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Marvel: King of The Swarm Chapter 18: Faith
🕑 Added 2025-06-03 01:12:00 +0000 UTC'You do know that none of this is necessary, that there are better ways to sow chaos and disorder through the city' Nyx clarified as Harry walked down an old abandoned subway tunnel, a relic of the past and all but forgotten by the city and its officials.
'Yes, but this option is infinitely more fun,' Harry replied his head bowed as if not wanting to draw any attention to himself.
Nyx hummed still clearly not entirely on board with Harry's plan, 'Is that why you've dressed yourself up in such ridiculous apparel? So you can fully enjoy the theatrics?'
'Presentation and perception are everything, they give substance and credibility to the image and narrative created by your every action and word.' Harry replied sagely as his bare feet glided across the ground uninjured despite the rusty nails, shattered glass, and used needles littering every square inch. He didn't even leave behind footprints making it seem as if Harry was untouchable, an ethereal being that somehow walked the earth.
Nyx didn't bother to respond, having already voiced her opinion there was no need to argue with Harry, after all, little what he did now could change their overall plans.
After another minute of walking the near-absolute darkness at the end of the tunnel was replaced by the orange glow of a flickering fire. A sign of life that was out of place beneath the city, where nothing should have been able to survive.
But rather quickly more evidence of life started to emerge, tattered pieces of clothing, plastic wrappers, and bags, along with the unfortunate smell of unwashed bodies.
Harry quickly came across the source as he entered the fire's halo which revealed itself to be a garbage fire burning within an old rusted oil drum. But beyond the fire lay an entire makeshift village, comprised of camping tents, sleeping bags, and ramshackle shelters consisting of sheet metal and plywood loosely fastened together.
Scanning the encampment with his Biovision, Harry easily identified over a hundred energy signatures, meager as they were from potentially years of living underground without access to proper food or healthcare. There was no hope, the mole village was the embodiment of desolation and absolute rock bottom. Which is exactly why Hary had sought the place out, to begin with.
However, as Harry was about to cross over and enter the village, three hunched-over figures emerged from the shadows, dressed in old dirty coats with patchwork pants that seemed to be equal parts fabric and duct tape.
The mole people immediately surrounded Harry forming a loose triangle around him as they stared at him with wide bloodshot eyes as if they couldn't believe what they were witnessing.
"Look at what he's wearing...is this really the latest fashion trend?"
"What does it matter, so long as we can sell it! I need my fix man! I gotta take the edge off!"
"Those threads look pretty nice...we find the right fence, might be enough for all of us."
Calmly panning his gaze across the three men, Harry's body language showed none of the emotions that should be present for a soon-to-be mugging victim. However, he had been expecting such an outcome seeing as his robes were a dark vibrate purple with golden embroidery around the hem of his sleeves, cuffs, and hood which covered a majority of his face showing only his lips, chin, and the ends of his hair. The luxurious robes were wrapped around Harry's body like a toga, but with long, loose sleeves similar to that of a kimono allowing Harry to fold his hands together and hide them from view.
"Such as shame...to see the ruinous effects of corruption on your souls," Harry spoke interrupting the muggers' discussion with a soft voice, but one that seemed to carry endlessly easily reaching the ears of those he was addressing, "You have let your vices lead you astray...but fear not you are not at fault."
The three muggers shared a glance equally confused at Harry's sudden and unprompted outburst "What the hell is he talking about?"
"Why are you asking me? Do I look like I understand a word that came out of his mouth?"
"Enough!"
One of the muggers shouted as he reached into his coat and pulled out a makeshift shiv, comprised of a rusted piece of metal with duct tape and cloth to form an improvised handle, "Look p-psycho, w-we're taking your clothes o-one way or the other. You can either w-walk away butt ass naked, o-or we can leave you bleeding out on the ground. Y-your choice!"
The man's two other companions didn't hesitate to follow their companion's example pulling out makeshift weapons, that they wielded with jittery and shakey grasps. Not out of nervousness but excitement and anticipation as their bodies were flooded with adrenaline and dopamine.
Harry's only response was to open his arms, holding them out to either side of his body and exposing his entire front.
The mugger with the knife let out a wet hacking cough that caused his entire body to shake and tremble like a leaf in the wind, "F-fine then, h-have it your way."
