-Holy fucking shit!

I reeled backwards, falling down onto the sand, ejected from the tangle of memories that I just got flooded by. My head was hurting so bad I swear it was splitting open.

Next to me, I noticed that both For and the guy were also not in the best shape, clutching their own respective heads and struggling to stand up.

Did they share the vision with me?

I mean, the guy most likely did, those were his memories after all, but For… I guess she was connected to me.

What about Kon though? Was he far enough away or…

I quickly shook myself off and tried feeling for him around us and…

Yeah, he was also in pain.

I guess the distance was not enough. Or not a factor, really.

I raised myself up, trying to collect my thoughts.

-Everyone good? - I asked aloud.

-I-I… think so.

For seemed shaken and a bit overwhelmed, but besides that, fine.

-What was that?

-His memories. That was a lot of interesting information all at once…

-Yeah, I figured that out, but how did you manage to get inside his head so well?! I would expect that for you to be able to do this with one of us connected, but him…?!

-The answer is in the question.

-What?

-Give me a second…

-Kon, how are you doing?

I could tell that he was no longer in pain, but still was unmoving. Did something happen?

But he did answer.

-I… I think I am alright. It was a bit much…

-My bad… I didn’t expect this thing to be so… vivid. And for it to actually affect all of us, to be honest.

-I… Yeah. No, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. But with this vision…

-We were just getting to that.

-Yeah, about the vision… - I continued aloud. - Mind explaining some of those? - I asked the man on the floor.

By now, he was already recovered from the shock, or well, mostly. He was lying on the sand, looking straight up onto the ceiling, not blinking. I could tell his mana was pumping heavily, and heard him breathing loudly even while bound and gagged.

-So, you’re not directly from the “old world” so to say… But you do seem to have a genuine grudge against me… I mean, I sort of understand, although after such a long time I would’ve thought that it wouldn’t matter much…

-That means… it was truth? What we saw? - asked For.

-Well, yeah. I did tell you earlier I was not from here, didn’t I?

-I… Yes, you did. But… some of that I didn’t want to believe…

-Oh come on - I said and rolled my eyes. - I am not that more of a monster than any of your other “mercenaries”.

-You are not. I don’t usually commit mass murder.

-It was not on purpose, do I have to remind everyone every five minutes?! And I don’t usually send my underlings to certain death.

-Not like you have any of those. All of them are dead already.

-I have at least two - I reminded her. - And then, I had no underlings. They were my equals, and if you want to be strict, they were even higher up than me. Not like that mattered in the end…

Silence.

It only was interrupted by uncomfortable shuffling from the guy on the floor.

-Right… So, you want to talk, huh? I assume there is no way you want to talk without using words, right?

He gave me a confused look.

-Eh… I mean like this.

He flinched, hearing my voice directly inside his head again and started shaking his head in denial.

-Yeah, I figured. Sure, sure. If you are good, I’ll unbind you. But don’t even think of doing something stupid. Are you going to cooperate?

He nodded.

-So. My question. As you indubitably noticed, we just had a nice long preview of your life. While I would be open to trying this shit again to get more concrete info, it seems that this method is a bit taxing on my other companions. And you, probably would also prefer regular talking.

He replied with vigorous nodding.

-See? So it is in your best interest to be a bit more open.

-My first question… - I asked him after a brief pause - Where and who are your… “leaders”. Or whatever else would you call it. Are you able and going to answer that without… issues?

He nodded once more, so I quickly modified the spell that was binding him.

-I don’t know! They never appeared on the other side of the portal, after sending some of their lackeys. And I never was able to peek to the other side… But! - he noticed that I was getting impatient - But! I do remember people talking about their hideout being in some old ruin in the old world. I bet that’s bullshit, though.

-Eh… annoying

Another silence.

This time also broken by the guy who was being questioned.

-What are you people?!

His question was a bit perplexing. Didn’t we just witness his memories? Didn’t he know about all of us?

