Chapter 5:

Rebirth

“It’s a dead-end!” Yelled Tor.

The corridor the group escaped through had been a straight shot until finally leading to a single door. Once they entered the room, they found themselves in a warmly lit mess hall, lavishly decorated with paintings and furnished with the highest quality furniture.

“Skass, Shinko, you two look for anything out of place in the room. It may hide an exit. Tor and Mirage, barricade the door!” Ordered Yon.

Everyone did as ordered. Mirage carried over chairs, dodging out of the way of the tables that Tor threw at the door. At the same time, Shinko shrank all the furniture to see if they were hiding underneath, and Skass touched everything in hopes of finding something hidden by magic.

Unlike them, Valerria made no attempts to improve their situation. Her attention was fixed solely on her severed fingers. She had already bandaged them and stopped the blood loss, but it did nothing to silence the singular worry roaring in her mind.

Her hands shook as she gathered herself a pile made up of shattered plates and glasses. Once she had enough material, she attempted to forge a golem with the items. As weak and small as it would turn out, it would be enough to silence the thoughts in her head.

The creation would be a cat the size of her hand. Once born, it would twirl in Valerria’s lap two times and then come undone. This simple form and command were the first golem Valerria successfully created back when she was but a mere child, an attempt at bringing her beloved pet back to life.

The glass shards turned liquid and malleable as she ran her fingers across them. The sharp material lost its properties as Valerria tapped into its essence. Its very atoms danced to the tune of Valerria’s song of creation, following the paths her fingers painted in space.

The cat started to take shape, and for a brief second, Valerria could see her old pet staring back at her with longing eyes.

And then it fell apart.

Its glass eyes exploded to pieces, its limbs malformed and fell off, and even the body regained its natural properties mid-process, causing it to come undone as all the shards separated and fell to the floor.

“It can’t be...”

Valerria attempted the process again. This time it would only be the head of the cat, with the only command that it will blink once at her.

Again, the process started fine, only to break halfway. With only six fingers left, her maimed hand could not exert the same song as her uninjured hand. The perfect balance required for the forging to be a success had been irreversibly broken. Not even a prosthetic limb or magically replaced fingers would give her the ability to forge back fully intact. The hands of a forger evolve during their lifetime to where their imperfections counterbalance each other to reach a state of equilibrium. Any kind of replacement would still feel like working with a handicap.

Valerria watched the head in her hand melt away, watching her ability melt alongside it, and with it perhaps the last reason she was still alive. Even as the heat of the failed golem seared her hand, she didn’t flinch. Even as everyone scrambled for a way out of the situation, she couldn’t hear.

“Valerria, are you alright?” Asked Yon as he shook her by the shoulders, snapping her back to reality.

Valerria slowly shifted her gaze upwards to see a calm-looking Yon staring at her.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Skass found something. We’re moving out.”

“Then, then I guess I have to tag along, don’t I?” She said, trying to regain her composure.

Yon nodded and headed back to Skass and the others. When Valerria got up, she turned her attention to Mirage. Mirage trembled beneath her gaze. Something felt very off about the way Valerria looked at her now. Unlike all the other times Valerria had looked at Mirage, her eyes now were not aggressive or amused.

They were obsessive.

“Tor, get over here and smash this damn thing!” Yelled Skass.

The lizardman was pressing his body up against a wall with the help of Mirage and Yon. The portion of the wall he was touching was fading in and out rapidly, revealing a set of doors held closed by a magic shield. Despite the nullifying powers of his scales, the magic cast to conceal and lock those doors was still strong enough to nearly repel Skass despite the help he was receiving.

With his scales not being enough for the task, Tor quickly donned his armor and shifted his weapon back into the form of a morning star. Yet when he approached the door to bust it open, he hesitated. Due to the strength of the magic, Tor needed to position his strike as close as possible to Skass’s body.

“Just hit me as hard as you can already! You can’t afford to hold back.” Said Skass calmly.

Tor didn’t waver a second time. He brought his morning star down as hard as he could, hitting both the door and part of Skass’s torso in the process. The impact shattered the magic shield and sent Skass falling to the floor. Blood poured from the broken scales on his left side torso.

The large man gritted his teeth. Even with the damage that Skass had suffered, they didn’t have the time to let him recover even the slightest. With a mumbled apology, Tor picked up Skass and pushed him up against the wall again. The doors reappeared, revealing that the magic shield was gone.

Tor slammed the doors open and hefted the injured Skass on his shoulder.

“T-Think I can’t walk by myself?” He asked, trying to act tough.

“Just rest.” Tor softly ordered.

“Perfect, we’re ready to go.” Said Yon.

The group rushed through the open passage, which closed and hid automatically the moment Skass no longer touched it.

Twenty minutes later, the barricade Tor and Mirage built was smashed apart instantly by a single fist strike, scattering its remains all over the mess hall.

Into the room stepped Cyntorum. A glance of the mess hall revealed no hint as to where the group could have gone.

