Watching the duel between myself and Annabelle turned out to be more difficult than I expected. The scene before me wasn’t an exact reenactment, since I was seeing it from an outsider’s perspective instead of my own, but it was otherwise just how I remembered it. Time had dulled the emotions I felt back then, but seeing it like this brought them all back to the foreground. Anger, hate, jealousy.
This was on top of the guilt and shame I felt for my behavior back then. Knowing that a Dark magic spell was responsible for some of my actions helped a little, but not that much. After all, the spell only amplified what I had felt back then. It hadn’t created them out of nothing. So while the Dark magic spell was responsible for the worst parts, the core of the issue was all on me.
From what I could tell, the scene before us started during the latter half of the duel. Blood dripped down my dream self’s face as he ran around trying to find a weakness in Annabelle’s defenses. This was easier said than done. Fiery vines emerged from the ground, surrounding Annabelle. Anytime my dream self tried to get near her, they whipped towards him. They also blocked any long range spells he threw Annabelle’s way. She blocked the few that managed to break through using spells of her own.
During all of this, my dream self zipped around. Annabelle didn’t remain on the defensive, she threw out several offensive spells as well. My dream self moved around to dodge them. Since he was using Air internal magic, he kicked up a lot of sand with each step. This had the added benefit of obscuring Annabelle’s vision. While it wouldn’t hinder her spirit sense, every little bit helped. From what I saw, and what I remembered, he needed every advantage he could get.
Early on in the duel, Annabelle had broken through my dream self’s shield spell, before delivering a solid kick to the side of the head; thus the head injury. While he managed to retreat and recover, she still caused considerable damage. I remember what it felt like. The blurry vision, the throbbing pain, the dizziness. Annabelle knew how to throw a proper kick. It amazed me that she hadn’t knocked me out right then and there.
“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Aurora said, her voice grim. “Your expression is all twisted. It seems…wrong.”
I nodded.
She was right. The expression on my dream self’s face looked like it belonged to a demon, twisted with hate and madness as it was. He looked possessed, and maybe I had been. According to High Inquisitor Corvus, the Dark magic spell mimicked the effects of having an inner demon. Thinking back on it, that made sense. During the duel, the desire to kill Annabelle had consumed me. It was my entire world, it was my everything. If I just killed the upstart Otherworlder, then everything would be right again.
I shook my head at the memory. Ancestors, no wonder why I lost the duel. While I had been more powerful than Annabelle at the time, my wild emotions messed with my focus. Seeing it from an outsider’s perspective, I noticed how sloppy and weak my spells were. Annabelle on the other hand looked cool, calm, and collected. She wore a grim expression on her face, and determination burned in her eyes.
My dream self shot an Air Blade Barrage at Annabelle, cutting away all of the fiery vines. I knew what would happen next. In my memories, I dashed towards Annabelle so I could use Claw of the Storm Dragon. However, just before I reached her, she used Firethorn Wall and entangled me in a mass of burning vines. I managed to escape using another Air Blade Barrage, but Annabelle took advantage of that moment to grab me and use a Lightning spell I had never seen or heard of before. Red lightning coursed through my body and soul, shattering my Circles. The stench of burning flesh filled my nostrils. Pain, unlike any I had felt before that point, filled me. After that, I fell unconscious.
To my surprise, the scene before me differed from my memories. Annabelle used Firethorn Wall just as my dream self reached her, but she missed by less than an inch. Unimpeded, my dream self slashed at her with the Claw of the Storm Dragon spell. It shredded her shield spell like it was paper, before ripping into her flesh. My breath caught in my throat as her scream tore through the air. Annabelle fell to the ground, her blood forming a pool all around her. Her body twitched twice, before falling still.
All sound faded away as I looked at Annabelle’s corpse. Earlier on, when Aurora killed the not-Annabelle in the haunted house, it didn’t bother me all that much since I knew she was a fake. While I couldn’t kill the not-Annabelle, her death meant nothing to me.
It felt different this time; more vivid, more real. Maybe it was because the mental demon used one of my memories instead of creating a random scenario. Maybe this mental demon was more powerful than the others. Or maybe because it showed me one of my greatest fears, Annabelle dying by my hands. Regardless, the scene before me affected me more than anything else had so far, though perhaps not in the way the mental demon intended.
