Currently, my home’s been destroyed, and many of the people I’d once known have gone missing, Foldge and Zelzara included. “Qualstra, honey! Come on!” My mother calls out to me, as I stare back at what used to be my home…

“Ah- Right.” I say, as I follow behind her. “Listen, I know it’s new, but it’s for the best… And I know your ‘STUFF’ was in there, but you know…” She says, as I hold her hand, and the guards escort us out of the city.

Gunfire and explosions tear across the street, drowning out most noise… If only Nexus was here, she’d have us out of here in no time… I look up at my mom, and she smiles at me. At least you’re still here…

You know, all things considered, I can’t imagine what I’d do without my mom… When my dad-… ‘left’ it kind of ruined her. I guess that’s why she put so much time and energy in me, and in her job so we could stay here. She wanted me to grow up with friends, even if I didn’t try very hard to make that happen…

That’s what she wanted for me at least, and I’m thankful for that… I never would have gotten those visions from the stone of the philosophers… Doesn’t stop me from thinking about it otherwise though. What if I wasn’t even human? I mean, I guess I’m glad I was born human, but I would have liked something a little more interesting.

“Whatcha thinkin about?” Mom asks, as I look up at her. “Irrelevancy.” I say, taking a glance around. “You’re so silly…” She says, as we reach one of the underground blast-surfer tunnels. “We’ll be heading down through the old blast-surfer trails.” He says, as we head down.

“Mr. Olvarge… Will we be riding on one?” My mom asks, as she looks up at him. “No. They’re being dismantled as we speak… Though, one of them supposedly went missing a while back. It’s had everyone on edge, supposedly it was made by Zacqueral himself…”

We arrive at the bottom of the staircase, and pass through multiple unkempt rooms… “What happened?” I ask, surprising them. “Oh- The old tunnels down here got shut down a while back, nobody was really using them anymore…” My mom says, as we arrive at the tunnel itself.

My mom stares at it, a tense look on her face… “It’s safe, we’ve brought multiple people through here already.” Olvarge says, as she steadies herself, and we follow behind him. “Qualstra…” My mom says, surprising me in return.

“Whatever you do, don’t leave my side-” She says, gripping my hand tightly, before a loud noise tears through the tunnel, and she throws me into the wall, knocking me out…

-√Z2

“Lisk!” I shout! “Lisk!!!” Once again, looking for my friend… “Venetiur- Are you SURE he’s here?!” Chorimax calls out, as I break apart more rubble… “Where else would he be?!” I call back, as I hear a crack in the roof-

It begins to fall down, the rubble I’ve been destroying must have been holding it up… I prepare to blast it away, but speak of the devil, Lisk kicks it away and lands next to me- “Dumbass.” He says, as it crashes in the distance, and Chorimax looks over at us.

“Oh- Is that him?” She asks, as he looks over. “Yeah! Chorimax, meet Lisk. Lisk, meet Chorimax, she’s my girlfriend!” I proudly say, as he slaps his forehead- “I hate you…” He says, as my girlfriend folds her arms.

“WHY are we coming back for this guy again?” She asks, as they lock eyes… “He just likes to pretend he hates everyone, but he really actually cares.” I say, as she sighs and relaxes. “I’ll take your word on it.” She says, before we make our way out of the building again.

“Sorry about your home, Lisk.” I say, as we continue. “Eh. It sucked anyways.” He says, as he looked back at it. “You got any plans?” I ask. “No. You?” He asks in return. “No. Hey Chorimax. What’s the plan?” I ask, her bright hair lighting up the dark city like a beacon.

“I don’t know… I guess we’re just going to have to leave...” She says, as we catch up a little with her- Lisk suddenly draws a blade from his hand, and swings it at Chorimax, but instead deflecting a bullet from the air-

“I’ll find the bastard, you two get to safety.” He quickly says and Chorimax nods, grabbing my hand, and guiding me out of here. “Thanks.” She says, as we separate from him again… “I guess I believe you on the caring thing now.” She says, as he disappears into the dark...

“Here, wait.” I say, as I form a thick fabric from my mana. “Um?” She looks up in surprise as I toss it over her head, and wrap it around her hair. “Your hair is like a beacon, it’ll just attract danger at this point.” I say, as she nods again and waits for me to quickly finish.

“Huh, it’s kinda’ pretty.” She says, as we quickly begin moving again. “Yeah, let’s just get out of here. Sorry about the rushed job.” I say, but she shakes her head a little. “No-no-no. I like it.” She adds, making me smile.

-√Z3-

“Zelzara? Is that you?” I ask, recognizing her bright colored wings- “Vaxel-” She starts to say, making me flinch as I stare at her wings… “Are you okay?...” I ask, as she stands up, shoving rubble she was hiding under.

