--Point of View: Crim--

“We can’t send him out there again. He’s still in there!” cried a familiar voice.

It was Draya but she sounded different. The calm voice from before was now filled with alarm and fright. I could hear them nearby, but everything was dark. An attempt was made to open my eyes but discovered I was once again unable to move. I was stuck in a memory. What was going on? Where was I this time?

“I will not allow this! I do not care how much he cost us. This simply is not right!” yelled Draya once more from a short distance away.

She was arguing with somebody, but I could not hear the other person. Someone above her in rank I suspected. She seemed so distressed. It was then that my eyes opened, and I was met with the same shabby cell I had dreamt about just the other day. I was back in the facility, reliving my time before I woke up in the ruins.

My ears twitched as hurried footsteps approached. The door to my cell then swung open and Draya stormed in, throwing her arms around me. She had tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. The things you must have endured!” she cried, burying her face into my side.

I wanted to speak with her. The sight of Draya so distraught caused me mixed emotions. She really did seem to care about me. I wanted to let her know it would be okay, but that was impossible. I was merely a passenger along for the ride as I relived my memories. A memory that I imagined was suppressed for good reason. Part of me wanted to wake up and end this reenactment but I knew that would be a mistake. I still had so many questions and my own memories were probably the most reliable information I had.

So here I stood, this body motionless as the younger Draya cried for me. As they wept, I was able to piece a few things together. She had been trying to persuade the higher ups to stop using me to fetch them dragon hearts. She had tried to explain just how painful an experience I must be going through. Unfortunately, it sounded like her efforts did no good. I was not surprised. Us soldiers know how it works. The people above you, your superiors, looked down upon us all and expected us to grovel and follow their every order. Such is the world at large.

At least an hour passed before the Old One was able to compose themselves. She stood up and brushed the nonexistent dust off her white lab coat before turning to leave the room. They stopped in the doorway and hesitated for a brief moment. Draya took a deep breath.

“They want me to suppress you even further, but I do not think that will work at this point. Your soul is steadily growing stronger. I can see it in your eyes. They used to be so lifeless but now they are full of sadness. Regardless, what they want is the same as murder. How could they ask me to do such a thing. I am going to try and reason with them once more.” she said between deep, ragged breaths. “I pray that somebody will listen.”

With that, she left, the door slowly closing behind her and locking once again with a loud click. It went dark for what only felt like a few minutes until I opened my eyes again.

I would have gasped if I was not just along for the ride. I was standing in front of a gate. The very same gate that Katie, Tom, and I had used to escape this very place. Unlike before though, it was bustling with life. There were hundreds of people running around, some dressed in lab goats and others adorned in full suits of armor. Alongside them were also countless droids. They seemed to be patrolling the area. I did not like being around them but as of now, I was in no danger.

As I stood there, I tried to take it all in. It was almost overwhelming. Even if I was not in control of this body right now, I could still feel and experience everything. The sights, the sounds, and even the smells. What were we all preparing for? I did not have to wait long for an answer because I soon recognized the scene that was displayed on the other side of the gate.

What I was seeing right now was my old village through the portal. It looked just like I remembered it. What was going on? It then hit me all at once. We were about to go hunting for the last dragon. The very same dragon that resided near my village. Was I going to witness all of it? Also, when exactly was this? My brain was having difficulty keeping everything in order. I thought back to Draya’s words about multiple timelines which only made matters more confusing for me. Regardless, I guess it was time to find out because I took a step forward and experienced the same sensation as last time. My stomach churned and my senses spiraled as I was shot across the stars.

A minute later I stepped onto an all too familiar road. A road I had traveled countless times in my past. Just ahead was the entrance into the forest that sat on the outskirts of our town. It was our most sacred treasure and our main source of income. Every day, we would travel into the woods and hope to return with a bountiful harvest. It was this mana infused wood that was so sought after.

Now here I stood once again, traversing amongst the trees. What would it mean for the village if I succeeded and slayed the mythical beast that reigned here? Nothing right away but eventually the mana would dry up and with it, the village would die off. I could not bear to watch this memory unfold before me, but I had no choice in the matter. My body continued to trek forward, pausing seemly at random to sniff at the ground and stare far into the distance.

