BONE. FLESH. BLOOD. SKIN… BONE. FLESH. BLOOD. SKIN…

The headlights went off immediately. Surely an EMP kind of attack, luckily our current ride was of the old time when cars weren’t riddled with electronic components and kept going. Even luckier, Fletcher managed to avoid launching us in a ditch or embedding us into a tree without any light other than the green hue above us.

“What is going on !?” I heard someone scream, louder than the screeching of the tires but still just dim enough that I wasn’t able to recognize the voice.

“Fletcher ! Back up ! Now !”

“How !?” We were on a straight road with gullies on the sides, so the question was indeed worth the time asking.

“Just back up ! Quickly !” I could see the engines lowering themselves ahead of us, doom quickly impending.

Fletcher didn’t object and reversed gear immediately. The car whined but did not stall. The double-bus-sized spacecraft stopped its landing and followed our movement.

“Faster ! We can make it !” Then I saw a rod mounted on some sort of turret pop out underneath it. “Turn right !”

The bitumen exploded where we were just a moment ago, gravel and dirt showering our metal roof. Fletcher corrected our trajectory but I could tell another shot was coming our way, sooner than we’d have liked. I poked my head out the window and fired a salvo at them. It did jack shit, stopped by an energy field apparent only when struck by my shots. Luckily, I had just the thing. I aimed a plasma shell at one of their three engines.

‘Plasma shell’ was, on paper, a condensed glob of plasma expelled at high speed that would expand violently upon impact. I had never actually tested it, as I had been unsuccessfully trying to stay unnoticed, but no time to damn myself about it. I focused on the palm of my right hand, my left stabilizing the arm. A white light started to shine from my fingers, then it coalesced in their center. I could actually feel the scorching heat such a restrained power was emitting. I had to release it before it blew off in my face.

The light soared through the night sky, forming a blinding shooting star right in front of us. It struck right. But the detonation never came, it just passed through their shield, through the howling turbine and disappeared behind them. Luckily, it seemed to have damaged them enough that the craft veered to the left, starting an unending rotation in the air.

We arrived back into town shortly after. A U-turn and off we went, weaving through the darkened streets now that all electric lights were off.

“You can slow down now. We don’t want to crash into a random building, you know ?” A bit of humor to diffuse the decision…

“What the fuck was that !?”

“How… Did you just shoot a missile at them !?” … And it fell flat.

Madison and Alyssa were apparently more shocked by my performance than by the giant hovercraft that tried to blast us off the Earth. Priorities, ladies !

“Technically, it’s more of a shell than a missile or a rocket, but I see your point.”

“Fuck. Off !” Madison sure loved the f-bomb.

Kurt grabbed everyone’s attention with the question they all had at the edge of their mouth. “What do we do now ?”

“We go for the big antenna.” I answered.

“And what ? Even if we manage to reach the army, what are they gonna do, huh ? What if the aliens can decrypt the message and reach us before them ? What if more fucking flying TANKS come our way ? You gonna shoot them down again and have a rain of metal drop on the town ? And what if we get caught by the militia again ? You just-” Madison seemed on the verge of hysteria, spewing a quick jumble of bothersome questions and other futile concerns. I interrupted her so as to sooth her down.

“Stop worrying that my plan will go wrong, because it most definitely will. So, you know, don’t bother and accept the fact that shit’s going down.”

“That’s your answer ? REALLY ? How irresponsible are you !?” And more screeching and accusatory glances were thrown my way.

“Guys, chill out ! We’ll pull through…”

Of course that’s when we heard a bullet whizz through the windshield and out the back, miraculously avoiding any of our heads. I spotted the rifleman and crushed his brain inward.

“See ! That’s what I’m talking about ! You can’t protect us !”

Silence the ungrateful bitch !

You, shut up ! Let me focus.

I extended my senses, trying to look out for any dangers up ahead, but at the same time I racked my brain to find a solution. She was right after all, I didn’t have any invulnerability spell or some such. Personally, I was fine getting shot, or exploded, or sliced up, but they were not. So, I made a decision I didn’t know would be the right one or not, but had to be made.