One of her wings dragged against the ground, leaving a grim crimson trail… “I was just flying around… Then my wing was shot, I fell from the sky and had to flee. I’ve been hiding for a few days now…” She says, as I look around.

“Come on, we have to go. I’ve been looking for my dad for a while now, he’ll get us out of here…” I say, as she nods, and follows close as we move on. “Have you been lost too? I barely recognize this place… And I’m too scared to move on my own…” She says, almost clinging to me, before remembering her torn wing-

“H-Hey, it’s fine.” I say, letting her cling to me anyways like that- “I’m sorry… My tail was hit too, it’s got my balance out of whack.” She says, as I simply nod and help her walk- “Zelzara! Zelzara!!!” It’s Foldge, just like Zelzara mentioned.

“Foldge! I’m over here!” She calls out, and we hear his footsteps, excited as he rounds the corner- His expression suddenly drops as he notices the broken wing. “Help her walk, I’ll guide us out of here.” I say, as I bring her over to him.

“O-Oh, of course. Here, just get on my back.” He says, as he turns around and crouches. “Thanks guys, I’m sorry you have to carry me…” She says, as I help her onto his back. “I’m just so happy you’re okay… I was searching for days…” He says, making her smile…

We make our way out of the alley. “I didn’t know you two were so close…” I say, surprising them. “I mean, I figured you were friends with Qualstra, she’s weird enough- Crap- Sorry… I don’t mean…” She shakes her head. “I know what you mean.” She says, as I scratch the back of my head.

“I actually met Qualstra through her. Childhood friends, if I’m right?” He asks, looking up at her. “Mhm. It’s as he said. I was weird, she was, well… HER. Most of the other kids didn’t get along well with her, she couldn’t even talk.” She says, chuckling to herself.

“I had to help her learn, you know. She was STILL building Nex-” She suddenly pauses, surprising me. “But yeah, I met Foldge here a few years ago, and now he’s my best friend.” She says, as we reach the sidewalk.

“You certainly crawled deep into that alley… What were you hiding from?” Foldge asks, as we hug the wall and hide under the shadows… “It was some sort of… THING… It’s what broke my tail in the first place…” She says, as I begin to feel a little nervous…

“It was shrouded in some sort of shadowy mist… I’d never seen anything like it.” She continues, as I spot lights, and stop them- “Careful, it might be dangerous.” I whisper, as I guide them into a new hiding place.

A large black creature, it looks like a man with his body fused to the back of a horse… The horse is jet black, while the man has a skull for a head. Its eyes darted around, looking for something, the lights I spotted shining from them…

It must be using that to lure people in… I’m glad I hid them- She’s horrified, so this is what attacked her… It finally leaves, and tears begin to stream from her eyes… “We need to move on. It’s gone, Zelzara.” I say, as she continues to cry…

“It’s… It wants me… It’s going to kill me, because I look like this…” She tries to whisper, as we crawl out of the hiding place. “It’s okay, we’ll get you out of here. We promise.” Foldge says, as she tries to stop crying…

“Hey! You three!” Someone suddenly calls out- “No.” I whisper, as I turn around to see two teenagers, worried they might have attracted that thing again…

-√Z4-

I wake up and look around… “Shit…” I say, as I stare at the trail of blood covering the cave walls… “No…” I say to myself, as I look around… “Where are you? I was supposed to protect you…” I say, as I continue to search for the mother and her child…

I barely survived, the train was supposed to be dismantled… I find something, I quickly look away, I can’t bring myself to acknowledge its existence… The blood trails end here, as I run back the other way, in hopes I can at least protect the child…

I couldn't find her, I failed. I let a child die. They killed a child, because she was human…

I arrive at the end of the tunnel, climb the stairs, and stare at the refuge camp. “Olvarge! Where’s…” One of my colleagues tries to ask me, I signal him to stop… “It’s not your fault, there was nothing you could do!” He shouts, as I head inside and sit down…

“Olvarge! We’ve scouted some more refugees, we need you out there!” The Chief calls out to me, as I look at him… “Shit… Listen, you go lie down, I’ll head out on my own. Fell, you’re up!” He shouts, surprising her and the mayor, before she runs over.

He tries to walk past me, but I grab his shoulder. “The tunnels aren’t safe, they used the train that went missing to kill two people.” I say, stunning him for a moment, before he nods. “Holy shit… I’ll get it dealt with, you just rest.” He says, as I nod in return and make my way to my room.

-√Z2-

“Are you three okay?!” I call out, as Chorimax follows behind me. “Oh my god, her wing, it’s…” She says, angering the little girl. “Shut up, you idiot! It might hear you-” One of the boys whispers, as he looks around.

