Level One God

I strained my eyes against the darkness, breath coming in quick gasps as I searched for whatever had triggered my Mana Sense a moment ago. I had my back to the grommets, a Viperlilly-infused Elemental Spike already summoned and clutched in my hand, and my party gathered behind me. The narrow size of the tunnel meant we couldn’t jump without bumping our heads, and we could only stand side by side if we wanted to practically hug. I couldn’t think of a much worse place to get ambushed.

Caterpriest hovered behind me, then landed on my shoulder. He made a clicking sound, whether of concern or excitement for the coming battle, I couldn’t quite say.

I touched Dragon’s Tail and raised a hand, spraying it to cover as much of the passage behind us as possible. I even used my new Elemental Chain effect to make the fire bounce deeper down in the cave, covering more surfaces with flames.

And then I thought about how we were in a narrow tunnel with a dead-end and limited amounts of oxygen.

“Grommets!” I shouted over one shoulder, backing up. “How far to the nearest tunnel?”

“This one thinks… not far,” a voice called.

“Dig to it quickly, please. We need fresh air.”

There was a womp of agreement as the grommets diverted course and began digging.

The entire tunnel behind us was a raging inferno. With the rapidly digging grommets and the size of the tunnel at our back, I was at least somewhat sure oxygen wouldn’t be an issue. But what the hell had I felt? What did I still feel out there?

Was I just imagining things? Maybe paranoia was a side effect of dark mana exposure?

Heat washed over my face as I gripped the slippery, cool surface of the mana-forged dagger in my hand. I heard the crackle of fire and watched a single root break free and fall from the roof of the cave, drifting down and disintegrating before touching the ground.

“Fresh air!” a grommet called from behind me.

“Now we watch,” another said, sounding practically gleeful.

Of course. They make sure we won’t suffocate, and their very next thought is to get the best seat for whatever was about to happen. Typical grommets.

We all took a collective step back from the flames, weapons still raised.

“What is it?” Zahra asked. “Did you see something?”

I gave my head a tight shake, then looked back to confirm the grommets were already out of view. Unfortunately, the escape hole they dug for air was so small we would be lucky to squeeze through without getting stuck, let alone using it to escape.

I was about to ask them to widen the hole when the sense of danger grabbed my attention again.

What the hell is out there?

I focused back on the flames, trying to search my senses for another hint of what I had felt before.

We waited, hands tight on our weapons as orange light flickered and cast long, shifting shadows at our feet.

A heavy drop of sweat rolled from my temple, tickling my ear and making me want to scratch at it. I didn’t dare take my eyes from the flames, in case—

I felt an attack form and fly out an instant later. I threw out a clumsy Mana Shield that was almost immediately shattered by a flying dagger. It had been thrown from somewhere behind the flames.

Fuck. It’s Rake.

I had hardly finished the thought when a dark shape rushed through the fire. Black shadow boiled around his body, seeming to protect him from the flames before unfolding like two extra arms on his back.

What the hell is that ability? And how did I not see him coming on my map?

There wasn’t time for questions. I tried to back away, but bumped into Lyria, who was just behind me. She bumped into Ramzi, and we nearly toppled over backwards like dominos.

“Found you,” Rake said. He kept walking toward us slowly with one dagger held to his side. Steam still rose from the shadow arms around him as the fire roared at his back, casting his entire shape in silhouette.

We managed to stop stumbling over each other, but I knew we were backing up toward the end of the tunnel. A minute or less, and our backs would literally be against the wall. I wanted to ask the grommets for help, but didn’t want Rake to know they were nearby. I couldn’t risk putting them in danger, too, especially when they were only here because I asked for their help.

Rake seemed very much aware that we had nowhere to go. I could barely see his features against the harsh shadows cast by the fire. It made his teeth and eyes the only points of light, giving the grin he wore an otherworldly nature. Combined with the shadowy pair of arms sticking out of his back and giving off steam, he looked more like a demon than a man.

He paused, tilting his head. “Somebody has been busy… For a second, I almost thought…” he narrowed his eyes at me, stopping dead in his tracks. “Iron? No… That’s not possible.” He laughed to himself, then shook his head. That deadly intent in his eyes never left, though. “What trick are you pulling now, Helmet? Some sort of veil? Did you think I’d run if I believed you had advanced?”

While he was talking, I formed an Echo of my Viperlilly Elemental Spike just behind him. The magic formed silently, hardly casting any light compared to the raging flames at Rake’s back.

“How did you find us so fast?” I asked, mostly because him talking was better than him stabbing, and I had no plan for this. I had imagined fighting him at the dungeon’s exit in a large room. All my planning had been for a completely different kind of environment.

“I suppose you’re dead soon. No point hiding my tricks.” He dragged the knife across a fingertip, letting a shadow the size of a pea drip out to the ground. It elongated, then began rushing toward me at high speeds. I flinched back, preparing to stomp it. Instead of attacking, it lifted up, twitched, almost as if sniffing me, and then raced back toward Rake. It snaked up his body and pushed its way inside his fingertip again.

“Useful ability, isn’t it?” he said. “Got that one at Tier 3…”

Somehow, he had also managed to hide himself from my map. I doubted he knew I had a map, but maybe he suspected it based on our last encounter? Given the rogue theme to his abilities, I supposed I wouldn’t be shocked to learn he had a type of stealth ability.

