Chapter 619: Commanding the Horde
Fable loped across the city in long strides, tracing the path I’d stumbled to find him in a matter of minutes. We passed hundreds of scions milling about the ruins, digging through rubble, and searching for mortal survivors to consume. They raised their heads as we passed, fixing their beady eyes on my soul.
"Come to me," I whispered, calling them through the Nexus.
The rune in their souls came to life, impressing my will upon them, and they converged on me. They came from the noble district, the fields, and the streets of ruined homes and businesses. Their souls lit up the dark, ashen city, streaming behind Fable like the trail of a comet.
A few evolved demons were scattered amongst the growing horde, having left the battle to hunt down straggling groups of soldiers and patrols. They managed to keep pace with my wolf, sending me bursts of concentrated emotion and sensory experiences. The information was real and vivid, from the coppery taste of blood on their tongues to the pain of a spear piercing their hide.
"Stop, please," I said, gripping my horn as my head started to ache. "Can’t any of you just speak to me?"
The demons fell quiet, glancing at each other in confusion. A twenty-foot-tall fire demon shaped like a flaming bear shared his confusion through the Nexus.
"Not a single one?" I groaned, forcing my grip to loosen.
Evolved demons were more intelligent than scions and could usually understand spoken language. But, apparently, not a single one of the ones I’d found were capable of speaking it in return. They were like Borealis instead of Fyren.
Spoken language wasn’t actually normal for demons. They were immortal beings whose existences revolved around souls and power, not relationships, like mortals. They had no need for specific understandings or definitions and communicated through sharing emotions, impressions, and memories. It was similar to how I communicated with Fable, save their minds were completely alien. I was pretty sure they didn’t even have half the emotions I did, like empathy and loneliness. Instead, they had an entire spectrum of feelings for the things I simply understood as "anger" or "lust."