“What do you mean?” I ask, as I in turn look around. “I don’t know, it was like some sort of disgusting mockery of a horseman… It’s been killing people, it tried to eat our friend here.” He says, as Chorimax looks at her.

“Hey, I’m a mutant too. I’m half phoenix.” She says, shocking them. “Can you…” She tries to ask, but Chorima shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t control it. But I can still heal you the conventional way.” She says, fixing up the girl’s wing.

“Thank you, I guess…” She says, as Chorima finishes wrapping it up. “You two hang out with, uh, Qualstratum, right?” She asks, reminding me of Nexus. “Yeah, her mom’s probably already gotten her out of here though…” The boy who’s holding her says, as he looks up at us.

“Well, we need to get you out of here.” I say, as I look around, and spot Lisk- “Hey, Lisk! Found some lost children!” I call out, scaring them again- “We literally just told you not to shout!” The first boy tries to remind me.

“I’m Venetiur, and that’s Chorimax. Your names?” I ask, calming them down a little. “I’m Zelzarazosk, this is Foldgeridge, and he’s Vaxelevern.” Zelzarazosk says, surprising me. “You’re Mr. Oxe’s kid, right?” I ask, as I kneel down at Vaxelevern.

“Yes! You go to the same school?” He asks, and I give him a thumbs up. “Yeah, he was my teacher a few years back.” I say, as he nods, and Lisk walks up next to us. “Come on, I think I found a way out of here.” He says, as I turn around and spot some lights-

“Hey, there’s people over there too-” I try to say, pointing at them, but the kids stop me. “No, that’s the creature- It was using lights to attract people to it.” He says, staring at me, as a large centaur-like creature rounds the corner and its lights stop on us.

“Get the brats out of here, I’ll deal with it.” Lisk says, as he creates a sword in his hand. The centaur suddenly screams, and charges us, a spear forming in its own hand. He cuts apart the spear, surprising me with his skill, as he grabs its arm and pulls it to the ground.

We back away as he cuts the skull from the body, and slams his foot into it. “Is it dead?” I ask, as the head liquifies and falls into the street. “No. Yes- Kind of. I think it might be a mechonica.” He says, as he walks over. “You’re amazing…” Zelzarazosk says, as he walks past her, completely ignoring her.

“What IS that thing?” I ask, as he looks back at it, and quirks an eyebrow. “That’s weird. Right- Mechonica are… Nobody’s really sure.” He says, as he approaches the body and kicks it. “They’re inconsistent, the only thing I’d say IS consistent…” He continues.

“Is that they exist in the first place, and that they seem to want something.” He finishes, as the body begins to convulse- “What is it doing?” I ask, as he backs up, and stares at it- “I don’t know, I’ve never seen one do this before.” He says, as we begin backing away again.

The torso on the back of the horse suddenly picks itself and the horse up, and tears itself off of the body, only to then reform as a skull head for the horse itself… “You guys just get out of here, I’ll see if I can kill it.” He says, before I nod and try to do just that.

We barely round a second corner before the horse lands next to us, followed by Lisk still fighting it! The night makes it hard to really see what they’re doing- The horse is thrown into me, and I’m slammed into a wall.

I stand up and shrug off the rubble, only to watch Lisk beat it against the ground- It suddenly kicks and sends him flying into another building. He bolts from it and slams his fist into its skull, cracking it.

“Come on, we have to keep moving.” I say, as I reach down and pick up the three children. “H-Hey- What are you-” Vaxel tries to say, but I begin running at top speed. “Sorry, but we’ll move faster like this.” I say, as the horse is sent flying across the street again-

It suddenly appears from the shadows, and focuses two new lights on me, the crack on its skull leaking light from the source… It focuses on me, and huffs, making Zelzarazosk cling to my head a little harder.

Lisk slams into it from above, nailing it to the ground with his heels- “Move, dumbass!” He shouts and I comply! We continue like this, seeing the creature over and over, Lisk stopping it each time, until it suddenly jumps out of a shadow in front of me-

It grabs Zelzarazosk, tearing her from my shoulders, making the other two suddenly shake and release themselves from my grasp- “Throw me!!!” Vaxelevern suddenly shouts, surprising Foldgeridge.

Foldgeridge grabs his arm, and throws him before Chorimax and I can do something… The horse runs away into the distance, Zelzarazosk in its maw, and Vaxelevern trying to save her… Lisk dashes past me, chasing after then- I follow after him, but he’s too fast, I can’t keep up…

I nearly trip in a puddle, as I notice rain pouring from the sky- Chorimax catches me, and helps me up… “Thanks…” I say, as our eyes meet, then Foldgeridge… “I’m sorry…” I say to him, as tears begin to run down his eyes.