“Check every inch of the room. The intruders have shown themselves able to hide in plain sight.” Cyntorum ordered.

Eleven guards stormed the mess wall and used their gauntlets to scan for hidden intruders. As they did, Cyntorum walked up to the fake wall. With a wave of his hand, the illusion dispersed, revealing the doors and the visible damage left on them by Tor.

The head guard rubbed his forehead.

“Of course, that lizard race can cancel magic with their scales.”

Cyntorum turned to face his followers.

“Guards, head in after the intruders, and make sure to bring Sinvitas’s brother back unscathed.”

The soldiers hurried through the hidden door, with an enormous wave of monsters following right behind them. Once they all had finally left the room, Cyntorum grabbed the last chair left intact and sat heavily on it.

“How could I forget such a thing?” Cyntorum said as he scratched at the back of his hand, pulling out its human skin and revealing a couple of blue scales.

“It’s just a matter of time before the last of my scales fall now.”

---

As the group traversed the corridors beyond the hidden door, they noticed a difference in the architecture. The hallways were much wider now, being able to accommodate eight people standing shoulder to shoulder. On top of that, where before they had just been a straight shot towards their destination, these corridors split up constantly into multiple pathways, almost as if they were part of a labyrinth.

“The monsters stopped chasing us, I think. I can barely feel them now.” Said Skass.

“Excellent, that gives us time to hide and start planning an escape.” Said Yon.

As the pathways kept splitting more and more, it became apparent that the underground area spanned far past the reaches of the castle itself. After running for ten more minutes, the group stopped at last. Using Shinko’s powers, they hid inside a crack in the walls while Skass remained outside to keep watch over the mass of monsters.

Valerria pointed her last remaining dagger at Yon. Her feelings at the loss of her magic turned into bitter hatred as she stared him down.

“Now, Yon, I hope you have a good explanation for what happened back there.” Said Valerria.

“Yon, we trusted you with our lives. How couldn’t you tell us that your brother was the king? Not tell us about the monsters?” Asked Shinko.

“I am just as surprised by the monsters. As for my brother, I did not consider that detail to be relevant to our mission.” Said Yon.

Valerria’s eyes narrowed. She drew her dagger and placed its edge at Yon’s neck.

“Since we’ve been business partners for so long, I feel like giving you one more chance. Tell me exactly what is going on here, or I’ll send your head rolling.”

“You already know everything."

Yon screamed as a sudden burning sensation overtook his senses. Blood ran down from a new scar cut across the length of his face. With them being forced to huddle so close to Shinko, blood from his wound stained everyone.

“My dagger doesn’t have a lot of charges left for its fire magic, but I promise you, lie to me again, and I will pour all of it into your heart.” Threatened Valerria.

“Fine, fine. Obtaining the leviathan skull is indeed what we came here for, but I was not honest about who we were getting it for. I led you to think that we would have to find a buyer, but the truth is that someone forced me to retrieve it.” Said Yon with heavy breaths.

Even with Valerria’s knife at his throat, even with the searing pain of his wound reminding him that her threats were not empty, he still hesitated to continue. Valerria was just about ready to cut up the other side of his face when the realization struck.

“Was your employer...the Empress?” Asked Valerria, articulating the final word as if she feared speaking her ruler's title.

Yon’s expression at that moment was that of a defeated man who had accepted his fate. He slowly nodded, confirming Valerria’s suspicion. Valerria drew away her dagger, her face betraying the mixture of emotions she was experiencing. Anger, betrayal, disgust, and confusion all swam in her head, and she didn’t know what to do with any of it.

“The Empress?” Said Tor, stunned.

“Yon, how could you?” Shinko asked in disbelief.

“Yes, she’s caught wind of what was transpiring in Aslagard and coerced me into doing this job for her.” Yon admitted.

“The Empress…” Valerria whispered, ignoring Yon’s words.

“But why? Why should she ask this of you?” Asked Tor.

“And why would you accept to work for that thing?!?” Added Shinko.

Valerria grabbed Yon by the collar. She didn’t wait for him to speak, aiming her dagger for his heart. It was only at the very last second that Tor managed to catch her arm and pull her back, saving Yon’s life.

“My one condition! That was the one condition I gave you! To never work for that mutt, and you broke it!” Valerria yelled as Tor fought to keep her from killing Yon.

“Yon, you need to explain yourself. Now.” Said Shinko sternly.

“Fine, the full story it is then. A catastrophic event took place roughly ten years ago. A coalition army of all the countries in the world marched upon a monster of Nightmare that was ravaging cities, but even it could not put a stop to the monster’s rampage. With the whole world at risk of destruction, the Empress had no choice but to erase the monsters herself, at the cost of leaving a permanent scar on the planet.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Asked Shinko.

