Time Effect ( A Mass Effect Fanfiction)

The Leviathans gathered around the one that entered Samael's mind to hear what he had discovered.

"So, it's true that the Reapers have already appeared?" one of them asked.

The urgent tone in its voice was not unique to that Leviathan. All of them were terrified of the Reapers and hoped it was merely a figment of human imagination.

Unfortunately for them, the Leviathan that entered Samael's mind confirmed, "It's true. They have already appeared."

After a long period of reasonable peace, during which they managed to stay hidden, many of the Leviathans felt fear once again. They hoped that by hiding for millions of years and going through countless cleaning cycles, they would have lost some of that fear. However, it seemed that their fear of the machines only grew as time passed.

"But don't worry too much, only the vanguard, or a Sovereign, has appeared. From what I could gather from the human's mind, a full-scale attack will happen in about a year or so." the Leviathan explained.

Some of the Leviathans were relieved, while others were a bit angry at the one who entered Samael's mind. "Why didn't you start with that?"

"Because that's not the most surprising and shocking thing I found in that human's mind," the Leviathan replied.

From its tone, all those around could sense that the creature was genuinely shocked, which in turn heightened their curiosity. "What is it?" they asked eagerly.

They all waited for the response. If it were more shocking than the appearance of the Reapers, it must be truly important.

The Leviathan that entered Samael's mind looked at them and said in a mysterious tone, "Our friend there has time-traveled."

Silence fell. A few of them thought they might have heard it wrong and asked, "… What did you say?"

"You heard me. He has time-traveled. I have verified it," the Leviathan stated definitively, leaving the others in shock.

Some of them wanted to ask if it was sure, but they could tell from its tone that it was certain. So, they could only inquire, "How and what happened?"

The Leviathan was as clueless as the rest of them. "I have no idea how or why, but I have seen his life from beginning to end, as well as his past. He used his knowledge to try and prepare the galaxy for the Reapers' arrival, but a few things changed since he interfered in the timeline, leading the Reapers to attack earlier," it explained.

It then relayed everything it had seen in the human's mind, and it was safe to say that they were amazed by what they heard. Not only was time travel real, but they were in the presence of someone who had done it.

Of course, the human was still inferior compared to them, but even they had to admit that it was somewhat of an amazing feat, even though it seemed he had no control over it.

After the Leviathan finished recounting all it had witnessed, all the others shared the same thought, "I want to see it."

Hearing about it was one thing; seeing the memories was another. For the moment, their curiosity overwhelmed even their deep-seated fear of the Reapers.

One of them finally spoke after a brief silence, "I want to see those memories."

Like a cascade, all the others echoed the same sentiment, "Me too."

"It's a unique opportunity…"

More and more chimed in, and finally, the one who entered Samael's mind said, "Well, that's another part of what I was going to say."

Without waiting for the others to ask what it was talking about, the creature continued, "Remember that the human came here asking for help."

The others recalled the scene; it was true. He had come seeking assistance, but the question still remained, "With what?"

"Well, our time traveler thinks that the wrong things within his mind originated from the Reapers, and that only we could help him," the Leviathan explained.

Silence filled the air once more. It was as if someone had reminded them of the seriousness of the situation they were in. "What do you think? Could it be true?" one finally asked.

The Leviathan replied, "Yes. But I also could not help him, as the problem is too hidden, deep inside his mind. That's where the win-win situation comes into play."

A few of the Leviathans caught the subtle meaning, "So, we all enter his mind, see his memories, and then help him find his counterpart?"

It made a lot of sense, and the Leviathan replied, "Yes."

"Will his mind be able to handle all of us at once?"

Remembering the pain the human went through and the benefits he gained from the experiment, the Leviathan said, "I told you what happ - wait a minute... You will understand what I'm talking about when you see his mind, but yes, he can handle it."

After all, the was more like a Chimera than a normal human. It was not as if their species had never tried something like that, it was just that the results were far from satisfactory.

The Leviathans looked at each other and could see their desire to witness the memories for themselves. If they had to help an inferior being, so be it.

"We will help with his mind."

"Good. Also, you will see when you examine his memories, but this time, this cycle has a chance to win against the Reapers once and for all."

"How?"

"Again, you will see after you explore his memories, but I recommend we enter the war."

Silence ensued. For now, they were afraid to answer, so it was clear they would respond after they viewed the human's memories.

Seeing this, the Leviathan that entered Samael's mind said, "Let's not waste any more time."

The whole conversation took about ten minutes, and by the time they returned to where Samael was, they were taken aback by what they saw.

In their lair, there was now a mini space filled with a coffin-like structure. From its size, it was clearly meant for the human.

Still, for it to be there meant the human knew they would accept his proposition, and some of them actually found a nick of respect for his attitude.

When Samael saw the Leviathans, some of whom easily dwarfed Sovereign, he smiled at them. "I hope we have reached an agreement?"

The Leviathan snickered a bit and said, "Yes. But all of us will enter your mind, see your memories once more, and then help you... and what is all this?"

"I see no problem with that.'' Samael pointed at the coffin. ''This is the place where I'll be sleeping.'' He paused for a bit before saying, "I don't know how long it will take to deal with the other me, so this is a precaution... and I have another favor to ask."

With a hint of displeasure in its tone, the Leviathan asked, '' What is it?''

"While I'm gone, can you take care of my ship?"

He didn't know how long he would be gone, so he asked that just in case. He still needed something to leave the planet when he was done.

The Leviathans didn't delve into this too much and simply said, "Sure. Now, let's begin."

