<>(Zack)<>

My special Inventory must have been what he was thinking about yesterday, as we were walking home. That explains why he didn't ask it then – someone could have heard.

"Yes," I finish pulling out the heart, then place it into my Inventory. "I discovered it when I was four. I used it to shoplift."

"You were a thief?"

"A rich, spoiled brat," I answer. "I'd steal pretty often, usually food. I got grabbed a few times, but no one could provide proof I'd stolen, since I knew how to angle myself so the cameras wouldn't see it disappearing. They also couldn't find the items on me. It made it so easy."

"Have you stolen here?"

He doesn't even question what a camera is, but I doubt it's a question that's off his mind. He'll probably ask it later.

"Only if you count looting the dead as stealing," I answer, causing him to laugh. I start removing the Frost Goblin's ears and nails. "Things in reality were… complicated. I could read minds there, too. Sometimes, I'd learn things about people… I saw myself as better than them. I knew deep or dark secrets, I had powers they didn't… I was rich. I was an asshole to everyone. Me wanting to be a Dark Knight would have surprised everyone back there. They knew I was a bully and an ass, but they'd have probably seen me go a rogue route. That, or martial artist. Definitely not something that involves getting hurt for the sake of power."

"Why did you go Dark Knight, then?" He asks.

That… has a complicated answer. One that probably wouldn't make sense without knowing me.

"It's more in-line with my real personality," I answer. "Being an asshole was part of how I pushed people away. The closer someone is to me, the easier it is for me to read their mind. It takes me a lot more to read the minds of some random person passing on the street than it does for me to read yours or Nik's. The way I died… it probably shocked everyone who knew me."

Part of the reason our memories are removed, even if their impressions remain, is likely to keep us away from the trauma of our deaths. In my case, though… it wasn't a traumatic experience.

"Why?" He asks.

Not traumatizing in the slightest.

"I'm a Dark Knight to the core," I answer.

With that, I heat up some of the snow with a Fireball, then wash my hands and face clean of the blood. I can deal with my clothes later, when we return to town.

"So," Bryce says as I stand and look at him. Good, he's cleaned himself as well. "Do you know anyone here you knew there?"

"No," I answer. "Though I will. Several of my visions have revealed to me a boy of ten years old. I knew him in reality. According to the Crystals, they believe he'll die come spring. Due to the visions, I know he's going to end up in my care."

"So we didn't know each other?" He asks.

"Nope," I answer.

"Alright."

How much has he been wondering that, since realizing that I remembered my life in reality?

Speaking of finding that out… do the Crystals know I remember everything? I hadn't access to my memories of reality while in Big C's Sacred Temple initially, but when I woke up here, the memories were all there, as if they'd never been gone.

I know the Crystals seem to be able to hear thoughts, so I've done my best to hide it, as I don't know the extent of that, but I have slipped a few times, including before they began to ignore most of the Boundaries in favor of protecting one.

"Do you think we would've been friends?" He asks. "If we did?"

"Did you miss the part where I was a total asshole to everyone?" I ask. "Not the way we are to people like Jesse or the pompous asses, either, but a genuine, sadistic bastard to anyone and everyone."

"Oh, right," he grins at me, then walks over.

"Yeah," I nod. "I see this as a second chance at things, more so than had I forgotten everything, since I'm sure most people brought here after dying in reality instead of being born here see it as a second chance already. They don't have the burden of knowing what kind of person they were. I do."

"Yeah," he smiles. "I wonder what kind of person I was. Do you-"

"Sh!" I put a finger to my lips, holding a hand up as I listen.

"Wh-"

"Sh!"

He falls silent, and I tilt my head, listening as best I can. Then, I look up at him, feeling my blood run cold.

"We gotta move."

"Why?" He asks, then widens his eyes. "Um… yeah!"

I turn behind me to find forms coming into view. Not one or two, or even four or five, like a regular group of Goblins.