“Head for the antenna, contact the army, and get the Hell away from here. I’ll create a diversion.”

“And now you’re gonna leave us all alone !?”

“Madison, his plan is the best we have.” Alyssa interjected in my favor.

Not wanting to waste any more time and risk their lives, I jumped out of the vehicle after making sure nothing was in their way. Now, all I needed to do was attract attention. A lot. And from far away. Well, I had just the thing.

A giant fireball erupted above town, briefly imitating the sun blazing high in the sky, but at roof level. I think I went blind for a moment.

Something worth mentioning, and now would be a good time, is that my Perception allowed me to hear steps as far as three blocks away, in the right condition. So, with people screaming in their houses, detonations echoing through the streets and my ears ringing from my last little feat, I managed to determine somebody was approaching from behind. I heard a strike of metal against metal, a bang, and then nothing. For a while it was just… nothing. It reminded me of the Void, and I prayed I wasn’t back there, that it was just a bullet through the head. Last time, back at Knowles’, I had kept control of some of my body and senses when shot, but this time I felt empty of all sensation.

Please… If there’s a God… Don’t make me go back…

Then, as a rush of sensitivity came back to me, I spat out a chunk of lead. You see, having a stone-hard skull is a nice perk, but if it means that a bullet that manages to penetrate it will bounce around and turn the inside into mush, it’s not that great.

Ahah ! I’m back baby ! God is a lie and I’m awesome ! Woohoo !

I woke up face on the ground, blood seeping through my hair.

“Where are the others ?” I heard someone a few meters to my left.

“No idea sir.” A shadowed voice answered.

“Then let’s-”

Ah, the smell of burning flesh sure is likeable, a taste I didn’t mind acquiring. The screams, not as much. Annoying but with a peculiar melody. Some went the high road, with strident pitches and piercing howls. Others had a low tremolo to their wails, their throats melting and creating inhuman sonorities. Now that I think about it, I should have recorded it, I lack a good ringtone at the moment.

But of course, it was all in my head. A figment of my imagination.

Right ?

I ended up running in circles, avoiding potshots and grenades alike. They were persistent, even when I returned the courtesy. A part of me wondered why they were so pissed off at us, after all we only asked for a name, why would they go all out for just that ? But it didn’t matter in the end. They were a danger to my friends, so I fought them, end of the story.

At some point, the Hierarchy joined us. I now had to avoid and return fire while whacking and dodging aliens. Troublesome ? Yes. Enjoyable ? Assuredly. Tiresome ? Quite.

Even with my enormous Constitution, my body felt weak after a dozen minutes of this regimen. The one-man army concept might not be sustainable. I started to search for hiding places, finding a minute here and there to catch my breath and alleviate the strain on my brain. Maintaining such a high rate of Skill usage had put a weight on my mind, slowly turning it into a sluggish 2000’s computer.

It’s in one of those hidey holes that I came face to face with a random kid. I was in a store, crouching behind a shelf, and I heard a hastily caught breath in the back. He was maybe fourteen years old, a head full of frizzy red hair and freckles on his nose. I saw fear in his eyes. Unrestrained, total fear. Then I heard yet another snap of a whip in the distance, muddled by the others. But this bullet had been aimed at me. Just, not very well. It caught him in the jaw, and out through his neck.

I didn’t feel a thing when I felt blood on my face. I didn’t feel a thing when he went limp on the ground. I didn’t feel a thing when his last motion was to look desperately at me. But it gnawed at me. What kind of monster had I become ? How many had been caught in the crossfire I had caused ?

End it.

I got out of the building. Shots taking me from all sides. I stumbled to the middle of the street. I layed down. I received yet another volley. I waited.

What was I ?

I waited.

People screamed.

I waited.

More shots rang around me.

I waited.

Was I broken ?

I waited.

Beyond repair ?

I waited.

I could hear explosions going off around me.

I waited.

Blasters, surely.

I waited.

Silence.

I waited.

Steps. Coming toward me.

I waited.

The alien language sang. I felt a Bo prodding my side.

