A cuff bracelet hovered where the Mother Araknor had been a moment ago, emanating a soft blue light.
When I touched it, the Knowledge Bracelet automatically entered my items inventory. At the same time, the Mother Araknor’s Lair faded like it had been an elaborate illusion. I was back in the forest, along with Mag. The lair had been replaced with a large clearing. The dark, dead trees were now alive and yellow, and the morning sun warmed my skin. And, magically, it was as though I hadn’t soiled myself a minute ago.
The nearby trees burst into applause, showing their appreciation for our feat. However, their enthusiastic branch-clapping created a very strong wind that I didn’t like, so I had to ask them to stop.
Besides, it didn’t feel right to be celebrated with Mag passed out on the ground next to me, as she was still paralyzed. Fortunately, along with the Knowledge Bracelet, the Mother Araknor had dropped a small bounty of red, blue, and green potions.
I knelt beside Mag and emptied a green potion into her mouth. Within seconds, she was healthy again. She sprung to her feet, told me way to go for killing the Mother Araknor, and gave me a congratulatory smack on the back. She wouldn’t have been smacking me like that if she knew why I threw my staff, if she knew I was hoping it would direct the araknor toward her so I could save myself.
I asked where Sir was, and we searched the area for him. We soon found him face-down on the ground a little ways into the trees. He wasn’t moving. His armor was all dented, and his helmet was gone. Either it had been knocked off his head, or it had disintegrated when the Mother Araknor spit on it. Mag helped me roll him onto his back so we could give him a red potion.
With his helmet gone, we finally got a look at his face. He looked exactly like my dad.
I jumped back like I was a cat and someone had just turned on a printer. Then my knee gave out again, and I stumbled and fell, so I guess I wasn’t exactly like a cat in the end.
“What is it?” Mag asked.
“I think Sir’s my dad,” I said.
Sir couldn’t really be my dad, though, could he? They might have looked the same, but they sounded and acted nothing alike. Plus, my dad was dead—that was the biggest wrench in the gears.
I gave him the potion, and he soon sat up and opened his eyes. Dark gray smoke swirled around in them. And I don’t just mean his irises—his entire eyes were gray and cloudy. Something about this smoke made me feel hopelessly depressed, and I wanted to cry. Although maybe I was just emotional from perhaps (but probably not) being reunited with my dad.
After a moment, the smoke faded, revealing Sir’s actual eyes. They looked right into mine. The eye contact was brief, but it was long enough to see the truth. Sir didn’t simply look like my dad. He was my dad. I knew this without any doubt whatsoever. Just like you can’t doctor hope into the eyes of a little boy in a photograph, you can’t render someone else’s soul in a video game character’s eyes.
At once, I remembered countless details about my dad that I didn’t even realize I’d forgotten. The smell of sawdust and Brut aftershave, the way his soft voice sounded, the different hats he wore, his favorite of which was for a team called the Hammers, though he didn’t know what city they were from or even what sport they played—he just really liked hammers and hats, so when they got put together, it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to buy it.
I maintained our eye contact, hoping similar memories of me—and, in turn, his gentle personality—would return to him. I could sense in the deepest part of my soul that he recognized me.
“Do you remember me?” I asked. “It’s me. I’m your son.”
Sir roared with laughter. “Don’t be ridiculous! I don’t have a son! And if I did, he’d certainly be a lot tougher than you, you pussy!”
I was crestfallen. It was like the very man who cared for me the most had just raided my heart and robbed me of all the love I’d ever felt. It hurt like hell to be reunited with my dad but to have him be a completely different person.
Mag pulled me aside. “Hey, don’t let him get to you. I mean, it’s not like that asshole’s actually your dad. He’s just a video game character or whatever. This game, or this dimension, designed him to look like your dad just to fuck with us.”
I did not appreciate Mag’s perspective. “First of all, he absolutely is my dad; I saw it in his eyes. Second, my dad’s not an asshole. And third, why are you trying to take this away from me?”