The man lunged at Harry, with a fiendish light in his eyes, his actions no longer weighing on his mind lost in a cycle of addiction punctuated by the highs of his chosen poison with everything in between being an inconsequential blur.
Harry didn't flinch as the man's free hand slapped down on his shoulder holding Harry still as he thrust his knife into Harry's gut. But instead of the wet sound of metal slicing through flesh, there was a sharp crack as the makeshift blade shattered the instant it touched Harry's robes which didn't even shift from the violent attack.
Stunned the mugger didn't even take his hand off of Harry's shoulder as he stared at the broken remnants of his blade on the ground, "W-what...what happened?"
Before anyone could answer that question Harry suddenly moved, faster than the mugger could process he suddenly found himself kneeling in front of Harry with two fingers resting gently on his forehead.
Despite the small area of contact, the mugger found himself completely incapacitated, unable to move a muscle, as if an immense weight was pressing down on him, "W-what a-are you doing to me?! L- Let me go, man!"
"I am here to relieve you of your vices, to cleanse the corruption from your being," Harry's lips moved as he spoke softly but his voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, "Your existence will become pure, within purity will find the greatest pleasure, and you will indulge endlessly in this pleasure for eternity, that is my gift to you as your Savior."
A golden light then burst into existence stemming from the two fingers placed on the mugger's forehead whose eyes widened in fear and confusion as he felt the golden light invade his body. While the sensation wasn't painful or uncomfortable the mugger could feel himself changing, and that fact terrified him.
"W-wait a s-second, I-I'm sorry a-alright I-I w-wasn't t-think s-straight!" The man pleaded as he stared up into Harry's hood.
"Then I will clear your mind, so you can enjoy all my kingdom has to offer," Harry replied with benevolence as his head shifted allowing the mugger to briefly see his face. The moment their eyes met the mugger's body went slack and his eyes glazed over as he stared into the swirling golden orbs that were Harry's eyes.
The mugger's companions watched entranced by the miracle unfolding before them as the man kneeling before Harry transformed. His sickly skin flushed with new life, old wounds, and open sores vanishing as if they had never existed, his cloudly bloodshot eyes cleared, filled with an awareness that hadn't been present for years, and his yellow rotten teeth were pushed out of his mouth by perfectly pearly whites set into fresh pink gums.
The entire process only lasted for a handle full of seconds before Harry pulled his fingers away and the transformed mugger collapsed onto his hands and knees gasping for breath, and for the first time since he could remember the persistent wheezing cough didn't follow.
"I-I can't feel it...the pain... it's gone. W-what did you do to me? " The man asked his voice clear and steady as he slowly pushed himself upright and found that he could stand upright without hunching over to prevent the stabbing pain in his lower back.
"I cleansed your body of corruption, so you may partake in the pleasures of my kingdom," Harry replied as he took a step back, "You shall never want, or need if you open your mind, body, and soul to my guiding light."
The man stared at Harry now having to look down to stare at the viel which he knew concealed a gaze that could not belong to a mere man, "W-who are you?"
"I have no name, but you may call me Genesis," Harry replied however the moment he uttered the name Harry felt a strange sensation blossom inside his chest just below his sternum. With the sensation came a wave of power unlike anything Harry had felt before, it was minuscule hardly even a dying ember, but what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. In a moment of instinctual understanding, Harry knew that the tiny seemingly inconsequential spark represented a power that he couldn't even begin to understand. However, Harry's confusion only continued to grow as he realized the energy was being poured into him, channeled from an unlikely and unassuming source.
The transformed mugger prostrated himself before Harry and the intangible energy leaking off of him spilled out, funneling into the burgeoning spark in Harry's chest, "P-please take me into your Kingdom, y-you can have my life, soul, w-whatever you want, I-I don't care just keep the pain away!"
'How is this possible?' Nyx suddenly interjected her mental presence nearly overwhelming Harry's mind with a surge of urgency that he had never felt from the symbiote before.
'You know what this energy is?' Harry asked as Nyx fell uncharacteristically quiet.
'Yes...and it changes everything,' Nyx replied her voice barely above a whisper, 'The energy you are feeling goes by many names, but the most universal term is Faith, and acquiring it is the first step on the path to godhood.'
