I am not a masochist

With a pained gasp, Kato stumbled back. The world was shattering around him as he fell back. His form slowly passed through what had been a thick, stone, wall but now was little more than a blurred grey outline.

His hand reached out, stretching forward towards the aged, wooden, frame and the burnt picture it held. His eyes locked onto it desperately trying to glean something, anything at all! But it wasn’t to be as the inevitable grey crept across that too smearing it into a transparent haze, somehow even more lifeless than before.

His body seemed to fall in slow motion as he fought against gravity. Pushing back the real world in favour of this fake one where his problems were only in his head.

‘I’m not ready to go.’ Kato thought panicked. He didn’t know if he’d ever see this place again. Hell, he hardly knew if this was even what his once familiar haunt looked like or whether it was just some stress induced amalgamation of what he could still remember.

And on that note Kato’s back hit something soft with a light thump. His eyes screwed shut upon impact.

Slowly his eyes blinked open as he turned his body and looked up. The world had returned to normal. Or at least a different type of strange.

Shaking his head slightly, he tried to clear his mind. This was not the time for debating the enigmatic mysteries of what was now his life.

Focusing slightly, his forehead tightened as he took in his surroundings.

Faded, grey smoke of a fire long gone lightly wisped through the air. The scent of what he had known to be destruction just hours before replaced by the comforting smell of dying embers cutting through the chill of the cool night.

He smiled ruefully. Kato had spent many a good night by a fire whether that be in his own dwellings or someone else’s, who had also graciously donated to him both their belongings and warmth. And all without even their own knowledge. Some people really were just too generous.

A slight smile tugged at his lips. It was a slight and involuntary motion, one born of relief as the pain that had been wracking him suddenly dispersed.

And better still, the faceless man was gone. If he had ever been there to begin with. But Kato wasn’t one for questioning his own sanity… not anymore… or at least he was trying not to be…

‘Enough dwelling!’ Kato resolved, pushing himself off freshly turned dirt to find his footing.

“Great!” He proclaimed suddenly, as he felt clammy dirt push between his toes. “Which joker did this?” He laughed slightly, half hoping for a response, half scared he’d get one.

To his great disappointment or relief, he didn’t.

“What type of person steal someone’s shoes while they’re sleeping,” he muttered, glum, wilfully disregarding that he had done the same many a time before.

He sighed then called out louder than before, “Ok rock, or voice or whoever you can come out now. I did it, I beat your little trial and had just oh so much of a good time doing so.” A pained smile twisted across his face, but he wasn’t prepared to let the cruel taskmaster feel any satisfaction from his pain.

After all his suffering should only benefit himself. Kato paused, a tendril of worry slipping around him that line of thinking was far too cult like, and he’d just seen it kill hundreds. Was he really that prepared to let it do the same to him?

A voice coughed slightly startled, and the frantic rustling of papers could be heard. “Uhhum that was faster than expected” the male voice cleared its throat slightly. “One moment please,” it continued. Apparently now the picture of helpfulness.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Then its voice shifted, booming out, “so the prodigal son has returned, and oh what wealth he has brought!” The voice shifted again its kind demeanour fading into one with an audible sneer, “look around you!” it spat. “This death, this destruction, you caused it all so you could call yourself better than your peers.”

“That’s not why I did it!” Kato interrupted shouting suddenly, he was not prepared to let this man besmirch his good name. “And they weren’t my peers.”

“Ahaha,” the voice laughed slightly, “so you are a Puritan? Who walks the path alone?”

“No,” Kato replied confused, ‘why did I feel the need to speak out, you’re here on a mission, you shouldn’t be trying to make a good impression. You shouldn’t be trying to make any impressions. Remember your training! Briefly Kato thought about super sneaky shimmy mode, but he dismissed it, that wasn’t the type of thing that worked against omnipotent, incorporeal beings. He paused. Or at least he thought it didn’t, who knew the rules here? ‘This may need to be considered.’

But, before he could continue planning strokes of genius that would never have even been dreamed of by even the most accomplished scholars the voice continued.

“Not a Togeran like the rest who are so focused on success through their joint suffering,” they mocked with distain. “Not a Puritan, who walks alone, but…”

“My oh my, the elusive third chapter. We haven’t seen a Riseran join the order at least not here, not for a very long time,” they laughed again.

“Perhaps not since I, myself walked the path you now follow. I should warn you though. The path of someone who not only takes suffering but wilfully seeks to expand upon it again and again is not an easy one.” They paused, “but then again, I’m sure you know that.” They cackled as if the two were kindred spirtis sharing a moment of comraderie over an open secret.

Kato’s eye twitched slightly, they were taking his statements all wrong. He wanted nothing to do with this infernal order. And he certainly wasn’t some perverted masochist like this voice apparently was. But he had the sneaking feeling that response wouldn’t fly here, so he, with a tight-lipped expression, just nodded slightly in response.

“How delightful,” the voice laughed again. “You are an interesting one, aren’t you? What is your name boy? Participant 8672 doesn’t quite feel right anymore."

Kato’s eye twitched again, ‘they don’t even bother to learn their members names?’ Kato questioned, disgusted. Then paused. That was probably a good thing. If the order tracked its clergy better, he doubted the voice would still be laughing.

He paused, thinking. Now was the time to reinvent himself. Sculpt himself into someone new. Give himself a name fitting for kings. He racked his brain, scanning memories from long nights where he read faded parchment by candlelight. What was the link that these powerful names from legend shared?

“The Third,” he blurted out, before his mind could refute it.

“The Third?” The voice replied confused.

‘Damn It,’ Kato thought he had just been upset about them naming their members numbers and now he had done it to himself! He rubbed a hand over his face in frustration ‘at least I didn’t name myself Floor Guy, but still, The Third, really?’

“Yes,” he replied steadily, but the word was drawn out, reluctant and accompanied by a slight reddening of his pale features.

“Your name is a number?”

“A title,” Kato countered quickly. “The Third of… many things,” he nodded assuredly, he had played that off spectacularly.

“And your real name?” They asked.

“Kato,” he replied without even thinking, ‘great now saying that nonsense about The Third actually means nothing and what’s worse you’ve just compromised yourself. I have?’ Kato replied to himself shocked, but looking down he saw that everything was where it should be. ‘Your name. Your name was compromised…”

“-lla,” he added quickly, “Katolla.” He said again, ‘that was far too close.’

“Well, Katolla,” the voice continued, none the wiser, “that marks the end of the third and final trial,” it laughed again, “though I am sure a Riseran like yourself will find other ways,” they paused. “To entertain yourself.”

Kato’s eye twitched again, he wasn’t a crazy masochist, and he wanted no part of the ‘entertainment’ that they were referring to, he knew that was code for hurting himself in worse and worse ways.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

But there was no reply, the voice apparently gone.

A moment later the ground erupted and a familiar large rock rose to the surface and with it two shallow green orbs imprinted in its surafec that now stared level into his eyes. ‘Has it gotten bigger?’

Then the last of the shallow indents began to pulse in the same sickly, green as the other two before finally settling into place.

With a low groan the stone expanded outwards, Kato took a step back. Then it cracked down the middle.

He stared at it for a moment, then stepped back again and again and again, till he was far from the curséd grey monolith.

The crack continued to widen and the sound of stone splitting filled the air before suddenly, it stopped. Two planes of rock split perfectly from it and toppled off to the side leaving a small woodem doorway marked service exit in their place.

Praying to Cogul and all that was good it wasn’t a trick, Kato stepped through.