Logan should have been the last line of defense. Reserve the strongest fighter to defend the enemy general against the luckiest soldier. And it is true, I certainly couldn’t have gotten to where I was without a great deal of luck and circumstance. The very fact that I found the book was a stroke of fortune that set me on this path.

After I defeated Logan, I didn’t see anyone else from our army, even as I descended deeper and deeper into the pit. Only the worms… worms and chitinites. I was briefly fearful, worried that I had been infected. Yet a quick scan with my spiritual senses confirmed that there were no bugs in my body. These should be true chitinites.

As such, I cut them down without hesitation. Perhaps the chitinites truly did have some sort of symbiotic relationship with the insects. Or perhaps they had fallen victim, prey to a breed of grub that was able to infect even their bodies. Either way, they were in my way.

With every step I took, I felt the voice growing more distinct as it called out to me. Krash. It beckoned. We remember you. There was a certain glee to its voice that disgusted me. I wanted nothing more than to arrive at the nest and slay the beast.

By the time I arrived at the nest, I had consumed nearly half of my ki and mana. My body felt heavy, my mind clouded. But I had to keep moving. Just one more step. Just one more strike. Just one more spell, and it would be over.

As I looked forward, wanting to see my target, my eyes went wide. Beth stood in front of me. And next to her, a horrible, grotesque worm nearly twice as long as any other that I had faced. It slithered and squirmed around her legs, its body reaching up and over her shoulders.

For her part, Beth stood as still as a statue. Her eyes were empty. If not for the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest, I would have been convinced that she had already died. But no, she was alive… death may have simply been preferable.

We remember you. The voice said again, seeming to come from both the worm and Beth. I wanted to lash out. I wanted to swing, to slay the monster at once. But something stopped me. If I attacked… I would kill Beth. But she was just one life. One life to save so many. If our positions were reversed, I would want her to make that sacrifice. So, why couldn’t I do so now?

Krash Ne’yal, born among the heroc. Resident of the world… Earth, under the Keeper… Dale. Yes, those are the names. New names… we like new names. You may call us… Vanity.

“I’ll call you dead in a moment.” I spoke through gritted teeth, tightening my grip on my blade. Why couldn’t I swing? What was stopping my. I did another quick inspection, but I was still not infected.

No… no, we don’t think you will. There was that touch of glee again. I could guess that he had learned our language from all of the minds he had touched. Which, coupled with what he had just said, meant that he had learned far more about our world. Information that he could use to attack us. You see… we remembered you.

Something about how he kept repeating that made me worry. “Why do you remember me? Did you find me in their minds? After you tore their own memories apart?”

There was a gleeful laugh. No… we remembered you… because you flew. These worms… they’re so simple… but so deadly. So perfect for my needs. But there are so many ways around them… what am I to do against an airborne invasion?

Beneath the soil, we lay. But in the skies, a new terror awaits. You saw, didn’t you? That there was no true sky to this world.

Did I? It was mentioned in the book, and I vaguely remembered it. Somehow, it had just become something that was obvious to me, without really knowing why it was obvious.

Of course you did. There was one who showed you. But… we have forgotten him. Welcome to my underground world. Shall I explain? You won’t be needing that flimsy steel of yours.

The moment I heard that, my vice grip on my blade loosened, making me briefly gasp as the weapon fell from my hand. He was controlling me… I was clearly not infected with the larva… but he was controlling me.

Along the ‘sky’ of this world… we have created a very special plant. It releases a special spore… One which helps us remember. It clings to your body, digging into your thoughts by reading the slight electrical patterns transmitted along your skin. There is no need to inhale it, no need to consume it. It makes a marvelous conductor, causing the lightning you so often see.

Your body is covered with this spore. And because of that… we have remembered you. Our mind is connected to the flowers, you see… quite tricky to set up… but it works so well. You can’t eat without us knowing you. You can’t fly or dig without us knowing you… And if we know you… you belong to us.

“I don’t belong to anyone but myself!” I called out, inwardly thankful for his explanation. If this thing was controlling my body through my skin… it wasn’t controlling my ki. It wasn’t controlling my thoughts.

