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Maximilian stood in the center of five demons, arranged like points of a star, forced to kneel to the ground, encircling him. Their hands were bound with chain, their heads covered with hoods that prevented them from being able to see where they were. They could barely move, under the effects of some sort of magic, or perhaps, simply in too much pain to resist. Klaus stood off to the side, having done his part in fetching what Max had called his 'ensemble', eyeing his boss in a curious fashion.
"What do you know about music, Klaus?" He asked, reflecting that very same curiosity back towards his faithful underling.
"Humans like it." He shrugged, trying to answer as best as he could.
"And you don't?"
"I can't say I've ever really thought about it enough to answer that question."
"I'm sure somebody as smart as you could find enjoyment from it. Or, at least, an understanding. To draw a comparison to something you know, think of music like a machine, or a formula. A combination of different parts coming together to create something beautiful."
Klaus nodded his head, so Max continued.
"Instruments and sounds, voices and melodies...all different pieces of something bigger. Now, what do you suppose happens when one of those pieces falters?"
"The machine stops operating." Klaus answered, again, trying to keep up with the conversation.
"Dissonance happens." Max told him, bluntly, causing a pause to fall between them the briefest of seconds. "You lose the harmony. You fall out of rhythm. But, dissonance isn't simply a concept to be used in music."
"After all this time, you're telling me the reason you decided to call them that was because you're a music nerd?"
Max laughed to himself. "To be dissonant is to be different, out of the ordinary. It's to ruin an otherwise beautiful symphony with a note so poorly out of tune that you can't help but hear it above all the other working parts. A broken cog in a wheel, if you will."
"I understand where you're coming from, but why tell me this?"
"So you understand that what I'm about to do is nothing personal towards you, or any of the other beings in this city. My goal from the start has been to pluck out those broken notes, to find harmony again. You may think that it started with werewolves and vampires, or mages and witches, but it actually begun here." He told Klaus, lifting the scepter which housed Malakai upwards, drawing attention towards the Catalyst. "With a demon, just like you. We've come up with so many different initiatives over the years to try and accomplish our goals, from mage-weapons to Project Acuity, but recently, it dawned on me. Humans require protection. They crave it. They fear when they don't have it. So, why be subtle?"
From the scepter, black tendrils of energy began to extend, moving towards the five demons Max had surrounded himself with. The tendrils pulsed as they made contact with each of them, beginning to interweave with their essence, draining their magic the way Malakai had once tried to drain Adelaide and Isen. The demons began to writhe and groan in pain, creating a mess of noise as Klaus looked on in confusion and burgeoning fear.
"...what are you doing?"
"What we were meant to do."
"Taking what's ours."
The tendrils began to constrict, tighter, pulling magic from their host, drawing it inwards towards Max's body. He seemed to display his own discomfort as it invaded his form, syphoned through Malakai's magic. The demons shook until they fell to the floor, lifeless, and empty.
"The Calling...you brought us all here for him to feed on?"
"Not just your kind. All of them. All...of..."
Max's eyes began to take on a hint of red, indicating that Malakai had taken full control of his host. "...them."
A wave of magic began to escape the Catalyst, growing outwards, as black as the tendrils of magic had been. It began to stretch, passing through solid objects as though they weren't there. A sphere, ever-expanding, slowly stretched away from Max's body. When it touched Klaus, he immediately felt the dark magic invading his system, and through it, he felt weaker. Malakai was draining him, the way he just had those poor demons. Klaus saw their lifeless bodies, and then, the malice on Max's face. His immediate instinct to switch out returned to him, but he couldn't muster the power to do so. It was like he was locked in place, frozen.
First, the DSTF building. Next, the surrounding neighborhood. With each Dissonant it connected to, it grew, drawing from their own magic to sustain it's field. With each home it passed through, more Dissonant life were connected to the field, fueling it more. Magic enchantments broke, shattering protective spells created by Samara. The demons summoned by the Calling provided significant boosts to the strength of the field, speeding it's growth. The transference of magic, from their bodies to his, would eventually complete Max's goal of wiping out every Dissonant life within the city, and in turn, connecting their magic to a would-be demon king who's entire purpose was not to preserve life, but to take it.
