Yuri stood stock-still, his face completely neutral. But knowing that he didn’t have any fucking clue what was going on anymore than me meant that things would begin to unravel in moments if I didn’t intervene.

So I pressed my katana against Astrid’s neck, and shoved her away from Yuri. The illusion she was casting to fool me stumbled back with a look of shock and amusement. The real Astrid also stumbled back, but with an expression of true surprise that quickly resolved into anger.

“You two don’t get to gab until I know where Lacy is. Take me to her or we’re gonna see just how ironclad this Soul Contract is.”

Astrid—the real one—growled in frustration and I felt her power begin to fluctuate. But after a moment, she let it go and the two versions of her coincided for once.

“Of course, little bird. Right this way.” She began sauntering down the hall. With a glance over her shoulder, she said to Yuri, “Hold that thought, Watcher. We have to appease the mice for the moment.”

My diskslinger hung heavy in my hand, my finger itching on the trigger. If I fired it off into her back, would it be enough to kill her? If it wasn’t, could I count on Yuri to have my back? Though he would be an idiot to count on this duplicitous psycho, she had been on the cusp of explaining the situation to Yuri—the perfect bait for an amnesiac. All I could offer him was vague nothings about friendship and the slimmest sliver of insight into his situation in the Hold.

But as Astrid led us deeper into the dungeon, I couldn’t help but have some questions myself. Yuri and Astrid had always been antagonistic in public, but she had a pet name for the Watcher? And when she had thought I couldn’t hear her, she had flipped demeanors in an instant, asking for candidness between the two of them about something called a rabbit.

Maybe Yuri and I could torture Astrid for not only the secrets of Yuri’s memories, but also their purpose in the Hold. There were so many things that didn’t mesh up with the Beasts, the Champions, Yuri, the Kaori—even the Hold. This was supposedly the place the separate factions had resided for centuries, but they were so equally matched that no one side had ever gained the advantage? Why had Yuri employed me to bring Mileen out into the open when Astrid was clearly willing and able to delve into the sewers to find her.

Too many questions, and the only answers lay in the mind of an amnesiac and the demented creature now escorting me to Lacy.

We stopped in front of a cell door and I looked over Astrid’s shoulder to see Lacy sitting in a familiar metal chair bolted to the floor. She had her Starsteel manacles on still and her hair was tousled, but otherwise seemed uninjured. When we locked eyes, I smiled while she gaped in surprise.

“Dirk?” she called out. “How did you—” She cut off as Astrid opened the door and stepped in. I shoved past her and rushed over to Lacy.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I replied with a quick glance at Astrid. At the door, Yuri was waiting, though he only spared Lacy and I a simple look. His eyes were locked on Astrid and a pit began to form in my stomach.

He was hungry for answers. I was, too, but he was starving, desperate, and I could tell he was beginning to forget about the facade he needed to maintain.

We needed to get out of here and fast.

“Unlock her,” I demanded.

Astrid puttered around at the table with all the torture devices, then looked at Yuri.

“It’s strange,” she started. “If you had the rabbit, why haven’t you left the Tower yet? It couldn’t be because you missed pretty little Astrid, could it? No….unless—”

“Unlock her!” I cut her off, raising my diskslinger toward her head, but a weight settled on my arm that held it in place. My Fate energy was still cycling and I didn’t see any illusions emitting from Astrid. With a start, I looked at Yuri.

His hand was half-raised, power coming off him in a wave. Though he was locking me down tight, he only had eyes for Astrid.

“Say that again,” he said slowly.

Astrid continued to aimlessly play with the tools on the table as if only half-listening. “Sorry? Say what again?” Through her illusion, I could see a smile touching the corners of her lips.

Yuri’s eyes were narrowed, his face dark. “Did you say: Tower?”

My stomach flipped even as I tried to wrench my arm free. I tried to swing my other arm up to skewer her with my katana, but I was completely locked in place.

Astrid adopted a confused expression. “Did I? That’s odd. Does that word mean something to you?” she asked innocently.

Yuri looked around the room as if he could see through the walls, straight out onto the Hold. A look of horror passed across his face, his eyes going wide.

“No. No, no, no…it can’t be…I wouldn’t…” His eyes snapped to Astrid, a fire burning in his gaze. “Answer me now. No games or half-truths. Is this one of His Towers?”

