[Mom?]

I rubbed my eyes and massaged my temples, the damn headache still not letting up. I stumbled forward and hugged her from the back, leaning my head on her back.

[I got this weird feeling, Mom. I had such a weird nightmare...]

“Oh?”

I gestured with my hands. [There was this weird other world with magic and monsters where I had to constantly fight. And then we were sent on this mission…] My mind began to wander and I sniffed the delicious aromas. [What’s for lunch? It smells nice.]

“Pork shoulder and baked potatoes, with gravy.” Mom smiled. My stomach decided to rumble at the mention of delicious food.

[Is it going to be soon?]

“Go wash your hands first, it’ll be ready in a minute.”

[… Okay.]

I slowly wobbled to the door and opened it, but then I stopped.

[Mom?] I called.

“Yes, dear?”

[What did you call me before?] I asked without turning.

“Gerald, dear? Why?”

[Huh…] I nodded my head and suddenly felt the headache lessen. [It’s nothing.]

I went to the bathroom and took some soap and began washing my hands. As I did so, I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my young face staring back at me. I washed it as well, checking my eyes and teeth up close.

They all appeared fine. Normal.

Then I focused intently for a moment and the mirror shattered, the cracks spreading out from the middle like a spider web.

I released a long sigh and dried off my face and hands before going to the dining room. There, plates were already set, the freshly made food steaming from heat.

[Hmm! It smells so good.] I smiled after breathing in the aromas.

“Eat well!” My mom smiled and said a short prayer.

I waited, blowing on the food to cool it down faster, and then dug in like a ravenous animal. It tasted so good! Just like I remembered it. It made me sad.

[Where’s dad?] I suddenly asked. Seats were still empty around the table.

“He went to the hardware store with your brother, remember? They talked about it yesterday.”

[Oh, yeah… They were going to build a cage for Fufu, right?] I recalled a memory.

“Oh, that little bunny… He’s such a cutie.” Mom smiled with a dreamy expression.

[Yeah… He is.] I sighed, finishing the last of my meal, and then leaned back, enjoying the feeling of fullness. This was messed up. So fucking messed up.

I looked at my mother and then opened my palm, a small flame flickering into existence.

“Hey! No magic in the house!” She took a towel and flicked my hand with it, putting out the flame. “You are going to burn something.”

I pulled back my hand and looked at her. [And who are you to tell me this, exactly?]

“What... do you mean?” She looked at me, confused. “I’m your mom.”

I scoffed. [You are obviously not my real mom. So, who, or what, are you really?] I repeated the question.

There was silence for a bit, and then my mom began to laugh. “Huhuhu… So you have figured it out already? What gave it away?”

I ignored the question and countered with my own. [So, how does this work? This place you created seems pretty convincing. We are not inside my mind, right? No, I don’t think so. Not fully at least. You somehow got access to my surface memories, right? But this copy of yours is quite lacking.]

“Huh, so what? Even if you know it's not real, breaking free from this place is not so easy. I’ll enjoy watching you struggle.” The creature with the face of my mom grinned.

[You think so?] I poked the air with my finger and a small piece of space shattered, cracks forming mid-air. [Seems kinda fragile to me.]

“You-!”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I flicked my finger and the creature was obliterated, consumed by a hurricane of Qi, together with half the room and the following a few hundred meters of the town behind it. Where my energy passed, space twisted and broke, revealing the real world.

[A convincing illusion. Or a separate pocket space. With a bit of hypnotism or mental magic. Interesting.] I absentmindedly commented as my emotions began to stir.

I felt the power rampage inside me as the emotions that should have stayed buried deep were pulled to the surface. Light began twisting around my finger as I ripped a tear in the fabric of space and stepped through to the other side. There I saw my teammates lying on the ground unconscious, some of them bleeding from deep stab wounds, others just knocked out.

There was also the Drow responsible for it, standing over them and staring at me like a deer in headlights.

“You- Impossible… How?!” She shouted, her voice shaking. “How- How could you escape so fast?!”

[I’ll be the one asking questions.] I stated in a flat, cold voice and took a step closer. [It’s time I stop playing games.]

Qi flooded out of me, encasing us all inside an impenetrable barrier. The Drow immediately tried to escape, but unlike her trap, my magic was actually strong. Her attacks and curses did nothing to break the layer of hardened Qi, and she realized it quickly too.

She slowly turned toward me who was just standing still, staring at her.

“I see… Well then, since I can’t break the barrier, I’ll just have to break… you!”

She lunged at me, short swords in the reverse grip, and threw her full weight behind them, with the help of magic to boot.

I didn’t react and just let her. Watching in a fully alert state as she neared me in slow motion. The sharp points reached my chest, pierced my clothes, and then stopped.

