Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

oversoul.
    Millions of minds, working together, achieving miracles, never to be alone again.
    But some esper minds were too disturbed, or damaged, to remain a part of the gestalt. Their madness threatened the whole, and so they had to be expelled from the oversoul. Other minds removed
    themselves from the gestalt, fearing the loss of their individuality, afraid of domination by a conscious Mater Mundi. And some had secrets and shames and desires they would not share with anyone, turned their faces away, and hid in the shadows.
    These were the new ELFs; the Esper Liberation Force. Dedicated to liberating themselves from the tyranny of the oversoul. Banding together, seeing all others as enemies, the ELFs declared themselves clearly superior to the ungifted members of the human race and therefore destined to first rule and then replace baseline Humanity. They said the oversoul was mad and had to be destroyed. And since everyone was the enemy; any ELF attack, no matter how vicious, was really nothing more than self-defense. No one knew exactly how many ELFs there were. They struck from the shadows without warning, hurting the world before it could hurt them, exulting in the punishing of those who would hold them back from their rightful destiny.
    That's what everybody knows. But there were rumors . . . dark, ugly rumors.
    Some said the ELFs were led by the last of the super-espers: mental freaks and monsters created on the secret order of the Mater Mundi. Mad minds, terrible creatures artificially evolved far beyond, or behind, Humanity. So secret that only their names or designations were known, grim and sinister titles from a terrible past. The Shatter Freak. Blue Hell/ire. Screaming Silence. The Gray Train. The Spider Harps.
    No one knew for sure. Or if they did; they were too scared to talk.
    Lewis steered his gravity sled in beside Finn's as they approached the towering outer wall of the Arena, the grim gray stone rising up before them. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the rising wind.
    "How bad is it; do you know?"
    "Bad," Finn said flatly. "Maybe a dozen ELFs. More than have been seen in one place for over thirty years."
    "Enough to take on the whole Arena crowd?"
    "More than enough. They're stronger when they work together, you know that. First reports talked of hundreds dead. By now, it could be thousands."
    "Then why hasn't the oversoul sent help?" said Lewis angrily. "The Psycho Sluts; they've got a good track record against the ELFs."
    "Them? They're more trouble than they're worth." Finn's voice was entirely calm. They might have been discussing where to go for dinner. "I don't want those show-offs anywhere near me. Crazy as their progenitor, and dangerous with it."
    "We need backup on this, Finn . . ."
    "We won't be getting any help from the espers, Lewis. I already checked. They've got their hands full with an ELF attack on New Hope. The greatest concentration of espers on Logres is currently under attack by a suicide mind, broadcasting cannibalism memes all over the city. It's all the oversoul can do to keep a lid on its own people, and stop them from eating each other. Or themselves. They said they'll turn up when they can, so don't expect them any time soon."
    "What about the other Paragons in town for the Ceremony?" "Too far away. By the time they get here, it'll all be over, one way or the other. And all the local peacekeepers have been told to stand down and
    hide behind their esp-blockers. No point in giving the ELFs more minds to mess with. No, Lewis; it's down to us. Turn on your esp-blocker. We're going in."
    Lewis's hand went immediately to the flat box at his waist. Cloned esper brain tissues, activated by an electric current. Not alive, not in any way conscious, but once activated capable of broadcasting a telepathic signal that blocked all esper powers in its vicinity. For a time, anyway. Finn glanced at Lewis, grinned briefly, and then his sled topped the Colosseum's outer wall and plunged down into the Arena; and Lewis was right there with him.
    They could hear the maddened screaming and howling long before they were close enough to see the cause. Finn and Lewis descended swiftly through the sounds of Hell, into the heart of horror. The crowd were doing awful things to each other. Hundreds of thousands of people, raping and torturing and murdering each other, screaming and sobbing in anguish as they did it, their bodies moved by thoughts not their own. The ELFs had possessed the