And besides, I was the one who was interrogating him.

-I feel like you forget what situation you have put yourself - I said, trying to sound at least mildly annoyed.

-...!

He gasped.

-We are who we are… - shrugged For, answering for me. - Does it even matter to you? Especially in this situation?

-And not like you don’t know - I said, nodding. - Even if we didn’t share those visions, it’s not like you didn’t know why and who you were attacking.

-Y-yes, but… why… I mean, how are you even alive? You were dead! I checked! Multiple times, in fact!

-Wow, I died, but I miraculously survived - I said, waving him off. - I am more interested in your superiors. What exactly do they want from me?

-Well… they wanted you dead… - he replied quietly.

-Oh, yeeah, sure. Dead. Anything else?

-No...

-Well, too bad I am not planning on dying any time soon. At all, in fact. Can you pass the message? Or wait, I have a better idea: why won’t I just deliver them the news directly?

-I… I am afraid that's impossible…

-Because…?

-Because they are long dead.

-Dead? - asked For, confused. - Then who are you getting your orders from?

He hesitated for a moment, but replied.

-No one currently. Just myself.

That whole time I was looking into his mana. Since after the visions, it got easier for me, especially because the guy was scared of me.

Good intimidation is always a good start in interrogation.

So far, he’s been truthful to us. That doesn’t mean he was talkative. He was hiding something, for sure.

A little bit of intimidation won’t hurt…

-First strike - I announced calmly.

-E-excuse me…?

-No, excuse me. I know you are lying. So they are not dead then though. Who are you trying to cover for then, hm?

-No one! I am not lying! - he quickly denied.

-Pff. Like I am going to believe you. If you are not going to cooperate, I guess it’s time to change back to more annoying methods…

As I spoke, I leaned closer to him and was about to grab him again and try to force the contact once more, but he quickly weaseled his way from my range.

One thought and I was able to pull him back to me using the bindings I still had under my control.

-Told you it’s futile. So let’s…

-NO! Stop! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please, just not…

-So start talking - I hurried him. - And don’t try me again, I’ll know.

He nodded and swallowed loudly.

-It’s… It’s just… That I am…

-Stop stuttering. From the beginning. Start making sense.

-They all are dead! All of them! - he finally blurted out.

-I’ve heard that one already. So what?

-And I am the newest leader.

Not much new info here.

Granted I didn’t know much about their group, besides them having some ties to both Axelrod, and to my old world, but still…

-And the point is…?. - I pushed him a little bit. - You were the leader of those people, It’s not like I care if you are some king or another one…

-No! No! I am not a leading type! I am just an errand boy…

-Again. Why do I care?

-Because I am the last person here from the old age… before Axelrod…

-So what?

-You’re not going to kill the last one of your countrymen, are you?

I stopped and stared blankly at him.

-Countrymen. Last one. What the fuck are you talking about?

-Er…?

-My “country” may be destroyed. Hell, maybe even my whole world. But why the fuck would I care? I am not the one who wants to get back to it. I am perfectly content staying here. And if my old world is coming to get me, you can bet that I am going to defend myself.

Wait a second. Something was off. His mana… changed. Or emotions rather, to be precise.

Considering the fact that he was just scared a moment ago, the fact that his emotions shifted more towards the confusion was concerning.

-Your world…? You are from a different world…?

-What the fuck, did fear eat your brains out? You worked for so long with those people and yet you think that they are from here?

-Y-yes…?

-Hate to break it to you buddy, but you’re wrong. Both me, Axelrod, and your MIRE employers are not from here. You said it yourself, “old world”.

-But… but that… that doesn’t make… they showed me…

He was more than confused now. His fear was now completely gone, replaced by feelings of disbelief and betrayal. But, the betrayal faded as soon as it appeared and got replaced by something quite different… determination.

-No. You are wrong. I know it. I’ve been there.

-”There”?

-Old world. I have been there. It exists. It exists here.

