I was only gone for a few minutes, but it looked like Calypso had endured years of torment. I didn't bother setting Cal free. For now, the flayen could rot in his prison.

"What did you remove?" It was a hopeless question. I had to ask.

"I do not know. The smallest memories were the easiest to remove without detection. Then, the oldest. I didn't see into the blocks I removed; I just knew you had a strong attachment to them."

I rested my hand on Cal's cell as I struggled to find the strength to ask more questions.

"How do I protect myself from more loss?"

"I am not removing any more of your memories." The words were cold and weightless. Calypso's lie hurt almost as much as the truth.

"Why?"

Cal looked down at his hands, opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it, and shook his head. Incoherent mumbling followed.

"Why?" I pounded the cell causing Cal to jump at the sudden impact. "I would've helped you. We could've been friends." I wouldn't call it betrayal, but it still stung.

"No, you would not." The flayen kept his head down. "We were enemies from the start. In all of my recursions with you, we never worked together."

"Did you ever question your mindscape's projected reality? It's a projection based on likeness. Even I know that. Ao's pits. You were in a projection within a projection… So what now? I carry you around while you continue to cut my memories, and I can't remove you until I save my friends."

"I am not cutting your memories, but I left a tracer behind that will slowly degrade them. You will slowly lose details until time fades the memories into a blur."

"I would've helped you."

"That is clear for me to see now." Cal paused, raising his head. His puffed eyes met mine. "I am sorry it took me too long to figure that out. I vow to do everything in my power to restrict the tracer. Your mind is already heavily fortified, so the effects of the tool will be diminished. With my help, your loss will be minuscule."

I could feel the same truth in these words as I did before. It was a distinct difference from the cold lie he tried to pass.

"Just remove it… Please."

"I can not," Cal said. The words were warm and heavy and carried the stinging bite of truth.

"I hate you." I couldn't look at the flayen anymore.

"I know."

I stepped away from Squid's cell, feeling broken and defeated. I no longer had the luxury of time I thought I had. Ao's breath. I didn't even know what rate I'd lose memories, what plane of time they functioned in, or how they triggered in each loop. I needed to ask the flayen again, but I wasn't in the right state of mind, and I couldn't get myself to return a third time so soon.

Instead, I retreated into the innermost sanctuary of my mind. It was a room made entirely of ice and water suspended over an empty abyss. There was no way into the room. All one could do was stand at the bottom of the vast white space and stare at the floating room. I was the only one allowed in the sanctuary.

I studied the four pillars of my being: memories, beliefs, personality, and preferences. They were still intact, and there were still so many core memories.

I sat in my sanctuary and recorded my memories on a tablet. A vault was created for the memory tablets, which I hid and buried. Hours faded as I made multiple copies and hid them away. When I finished with my memories, I moved to the rest of my pillars and did the same. New sanctuaries were built only to be hidden away. I returned to my original sanctuary, created four more vaults, and stored the pillars of my being in them.

Cal would help me fight the tracer. I could sense that his vow held him to his words. His help wasn't enough. I needed to do everything in my own power to protect myself. I didn't know how the tracer worked. Still, I hoped to delay the degradation of memories or perhaps preserve my memories entirely.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Besides, I had the sinking feeling that when the time was right, Calypso would strike again. It might be hundreds of years from now with the flayen acting against his plan. As my mind slowly faded away, he acted friendly, doing everything he could to help. That would make it all the easier to sink in the dagger when I was in a weakened state. It was a clever plan. It was something I would do.

Damn. I was starting to like Cal, too. I'd still use him. As a companion, he would be a valuable asset. I'd just watch him close without allowing him to get close. Keep him at a distance.

I spent the remainder of the loop meditating in my mindscape, cultivating, and practicing katas. When the end came, I was more than ready. It had been time to move on from the Bloodwoods for a while now…

I stood alone in a forest of massive trees. Grass and shrubs covered my crouched body, and my hand rested on a tree. Massive trees crashed to the ground a few miles north of my position. They fell with heavy booms that cracked like thunder. Darkness and thick clouds covered the sky, and smoke filled the air.

While I waited for the battle to finish, I meditated. After hours spent in my mind of planning, I stepped back into the main realm. Calmness had claimed the entire Bloodwood Forest, compensating for the chaos that had taken place moments earlier. I waited a few more minutes before venturing out into the graveyard. Icy was waiting for me on his stake, as patient as ever.

"Hang in there," I said to myself, picking up my frozen body with my domain. I had a new, perfect hiding spot; I just needed to do some cleaning first.

The dungeon was cleared in less than two hours. No fire or tricks were needed this time. I walked through the portal with Icy in tow and started tearing the place apart. Lips put up a little bit of a fight. Catching her off guard gave me a surmounting advantage that she didn't get the chance to recover from. Gulley, Roots, and Heft proved weak against my domain and couldn't weather my water blades and freezing waves long. Roots —the boss inside the jungle's throat, Heft—the Rat King, and all the dungeon beasts practically froze if they got too close.

It took one more hour to collect all the cores and valuables inside the dungeon and to create a safe place for Icy. I fashioned a cloak from the wolfbears and a pack as the last item of business. As I strolled out of the portal, I whistled one of Lana's favorite songs.

I was excited for some new experiences. Time wasn't on my side, but I still had a huge opportunity. I wasn't going to squander it, especially considering the cost. I slid through the forest at an alarming speed, passed the outskirts of Tom's Pond, and continued water-slinging myself to Cyanne.

Cyanne had a population of roughly two thousand residents, a quarter of which was military. The location was deemed a necessary stronghold to support Landfall if the coastal town was lost or needed aid.

High, durable walls of enchanted metals surrounded the three-road city, and the houses and shops looked more like bunkers. Four arcane towers towered over the four corners of the wall, and a set of guard towers was built by all four gates. Instead of looking like a looming castle town, the city managed to turn the aggressive walls and bold towers into a majestic palace that blended with the neighboring Teardrop Mountains.

Besides being a soldier base, Cyanne provided agriculture, mining, and goods. But life mostly catered to the transient lifestyle of stationed soldiers.

I skipped the south entrance and reached the east city gates a little after the sun had fallen. The gates were already closed, and the guards were on double duty. I preferred to sleep in the wilds and not bother with the night shift security, but I was here on a mission, and the best time to get information was at night.