Her shocked expression was interesting as she realized her attack didn’t even draw blood, but while that would have usually made me smile, I was in no mood to care.

I slowly lifted my hand, and before she could react, backhand slapped her across the face. I really didn’t appreciate her messing with my mind, and that was the fastest way to make her understand that.

She rag-dolled and did a few flips through the air before smashing against the barrier, probably breaking something.

I slowly approached as she tried to get back up, shouting curses at me and shooting spells, but they all barely tickled. A specially nasty curse attempted to twist my form and scramble my energy beyond repair, yet after the magic was done, everything just snapped back to its original position. My defenses were beyond what mere mortals could comprehend.

[Quiet, you.] I pulsed my Disruption and the Drow collapsed. It appeared she was holding herself upright with magic alone, and with that gone she was no different than an empty sack. I took her swords and grabbed her, pulling her back to where the rest of my team was slowly waking up.

I could see confusion in their eyes, pain, and when they saw my prisoner, hate.

Walking among them, I sent pulses of healing magic, mending their wounds in mere moments. Not all of them were as lucky though, only sustaining small injuries.

“Boss… This guy is dead.” A man called, pulling a corpse closer whose heart was destroyed with an especially nasty stab wound. Since he fell unconscious due to the weird magic the Drow used, he couldn’t even save himself and bled out.

[Tsk. Trying to get out of work without my permission, did he?]

“Uh, I don’t think that was it, boss…”

[Onyx, you got his Soul?] I ignored the comment and mentally asked.

“Yes, Master.”

[You haven’t consumed it yet, I hope?]

“Not yet.”

[Good, hand it over.]

Onyx released the guy’s Soul and I took it into my Sea of Consciousness. I then crouched down, using the Drow as a seat, and began healing the body. Like back in the Underdark, I fixed the vessel and stuffed the Soul inside it, binding it and fixing the little damage it sustained from death with a bit of my own Soul Essence.

After I was done, I slapped the guy who then woke up with a start, looking confused.

[Get up soldier. Don’t let me catch you sleeping on the job a second time. None of you here have permission to die here.]

“Y-Yes, sir… boss.” The guy got back to his feet stammering, searching with his eyes for an explanation from the others, yet all were just as confused and surprised as he was.

My seat tried to retaliate, attempting to bite me, but I put it back in its place with a well-placed punch. I didn’t hit her too hard since that was the first Drow I had the opportunity to examine up close, and so I even healed her instead of killing her on the spot.

[She is not trying to kill herself to escape, is she?]

“No, she is not.”

[Good. Just warn me her if she tries something.] I mentally ordered Onyx and then returned the attention to the captive. She was still trying to escape, uselessly throwing her Qi at me and just exhausting herself.

“Just die already! What kind of nonsense is this?!” She shouted, her voice full of frustration.

[You are a thousand years too young to challenge me, young lady.] I scoffed and then took a special something out of my storage. [And you seem a bit too aggressive, so we will have to fix that.]

I lifted her up and under the watchful eyes of my team, snapped a metal ring around her neck. I then let her go.

“Why you-! Aaaaagh!”

She clutched her neck and collapsed, her entire body shaking from pain.

[Agony Collar. I suggest you restrain your magic usage.] I smiled.

The Drow looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes, but as she opened her mouth, only a scream of pure pain came out. She did that one more time after catching her breath, and then didn’t move anymore as she sat on her knees, her head lowered.

[You figured it out quickly, good.]

I took out some chains and cuffed her as well as gagged her so she couldn’t give out our position. I then gestured to two of my men to come forward and gave them the job of guarding her. She was like a criminal getting dragged into a maximum security prison, with two guards by her side.

With her magic restrained by the Agony Collar, her Soul under the control of Onyx, and being physically weaker than any of us, I didn’t have to worry about her escaping.

[Alright, let’s move.]

I removed the barrier around us, reabsorbing the Qi, and we were back in business, marching towards our target.

First in line was the guy with the compass, behind him was the Drow with her guards, and a step behind was I, my senses examining her in detail. I scanned her body over and over, trying to find all the differences the Drow carried compared to a human. In case I wanted to shapeshift into one at a later date, I needed it to be perfect.

After a few hours, satisfied I could perfectly replicate her physical form, I decided to try out something new. She somehow invaded my mind, stealing my memories and planting others, creating a convincing illusion. While such an intrusion was an absolutely unforgivable sin, it did give me a few ideas. If she could do it, why couldn’t I?

I focused, expanding my consciousness, and then struck, burrowing into her mind as a muffled scream rang escaped her. Good thing she was already gagged, haha!