“I’m not trying to take anything away from you. I’m just being rational. Think about it: How could Sir possibly be your dad? For one thing, you’ve always told me he was soft-spoken. ‘As soft-spoken as a soft serve ice cream.’ Those were your exact words. But Sir just called you a pussy to your face. Is that something your dad would do?”
I was in no mood for Mag’s logical, well-thought-out arguments. “Whatever. It’s him. He’s just lost his memories, that’s all. Maybe there’s some potion that cures memory loss. Maybe it’s purple or orange. If we can find it, then you’ll see he’s my dad.”
“I don’t know, man. I get that you want to see your dad again, but I think you’re looking too hard for something that’s not there. It doesn’t make any sense at all for Sir to be your dad.”
“I don’t care if it makes sense!” I said, raising my voice. “He’s my dad! Why is it so hard for you to believe me? Why can’t you just be supportive?”
Mag sighed and tried to speak to me calmly, but she was definitely agitated. “Look, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up only to be let down, okay?”
She sounded more annoyed than concerned for my well-being, and that made me very angry. The emotions of seeing my dad again but having him be nothing like the man I remembered, combined with Mag’s refusal to believe me, were overwhelming.
“What the hell’s your problem?” I snapped. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to see my dad the way he is right now? Do you even care?”
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“Woah, there’s no need to get so defensive. If you’d get your head out of your ass, you’d see that I’m trying to be a good friend, here. I’m actually trying to stop you from getting hurt, you asshole.”
“Oh, yeah, calling me an asshole’s a great strategy for that. Wow, you’re really smart!”
“Fine. If you want to be a delusional moron and believe Sir’s your dad, then that’s on you. And I don’t care if you get hurt if you’re going to act like a jerk about it.”
“Great. Yeah, stop caring about me right when I need you the most. All of a sudden, now that I have a real problem and need your support, caring about me is inconvenient for you, is that it? Because that’s exactly the attitude that got Archie killed.”
Mag clenched her jaw and balled up her fists. She was so mad she was almost crying.
“Fuck you,” she said, her voice trembling with both rage and pain. “I can’t believe you would throw that in my face like that.” I knew she wanted to belt me more than anything. I don’t know how she restrained herself. “Who the fuck are you? Because you’re not the same person I’ve been hanging out with every day for the last year. I don’t know who this person is, but I seriously don’t fucking like them.”
“Whatever. I have my dad back. I don’t need you anymore anyway.”
I turned my back to her and walked to the other side of the clearing. Giving us some space seemed like a wise move, as we were both running on no sleep and were understandably grumpy. I also sensed there was a deeper issue here that Mag wasn’t telling me about. The Mag I knew would have been at least a little supportive.
Mag would need some convincing, but I knew the truth. “Sir is my dad,” I told myself. As I said it, the implication of that fact stung me like a squirt of lemon juice to the eye. I remembered everything he had said about the Abyss, his cursed fate, and his tainted soul. Had he done something unforgivable on Earth? Had he abandoned me by committing suicide after all?
I needed answers. I returned to my dad and spent half an hour asking him every question I could think of about how he knew he was destined for the Abyss, how he had learned about the Abyss in the first place, if he was absolutely sure he had no memories of his previous life on Earth. But it was no use. He had no explanations for anything.
Given his missing memories and overall unstable mental state, I couldn’t be sure anything he had said earlier was true. Perhaps there was no such place as the Abyss. However, if there was even a one percent chance that my dad would suffer endless, unspeakable pain, I would help him collect the talismans and save his soul.
I didn’t care anymore whether the Knowledge Bracelet could tell us how to get home. I needed it to tell me where to find the other two talismans. I wished for the Knowledge Bracelet, and it appeared in my hand.
Its blue glow attracted my dad’s attention. “The Knowledge Bracelet!” he gasped. “She exists! How’s about letting me take a look?”
