Echidna, rumoured to be a dark shadowy monster, was in fact nothing more than an oversized mole. His eyes were large and human-like, filled with tears and fear. The thing stuck half its body out of the ground, waving a tiny white cloth on a large stick.

Tanuki only let the guard outside who told him about Echidna’s arrival.

“See that? What vulgar meaning this flag may have! Have you come to conquer our village, vile creature?!”

“No, dude, he’s surrendering,” Tanuki held him back.

The little creature cried with a squeaky voice. The way villagers talked about him made Tanuki believe they would need a small army to defeat the beast, but this thing could be beaten up by a child. He was frustratingly pathetic.

“You’ve got ten seconds to explain yourself.”

“I’m here to give up,” he cried with a nasal voice, “I’ve seen the others die and compared to them, I am nothing! Nothing! All I can do is dig out tunnels and the only time I dare approach the wheatfields is when I’m on the brink of starving to death! I stand no match to someone who could kill Cervus and the nestmen! Please, I am willing to do anything, just spare me! Please!”

Tanuki could not help but feel bad for the little guy. Still, he knew the Pretenders were intelligent opponents. As much as he wanted to believe the last Pretender would be willing to surrender, he needed to test his honesty.

“The villagers told me the tales of your sick deeds. You’re a monster who takes children in the night to feast on them alive. Tell me, why should I spare a murderer like you?”

“I did not kill anyone! That was just a thing I told children to scare them away,” he cried louder, almost screaming.

“Indeed? Well, we have a guard here who has lived long enough to know of your wrongdoings,” –– he turned to the plantfolk –– “Now tell me, how many people did he take since you’ve become a defender of the people?”

The guard thought for a while.

“He’s been dormant since I earned my post, but believe me, Great Hero! It is the truth that I speak! When I was a lad, my comrades told me tales of how he feasted on children in the night!”

“Did you know any of those children?”

The guard fell silent again. The answer was clear. He did not.

Tanuki rubbed his temples in frustration, “Okay, now, tell me one reason I should believe you didn’t do that.”

“The houses are set on a strong stone foundation! I know because I bump my head into those anytime I tunnel below the village––which is not often because I bump my head into things!”

“Well, maybe you can break through those things! That’s how you take children!”

“Look at me. Look at me! You tell me this body can pierce stone and I’ll show you a fool.”

Indeed, Echidna was no more special than a mere mole. It made sense he would spread horror stories about himself. He was too weak to fight even a child. He had to find some way to scare away those who wished to harm him.

The guard saw Tanuki soften, so he stepped into the conversation. “Great Hero, do not believe him! He’s an enemy!”

“Well, an enemy that came to us with to surrender. The least we can do is put him in jail while we deal with the other Pretender, then we’ll decide his fate. Grab him, and take him to what used to be Hundredth’s lot. If his words are true, he cannot dig himself through the foundation that remains. Be sure to keep an eye on him while I’m away.”

“Thank you, sir, thank you!” Echidna shook his tiny mole head as the guard raised him from the hole, carrying his body like a fat sack of potatoes. “If there is anything I could do for you, please say so!”

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“There is something.” Tanuki stopped the guard.

“Yes! Anything, good sir!”

“How do I get under the cube? Is there a path leading to the last Pretender?”

Echidna stared at him in confusion, then spoke, “There is no land down there.”

“Excuse me?”

“There is nothing down below, just stone. I once got through and peeked at it. It’s a bare, empty land with nothing to explore.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense! There must be another Pretender like you! One with a tall build and… and a large axe! He’s said to be tall and wide, no way you would have missed him!”

“Good sir, I’m about to say this with the utmost honesty; I am no liar in this matter. Nothing exists below your village. I have never even heard of such warrior you describe.”

Time seemed to freeze as a dreadful image entered Tanuki’s mind. He considered the possibility, but it made too little sense. Not just that, it would be utterly evil, a true declaration of abandonment.

