Forgotten. Why...am I here again. Again? How long has it been? Who...am I? 

Forgotten. 

FORGOTTEN! 

FoRgOtTeN?

Yet...something, something else? No! Maybe?

Again, voices. So many voices. Like whispers. What do they...humans?

'Again, protests against the authoritarian regime of å)¯ŒO were again put down by force of arms. Seventy thousand deaths of civilians Ñ—öÛÑ“—º are confirmed.' 

Why?

'Climate changes will be unstoppable now. We lost the war 'gainst nature.'

War? 

'Ùk$ÎJ♦ annexed another country. Why does nobody help them? Where is theœê♣¿"?'

Help?

'Only twenty percent of the Aœ¸¾ì↔n rainforest remains. Deforestation for Q¡╦╩J◙4ulture—'

Destroyed...for what?

'***stock market s)l?t3♠ß money!'

Greed.

'Rape.'

Stop.

'Deaths.'

Too many.

'The innocent.'

Voices, everywhere.

'Destroying the world.'

Please, make it stop!

...

...

...

'Help.'

I can't

'Help us...'

I CAN'T!

'Please, help us!'

Whom?

'HeLp Us.:.'

Humans?

'H— u'

No, not humans.

'...'

wOrLd.

'...'

Need to...destroy? Destroy what? 

'Humans.'

'HuMaNs!'

'Huumans.'

'HUMANS!'

Everything.

'...'

<Does [User] EtErNaL require help? (Y/N)>

>Yes.<

 

---

 

"My name is...is... Weird. I can't remember."

"What do you mean by 'you can't remember'? How can you forget your own name?"

"Weell. I didn't use it for quite a while. And even before, people always called me by my title, never by name," I defended myself. 

"So...you're really old," said Deidre with a deadpan face.

"That's technically correct, but you know, words can hurt too. I am not THAT old!"

"Sure, sure—keep telling yourself that."

"Urg, how mean!" I pouted.

"Did you just—" started Tulsi her sentence, but I gave her no chance to finish it. 

"Alright, let's go!" I said, full of vigor, and turned to the path I had come from.

"Yeah, we should get going. We don't know if Tulsi's runaway snack called some guards or adventurers. And if you still wanna make it to the auction, we probably should hurry up."

"Heey, you let her escape!" cried Tulsi.

Deidre just shook her head. "Yeah, yeah. Totally my fault."

"Hmpf!" 

...I've never seen a vetala behave like this—what a cute reaction, maybe I could. Nope, bad me! She is just a little innocent newborn. Don't ruin her...yet.

"Master, could you stop looking at me like that? It's kinda unsettling."

"Master?" I asked and turned my head towards her.

"You said you'll help me if you get what you want. And I need a tutor to get stronger. So, I'll call you Master...it's not like you have a name anyway." 

"Riiight, I said that, didn't I? Whatever, call me what you want."

The little vetala girl looks happy. Still, I am not sure if I can help her. Everybody is connected to this weird-ass system; I still have no idea how it works. Need to ask them about it later, but how? It would be stupid to tell them I'm not part of the system, not till I've more information about what happened throughout the millennia. For a moment, a single thought crossed my mind—the place that holds no name. 

'Have you forgotten?'

Yes.

'What is your purpose?'

What does it matter to you?

'The others?'

Still suffering.

'The seals?'

Your cages will never open.

'Forever?'

Forevermore.

I shut these thoughts out. Even in the outside world, I'm still connected to that place. Tch, annoying.

"A-Are you alright?" asked Deidre in a worried tone. 

"Yeah, why?"

"N-Nevermind..."

Did I do something? Nah, don't think so. Anyways, I need to stop loitering around. All this shit is starting to put me in a foul mood.

I stop in my tracks. "Um, I think one of you should take the lead."

 

-------

 

Deidre leads us through the alleys, hidden from prying eyes. We don't need any attention at the moment. On our way to the auction house, I asked them more and more questions about mundane stuff. They were kinda suspicious, but I told them that I've lived for a long time in a faraway place away from any civilization. Nobody else lived in my home; thus, I've never learned anything about the world. The people that raised me at first abandoned me as soon as they realized how powerful I was. They were simply afraid.

The two of them asked me how the place was called; I told them a few names where I could be certain that no one would know them, about fights with giant monsters in the forest and countless intruders who didn't waste time talking and attacked in an instant. And et voilà, my backstory was finished. They kinda believed it but were still skeptical. Can't blame them. 

I asked them why they are here, but only Tulsi talked about her reasons and why she wanted to get stronger. Deidre, on the other hand, didn't talk at all. I presumably have to earn her trust first—sure, why not.

My reason for doing so is simple: starting an organization. Like I told you—or rather me—before, this world will be my new garden. And a big garden needs caretakers. Even with how powerful I am, I still can't be everywhere at the same time. Step by step, I will shape the world as I would like it to be. 

