“That person… Just what in the world did they do to you?!” Rachel shook my shoulders but not a single word left my mouth. There I sat, too affected to even answer.

I was scrolling through my memories. No one during my stay in the labyrinth called me by my name. All my memories starting from my childhood up to my school years had no recollection of my name either. When I tried to remember how others called me their image and what they said would blur.

I usually would call others by their name. But it seems like others would always subconsciously avoid referring to me by my name. It didn’t seem like ‘Fatalist’ was the one at fault – this trait could be traced to times before our encounter. So was it one of the abilities of my current self?

What did I know about myself? What sort of connection did my ‘name’ and ‘ability’ have?

Somehow, thinking about myself made me feel calmer. I was ready to finally answer when I noticed an almost inconspicuous motion. A golden butterfly landed not far away from the bench we sat on. Those insects helped me before, didn’t they? But were they really allies of mine or were they pursuing some obscure goal of theirs?

“I haven’t noticed the absence of my own name as well. Thank you. It seems to be rather important, but I can’t quite understand the underlying cause and effect. We need to change our location though. Do you see a butterfly on your right? It doesn’t seem like a mindless insect.”

“You asked me about butterflies before. You already know, no animals can appear in my town, meaning someone brought those butterflies from the outside.” She eyed me warily but agreed to my statement. We got up.

Meanwhile, the sky began to grow dark. She looked at it and furrowed her brows, “I still need to prepare for tomorrow’s rite. There are many things I want to ask you but… Most importantly, be careful. I already forgot your name. I don’t want to forget about your existence as well.”

I returned to my room, safe from dangerous events. Soon I entered dreamworld once again. As expected, no one appeared in the dreamworld. I need to be careful in case the previous owner of my current body returns. I woke up. But I wasn’t the only one who was awake. My instinct finally broke the silence, “Town is getting dangerous. Even for you. Today will be your last chance to escape.”

I still didn’t know what my instinct really was. And more importantly who my allies were. And most importantly: did I have even a single ally at all? I pushed those thoughts aside and strode forward. “Don’t forget to bring the doll with you,” my instinct suggested. I didn’t refuse.

Today started differently. Professor waited for me and a few other people outside of the hotel. When everyone gathered, he said succinctly, “Today we’ll need to visit the place.” It was the second and the last time I heard him talk. He led the way, everyone followed in silence. More and more mosaics gathered around us. I looked at the people I was with. Rachel had a stoic expression, a look of determination in her eyes. Vincent was looking at Rachel with his usual frown on. Seer Andrew had a carefree smile. When he noticed me looking at him, he showed off his gleaming teeth. Alice was glancing at Andrew, it seems like she wasn’t very happy about the unexpected trip. Rita had the same thoughtful expression she sported on the day the two of us were exploring the labyrinth. Duo wearing wolf and rabbit masks disappeared in the crowd of mosaics. And Irene?.. Where was she? Suddenly, I realized that she was right behind me.

It seemed like we were close to our destination as Professor stopped and then started to descend the stairway leading somewhere underground. Mosaics were all around us, waiting for us to follow the professor. Only Rachel went down there. Everything that happened next remained in my memory as a barely distinguishable flurry of events.

Vincent lunged at me but fell on the ground as if he stumbled. Mosaics pounced on everyone who wasn’t one of them with the exception of Vincent. Each mosaic that got close to me would fall on the ground as well. Golden butterflies grouped together near witch Rita, transforming into a big black wolf. It helped the witch to fend off attackers, after which it suddenly turned into a girl I knew. She was Ursula, sister of clown Otto. Together they soared up in the sky, leaving the crowd of mosaics behind.

Alice would emit rays of light from her hands, which would disintegrate anyone who was brave enough to get close to her or seer Andrew. But, alas for poor Alice! The solid ground under her and Andrew’s feet crumbled, and she fell down into the unknown. Andrew, however, made some motion with his fingers and disappeared.

What about me? When the commotion took place I felt that doll in my hand began to float and soon a ghost materialized. Alas, it wasn’t Melissa. But it was a familiar face nonetheless. In front of me appeared the mirror lady, “We don’t have much time, so I’ll keep it short. I’m a subordinate of lady Melissa. I already tried to save you from this place but for some reason you resisted and the plan failed. Luckily, this place is connected to our realm. The lady herself tried to come to your rescue but it seems like her attempt failed as well. This time we can’t bring you to our realm anymore. At most, we can teleport you to a random location. I can only pray, that location you will find yourself in will be safe,” she said so fast her words were barely discernible. She reached out with her hand. “This is your last chance!” instinct screamed. This time I grasped her hand. My surroundings began to blur. Suddenly I felt like someone grabbed me from behind. I looked around and saw Irene clutching at my clothes.

It was snowing. White fluffy snowflakes were falling on my face and melting immediately afterwards. Irene let go of me and crouched scooping up a handful of snow with interest evident on her face. But I didn’t have the luxury to enjoy the landscape. My instinct was buzzing, “Danger, danger, danger…” incessantly. I felt that Irene wasn’t the source of the feeling. Instead it was something more… Big and deadly… But where was it? I looked around. Only snowy hills could be seen; no sign of living beings whatsoever. Suddenly, I heard a sound. Initially it was just a cracking. But soon it rose into a loud, booming thunderclap. It appeared that the whole time, under the layer of snow, ice was hiding. And now, from the depths of the water the ‘danger’ revealed its presence. Ice cracked and parted, water swallowing me and Irene. Water flow was pulling me deeper, freezing water burned my body. I forced my eyes open. I saw an outline of an enormous creature opening its maw. Soon I was welcomed by the dreamland. Finally, I wasn’t alone.