Although he said he was different from the Hive Mind, Ian had indeed been considerably eroded by its psionic power.
The only thing that had truly exceeded the Brood's expectations was this—after merging the memories of the Great Elder from back then and everyone he had devoured in the past, none of them combined had been as insane as Ian alone.
Though Ian held a sword and appeared rational, objective, calm, and detached, the monster felt fear toward him.
Because Ian's madness was nearly enough to make him attempt an 'impossible thing.'
Through their earlier mental contact, it could understand that Ian had not lied, and it could understand Ian's conjectures about the Star-Prison... to the point of despair.
Yet Ian had already emerged from despair, his dream still unwavering.
It was not that Ian and the Hive Mind were different and thus unable to resonate. It was that the Hive Mind had discovered it could not keep up with Ian, and thus could not resonate with him.
And at this moment, all the mist, fluorescent light, psionic energy, and guards lingering before the white cocoon of flesh had been swept aside. The physical body of the Hive Mind finally appeared whole and complete before the youth.
It was an enormous cocoon, over five meters tall. Its surface was covered in a slick, greasy layer of mucus, while its interior was filled with viscous fluid. Within it floated a shadow shaped like a brain.
That shadow continuously released psionic fluctuations, attempting once again to link with Ian's mind and spirit.
But just as the body's immune system produced antibodies against foreign viruses, the mind also became desensitized to alien consciousness. Like how a joke stopped being funny after hearing it too many times, or how too much pleasure imposed on