It was time.

Unleash it.

[Double Cast]. [Lesser Mana Throw]. [Minor Gravity Control].

A gravity well formed above me, a literal star in its center. Everything and everyone got swallowed and vaporized. The aliens surrounding me. The cars parked nearby. The walls and their buildings. The pavement. The dirt. But not me. I stood still below it. I reigned supreme in destruction. The apostle of the End. The herald of Death.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. But no, it’s not badass. It’s not impressive. It’s sad. Pitiful. Incredibly so. My heart took control, heart I didn’t understand, and still don’t.

Was I mad they killed the teenager ?

Did I want to end it all ?

Or was it just my true nature showing ?

Maybe a simple yell for help, even.

And yell I did. A guttural, deep and gut-wrenching wail.

*

* *

Carry on my wayward so-O-on. There'll be peace when you are do-O-one. Lay your weary head to re-e-est. Don't you cry no more…

By improving your grasp of [Lesser Mana Throw], your Skill has ranked up to [Minor Mana Manipulation] !

[Minor Mana Manipulation] Level 66 : Forms a piece of raw matter. Based on Intellect and Willpower.

I was sitting in the middle of a crater twenty meters in diameter, a glaring scar upon the town. Half collapsed houses and melted gravel surrounded me. Me, in my Adam’s costume, with my gaze floating upon the desolation. No corpse was in sight, but after such an ordeal it wasn’t that surprising. What was truly unexpected, was the people standing on the edge of the depression, staring at the missing chunk, staring at me. They were too shocked to realize I was the one responsible. Responsible for countless deaths, and irreparable damages. From a bird’s eye view, I was sure to see pockmarks riddling the town.

This was my design. This had been my half-assed, half-improvised plan.

I need to go.

How much time had passed since I had split from Kurt and the others ? Were they still at the radio station ? Had they even managed to get there ? I didn’t know, and I needed to find out.

Or did I ? Maybe it was the perfect situation to finally leave them be. To rid myself of unnecessary troubles.

No, they were my friends, not lambda citizens. But who was I to impose myself on them ? And why should they be more important than the common folk ? My actions caused them to be involved in this mess, not the other way around.

I’m a disease. I am walking disaster.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself and act !

Right, no time to doubt and ponder. Those will come later.

I got up, stretched myself, and jumped out of the fuming hole. I knew the general direction and rushed there. It took me less than half an hour to finally see the antenna stretching high above the old chimneys. There were no sounds of battle, which could mean they had arrived safely here and had been able to contact the military. Wishful thinking, that’s what it was, but I was in no position to be picky.

I found the back door open, the lock busted. I headed up the stairs, my hopes rising into my throat. And I saw him. Kurt, keeping watch behind a desk. Alive.

He saw me back. His eyes round open in surprise. His grip on his Bo relaxed, and he hailed.

“Neant ! Fuck ! Thought you were- Why are you naked ?”

“Long story. Everyone’s here ?”

“Yeah. Fletcher is on the roof with Mom, the antenna’s damaged and they’re fixing it. Here, take my coat.”

“Thanks. And Madison ?”

“Said she needed a moment. She’s in the other room. But… Maybe don’t disturb her for now.”

They were all safe. All here, all alive. And we still had a way out of this plight. I smiled. An honest to god smile. A smile that sweared with the last hour or so, conflicting with my inner turmoil, but bringing a fresh wind in my decaying mind.

“Ok. I’ll head up and see if I can help.” He nodded, reverting to a state of complete alertness.

On the roof, Fletcher was crouched in front of a metal box containing all kinds of wires and fuses and buttons and levers, while Alyssa had climbed the antenna and was orienting the parable at Fletcher’s cues.

“You getting any signal ?”

They jumped in fright at the sound of my voice, looking at me as if they saw a peacock speaking to them.

“Neant !? We thought you were gone for !” Alyssa stepped down of the dish and hugged me with a strength I didn’t expect from her.

“Kid, you sure you’re not a cat ? Cause I bet you lost some lives back there. We heard and saw a lot of gunfire and explosions and something out there.”

