“Yes.” Clarence said to Stoney as he continued to stretch, eventually losing his balance and falling backwards on the bed.

He slowly sat back up to a sitting position and then turned his head to look around the room. Spotting me, his face broke out in a huge smile.

“I see we have a guest! What’s your name, friend, mine's Stoney!”

“Uh, yeah, hello, my name is Jared Spurrier. I just got here.”

“I can see that! And spurrier? What a weird name! What’s a spurrier anyway?”

“It is someone who makes spurs.”

“Spurs?”

“They are metal devices used on horses…”

I paused.

‘How do I know what a spurrier is? My parents never told me what the name meant and I never looked it up. I wasn’t taught about it at school either. Also, how did I know that an arrow can’t pierce a human skull? I never trained in archery. And the closed timelike curve… How do I know these things? Is it part of my weird power?’

“Hey- Jared, you alright? You kinda spaced out there.” Stoner said to me in a loud voice, breaking me from my train of thought.

“Oh yeah, sorry, I just… thought of something interesting, that’s all.”

“Interesting? What was it, I wanna know!” Jared responded excitedly.

‘This guy is way too excited for his own good. Can’t he just calm down a little?’ I thought with annoyance.

Keeping my face neutral, I just shrugged my shoulders in response, causing him to pout.

‘Seriously? Did he actually just pout?’

“Well… Jared, I would still be interested in knowing how you managed to break past the wards.” Clarence said suddenly.

“Um, I don’t know if you remember, but I have amnesia, so I don’t remember anything, including how I got here. And can you remind me again what wards are?”

“Oh, yes, hmm… Apologies, I forgot. You must be quite confused yourself. Well, worry not, me and Stoner here will aid you in the recovery of your memory.” Clarence replied.

“Wait, you got memory stabbed too?! No way, I’m exactly the same! That’s crazy, three people in the same cell, and two of them don’t even know themselves! What a coincidence!” Stoner yelled.

‘This guy needs a volume button.’ I thought, thoroughly annoyed.

Ignoring Stoner, I turned back to Clarence and looked into his eyes again, searching for the worms that I had spotted before.

“Is there something on my face?” Clarence asked nervously.

“No no, it’s just… I’ve been wondering, how did you know what happened to me outside of the cell? Weren’t you in here the whole time?”

I watched as his eyelids twitched slightly, and he gave me what seemed to be a smile, though I couldn’t quite tell because of his warped flesh.

“The guard standing outside the bars told me.”

I turned around and looked at the thick metal bars that stood between me and a long gray hallway covered in darkness.

“What guard?”

“He comes around every so often to check on us. Real big fella.” Stoner replied.

I turned back to face the two cellmates and studied each of them carefully.

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

‘Clarence was likely lying about the guard telling him. He also stated that it was morning, even though we have no windows and there is no clock on the wall. Something else is going on here.’

“Why don’t you go sit on your bed? We reserved the one on the right for any new cellmates that arrive. Get comfortable.” Clarence said.

I nodded, and slowly walked towards the bottom bed on the right side of the room. I didn’t look away from Clarence as I walked.

After sitting down, Clarence carefully set down the candle on the tray on the floor between us, and sat down on the bed below Stoner.

“Do you have any more questions?” Clarence asked.

I pondered for a moment.

“Hmm… yes. You said earlier that the ascension courtyard makes people ascend to the rank of Cardinal, and that to do so you have to be injected by someone named Predom so you can get their blood, right?”

“Not quite. The blood of someone at the rank of Predom is injected into you, not someone named ‘Predom’. That would be silly.”

‘I see. So Predom is a rank above Cardinal.’ I thought.

“Does the ascension process include clicking a weird looking button?” I asked.

“Yes, you are injected the blood via a specialized button that transfers it directly into your bloodstream. I see you are remembering some things now, eh?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

‘Even if some of this stuff is common knowledge in this world, I still feel that this guy knows a bit too much detail about things. I’m guessing that he also went through an ascension thingie, or at least observed one.’

“Oh really? I never knew that. I always thought they just made you drink their blood or something. Though, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been to one.” Stoner said.

‘Spot on.’

“Ah, yes- well, I was lucky enough to see one as a young child, though I do not quite remember where or when.” Clarence said.

A white line shimmied under his eyes for a second and then disappeared.

‘That weird eye parasite of his is a tell. He probably just lied. Also, doesn’t this mean that I also went through an ascension thingie? I clicked a weird button and a glowy blue liquid entered my body. Isn’t that the same thing that he talked about? I don’t particularly feel any different.’

“So, ascending basically makes you into a wizard? I mean, teleportation is possible, so doesn’t that mean it gives people the ability to use magic?”

“Yes, though I am not quite sure what a wizard is.”

‘Alright, so to summarize, I’m in a fantasy world and I’m stuck in a time loop. In some of the loops I feel a weird calm feeling and in others I’m normal. I also somehow managed to get past some ward things when I entered, which made everyone want to kill me. Oh, and how could I forget that I got injected with somebody’s blood and now I’m a wizard. Just great.’ I thought glumly.

Suddenly, the world snapped, and a man clad in black armour from head to toe popped into reality in front of me.

“Your time is up, intruder, no more chit-chat.” The man said in a gravelly voice, before grabbing my arm.

Before I could react, the world around me twisted, and I was standing in a gray stoned hallway in front of a large red door, the armored man still grabbing my arm.

He let go of my arm and then pushed me into the door, and instead of feeling the pain of impact, I phased through the door as if it wasn't there and fell down onto the floor beyond it.

Luckily, I caught myself with my hands before my head could hit the floor. I felt a sudden sharp pain and knew that my hands were scraped.

I quickly stumbled back to my feet and ran back to phase through the red door again, only to bump into it painfully.

Rubbing my nose, I looked at the red door in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

‘How did that door turn from non-solid to solid? That should be impossible.’ I thought.

“Come here.” A smooth voice called out from behind me.

Suddenly, I felt my center of mass shift, and I was yanked backwards through the air, flying across the room.

I landed hard on my back and felt the air get knocked out of my lungs. For a moment, I saw stars.

Then, as my vision cleared up, a face, immaculate in its features, slowly appeared in front of me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Craitor, and I am the ruler of this small fortress.” Said Craitor.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you too? My name is-!” I was interrupted by my body being yanked into the air once more and righted vertically, facing Craitor.

Now that I got a better look at him, he really did look handsome. His face was perfectly carved, and his shimmering blonde hair seemed to glow all on its own.

His eyes, red in color, stared at me intently, and as I looked more carefully, I noticed a slight line of white move beneath them.

‘What the hell?! How many people have worms in their eyes?!’ I thought incredulously.

His eyes narrowed.

“It seems you have noticed my Claerture, and Clarence’s as well. How intriguing. Now, tell me, why did you invade my establishment? What is your purpose?”

A bead of sweat fell off my chin.

‘When did this room get so hot?’

“Answer me, now, or you will receive punishment for your actions.”

“I- I- I don’t know! I just woke up here, I swear, I have no idea what’s going on!”

His eyes narrowed further, until they were just slits.

“Lack of honesty leads to punishment, boy, and punishment leads to death!”

In front of my eyes, a ball of red flame suddenly popped into existence, and engulfed my face.

Pain, beyond what I have ever felt before, bloomed throughout my brain, and I felt my vision sear white.

I screamed, yet heard nothing, as my everything turned to pain. Bright red hot and scorching, my world was a roaring fire. I felt skin drip off of my face, and my bones met open air.

The world warped, and turned black.