Besos' accusatory look lightened slightly. Terbanacle eyed the giant creature, pondering what the guide's role was in this.

"Will you come?" He asked, uncertain.

"You will walk the road, and I will guide you," said the octopus, its voice a bubbling burp, "That is my judgement."

"Very well," said Terbanac. He gave the figurines one last look-over. They were such pitiful things. Huddling by the wall, they held one another, their eyes wide with fear.

"Are you really afraid of me now?" He asked them, closing in on them with his giant head.

"Y-y-you just... you just broke the story. The b-b-b-baby will not be happy," said the rogue, who was now unmasked. The dark mask and hood had hid the face of woman with short-cropped hair. She looked at him with an absolutely terrified expression.

"This is not a place for stories," Terbanacle said, now finally understanding some of what was going on, "This is the Random Road. Predictable stories have no place here."

With those words he turned his attention to the ceiling. He knew it was there, he knew it obstructed him; only, he knew it was not there, and it was not obstructing him.

Will was everything here, this he had learned. If he allowed others to impose their will onto him, he would get stuck. If he wanted to keep walking the road, he would have to impose his will upon himself and his surroundings.

Like smoke in a mirror, the ceiling disappeared from view. Instead, an open sky greeted him. He was not deep underground, in some massive dungeon. He was merely in a small hole in the ground. A small well which had been his world.

Unfurling his wings, Tabernacle could finally unleash the form in the manner it was supposed to. With a powerful beat he left behind the figurines.

His first action was simply to fly out of the small hole. Landing once more in the desert, he looked back down. It seemed such a small and insignificant thing now. From the depths, a balloon-like object ascended, rising until Tabernacle recognized Basos' squishy form. The adjudicating guide was floating upwards, using his arms to swim through the air, as if it was water.

"Can you keep up?" Terbanacle asked.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"You worry about yourself, Terbanacle. I have deemed you worthy enough for that name, but if you really go up the road will get hard for you."

The octopus spoke so amiably that he almost felt it was alien. It felt like it actually respected him. How strange.

"What matters is not where you go, but that you go somewhere, right?"

"Indeed."

"Then let's not waste time. I have a score to settle with someone who gave me an unpleasant experience."

"It is a good choice, although difficult. Your judgement is sound."

The octopus flicked one of its arms in the air, and from nothing retrieved a crooked top hat. With all the gravitas of a judge, Besos placed the top hat on its own massive head.

Terbanacle nodded, then truly unfurled his wings again. Such a pleasant sensation. With unrestrained joy, he beat the majestic limbs and raised himself into the air. Aiming straight up, he nonetheless had to ascend in circular motions.

In the center of his ascent, Besos lazily kept up as if he was on a simple swim through the air. Together, the dragon and octopus escaped the confines of the bucket, rising over the edge and coming face to face with the cherub once more.

Though Tabernacle had been big compared to the figurines - big compared to the small chamber - he was more like a sparrow relative to the giant cherub. It sat facing them, still on its imperceptible cloud, chubby arms crossed over its chest.

"You're no fun," it said, pouting its lips as they came out of the bucket, entering the cloudy realm.

"I am just walking the road, as I should have done from the start," Tabernacle said, trying to look the cherub straight in the eyes. He had to focus on one eye to manage it, but he felt confident. His will was guiding him now.

"Walking the road is no fun," the cherub said, repetitively, "Once you've walked it long enough you will realize this as well. Leave that stupid guide behind and follow me, Tabernacle. Just look at what I could do to you; I can teach you that and more. You just need to help me make toys, and I won't try to take control."

"You once walked the road?" He asked, genuienly curious. He had thought this cherub an existence like Besos; native to the Random Road.

"Of course I did. That's how the guides get you, you know. They want you to walk, and you walk. If you chose to come here, you might have a reason to do so, but I was thrown in here. Why should I walk the road when I have no reason to? Just to walk. That is stupid. Much better to find some amusement."

"You can always return onto the road," said Besos, hovering beside Tabernacle, "All you need to do is go back where you came from and pick the better path."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," the cherub wailed and punched the clouds beneath and around him in a tantrum, "Stupid guides; always talking about 'the road' and 'go back' or 'go there'! It makes no sense, and why should it!?"

Tabernacle looked at the cherub and finally saw it for what it was: a giant baby. It had only itself in its sight, its own enjoyment, its own satisfaction. Although he had taken on both the name and the form, he wanted nothing more than to be rid of anything this child had imposed upon him in the first place.

"I am leaving," he said, as composed as he could be, "And you will not stop me."

The cherub stopped throwing its arms around and instead broke into a huge, wicked grin. "Oh? You think I'll just let you leave?"