18.x (Bonus Interlude #1; The Most Powerful Man in the World)

Worm, Chapter 18.x (Bonus Interlude #1) Summary

“I am Kevin Norton, and I am the most powerful man in the world,” Kevin declares, signaling his dog, Duke, to woof in agreement. He stumbles on the cobblestone path, his worn-out shoe catching, and laments his inability to afford new ones despite his supposed stature.

Kevin reminisces about a bakery that used to give him leftovers and small necessities. He wonders about the fate of the kind owners, hoping they weren’t forced out by the area’s renovations. He acknowledges his own lack of deserving, burdened by a heavy responsibility that costs him sleep.

He explains to Duke the three ways people end up like him: lack of support, sickness, or cowardice. He chose the third path, running away from life. A sudden summer rain prompts him to take shelter under the eaves of a building, where he admits to fucking up and needing to live with it.

A young woman named Lisette gives Kevin a ten-pound note. He engages in a conversation with her, a rare human contact he values. Lisette offers to walk with him, and Kevin shares his past, revealing how he ended up on the streets after a failed relationship with a woman.

They arrive at a bridge, a place Kevin considers his closest to home. He asks Lisette to hold Duke’s leash and approaches the bridge, washing his hands in the stream. Memories flood back, and he stands, frozen.

A golden man appears, floating above the ground. Lisette recognizes him as Scion, but Kevin corrects her, saying it was never his name. He explains that the golden man used to wander, observing but never acting, until Kevin, in a fit of anger and depression, confronted him, telling him to help people.

The golden man began to act, saving lives and intervening in conflicts, all based on Kevin’s instructions. Kevin reveals that he can influence the golden man’s actions, making him the most powerful person in the world.

Kevin recounts a specific incident where he talked to the golden man about his childhood, and the golden man fixated on the word “Zion.” This led to the name “Scion” being adopted worldwide, a trivial detail that had a global impact.

He asks the golden man to kill the Endbringers, not just fight them, realizing that his lack of specificity might have caused unnecessary deaths. He also reveals that he’s dying from hepatitis and asks the golden man to continue helping people, suggesting Lisette as a new contact.

Kevin passes Duke’s leash to Lisette, entrusting her with the responsibility of guiding the golden man. The golden man departs, leaving Lisette and Kevin to grapple with the implications of their encounter. Kevin, having settled his affairs, walks away, leaving Lisette with the heavy burden of being the most powerful person in the world, a title she earned for ten pounds.