“Oh, that’s quite simple. Her intervention came unannounced, and the allied kingdoms were not ready for her display of power. This caused a huge outcry from them and even her own subjects, which led to the empire destabilizing greatly even to this day. My brother simply took advantage of the mistrust and chaos to prepare his operation, sneaking into Aslagard and replacing its leadership. The Empress caught wind of this eventually, but her hands were tied. That’s where we come in. The purchase of the leviathan skull is tantamount to declaring war upon the entire planet. If we retrieve it, the Empress would have enough justification to invade the city and remove the intruders.”

Yon looked at Valerria. Her breathing was still erratic, but she stopped fighting Tor’s grip. If that was because his explanation was enough for her, or if the pain of her wounded hand had become too much, he couldn’t tell.

“Are you satisfied now?” Asked Yon.

Shinko remained silent for a few seconds as she thought Yon’s words over.

“Tor, if Yon gives another useless answer, release Valerria.” Shinko ordered.

Her words shocked everyone, Valerria especially so, as she ripped her gaze away from Yon for the first time to look at Shinko.

“No, I will not.” Answered Tor.

“Tor, this is serious.” Complained Shinko.

“Weren’t you the one that told Valerria that it’s insane to be killing each other?” Asked Tor.

Shinko glanced at Tor for a brief second before turning her attention back to Yon.

“Yon, what came out of your mouth was naught but drivel. Why are we working for her? How could you accept this mission?” Asked Shinko.

Yon gritted his teeth.

“I already told you. I was forced into accepting this mission against my will. The Empress found out about my family ties to the organization that took over Aslagard and had her soldiers find me. Had I refused, I, and all of you, would have been executed.”

Everyone remained silent, unsure of how to process the information. Everyone but Valerria, that is. Mirage trembled as she saw her master angrier than she had ever seen before in her whole lifetime.

“I don’t know what grudge you two hold with the Empress, but he’s not worth it. Our survival is the most important thing right now.” Said Tor.

Valerria glanced at Mirage, and little by little, her rage subsided.

“Our survival, huh?” Valerria mused. “I disagree, Tor. I think he still has some worth left to give to the group.” The woman said and drew back her dagger.

As the argument concluded, the ground and walls around them shook.

“That’s Skass! He’s telling us that we need to go!” Clarified Shinko.

“Before we leave-” Interrupted Valerria. “-Understand that you all follow my lead now. I won’t tolerate any arguments or complaints.”

“As long as we get out alive, I don’t care who my boss is.” Answered Tor for the rest of the group.

“Excellent.”

Under Valerria’s questionable leadership, the group went back into the hallway, where Skass greeted them.

"The monsters are co-What the hell happened down there?!?” Asked Skass as he saw Yon’s injury.

“I just marked a traitor. I take it the monsters started moving?” Said Valerria while brushing off Skass’s concern.

Yon remained silent, clutching the injury Valerria branded him with. Skass hesitated for a second before speaking again.

“Y-Yeah. They are moving slowly as one large mass. We need to go before they catch up with us.”

“Great, we’ll just keep running then and hope this labyrinth never ends.” Valerria said, exasperated.

“Actually, I was about to bring up something. While you guys were hiding, I felt a source of magic different from the monsters. It’s coming from deeper into the labyrinth.”

“Smells like opportunity. Even, dare I say it, a distraction.” Said Valerria.

“No.” Objected Skass.

The group advanced even further through the labyrinth, using Skass’s tenuous guidance to take the correct pathways towards the source of magic he had sensed. Though at first, it was so faint they failed to notice it, little by little, their exhaustion and pain began to fade away. Even Yon stopped clutching his wound. It was only Skass whose state did not improve, as his scales combated the magic around him.

“I think I'm starting to feel the magic myself.” Said Shinko. For the first time since she lost her arms, she no longer felt the emptiness left behind by them.

“Yeah. It feels kind and gentle, even.” Said Tor.

“How nice, you lot get to feel pleasant before we get torn to shreds.” Said Skass sarcastically.

The fleeting feeling of safety the magic showered them in shattered in one stroke as the hallway around the group filled with the cacophony of metal limbs slamming into concrete layered on top of each other. And the sound that was quickly getting louder.

“They caught up with us?” Asked Tor.

“No way! I can still sense them back at the entrance!” Skass yelled.

Valerria didn’t wait for their pursuer to catch up and instead turned around to face the incoming threat. After a couple of seconds, the creature came into view.

With two large stretched-out claws, its seven eyes all locked onto a different target as it skittered above the ground at blinding speed, its stinger out and pointed at the group.

The chimera had come for them again.

Immediately Valerria positioned herself in the front of the group. The robot leaped at her, only for the agile woman to dive beneath the chimera mid-leap, putting the robot in between her and the rest of the group.

Without skipping a beat, the chimera charged Valerria, aiming to inject its paralyzing venom into her. Unlike with the golems, where she had dodged their attacks with only a hair of distance left between her and their fist, she put considerable distance between herself and the chimera, one that didn’t allow her to retaliate. Her uninjured hand trembled whenever the chimera’s claw came close to touching it.

Valerria was afraid.

“You can’t let it scan us! They most likely sent it out first so it can find us and report our position!” Yelled Yon.

