From The Ashes - 026

Chapter 026 – Follower

[2012]

Red Skull, a.k.a. Johann Schmidt had used the Nazi's resources for Hydra's goals and his own obsession to become something superior to a mortal human. His relentless research and pursuit of mythical legends had eventually led him to the Tesseract, which he had planned to use to end the Second World War by making Hydra the ultimate winner.

This plan though was ultimately foiled by Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America.

Still, as someone who had been to the battlefield and had seen the gruesome nature of war, I didn't feel any sense of animosity for the specter-turned Red Skull nor was I deterred by the outer appearance of the Captain's arch-enemy.

The reason that I didn't think about judging him for what he had done decades ago was that my own hands weren't free of the blood of innocents.

It didn't matter that I hadn't known how much 'collateral' damage the missions and tasks given to me by my superiors in the Army in my former life would demand. It was still me that had pulled the trigger and executed those orders.

Even if I had later realized what my actions had led to, which had made me want to leave the Army in the first place, I wasn't absolved of my deeds. And while I wasn't haunted by these experiences, I hadn't forgotten them.

It was more like a quiet acceptance of guilt, which I carried with me to remember that every action had its consequences.

Eventually, it had become somewhat of a guiding belief that I shouldn't act without being willing to accept the consequences of my actions without fail.

Still, inviting Red Skull to join me was more of an impulse than a carefully considered action.

I wasn't sure why I had done it but through the Soul Stone, I could sense that he had also made some kind of peace with his past. Decades as a watchdog for a cosmic object that dealt with the soul, the very essence of a living being, had changed the way he looked at the world and himself.

I also probably understood regret better than anyone else, so maybe we were just kindred spirits.

In any case, I knew that he wasn't just some maniac villain but an incredible scientist and accomplished tactician. He was also a trained pilot if I remembered correctly, not to mention his combat skills that were equal to the Captain's.

In this new and unfamiliar world, even if I had the power to change the sky and overturn the earth, having someone by my side with his set of abilities wouldn't be a bad thing.

Sensing that his connection with the Soul Stone was about to be broken, which meant that he would be given back his physical body, my thoughts moved as I used the Soul Stone actively for the first time.

Orange flames burned in my eyes as the cosmic power of the ingot poured into the brittle connection that Schmidt had with it, changing its nature and scale.

And from one moment to another, the red-skinned former Hydra leader appeared before me in flesh and blood, tattered robes hanging from his body. Being a bit shaky on his bare feet for a moment, he looked at me with gratitude and respect.

I hadn't stripped him of his abilities as a specter, instead, I had given him the ability to consciously choose between his physical form and his spectral one.

To that end, I had to bind his soul to the Soul Stone, so that he could use its power on a limited scale to transform himself into a specter that couldn't be killed under the protection of the Infinity Stone.

Naturally, that also meant that his life was entirely in my hands since I was the wielder of the cosmic ingot and he just used my 'authority' to borrow some of its power.

Waving my hand again, I imbued sentience and life into his tattered robe, the orange glow in my eyes intensifying as I channeled enough cosmic enough into the piece of cloth so that it could repair itself before passing the control over the sentient robe to Schmidt.

The black cloak shook a bit, shaking off the dust and dirt, its thick material and style making Schmidt seem much more presentable. There was a minute dark glow to the robe and it seemed to flutter a bit even without any wind, giving the man a dangerous and dangerous aura.

The amount of energy that I expanded for this was enough to make the robe impervious basically any modern weapon. Schmidt could quite literally let himself be shot at by artillery shells and he would be fine.

It was an incredible piece of clothing and he seemed to know it as his eyes widened quite a bit before he bowed to express his gratitude.

“Thank you, my Lord.”, he said, obviously refusing my offer to just call me by my name.

I could sense that the incomparable difference in power made him unwilling to be so casual as he thought it would be a sign of disrespect for some that wielded not one but two Infinity Stones.

Sensing his emotions and thoughts through my Haki and the Soul Stone, I was only surprised by this for a few moments as I understood that he probably knew better than anyone what it meant to wield an Infinity Stone since he had been guarding one for decades and had seen and felt its power personally.

Seeing no reason to force him to be less formal, I replied with a calm nod before I addressed him: “I plan to test out the Soul Stone's power for a bit before leaving. It would be best if you moved away a fair distance to avoid getting injured.”

Lightly bowing again in acknowledgment of my words, he displayed his specter transformation without hesitation as he 'flickered' away ethereally.

Seeing that he had brought enough distance between us, I didn't hold back any longer as I turned my head and faced the dark and dusty sky, taking a few deep breaths before opening my eyes and calling upon the raging flame of my will.

I used the pain and sorrow in my heart and the wrath in my blood to once again awakened the Colour of the King. The atmosphere shook and trembled as Vormir faced the Haki of the Supreme Ruler.

My thoughts moving, an orange lit up on my forehead, burning brightly as the Soul Stone's power reached into my spirit and supplemented my spiritual energy, allowing me to use the Conqueror's Spirit for longer than just a brief moment, which would have been natural given that I had only just awakened this power.

What should exhaust me with a burst of spiritual energy, and possibly cause me to faint, was now unable to shake my mind.

Feeling the oppressive domain around me, I sat down and closed my eyes again as I slowly started to unravel the secrets and methods to use the Colour of the King.

Others could only fight battle after battle or rely on emotional outbursts in hopes of learning to control and understand their Conqueror's Haki since every use of it was an extreme burden on one's spiritual energy when one had just awakened it.

Through the Soul Stone though, I could keep it activated for as long as supplemented my spiritual energy with its cosmic power.

It was an incredible advantage, which I had taken note of rather quickly, and I had no intention to waste this opportunity.