My dream self turned his head towards me and gave me a wicked grin. However, that grin fell when he saw my expression. I don’t know what the mental demon had wanted me to feel by showing me Annabelle’s death. Fear, despair, pain. It didn’t matter. Regardless of its intentions, the mental demon failed. I felt nothing but white hot rage.
It dared.
My dream self/the mental demon took one look at my expression and turned to flee. However, it was already too late. With an effort of will, I appeared right in front of it. The demon’s eyes widened just before I grabbed it by the throat and lifted it into the air. The smell of Annabelle’s blood reached my nose, enraging me further. Aurora appeared next to me a moment later.
The mental demon flailed about, trying to break free, to no avail. Its blows affected me not at all.
“Wa-…Wait,” it choked out in my voice. “We can make a dea-…”
I didn’t bother listening further. Unlike the other mental spirits and demons, I didn’t shrink this one with my will so Aurora could consume it. Instead, I used my will to crush it. My headache increased in intensity, but I pushed through the pain. The mental demon fought back as I ground it down, but it was like an insect trying to fight against an avalanche. Its body twisted and contorted as I squeezed it. The mental demon screamed, but I ignored it and continued on. After several agonizing moments, the mental demon died with a pop and its body disappeared. The only thing that remained of it were the faded echoes of its dying scream.
Yet, that did nothing to quell my killing urge. The mental demon’s death was too quick, too easy. It wasn’t satisfying at all. I wanted to rage and slaughter and go on a rampage, if only to release the pressure bubbling up inside me. My head throbbed with pain, which just further fueled my anger.
My eyes fell on Annabelle’s torn body. Fear and pain twisted her expression. Her blue eyes stared up at the sky above, blank and unseeing. Seeing her like this made me want to kill everything and everyone around me.
“Are you all right, Gabe?” Aurora asked.
“No!” I snapped out. “I am not all right. I want to…”
I clenched my jaw, hoping to keep the rage from overwhelming me. It burned, as if someone had poured magma into my veins.
Aurora waved her hand. The arena disappeared. The sand pit, the amphitheater, Annabelle’s body. It all dissolved into nothing. Instead, Aurora and I found ourselves atop the peak of a tall mountain. A gorgeous vista spread out before us, a mountain range that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Their barren peaks were sharp and pointed, like the teeth of some titanic beast. Snow covered their tips. The sky above was clear and cloudless. The sun remained in the same position, bathing the world with its light.
It was beautiful. Cold and stark, but beautiful all the same. Yet, that beauty did nothing quell the rage bubbling up inside me. It felt like it would burst out of me and burn me from the inside out. I roared, letting it all out. My roar echoed out across the mountain range, until it seemed like my rage filled the air.
After a while, I fell silent. While my anger still burned inside me, letting it out like that had taken the edge off. I no longer felt as out of control as before. Yet, I still felt unsettled. If I encountered another mental demon in my current state, I didn’t know what I would end up doing. The last one had hit me right where it hurt the most, the first real threat we had encountered all night. All the others had been small fry.
My head continued to throb with pain. I had definitely overexerted my mind, yet I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
“Feel better?” Aurora asked.
“A little,” I said, before sitting down. “Thank you.”
Aurora nodded, before she joined me. Together the two of us looked out at the mountain range. Being here, this high up, soothed my soul and eased my headache. Maybe it was because of my elemental affinities, but I liked being in high places. The thought made me snicker.
“What?” Aurora asked.
“I think I might be part cat,” I said. “For some reason, I enjoy being in high places.”
Actually, now that I thought about it, I was descended from a cat magic beast on my mother’s side. While no trace of it remained in my blood, that fact remained true.
Aurora snorted.
“That’s the Storm Dragon in you,” she said. “I had never met a Storm Dragon that didn’t like high peaks. It’s the closest the earth can ever come to touching the heavens.”
She had a fair point. This was the reason why mountains were considered sacred on Spirit Earth. Well, certain mountains at least.
“What is this place?” I asked. “Is it someplace you know, or is it something you created with your imagination?”
Aurora didn’t respond right away.