Hearing Yon’s voice snapped Valerria out of her stupor.

“Pipe down, traitor! We don’t need your help!” Yelled Valerria.

“Tor! Skass! Make yourselves useful and help me destroy this thing!” She continued.

Valerria confidently dodged every thrust of the creature’s stinger as Tor and Skass approached it from behind. The chimera already had several of its eyes tracking their movements, and what they saw was an injured lizard limping towards it and an armored man moving just as slowly. With such a weak approach, it decided to continue its assault on the woman.

Its decision was a mistake, for, at the last second, Skass leaped and threw himself at the chimera, grabbing its leg before it could escape. Thanks to the touch of his scales, the robot was too slow to evade the follow-up. Tor’s morning star struck the chimera in its back, smashing it into the floor and heavily cracking its frame.

Tor got ready for his next strike, only for the creature to pull away. The leg Skass held retracted into its body, breaking the lizard man's grip on it. Now free, the robot jumped and stuck to the ceiling. Its leg came out again as it fired a blue beam from its eyes upon the group just like it did before.

“You idiots failed! They’ll be coming for us at full speed now!” Yelled Yon.

“Another word out of you and I’ll cut out your tongue!” Yelled Valerria.

Skass quickly realized that with how tall the ceiling was, he was the only one who could reach the automaton without putting himself in danger. Steeling himself, Skass pushed his pain to the back of his mind and climbed the wall at an insane speed. Just as he had predicted it would, the chimera immediately moved away. Using this to his advantage, Skass chased the chimera back down to where Valerria and Tor could reach it again.

Seeing their attack coming with its multiple eyes, the chimera swatted Skass away with its tail before catching Tor and Valerria in its claws. Its claws immediately constricted the two.

Skass tried to rush back to his feet only to fall back down. The heavy strike of the robot had left him too hurt to stand.

With the two in the chimera’s clutches, Shinko and Mirage hurried to their side before the chimera could inject its venom in them. Their sudden approach forced the chimera to use its stinger to keep them at a distance.

“Don’t you dare come closer, Mirage!” Yelled Valerria even as the claws were crushing her sides.

Her words struck Mirage. This was the first time Valerria had ever shown concern for her.

“Argh!” Tor screamed as the claw was crushing his torso. He tried to pry open its grasp, but he could do little from his position.

“Not...a step...closer.” Asserted Valerria again as the chimera squeezed the life out of her.

Faced with the impending deaths of her comrades, Shinko panicked.

“Alice, grab the rocks in my pockets and throw them at it!” Yelled Shinko.

Shinko realized her mistake only after the words left her mouth. She turned around, horrified, towards Mirage, only to see her grab and throw the rocks without hesitation. The pebbles turned to boulders as they smashed into the chimera. The impact was enough to send the chimera crashing into the ground, the shock of which made it release its grip on the two.

Seizing his chance, Tor rushed back to his feet. In desperation, the chimera thrust its stinger at him, only for Tor to catch it in his arms. The strongman lifted the robot’s tail over his head before tossing it against a wall. Pieces of the machine flew across the air from the impact, and Tor was not done.

With the chimera staggered, Tor grabbed and, with great effort, ripped out its tail. His sides ached intensely as he took a couple of steps around the chimera to reach its front.

“That was one hell of a hug you got there.” Said Tor as he grabbed the chimera by the head.

He squeezed it as hard as he could, crushing it with ease.

“But mine’s better.” He said as he ripped the crushed head out and tossed it aside.

“That’s great, and all man, but the monsters are coming!” Yelled Skass.

“I know.”

Even with several broken ribs and the sides of his torso left shredded by the encounter, Tor still pushed through and lifted both Skass and Valerria on his shoulders. Mirage walked up hesitantly to him, where she saw Valerria’s face twisted in pain. Despite suffering so much, she had still chosen to prioritize Mirage’s safety over her own.

“No time to spare...Run already.” Valerria said with a lot of struggle.

With Valerria taken out of commission, Yon spoke up.

“You did well breaking it Tor. The thing was going to keep following us and give a continuous update of our position to the beasts. They’ll be rushing to get over here, but if we manage to get far away enough, we will force them to slow their pace down again.”

The group continued to follow Skass’s directions through the labyrinth, and slowly but surely, Valerria and Tor started to recover from the wounds inflicted upon them by the chimera, an effect caused by the magic in the air around them. After only ten minutes of exposure, Valerria broke free from Tor’s grasp and rejoined the others. Seeing that Valerria was fine again Yon moved to the back of the group in an attempt to not draw her attention.

“You sure you’re fine to walk on your own?” Asked Tor.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

*With how diluted it is, it’s too terrifying to imagine what it can do at its source.* Thought Valerria.

She smiled.

*I want it.*

Images flooded Valerria’s mind, all filled with the golems she would create from such a powerful magic source.

And then she remembered her maimed hand. Valerria glared at Yon, the man who betrayed her trust and cost her her most treasured ability.

