There was purple everywhere. I thought back to things I had seen before. The guard, the homeless, the carriages, the castle. This place had power, so much power. Magic and spells and flying carriages. So why did so many suffer? Why did they need to summon me here to defeat their enemy?

Lyn was heavy but with an awkward carry I managed to get her out onto the main street. Askance glances were all I received for my bloodied body and the unconscious woman. These people were strange. I was somehow stranger. The only person who seemed to see what was happening. The only person to care. A stranger alone in a strange, un-kind, land.

I did not know what to do, so back inside we went. I went up to the barkeep.

"We were attacked! There's men in your cella-" He looked at me with the strangest expression.

Threatening and fearful like he couldn't quite decide if he wanted to murder me or run. He leaned across the counter and grabbed my shirt.

"Shut your mouth. Sit down. And I'll have the lady helped."

Ok then. Back to the table like nothing had happened except for the blood, the dirt, the pain and the endless boiling questions.

The barkeep came over with a red potion and left it on the table. "HP potion. You give it to her and you piss off ok? Don't ever come back"

I fed it to her and watch colour restore itself to her face with each dribble that actually managed its way into her mouth. I think the chocking, spluttering woke her up as much as the potion.

"What happened!?"

"You were kidnapped. Taken by -"

She hushed me.

"Taken by someone who gave you to a guard, who put you on a cart. I took out the guard,"

She was taking this knowledge remarkably well.

"You. You took out the guard?"

"Well this purple stuff tried to grab onto me, then it tried to tempt me to give up my soul or something in a weird way. It was like Hella, just straight into my head, but this time it rifled around and started bringing stuff up-"

"Why didn't you take the offer?"

"Take the offer? Why would I do that?"

"So you can take what others have taken from you? For the sake of you, and your loved ones?

"Loved ones...?"

She said nothing for a long moment.

"You're strong. But also the weakest person I have ever met. But also the strongest."

"Sure, but what're we going to do about the kidnapping? We going to talk to Hella or is there a police station- ah I mean a guard station around here or what?"

She squinted at me as if I was crazy. "Report? Listen don't mention this to anyone."

"You're not going to tell anyone that you almost got kidnapped?"

"I'm telling you not to mention it. So don't."

"What? There's criminals dressed in guard uniforms kidnapping people! I saw her mind! That guard has been burning down merchant stalls and chasing children down streets, we need to report it at least!"

"Keep your godsdamned voice down. Just… I'll deal with it." There seemed something on the tip of her tongue. "Just… leave it. Ok? Can you do that?"

"Umm sure. Can you tell me then do you see achievements? A system? Blue boxes in the air?"

She looked at me again strangely. "Of course. Why?"

"You've always seen them?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

I was being crushed by the air.

"Are we in a video-game?" I was sure we were not.

"A what? There's no games" She sighed exasperated.

I sat there in silence, processing this. Everything I thought I knew seemed to crumble further with each passing moment. Lyn got up and left, saying she had to attend to something and that she would be back.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

A guard walked in, his armour gleaming despite the dim light. A magenta stripe crossed his breastplate with a crown like the guards in the throne room. The barkeep gestured at me and he walked up.

"You aren't fit to sit here young man. Come along."

"Wait my friend, Lyn, she's just cleaning herself up."

"Lets go, or do you want thing to get ugly?"

"Listen, you need to know something…" I couldn't stop myself. "In the cellar, there's kidnapped people. A guard wearing yellow was involved"

The guard stared at me. His fox-like ears twitching with interest.

"A corrupt guard, you say? This is a serious accusation. Tell me everything."

I explained what I'd witnessed - He listened intently, nodding with a grave expression.

"This is deeply troubling," he said finally. "I'll personally see to it that this is investigated. Wait here."

He strode off purposefully, finally taking it seriously.

Lyn walked in and they began to talk, walking out of the pub.

I kept eating. I would have to apologise to Lyn later but in the heat of the moment I didn't know what to do.

"That's him," the captain announced, pointing directly at me. "The one who attempted to kidnap and assault this poor woman."

My head snapped up. Lyn stood beside them, tears streaming down her face. Her shoulders shook as she pointed a trembling finger at me.