“It was my home,” Aurora said. “Back before I Ascended and became a World Serpent. My sisters and I would burrow beneath the mountains and build nests, so that we might sleep the eons away. Mother nurtured us as we slept. When we were ready, we would emerge from our nests and Ascend to the heavens above.” She smiled. “Of course, we didn’t sleep all the time. That would be boring. Sometimes we came out to play. Messing with Tempest’s Storm Dragons was our favorite pastime. And before you feel bad for them, those arrogant jerks had it coming.”
I chuckled.
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said. “Though Shattering Thunder seemed decent enough.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen him at his worst.”
We fell silent again. The two of us sat there, staring at the mountains. A wind blew through, clean and pure. I knew that this place wasn’t real, that it was just a dream, but it was a restful one. After spending all night dealing with mental demons, it felt like heaven right now.
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“Thank you, Aurora,” I said, glancing at her. “I know I might not show it all of the time, but I do appreciate you. Thank you for standing by my side, even when I do stupid shit. Or maybe especially because you stand by my side when I do stupid shit.”
“No need to thank me,” she said, though I saw the small smile tugging on her lips. “We’re in this together. Of course I would stand by you, even when you’re being the biggest idiot in the world.”
“How touching,” a voice rang out. “I do hate to interrupt this personal moment, and I would leave you alone if I had any other choice, but the circumstances demand otherwise.”
Aurora and I stood up and turned around to find a man standing near us. He looked like a cultivator from Spirit Earth. He had pale skin, long black hair, and bland facial features. His eyes were a dark brown. He wore plain and unadorned azure robes. A flying sword hung from his left hip, while a gourd bottle hung from his right. Back on Spirit Earth, I had met several cultivators that looked similar, though not exactly, like him. It was as if someone had set out to create the most generic looking cultivator in existence.
“Who are you?” I asked in a cold voice. “What do you want?”
It was clear that this was a mental demon. While I felt the urge to kill him right away and feed him to Aurora, I resisted the temptation. This was the first time any of them had initiated a conversation. Perhaps I could learn something from him. I wouldn’t waste this opportunity.
The mental demon bowed to me with a flourish.
“As you have no doubt already guessed, I am a mental demon,” he said. “My name is Forgotten Memory, and I would like to make a deal.”
----------------------------------------
I crossed my arms and glared at Forgotten Memory. Aurora scoffed.
“A deal?” she asked. “Why would we want to make any kind of deal with you? This is clearly some kind of trick to try and catch us off guard.” She looked at me. “Just kill him and be done with it.”
I didn’t respond right away and studied Forgotten Memory, who remained unruffled by Aurora’s words.
“Why do you look like that?” I asked. “All the other mental spirits and demons we encountered so far looked like they were from Lumina. Why do you look like someone from Spirit Earth?”
“That’s because I’m stronger than most of my kin,” Forgotten Memory said. “It gave me a chance to take a look at your memories, including the ones from your previous life.” He gestured towards his body. “I created this body since I figured it would give me a chance to talk with you two without getting killed and eaten right away.” His eyes flashed with light for a brief moment. “Also, unlike the rest of my kin, I know that you are far more dangerous than you seem, Gabriel Sturm. Or should I call you Celestial Thunder?”
Forgotten Memory paused, as if to gauge my reaction. If he meant to rattle me with his words, he failed. I just raised an eyebrow at him and didn’t say anything.
“Tangling with you is a surefire way to commit suicide,” he continued, as if nothing happened. “I saw what you did to that guilt demon earlier. I have no desire to suffer the same fate. Thus, I have come to bargain.”
I snorted.
“If that’s the case, why bother bargaining?” I asked. “Why don’t you just leave if you don’t want to die?”
“Because I can’t,” Forgotten Memory said, a flat look on his face. “I became trapped here the moment I entered your mind. Otherwise I would have left already.”
“The mark?” I guessed.
Forgotten Memory nodded, then grimaced.
“It lured me and my kin in here, like bait in a trap,” he said. “The moment we entered your mind, it slammed the cage doors shut and trapped us in here. Metaphorically speaking that is. The only way out is to kill you and devour your mind. Unfortunately, that really isn’t an option, as tempting as it might be.” He held up a hand. “But that’s all you’ll get out of me for free. The only thing I have to offer is information, so forgive me for not telling you more.”
