Nick found himself in front of a training dummy pummelling it with a sword. Around him was flatland as far as the eye could see. Cutting it off were only the occasional trees, forests and hills in the distance.

He tried stopping, but found out he couldn't. It was like he was just a passenger for the ride. Feeling and seeing how things will turn out.

"Honey, lunch's ready." An energetic voice called out from behind.

Turning around Nick saw a medieval looking house through a field of fruit trees. Taking his sword in hand he started cleaning it.

"I'm coming!" He opened a system interface and saw that he only used a bit of his mana to empower the strike. At that he shrugged his head.

"Don't make me call you twice."

"You won't have to." He put the sword back in scabbard on his back, before going home.

Inside was already what Nick assumed to be the man's wife.

Jenny, woman of smaller statue. She got brown hair tied in a ponytail and a bulging stomach. Right now, she was serving lunch. A meat stew with some bread and a cherry pie as a desert.

He enjoyed a nice lunch with her, soaking in the atmosphere.

"You'll have to go tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll be back in seven days. There were some spatial tears found near the town. I was called to action."

"You know I wanted to go to see the sceneries with you."

"Don't worry, when I'm back. We can go wherever you want."

*

The next thing Nick knew he was being dropped out of a portal. Near the wall of the town.

He felt a pat on his shoulder. "Good hunt today. Shame you didn't join the Universe army. We could use some hands." An older man said as he stashed his shield back on the shoulder.

Behind the man were a two more men. They all went into the Dungeon together to clear it out.

"You know I have a wife. Besides she is pregnant. What kind of father would I be leaving my wife and child behind." Nick felt himself saying.

"Well, it's your decision to make. But remember a bulging belly doesn't mean she's pregnant. My wife for example has a big stomach, but it's not like she's gonna give birth." The man laughed at that.

"But your wife is a baker, old Hank. That's to be expected that she's a bigger woman. You knew that when you were marrying her." He laughed with him.

The man sighed. "The offer still stands. You know where to find me if anything. If I won't be there you can go to the war mail office."

"Sure."

They all left.

Nick felt himself wandering into the town. All around him were children running around playing with sticks. While the air permeated the familiar scent of wood burning, it was accompanied by the different scents of dishes being prepared.

In the setting sun, he found himself before the market place, shopping for groceries and meat.

Paying the old woman the money she required he headed home.

It was a not so long walk throughout the meadows. But still the sun was already behind the horizon, plunging his way into darkness.

In that darkness he saw a fire right in front of him. Rushing through the fruit trees he saw their home caught on fire.

"Richard!" He saw his wife running towards him, he ran after her.

Hugging her tightly in his arms, he saw tears in her arms as she shivered.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"They came."

"Who?"

"The-" She didn't get the chance to finish as an arrow took the breath out of her.

Seeing that Nick saw as Richard rushed forward, getting shot in the process. Yet he pushed on, he found the attackers.

One was a human like figure with six eyes that was shooting at him while the other more of a wolf monster than anything.

He rushed at them, slashing vertically while bringing wind, he beheaded the wolf monster.

But just as he was about to behead the archer. The archer shot a spike from his body piercing him.

Even that though didn't stop him as he brough his sword and slashed.

Having killed the attackers, he returned to his wife.

"..."

But saw only the bled-out corpse of her. He didn't even get to say his goodbyes.

He stood in front of her petrified, not knowing what to do.

*

When the sun's rays hit his face, he finally woke up hugging the cold body of his wife.

He took his sword and started digging up a grave underneath the cherry tree. He felt the dirt shift with each strike and lift of the sword.

Not minding how long it'll take, he dug until on the midday, he laid her down in the dirt.

He was standing there before her grave, praying in his mind when a voice sounded behind him.

"She was a good woman. Her pottery was loved by everyone."

Sword drawn he turned around to see Hank standing there holding bread.

"What're you doing here?"