I went to hand it to him, but Mag had been watching us, and she sprinted over and snatched the bracelet from me. “No! No way in hell are we letting him touch a talisman. For all we know, he’s manipulating us for some ulterior motive. How do we know he’s not using us to get the talismans so that he can get out of this world and leave us stuck here in his place? Like those sick fucks in the red and blue books in Myst. I can tell you right now, that’s not gonna happen on my watch. I’m holding onto this until we’re both absolutely sure we can trust Sir.”
Mag officially equipped the bracelet, which was now fastened to her wrist. Mag then stared off into space for some time. I assumed she was in her menu, spending her EXP from the Mother Araknor fight.
That reminded me that I had some EXP of my own to spend, so I opened my menu. The battle with the Mother Araknor had netted me 1600 EXP. I used 200 to reach level 5 by upgrading my Heal spell. It now recovered 200 HP for a cost of 8 MP. As for new skills, my options were Magic Barrier (Reduce the amount of magic damage an ally takes by 25%; expires after one battle. // Cost: 8 MP // Requires 100 EXP to learn) and Boost (Increase an ally’s physical strength by 25%; expires after one battle. // Cost: 10 MP // Requires 200 EXP to learn). I learned both of these to get to level 7.
Finally, I chose to upgrade Boost for 1000 EXP (I could now increase my dad’s physical strength by fifty percent instead of twenty-five for 12 MP). I chose this over learning any other new spells, including one called Magic Boost, which could have enhanced Mag’s magic attacks. All I cared about was keeping my dad alive, and I felt upgrading Boost was the best way to do that. Besides, with the way Mag was acting, I wasn’t exactly eager to learn any skills that could benefit her.
I was now at level 8, with 135/195 HP and 11/49 MP. I had also gained my first additional item slot.
The Knowledge Bracelet gave Mag access to a map of the entire island that this forest was on. Her map also provided the location of a portal that would take us back to Earth. It was in a distant land called Zolptoria in the northwestern part of the island. Devotion Woods, which this forest was now apparently called, was in the southwestern corner.
I asked where the other two talismans were, but Mag said the map didn’t say. I told her to look harder. She told me to shut up.
Just then, a nearby tree said, “Excuse me,” in a dusty, old sort of voice. “My name is Dusty, and I am the oldest—and, therefore, I’m assuming the wisest—tree in this forest. Did I overhear one of you mention that you’re looking for a potion that cures memory loss?”
“Yeah, that was a while ago,” I said more rudely than I meant to.
“Well, I was sleeping at the time,” Dusty said. “Also, I may be able to help you, so you might want to watch your tone.”
“Tell me about it,” Mag said.
I apologized and said we’d be grateful for any help he could offer.
“Very well,” Dusty said. “The wind brings all kinds of information to these woods from across the Great Grasslands. The winds have told me of a very old—and, therefore, I’m assuming very wise—doctor in Parumpurra Village who has discovered many cures for many ailments. Her name is Dr. Nibbles.”
“Is one of her cures for memory loss?” I asked.
Dusty thought for a moment. “I can’t remember. But she is who I would ask about such a thing. If you wish to see her, take the path before you. It will lead you out of this forest and take you north through the Great Grasslands to Parumpurra Village.” Then, very gravely, he added, “Whatever you do, do not stray eastward off the path.”
“Why? What’s to the east?” I asked.
“The Avarian Desert.” Dusty, along with all the trees within earshot, trembled at the words. “There’s something very sinister about the hot winds that come from the east. Nothing good could possibly come from traveling to such a place.”
I asked Dusty if he knew where we could find the other two talismans. He said the winds had never brought him any information about any talismans. He stated that they must be very precious indeed if the winds were unwilling to speak of them.
Fortunately, Mag was unopposed to going to Parumpurra Village. “I’m willing to go if it’ll prove to you that Sir’s not your dad. Maybe then you’ll stop being such a jerk,” she said. “The village is on the way to Zolptoria anyway.”
My dad was also willing to make the journey once I explained that he might already know where to find the soul-saving talismans and would remember once we cured his memory loss.
So, we bid Dusty and all the trees of Devotion Woods farewell and headed for Parumpurra Village.