'Will you try to destroy it again?'

Always.

'Your children will die!'

They're not my children.

'Your children are crying!'

Why should I care?

'Because you always do.'

And as a reward, they hurt me in return.

'As you deserve.'

Be quiet!

...

Gosh, I hate it when they start talking out of nowhere. They realize that I am moving further and further away from the door. Soon, very soon, their whining will reach no one. 

"Master?"

Tulsi's words bring me back to reality. "Yeah?"

"A-Are you sure that you're alright? Your aura is leaking out," she says nervously. 

These cunts! Fuck, I didn't even notice their influence on me is like this. Usually, I am in my domain when they talk to me. I hate emotions. I need to—

"Master!" 

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Tulsi. I am fine. I just remembered something unpleasant. So, don't worry. Come on, let's hurry up!"

They both looked at me worriedly. Sometimes it hard to don't understand the feeling of others. Sure, I know what they are, and I mostly can tell what causes them, but I can't comprehend them. How could I? Emotions are a weakness—I dulled most. Still need to feel something, ya know, to read the room and stuff. But mine are different from theirs. To me, others' emotions are incomprehensible. It's difficult to explain. I could empathize with what their feelings would do to me if I were in that certain situation instead of them. But that's all. Understanding doesn't mean caring. 

 

-------

 

"The auction house is near; maybe a few more minutes. If you wanna know something before you go in there, ask me now ere we're near the wards."

"So straightforward, but I don't have any specific questions for you. Maybe give me some tips about what's a no-go and what I should pay attention to."

Deidre ponders for a moment. "There are a few no-goes in there. Mainly it's about attitude. Don't start fights; they will kick you out otherwise. Most of the people there are nobles who want to acquire something exotic or just want to have some fun—the auction house also has an illegal casino built into it. So please, don't aggravate them. Nobles are wimps, especially the men you will find in places like these. Women are way more cunning, so be careful.

"The other types of individuals are either merchants, failed adventurers, or criminals. They don't care about what you do if you don't care about what they do. Just let them be, and you're fine.

"This place has a rule about identity. They will give you a mask to hide your face at the entrance if you don't bring your own. You don't need to wear it, but most participants do. You can't force someone to take their mask off. Try it, and they will kill you. Knowing one's identity is valuable information too.

"Either way, that's all of the important stuff you need to know to not get kicked out minutes after entering. Anything else is self-explanatory. Sill, with your lack of common sense, I would recommend taking Tulsi with you."

The little girl jumped up excitedly, "Oh, yes. Please, can I? I always wanted to go to an auction. My family never let me; only my sister was allowed to do so."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but I'm no babysitter, ok?"

"I think it will be the other way around..." muttered Deidre.

I ignore that I heard that. 

 

---

 

My new Master is a mysterious person. You could tell that her background story was a pack of lies, but I don't care. Well, I do, but more like about the reason why she would hide it. On our way to tonight's auction, her aura leaked twice. It wasn't the same aura she emitted when we met. This one was way more...sad? Melancholic? More like a mixture of the two. What happened to make her feel this way? 

"We're here. I can't go any further," said Deidre and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Alright, but before Tulsi and I go, I have a little gift for you."

Then, without even caring how we would react, she opened a small black tear in space. 

"Oh my goddess! You have the skill [Storage Box]? That's amazing! It's such a rare skill!" I shouted out with excitement.

"Um, right. Skill, of course. Didn't know it was that amazing," she answered, uncertain.

"Tulsi is right. You shouldn't openly flaunt this skill around. People will try to exploit you," Deidre agreed with me.

"Alright, alright," said Master, reached into the tear and took out two silvery glowing bracelets, each with a black gemstone embedded in the center. She gave one Deidre and me the other.

"Place them around your wists!" she ordered. 

I did as I was told. The moment I put it on, the gemstone began to shine. For a moment, the bracelet became so hot that I thought it would burn my skin. But as quickly as it started, it stopped. I looked at my new piece of jewelry in amazement. I tried to fiddle with it a bit, but it didn't move an inch. 

I glanced over to Deidre. I don't know why, but her face was contorted in fear. 

"That's right, Deidre. This lovely little bracelet can only be removed by me. It's a cursed item and enables me to locate you wherever you are. Don't wanna have somebody ratting me out behind my back. Call it a safety measure. On the other side, it's for your own good too. If you find yourself in danger, just tap three times against the black opal. I'll come as soon as possible and save you."

The succubus still shivered. Yes, the procedure was unpleasant, but not this traumatic. Yet, something was wrong with her. Even though she was my opponent not even an hour ago, seeing her in this state made me feel guilty about my past plans. She was the only one who didn't tell us anything about her reason for being in King's Garden or why she couldn't enter the illegal underground facility. This bracelet must have awoken some repressed memories.