“Why her?” He asks, as he sits down. “Why did it want Zelzara? What did she ever do?” He asks, as he rests his head in his palms… “I wish I had an answer… All we can do is wait for Lisk…” I say, as Chorimax sits next to him.

“Listen, I’m sure he’ll get your friends back, we just have to wait… Then we’ll get you out of here.” Chorimax says, as I walk over to sit next to him too. “Are you and her close?” I ask, as he hugs his legs. “Yeah… I liked her a lot…” He says, forcing his words through chokes and sobs.

We sit here and wait in the rain, as Foldgeridge tells us a little more about himself, his life, his time with Zelzarazosk, and how he really felt about her… The conversation comes to a close as the second head of the Mechonica thing Lisk was fighting is thrown before us…

“I killed it…” He says, as he falls to his knees, with both children slung over his shoulders… “Lisk, are you alright?” I ask, as Foldge picks Zelzara up, and Chorimax looks at the young girl- I look at Vaxelevern, and realize he isn’t breathing…

“I couldn’t save them… By the time I had caught up, it was eating the boy… I think it was trying to… Fuse with the little girl or something, a new torso for its back…” He says, as I turn and see Zelzara’s legs missing, replaced with the same dark mass that drips from the skull…

I help him up and he looks at me, then at Foldge… “I’m…” He starts to say, but Foldge screams, hugging his friend, as the dark mass begins to liquify… “Leave me alone!” He screams, as he continues to hold her…

“We’ll move when he’s ready.” Lisk says, as he stands up and points at foldge- He falls to his knee again, but picks himself up all the same… “Are you sure you don’t need any help?” I ask, but he waves me off-

“No- Yes- Just- I’m-I’m sure, just mind your own damn business.” He says, as he walks with a slight limp in his leg, and rests against a wall… I look at Foldge, and the two children we failed to protect, and I decide to try and sit next to Chorimax, who seems to be trying to deal with it in her own way…

-√Z5-

Another day, another lost life. Some part of me is scared of myself, of who I’m becoming, of who I’ll be in a few more years, of what I’ll let happen… I never wanted this, I tried to deal with the problem. And don’t get me wrong, I tried to talk to them, I really did. But they would never listen.

It was always just more mutated children to be let into a city that would despise them just because they looked a little off. But it’s still my city, it was supposed to be a safe place for people to come to and grow up.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I stare out the window of my pretty tower, amongst the not so pretty city, once again. We were able to push the extremists out, but there’s a war brewing, a civil war. I tried to send word out to Serif, begging for some sort of assistance, but he has refused to respond.

Over half the population has either been killed or gone missing. It doesn’t make sense to me. What brought this out of them? Was the prejudism really enough? It’s not the time for questions though, it’s time for action.

They want change, and so they decided hurting others was how they were going to get it. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. The blood on my hands may always be worse than theirs, but in the end we’ll all be stained red.

-√Z-

I wake up and look around, as blood drips from the roof of the tunnel… “Mother…” I say, as dust and debris falls off of me… “Mother… Need you…” I say, my voice echoing against the cold hard walls of the tunnel…

Something lands on my shoulder- It’s more blood… I look up and spot the blood trails that stick to the ceiling too… She threw me too hard, I think she might have broken something… Miles of travel and I finally come to the end of the trails and spot a- Well… It would be best not to describe it.

There’s no good way to describe it, what’s left of her… I look at the tunnel, back at where I’d come from, and travel down it. I’ve decided to go home after all, that’s where I’ll wait for her. When I see Nexus, I’ll make her stay home…

I reach the staircase, and try to reach up to the rail, but my arm fails to move. So that’s what she broke… I guess I’ll forgive her, if it saved my life… I make my way up the stairs, ignoring the railing- ‘Cause I guess my arm’s just too good for it.

I ascend the staircase and make my way down the sidewalk. It’s morning, and it’s calm. Everything is very… Calm. I need to find out how long I’ve been out for. Minutes? Hours? Weeks? It doesn’t matter, really. I might have to move out on my own.

I arrive at the front of my house, it’s untouched. If you could call it that. I walk through the garage door, ignoring the button because I really just can’t be bothered right now. I throw my arm onto the table, and slam a stimulator into it.

My arm jolts into movement, and it finally starts working again. I test all my muscles, and confirm that they’re alright. I turn to look at the hole I made in the garage door wall. Light shines through it as though a new future awaits me, but I deny it.

I already chose the life I wanted, and I tried my best. It’s not fair, I never deserved this… I make my way to my room, tearing the wall with my fingers, and cracking the floor with each step as I walk.