"Doing petty errands for my old woman. Jenny had some bread and other stuff ordered. I was shooed away to deliver it. But that doesn't matter now."

Both of the men stood there. Each keeping their thoughts to them. Until Hank spoke up.

"I think you should sleep at our house. I'll get a room cleared up for you."

"That won't be necessary." Richard said turning back to her grave.

"You can't just sulk here. Waiting for death to take you."

"You're right. Because of that I've decided."

***

Nick woke up leaning on the Giant Sword. As he found out it was a weapon Richard acquired in the later parts of his life.

Even that Nick partly assumed as after that memory. There weren't much memories that were so complete.

It looked like a slideshow with lots of parts straight up missing or there were problems with them like. There weren't any sounds just sceneries with accompanying mess of emotions. Landscapes of forests and mountains with views upon kilometres of land. Battles where not a word was uttered, yet entire sentences were heard, from the clashes of swords.

Getting his bearings back as he felt himself, what and who he was.

Nick sighed blowing a bit of dust away. "Rather than a battle of swords this seems to be a battle of keeping at least pieces of me together. As they were." He sat down on the ground meditating.

Arranging and dealing with the new emotions he got. He sat like that until he heard a roar from not so far away.

Looking at it, it was a Carrier. But nothing more than what looked like a rat. Just like one of those he drowned in his first Dungeon. Although it looked more hideous, as most of its fur was replaced by bulging pulsating muscles.

He wasted no time as he pulled out the Giant Sword. Albeit it was heavier than he expected from memory.

He tried swinging it downward as the rat approached him. He felt a crunching feeling reverberate under his sword.

Yet the rat didn't stop and collided with him. Bringing him to the ground it came right for his neck. But he didn't let it have it that easy as he blocked its lunge with his arm.

With the other he felt his pocket where he found his trusty dagger and plunged it into the side of its neck.

He threw it off, catching his breath for a while. He had almost tasted the same treatment as his enemies.

[Weapon prowess:2

---Sword:40%]

He saw under his system interface. Assuring him of the fact that what he lived through was indeed real.

No matter what he still had the second fragment. Seeing no other way to ensure a bit of safety. He sunk himself into the ground, leaving only his face out to breathe.

He probed the fragment, before it burst.

*

He had no skin to feel. No senses to probe and get information from. Yet he felt it the embrace of Chaos. As it gave birth to him.

He was nothing but a Worm Dragon. Born to protect and so he did. He laid in protection off the city of Glassrock. Years passed by as the inhabitants remained. Monsters or rather beings of Chaos born just like himself. Born in order to keep the balance.

They did, until as they grouped more and more together, they became a target.

Hunted for their Chaos energy they grouped even more together tearing space to get into the backside of the enemy.

The war didn't stop. It simply came towards them as space cracks formed on their planet. Plunging it into the war.

In the end, all the killing was unnecessary as the planet itself burst from the constant killing. Overwhelmed by the Chaos energy mixed with mana it became inhabitable. For enemies and allies alike.

Those that remained either died or wished they were dead. As they killed the people, they once called brothers.

***

Nick felt himself becoming already numb by the number of enemies he had faced. And how many memories he had been through since gleaming inside the fragment he got out of his own volition.

He had wandered the plains, seeing the same scenery day by day as he slain more and more enemies.

He had feasted on them not taking into account the grotesque states they bodies were in. But it seemed for him to be worth it as eating was the only sensation that seemed to make him normal. If it could be took that way, but no matter.

He had amassed quite a collection of weapons that he strapped to himself by the bandages. He was a walking small army by the looks of it.

He had to give up the Giant sword as it was too heavy and getting in the way as he fought.

But no matter he still was adequately equipped.

He was in the middle of a fight, nothing out of the unusual as he fought back and forth with the enemy. Mostly guiding the enemy, the whole time as it was a simple abomination, not capable of coherent thoughts.

When a portal opened near him.