“Meh. A walk in the park.” I didn’t know why, but I felt the need to downplay the mass murder I had just committed.

“Well, now that you’re here, help me with this last fix. I’m trying to find the right direction for the dish and Alyssa here doesn’t know her right from her left.”

“You said North ! How can I know which way is North in the middle of the night ?”

“Ever heard of something called the North Star ?”

“Hey, I’m a city lady ! Not a bumpkin lazy detective !”

“I grew up in the Stronx you know ?”

Friendly banter and other invectives stormed the air around me. I was glad to have them back. But we had a goal to reach, and probably not much time before reinforcements came.

“Fletcher, where do you need it to point at ?”

“Around... there.” He said as he pointed toward a lone hill in the distance.

I pulled at the parable with a gravity tether till it fell in position. I seemed to have arrived for the last adjustments as we immediately heard chatter coming from the speaker.

“-Bravo Zero Uniform Tango One. Section eight, please respond.” The comm was scrambled but still understandable.

A young voice came up crystal clear to answer it. “Section eight reporting in. Gunfire and explosions confirmed. No sign of X-Ray since zero four hundred. Permission to launch a scouting party into town ?”

“Declined. We can’t risk your men, Corporal.” A different voice had taken over, a rusty and harsh voice. “Engineers ETA at zero five thirty to collect the-” Then, a short break, followed by... “Radio silence, now.”

“I think they know we’re listening.” Fletcher explained the obvious to me.

More obvious than that was the fact that this section eight was in the proximity, possibly near that hill I was looking at.

“Fletcher, contact them. Tell them we’re civilian and we want to flee this town.”

He flipped a switch both on the radio and in his demeanor. “Demand for contact with section eight. Civis requesting evac. Located at radio station, East of town, big antenna on the roof. Please help.”

“Who are you and how did you decrypt this frequency ?” Responded the man in charge.

“Private Fletcher reporting in. Retired comm expert from third infantry division. Am with four other civis in need of a way out of town.”

Silence. Disturbed only by the whisper of the airwaves.

“Granted. Head for the hill North of your position before sunrise. Any wounded ?”

“Negative. We’ll be there.”

“Don’t pull a fast one on us. Section eight-”

Fletcher looked up at me, optimism shining below his brow. We needed to scram, and fast. Leaving behind the handmade radio, much to his regret, we went down to pick up Madison and Kurt. Once in the car, and well on our way North, they all started to grin and laugh, tension leaving their bodies and minds.

I had to refocus them. “It’s not over yet, stay vigilant.”

They immediately stopped their early celebration. I got an elbow in the stomach from Kurt and Alyssa shot me a killer look. Fletcher was driving the car, but Madison didn’t even glimpse my way, her face scrunched up in what looked like anger, or rage. I think she knew I had ravaged her village.

We arrived at the hill’s base, the road veering East after that. Once out of the car, Fletcher rose his fist and crouched down, surely because of the blinking light up ahead. He got back in the car and used the headlights to answer. Shortly after, a small group of well-equipped soldiers came down to greet us.

“Weapons ?” One of them asked.

“Just some of the aliens’ staffs.” Fletcher responded.

But I had to correct him. “I have a blaster and a cutter in this bag. You have a team of techs coming, right ?”

“Yes. Hand them over.”

“Gladly. You’ll be more capable than us to uncover their secrets anyway.”

After we gave him the small backpack and the Bos we climbed up the hill, meeting a row of camouflaged rifles aimed at us.

“Threat ?” I heard someone ask from behind a bush.

“None, as far as we can tell. But they had alien weapons with them.”

“The colonel will handle their interrogation. Bring them to the clearing, the engineers are here.”

We were then led toward the aforementioned clearing, and saw what could only be described as a battlefield. Aliens corpses littered the ground, foreign limbs and organs splattered for all to see, black, blue and red blood stained the grass and flowers. This great picture of carnage was dominated by the half slumped over alien craft I had shot before. Seemed I had managed to hit a critical point after all. A group of soldiers with a multitude of tools were rummaging through the carcass, like a bunch of ants devouring the remnants of a cat.

