In the fleeting moment linking the Defender with the Hero, Jacob came to know his son. It was miraculous to embrace the essence of the boy he always loved, but heartbreaking to feel the abandonment, shame, and anguish caused by so many years apart.
He reached out to soothe Connor’s anger and bitterness, but the emotions recoiled, tightening into a knot of greed and pride. The dark, swirling mass overshadowed the boy Jacob once knew, and it began growing, making him feel small and unwelcome. Though the joining was brief, Jacob was not the only one learning.
At precisely the same time, Connor curiously probed the essence of the man defending him from far below. In a bewildering blur, the knowledge and skills of a Blacksmith and those of a Cooper transferred without words from father to son.
Connor watched Jacob Miller transform into Jacob Duncan, and he was electrified with emotions that spawned an unbelievable pain. His breath caught in his throat, his back arched in agony and with each beat of his heart he stiffened. He was unable to move and unable to look away from the visions in his head.
Lightning coursed through Connor as it flashed in the Chamber, transforming his view of the world. He witnessed and experienced a lifetime of people and places from Jacob’s perspective.
When the thunder subsided, the two men pulled away from each other and time stopped. In their private, timeless void, ribbons of emotions became flesh and nowhere became the past.
Jacob stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the orphanage while Connor looked down upon his father.
Connor glanced from side to side, almost turning completely around. He knew the tragedy this place had to offer, and it fanned the coals of hatred within him like the bellows to a forge.
“Do you remember this place?!” he demanded of Jacob.
Jacob nodded, knowing there was no right way to undo this wrong.
“I’m not sure how you could! You only spent enough time here to abandon me!”
“Connor I’m…”
“How could you lie to me this whole time?!”
Jacob began to answer, but Connor wasn’t interested in answers.
“Why did you leave me here all alone?!” he screamed.
Anger, loathing and bitterness rose like the welts of a switch across the fabric of Connor’s soul. He and Jacob separated and the orphanage dissolved.
Jacob watched helplessly while the Light ruthlessly harvested the strongest emotions from his son.
Connor writhed and screamed in pain as the very essence of his being was torn to pieces.
With the menacing goliath of evil towering over Jacob and bellowing with rage, he knew there was no escape. He had gambled and lost.
Minutes later, his life slipping away, Jacob wedged his hand between the glowing spire and his broken back.
“You cannot have my son!” he screamed at the towering creature.
As the massive fists came crashing down, Jacob whispered, “Stalemate.”