The Eye of Madness opened.

I stood at the center of this vortex of madness. All eyes were drawn towards me as my reality shaped theirs. It was no more than was my due. But was it? Who was I?

I was one who saw the truth, a truth my enemies were forced to experience with me. Each of them was nothing more than a tiny extension of something much greater. They were nothing more than a few loose skin cells casually shed without care or notice. All their hunger and rage was meaningless before their true purpose.

I saw the birth of planets and great civilizations, only for those civilizations to gradually fade and die, slowly being replaced over time. I saw entire solar systems perish as stars expanded before collapsing into planet destroying supernovas that could be seen from half a universe away. It was awesome in its scale, and terrifying in the realization of how small these events were in the eyes of the universe.

I saw the great expanse of time and space, every possible action repeated over and over unendingly. Both the past and future were infinite, and yet more existed beyond these measurements. Other dimensions existed outside of our own, some far older and with native intelligences so alien, powerful, and malignant as to be unfathomable.

Then I saw the silent waiting forms for whom these events and creatures were but cosmic specs of dust. The lifespan of our universes was but the blink of an eye compared to these eternal beings. They were terrible and frightening, not because they held malice — but for the complete lack of regard they held for anything as insignificant as human life.

Even entire universes were little more than baubles to be squandered and bartered for the true rulers of the cosmos. Worse than their cold indifference was the chance that one might turn their attention towards you — a momentary amusement.

I saw myself staring into a burning eye called to witness the end of a world. Something stared back. The gaze lasted only for a moment, but events were set into motion that could not be avoided. I saw the true enemy, and I understood the utter insignificance of my own existence.

To resist was unavoidable, and yet pointless.

***

I felt a strike across my face.

“Finn,” said a familiar voice laced with sobs. “Snap out of it.”

I held my hands in front of my face, fingernails dripping with blood. Deep gauges had been dug into my forehead and cheeks, tears and blood ran down my face. My eyes were dry, and my skin felt hot. I tried to answer but could only cough, my throat burning and dry.

I breathed in short, shallow bursts while collapsing to my knees in despair. I squeezed my eyes shut as if trying to hold back the images. I couldn’t bear them, and yet I couldn’t forget them. The vision had been permanently burned into my memory – not only unforgettable but unable to be repressed or ignored.

“Finn,” Rachel’s voice called out to me. “We need to get out of here.”

I looked up to see Rachel and Tiller standing over me. Someone had carried me down off the barricade and leaned me up against a group of stacked cars.

After a few moments, I finally pushed myself up, my legs shaking as Rachel put her shoulder under my arm for support. My conjured cast was completely gone, and in a moment of panic, I realized the palisades I had constructed would be gone as well.

“Is everyone okay?” I asked.

I the sounds of battle had grown even fiercer than before. Screams mixed with the echoing barks of gunfire and the clangs of metal weapons.

“I think so,” Tiller said. “Whatever you did caused everything to go crazy. Those monsters went berserk, started tearing each other apart. Others charged the barrier, ignoring every injury like they’d gone mad.”

“Your spiked wall is gone,” added Rachel. “A bunch of those … things, they just mindlessly impaled themselves, but it didn’t take them long to smash through.”

She looked at me for a moment, peeking out from beneath my arm. She briefly pulled away from before hugging me with arms that barely reached around my chest.

“You were babbling and screaming the whole time, I thought something was really wrong with you. I tried singing again, but it didn’t help, and my mana was already almost gone. I’m … just. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I smiled. “You saved me more than once today, all of us really.”

She smiled back releasing me from her bear hug, still leaving one arm under my shoulder to support my weight.

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“Oh,” said Rachel holding one hand up to her chest. “Your bird, Finn, I am so sorry. He’s…”

“Eaten,” finished Tiller.

“Eaten?” I said. I reached out through my connection to the Fisher before saying more. “He’s fine. In fact, whatever ate him is probably having a bit of indigestion right about now.”

My bond to the dark companion had grown stronger. The creature itself had gotten some fancy new upgrades, as well, due to another of my new class features – Dark Gemini. I wasn’t sure how useful it would be just yet, but the description was promising.

Dark Gemini Ⓛ - You have gained insight into the true nature of your Dark Companion. It is now truly a part of you, a twin born from your shattered psyche. It can no longer hide from or deceive you, but no longer can you deny it its rightful place in your mind. As long as you live, your Dark Gemini cannot be truly killed.

Having absorbed a piece of your adaptability, the Dark Gemini has gained complete control of its form. Furthermore, as the twin to your own soul, you now share a mana pool with your Dark Gemini and it can cast any spell you know.