Samael nodded and started preparing for the procedure. First, he placed a significant amount of compressed food into the coffin. He set it to release every few days to ensure he would not die of hunger. Next, he added other essential things to ensure his survival for quite some time.

The Leviathans were a little taken aback by all this but said nothing. All they wanted was to see the mind of the so-called time traveler. What happened before or afterward wasn't their concern.

After a few minutes, Samael was all done. He took a deep breath and did something very few would dare to do: he stepped out of his MECH into the cold water of the deep ocean.

Immediately, his bones—denser than those of humans and akin to Krogans—started to crack. He quickly jumped into the coffin-like structure to mitigate the damage.

Once inside the coffin, he closed it, and soon, through the mechanics of the device, the water was sent back to the ocean, leaving the interior clean and ready to sustain Samael for some time.

After all that, he was finally ready to deal with his mind. Sure, he would first have to 'deal' with the Leviathans who wanted to see his memories, but that wouldn't take long.

Samael took a deep breath and gave the okay. All the Leviathans in the area—numbering only around twenty or thirty, thanks to the Reapers' relentless pursuit—gathered. Honestly, it was a miracle so many of them had survived for so long.

Soon, the twenty or so Leviathans all entered Samael's mind.

--

INSIDE SAMAEL'S MIND

''Fascinating...'' Just like the first Leviathan that ventured here, they were shocked by the state of the human mind and simultaneously captivated by it.

Never in their long existence had they witnessed anything like this. It was as if something had completely destroyed the mind, reshaped it piece by piece, and then left the rest to destiny.

And that wasn't even the most surprising part. They observed the memories and, just like the first Leviathan, confirmed that Samael was indeed a time traveler.

It was shocking, yes, but in the grand scheme of things, his return seemed... trivial. He changed almost nothing and even worse, it appeared his actions had anticipated the Reapers' arrival. Sure, he supposedly possessed a device that could destroy the Machines once and for all, but they did not see it being used in his memories, so all of that remained speculation.

Still, the Leviathans gathered all available data about this device and memorized it. They were now armed with that knowledge and could potentially act on it. After all, it seemed this cycle had a genuine chance of winning, and when everything was said and done, the galaxy would need a new ruler.

And they had more qualifications than any other inferior species in the galaxy at this moment.

After observing Samael's 'first life,' they continued into his next memories and saw the pain he endured to gain strength. They discovered the Chimera Serum and the effects it had on him.

''So that's how he can handle all of us at once. His mind is fortified...'' The Leviathans distinctly remembered how it went when they attempted to enter the minds of other inferior species. They would often go catatonic or crazy soon after.

That was when only one of them entered a mind, and with all of them combined, the strain was even greater. But from what they were witnessing, nothing had changed in Samael's mind.

He was still sane and normal. The human was even following them around in his mind realm, something very few species could do. Sure, he had the Chimera Serum, which gave him Asari mental capabilities, but having it and using it like this was a different story.

Soon, after seeing everything they wanted to see, the Leviathans begrudgingly decided to honor their words. They were satisfied with what they saw and had gained a new weapon, all in exchange for empty promises they didn't know if they could deliver.

All twenty or so Leviathans looked at Samael, and their representative said, "Now, what exactly do we do?"

Samael smiled at what he heard. He now had the chance to see things through to the end. "I just need you to find the hidden realm inside my mind. It should be easy, because one Asari managed to find it, only for the other part to hide it more deeply."

The Leviathans knew that Samael intentionally riled them up by mentioning that one Asari managed to do it. Even though they recognized this, they were still a little angry and began searching frantically.

Sure enough, after giving Samael many headaches due to all they were doing in his mind, they finally found it. Just as Samael said, it was deeply hidden.

"It was hidden inside your past memories. How, I don't know, but I must say that it's an amazing move."

Very few individuals had the power to hide things in memories, and Samael was the only one with a past life, making it even trickier. It took the Leviathans a long time to uncover it.

After seeing the entrance to the hidden realm inside his mind, Samael felt calm. He would finish this once and for all. But first, he had to shoo the Leviathans away.

He looked at all of them and said, "Thanks for that. And please, keep your word regarding my ship and my well-being."

"Don't worry. See you later, mortal."

With that, they left Samael's mind, and after checking one more time to ensure they really had done so, he jumped straight into the hidden realm.

OUTSIDE WORLD

The Leviathans all stared at Samael, who was deeply ensconced inside his coffin-like structure. They never imagined today's events would happen, but here they were.

Now, they faced a dilemma: should they risk revealing their existence by constructing this machine, or should they wait?

While contemplating this, one of the Leviathans asked the others, "What do we do about him?"

"Him" referred to Samael, the one who had given them this opportunity.

One of them looked at Samael and said coldly, "We have already done our part with his mind. I say we let him be. We won't attack him, even though he's dangerous, but we also won't aid him."

It was a reasonable compromise. They would not like to admit it, but though trivial, a person had time traveled was dangerous in more ways than one. They were wary of him, just as they were wary of the Reapers.

The only difference was that they could kill the human right now. Still, they felt bound, even if just a little, to Samael. They had promised to keep his ship safe.

The first Leviathan who had entered Samael's mind said, "Let's keep an eye on him while we construct the device. After that, we will see how it goes."

In that single sentence, he articulated their next steps: risk it to construct the device and watch over Samael for the time being.

After that, things would be left to fate.

"Let's begin!"

The Leviathans immediately began to spread their tentacles across the galaxy, both metaphorically and physically.

With that, another variable in Samael's plan appeared, all while he was battling his own mind.