"Lark, go and see if you can find Casiron," I shouted.

It was the only thing I could think of that didn't involve trying to discuss with Nimron, which seemed like the stupidest thing to do.

To my surprise, my words quieted Nimron's angry roars, and I could imagine the confusion of the much more powerful beings around me.

"Are you ignoring me, mortal?" Nimron snapped. "Don't think I won't destroy those Earthlings!"

Rathica wants to know what the hell you are doing? Why haven't you given the shard to her yet? Seriona asked.

My mind buzzed. I tried to come up with a good answer, then thought of something. Rathica would trust me... I was the one that shaped her, after all, so part of her resembled me. She also knew things about Earth, about me. Couldn't I give her a hint? One that the others wouldn't know?

"You are playing a dangeroussss game," Lark hissed, and I saw him swim away, hopefully searching for Casiron. Not that I thought those could help. This was just a distraction.

Tell Rathica I'm trying to find the werewolf, I finally said, unable to come up with anything better at such short notice. It was a reference to an old game I used to play in school, and I hoped she had read it in my mind somewhere. Even if she didn't, I hoped she could somehow decipher the meaning. She was a bloody Deity after al!

What…? Fine. Rathica says she has no idea what you're talking about! She says not to delay too long with whatever you are doing. Nimron will reach the core soon.

Yeah, you don't say, I replied.

"I think you need some more motivation," Nimron said, and I felt my skin prick as I focused back on the Deity.

Nimron had been threatening me with more violence, but I'd not been able to focus due to all the things going on in my head. Now I saw that the image still hovering in the water changed. The angle turned to the gate, and I saw a group of soldiers run towards it. Behind it was the steep curve that led up to the city, and I frowned. There were way more guards than attackers. What were they going to do?

One of the soldiers began waving his arms around before the gate, and a ball of fire grew in front of him, rapidly swirling around. When the ball was almost a meter high, the soldiers ran back. Before they were a dozen feet away, a blinding explosion rocked the gate, splinters flying everywhere. The boom of fire swallowed the nearest guard as they were knocked back, burning them to a crisp.

As I swallowed some rising bile, a tiny shadow moved behind the shimmering image. Automatically, my eyes focused on it through the image, and I saw something zip between the dead demon bodies towards me.

What the hell is that? I thought as I saw the tiny figure approach and whisk behind a giant floating corpse.

"Interesting… is it not interesting to you? Don't you even care for your own people?" Nirmon said.

His voice ripped me back to the screen, and I saw the enemy army had burst through the destroyed gate and were massacring the disoriented defenders. I tried to come up with a good response when a beep came from my status.

Damnit, now what? I pulled it up to see that the timer was running out fast.

> Instability flux commencing in: 119 seconds

Less than two minutes. I wanted to scream at the things pulling at me from all sides and snapped a message towards Par.

> That flux thing is down to 110 seconds! Do something!

My message barely came in when I saw movement from the nearest bodies, high above; a roughly humanoid demon with dull black skin and three bright red eyes on one side of a square face and a mouth on another. Its eyes were burning as they gazed at me.

Nimron's image whisked out, causing the cavern to revert to its previous dimmer light and the foggy image of the dark demon to clear up.

"Ux, you backstabbing bastard, that is mine!" Nimron's voice roared through the cavern while time seemed to slow down to me. And it wasn't the metaphorical kind. The demon, Ux, if I had to believe Nimron, went from a blur to a slowly moving shape while all other movements stopped.

"Prime, give me that shard before Ux gets it, or none of this will matter!" Nimron roared.

Either bequeath that shard to Rathica or me, but do something! I can't keep guarding you much longer! Seriona's voice was two octaves higher as it howled through my mind.

My mind practically froze. I didn't know what to do, and the stakes felt too high to wing it. What now? My mind spun, almost making me nauseous as I tried to think of something, anything. I was under attack, Ux was up to something, and I wasn't going to bloody give that shard to Nimron. So then what? Par had said to keep it to himself, but as I saw the dark figure approach, a few feet from the barrier and showing no indication of stopping, I knew that might not be an option anymore.

> Ux is attacking me. Either you do something now, or I'll give the shard to Rathica!

I sent to Par.

> Primal Chaos be damned, I hate that I have to resort to this option.

> That lizard will never let me hear the end of it, but he is the only one trustworthy right now!

I blinked. Something about Casiron?

> Your keeper, Raparion, requests access to sent messages to 'Casiron iru Fuargon'

Yes/No

I didn't bother to think about it and just clicked yes. Immediately an odd tingling came from my Mindscape barrier, as a stream of… something, a message? poured through it.

