"Hello, hi, yeah. As you all can see by my System interface, I am Morgeth, the one that that imposter told you that you were fighting for. You all have realized now that the nameless one mind controlled you to fight, but please listen to what I have to say before you leave this place.
That was never what I wanted. I only want the cities to be safe, I don't want to control the continent, enslave the people, or tear families apart. That was never my will, it was that power-hungry warlord using my name as a shield to do horrible things.
Now that he has fled, he will be hunted to the ends of the world, by hunters with protection against his skills. I would ask you all one thing before you disband though. In the name of the armies of Morgeth, the real Morgeth, please, go home, take care of the people, of your families, and set things right. Make the Southern Continent a better place to live."
Morgeth's speech was very touching, and with the Bunnies backing her up, nobody doubted her sincerity. The Bunnies were many things, but tolerant of people lying to them they were not.
The soldiers would need to have a long talk, and take time to accept what had happened, especially the zealots who were all for taking over the continent just a few minutes ago. Someone would have to take charge of those ones and lead them in a productive direction so that they didn't become a wandering menace to society, but there was hope that the real Morgeth could manage it.
Their loyalty had been brainwashed to be to her directly and by name, so if she led them, they would most likely follow her to help maintain stability and justice.
Cain decided that he would talk to her later, and see if she was willing, but at the moment the emptiness in his head was jarring and putting him off balance.
[You aren't totally alone. I am still here, and the Watchers as well, but they have most of their thoughts blocked right now so that they didn't confuse each other during the battle.] Cyrene assured Cain when she sensed the direction of his thoughts.
That was a bit of a relief, and he still had the Record Keeper merged in his mind. It was a quiet sort, but Cain could still sense it there.
It was strange to think that not long ago, having other thoughts in his mind was a strange and disconcerting thing, and now that they were gone, he actually didn't feel whole without them.
[We can teach the others the spell to join the collective consciousness, now that they aren't in it by default.] Victor suggested.
That was a wonderful idea, and it would make organizing much easier than having everyone scattered all over the world and having to send messages back and forth.
[When you see them next, teach everyone who wants it the ability to join the collective thought. No, scratch that. Teach everyone who used to be in the collective how to rejoin it, and then add only the ones that you are certain would be a benefit to the group.] Cain directed the Watchers and Echoes, who were still in contact, due to their nature as ancients and inheriting his abilities.
Having them loose on the planet might cause a few issues later, Cain was certain, but it wasn't like he was trying to keep them under control, to begin with, so that wasn't really an issue. He hoped.
[Someone has to go find the clones of Evangeline and Laura that were looking for the Library though. They are just out in the middle of nowhere and now they're out of the loop. They can still send messages though, assuming that they remember and don't panic, or have to spend all their time chasing Laura out of candy stores now that nobody can force her to stop.] Lou pointed out, making Cain and the Watchers laugh.
[I would take the group and go find them right away, but I'm sure there will be chaos around here for a bit. Do we have any volunteers?]
[I will go. Learning the spell is really easy, as it turns out.] Moana joined the conversation, having known the trick in her last life, so she only needed a few seconds to activate it again in this one now that she was independent.
She was still pretty shocked about it though. She knew that Cain was intending to free them all, but she had expected seconds before death, and not just for convenience when a bunch of local civilians were in trouble.
[I blame the fluffy bunny ears. He has always had a weak spot for Bunnies.] Victor told her.
[Bunnies and Lamia. Such a strange combination of creatures to be weak against. But who would ever expect it? If you're going to have a weakness for your enemy to exploit, those are great options.] Moana laughed back.
Moana didn't need to search, she had the capability to go straight to the wandering pair and teach them the basics of the technique, and she already knew where they were. Or at least where they were an hour ago before the battle. That should be close enough, since her Leviathan senses were very strong, and attuned to the two of them already. It was part of how the species located their friends and family in the wild since they traveled all around the entire planet looking for food and entertainment.
Her guess was spot on as well. Laura was inside a candy store near their hotel, interrogating the owner. Not about the Elf that they were searching for, but about the new flavors of Toffee. Ever since Neffie had been gifted a new type of sweets from another world, Laura had wanted to try them, but Evangeline hadn't let her. Now that she was free, this was the Opal Prismatic Dragon's first and most important act of rebellion before she got back to work.
Unfortunately, the candy shop owner had no idea what she was talking about, as the candy was from another world, and Laura didn't know the ingredients, only Neffie's description of the taste.
"Laura. If you want to know about the candy, I will take you to the Eastern Continent once you finish finding the Librarian." Moana yelled from the street outside the store, drawing the Dragon's attention, and bringing a sigh of relief from the shopkeeper.
He was absolutely certain now, no matter how powerful they got, the Youkai definitely weren't as scary as an excited dragon.