"He... he tried to drag me into the cellar," she sobbed. "If I hadn't fought him off… he wanted to do terrible things to me!"

I didn't say anything. My mind was a whirl trying to get anywhere but it found no purchase on thought, on memory. Lyns face kept flashing before my eyes. Time became a blur and I was brought before Hella again, Lilac and the assembly were still here. Watching me.

"You have been accused of battery, and sexual deviancy!" A gasp went around the room at this. "How do you plead!" She demanded.

"…not guilty"

My body was then wracked with pain, I blacked out. She had invaded my mind again. "Liar!"

I saw Lilac again, tears streaming down her face. She was pale white.

"I wondered when you would show your true colours. You fiend. From the moment I laid eyes on you I knew you would bring nothing but trouble. You're no hero!"

"You're right." The words left me, but it was all I could muster. I wanted to scream, curse and holler, but I hung my head like a guilty man. Guilty of trying to help someone, trying to point out the obvious, guilty of being surrounded by monsters in silver and not knowing it.

"All the people of this city will know what you have done. Your crimes against the royal family. You are a guilty man and you will say it!"

My mouth stayed shut.

I felt their looks press in on me, the silent disregard for humanity now filled my nostrils, painted the undersides of my fingernails, choked my lungs. This place was the illusion of a society, a vivid anti-humanity, a festering waste of faceless not-people.

Lyn looked at me head tilted sideways, sticking her tongue out.. A throb of purple revealed itself on her solar plexus, like a black mark.

Her clothes were torn and muddy - she must have ripped them herself to make her story more convincing. The thought made me sick. The lengths she'd gone to, just to frame me. Just because I'd tried to help.

"Exile him to the forest!" The queen commanded.

"It's not possible! It'll kill him! His WILL stat is way too low! He'll end up in the forest and never wake up, lost to himself!"

"He is lost to himself already. Do as I say."

Nobody moved."DO IT"

She snarled. "or it'll be your little ragtag people paying the price"

Lilac turned to me. Her eyes were red, full of agony and helplessness, they never left me.

"I'm so sorry. You need to hold onto yourself, know who you are and don't forget it. Because you will die."

She chewed her lip and muttered "Oh goddess your love guide me."

She raised her arm, reaching for me, and light blossomed on the platform.

The effect was immediate. My vision blurred, the world around me twisting and warping as if reality itself was coming undone. My body felt like it was being ripped apart molecule by molecule, every nerve screaming in agony. My mind began to unravel, slipping away into the void.

But I held on.

I focused on Lilac's words, on the warmth in her voice, on the belief she had in me. I thought about everything I had lost, everything I wanted to prove, the injustice of this world and the burning desire to survive, if only to spite those who had cast me out.

The pain intensified, but I didn’t let go. I couldn’t let go.

----------------------------------------

The last glimmers of light of the ritual began to die down,

Lilac held her breath. Begged her god to forgive her, to forgive these people, to let it be a success.

A flash of brilliant white light erupted from the portal, engulfing the room in a blinding blaze. Lilac’s heart stopped for a moment, her entire body tensing in the overwhelming brightness.

Then, as the light receded, she felt it—a presence. Strong. Unyielding.

Her heart leapt. He’s alive. Blessed be life, the sun, and the moon! A surge of joy washed over her, and she almost cried out in relief. But how could he have done it? He was only just a boy?

The queen’s voice snapped her out of her momentary bliss. "What was that?" queen Hella barked, suspicion lacing her tone.

Lilac turned to the queen, hastily composing herself, the joyful expression vanishing from her face. "The portal ritual… failed," she replied, her voice flat, calculated. "He is dead."

The queen scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "As expected." She turned her back, leading the rest of the court out. They shrugged, muttering amongst themselves as if the death of their supposed "hero" was nothing more than a passing inconvenience.

A strange sensation lingered in the air, something she couldn’t place at first. She closed her eyes, focusing, her senses attuned to the faint traces of mana in the room.

There. A subtle taste on her tongue, sharp and earthy, like the scent of damp leaves after rain. Forest.

Her heart sank, dread creeping into her bones. No. No, no, no…

She buried her face in her hands. It tasted of forest.

"I've killed him. Oh goddess forgive me I've killed him"