> Alright, get ready! That lizard is rushing here and will become an option on the list! As soon as he does, bequeath that shard to him!

A loud gong came as the dark figure, Ux?, slammed into the barrier surrounding me. The water inside shivered and shook violently.

Est! Seriona screamed in my mind while Nimron roared like a madman.

I can't hold it, Seriona whispered, and time sped up again.

Something slammed into me, knocking the air out of my gills. Long sharp nails scraped my neck, and a hand wrapped around my throat. Seriona's voice instantly vanished, while Nimron let out an angry roar. I gripped the thin dark arm, clenched down with three hands, and tried to rip it free. There was a little give, then a wave of a viscous liquid oozed across my face, and I shivered in disgust as it tried to trickle into my mouth. I clamped my lips together.

"It's good to see that things went as planned," a deep, slimy voice said as the echoes rumbled into the distance. "From how coherent you still were, I almost feared you'd somehow found a way around my little gift! But now I'll be taking that little shard, after which everything will be alright!"

I felt my heart skip a beat as I gazed into the deep red eyes. Tiny flecks moved through them, reminding me of the horrible tadpole things inside the blood of Ux's demons. Then what he said registered- he thought I was still under his influence! A tiny bit of hope grew, and I focused on the only line I had left.

> Hurry up, Par! Ux has me!

"Now, bequeath me the shard, little one! Or I'll take you with me when I leave here, and what I did before will seem like a welcome memory!"

A dim ping came from my status, and I tried to ignore the horrible demon as it bent closer to me. I pulled up my status. The timer stood on twenty-one, and the list with options had gotten another addition.

> Ux'dsir'lux

> Nimron the Vengeful

> Is'Seriona

> The Stone

> Flowheart

> Rathica the Wrathguard

> Wyerg

> Casiron iru Fuargon

> [?] UNKNOWN

"Est… give it to me!" Ux crooned, seemingly oblivious that I wasn't still under his control. I selected Casiron from the list and clicked bequeath. The shard in my hand turned insubstantial, and a stream of purple energy flew towards something outside my line of sight.

"What? No, no!" The pressure around my neck suddenly increased tenfold as Ux's voice turned into a multifaceted howl. "How did you do that? That is not possible! Not even with the help of that slippery wench who thinks she can hide from me! None of these puny deities could have removed my hold!"

My vision went blurry as he continued to cut off the blood and oxygen going to my brain. I tried to pull his fingers away as my fear grew.

Ux's eyes suddenly snapped sideways. "What? A Dracoserp? Where did you come from? Wait, how? Give me that-"

Ux's eyes widened, and I felt tossed away. I spread my arms, slowing my swirling motion, and looked up. Casiron shot through the water like a purple glowing streak, straight for a shadowy section of the ribcage.

"No! No, you, don't!" Ux roared, his body a black bolt that shot after Casiron.

I rubbed my sore neck, coughing out flakes of blood that drifted away.

Est, are you alright? What is going on? Rathica's voice boomed in my mind at the same time as Nimron's angry roaring returned.

I'm fine, but there is a whole lot of shit going on, I replied.

Why didn't you-

Rathica's voice stopped as Casiron slammed into a section of the rib cage, causing a brilliant flash of crimson light. Where the light reached, a massive pattern of alien symbols appeared, and those on the point of impact cracked and vanished. It was like a dull red light that had constantly been there, whisked out.

Silence rained for a tiny moment, then the symbols redrew, and the light appeared.

That evil, nasty, Rathica snarled as I sensed her do something. At the same time, the lights of the deities present began burning rapidly as they all stopped moving. They hung like Christmas lights in the aura.

Casiron's connection lit up, his mind connecting to mine, feeding a stream of information to me so fast I almost choked on it.

Est, I don't have much time, so listen well. Ux will attack me in a moment, and I'll sacrifice this body and bring the filtered Despotin energy into your Mindscape. It will be far too much for you to handle, even if most will bleed over to Rathica. You will need to use it right away. Par can help, but whatever you do, don't allow him to be the one to control it! It will be hard, but you use it to stay out of Ux's hands. The bleed-over will give Rathica the power she needs to catch up to the others. After that… after that, you need to get out of here. There is going to be a Deity war, and Rathica won't be able to guard you.

My eyebrows rose, and I swallowed.

"You dare to disrupt my mind?" Nimron roared, though he was the only one still moving. "Ux, you poor excuse for a demon, our deal is off! I will-"

A high-pitched, vile laugh came from the tiny black streak that hung below the pattern. It was staring at Casiron, moving slowly closer.

