissa, the context of my look implied by my previous question.

"We Praetorians are not law keepers, we are merely protectors. As long as what you say does not harm the current ruling class of Spartari, you will not be detained. Besides, you already told me something that would have gotten you executed by the rank and file earlier, so another crime won't affect much." Nerissa said with a calmness.

Satisfied with the answers I got, I began to explain. "So, my bodies current strength does not all come from my Psionic power. As Valerica and Kathrine know, I am a genetic scientist. I have altered my bodies composition with other creatures DNA and enhanced my own."

Hailey's eyebrows raised by quite a great amount after hearing that, but remained silent, and Nerissa also simply remained silent. "As a result, I know how my body works better than most and I also know that with my current psionic power still growing, I have to constantly 'upgrade' my body to keep up with that rate. I cannot make my body 10ft tall and strong enough to create craters with a single punch all at once, as my body would reject the enhancements and begin to die off. So I have to take it slowly."

"My original timetable was to go back home in three months time, do my enhancements now my body had time to readjust to my previous ones and come back to enrol in the college of Psionics, but something happened during my time on Alexandria, whatever number it was, that has had some repercussions."

"Your defence against the swarm." Kathrine muttered, feeling guilty as she assumed my injuries from that moment were responsible for my current condition. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I contemplated for a moment.

I had told a stranger about what truly happened inside Ares' temple, though not on purpose at first. Kathrine was someone I had grown to truly care for, I felt it was ok to share with her the truth.

"While my injuries against the swarm were severe true, they were not the cause of my current issue." I said causing everyone to look at me intrigued. I began by explaining that I lied about the encryption that was on the artifact orb that I made up to Caleb that caused me to stand still for four hours and that I actually spoke with a fragment of the founder known as Ares.

Considering Kathrine knew who Ares was, it was understandable that Valerica and Hailey both knew of the man turned machine as well. Kathrine seemed distraught that I had kept something from her, but after explaining that I feared for my life due to the sheer severity of the situation, she gained understanding and allowed me to continue.

"So Ares, seeing me as a worthy warrior after killing one of his children, decided to grant me with some of his soul energy. I did not plan on using it right away and was going to wait until I reunited with my teacher-" "Jewel!" Hailey chimed in on reflex, wanting Apollo to know she remembered a past conversation and retained the knowledge.

"Yes Jewel." I said and smiled happily, causing Hailey's eyes to dart away. "Like I was saying, I was waiting to reunite with Jewel before I used that energy as while I have a fractional working knowledge of soul energy, Jewel knows a lot more and can help me absorb it into my being without issue."

Nerissa was impressed by that statement. She did not know that such Psionically gifted individuals still existed. She wagered that this Jewel woman must have had her awakening right at the start of the recent Psionic explosion 2000 years ago or possibly earlier to be so proficient, but kept it to herself as Apollo continued.

"However, The energy that I have stored inside my mind has slowly been seeping into my physical body, using my Mindspace's avatar as a leaky faucet so to speak, every so often a drop would drip through to my actual flesh and blood, empowering my body that is too weak for it to currently contain."

Although a lot of Jargon was being thrown around, the bits and pieces fit together and everyone began to understand. "So, with the Anti Psionic energy weakening your currently unstable body, you have the unfortunate situation of having become a ticking time bomb?" Valerica said, summarising. "That is unfortunate, though I suppose with your skillset, It really is a trivial situation huh?"

I winked playfully at Valerica as she said that and continued to finish off my food. Hailey still looked a little worried and a tad bit curious, however, and felt the need to ask. "Still, even if you are going to be fine, 'Psionic decay' does not sound like a pleasant experience, how are you currently feeling?" Continue your adventure at empire

"I too am intrigued, I have heard accounts that it can be the single most painful thing a Psionically gifted being can feel. That it feels like your entire existence is being ripped apart. Other reports say it feels like static one moment and the next that person turns to dust." Nerissa chimed in, making me gulp at the prospect of turning into a pile of dust.

"Fortunately, I am feeling neither of those things, the Anti Psionic beam hurt a lot more. Before this morning, all I felt was a noticeable pain in my chest that was slowly spreading, but now, It feels like unstable energy is coursing though all the meat my body has, causing shock of pain like you would feel from high voltage electricity. It does hurt a lot, but feeding my body energy can counteract the pain somewhat I have found since I began eating, so I will most likely be a glutton until I am back home." I added at the end to lighten the mood as everyone looked at me like I was some sort of victim and I did not enjoy that feeling.

The women present seemed to block the last part out however, and their instinct to care took over. Valerica shuffled closer to me and placed her hand on my lap. "Oh my poor baby, Don't worry, mommy will take care of you until you leave." Kathrine followed a similar path to her mother and reached her hand across the table to grab my hand while also stretching her foot under the table and began to caress my leg. "Yes, I am at your disposal for every need and want handsome, just say the word."

Even my friend seemed to fall under some sort of spell as she followed Kathrine's game of footsie, though only touched my foot with hers. "I will take a short sabbatical, It is only natural I take care of my friend for the last week I will see him for a while. I am sure you would do the same for me if I ever asked." She said innocently.

Nerissa just stood there, observing. I felt touched by everyone's respective way of showing their affection, that was until a cold sweat ran down my back at a thought.

'Crap, How am I going to explain to Sophia about all these powerful individuals wanting to take temporary residence inside of the cults building?'