This revelation changed everything. There was no such thing as a land down under, nor any dark knight sitting on a throne below, leaving once in a blue moon to terrorise the innocent villagers. Finally, the pieces began to fall into place and it made sense, all too much.

Echidna saw Tanuki’s expression change and felt a strange pressure around his wrists. The guard holding him tightened its grasp, then swiftly reached for his sword, stabbing at Echidna’s heart before––

“Trembling Tremor!” Tanuki screamed the maneuver’s name and slammed his staff into the ground. The earth trembled beneath the guard’s feet and he collapsed. The sword fell out of his hand before it could land an attack, and Echidna quickly burrowed himself into the ground. The second after, he poked his head out again.

“Sir? What’s happening?”

“Stay underground!” Tanuki shouted. Echidna burrowed just in time to avoid the blade.

The guard moved differently than before, quicker and more flexibly. Tanuki recognised the source of this uncanniness immediately; the guard’s body was taken over by an invisible force, much like how the bride toyed with the Deadweight Husk in the last wave.

He drew his blade and prepared the acid. Meanwhile, the guard stretched its muscle fibres and adjusted his blade. It spoke no words but focused on the boy’s throat for a decisive attack.

How it remained silent throughout angered Tanuki even more.

“I knew it was you! But I don’t understand… Why would you do this?”

The guard sprung forward to stab. Its swiftness surprised Tanuki, but using his remaining Stamina, he managed to react quickly and block the attack. He bashed the staff into the guard’s face and backed away while it was stunned.

“Are you in there? If you can hear me, resist him! He wants to use you as his puppet! Fight it! Fight the feeling!”

“I do as I’m commanded,” the guard blurted out, then charged forward. This time Tanuki could not block the attack, and the blade cut into his upper arm. The wooden sword was not sharp enough to go too deep, but it was enough to cut into his flesh. Tanuki yelped as he kicked away the guard once more to try and reason.

“Please! I don’t want to kill you! Drop your weapon and run! Do something to hinder his effect!”

“It’s a beautiful day outside,” the guard replied coldly.

Tanuki stared speechless, then spoke unsurely, “What?”

“The sun is shining. The grass is green. Leaves of the flower bloom amongst restless bees. I am of peaceful mind in nature. I crawled out of the dirt so one day I might return. That is the beautiful circle of life.”

“I don’t… What are you talking about? You’re not yourself! You’re being controlled! Fight the urge! You cannot win unless you resist!”

“To live is to suffer, to suffer is to fight, to fight is to die, and to die is to be reborn again,” he said, before repeating, “The sun is shining. The grass is green. Leaves of the flower…”

Tanuki would not wait for him to finish, he yelled with all his might to overpower his voice, to maybe get through and help him fight the force.

“Stop it! Bite off your tongue if you must! Don’t let him win! Don’t let the King control you!”

Tanuki finally shut up when he saw a single teardrop run down the guard’s mask. Though his actions were not his, his eyes shone with the light of a hurting soul. Sadness and fear, pain, suffering. He tried to resist the King’s control, but its will was too strong to fight, it broke his will beneath the weight of authority.

His words were not his, for if he could speak, he would scream in agony and terror.

Tanuki stood frozen. His acid was ready to be cast, but he did not wish to hurt the guard.

Something felt off. He felt trembling beneath his feet, like an earthquake approaching. A murmur grew from the bar as the prayer got louder. Footsteps grew and the door burst open. Those who could not get through jumped out of the windows, breaking the glass and impaling themselves in the shards. They spoke the same words in unison, controlled by the King’s force.

Tanuki’s mouth hung agape, his gasping became irregular. More than twenty armed plantfolk all crawled over each other to get to him, to be the first to kill him.

He felt his blade grow heavy in the face of the overwhelming force. He felt the same fear as when he had first seen the Deadweight Husk. For a second, he considered turning the sword on himself to end it before the mob got to him, but he was utterly frozen from fear.

The guard in front of him trembled and when he looked at it, the plantfolk cried out the last words of its own.

“Please, kill me!”