I tear the deep blue blanket off of my bed, it has cute little stars on it. I sit on the bed and place my head in my hands, my elbows held up by my knees. I scream for hours about everything I’m thinking.

Specifically about stuff like Nexus, how she betrayed me. About how hard I’ve tried, how nobody has ever understood, or appreciated me for my skill… About how despite all that, I still failed. Nexus was supposed to protect me, and my mother. But SHE was a failure, and therefore MY failure.

-√B-

“I hate you...”

Glantinazor and Demistar are taken aback. “Are you happy?” She goes on. “I’m sorry, Qualstra…” I try to say, but she walks over to the door. “You left, and I lost everything. I put everything I had into you, and you wasted all of it.” She says, surprising me.

“Did you not know?” Demistar asks, as Qualstra slams the door behind her. I run over to it, and open it again- “Qualstra! Is it true? Am I-” It doesn’t take her long to answer. She stares into my visor, her eyes piercing.

“Yes. Dumbass. Your strength was never your own. You stole it from ME. Now leave me alone, and stop taking my time.” She says, as Demistar and Glantinazor walks up behind me, while my sister walks away.

“I learned after graduation. They failed me and told me I just wasn’t eligible.” I say, as they stare at me. “It all kind of clicked. Kind of a bunch of things all coming together.” I shrug and fold my arms.

“Why didn’t I feel pain when I was being blown apart during combat training?” I ask, as I unfold my other arsenal. “Why didn’t they tell me about my supposed past? About my life before this?” I ask, as I try again to recall all of it, still somewhat in denial.

“I’m sorry. I wish life magic could do more.” Glantinazor says. “It’s not your fault, big guy. No amount of magic is going to fix everything.” I say, as he folds his arms and his one eye looks away. “I learned that the hard way.” He replies.

“You’ve done more than enough, thank you, Glantinazor Genesis.” I say as he nods slowly in thought.

“What do you plan to do now? Return to the templar? Believe me, they miss you.” Demistar says, surprising me. “Right- I guess they would… And I guess you would know, because you hang out with Baoth?” I ask, as Glantinazor walks back into his house.

She shrugs. “Sometimes. Mostly just business at this point. Not that I haven’t tried, it’s just… She’s kind of out of it most of the time. If you know what I mean.” She says, as I look at the island around me.

“So you guys down at Neotopia just fixed these kids up with this whole thing, huh? I should probably go meet up with Lockey, I can’t leave him alone for a moment.” I say, as she walks up next to me. “Fair enough..” She says.

-√A-

I wake up and stare at the stone. The Philosophers’ stone… The Stone of the Philosophers-

I have a new psychic power. Right?

Quick to the draw, I see. Yep, we recovered the ability to see into the past. Although… It’s a bit of an invasion of privacy, but it’ll be helpful later on, I’m sure. Still though, I’m a little worried it got altered through the recovery method.

If you remember, Rigelask’s ability of premonition would give her random glimpses into the future, but we could activate it at will and predict the outcomes of pre-planned paths.

-Do you think it might be similar to the premonition ability? We can predict the outcome of stuff we DIDN’T decide to do?

That would be so depressing.

Indeed. I’m looking at it right now, and jeez Qualstratum was messed up- Anyways. We can’t control it, unlike the one in the stone, which allows us to see constant visuals of the past… This one will show us random events at random times. Much like Rigelask’s premonition.

Do you think Sirius got a new form of Premonition too? What if we gave him a janky premonition? I mean, you saw how it messed him up while Demistar was transferring it.

It would make sense, something either went wrong, or it just naturally manifests in a different way. I’m gonna’ have to ask him about it, next time I see him. Anyways, I better get back to the party.

Have fun.

Kewl.

I touch the stone again. Nothing. I channel magic into it- I get a vision of a woman with a very special sword standing atop a pile of corpses, she looks around, says something, then closes her eyes as a butterfly lands on her shoulder. The vision ends, and I move away from it.

I return to the party, and land right back where I was sitting, surprising everyone. “Demi?” Veloura asks.

Demi - “Eyup.”

“You were gone for a while.” She says, as I eat a plate, then spit out the dust.

Demi - “Yup.”

“You wanna’ tell us what’chu were up to?” She asks, as she rolls onto her back, and stares at me.

Demi - “I forgot. Kinda’ got caught up in the middle of something.”

“I dislike you.” She says, narrowing her eyes and frowning at me.

Demi - “Fair enough.”

I eat another plate. “Can you not break all the plates?” Flare asks, before I reconstruct five more out of mana.

Demi - “Why do y’all get up in arms when I break a few plates, but IT’S FINE if Calvin wants to grill me?”