The group continued faster than before, spurred on by the magic around them. Still, even this boon did not grant them enough speed to outrun the horde behind them.

Skass screamed as a monster came into view. Everyone got ready for a fight, only to realize seconds later that what laid before them was not a live monster but the corpse of one.

“Mirage, go, and che-” Yon’s absentminded order was interrupted by Valerria’s fist hitting him in the face.

Valerria picked Yon up by his hair.

“Go and check out the corpse.” Valerria ordered him to his face.

Everyone watched the two closely. Tor and Mirage looked very apprehensive of the exchange, while Skass looked simply confused. He glanced at Shinko, who was the only one who appeared to agree with Valerria’s actions.

“Shinko, what happened?” Whispered Skass.

“Yon betrayed us. He had us take this mission for the Empress.” She stated plainly.

“That’s it?”

Shinko suddenly glared at Skass, startling the lizardman. Seeing his reaction, the young girl’s expression softened somewhat.

“You’re not from here. You wouldn’t understand.”

While Shinko explained the entire situation to Skass, Yon approached the monster carcass. The stench of decay was inexplicably missing from it, increasing the fear Yon felt even more. He prodded it hesitantly with his foot, bracing himself for when it stopped playing dead and attacked him.

It didn’t.

“It’s dead for real, we’re safe.” Said Yon.

Valerria’s mood visibly deflated when it turned out that the monster was indeed dead.

As they continued through the labyrinth, the number of monster corpses filling the hallways started to increase. The bodies had barely decomposed, so they were able to tell the cause of death on most of them. Lacerations, incineration, some were even melted down into puddles. This pointed to the labyrinth containing traps, ones even worse than those they encountered in the castle. And yet, they had not sprung a single one themselves.

“This is no good, they are right on our tail!” Said Skass.

“How much time do we have left?” Asked Valerria.

“At this rate, I guess about five minutes, at most.” Answered Skass.

They needed their miracle now. What they got instead was something strange. While running through the hallways, they came across something they hadn’t seen ever since they entered the labyrinth—a set of doors.

“We’re going in.” Ordered Valerria.

The room inside was massive, held up by several rows of pillars, though some were destroyed, with another set of doors leading to a different part of the labyrinth. Within the room, they found ruined remains of various different monsters, golems, and chimeras. It was the scene of a fierce battlefield, with the golems and chimeras battling the beasts. Just like before, the smell of rot and decay was missing entirely.

“No...no this can’t be all there is. Tor, help Skass look for a hidden exit.” Ordered Valerria.

“And what do we do if I don’t find anything?” Asked Skass.

“Then we avoid the horde by hiding among the corpses.” Said Valerria.

“That’s an absurd idea! Both of them are! We need to stop wasting time and keep running!”

“Start searching.”

“There’s nothing in this room! If we just follow Yon’s plan, we’ll-”

“I’ll help you search Skass.” Interjected Yon.

“What?” Asked Skass surprised.

“I said I’ll help you search. You are fine with that, right Valerria?” Asked Yon.

“...Go ahead then.” Valerria answered, suspicious of Yon’s motivation.

With the three going through the room at Valerria’s command, she turned her attention back to Mirage, only to find both her and Shinko missing.

At that moment, Shinko and Alice were hidden behind a pillar at the opposite end of the room. Shinko had beckoned her away from Valerria while the latter was distracted.

“I’m so sorry, Alice, I slipped and said your real name!” Shinko apologized.

Alice put her hands on Shinko’s shoulders for reassurance. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly.

“It’s fine, I know you meant well. In fact, it made me happy to hear someone call me by my real name.” Alice smiled briefly. “I can only pray that Valerria was suffering enough pain to let the words sail past her ears.”

“How can you be so calm about this? You know better than anyone what she’s like!”

“....I’ve lived in fear of her my whole life. I’ve made up my mind that no matter what happens, whether I make it out alive or I find my end here, I will no longer look away when fate stares me down.”

“Oh don’t worry, you aren’t going to die here.” Shinko said confidently.

“Do you have a plan?”

Shinko nodded.

“You can create new bodies again right?”

“I’ve recovered enough, yes.”

“Then yes, we can sneak out using my power. We’ll need to find a good hiding spot to avoid being trampled. Once the coast is clear you can create a body, make it appear like a guard, and then the two of us can sneak away on...your... shoulders!” Shinko explained.

“And what of Skass? He won’t be able to take part in this escape.” Asked Alice.

Shinko didn’t answer.

“And Tor? He will definitely refuse if it means leaving Skass behind.”

Shinko again remained silent. Alice began to understand what Shinko’s silence meant.

“Shinko...What of Vermith? Do you want to leave him behind too?”

“No god damn it, I don’t want to leave anyone behind! But we don’t have a choice! This is the only way we can survive this!.” Shinko finally snapped.

“We...we can’t save them. Cannot save him.” She continued.

“Then you cannot save me, either.”

“Alice, Vermith is already dead. They probably already fed him to the monsters.” Shinko argued.

Alice pulled out one of the syringes Vermith had left with her.