Master flicked her finger against Deidre's forehead. "Snap out of it!" she demanded. 

Deidre looked at her with wide eyes and blushed in shame. "I-I am sorry. I—"

"You don't need to speak about stuff that makes you miserable. Take your time and talk about it when you're ready to share it.

"But for now, tell us how to proceed from here to reach the entrance."

The demoness thought briefly and pointed in a direction. "You two need to follow that back alley over there. At the end of it, you can either go left or right. Turn left. Follow that path till you reach a rundown inn called 'Dark Brew.' Go around it till you see a way into the inner courtyard. Within are stairs leading down to a creaky old door. Knock five times, wait a moment, and knock another three times. Shortly after, a person will ask you 'Who's there?' to whom you reply, 'A lonely wolf without prey.' After this, they will let you inside. From there, you're on your own."

Master simply nodded in response and patted Deidre's head, whereupon she gave her a puzzled look. Then she turned around, and her ashen hair moved elegantly with her. With a wave of her hand, she symbolized that I should follow.

 

-------

 

We followed the directions given to us and soon reached the inn. 

It really was run down, which I would not have thought possible for this part of town. I wondered if it were only like this to be more recognizable or if the owner just didn't care. Either way, it wasn't our problem. 

There were few drunkards in the front area of the inn, or at least that's what they smelled like. However, I could tell by the state of their souls that some of them were just pretending. Probably guards who would directly defend the entrance in case of emergency or report any conspicuous events.

As we passed by, they gave us a doubtful glimpse, seemingly due to Master's clothes. She just looked like she belonged to a special task force. It was a pity that she didn't seem to have a name, at least none she wanted to share—she is like an enigma.

We arrived in the inner courtyard and went down the narrow stairs; I questioned if this was the only entrance. I doubt that the nobles of this town would stray here. Besides, I'm sure that there must be a different way for the traded goods to arrive. I wonder if they also sell delicious soul crystals.

After reaching the end, we stood in front of a slanted rotten door; Master didn't knock immediately. Instead, she opened her [Storage Box] again and took out two masks. One was completely black; it didn't even have eye holes. The other looked way more exotic. This mask resembled a face made of precious metals. Mainly silver and gold. It was decorated with fine lines of what I guess was magic ink. A shiver ran down my spine. The mask's face reminded me of a life-like automaton. I once read about these magical golems in an old history book from our library. They say the way they were manufactured was lost thousands of years ago, but pictures and descriptions of their countenance remained. With my face under this mask, it would be easy to mistake me for one of those old relics. Well, almost, the rest of my body was obviously flesh. I wonder if these magical machines have souls too? Who knows...

To my astonishment, Master gave me this mask. She kept the other one for herself, to my incomprehension—the automaton mask would suit her so much more, especially with that color-matched hair!   

She knocked just as Deidre had said. Shortly after, a question sounded forth, "Who's there?" 

"A lonely wolf without prey."

We put our masks on, and a brief moment later, the door opened. A tall broad-built man stood behind it. Next to him was an older well-groomed gentleman in a fancy butler's suit. 

"Please follow me."

We strode in and followed the man. I could hear the squeaky door closing behind me. I swallowed hard and hoped that everything would go well.

Nah, with Master, everything will be ok.

 

---

 

I heard the creaking wheels beside me slowing down and knew we would probably arrive soon. A few hours ago, I was dragged out of my cell and given directly into the hands of some maids to freshen up my filthy appearance. I could see in their eyes that their souls were already dead. Empty shells that lost all meaning in life. Will I end like them? 

I got prettied and cleaned up; my dull, dry, and rough ginger hair was cleaned, smoothed, and cut with all the effort they could muster. When they placed me in front of a mirror, I couldn't recognize myself. Despite all this, this whole charade could not hide my emaciated body. Conceal, yes, but not cover up completely. Though, for them, this was probably enough. They gave me some food, but still not enough for me to recover at least a bit. I think they don't want to risk me getting my strength back. 

After this whole procedure, the slavers put me back into a cage inside the transport carriage. Compared to the others, I was way more dressed up and my cage more comfortable. If one could speak of something like a 'comfortable' cage at all. 

Their stares showed envy on their faces. Didn't know there was anything to be envious of in my situation. Aren't we all in the same boat? 

On the way to wherever we headed, I hatched a plan to finally get myself out of my misery. As far as I remember, the greasy man had said something about an auction. I wondered what would happen if I ran off the stage and attack potential buyers. Surely they would finish me off with an arrow or a spell before I could even touch one of them. Yes, then...then, I would finally be free.

I heard a gate open; the carriage stopped shortly after. We were there.