“He wouldn’t have actually tried to hurt you. Besides, he doesn’t break plates.” She says, as she uses a tiny knife to cut off another tiny piece of cake, which is the size of her hand. Seriously, she is so small, it’s crazy. I kind of tend to forget how small she is sometimes, since I like being THIS small.

I eat another plate- “What did I JUST say?” She asks, as I reconstruct it~

Demi - “What do you mean~? It looks fine to me!”

She just stares at me, as I move over another plate, break it down, and reconstruct it. “Stop that.” She says, making me consider it.

Demi - “Bye.”

Everyone looks at me, as I shoot another string into a building, and fly away into the air again. There’s a special place I want to visit first, besides, the Party’s not going anywhere just yet.

I land outside of it, Artemis’s Dungeons. I move all of the blocks into place, just like how Nexus did. I enter the dungeon, and look around. It’s Artemis’s broken corpse, it was made of stone, and it’s covered in bullet holes. The dungeon must have been dragged into the war.

I should tell Nexus about this. The crystal on the tiara is missing. This isn’t my first rodeo -I mean technically it is, but that’s not the point- I’m pretty sure I would see shards of a broken crystal SOMEWHERE. So maybe she used this stone body as a body, but the real body was the crystal.

I find my way outside, and return to the primary teleport on Genesis Haven. There’s Qualstratum, at the portal.

Demi - “Your throat’s looking better. How are you feeling?”

She looks at me, then steps on the teleporter.

Demi - “Hey, you should know, I found your-”

She’s already teleported away… I didn’t really want to give it back to her anyways, I can’t imagine how much use she would get out of it at this point. When I’m done with it, I might… Consider otherwise.

I move forward and look for wherever Nexus could be, I assume she should be at Glantinazor’s place, since she was busy helping out her sister. And that’s exactly where I find her, leaning against it all cool, next to Demistar.

“Hey Tallis.” She says, as they look down at me.

Demi - “Didn’t we talk about that?”

“You can call me Star, if you want.” She says, gesturing with her hand.

Demi - “Do you fight the forces of evil?”

“Nah, I AM a force of evil.” She says, chuckling to herself. “Got that right.” Nexus says, in agreement.

Demi - “Then no, I’m not calling you Star. Hey Nexus. How long has it been since you last visited Everessence?”

She looks away, then at me. “Around twenty years ago, before the war. I figured if I ever came back, I’d get dragged into the fight too. It was kind of a gamble when I did come back though.” She says, surprising me.

Demi - “I have something to show you then, I think it might be personal, in case you still care.”

She folds her arms, and stands up. “You’re sure? What could you know about me?” She asks, then Demistar’s eyes widen with realization, and she looks at me. “What did you do, kid?” She asks, as they both look down at me.

Demi - “Hey, this one isn’t about you Demistar, you can go be cool some other day. It’s my turn to be the cool kid who just came in on his totally rad new skateboard with a kapris sun in his hand.”

“What are you talking about?!” She asks me, as I jump onto Nexus’s head. “I dunno’. You heard the kid, Skateboards and stuff. See ya’ grandma.” Nexus says, before walking away. “What do you mean!?” She shouts from behind us, as I silently enjoy this moment.

We arrive at the teleporter, and I return us both to Artemis’s Dungeon… “So this is what you wanted to show me, huh?...” She asks, as we stare at it. “I haven’t thought about this place in so long…” She continues.

Demi - “I wanted to know if the Dungeon Master is dead.”

“Artemis, her name was Artemis.” She says, as she takes me through the dungeon, and we arrive at Artemis again. “Yeah, I think she’s dead. I can’t imagine how she would have gotten out, or if she was strong enough to do so…” She says, looking around. “How did you know I had any connection to this?” She asks, the question I was regretting…

Demi - “I have my own ways of doing things… Anyways, you play in deals, right? Does this mean you owe me anything?”

She just stands there, stock still for a moment. “Fine. What do you want?” She asks, making me internally sigh with relief…

Demi - “I want you to tell me about dungeons, everything you know. And Mechonica. What are THOSE? At first I thought they were some sort of elemental, or golem… But I’ve learned differently?”

“Fair enough, I guess… Still, I kind of wish I could have been there to protect her, now…” She says, as she places a hand on Artemis’s stone body, feeling the runic triangle indents. “I want something else for the Mechonica info, though. Just how much DO you know about Everessence?” She asks, as she looks down at me.

Demi - “I… Would rather not say, right now. Maybe another time, but if things go to plan, I promise I will tell you. Ask me for something else.”

“You’re better at this than you should be, kid… But fine. What are you, really?” She asks, as I build a stool for myself, so she won’t have to keep looking down at me.