“He left these with me because he knew he’d be needing them again. You are free to leave on your own, but I choose to believe in the person who helped open my eyes.”

“Interesting choice of words.” Said Valerria.

Before the two could do anything, Valerria wrapped her arm around Shinko’s neck and put her dagger to her throat.

“Why are you whispering nonsense into my beloved toy’s ears? Why are you trying to steal it away from me?” Asked Valerria.

“Valerria, please, this isn’t what you think!” Said Shinko.

“First Yon, now you. All you needed to do was not break my rules, but I see it was much too difficult for you. Or perhaps you just wanted to die by my hand instead of the monsters.” Valerria said, ignoring Shinko completely.

“If you kill me, you lose any chance you had of escaping this place alive!” Pleaded Shinko.

Valerria sighed softly.

“Will I even feel a difference?” Valerria asked herself out loud.

A thin trail of blood flowed from where her dagger caressed Shinko’s neck. Before her very eyes, her master was about to murder one of the only two people in the world who had been kind to her. Every instinct she had told her to look away, not to intervene, to let her master do as she pleased, just like all the times before.

But she was not her master anymore. And Alice did not look away.

“Let her go.” Alice spoke against Valerria.

Valerria’s attention shifted to Alice. After all the time she spent with her, Alice could tell that something was wrong with her. Ever since they had entered the labyrinth, Valerria had oscillated between different clashing mental states. The image that Alice saw contained in Valerria’s eyes was that of someone who had completely lost themselves.

“Oh, look at what you’ve done, Shinko. You taught my dog how to speak. Tell me, dear pet, why should I stop?”

Alice’s heartbeat was so loud it nearly drowned out her thoughts. For the first time in her life, she stood up to Valerria, and now her words were going to determine the fate of someone important to her.

“Because you can use Shinko’s plan to escape alive. Kill her here, and you assure your doom.” Alice argued.

Valerria tapped her knife on Shinko’s throat as she pretended to think over Alice’s words.

“That’s the same argument Shinko just made. Perhaps you don’t know how to talk after all. You just wanted a second person to parrot.” Valerria said and slowly started to sink her dagger into Shinko’s throat.

Alice quickly thought of what to say to save Shinko. A single detail came to her mind.

“If you don’t care about your life, then what about mine?”

Valerria stopped cutting Shinko right before she could cut through a major artery. Alice had guessed correctly.

“Shinko is the only one who can save me. I don’t understand why, but you want to keep me alive, don’t you?”

The brunette woman’s eyes narrowed, reflecting the image of Mirage within them.

Valerria laughed.

“You got me there, pet. I’ll leave Shinko live for as long as we need her then.” Valerria said and tossed Shinko to the floor.

A small measure of relief washed over Alice, though it was quickly shattered as Valerria walked close to her.

“But don’t think we are done here. Why did she call you Alice?”

Alice opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t form any sentences. Valerria had regained her composure and was now staring her down, something she had been taught all her life to avoid.

Alice wanted to tell her that this was the name she chose for herself. Show her the appearance that she had created for herself. Show Valerria that Alice was a real person and that she did not belong to her.

“I...I don’t know.” Mirage said and looked away from Valerria.

“Then, I trust that I won’t hear you ever using that name to address yourself?”

Mirage gritted its teeth.

“Well?”

Mirage’s physical appearance was jumbled and chaotic under the pressure of Valerria. The answer to the question did not come from it, but from down below, for Valerria started to shrink.

Valerria quickly pulled her leg away and returned to full size. She looked down to see Shinko stare up at her with defiance in her eyes.

“You are not the one who gets to decide that.”

The remark only served to stoke Valerria’s anger. The woman kicked Shinko in the stomach as hard as she could, quickly putting an end to her resistance.

“Count the lucky stars that I still need you.” Valerria remarked.

Before the three could continue any further, the sound of loud footsteps echoed in the hallways not far behind the room. Just a few seconds later, the ground began to rumble. Several rumbles flowed through the room as if there was a giant earthworm digging underneath. All but one of them traveled further, that particular one stopping in the middle of the room.

“They’re here even faster than I thought. Alright, Shinko. Show us your brilliant plan.” Valerria said as she pulled Shinko back up to her feet.

The three ran to one of the corners of the room and shrank themselves. With no other alternatives left for them, Tor, Skass, and Yon hid underneath the many monsters’s remains littering the room. Nobody dared move from their spots.

A few moments later, breaking apart the floor, an all too familiar monster grew into the room. Its unnaturally long fingers hovered above the ground around its misshapen body. Tor’s eyes widened in fear at the sight of the creature as the all too recent memories in the garden flooded back into his mind.

The monster who had nearly caught Tor was now standing in the middle of the room. It stood completely still as if inviting them to try and to escape.

“This is really bad. I’m pretty sure I saw that thing track Tor’s movement back in the garden.” Said Shinko.

“Yeah, we won’t be able to sneak past a skin tree.” Said Valerria.