I had never been this far into the woods. I was sane. These trees were not the only thing that could be found here, especially the further you traveled inward. The light kept you safe but if you traveled deep enough into their domain, they could reach you. Beings formed from raw mana. Abominations that wreaked havoc wherever they could. We feared them and for good reason. Simply touching them was enough to ensure your painful death. I had only crossed their paths twice in all the years I had been venturing inside here. Each time I had lost a close friend. If I kept going deeper, it was only a matter of time until we crossed paths.

An hour had passed since I started trekking inside these woods and it was starting to show signs of resistance. The forest was not just a clump of trees and underbrush. It was very much alive and aware of your presence. Trees almost seemed to cluster around me, the paths narrowing until disappearing completely. Branches reached out to slow my progress but to no effect. Even as large as I was, I pushed through everything with sheer brute strength. It was trying to keep me from going any further and I knew exactly why. I must be getting close.

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Another hour came and went and any resemblance of the area I once knew was now gone. It was quickly becoming a battle between me and the invisible force that was doing everything it could to hinder my progress. And hinder it did because it had already grown dark. The light had a hard time penetrating this far into the forest. As I pulled my limbs free from the ever-grasping vines, I noticed something stirring further ahead. Like I had suspected, they were slowly surrounding me on all sides. Glowing blue dots, almost like twinkling stars, were watching my every move. I fully expected to be swarmed any moment now but surprisingly, they kept their distance and not one of them attempted to draw nearer.

Why was that? Maybe they considered me a threat? I suppose I was not much different than a dragon to them. Even these creatures must value their own life. The answer then clicked in my head. It was hard to tell at first because I was stuck looking wherever past me had originally, but I was willing to bet I was absorbing mana right now. Just like I did back in the reactor room. These pitiful creatures may very well just die if they approached me. This whole forest was one giant reactor practically.

Just as the realization hit me, the tree line broke and I found myself in a large, circular clearing. In the dead center stood an ancient oak. It was by far the largest tree I had ever witnessed, easily wider than my home and many times taller. Its canopy domed over the entire clearing but did allow some sunlight to reach inside. This tree must have been the first and is more than likely the mother of this forest. Surrounding her base was a plethora of flowers that painted the landscape into a beautiful, colorful scene.

It was all such an incredible sight. I could have looked upon this scene for years and never grown bored of it, but I was not here for such frivolous matters. My body, having paused when it first entered the circle, started towards the great tree. Its target had already been spotted, unbeknownst to me. The dragon was already in my sight.

It rose from a bed of flowers, its brilliant emerald scales glinting in the light. I had only ever met this dragon once before when I had stepped foot into these woods for the first time. He was a kind soul to those that respected nature and only took what they needed. Our meeting taught me a lot. I could feel tears starting to run down my face. Wait, tears? What was going on? My body was starting to falter as it grew closer to its prey. Could I stop this?

“RUN! FLEE!” I tried to scream, pushing myself as hard as I could to try and take back control for even a few seconds from the mindless monster that was controlling me now. I wanted more than anything for this dragon to survive. Would I be able to live with myself? Not only had I failed my village, but would I be its downfall too?

“GO!” I yelled, my voice echoing loudly through the trees.

Time almost seemed to freeze as the air went quiet, leaves slowly trickling down from the treetops. The Dragon seemed almost to raise a brow in confusion before frantically diving to the side. I had launched forward with incredible speed, fueled by the endless supply of mana wafting in the air. My body turned to follow but fumbled as I yanked back control for only a split moment.

“You must not fight me!” I pleaded, staring into the Dragon’s eyes before control was forcibly wretched back from me. It was becoming harder and harder to fight.

Thankfully, my winged friend was very nimble and bounded away yet again, his glowing eyes, very similar to my own, locked with mine as he maneuvered around.