It wasn’t the most impressive of my new abilities, but it did significantly reduce the risk of the creature I had once considered a parasite. The ability to share mana and spells was also potentially powerful. It could double my firepower, even allowing me to focus on melee combat while my twin cast spells.

Despite this, I was still hesitant to trust the creature — even if it did claim to be me.

“The defenders can’t hold out much longer,” Tiller said. “Catayla is doing something to blow the bridge. We are supposed to fall back and make sure the way is clear so everyone else can haul ass.”

Tiller seemed more detached than usual. He was hesitant as if he was torn between leaving or staying. He kept glancing back at the battle with a from and he constantly fixed the position of his glances. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to join the battle or if he was just lamenting the loss of a chance to do more research.

Rachel, however, had truly surprised me. It didn’t seem like that long ago that I had had to send Tiller to find her as she hid from combat. Black, runny lines of mascara still stained her face. Yet now, she had a certain determination to her. Perhaps she had found her courage during the battle — or she had found something to fight for.

“All right,” I said. “I trust Catayla knows what she’s doing.”

It took me only a moment to reform the cast around my shattered ankle, though it took considerably more effort this time. I suspected constructing anything as large as a palisade would be above my abilities, at least in the short-term.

“Did anything get past us?” I asked. “The bridge should be pretty much clear in this direction, right?”

“A big part of the horde broke off to the Northeast, they may cross up there and circle back south. We’re still not sure what those pterodactyls will do. Whatever you did seems not to have affected them, so far. Probably just waiting to feast from the carrion, but I can’t be sure.”

“Can you walk?” asked Rachel.

“I’ll manage,” I said. “It’s painful, but I can move on my own.”

“All right,” said Tiller. “When Catayla gives the signal, they’ll be coming for us like a bat out of hell, demons hot on their tails. Literally in this case.”

We began sprinting back towards the city. It was difficult, but I manage to keep up despite my crippled leg. Under ideal circumstances, I would have been faster than either of them. I had the highest physical stats in the trio. Tiller, however, was able to avoid obstacles with a gymnast like grace that allowed him to easily take the lead.

Our run didn’t take long, and we didn’t find any trouble along the way. Slowly, we made our way down the debris-ridden ramp at the end of the bridge and took cover behind the overturned frame of an old sedan.

“So, what’s the signal?” I asked.

“No idea,” said Tiller.

I looked at Rachel, but she just shook her head to indicate she didn’t know either.

“I imagine we’ll know it when we …” began Tiller.

A bright flash preceded a shockwave and a large plume of smoke. The entire bridge vibrated, but it still held. The groaning of the high-tension wires was followed by deafening cracks as the first wire snapped. The bridge began to sway.

“If that’s the signal,” said Rachel. “Then I hate to see what the actual explosion is going to look like.”

“Baddasses never see explosions,” said Tiller.

“What?” Rachel and I said together.

“Too busy walking away in slow motion.”

The groans were left unsaid, but the momentary silence and empty stares communicated our feelings well, I think.

“You’ve been holding on to that one for a while, haven’t you?” Rachel asked Tiller.

“Maybe for a bit …” he admitted.

“Alright, you guys. Pre-fight banter concluded?” I asked. “They’re going to come charging down that ramp at any second and we need to be ready when they do.”

It wasn’t long before my prediction came true. A dozen bridge guards, Catayla and Worthy leading the way, came rushing down the ramp. Tiller was already firing, not worrying about friendly fire as his shots unerringly flew past fleeing guards to strike the targets behind them. The speed and accuracy of his shots were poetic, some shots came within inches of striking an ally but somehow his bullets always found a path to their intended target.

As the group of guards reached us, they split up to take cover. I began to use Arcane Missiles to take out pursuing creatures while Tiller continued to blast everything that came even remotely close to one of our allies.

Rachel held a gun at her side but hadn’t started firing. Instead, she was humming a gentle tune that seemed to soothe my aches and cleared my mind. The effects were minor, maybe even a placebo, but it was enough to give me confidence. Rachel never faltered or turned away from the fight.

“Everyone down!” yelled Catayla.

She pulled out a disk that looked exactly like the communication device she had given to me after we first met. I tensed as she pressed down the button in the center of the device. Instead of the high-intensity blast I had braced for, there was a long sequence of pops — sounding more like fireworks than high-grade demolition charges.

Almost immediately, I could hear sharp cracks and the screeching sound of metal on metal. The remaining suspension cables all began to give out at the same time. The bridge collapse into the river beneath it, creating waves that rose up above the narrow beach.

A strong wind washed over me bringing with it a cloud of dust and powdered concrete that obscured my vision.

“Get ready,” I said. “Here they come.”