The caravan approached a city; a part of the Ordered World. Since we were no longer allowed in, we had to pass under it, entering a dark labyrinth of pipes and cables spanning several square kilometers. Though it was midday, we could no longer see the sun.

“Meissen…!”

“Yeah?”

“Will you hold my hand?? I don’t like being in the dark…!”

“Oh, uh, okay. Just try to stay calm; we’ll be alright.”

“Thank you...oh, this reminds me of Yingqing now.”

“Yingqing?”

“My old friend...he used to hold my hand in the dark, before he got taken by a Worm Feeder…”

“Oh, those...y’know, you never did explain to me what they were.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“...Doccia?”

“...It’s not a fun thing to talk about in the dark...”

“Oh. Well, you don’t have to tell me now, if you don’t want to…”

“N-no, I’ll do it…Worm Feeders are...they’re people whose minds have been overwritten by the Cordyceps Protocol. All they want to do is feed themselves to the Worm, and take as many discarded Servants with them as they can.”

“And the Worm is…?”

“It’s a giant monster that lives in the ground, who travels the whole world looking for things to eat. The Nebula can tell you where and when it will surface...and since the Worm Feeders are still connected, that’s how they find where they need to go to die.”

“…”

“...It’s scary, isn’t it?”

“...Y-yeah. You’re crushing my hand…”

“Sorry…”

“Why...does that happen? Why would anyone want us to die that way??”

“I guess...it’s our punishment for being failures.”

“…”