I wanted to say he was bluffing. But hell, I could tell that he was believing every single word he was saying right now. Talk about being confused and misinformed.

-Okay. Now you’re confusing me - I said, genuinely intrigued. - You’ve been to my world. Really? There was nothing like that in the vision…

-I don’t know… it’s… really not that interesting…

-Oh, it is to me.

-Well… it’s not that much different from this place so I guess…

-Not different? Damn, I need to prod your mind a little bit more…

-Don’t! I’ll talk! - he immediately assured me. - I know when I am powerless. I’ll talk! And besides… - he added after a moment of hesitation - I am also a bit intrigued about that place…

-So get on with it.

-It’s been a long time ago. My memories are not the best, that’s probably also why you didn’t get much out of my earlier… your vision. I was there only once… well, twice, if you want to be precise.

-What do you mean?

-I was born in the old world.

-Well, that would explain why you don’t remember… What about the second one, though?

-I followed my parents. Once. It was… - he took a deep breath and started talking.

-One day, I remember them leaving me, just like countless times before, to “get some supplies”.

-Nice excuse.

-Well, it was true. Even though it was far away, they still were going there to get supplies for us to live. Can you imagine how hard it is to get something other than sand in this desert? And yet, we were, well, maybe not thriving, but doing pretty well all things considered.

-Get to the point.

-Right. Sorry. I followed them… and saw them open the portal. It wasn’t that uncommon, I knew that they were doing that to get to different ruins and all, so it never made me suspicious… I was just curious. As soon as they walked through, I leapt out of my hiding spot and jumped through behind them.

-Talk about lack of awareness… A kid managed to sneak up on someone good enough to comprehend portal magic and differences in mana needed to recognize and create anchors… pf.

-Well, that wasn't the case. They knew.

-Hm?

-As soon as I passed through the opening, I landed in my fathers arms.

-But he wasn’t mad. No, not at all, he was… well, I want to say nostalgic. Yeah, that’s the closest thing I can think of that would make sense. I didn’t know, but it was because he was right back at his own home. In their own home.

-They teleported to the other world? Damn, so the thing Axelrod wants is indeed possible - said For, intrigued. - Your parents were powerful. If that’s true, that is. But then, if they are really from the old world, that’s kind of given…

-It’s not like everyone back then was amazing at magic - I said, sighing. - But, that explains why he was so interested in you. In your family.

-Yeah. If he wants to go back, it would be perfect.

-Perfect… well, it would be. But why kill them though? He had a perfect way to get there, but he just tossed it away…

-I…

-True… - agreed with me For, not paying attention to the guy who was looking at us dumbfounded. - He could just go through the teleport himself and be done with it, right…?

-Don’t ask me. Ask him.

-I am telling the truth!

-Oh, I know you are - I assured him, seeing as he was starting to panic once more. - I can tell when you’re lying. But lying and being misinformed are two different things. Something that you are assured is true doesn’t have to be if you were just straight up wrong in the first place.

-It boils down to what your parents told you. Sure, you believe them. But who can tell if they weren’t mistaken as well?

-Exactly.

-...

-Our doubts aside, continue - I said, after a short pause. - We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it. Let’s hear the whole story first.

-R-right… Well..

-He… he told me that he was surprised that it took me so long… that he was finally going to show me our home… I didn’t understand what he was talking about at all. The place where we landed was not that much different from the ruins we were usually traveling and scavenging… besides the fact that there was a lot less sand there…

-Less sand? Well, that tracks…

-But the architecture was similar? - asked For.

-Yeah… I think so… I was just a child, so I probably missed or rather that I misremembered some details, but I was confused, I thought that I just teleported a building away or something…

-Hmm… So, where did you get the assumption that it’s the same world…? To me it still sounds like you were teleported…

-You can’t teleport to some other worlds! - he immediately said.

I just sighed.

-And how the hell would you know that?

-Because my parents were trying to do exactly that.