The cave walls shift into a series of hideous drooling, wooden people stacked together like oysters as the ice pillars transform into ethereal columns of cloud.

As for the people, my beautiful and perfect creator vanishes, becoming replaced by a giant humanoid gem that shifts and squirms like a worm, the surface distorting into something entirely different.

I move on though, turning my gaze towards the moulting cryomancers, just in time to watch as a sparkling centipede coated in butterfly wings springs out of their bodies.

It’s bizarre, there's only one centipede but it's definitely bursting out of more than one body, I just can’t understand it.

I don’t think I have time to try anymore either, the floor is gone now and the ocean is here.

Reaching up for me with its loving waves, it pulls me into its depths.

Looking upwards I can’t see anything other than darkness, I’m already inside the sea, there’s nothing to see anymore.

So, I look downwards with the last ounce of my energy and gaze at the giant orbs of pulsating light, they look ever so slightly closer to me now, or perhaps I’m just imagining it.

Then in an instant, I’m awake and back to normal.

The ocean is draining away into the void and I am beginning to manifest.

There’s nothing that immediately comes to mind that I need to plan for or think about, so I start to reflect on my prior behaviour instead.

And quickly I realise just how poor of a conversationalist I am. I was bland, tasteless, dry.

I was boring, I mean yeah I was holding up an entire mass of collapsing rock but still.

She was my creator, I should have complimented something about her, reassured her that I wouldn’t fail in my duty again and actually put some emotion into my words.

She seemed to favour going uh and um, so that’s what I should do as well.

If we were more similar she would like me more, I would be a better summon.

Actually, why don’t I already go um and hm, I’m quite literally an extension of her, aren’t I?

Or am I myself?

What exactly am I?

I know what I’m meant to do, I know what my purpose is, it’s to follow orders and protect my creator.

But is there something else I’m meant to do or be?

I want to create more peaceful memories like when I was summoned to stargaze but that's a want, not a need.

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Why is it that I think about these sorts of things? How does figuring all these questions I have help out my creator?

In the end that’s what my purpose is, it’s to help my creator, not question my reality.

I can’t ponder any existential questions anymore though as I’m starting to feel a strong breeze, my flesh has begun to form.

Rapidly, my eyes follow suit as the rest of my body materialises and I get to observe my surroundings.

I’m at the front of what looks to be a convoy of wagons, with a generous heaping of soldiers protecting them.

And not just the rank and file kind either, I can see knights among these troops, I can’t really pick out any specifics because we’re rather far away and despite the evolution I went through my eyesight is still rather poor.

So, after a brief cursory look over the convoy, I turn around in a circle to get a good look at the scenery.

We’re still in the desert, obviously, but for once there don’t seem to be any sand dunes around, hence the rather strong wind, instead we are on a massive plain of cracked and dry dirt.

It’s incredibly dusty and I imagine the lack of any clouds to protect us from the overbearing sun doesn’t help keep morale up.

Despite the awful environment, my glorious creator still looks perfect, standing tall and firm like a great oak, radiating pure intensity and power.

She opens her mouth to speak but then realises I can’t understand her if she speaks verbally, so instead she starts to speak through our link.

“So, as you can see I’m unharmed, the geomancers managed to get to us in time. We were actually very fortunate, I mean if they had reached us even an hour late, well uh we could all be dead. Your efforts kept us alive, if you hadn’t kept that section of the tunnel stable then we would have had to subsist off of far less air.”

Right, time to make a good impression, last time was horrible. This time would be better.

“I’m very uh, glad you are still alive, umm it makes me very happy to see you unharmed and I’m um happy I could help you, my brilliant creator!” I beam back to her, making sure to pour heaps of joy and appreciation through the link as well.

I even use the ums and uhs she’s so fond of.

“Uh, thanks? So I’ve summoned you this time to sort of guard us while the cavalry is out scouting, you’re pretty fast and should be able to keep us safe if any horse archers try to harass us. At least that’s what I told the others, you like just existing, don’t you? Being able to walk around and not worry about having to keep me or yourself safe. Well, treat this summoning as a break of sorts, a vacation from the danger and stress I normally put you in.” She says, joy making way for guilt and remorse.

I don’t really know how to react but I can’t leave her waiting so I hurriedly formulate a response before replying to her, making sure to send waves of positivity through the link as I speak.

“Um thank you, I appreciate the reprieve but I will still uh try my hardest to keep you safe. Ambushers could be laying in wait below the surface or a group of mages could be bending light around themselves to go invisible, do not worry, I will protect you my creator.”

Now it’s her turn to be at a loss for words, though she quickly finds them. “I think we’re quite safe since we have knights with us but sure, keep an eye out for any threats. My name is Coralet by the way, I think you dissipated before you heard me last time, but um yeah my name is Coralet, please call me by that instead of creator.”

“Um of course Coralet.” I say almost instantly in response.

She gives me a funny look before trying to say something but it gets mumbled up and doesn’t translate through the link properly, or more likely the words themselves were just mumbly.

Then she curtly turns around and starts to walk towards the convoy, I follow after her, making sure to keep my singular eye out for any threats just like she asked.

All I see is just dirt and a few dead or dying bushes, still, you can never be too safe.