“Wait, you know what that thing is?” Asked a surprised Shinko.

Valerria nodded.

“It’s an incredibly rare type of golem that was created for war. They were meant to be used as ambush units in forests, but they went against their own programming and attacked and consumed everything regardless of allegiance. For them to listen to Sinvitas, he must either be a great monster, or he satisfies their hunger for skin every single day.”

“Is there nothing we can do to escape?” Asked Shinko.

“Nope. The moment we move even slightly from the spot, it’ll sense us and attack. These things communicate with each other through their roots, so it will most likely warn the entire monster horde if we show ourselves.”

“So we can only wait and pray that they don’t find us?”

“Well, we could use Mirage to create a few fake bodies as a distraction, I doubt these monsters have the intelligence required to tell them apart from us, but...” Valerria’s words drifted for a second. “I am not risking Mirage’s life to whatever esoteric abilities these things may have.”

The skin tree’s presence forced a stalemate on them. A deadlock that was about to be broken.

“Come at me, fiend! You’ll make a fine pyre for my passing!” Declared Tor as he jumped out of his hiding spot with his weapon morphing into an axe.

The skin tree’s face immediately snapped to him. The three couldn’t believe what they were watching. For a second, they thought in unison that Tor had another bout of stupidity, but when they saw Yon and Skass slowly sneaking out the other door, they quickly realized he fully intended to be a sacrifice so everyone else may escape.

“I guess that’s good enough. At least the tree won’t be assimilating me or Mirage.” Said Valerria.

Mirage saw everyone being ready to abandon Tor. Mirage couldn’t feel any attachment towards the large man either, yet when it looked at him standing up for them, it couldn’t help but be reminded of how Vermith had done the same.

Mirage began to tear up. It had been given the chance to break free from its abuse, only to falter and surrender. The one who had handed it this opportunity sacrificed himself so that it could break free, and then it still chose to remain a slave.

The anger and frustration inside Mirage overtook the fear it felt towards Valerria. In a final act of defiance, Mirage jumped away from Shinko’s touch and returned to full size as it ran towards Tor. Valerria pushed Shinko away, but by the time she returned to full-size, Mirage had already gotten too close to the tree.

“Leave him alone! If it’s skin you want then I’ve got plenty for you right here!” Yelled Mirage.

“What the hell are you doing Mirage?!? Get out of here!” Yelled Tor.

The monstrosity turned its attention away from Tor and to Mirage. Its fingers reached out and grabbed Mirage, digging under its skin and traveling all over its body. Still, Mirage fought back, using its magic to weaken and dull the senses of the skin tree.

*Generate my soil, I would never, I would never.* Mirage heard in its mind.

Tor didn’t let this opportunity slip. He rushed the monster and stuck its torso with his axe. Left weakened by Mirage’s magic, the tree could do nothing to prevent the attack.

*Thack*

The axe failed to cut through it. It was more apt to say that the axe pushed the monster instead, almost as if the axe was blunt. The skin tree’s body was too malleable. Seeing that he couldn’t harm it this way, Tor tried to hack away at its fingers to free Mirage, with the same result.

*To feast eternal, I would never, I would never.*

Valerria quickly rushed to help Mirage. Though only a couple of seconds had passed, the monster’s fingers had already buried themselves deep in Mirage’s body. Its faked appearance faded away completely, revealing Mirage’s blank, naked form, with no distinguishing traits anywhere on its body.

“Mirage, form yourself a second body!” Valerria ordered and then jumped on the tree.

She wrapped her legs around the disgusting skin of the creature and stared it down face to face.

“Filth of the soil, you have gorged yourself for too long.”

Valerria shoved her knife in the creature’s head. And then she started to forge it.

Normally one can only use dead or inorganic matter as material, but one exception existed. One could forge already existing golems, though few would ever try this, for at this point, the golem’s nature was sealed in stone. To exert your will on it, you must allow it to exert its will on you.

Valerria’s hands took on an appearance similar to the skin tree she was forging. Her fingers grew tumors while skin started to extend out of her finger stumps. If she were to try to alter the skin tree’s entire body, she would fully mutate long before she could make any meaningful change to it, but that was not her goal.

“Return that which you have eaten and join the worms.”

Just like how her previous cat golems came undone, the head of the skin tree suddenly lost its shape and qualities. Valerria’s broken forging had created too great of an imbalance in it.

With screams that only Mirage could hear the skin tree flayed its fingers and arms around as its head melted away. The beast’s tall body tumbled over and fell over on one side, still propped up somewhat by its root.

The skin tree finally killed, Valerria turned her attention back to Mirage. It was laying on the floor, quaking from the pain. Even with the death of the tree, its branches were still stuck deep inside of its body.

“Tor, pull on them as hard as you can. Mirage create yourself a second body already! Once you have it, we can kill this one and free you from the suffering!” Commanded Valerria.

Mirage tried to follow the orders, but the pain became too unbearable before it could even properly form itself one arm.

“Everyone, we have to go now!” Yelled Skass from the doorway.

