3 The Illuminati Collective (1)

After Herbert had been knocked out cold, he started to dream. In his dreams, he could see all types of unbelievable scenery that definitely could not exist in the modern world.

He was standing on top of multiple spheres that had vibrant images that were constantly flashing. One sphere had a monster with 7 billion heads. Another sphere had a dragon that had cancerous growths all over its body, with yellowish-green liquid constantly spurting out from its body.

Then, he sat on a seat, surrounded by twelve other humans, who wore masks of incomprehensible forms. All of them were silhouettes, who pointed towards him and chanted with eerie voices.

"You are the end of the human era, the Grand Sun that Once Ruled! The sun will assimilate all in the end!" They repeated these phrases with synchrony, causing Herbert to feel a headache. From the position he sat in, he started to sink down into the darkness, only to be met with a bright light.

"$&"-$:;???" Herbert could hear weird noises being made, as his eyes met the bright light that was shining above him. He could feel that his whole body was completely bound to something hard, and that his mouth was clamping down onto something metallic.

He was standing upright, looking at the light above him. He tried to spit out the metallic object, but his teeth refused to let go of it.

"Oh, he's awake!" Upon seeing that Herbert was awake, the researchers of the Illuminati went back to using the language of Earth to communicate with Herbert. Herbert turned to look at the sides of the room.

He was in a snow white room, with speakers that was situated all around him. A television screen was directly in front of him at eye level. On that television screen, he could see two men in white coats with microphones, looking directly at him.

"Good morning, Subject 417. You should be pleased to know that you are the third anomaly that has been acquired in this world." One of the Researchers said this with a monotone voice. However, from their tones earlier, he could tell that they were actually very excited.

"We will now be sending someone to retrieve your Silencer. Please remember to be civilised, or you will be shocked." The other researcher gestured a symbol that Herbert didn't know. Herbert was relieved that he didn't try to struggle against the restraints earlier. If he had done so, he would have probably been "shocked".

Herbert then heard the sound of metal scrapping against metal from behind him. He assumed that it was the sound of a door opening. After that, he could hear nothing. Herbert frowned. What was happening?

Suddenly, slimy tentacles slipped into Herbert's mouth through the corner of his lips. The sudden sensation made Herbert flinch. Inside his mouth, the tentacles gripped the metallic object tightly, and pulled it out of Herbert's mouth.

"Pfft pfft pfft!" Herbert spat out his saliva, trying to get rid of the unpleasant sensation his mouth. There was a disgusting aftertaste that was left in his mouth. Herbert felt that the tentacles had truly violated him, both mentally and physically. Still, he had some questions to ask the men wearing lab coats.

"Why did you guys save me?" Herbert was pretty sure that he had been on the brink of death. He was bleeding everywhere, some of his bones were crushed, and he could not move on his own. The only probable reason is that this group of people had saved him.

"It's actually pretty simple, Subject 417. You are an anomaly, so we saved you for the purpose of conducting experiments on you. You can thank one of the lower class members, Brightest Sun, for saving you."

The researchers laid the facts out in bare in front of Herbert. Even though Herbert was pleased with their honesty, he felt a little uncomfortable knowing that they would be conducting experiments on him soon.

"Why am I an anomaly? Also, my name is Herbert, not Subject 417." Herbert had been wondering why he wasn't noticed by the monsters before. He wanted some answers from these researchers, who seemed to know more about this phenomena than they let on.

"It's simple. You are somehow unchanged by the energies of our main world, and is still a "human". So, Herbert, can you tell us about your experiences?" Seeing that Herbert was not a hostile entity, they continued to communicate with him.

Herbert then proceeded to tell them the events that he had encountered before he fainted. The researchers emitted a few "Hmm" and "Ahh" sounds while they scribbled down notes somewhere.

"You should have been not detected by the monster because you have not absorbed the energies of the main world. Monsters normally hunt down each other to acquire this energy to grow. They might even regain their intelligence if they take in enough energy." After taking down their notes, they explained the events like it was nothing. Herbert was enlightened instantly.

"Anyway, why were there natural disasters? Shouldn't it just be an invasion?" Herbert had many questions in his mind. He still didn't even know the organisation that had saved him.

"We have already analysed your conscious mind and determined that you are not a threat. All the questions will be answered when you become part of us. You will be assigned Operative #5617. Perhaps you will even get a name at a high enough level." The researchers smiled kindly.

"Wait, what? Just like that?" Herbert appeared to be shocked on the outside, but inside his heart, he was filled with glee. He didn't have to undergo any experiments at all! He had seen movies where aliens conducted unspeakable experiments against humans, and he did not want to test whether it was true or not.

"Of course. Welcome to the Illuminati Collective." The researchers formally welcomed him to the organisation.

"THE WHAT?" Herbert's mouth twitched rapidly as he heard the name of the organisation.