“I did not expect our reunion to be so energetic.” Spoke the Dragon as his stare penetrated my very soul. He knew I was in here, didn’t he? “But I will heed your words for now, friend. Until we meet again.”

And just like that, in a whirlwind of leaves, he vanished. I was stunned but yet, so grateful. He was safe. Or at least I had thought so for that split second. My head whipped around as whatever was controlling me sensed something moving within the woods still. It was programmed to capture this dragon and it was not about to let it escape. I felt my feet dig into the ground as all the fur on my body stood on edge. The mana inside me was going crazy, surging up like I had never felt it before. What was going on? What was about to happen?

Before I got an answer, I heard a loud voice inside my head.

“Cancel action! Cease and desist! Halt! Do not fire!” screamed the voice, very panic stricken. They seemed horrified at the situation.

“Program terminated. Reengaging mana limiters and halting spell activation.” Came the voice of none other than the artificial soul that shared this body with me. I had not heard it speak since my first encounter with a droid.

“Thank goodness. That would have been a disaster.” sighed the other voice. “Abort mission and return home immediately.”

“Understood. Waypoint established. Heading to nearest optimal return location.” Replied the soul before things went dark yet again.

Everything was quiet for a while. I was starting to worry about how long I would be stuck in this limbo. Thankfully, the silence was soon broken by an unfamiliar voice.

“Draya, I know you’ve grown attached to your little experiment, but we cannot afford any more mistakes. Especially one as big as today. The council is furious and are threatening to cut our budget if we can’t produce results.” said somebody I did not recognize at first, but then the name surfaced in my mind. Allessa was her name. She managed the entire science division.

“Allessa, what you are asking me to do is murder! You know just as well as everybody else here how wrong this is.” Argued Draya, her voice a mixture of anger and fear.

“If you think the council is going to bend over backwards over a single soul, and a human one at that, you have lost your mind Draya. You know this. It’s your weird attachment to the damn thing that is the issue. I refuse to let your stubbornness risk the livelihood of everyone else here.” Allessa retorted, raising her voice.

“But there has to be another…” started Draya, but she was abruptly cut off.

“No Draya, there is not another way. I have already tried to plead your case, against my better judgement. They nearly exiled me, right then and there. Talked about how your little toy was about to unleash ancient magic. Where did it learn that they asked? I didn’t have an answer for them.” Allessa continued to explain, her voice growing louder with every passing second.

“I was surprised by that too! I did not teach him that, I assure you!” pleaded Draya, growing desperate.

“It does not matter where it learned it. It is forbidden! You know the rules!” Allessa yelled once more before letting out a long sigh. “I should have never allowed you to lead this team.”

“I can make this right! I know I can!” begged Draya one final time.

“I don’t care.” sighed Allessa, taking a deep breath. “You’ve done enough. No more. I want that soul suppressed by the end of the day or I will do it myself. Its your choice.”

“Yes mam. I understand.” replied Draya after a short pause, her voice full of despair.

This time, when I opened my eyes, I was laying down on one of the large steel tables I saw outside of my holding cell. From what I could see, there were multiple people surrounding me, each of which seemed to care not for what they were doing. I did not recognize any of them until Draya popped up into my view.

“I’m sorry. I tried. I begged and pleaded with them but of course they would not listen. No one ever does.” She whispered, her voice full of sadness.

She pulled off one of her gloves and placed it on my muzzle. Her hand was soft and warm. It was almost reassuring. She really did care for me, didn’t she? As I watched her, I could not help but notice she had a large bruise across her cheek. Did the higher ups do this?

“Goodbye, Sebastian. I know we never really met but I hope that when your soul finally does pass on, you are at peace.” She finally said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Draya and the rest of the room started to flash in and out of existence, a blue glow slowly creeping from the corners of my vision. What was happening? I felt myself getting tired; very, very tired. All my thoughts were slipping away. Was this the end?

“Farewell…” I heard Draya say one last time.

“I’ll be okay.” Is what I wanted to say and to my surprise, did say.

The last thing I saw before everything faded away was a look of surprise on Draya’s face followed by deep despair.