Chapter 12: Change
A Savant was characterized by their extensive range of knowledge. These were Beyonders that believed in the power of the natural world.
They are those that move the world's technology forward, true, respectable scientists of the current era.
Their core power consisted in one thing, 'Memory Recall'.
While Spectators certainly had their memories augmented, this augmentation couldn't at all be compared to that of a Savant.
A Savant is able to recall all information he has ever seen in his life. Every single bit of knowledge they have ever come across is engraved in their minds, never to be forgotten.
For other people, this power would be good, but nothing beyond comprehension. After all, a person could only have come across a limited amount of information in their lives.
However, this wasn't the case for Ethan. Not only did he live his previous life in a world filled with so much information that a person could keep absorbing it their entire lives, without ever stopping, and still have much more.
But, ever since reaching this world, Ethan has also gotten an intense amount of memories. For him, it's like having lived three entirely different lives, without considering the many mental imprints of the Cold-blooded potion he also absorbed.
That's why when Ethan ate the Savant's characteristic… He simply could not take the impact. His mind instantly went amok.
Every information Ethan, Charles, Elaine, the young and silver haired man, and also all the many monsters of the Unwinged Angel potion, have ever come across invaded his mind at the same time.
Ethan recalled Charles' entire life. All the wrongdoings he committed, all the people he made to suffer, he recalled their expressions, he recalled their words, everything.
Ethan recalled Elaine's entire life. All the pieces she participated in, all the support her parents gave her before passing away, all the theater lessons she received as an apprentice, all the sensual words her partners ever said to her, everything.
Ethan recalled James' entire life. Being born with a rare condition that made his hair silver, helping his mother receive twins, seeing his older sister dead after a fight with a Beyonder called Charles Rouqueford, becoming an outer member of the Machinery Hivemind along with his brothers, everything.
Ethan recalled the suffering of many different monsters, every life they took, every day they lived, every corrupted thought they had, every apathetic action, every point of indifference, everything.
And Ethan recalled his own life. He remembered every word his mother has told him since his birth, every subject his teachers have ever taught him, every word of all books he has ever read.
He recalled every time his beloved son talked about his favorite book, every time he asked for him to hold his hand, every time he stood by his side, trying to help his inept father out.
He recalled everything that led to his suffering, every bandit's face that took his son's life, his miserable wife that left him to rot. That disgusting man, his own grandfather, destroying everything dear to him, just to have the shares of their company.
All these memories became incomparably clear for Ethan. Were they before like books filled with dust, covered by a dark curtain of too much information. They now were like lustrous points of light in his mind, shining ever so brightly, never to be forgotten again.
While Ethan's mind was being consumed by such huge amounts of information a computer wouldn't be able to handle, another one of his consciousness barriers broke.
Lust: The sin of eternal, insatiable desire. Its current power is still completely limited, only able to protect itself from direct interference up to Sequence 4, and unable to access its true Authority over *%@¨&*#%¨#&$%¨#*#$%#*¨$%%&¨#%¨@*%
Breaking this barrier allowed Ethan to calm down little by little.
It still took him considerable time to regain his composure, but a few minutes later, he was finally able to get up from the ground he fell to once again.
Ethan's mind was still very chaotic though, he didn't know what he should do anymore.
One part of his consciousness was consumed by nothing but apathy and coldness, while the other was filled with chaotic thoughts, ideas and desires.
And in the middle of all of this, another one of the 'sins' that corrupted his soul appeared, protecting his mind from completely breaking apart.
The balance that Sloth created in his mind would have already fallen apart if it weren't for this 'sin' called Lust. He didn't even understand this 'sin' at all, it was like having any of his organs. He had them, but without any medical training, he didn't control them, nor did he understand the reason behind their working.
Ethan looked at his hands. One part of him felt sorry for killing the people he killed.
Another part was indifferent; Another one wanted him to kill even more; One of them just wanted to lose itself to lustful sexual pleasure; And another wanted him to destroy the part that wanted to kill everything;
The last part, the true him, just didn't know what it wanted. It was completely broken after having recalled all of its suffering, it just couldn't find any more reason to continue existing. It just wanted to end everything and kill itself, hoping for not going back to that 'Hell'
The only reason Ethan has not gone insane from the multiple personalities inside of him yet was the combination of Sloth and Lust. That's why he could maintain his sanity. It was thanks to the balance it created for him to maintain these many mental imprints.
