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His eyes lit up at the sight of the money. The dude was practically salivating.
"I'd heard you could make whatever you wanted. To think it was true..." He exhaled, stepping closer as he eyed the money. Then he halted. "Still, I don't know. Is it really worth me letting those guys free...?"
"Don't be greedy," I said sternly, pushing the bag against his chest. "That's two hundred thousand. Take it."
The warden grabbed the bag and grinned into it before stuffing it into his spatial bag.
"Follow me," he said as he turned toward away.
Why not just Order him to do it? Za'Fia asked me as we followed behind him.
I'd rather not force my will on others if I can avoid it. I told her.
The warden led us to the hidden elevator, which would take us down to where Avarice and the others were being held. But before stepping into the elevator, he turned and asked some of us to remain above ground since it'd make everyone more at ease with fewer of us going in.
I politely agreed to his demands, resulting in Tymon, Za'Fia, and I being the ones to go down. The area below was like a display case of the world's worst criminals. Thousands of metal cells with PRP built into them were built in rows into the cement foundations. Even the doors were made of thick metal with nothing but a small latch for food to be passed through by machines, preventing us from seeing those locked behind them. Or maybe it was designed to prevent the prisoners from seeing anything beside their four walls, depriving them of human interaction.
Whatever the case, as usual, the place felt eerie. I could sense the humans behind the doors, and with omnivision, I could even see the outline of some of their energy through the walls. However, the corridors were dead silent. None of the screams or banging could be heard. Just a stale, musty stench hung in the air as we walked.
"We're coming up to them now," the warden announced as we neared their cells. "Here we are."
"Can you open this one?" I asked, pointing to the door next to me.
The warden looked at me. His eyes may have been hidden behind those glasses, but I knew he was trying to control his panic.
"Please tell me you don't plan to set that one free. If what I read about her is true..."
"Relax, I just want to see her."
The warden reluctantly scanned his fingerprint and infused some of his energy into the door's locking mechanism to unlock the door. When the door lowered into the ground, I saw Verin lying there, sweating. Her body slightly twitched as she remained in mental anguish.
I took solace in the sight before being willing to leave.
"Okay," I said, satisfied. "Open the other three. We'll be taking them."
Still reluctant, the warden closed Verin's cell and opened the other three's. I stepped into Wren's cell, lowered to a knee, and placed my hand on her head, releasing her from her mental prison. As we waited for her to wake up, I did the same for Trevor.
However, before I released Avarice, I placed my hand on his head and entered his mindscape. Surprisingly, the dark void I'd left him in was now peaceful. He himself was tranquil, unlike the crazed version of him before he was defeated.
Looking around, his mindscape was an island in the middle of an ocean, where he sat in solitude, wearing white shorts and a golden beach flannel, along with shades.
"How did this happen?" I asked as I approached him while he basked in the sun.
"Hm? You're real? I didn't conjure you...?"
"No..."
"Ah. Well, my mind was strong enough to change the scenery," He responded casually as if that was the obvious answer.
"Of course it was," I muttered, side-glancing him. "So you decided to give yourself a vacation island instead of perpetual darkness."
"Not at first," Avarice responded, sipping from a coconut, which was imaginary now that I think about it. "Initially, I spent decades, no centuries, conquering the humans over and over but eventually grew bored like before. I realized it was my insatiable greed that drove me always to want more power–to subjugate the weak even, but it conflicted with something within me. Something that makes me seek out thrills. Likely the same thing that made me let you all progress as far as you did before you destroyed everything I'd worked for..."
He sighed and shrugged before continuing.
"But that was the past. Truth is, fighting against you all was the most thrill I'd ever experienced. Now, when I'm bored, I manifest you all to fight against to help past time," he laughed. "I've fought you 2,397 times and still haven't won. Strange, since it's my mind, I figured I'd win because I wanted to," he said, flicking the umbrella straw from his drink.
"Riveting," I said, shaking my head. "Well, your life's about to get more interesting. I'm setting you free."
The sky suddenly cracked, and everything froze as he looked at me in confusion.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Unfortunately not."
The next instant, I was back in his cell, squatting with my hand placed on his head. I rose and stepped out of the cell as the three groggily got to their feet. They each stepped out of their cells, rubbing their heads as they tried to get their bearings, then abruptly stopped in their tracks, sensing Rabae's immense presence.
"That can't be real..." Wren stated as she looked horrified.
"What is that? That's gotta be at least four times as powerful as Pops," Trevor questioned as smoke began to lift from his body instinctively.
"It's even more powerful than the power I felt from Viraa..." Avarice asserted with a mixture of what seemed like fear and awe. "What monstrosity can have that much of a presence...?"
Based on the gradually widened look in his eyes, it was clear he'd answered his own question.
"So this is why you freed us..."
"Yeah, I asked for an hour, so we should get going," I said as I turned to head to the elevator. As we passed Verin's cell, I caught Avarice glancing at it.
"Don't bother. I'm not trusting Verin to behave for a second, pneumarian threat or not," I told him.
"She once manipulated my children into acting against my wishes. I don't wish her to be freed," he said with disdain.
The warden hadn't budged from where he stood, so we escorted ourselves out and immediately took flight, with Tymon taking up the rear.
I'm sure there was plenty to say from everyone, but we flew in silence for a while. I'd warned Avarice, Trevor, and Wren that if they tried to run, I'd catch them and send them back to prison, and with the power difference between me and the latter two, I could simply use my telekinesis to hold them in place regardless of where they went.
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