Astrid was holding a hammer in her hand, weighing it in her palm. A single shoulder raised in a half-shrug.

Yuri’s power magnified a hundred-fold, filling the room with a pressure so intense that I could scarcely breath. Behind me, Lacy gasped and I tried to turn toward her, but my body was frozen in place.

“ANSWER ME!” Yuri bellowed, the intensity of his voice painful to my ears.

Astrid also seemed locked in by Yuri’s powers, her face contorted in a stuck smile. Yuri’s power shifted slightly and her smile disappeared, replaced by an annoyed pursing of her lips.

“Of course, Yur-yur. The details are in the Quest…” She cut off, her eyes widening. “Ho ho ho, you don’t have the Quest anymore…do you?”

Yuri’s eyes cast around wildly, scanning the small cell as if looking for the ripcord to eject him from his amnesiatic hell.

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“I didn’t sign up for this!” he shouted frantically. “I would never. There’s been some mistake.” He looked up toward the ceiling as if calling out to God. “There’s been a mistake! Let me out!”

Astrid chuckled at his frazzled demeanor. “Yur-yur, there’s no point shouting. It doesn’t care about you or me. We’re just props in this demented play—”

She cut off with a choked gasp, her eyes bugging out like she was being strangled by an invisible force.

“What is it?” Yuri demanded. His eyes narrowed as if Astrid was attempting some ploy. “What’s going on?”

His control faltered, my limbs freeing by a single degree. But it was enough.

“Grade Four restriction, if I had to guess,” I supplied helpfully. Then I pulled the trigger on my diskslinger.

Theree buzzsaws made of pure Friction energy shot from the weapon like a bat out of hell. The sound of their passage was cut off a moment later as they embedded in the far wall, then dissipated into motes of grey energy.

In front of me, Astrid’s eyes were stuck wide, her mouth gaping open in shock. A moment later, her head slid from her neck, slapping to the floor with a wet squelch. Hot blood splashed across my boots and legs as I pulled the weapon back into my Inventory.

Notifications filled my vision, but I mentally waved them away. I had bigger concerns.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!” Yuri bellowed.

I tried to turn to him, but iron bands wrapped around every muscle, stopping me mid-movement. Even my lungs struggled to expand past Yuri’s power. His face was a mask of unbridled fury and the pressure on my limbs was beginning to ramp up. I released my Fate energy and dialed up my mass—not enough to break free, but just enough not to be squashed under his power.

It had been a risk killing Astrid, but an unavoidable one. She had the salve to Yuri’s amnesia and I could tell he would have hopped to her tune if I gave her enough leeway. The only way to beat an opponent with superior strength and knowledge was a blindside and it had worked to perfection.

Now, all I needed to do was survive the next thirty seconds.

Yuri’s chest was pumping like a bellows, his eyes wild with rage. I could tell he was considering smashing me like a used soda can, but I didn’t have that familiar tingling at the back of my neck when I was in danger. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I felt that Yuri—this Yuri—was far too well-adjusted to murder his last lifeline to a forgotten past. Killing me now would leave him stranded with no one to help him find the answers he needed.

After a tense couple of moments, the fire in his eyes cooled, his shoulders drooping in acceptance. The power holding my jaw released.

“Why?” he asked softly. “Why would you do that?”

“Sorry it had to be like this, Yuri,” I replied. “But look at the woman chained to the chair behind me.” He did, seeming to take in Lacy’s presence for the first time. “Now look at the tools on the table there.” His eyes traced over the hammers, saws, and other torture devices. “Astrid ambushed us, kidnapped her, and was on the verge of torturing her before we showed up. She wasn’t a good person—wasn’t even an honest person. Everything she said or could have said would have been a potential lie. And for someone like you, with no memory to weigh against the bile spewing from her mouth…” I left my words hanging, giving him space to fill in the rest with his imagination.

After a moment, he pursed his lips and sighed. “I understand what you mean. She was obviously desperate to escape this place and would have said anything to do so. But still, we could have discussed that before you murdered her.”

I didn’t say anything, letting the wheels turn in his mind. Anything I said now would sound like an excuse and he seemed to be heading on the right track. He considered Astrid’s body, then shook his head gently.

“Is this really a Tower?” he asked me, his tone resigned.

There was no lying about it now. If nothing else, the restriction on Astrid had proved where we were.