Demi - “A puddle kid, I was born a few months ago. I think… I was probably born from another puddle kid somehow. You see, Puddle Kids can give their children information, whatever they like. So I could clone myself, but like with my daughter Arivan, I can also make a servant with information and beliefs I want them to have.”

Demi - “So thus, I must have been made from another puddle kid, somehow. My only working theory is time magic, if it would allow someone to do something like that. But that’s really as far as it goes, in terms of my origins. You should know the rest, to an extent.”

She just stares at me, then sits down. “You’re a weirdly scary kid… You know that?” She asks.

Demi - “Yeah. But I’m also a superhero, so I think it balances out.”

She looks at the door, then at me again. “You got it all worked out, huh?” She asks, making me internally laugh for a few minutes.

Demi - “Hell no. Even I can tell I’m held together by glue and duct tape at this point.”

I jump onto her shoulder again, surprising her-

Demi - “Personally, I think I could break down any day now, just about anything could set me off, and then…”

I think about it for a moment- “Then what?” She asks.

Demi - “I don’t know. Will I be better, will I be worse? Will I die? I just don’t know… I’m trying to deal with it, right? But it just won’t work, so here I am. A shadow of my former self, and a patchwork shell of… I guess the person I should have become.”

“Jeez, kid. I don’t really know what to say to that… I guess we’re more alike than I thought.” She says, reminding me of her own circumstances.

Demi - “Heheh. Yeah. I guess we kind of are.”

-√C-

“So where DID you get those vials of Doom Magic? The only person I know that can do that is Glantinazor.” I say, as he suddenly stops, and looks around. “Don’t fucking ignore me.” I say, as I fold my arms. “Kid, you need to leave.” He says, but I’ll ignore him, for now.

“What do you mean? What’s going on-” I ask, until he points the barrel of his gun at me… “I mean it, Vexalan.” He suddenly fires a bullet and it cuts my cheek- “Seriously. When I tell you to back down, you back the fuck down.” He says, as he looks around again.

“You dare cut me…” I say, as I stand up, and charge my lightning. “Kid, I’m the most powerful man in the world. I mean it, back down.” He says, surprising me for a moment, before pressing a button on his belt, and disappearing behind a tree-

I fold my arms, and look around. “Fine, jackass.” I say, before returning to my teleport pad.

-√G-

I consume another, one after the other, just as planned… Until my arm finally grows back, good lord this is the worst. “Oh, hey, your arm’s back, Ling.” Tory says, as a bullet suddenly flies through my head, barely missing my core-

I suddenly fall off the bench, and look around- “Hey, are you alright?” The one named Velouravon suddenly asks, as I scramble to my feet. “Did you all not-” I say as they stare at me with confused expressions, until I finally spot him…

The Warden. “Nobody EVER escapes, Ling!” He says, before jumping down from the building- “Shit- Shit- Shit-” I mutter, as I look around for it- “Ling, what’s going on?” Tory asks, as everyone stares at Skall himself…

“Slade, help me! Now!!!” I shout, making him flinch long enough for me to open a portal- I grab Tory and escape through it, arriving at the starting point of the race course, where I hear clicking and tacking… “Oh, good, Ling.” Slade, the short pig man says, as he looks up at me from his device.

“I need you to portal me over to the golden kingdom, I found some people I don’t like.” He says, making me sigh… “Dude, not right now… I nearly got caught by Skall.” I say, making him raise an eyebrow. “Really? How’s he doing?” He asks, as I look around and make sure everything is in order.

“Still a Skeleton.” I say, as I look back at Tory… “Right, wanna meet one of our first contestants?” I ask, as Tory stares at him. “Sure. Is it this racoon? Are you just letting ANYONE into the competition now?” He asks, as Tory punches him in the face.

“I wield a super powerful psychic ability!” He shouts, as Slade grabs his shirt- “Slade, don’t hurt him. PLEASE.” I say, as he looks at Tory, then stands up. “You’re as short as me! How strong can you really be?” Tory asks, but Slade drags him over to me.

“What’s he got?” He asks. “Nullification. He can nullify a wide array of magic abilities.” I say, as he looks back at him again. “Fair enough. Can you nullify internal magic?” He asks, surprising him. “I don’t think so.” He says.

“Try it.” He says, and so he does. Slade looks at himself, and drops Tory. “Good, you can’t.” He says, before sitting down on another log. “How’s that good?” He asks, a confused look on his face. “It means I don’t have to kill you.” He says, surprising him.

“Slade, don’t kill my competitors.” I say, as I walk over and check on the materials. “No promises.” He says, as I walk up next to him. “Skall’s still after us. I’m glad you’re here though…” I say, as he looks at his sword.