I pinched my chin between my thumb and my index finger. If Forgotten Memory was telling the truth, and I had a feeling that he was, then the mental spirits and demons trying to kill me were just pawns in this situation. I almost felt bad for them. Almost, but not quite. There was only so much sympathy I could feel for a bunch of creatures that were trying to kill me and eat my mind.
“What kind of bargain did you have in mind?” I asked.
Aurora gave me an incredulous look.
“Gabe, you aren’t seriously thinking of bargaining with this thing, are you?” she asked. “Don’t forget what he is. He calls himself Forgotten Memory. Think about what that means. He’s a memory demon. He eats memories.”
“That isn’t always a bad thing,” Forgotten Memory pointed out. “I’m sure you have memories that you would rather forget.” He made a so-so gesture. “Granted, I prefer eating good memories since they taste sweeter, but it’s all sustenance in the end.”
I studied the memory demon in silence for a few moments. While bargaining with a demon was always a risk, it could be worth it, depending on what I got out of it.
“At the very least, I intend to hear him out,” I said to Aurora.
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.
“That’s all I need,” Forgotten Memory said.
“Now then, let’s go somewhere more suited to this discussion,” I said.
With an effort of will, I changed the scenery around us. The mountains disappeared, and we found ourselves in a pavilion. It was red, and in the style of Spirit Earth. A beautiful garden surrounded us, filling the air with a fragrant floral scent. Beautiful music reached our ears, played by a hidden musician. The sun was a bit lower, so it seemed like mid-morning instead of noon.
Inside the pavilion, there was a table with cushions next to it: two for me and Aurora, and one for Forgotten Memory. A Spirit Earth style tea pot, plus enough cups for everyone, sat on the table.
The three of us took our seats, before I poured tea for everyone. For me and Aurora, it wouldn’t do anything since it was just a dream of tea. It tasted good, but that was it. However, it would be sustenance for Forgotten Memory, since he was a mental demon. For him, the stuff of dreams and nightmares was real. From the look on his face, I saw that he appreciated the gesture.
“What do you have to offer?” I asked after everyone sipped their tea. “And what do you want in return?”
“It’s simple,” Forgotten Memory said. “I want you to leave me alive long enough for your friends to study the mark and erase it. Once it’s gone, I can escape. In exchange, I’ll help you find out who cursed you in the first place. I’ll even keep the rest of my kin away from you, so they don’t bother you until then.”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“That’s it?” I asked. “That’s all you want? To not die? At very least, I expected you to demand a memory or two, given your name.”
Forgotten Memory shook his head.
“That isn’t necessary,” he said. “Just being in your mind has benefited more than consuming a thousand memories from lesser beings. While eating one of your memories would benefit me even further, I won’t ask for that. One of the reasons why I have survived as long as I have is that I know to quit while I’m ahead. Too many of my kin die because of excessive greed.”
“Like the ones who attacked me earlier?”
“Exactly,” Forgotten Memory said, before taking a sip of his tea. “I’d rather receive less and guarantee my survival than push for more and risk my life. Besides, I’m not sure if I could survive eating one of your memories. It would be like trying to eat the sun. They might just burn me from the inside out.”
A mental demon that thought long term and knew how to resist temptation? I almost wanted to kill him just for that. Mental demons like him were the most dangerous kind, though this thinking applied to demons in general. They were clever and cunning, making them a pain in the ass to deal with.
I could end up regretting this decision. Still, if Forgotten Memory helped us find out who was responsible for causing all of this in the first place, then it might be worth it.
“How do you intend to help us figure out who cursed me?” I asked. “Did you see who it was?”
My guess was that the Dark wizard responsible for siccing mental demons on me and the other heirs had trapped said mental demons and only let them loose when someone bearing the mark was nearby. Otherwise, why would the mark only attract mental demons while its bearers were in or near Sunheart?
“No, but you have,” Forgotten Memory said, gesturing towards me. “Before you regained your memories, your mind was that of a normal House scion your age. It wasn’t as powerful as it is now.” He tapped his temple. “You saw the person who cursed you, since they had to do it in person. After they finished, they erased the memory of it from your mind. However, fragments of that memory remain hidden in the dark places of your mind. I can dig up those fragments and recover them for you.”
