They reached the road. It was a small path, cut into the endless forest. There were some signs of recent activities. Impressions of hooves and shoes in the dirt showed that this was indeed the way back towards human civilisation. Larry couldn’t wait to just sleep in a regular bad again, and enjoy a good night’s rest. Technically, ever since he had turned undead, he stopped getting tired, and he probably didn’t need to sleep anymore, but he still wanted it. He wanted the feeling of completion sleep gave a day, and the feeling of waking up together with the world. They stared at the road for a few moments.

“Which way should we take? Both are fine with me, to be honest” Melissa said.

“We?” Larry asked. “The way I see it, whatever direction Jorg and me take, you take the opposite.”

Melissa raised a brow. Then she smiled.

“Good one. You don’t seriously plan on leaving me behind, right?”

“The only reason I ever allowed you to walk around freely like that, is because we didn’t know how to find a road that takes us out of this forest. Here’s the road, and here’s where our paths split.”

“Now you are hurting my feeling,” Melissa said, laughing at him. “We are bound together, man. If you wanted to get rid of me, your friend shouldn't have saved from to begin with.”

“I’m not Jorg. Saving you was his decision, and this is mine. Leave.”

“Believe me I would, if I could.”

They eyed each other, and for the first time after their fight, Larry realized just how messed up this girl was. He saw how Melissa moved her fingers. She itched to attack him. He prepared to jump out of the way. Jorg stepped between them.

“We talked about this,” Jorg said. “We can’t just leave her behind. It's against the Meaning.”

“I don’t give a shit about the Meaning," Larry said. "We found the road, she taught me the basics of magic. She is officially useless to us, which means she can piss off.”

“If she leaves now, Meaning will punish us, badly. And then it’ll find a way to push us back together. That’s just how it work.”

Larry looked at Jorg. They had saved each other's life, and Larry was not willing to fight with him.

“Fine," Larry said. "Whatever."

Jorg padded him on the shoulder. 

“Wow,” Melissa said. “So you finally get it. And here I thought you were completely retarded.”

Larry stared at Melissa, at how she grinned at him, clearly expecting to get away with everything she said or did. She looked down on him, that much was obvious. She had no regret, burning his skin. She winked at him.

Enough is enough, Larry thought, and then he snapped.

He stepped forwards, his arm rushing up and grabbing Melissa throat. She screamed in surprise and tried to claw his face with her fingers, but he pushed, forcing her to take a step backwards. She hit a tree with her back, and the air was pushed out of her lungs.

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“Do you think we are friends because Jorg saved you that night?” Larry asked, fingernails digging into Melissa's skin. She grabbed his arm with her hands, but he shook her, her head banging against the tree. She gave up on defending herself and instead talked.

“You can’t ditch me,” Melissa said, laughing confidently. “We are bound by Meaning. You know that.”

Larry moved his face closer to hers.

“I couldn’t care less,” he said. “You think the same guy that blew his own arm off and jumped into a magical flame cares about some bullshit like that?”

Larry could feel it. The doubt slowly crept into her mind, and it gave him power, feeding into his Parasite ability. His grip became stronger.

“You can’t go against Meaning,” she said, her eyes wide.

“I can kill you right here and now.”

“Listen to yourself,” she said, trying to pull at Larry’s arm. But he had already grown too strong, her fear giving him power, and his power making her fear him more.

“The curse is messing with your head,” she said, panicking. “You can’t just kill me.”

“This has nothing to do with the curse. You burned me.”

“I didn’t know that… Wait! Wait, stop! You are hurting me. I can’t... breath…”

Melissa struggled against his strength. Larry didn’t enjoy hurting her, but when he thought back to the fight, the pain he had to go through to survive, and how easily it had been for Melissa to just point her hand at a stranger and use her magic, it filled him with hate.

“Do you see what you did to me?” Larry asked. Melissa nodded, tears in her eyes. “You gave me these scars. You might have forgiven yourself, but don’t think that even for a second, I have forgiven you. The pain I was in... “

He pushed her to the side, throwing her to the ground. He stood above her, looking down on her.

“Could drive a man insane.”

Arms looped around his chest, and Larry was pulled back. Jorg dragged him away from Melissa, struggling to overpower Larry’s increased strength.

“Stop,” Jorg said. “You have to calm down.”

“How can you just let her do whatever she wants?”

“I know, and I don’t like it either, but you have to listen.”

Larry powered against Jorg’s grip. He could hear Jorg’s surprise when Larry matched his strength. Melissa's fear gave him power, and he used it. He pushed against his grasp, and Jorg was forced to release him. Jorg took a step back, looking at Larry in surprise.  

“We aren’t enemies Larry,” Jorg said, taking a step backwards, his hands raised.

“No we are not,” Larry said.

“I’m sorry, I grabbed you” Jorg said. “But I really thought you were going to kill her.”

Larry would have killed her. She would have deserved it.

“It’s fine, let’s just get out of here,” Larry said. He turned, looking at Melissa. She sat on the ground, holding her neck and glaring at him. Larry felt his anger flair up again, but he concentrated, focusing on controlling his emotions.

“You can follow us,” he said to her. “But as soon as the Meaning doesn’t tie us together anymore, I will kill you. Slowly.”

Melissa stood up, her feet trembling, but her eyes filled with anger.

“As soon as I’m able to,” she said. “I’ll slit your throat in your sleep. No wait, I’ll burn that second half of yours, and then I’ll slit your throat.”

“I’d like you see you trying,” Larry said.

Suddenly, he felt a familiar shiver run through his body. The shiver one felt when a new notification had appeared in Status. He watched as Jorg and Melissa moved their hands up to their heads. Larry did the same.

The patterns fall upon you, and the world watches. You are part of a Story now.

Story “A Father’s Love” has been added.

This can’t be good, Larry thought.

----

They had found her dead body in the Slowfall forest. Her neck was broken, twisted into an unnatural state, and the beautiful blue robe he had given to her was ripped into shreds. Gently, he picked the twigs out of her hair. He ran his fingers along her cold cheeks.

When they had brought his daughter to him, Mattlean had evaporated them for daring to touch her. His emotions fought against his magic, stirring it up. With trembling fingers, he touched his daughter's head, carefully using his advanced Status to search for the information he needed. Long ago he had raised his Thought stat to give him the ability to observe other people's Status. Her inventory had been cleared, the wooden staff and the metal catalyst he had given to her, stolen. Mattlean delved deeper into her long dead brain. There it was. A hole in her Status, the barrier clumsily broken from the person that had looted her inventory. It showed him who had accessed her Status last, after sie had died. Mattlean let his consciousness flow over it, and his Status whispered to him a name, telling him the person he should seek.

Larry Foulery, he thought, and for the first time in many years, he let go of his emotions, the anger and the pain. They crumbled away at the pressure, and his power stretched further beyond them, crushing everything that got in its way. Mattlean carved the name into his mind. Until that man was dead, he would not rest. 

Larry Foulery.