“Tell the corporal we’re mostly done, we just need to free the power cell from its hinges and we’re good to go.” I heard one of them tell our guardian, or captor.

“Contact West !” Someone shouted, alarming everyone. The ants scrambled to their feet, taking anything they had in the vicinity while rushing to the trucks parked nearby.

Whip cracks and fireball resounded through the early morning, the sun coloring the sky a deep red. The decor was just right for an early battle.

In the middle of the chaos, I headed toward the sound of gunfire. They were retreating, frog leaping from one tree to the other, hiding behind boulders and bushes when they reached the open space around us. Then I saw one of them. An alien, human blood covering its face, dashing from cover to cover as the soldiers did but with the difference that he possessed an otherworldly grace in his movement, with twirls and spins, jumps and light steps. Bullets grazed him, occasionally finding purchase in his skin, but not any deeper. This was a monster, with at least forty in Might and Finesse. And by the looks of his superficial wounds already closing up, Constitution as well. How could the army hope to fight such an individual ?

I could.

I ran to his flank, preparing another bright star to launch at him. But he saw me, and I would lie if I said I didn’t feel fear in that instant. He smiled, and I recognized him. Idrisa. Sporting his usual grin from ear to ear. I triggered my combo above his head, but a second too late, he had already honed in on me and bolted at an incredible speed to my side. My attack blinded us all, storming the place with the sound of a thousand tornadoes.

When I finally was able to open my eyes without pain, I caught a glimpse of the butt of a Bo, then blackness. I had died, again. But not for long. Two or three seconds later, my regeneration working at full power to heal my head wound, I got back up and saw the carnage Idrisa had been able to sow in this brief lapse of time. Half the soldiers were on the ground, their ribs caved inward, or decapitated by brunt force.

I ran toward the clearing, avoiding him by sacrificing two men on my way.

I shouted, desperation in my voice. “Run !”

“What-” I heard the corporal trying to say something…

...But was interrupted by Kurt. “Do as he say ! Head for the trees !”

They started to retreat for cover, slowly at first, then at a brisker pace. All the while, the alien was watching.

I stood tall, ready to defend my group, but he just… watched.

“Neant !”

“Go ! I’ll catch up with you !”

I wouldn’t.

They all reached the thicket on the other side, disappearing one after the other into the green fog. I kept my gaze leveled with his. Steps echoed behind me for a while, but soon, nothing disturbed the air anymore. I was alone with a very relaxed devil.

“I know I killed you. I received a very substantial boost to my Essence Points. And those bugs wouldn’t have given me that much. Who, or what, are you ?”

“No one. Would it be too much to ask you to leave us be ?”

“I guess you got a visit from Osmosis, huh ? Anyhow, the Hierarch will be pleased with my catch. Now, either you follow me, or I hurt you.” Then, as an afterthought... “Please, do resist.”

I didn’t know what this ‘Osmosis’ was, but I had no time to reflect on that, his Bo was on a path to inflict quick and utter destruction. My first instinct was to block, but that wouldn’t achieve anything if not a broken arm. I gambled my everything on a counterattack, putting my head in arms way. I saw my own Bo strike him in the stomach, but it was just an afterimage, he had moved so fast I hadn’t even seen it. And I didn’t see any more than that, a crunch then blackness.

I just had to wait for my regeneration to kick in, putting my brain back in my head. Alas, he had a way to counteract it. For the next hour or so, my consciousness was floating around my body, unable to find a way back in. I would eventually understand he had put a large stone in my cranium, preventing any reclamation of my bodily functions. I was, in a word, defeated.

I’m fucked, ain’t I ?

“So, mister Neant...”

I picked up a strange voice, mixed with all kinds of undertones, speak to me while my head was reconstructing itself.

“I hear from our dear friend, mister Idrisa, that you have a peculiar set of Skills, and above all, an incredible will to defy death.”