“We are not leaving without Mirage!” Valerria yelled back.

“I can carry it, it’s not a problem.” Offered Tor.

“Keep quiet you imbecile, you are the reason Mirage is so hurt in the first place!” Barked Valerria.

“Just leave them be Tor and get here!” Yelled Skass.

Tor shook his head.

“I’m not leaving my hero behind.” Said Tor.

Shinko rushed to the scene where it saw Mirage convulsing in pain.

“M-Mirage, you need to be strong! Form yourself a second body or you’ll die!” Pleaded Shinko.

Her words didn’t seem to reach Mirage as its body continued to shake uncontrollably.

The footsteps of the monsters were becoming loud.

“Alice! Alice, please! You must make it out of here and live your own life!” Yelled Shinko.

Mirage seemed to respond to those words. Its shaking became less intense and it once again tried to form a new body, this time managing to form two arms before failing.

“We were going to get those drinks, remember? And you were going to return Vermith his syringes!” Said Shinko.

Mirage’s state again seemed to improve, but it was not enough. Valerria watched the effect Shinko’s words had on it with great interest.

Tears started to flow from Mirage’s eyes.

“I want to! I want to!” It said, between sobs.

Valerria took a deep breath. She ran her hands over Mirage’s featureless face and brought her forehead gently down on Mirage’s.

“Hey Alice, did you throw tomatoes at the bully? His father complained about you again.” Valerria said gently.

“Alice, look at her, look at Miso dance. It’s like she never left us, isn’t it amazing? With my power, you’ll never have to say goodbye to anything ever again.”

Foggy images started to materialize in Mirage’s mind, images of a small cat held by a small girl. The cat twirled in her lap twice before snuggling up to her.

“You know, orange really suits you. I’m telling you, if your crush sees you in that they’ll be all over you.”

Shinko and Tor watched Valerria speak in complete silence. Mirage’s shaking had stopped completely at this point, and it was forming itself a new body smoothly.

But now, Valerria’s calm expression turned into a pained one.

“Alice, they’re gone. They’re gone and there’s nothing I can do. Their bodies were taken, I can’t remake them.”

Both of them seemed to suffer as Valerria spoke.

“No more, say no more.” Pleaded Mirage.

“...Don’t die on me, sis.” Said Valerria.

Mirage went silent. Her new body pushed itself out of the old one. When it stepped out, long red hair flowed down past her shoulders, glancing against the orange dress she was wearing.

Valerria stared at her, with an expression that betrayed her disgust.

“Are you there?” She asked.

Without looking up, she answered.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Valerria shoved her dagger into the head of Mirage, killing it. The impact of its death didn’t shake her in the slightest.

After some hesitation, she finally raised her head, meeting Valerria’s gaze with her own, their cerulean eyes meeting in the middle. Alice didn’t look away this time.

Shinko stared dumbfounded at Alice. All her facial features were fully clear and consistent for that single instant, before disheveling again.

“Get up, pet. We’re leaving” Valerria said, breaking the silence.

Alice silently got up.

“Don’t you dare speak to her like that!” Yelled Shinko.

Alice put her hand on Shinko’s shoulder.

“We need to go.” She said gently.

“Damn right we do! Hurry up already!” Yelled Skass.

But it was too late.

Monsters flooded the room from one entrance and charged the group the moment they saw them.

Tor jumped to the front to protect everyone. Skass instinctively turned to run away while Shinko tried to put herself between Alice and the monsters.

Valerria meanwhile knew exactly what she needed to do. It was time for Yon to finally be useful.

Before the monsters could reach them Valerria grabbed Yon and cut a swat across his face.

The monsters instantly stopped in their tracks.

Though in great pain, Yon couldn’t help but smile.

“How clever of you Valerria!” He said while breathing heavily.

Ignoring his words Valerria addressed the crowd of monsters and guards before her.

“One more step and I kill Sinvitas’s beloved brother.” She threatened.

Shinko, Skass, Tor, Alice, they all felt faint in the presence of the beasts. There were so many more outlandish creatures among them than what they had ever seen in the garden. Some should not even be able to physically exist in the strange and angular shapes their bodies possessed.

But Valerria didn’t care.

“Now, if you don’t want to suffer Sinvitas’s retribution, you will stand there like good little pets and watch us leave. One step out of line and he dies.”

“You heard the lady everyone. Let’s leave.” Yon said.

The group slowly made their way out of the room, keeping the monsters in their line of sight for as long as possible.

“Skass, grab your knife and get ready to grab me. These monsters might have some form of magic that can incapacitate Valerria.” Yon explained calmly.

His warning would not come to fruition, however, as when they reached a fork, separating the hallway into two, the ground started to rumble beneath their feet. They knew what this meant, but there was nothing they could do.

A skin tree burst from the ground, knocking everyone to the floor and separating the group. Yon fell with Tor and Skass while Valerria fell with Shinko and Alice. The tree immediately started to extend its fingers towards the group, forcing them to run away in different directions.