My fists clenched at Forgotten Memory’s words. I had suspected that it was something like that. While I didn’t know too much about Dark magic, I knew that there were only a few ways to curse a wizard without them noticing. Erasing the memory of it from their mind was one way. Still, hearing that someone messed with my mind both angered and unnerved me.
That was one of the reasons why Dark magic was so insidious. Most wizards couldn’t affect the mind, since they focused on controlling the external world. This was why they couldn’t affect anything related to the mind and soul, at least not directly. No fixing broken Circles, no telepathy, etc. Dark magic was the exception.
That would explain why the Dark wizard behind all this only targeted the heirs of Houses rather than the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Forming Circles strengthened the mind and built up its defenses, making it more difficult to affect more powerful wizards with this kind of Dark magic. Good thing too, otherwise it would be more dangerous than it already was.
“That’s all you have to offer?” Aurora asked. “A few memory fragments? Not even a whole memory?”
Forgotten Memory glared at her.
“It may not seem like much,” he said. “But even finding this much took significant effort on my part. The Dark wizard who erased those memories was very thorough. Why do you think it took so long for me to contact you?” He looked back at me. “However, if that isn’t enough, I can tell you what I know about the mark and the person who sent me after you.”
“I thought you said that you didn’t see them,” I said.
“I didn’t, but I can tell you about their methods. Not only that, but I sensed their aura.”
I fell silent as I contemplated Forgotten Memory’s offer. I had to admit, I was tempted. Knowing that someone messed with my mind added fuel to my rage. I wanted to see them burn for what they did. They caused so much death and suffering already. Finding out who they were and stopping them was best for everyone. The more we learned from this experience, the better.
Still, it required having a mental demon mess around in my mind. While Forgotten Memory said that he wouldn’t get greedy and try anything, he was a demon. By nature, they were deceitful, cruel, and malicious. He even admitted that he enjoyed eating good memories, which meant taking them away from someone else forever.
“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with you messing about in my mind,” I said.
Forgotten Memory rolled his eyes.
“If I wanted to mess with your mind, as you say,” he said. “I would have done so earlier, before I revealed my presence.”
I gave him a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.
“The only reason why I hadn’t noticed you earlier is because I only looked at my memories,” I said. “If you had tried anything else, I would have known right away.” I leaned forward a little. “Make no mistake, Forgotten Memory. You are the intruder here, an invader. The only reason why you’re still alive is because I have a use for you. However, if I can’t trust you to behave, then there’s no point in leaving you alive.”
A bit of a bluff on my part. With how much my head hurt, I wasn’t sure I could fight Forgotten Memory without damaging my mind further. I would win, I knew that much, but at a heavy cost. However, I needed to put up a strong front since he was a demon.
“What have I done to make you distrust me?” Forgotten Memory asked, spreading his arms out. “I came to you, openly and honestly, in order to make a bargain with you. Do you want me to beg? Is that? Do you want to see me plead for my life?”
I gave him a flat look.
“Stop being melodramatic,” I said. “It’s not going to work, so knock it off. I just need you to swear a soul oath.”
Forgotten Memory tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look.
“You believe demons have souls then?” he said. “Including mental demons, such as myself?”
“Yes,” I said. “Swear on your soul that you will deal with us in good faith, that you won’t betray us. Do that, and you’ll have your deal.”
From the look on his face, it was clear that Forgotten Memory wasn’t sure what to make of my stipulation. I didn’t blame him for his confusion. It was a popular misconception that demons, including mental demons, didn’t have souls. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Demons had souls, or rather, they were souls. Corrupted and poisonous souls, but souls nonetheless. This included mental demons, based on my experience with inner demons.
An inner demon was born from the darkness of a cultivator’s heart, and was thus a fragment of that cultivator’s soul. While mental demons weren’t exactly the same, they were similar enough that I was confident that a soul oath would be enough to keep Forgotten Memory honest.
Besides, I planned on having Aurora keep an eye on him when he went to retrieve the memory fragments. Just in case.
“Very well,” Forgotten Memory said. “I accept your deal.”
My lips stretched into a wide grin.
“Good. I knew you would see things my way.”