I was in some sort of breathable liquid, a molasse which pervaded my lungs and blocked my vision past the window in front of me and prevented any sharp movement. Not that I didn’t try. I also tried to create plasma to blast the vat I was in, but it was a lot more resilient than regular glass, or even a stack of bulletproof glass panel, as it didn’t even singe it. And using my Skill outside of my field of perception was… problematic to say the least.

“Don’t struggle, get used to this environment, you are to be shipped to our original universe in a few hours. Rejoice ! You will meet the Hierarch in person ! Few can say they had the honor.”

I was, indeed, fucked.

“Where are my manners ? Let me present myself. My name, for you barbaric people, is Mecholia. I am in charge of this little town, but not for long, not after spotting and capturing you. I must thank you for choosing my dominion to hide. Or try to, and passably poorly, I must say !”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to offer him the pleasure.

“The silent treatment, huh ? Doesn’t matter. Well, I just have a small question for you, if that’s not too much to ask. My curiosity has been ticked and it requires a resolution.”

Still, I wouldn’t give him anything.

“Why did you kill them ? I understand family is an important value here, so why go on such a rampage ?”

“What the fuck are you talking about ?” The words escaped my mouth without my consent.

“Oh ? But you… Oh. Ah ! Ahahah !” He started laughing, human chuckle devolving into exotic sounds. “You don't know ? Or can’t you remember ? On the Hierarch, I have never been in a more incongruous situation !”

I tuned out his ramblings, focused on finding a way out of this ordeal. Make myself into a nuclear bomb ? That could work. Let’s try that.

I created a focal point in my stomach, trying to accumulate compressed matter into it. Once released, it should expand abruptly and free me from this cage. But after a couple seconds, I could feel my control over it escape me. I blasted my innards, but not much else.

“Don’t bother, this container is especially designed to absorb Skills. You have no chance to get out. Even Idrisa cannot.”

A quick jab of despair grabbed me, a spinning sensation that made me reconsider my situation.

What should I do ? What could I do ?

Suicide wasn’t an option, and yet I wished it was. Nothing good would come out of meeting their leader. Endless experiments and abuse, trying to squeeze as much Essence Points out of me as possible, that was my future.

Wait, suicide… That’s it !

Killing myself had previously been one of my signature move back in the Void, and with great results. I didn’t have to listen to his biting comments, I just had to get stronger !

With renewed vigor, I formed a speck of plasma in my brain, like I used to in the Void. Practice makes projects !

Schtumph. Silence. Awareness. Repeat.

*

* *

Welcome to the mental health hotline. If you have short-term memory loss, please call again in a minute.

I’m tired.

Recalling this lapse of time tires me.

Murdering myself over and over. In the simple hope to get stronger, to find a way to apply more than one Stat Point a day. The killing part wasn’t the worst, rather, the feeling of being lost in time, coldness gripping my heart and of my thoughts rebooting constantly was what troubled me. But I pushed onward, every death bringing me closer to my salvation.

[Exponential Growth] 0/256 : Limitations and hard caps are not meant for you. This world shall know the might of ever so growing desires, unfulfilled wants and never satiated needs.

Yes ! Finally !

Then, it hit me. My old nemesis. The abysmal Path Points cost. It reeked of a dreaded and endless grind. I struggled in my cage, banging, or rather flailing uselessly, at the walls girdling me in a burning fever of seething rage.

So close, yet so far.

It had taken a long time to get there. Maybe a couple of days in darkness, if not more. And my efforts were rewarded by yet another steep wall.

FUUUUUUCK ! FUCK FUCK FUCK...

After a while, I managed to calm down.

-FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK-

Or not.

It was a bang on my prison that finally diverted my thoughts from this new difficulty. I heard distorted sounds of metal scraping against metal, like someone dragging a hammer against an anvil. All kinds of commotion rattled around me, I must have been in the middle of a large shipment being unloaded. I was transported to another location, the oscillations easily recognizable. Then, as the journey ended abruptly, the liquid trapping me started to flow down. I coughed out some of its remnants, but before long I could peer out of the glass window in front of me. I was in a gray room devoid of any furniture if not for an oval table in its center. And at the other end of the table was a silhouette, hard to define through the glass.