I burned the fire ki that I had stolen from Logan, shrouding my body with it to rid myself of any spores that did cling to me. The worm lunged back in recoil, letting out a high pitched hiss. No! We remember!

I stepped forward, planning to burn the worm and end this. However, as I did so, I saw a blur of motion. I felt a warmth within my stomach. Looking down, there was a green hand clad in red armor piercing through the shattered remains of my chestplate, piercing into my stomach.

When I looked back up, I saw Beth standing there. Her eyes were empty, no more than a puppet moving as she was told. “No… not here. I won’t fall like this.” I said, forming a blade of ki along one hand and piercing it towards Beth. However, she managed to catch my arm with ease, her own ki far surpassing mine.

I knew that Beth specialized as a monk. Her speed and ki were far beyond what I could achieve, but I wasn’t about to give in. As a warrior, my strength and vitality was far beyond the norm. This attack wouldn’t kill me. Not before I was able to kill this… Vanity.

My foot stomped the ground, and a second sword appeared in my left hand as Beth briefly lost her balance. I brought my foot up, pressing it against her midsection before kicking. However, the one to get pushed back was myself. Still, I had made some distance.

As I brought my sword up in front of me, my right hand resting against the back of the blade, I could hear the worm chuckling in the back of my mind. “Even if I fall here, I was not the only one. Others would have found the traces. Among two million troops, there is bound to be another that will come to fight you.” 

I knew that I was just buying time with my speech as my ki, mana, and spiritual energy began to infuse themselves into the blade of my sword. I had to buy the time for my strongest attack, and thought that it might fall for the dramatic speech, given its earlier performance. However…

Two million? But Krash… how will anyone save you? The worm asked wickedly. You came to this world alone, didn’t you?

My eyes widened, and then… why was I here? What had led me to this place? Who was the woman standing in front of me, or the monster she was defending? I felt a sharp pain in my mind, a dizziness that couldn’t be explained by my mana consumption. Why would the Keeper send me here alone? Why would the people of the heroc only allow a single volunteer?

Was this my end? The battle of my final glory? My sword quickly reached the limit of the energy that it could hold, and I prepared to swing it. I had to first cut down the woman standing in my way. I don’t know why a heroc would side with the enemy, but she was becoming a hindrance.

And so, I swung my blade, aiming to cleave the woman in half. The worm’s sinister laughter echoed in my mind as she deftly dodged the blade of light that shot out from my sword, carving a deep path through the wall behind her. Her body seemed to blur, and she was in front of me. Three empty eyes stared into my own, before narrowing. Her red-scaled armor flared, glowing brightly as she placed her hands on my wrists to restrain me faster than I could react.

I could hear the sounds of a fierce battle nearby. Countless explosions rocking the cave, sending dirt falling from the ceiling. But none of that mattered to me at this moment, when I could feel my ki slowly being drained out of my body.

I tried to resist, but my strength was spent. My body held firmly in this woman’s grasp. We remember you, Krash Ney’al. We do not need your memories, your knowledge. We have plenty of that, now. So goodbye… it is time for us to forget you as well.

As I heard the voice, I felt something strange. A squirming from my stomach. I looked down, and saw a number of meal grubs scattered around my flesh wound. When did they get there… when was I wounded..?

With those thoughts passing through my mind, I couldn’t help but ask quietly. “Who am I..?” I couldn’t remember… anything. I knew that I had lost so much, but… how? And why?

My legs shook, and I fell down to my knees, staring up towards the green-skinned woman with three eyes, her body covered in red armor. I felt like I should know her. Like she should be familiar to me. Did she know who I was?

“Who am I!?” I called out, louder this time. There was a painful pulling on my wrists, and I saw a bloody red light leaving me, pouring into her hands. That was… that was bad, right? I felt… weaker.

My body fell back, met by the sinister laughter still echoing inside my mind. The woman stood over me, eyeing me coldly. She didn’t move to attack. No… she didn’t need to. I could tell, my vision growing dim. I didn’t have anything left to take.

I would die here, alone. Without a home. Without a friend. Without a name. Would anyone miss me? Would anyone even know me to miss me? As I asked that to myself, I was met with a cruel message, which appeared in the air above me just as my vision turned black.