“Yes,” I said simply.

He bit his lip and nodded. “Let me guess. You and I weren’t friends…before I lost my memory, that is.” Before I could reply, he added, “Because you’re a Climber and I’m…” He trailed off, sighing heavily. “And I’m just a prop.”

“What does that mean?” Lacy asked from behind me. “She said that word, too.”

I turned, suddenly remembering that Lacy was still chained up. But I glanced at Yuri to see his expression, because I had also been confused by the terms Astrid had been throwing around. And despite his memory gaps, he had seemed to understand what she was talking about—at least, better than I did.

“The Towers are a well-known construct among the Integrated Universe,” Yuri said. As he talked, I boosted my mass and began pulling Lacy’s manacles apart. “The Aspect that runs them—” He cut off, looking up at the ceiling. “—I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say which one exactly.”

“Conflict,” I supplied, ripping the first manacle in half.

His eyes widened. “How could you know that?”

“Later,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Please go on.”

“Hm, well, yes, it is Conflict. My understanding is that there are thousands—possibly hundreds of thousands—of these Towers at any one time.” Lacy’s second manacle shredded like paper in my hands. “And these Towers need antagonists. Beings to pit against the Climbers to give them a challenge and help facilitate their growth.”

Lacy stood up with my help, cracking her neck as she walked over to Astrid.

“Isn’t that why the Tower has the three separate races?” Lacy asked. “To force them into conflict against each other?” She bent down and pulled a knife from her Inventory. She began sawing away at Astrid’s index finger, blood dripping from the wound.

“I’m not an expert,” Yuri said. “These are just rumors I’ve heard.”

“And how do you and Astrid play into this?” I asked. “You’re what? Hired guns?”

“More like slaves, if what I’ve heard is right. Which is why I’d never volunteer for this…farce!”

Lacy snapped Astrid’s finger bone with a grunt, pulling it into her Inventory. I cast a surprised look at her, but was too focused on Yuri’s story to question her.

“You said volunteer, I noticed. If you’re a slave, why do you think you volunteered?” I asked.

“That’s something everyone agrees on. Conflict only takes willing participants. Offers Cultivators rewards after a certain period or condition is met in exchange for servitude. Wraps you in an impenetrable geas, too, from what I heard.”

“What’s a…geas?” Lacy asked.

Yuri shrugged. “Bit above my grade, but it’s similar to a Soul Contract. More free form though.”

“Is it related to this Quest Astrid was talking about?” I asked. Walking over to Lacy, I put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a questioning look. She nodded back, turning to face Yuri. There was something off about her demeanor, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was firing off my senses.

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Yuri replied with a sigh. He reached up and rubbed at his forehead. “I just know that I would never sign up. I…I had a friend once, many centuries ago. She stalled out in her cultivation and became desperate. She enlisted with a cohort that volunteered for a Tower run in exchange for a push into the next Stage.” He looked away, his eyes deep in a memory. “She never came back.”

“You say you would never join up,” Lacy said. “Maybe you went looking for her?”

His eyes snapped toward her, making her jump. “That’s—you think?” He shook his head gently. “I…would I do that? Thing’s are so jumbled in my mind. I can’t tell what’s me and what’s not. It’s like something’s been added and something removed, but I can’t figure out where the line is…”

This was a concerning train of thought, because if Yuri lost it, there was nothing we could do to escape, let alone survive. I had no more tricks and he was blocking the door with his body. I needed to distract him before he started spiraling.

“Hey, Astrid mentioned a rabbit in connection with the raid she was leading against the Kaori. Maybe we can find some answers there?”

His eyes lit up. “You know where these people are?”

“Well…yeah, but they’re my friends,” I added. “You’re not gonna try and sacrifice them or murder them to escape the Tower…are you?”

He reared back as if the idea disgusted him. “Absolutely not. I’m from the Ardent Rose Sect,” he proclaimed proudly. “We have strict beliefs concerning the sanctity of life. You may have noticed my reaction when you decapitated Astrid.”

I was wary of that statement. Sure, this version of Yuri seemed like a good enough guy. But he hadn’t mentioned anything about being a pacifist earlier. And honoring the sanctity of life didn’t mean he wouldn’t fuck me or Hiko over if it meant his freedom. Still, I needed to keep him on our good side.

At least until we could ditch him.