As if to answer my wish, the panel slid upward. I had only Kurt’s overcoat on me, stained with my blood and some dirt. It gave me an unexpected idea.

“Want a piece of candy ?”

“I do not believe this to be a regular human greeting. Am I wrong to assume as such ?” I could only see his back. A well-formed, admirable back, especially through that kind of latex suit. Very much human looking. I surmised he was of the same specie as Idrisa, or a close one.

“Well, It is if you are trying to assert dominance. You see, candy is a rare commodity on Earth, so offering one to a potential enemy is just showing off your wealth.”

“Do not take me for a fool, Yann Roy.”

… What ?

I was stunned. My original name shouldn’t have been linked to the Neant’s one, ever. In the chaos following the arrival of the System and the Hierarchy, nobody should have cared about a single dude gone missing. Not in a city of more than one million individuals… I don’t actually know how many people lived in my hometown, so I may be stretching things a bit… But you get the idea ! In that moment, the only thing that came to my mind was that it wasn’t real. Yeah, my brain copped out of the situation.

“Oh ? Did I break you already ? As always, the strongest have the most glaring weaknesses.” His tone was filled with acid, as spikes rupturing my thoughts. “It doesn’t matter, if what this report is saying is true, we won’t need you to talk. But, that is only if you do not wish to collaborate. We could get you to work for us forcefully, but I dislike the concept. A servant is not truly serving anything other than his own survival, whereas a… coworker, is just that. Codependent, equally responsible and above all, devoted to the task at hand. Either is fine, even if I am more inclined in making you a participant in this endeavor, rather than a victim.”

A shivering chill ran down from my neck straight to my tailbone. He was definitely not just any interrogator. His voice held power, weight and promises of suffering, or rewards following my decision.

“Don’t rush your decision, we’ll come back to you soon in that regard. For now, get used to your new dwellings.”

That’s when he turned around, and I got to look at his face. He was indeed from the same race as Idrisa, but lacked the manic grin. The blood-filled eyes were still there, yet possessed none of the frantic madness screaming to come out. His were tranquil, calm, compassionate.

“Before we part ways, I must ask a question my subordinate already asked. When you reached Knowles in his hideout, why his family ?”

“What about them ?”

“You killed them. We found their corpses stuck to the back wall of that basement. Something only you could do at the time.”

“...”

“I understand they must have been mentally controlled by Knowles himself - we found some logs and writings testifying of his newly acquired powers - but why not incapacitate them ? Maybe you panicked, caught in the instant.”

“...”

“And I assume you didn’t fully control your Skills yet. As is shown by the accident at your parents’ house.”

“What accident ?”

“It was erased. Burned to the ground. With your family in there, of course. Didn’t you know ?”

“...”

“Oh, you knew. And I can deduce that it wasn’t, in fact, an accident. As much so as your lover - Anna - didn’t fall to her death from her balcony due to a misstep.”

“What ? I don’t…”

“You are responsible for countless deaths, mister Roy. And some of them have surely been perpetrated under the influence of anger, later covered by denial. I can see it on your face, these events are shocking yet familiar to you.”

“I’m… I didn’t…”

“Don’t fight it. It is only natural to lose all concept of morality when faced with a new world, with new variables to take into account. Even if you are one of the rashest case of mental deficiency I have ever seen in the new arrivals, you don’t have to beat yourself over such things. Sadly, it happens.”

“No… No. No-no-no… It didn’t happen that way ! You’re lying !”

“I may be mistaken on some of the steps along the way, but the bulk of it is true. Look into your own memories. As jaded and repressed as they are, you must be able to gather some of them back.”

No… It can’t be true…

It was.

It is.

I am sorry, dear friend, dear passenger. But I have lied to you. I omitted certain truth as I had omitted them from my own mind. I wanted you to feel the same way as I felt in that moment. Betrayal, anger, disgust. I was, in a way, a monster of my own. Murdering whichever was caught in my path. Now caught in my past.

Please… Not this…

I slumped on the floor, lifeless. My brain shut down, leaving me on the sidewalk.

It’s not real… It’s not...