With so many imprints engraved into him, Ethan was an amalgamation of many different people and monsters. He was an impossibly unbalanced existence.
Looking at the night sky with the crimson moon shining above him, Ethan knew what he could do to resolve his current psychological disorder.
He could make the imprints a true part of him. He could change his own self completely, so as to accommodate all these different imprints into one single form, one single personality.
He could completely absorb and assimilate the many imprints inside of him. To the point where, instead of having them be a part of his existence, they would become his existence. They would represent the new Ethan Edwards.
A criminal man that committed atrocities for pleasure, a 'man' filled with sexual needs thanks to his unacceptance of himself, a man seeking revenge for the people he lost, a man as cold and indifferent as a true monster.
And a man that was broken by all these different personalities. That still wished to see his son, seeking his help to once more, rid him of his suffering. One that was created by his own pathetic existence.
But Ethan didn't want that. He didn't want to lose his own sense of self, becoming a jumbled mess of contradictions and idiotic desires.
"There's another way, though." Ethan suddenly said.
"If I use the power of Sloth to maintain a sense of balance, I could use the powerful coldness and indifference of the monstrous imprints to counteract the different human desires of the many other imprints inside of me."
"This however would cause me to become even colder and indifferent than I'm now. In a sense, it would also change my own sense of self and I would lose the true 'Ethan Edwards' forever, becoming an entirely different being."
Ethan kept thinking of different ways to resolve the problem, trying to find a solution that would allow himself to maintain the balance of his existence, while also not losing his identity.
With many different ideas coming to his mind, Ethan finally decided on one of them, "I will diminish the influence the human mental imprints have on me. I'll then use the monstrous imprints as a foundation, to keep the useless desires of the human imprints in check. "
Coming to this decision, Ethan decided to put it into practice. Using his shallow understanding of Sloth, he used the powers it had over balance to make the cold, uncaring, and indifferent part of his mind to have more control than the other ones.
This caused his mind to start breaking apart, and he was about to lose control completely, turning into a heartless monster.
But before any of this could happen, Ethan used the powers of Gluttony to assimilate all the imprints completely, transforming them into himself.
The process was very long, it took Ethan close to thirty minutes to finish, but when he did- "Exhale"
He had finally assimilated all the imprints, making the coldness and apathy become the foundation of his new mind while the rest of the imprints became the objects held by the foundation.
And with this, Ethan's existence reached an absolute balance once more, this time, a true balance.
From now on, even if he absorbed others' characteristics, he wouldn't be as affected by them. He would just need to make it truly become a part of himself in all aspects.
From this moment forward, Ethan Edwards would become an ever changing being. An entity that couldn't be truly called human, but had human thoughts and desires. An entity that couldn't be called god, but had the cold, apathetic, uncaring, and detached nature of one.
…
Having completely transformed himself, Ethan burned the remains of the people he killed. Not forgetting to steal their weapons and whatnot.
After that, he returned to his house in North Borough. Entering his home, Ethan started to plan his next steps.
"Those brothers I killed... They were just members of a security company of the Machinery Hivemind, and as I have completely burned them to nothing but ashes, it'll take some time for the Church of Steam to come after me."
"But they will certainly investigate. They will investigate every one of the people that participated in the gathering today. And they will soon find me."
"That's why I can't stay in Backlund anymore. I must leave this city. I'll only return when I possess the powers to disguise myself in some way." Organizing his suitcase and storing the things he got today on it, Ethan took a bath and retrieved his clothes from the wardrobe.
While walking out of the house, he continued murmuring things to himself, "I don't need to worry about them finding this house. As Kaspars doesn't know where I live, even when they interrogate him, they won't be able to track this place directly."
"The only thing they'll know is my appearance." Going to the house on the right of his, Ethan picked some paper from his suitcase and wrote a note telling George he would go traveling for some time.
He then put the note in the mailbox alongside 83 pounds, which would serve as the rent for the house.
Ethan still wanted to maintain this house to his name, as it'll help when he comes back and starts investigating Victor Blackwood and his mysterious safe once more.
While walking to the train station outside of Backlund, Ethan started thinking about the things he recalled his son saying about the book 'Lord of Mysteries'. Still keeping his constant pace, Ethan's lips suddenly moved with two words:
"The Fool."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
YunokRyuk
YunokRyuk Since this chapter didn't have much action other than Ethan's transformation into a new being, I'll just post it today. I hope you enjoy it!
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
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