"Be quiet, you pathetic fool. You have lost. You have all lost! Now, tiny serpent. Hand me that Despotin energy, and I'll shatter your mind painlessly. If you resist, I'll add you to my collection!"

Get ready, Casiron whispered. He'll go after you as soon as I arrive!

I swallowed and clenched my fists. A quick look around showed Lark hovering near the edge, glaring at Ux's demons and sometimes looking at me. The deities had all stopped moving, except for Nimron. They were glowing ever brighter, and I got the sense they were resisting whatever that pattern was doing. Rathica was doing something too but could make heads nor tails of it.

> What can I expect?

I sent Par.

> That bleeding demon will chase you until he either catches you and kills you or Rathica gains enough power to win the core.

> How the hell am I supposed to keep out of the hands of a demon that can fight Deities?

I replied, feeling the need to shout in anger.

> He isn't really here. He is just taking over that body!

> Besides, he has to keep the spell up and running while a half dozen Deities are trying to break it! You will be fine!

I wanted to tell him he needed to do something to help me when Ux rushed at Casiron, and I felt the Dracoserp mind shiver.

No more time! Casiron whispered, and from one moment to the next, his body stopped moving, and Casiron's mind reappeared inside my Mindscape. It felt like my mind was connected to a livewire. Eclectic currents appeared to bolt through my body, and a dozen pings came.

> Casiron iru Fuargon has brought a large amount of Despotin energy into your Mindscape

> Mindscape saturated!

> Mental state dropping to insane: 99%

> Your keeper Raparion requests access to control the flow of Karma

Yes/No

> Mental state dropping to insane: 98%

I swallowed as I saw the slowly dropping percentage but selected no.

> Are you crazy, mortal? You are going to die!

Though I had no idea what Par could do with the massive influx of Karma, I trusted Casiron more than him.

> Don't take me for a fool! Now do your job and keep me alive!

I sent back, praying I wasn't making some massive mistake.

I sensed a storm of anger between Casiron and Par, but it dulled almost as fast as it grew.

> Damn this lizard! Fine, but don't come whining to me later if we die!

Another ping came from my status, and knowledge flooded my mind as one partially familiar, and a dozen unfamiliar symbols were added to my repository of spell gestures. I instantly knew what it was- and my hands began moving out of their own, flitting through the finger-breaking gestures.

"What? No!"

Ux screamed as he looked around, seemingly unable to understand what had happened. For a moment, I hoped he wouldn't figure it out, then Ux stopped moving. Slowly his dark figure turned until its three narrow red eyes focused on me.

My hands finished the spell, and my body began burning. My feet elongated painfully, my joints rearranged, and my jaw and nose stretched painfully. I barely cared as I only willed the change to move faster.

"You again! Enough of this!" Ux snarled as he rushed forward.

Although he moved like a lightning-bolt made flesh, somehow I could keep track. My eyes seemed to track movement almost automatically as I changed with a version of Grem's body warping spell. I had no idea if it was the same, and I had no time to worry about it. Instead, I turned, nimble like an eel, and glided forward at blinding speed. The water, which had long since been a hindrance, now seemed to assist my every move.

A ping came from my status, and a small window popped up in front of me.

> Your keeper, Raparion, requests access to your vision

Yes/No

I clicked yes, and a second later, a tiny message window appeared to the side of my vision.

> Dodge left!

I didn't question it but shot to the side at a ninety-degree angle. Ux's body flashed past me, his long claws tracing through the water and barely missing me.

Shit, he's faster than me, I thought as I looked around. I needed a place to use my nimbleness! I turned down and left, heading towards the dense cluster of bodies that hung in the far back of the massive chest cavity.

> Right!

I swirled to the side, barely dodging Ux's screaming shape.

Half of a minute of dodging and twirling later, I shot between the nearest bodies. My body was covered in long thin wounds as I weaved and winded my way through the maze of body parts, Par's guidance the only thing keeping me alive.

What felt like an hour later, but was likely only minutes, I circled a large octopus-like body and got a clear view of the aura, the Deities, and the Despotin core. Rathica had started moving again, the only one of the Deities besides Nimron, and she had passed all others, closing in on the second barrier at a speed ten times that of Nimron and Ux's demon.

A quick check showed my mental state had dropped to 41%, though I didn't feel any different. Still, I expected I wouldn't like it when it hit 0.

Are you going to make it? I sent Rathica, dodging back into the drifting cemetery. I'm running on my last legs here! Which might have made me grin as I didn't technically have legs if Ux didn't howl after me trying to catch me.

Maybe, Rathica replied, her voice a strangled snarl.

Maybe? I screamed.

