"No, my child, your fight is not over. Life has been hard, and I have decided that you shall be allowed to receive this gift that has been presented to you," said the most beautiful female voice that I had ever heard.

 

I looked around the room, but there was nothing there. If I wasn't dead, how did I get here, and what did this mean? 

 

What gift?

 

"My creator had taken a strange interest in you and her, and in the spirit of the game, I shall allow it. You have been granted the ability to change everything, and I know that you will use it in the way I intend it to be, I am sure. You will not remember any of this, Rhune, but know that you now carry my love with you. I am Matrix, The Mother of All."

 

I didn't know what any of this meant, but there was a question bothering me: What did it mean to carry love? No one in my life had ever loved me, not even the people that raised me, but how did you carry something that wasn't real?

 

"The love of another is what I shall give you as a present from me, but only the one. You have to become stronger, harder, and fearless; monsters are coming, unlike anything you have ever experienced. The monster of this world shall become your army, and every world will tremble as you rise, Deviant." 

 

Monsters were coming? Deviant? Worlds trembling? Where was this all coming from? 

 

It was suddenly night, and I found myself surrounded by carnage and the scent of burning wood. However, there was another odor that overpowered the smoke. 

 

I was covered in blood, and I could see it everywhere. A number of bodies lay strewn on the cobbled streets in shreds.

 

They were like those which had been attacked by dungeon beasts, but they were sealed away, so not likely. I looked around, but smoke blocked my vision, but I knew this place. 

 

This was Hargrath. 

 

Some of the bodies were people I had seen before, but they were not torn like the others. They had normal wounds from weapons or magic, but the shredded bodies all wore strange clothes and armor. 

 

I looked ahead as the smoke cleared, and there was a strange-looking creature with leathery red wings, Nine foxtails. Standing on strange metallic thin legs with elegant designs etched into them, the creature turned to me.

 

I immediately froze as a strangely familiar creature with girlish features turned to me and I was captivated by the sight before me. There was something about this creature that stirred an almost animalistic instinct in me.

 

Then our eyes met, and I hit my knees as a force like a post maul smashed into my chest, and I gasped, falling to the ground. The feeling was so intense; I felt like I was dying; the kicks, punches, and all the pain in my life were nothing to this intenseness. 

 

Blonde hair and blue eyes were burned into my mind, and I experienced her life as if it were happening right now. Throughout her trial, pain, and hope, I followed every step of her experience, and now I watched her search for one man.

 

She would be taken by a man who would take the last vestiges of her innocence from her. After destroying her he would rebuild her into something that was greater and more powerful than ever.

 

There was no doubt in my mind that this man was me.

 

"Go forth, love, laugh, but I promise you that the tears are not over, and things will only get worse in the future. Remember that, Deviant, because the world has no morals. Sometimes the only way to fix something is to destroy it and then reforge it. This world is broken, my child; I have given you the power to fix it."

 

Once again, I found myself in the white room.

 

"What's the point of telling me, if I won't remember?" I asked out loud.

 

"I shall decide when you are ready and increase your power as I see fit. When the time comes, I shall give you all of this and more. Got forth now, Ahna is searching for you," Matrix told me, and then...  

 

Another kick drove into my side, but I was starting to get numb from the pain. 

 

"Alright, we won't get any more out of him if we kill him, boys! Come on, we need to find some other generous Castless, or you two won't be eating!" Reg said as the kicks suddenly stopped.

 

I could barely move, but I didn't try until the men had left. There was a chance that they might come back if I got up too fast, and I just wanted to sleep.

 

Part of me wished I could just stay like this, just lay here, but I would be killed if I didn't move. Hiding was the only real option for sleep, and when I finally rolled onto my back, I noticed a corner with some bags.

 

I dragged myself to the corner, pulling a bag aside, then I tucked my bruised and bleeding body in. When I was sure I was out of sight, I closed my eyes as tears forced their way out.

 

There was no point in crying, but I couldn't stop them; this last week had just gotten worse. Since I was twelve, I had to survive it, and ten years later, nothing had changed.

 

I had no idea why I still was alive or why I hadn't pushed someone to the point that they would put an end to it. Something deep down inside of me wouldn't let me quit, but why? 

 

I weakly lifted my hands, wiping my eyes of the tears, and then closed them. Something had happened when the men attacked me, but it was only a momentary pause.

 

It more than likely meant nothing, and I needed to get some sleep. I was who I was, and nothing could change that, and tomorrow I would need to find a new route.