Dozens, maybe hundreds. All of them Goblins, with several wielding staffs, and likely spells, judging by their types. Several are well-muscled, and standing in the center of the front of the Goblin horde is one that stands twelve feet tall.

That one has a massive broadsword strapped across its back, its olive-green skin tight and without any of the wrinkles or flabs of regular Goblins, its body nothing but pure muscle. It is the clear leader of this horde, especially after my Appraisal.

N'Rina Level 15 Health: 87,908 Mana: 563

A named Monster is nothing less than a Bounty Beast. This is definitely a Goblin, judging by its pointed ears, hairless body, and fetish for wearing nothing but a loincloth, yet it is far, far larger than its three-foot brethren.

"Running would be a good idea," I nod.

Then one of the Goblins reveals a bow, firing an arrow at us. I shove Bryce out of the way, snatching the arrow and throwing it back at them.

"Let's go!" I tell him, and we start running.

Arrows come at us from several directions, as well as spells, and we have to keep changing directions to avoid them.

They've been gathering up to fucking ambush me! That's why they've all been missing! Alexander has to know I'm the reason the change is coming, and he wants to eliminate me to stop that!

After I killed the one whose necklace I wear, he must have pulled them all back to prepare, just in case I pulled any surprises. They were likely watching me before, but far enough away I couldn't sense them or their primitive minds.

And now, they're chasing us, and I don't even know what direction we're running. I just hope we're headed the right way – or if not, towards the City with the mines. I can't remember its name at the moment.

A Level 5 Goblin Chieftain drops out of the trees in front of us, the magical camouflage it had disappearing when it moved. It's a little shorter than most Goblins, but its headdress, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and pouch-filled loincloth alone make it out to be far from ordinary. Then factor in its staff and sword, and shit.

We change direction, stumbling when a Fireball blasts between us. Had we not stumbled and fallen, then the green cloud that followed the Fireball would likely have poisoned us.

At least, I'm hoping it's only poison.

Bryce and I look at each other, then roll to the sides, get back to our feet, and take off running again.

"Where are we going?" Bryce asks as he dodges an arrow that came from ahead, forcing us to turn again.

"Hopefully, towards either Maelnor!" I tell him. "That, or what's-its-name! Praevar! That's it! The Fallen City with the mines! If we can get there, we should be able to get to an Adventurer in the mines quickly!"

"What if we're heading towards the wrong City?"

"There's a fifty-fifty chance!" I reach out and grab him, pulling him towards me just in time for him to avoid being slammed by a tree. "It's throwing fucking trees!"

"Thanks!"

We recover and keep running, eventually bursting out of the forest. There's a City with ruined walls ahead of us, at the other end of the small grassy area. It's only a couple hundred yards, unlike the one at Maelnor.

"Shit!" I yell. "Fallen City! Let's hope it's Praevar!"

He nods, and we keep running. Another tree slams into the ground, this one behind us, sending us tumbling. My leg hurts. I look down at it, and see it's broken. That explains the massive amount of damage I took. Shit!

I reset my leg, then pull one of my Health Potions out of my Inventory and dump it directly on the leg, praying to Big Flame that it heals.

It does, though my Health doesn't.

"Zack!" Bryce reaches me, helping me to my feet. "Can you run?"

"Yeah," I take a few steps, stumbling. "Come on! We gotta get in there!"

As we run, something feels off. Something feels very, very off.

We're halfway to the gate when I realize what's wrong.

The fields are empty, save for the Goblin horde behind us.

Not a single Rat or Slime in sight. And yet… I can still sense them. In fact, now that I'm trying, I can sense them ahead of us. Not just dozens, either – hundreds of Slimes and Rats. Yet I can't see a single one of them.

"IT'S AN AMBUSH!" I yell.

"No shit!" Bryce yells. "What gave it away? The fucking horde?"

"No!" I yell, raising my hands. "They're chasing us into one! FIREBALL!"