“Right. I can handle him, you just focus on your competition. Now can you teleport me?” He asks, as I fold my arms and cut open another portal with my core. “There. Happy?” I ask, as he chuckles to himself. “Yeah, I’ll be right back.” He says, walking into it.

I turn around and realize I’ve lost Tory… I ran around for about half an hour before I found Tory staring at some of the kids in a nearby village. “Tory, you shouldn’t run off-” He’s still… Staring at them. “Are you okay?” I ask, as he looks up at me.

“I’m fine.” He says, and we make our way back- I stop us. “Would you… Like to go get something to eat?” I ask, surprising him again. “Yes!” He says, an instant change in his mood. “Come on then, I know a place here, they make a great Jambalaya.” I say, instead guiding him to the primary road into the settlement.

-√A-

Nexus and I arrive at the party again, just as it’s wrapping up.

Demi - “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.” She says, carrying me in a nice glass bowl again. “Is that Demi?” Veloura suddenly asks, walking up to us, making Nexus nod.

Demi - “Eyup.”

“You should have been here, we got to meet Skall!” Veloura suddenly says, surprising me. “The Mercenary? Skall himself?” Nexus asks while Veloura nods quickly. “Yeah, he was super cool! Scared off Ling though, so I kind of need to talk with Demi about that.” She says, surprising me again.

Demi - “Hey, Nexus. Aren’t you a Merc?”

“Is that true?” Veloura asks. “Yeah. I always wanted to meet him. The guy’s so hard to get hold of, and then there was needy little Lockey.” She says, as I jump out of the bowl, and build up my size a little. “Oh, you’re walking around now?” Nexus asks, as she tosses the bowl.

I grow to about the size of a bus, because I want to be bigger than everyone- Veloura jumps on top of me. Oh god dammit-

Demi - “I thought I escaped this-”

“Nah. Hey Nexus-” She says, as Nexus shakes her head. “I’m probably too heavy. Dense armor and what not.” She says, surprising me-

Demi - “Well now I have to try!”

I jump into the air with Veloura still on top of me, surprising her, and landing on top of Nexus- “What the hell-” She says, as I begin to lift her! She certainly wasn’t lying, but she’s not as heavy as Ryleth!

Demi - “Hoho, I’m the strongest!”

Nexus slides around on top of me, and I drop her onto the ground again and move about half a foot away. “Jeez, you ARE strong, kid.” She says, as I throw Veloura! “Demi, stop!” She says-

Demi - “Heck yeah I am! Puddle Kids got all the strength, yo!”

“Demitallis!” Veloura suddenly screams, making me involuntarily stop- “Good! No more of that!” She says, as she folds her arms. “So… You ACTUALLY met Skall?” Nexus asks. “Yeah, he was pretty cool.” She says, calming the mood.

“What was he like? Why was he here?” Nexus asks, as Veloura thinks to herself for a moment. “I don’t really know. He kind of just arrived, and chased off Ling for whatever reason. He hung out for a moment, told us a neat story, and ran off for his next job.” She says, as I practice rolling in place, without disturbing her balance.

Demi - “So… Where’s everyone else?”

Veloura looks at me, then lies back down and relaxes. “Right, they already left. You kind of missed the entire party. I figured I would stick around for a little while longer, in case you showed up here first.” She says, as I figure I’ll head home too then.

Demi - “I guess it’s a good time to leave then. Hey Nexus, you already get yourself linked up with the teleporter?”

She nods, and looks around. “I’ll… Yeah. I already have. I’ll get busy getting this place fixed up first, then head off. See ya’, kid.” She says, before I take one more look at the city, then teleport to my room.

Demi - “Hey Veloura, I think I’m gonna’ go to bed now. You uh… Go do whatever.”

“I thought Puddle Kids don’t sleep.” She says, as I feel my consciousness escaping me…

Demi - “Yeah, I… Didn’t either… Goodnight.”

“Yeah, alright. Goodnight, Demi.” She says, as she looks away, and I finally fall asleep…

Hey.

Yeah?

Have you had any luck yet? I’ve made practically no progress, it’s like…

I think we both know the answer to that question, Fear.

I know, but it’s nice to kind of just talk. Especially when Charlotte’s not here.

Fair enough. No. I’ve made very little progress myself.

Right. Man, it sucks talking to yourself, huh?

I wouldn’t know. No active emotions, and all that.

Right… I’m… Worried, Chamber. What if we fail?

We won’t. There’s no substantial point believing otherwise, stay positive, Fear.

I know. Let’s get back to work.

End of Chapter: 42√ABCGZ5 “Goodbye and goodnight, Everessence.”

Thank you for reading.

“Huh? I’m kind of in the middle of something… Oh, alright. Thanks.”