His heart and essence of existence froze. It was like a god had painted a picture of reality at that moment and the picture was Zan hearing Mentality's voice. "How is this possible?" Zan asked, his voice shaking but holding (mostly) firm.

"Why protect that noble?" Mentality asked, his voice grating like shaving bark.

Still riding on his bike, all Zan saw and felt in slow motion. The sunlight felt thinner somehow. What was happening?

"Because he is a countryman. A noble. He is worth protecting in a time of war..." Zan replied to Mentality, being honest.

"He is a countryman. Really? Do you know anything about him? Tell the truth."

Zan wanted to lie and say he knew much about the noble. He wanted to say how the viceroy was a good man who never abused his power. Zan couldn't say any of that, however. He knew the noble only as a stranger.

"I don't need to know anything about him to know he is one of us! Someone who will fight against the invasion and people like you!"

"People like me? What do you know about me?"

"Nothing," Came out of Zan's mouth before he could stop it.

"Exactly. Nothing."

"I know one thing," Zan said, barely a whisper.

"Oh? You do know a single little thing? What is it?"

"I know you are choosing to participate in a hostile takeover of another land. That must mean you are a person with some growth to yet do."

Silence reigned for long enough for Zan feel as though Mentality had severed the connection. He knew the connection remained, however, due to the state of how he felt the world. It still felt elongated, weird, and too thick for his liking.

"I still have some growth to do?" Mentality asked, as a snake would ask. "You will just have to be the judge of that, then. Won't you? Little Zan."

That was when the connection ended.

Zan felt the cooling air of the normal world upon his skin once again. Wherever or whatever happened to him as he biked, it was done now. Mentality was out of his head, and he could focus once more on reaching his destination.

Speaking of! The pass was nearly in front of him!

How long had I been out? Zan asked himself but to no avail. The sun still looked fairly high in the sky despite what Zan thought was the late hour. And he still had some ground to cover before he came upon the pass. Zan estimated he had 'lost,' so to speak, a couple of hours or time. Which didn't make sense... the conversation he had with Mentality, whose point he still had no found, had not lasted a couple of hours. He did not feel as though he had been away and biking for two hours while the conversation played in his head. It just wasn't possible!

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

And yet, what could Zan say to the contrary? The sun was where it was in the sky, he had a conversation in his head, and he was close to the pass.

In the distance ahead, Zan saw Colonel Winters and his men.

They are so far away, though, Zan told himself. If I had more magic, this wouldn't be an issue. True or not, Zan had no magic and had usefully depleted his sum during the villa battle. If he expected to survive, he would need to catch up to the colonel's men. But how?

Stopping his non-stop peddling, Zan observed his surroundings while guzzling down fresh air.

With adrenaline pumping through his system Zan could keep his eyes awake. Inside his belly, he felt the sharp movements of the crystalline parasite he had shoved into his body all those weeks -- months? -- ago began moving with a power Zan hadn't felt since his first activation of the Shining power. No, calm down, Zan willed the parasite.

He couldn't afford having another instance of the parasite taking over. Though the last time the parasite took over Zan remembered being in control, it was a barely controlled 'control,' if that made sense. He remembered the command of power and how it came with a pulling whisper in the back of his consciousness. Was it strong? Was it something he necessarily remembered at the time? No... but he was thinking of it now and how alien he had felt.

He didn't want that again, not until he had more training on how to use this Shining power.

Zan observed his location.

Ahead: colonel Winters and his trampling men. By the looks of it, he and his men recently cleared the pass. Good. Since Zan did not hear of any issue via the echo-beetles, he assumed they passed without further incident.

Behind: the villa in flames, why the automotrons would set it aflame, I did not know. Surely, it was more worthwhile as an already built command post. Zan saw no reason for them to destroy it. Regardless, that is what they did.

His sides: the enemy force moving in through the means of troop transport. If it were only the golems themselves pursuing Zan, he wouldn't be worrying. He could easily out bike ponderous golems. Troop transports? Another story. His efforts blessed him, Zan knew, though. The closest troop transport was maybe ten minutes away. Maybe. Zan told himself he should count his lucky stars even the troop transports are on the slow side.

Where he needed to go: through the pass just ahead. the way looked clear. No golem swarms or odd numbers of troop transports. So why wasn't he moving?!

Answering his own question, Zan continued huffing while observing the land. His stomach growled violently. He pawed in his belongings for any quick, energizing foodstuffs. He found none albeit he did find his own resolution to include more rations for the future -- should he survive this.

With nothing on him and minutes of precious time already wasted by Zan overly observing his surroundings, he forced himself back on the bike.

To the sky: the clouds were darkening. A storm? Here of all places?

Heading forward, Zan tried his best to not think of the clouds or the ever-approaching enemy at his back and sides and everywhere, really. His destination was the pass. Then, the only thing he would have to worry about would just be overhanging arches of earth.

But Zan had a problem. Once he surveyed his surroundings, he had no more hope than when he begun. His only path was ahead, through the pass. Enemy troops mustered everywhere else; how such a large force surprised them took Zan for a loop. When the day had begun, it was them surprising the automotron force. Now, they were in a total route. Even if Zan made it through the pass, what if no allies slowed for him or came back once free of the danger? Could he make it by himself?