I release a fireball almost as large as me, draining away half of my Mana. It blasts forward, and a hundred yards from the broken gate, the air around the Fireball shimmers, the illusion fading away, revealing the horde of Slimes and Rats, all of them at Level 5, many of them upgraded.

There's a Goblin Chieftain standing at the front, looking stunned at the sudden disappearance of its barrier, though its shock didn't keep it from summoning a Magic Barrier to stop my Fireball, the barrier easily twice the size of my own spell.

A'Rimar Level 15 Health: 4,398 Mana: 15,076

That much Mana, despite sustaining the spell for however long it did… and such a powerful illusion, too. Then factoring in the Magic Barrier it just stopped…

Fuck!

Two fucking Bounty Beasts!

We're fucking doomed! We can't go back, we can't go forward, and both hordes stretch too far for us to go to the sides.

My rage boils up within me, far stronger than it's ever been before. This was not something within my power to control. Alexander fucking played us! He got us lost and confused about our direction and led us right here!

If we can get into the City, we might be facing stronger monsters, but we definitely won't have to deal with this shit – regular Monsters can't enter a Fallen City under normal circumstances, the Monster types available are slightly different, being Dungeon Monsters.

Rage is Now Level 9!

I continue to run, ignoring the Monsters ahead of us. Rage might increase physical strength, but I'm going to wield it for something a bit more magical.

I inhale deeply as I continue to run, Bryce following me, unsure of my motives. Then, when we're only a couple of dozen yards away from the Monsters, I release my anger in a single bellow, a roar that shakes the ground beneath our feet and vibrates the air surrounding us.

Several of the closer Rats fall over, clutching their ears. Many of the Slimes freeze in their place, and even A'Rimar seems affected by my bellow.

New Skill! Roar of Darkness Active Can only be used while Rage is high, this roar shakes the land and air, instilling a deep fear within all who hear it, stunning your victims momentarily.

I dismiss the notification, turning and grabbing Bryce's arm and jerking on it. The horde behind us was halted by it as well.

Bryce takes several seconds to recover, realizing that we're surrounded by Monsters when he does. I ignore his sudden spike of fear, knowing it'll quickly be replaced when he realizes we're already halfway through the horde of Slimes and Rats.

The Monsters only start recovering as we reach the end of the horde, and they start slinging their spells at us. We manage to avoid them, and I note that the spells are bouncing off the walls to the City.

They can't affect things within it, not unless they actually enter it, which they can't, as it's been too long since it fell. Only the natural spawns and births can happen there.

As Bryce and I pass through the gate, the spells bouncing off the barrier harmlessly, I come to another horrifying realization.

This isn't Talorn, the Fallen City at the northern end of the valley. Nor is it Praevar, the City with the mines. There's no way Alexander could've gotten this horde assembled around there without it being noticed. No way at all.

No…

I know which City this is specifically because of the break in the mountains visible in the distance, at the other end of the City.

This is Kaelmar, the City no one survives entering.

I grab Bryce's arm as he puts his hands on his knees to recover.

"We gotta get out of here!" I exclaim, turning and running out of the City.

His arm jerks out of my grip as something claws into my back, a burning pain spreading through me quickly. I roll, doing my best to stand as the Monsters watch. They've stopped trying to attack me. Whatever resulted in this sensation… it's a poison I can't ignore… it's going to kill me.

I stumble, my vision swimming. Standing on the other side of the gate, with one hand clawed through Bryce's chest, his heart in its hand, is a being wearing the armor of a Dark Knight, it's very human eyes a brilliant shade of blue.

I'm not going to die without making a difference. No way in fucking hell. Whatever it did might be killing me, but I'm going to grab this damn power within me and I'm going to kill this fucking Avatar of the Shadow of Life.

With its death, every Adventurer in the Boundary will be able to enter this City once more.

Reaching within myself as I stumble again, I draw on the power of my Sacred Crystal, borrowing magic I'll never get to use again. It would take a heavy miracle for anyone to save me, and it's too late for Bryce.