Before long, all of Cresthaven would be caught within his malice.
Soon, all of Cresthaven would join together.
Like a symphony.
"What do you know about music, Klaus?" He asked, reflecting that very same curiosity back towards his faithful underling.
"Humans like it." He shrugged, trying to answer as best as he could.
"And you don't?"
"I can't say I've ever really thought about it enough to answer that question."
"I'm sure somebody as smart as you could find enjoyment from it. Or, at least, an understanding. To draw a comparison to something you know, think of music like a machine, or a formula. A combination of different parts coming together to create something beautiful."
Klaus nodded his head, so Max continued.
"Instruments and sounds, voices and melodies...all different pieces of something bigger. Now, what do you suppose happens when one of those pieces falters?"
"The machine stops operating." Klaus answered, again, trying to keep up with the conversation.
"Dissonance happens." Max told him, bluntly, causing a pause to fall between them the briefest of seconds. "You lose the harmony. You fall out of rhythm. But, dissonance isn't simply a concept to be used in music."
"After all this time, you're telling me the reason you decided to call them that was because you're a music nerd?"
Max laughed to himself. "To be dissonant is to be different, out of the ordinary. It's to ruin an otherwise beautiful symphony with a note so poorly out of tune that you can't help but hear it above all the other working parts. A broken cog in a wheel, if you will."
"I understand where you're coming from, but why tell me this?"
"So you understand that what I'm about to do is nothing personal towards you, or any of the other beings in this city. My goal from the start has been to pluck out those broken notes, to find harmony again. You may think that it started with werewolves and vampires, or mages and witches, but it actually begun here." He told Klaus, lifting the scepter which housed Malakai upwards, drawing attention towards the Catalyst. "With a demon, just like you. We've come up with so many different initiatives over the years to try and accomplish our goals, from mage-weapons to Project Acuity, but recently, it dawned on me. Humans require protection. They crave it. They fear when they don't have it. So, why be subtle?"
From the scepter, black tendrils of energy began to extend, moving towards the five demons Max had surrounded himself with. The tendrils pulsed as they made contact with each of them, beginning to interweave with their essence, draining their magic the way Malakai had once tried to drain Adelaide and Isen. The demons began to writhe and groan in pain, creating a mess of noise as Klaus looked on in confusion and burgeoning fear.
"...what are you doing?"
"What we were meant to do."
"Taking what's ours."
The tendrils began to constrict, tighter, pulling magic from their host, drawing it inwards towards Max's body. He seemed to display his own discomfort as it invaded his form, syphoned through Malakai's magic. The demons shook until they fell to the floor, lifeless, and empty.
"The Calling...you brought us all here for him to feed on?"
"Not just your kind. All of them. All...of..."
Max's eyes began to take on a hint of red, indicating that Malakai had taken full control of his host. "...them."
A wave of magic began to escape the Catalyst, growing outwards, as black as the tendrils of magic had been. It began to stretch, passing through solid objects as though they weren't there. A sphere, ever-expanding, slowly stretched away from Max's body. When it touched Klaus, he immediately felt the dark magic invading his system, and through it, he felt weaker. Malakai was draining him, the way he just had those poor demons. Klaus saw their lifeless bodies, and then, the malice on Max's face. His immediate instinct to switch out returned to him, but he couldn't muster the power to do so. It was like he was locked in place, frozen.
First, the DSTF building. Next, the surrounding neighborhood. With each Dissonant it connected to, it grew, drawing from their own magic to sustain it's field. With each home it passed through, more Dissonant life were connected to the field, fueling it more. Magic enchantments broke, shattering protective spells created by Samara. The demons summoned by the Calling provided significant boosts to the strength of the field, speeding it's growth. The transference of magic, from their bodies to his, would eventually complete Max's goal of wiping out every Dissonant life within the city, and in turn, connecting their magic to a would-be demon king who's entire purpose was not to preserve life, but to take it.
Before long, all of Cresthaven would be caught within his malice.
Soon, all of Cresthaven would join together.
Like a symphony.