A body beside me exploded in a cloud of gore and blood, and I cursed as I dodged sideways. Ux hovered behind me, his eyes dimming. The hate on his face was only matched by the drained look he had. His cheeks had sunken in, and I could see his ribs from this distance. Whatever he had done had seriously drained his body. I hoped he couldn't do it again.

> Dodge left!

> The other demons are coming!

I spun left around a body as the demonic merman shot through the water I'd just been. Another one?

"Lark, stop those little ones!" I roared as I desperately backed up and almost doubled over as I dodged another slash.

There was no reply, and I continued fleeing. Something moved to my left as I angled around a large gnawed bare fumer. I made a hard turn right, my body almost bending double, knowing I wouldn't make it. Lark shot past me, and a second later, I heard the merman demon roar in anger.

"Thanks," I shouted, almost as surprised as I was grateful.

> How far is she?

I send to Par as I had a second reprieve rushing between two large square blobs of flesh.

> Close! Make sure you get ready to get out of here when she gets it, or you won't survive what happens!

"Rathica! If you take that core, you will be changed forever! Is that what you want? Leave it to me, and I'll let bygones be bygones! I'll leave your little city alive and take care of Ux!" Nimron's roared.

Silence was his only response.

I guess you are winning, I asked Rathica.

Get ready to flee, Rathica replied, her voice no longer as strained. As soon as I reach the core, I'll drain the remainder of the Despotin energy from you so you don't go insane!

What about you? I replied.

I'll be fine, don't worry, Rathica said.

Does this have something to do with Seriona? I asked while keeping my primary attention on Ux and Par's warnings.

There was no response. I shot through an oddly square hole inside a giant aquatic goat-like demon. Then a beep caused me to check my status.

> Mental state dropping to insane: 9%

Oh fucking shit, I thought as I focused back on Rathica. My mental state is below ten. How close are you?

Get ready!

"Rathica, you will regret this!" Nimron roared. "I'll force you to use every bit of that power! You will realize the error of your ways when your mind turns!"

Thanks for giving me a nice place to hide, Est! I'll leave Libidi with you for now. Make sure to take good care of her! Seriona said, her voice again a honey drenched croon that made me shiver. Then she ripped through my mindscape barrier, pulling it closed behind her like it was a tent. It left a sore area, and I hoped it wouldn't remain some type of weak spot. Still, as her presence vanished, I felt a hundred times better. No more unwanted existences in my mind!

Time to get out of here, I thought.

I barely listened to Nimron's continued roaring as I rushed up and towards the exit when there was a dull boom that resonated through the entire chest cavity. A second later, a shockwave of water slammed into me. The bodies, small and large, were shoved away, and I got stuck between a massive squid demon's tentacles. The body, and the others around me, slammed into the side of the ribcage. I felt my own ribs crack, but hold, and with a shake of my head, I moved.

I had to get out of here! I pushed through the tentacles.

A rapid sequence of explosions shook the entire cave beyond the body-strewn area I was now inside.

Please don't tell me they started fighting already, I thought as I scanned for a way through. After a few moments, I rushed through one of the few remaining paths, passing two purple demon corpses.

It took me ten seconds to see a dull light between the arm of a demon, and I moved towards it. I shot out into the chest cavity, and my eyes widened in shock. It looked nothing like a minute before. The core and its aura were gone, taking with it the uniform light. Beams of light rushed after each other, sometimes colliding and resulting in a momentary figure appearing before it rushed off again. I didn't know exactly who was fighting whom, but it was time for me to get out of here! I swam in a straight line for the narrow circular exit at the top of the ribcage.

"You think you can just get away this easily?"

Ux's voice rippled from behind. Instead of slowing down, I sped up, taking a quick look back. The black figure swam out from between two demon bodies; his three red eyes focused on me.

"I might not get what I wanted, but at least I'll get a small consolation prize!" he growled. Then he rushed after me.

Rathica, Ux is still here, I shouted at my Deity as I speared towards the exit.

> Left!

I almost missed Par's queue and felt something slash across my leg just as I spun out of the attack.

Get out of here, Est! I can't help, Rathica shouted before I felt the connection turn muted.

Ux continued past me, then turned and hovered before the exit.

"You aren't going to get away. I'll bring your mind with me and show you the cost of what you did!"

> Fucking hell… please tell me you have a good idea?

I sent Par.

I swam sideways, trying to think of a way to get past while scanning for other exits. There were none.

> Yes… maybe, but you're not going to like it…

I couldn't stop myself and laughed, causing a surprised and angry growl from Ux.

> When do I ever like what you suggest?

I asked.