We kept inching back as Rake walked slowly toward us.

My Elemental Spike was behaving for once, simply keeping a slow, floating pace behind Rake and readying itself to attack when I gave the signal. The rest of my group seemed to be waiting for a sign from me, too.

They were all probably hoping I had a plan.

For now, the only plan was to keep delaying in hopes that a genius idea would strike me. So far, I had nothing.

“You know, killing people is something I enjoy quite a bit,” Rake said. “But it’s like food. There are flavors. Themes. Recipes. Over time, I’ve developed sophisticated taste, you could say. See… I prefer when my victims put up a fight. The more they earn it, the more it scratches the fucking itch. Like the perfect bite for a starving man. Yes, Helmet, you have well and truly pissed me off, but I don’t hate you for it. I thank you for the truly satisfying hunt. It has been a while since somebody evaded me once, let alone twice. It has been fun, but I’m afraid it’s time for the fun to end. No more holding back. No more secretly hoping you find a way to slip off and make this more satisfying in the end.” He paused, lifting a finger. The shape of his smile grew within the deep shadows of his face. “Do you hear that?” he asked.

I only heard my heart pounding in my ears and the flames.

“It’s the dinner bell,” Rake said. “And I’m fucking famished.”

Mana sense flared. I had been waiting for it, so I told my Echo to attack as I raised a stack of Mana Shields as quickly as I could. The stack was more costly, but also took less time than properly reinforcing a single shield.

“Shields!” I shouted.

Ramzi’s protective bubble flickered into action along with a low, musical note he hummed. Lyria’s Wind Wall rose in front of us.

One of the shadow arms on Rake’s back snapped out, cracking Ramzi’s barrier so fast he didn’t even have to break stride. He melted into the ground and appeared on the other side of me and Lyria’s shields, lifting out of the dirt behind Thorn and Sylara, who were at the back of our single-file, cramped line.

Chaos reigned.

Sylara shouted in pain and fell down, disappearing from my view because I was blocked by Lyria, Ramzi, Zahra, and Thorn.

Thorn’s magical shield and chain clinked into existence, but Rake’s shadow arm whipped out, backhanding him with a thundering crack. Thorn fell like a bag of sand.

Thankfully, my senses confirmed he and Sylara were still alive, but barely.

Thorn’s rib cage was crushed and there was significant internal damage.

Sylara was wounded badly in several areas.

I immediately began using Devour Mana on both of them. With my focus split, I didn’t have the power to be precise, opting to simply yank mana from their cores and hope it would find its way to the damaged areas.

I couldn’t physically see either of them, but I could feel the mana inside their bodies.

The injured areas were like voids, needing to be saturated again to bring back health. Zahra’s body kept forming new, small voids, which I realized were probably the effects of Rake’s shadow blood ability turning her blood into creatures that were striking her. The new injuries would leak even more creatures, causing a cascade of damage that would spiral out of control if I couldn’t put a stop to it.

Caterpriest took off from my shoulder. The tunnel was low and he didn’t exactly have room to fly safely overhead, but he drifted forward, aiming his ass at the downed people and spraying strings of green magic at them.

“Move!” I shouted again, trying to physically force myself past Lyria, who was trying to back up and make room for me.

I touched a Healing Potion and formed a Cloudfall above Thorn and Sylara. Some of it would land on Rake with how close we all were, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

A reddish cloud appeared over their heads, dripping Healing Potion like rain on their fallen bodies.

Caterpriest’s healing, my Devour Mana, and the Cloudfall combined were barely keeping Sylara alive.

My Elemental Spike floated past in a rush, weaving between the bodies crammed together in the tunnel and trying to get past Zahra.

Zahra gathered black magic to her hands. She attempted to back away from Rake, who was approaching her with deadly intent. He easily ducked a web of black magic, then his arm punched out three times.

Shlick, shlick, shlick.

Zahra froze for a heartbeat, her head bowed as the magic leaked from her hands. She crumpled forward, still alive like the others but already leaking shadow blood that was tagging her with fresh wounds. The healing rain was hitting her, but I split my focus on Devour Mana to her as well. Caterpriest was also spraying fresh ropes of green over her fallen form.

My Elemental Spike flew past Zahra, stabbing at Rake with abandon.

Rake deflected the Echo’s attacks with his own dagger, almost lazily, dodged once, then danced backward from a jab.

His shadow arms suddenly clapped together with a burst of power, smashing the Elemental Spike Echo into a cloud of blue sparks.

Fuck. Sorry, Little guy…

I let out a yell, jumping over Zahra and landing in front of Rake with my Elemental Spike held high. I sprayed Viperlilly at him with one hand, but one of his shadow arms unfolded like a wing, deflecting the poison away from his body to land harmlessly on the ground.

The weapon felt better in my hand somehow, and I felt a crazed sense of confidence.

I can do this. I’m Iron, too.

I locked eyes with him and crept closer. Rake seemed surprised by my boldness, but beckoned me with his free hand. “He has some balls. Great. Maybe I’ll keep them as trophies when this is over.”

A gust of focused wind slashed past me and toward Rake. He batted it away with another shadow arm-turned wing. I saw his gaze shift to Lyria, who wasn’t far behind me. I didn’t want him thinking about attacking her, too, so I charged in.

I moved more quickly and with more grace than usual, but it wasn’t enough.

I even planned my attack. I came in high, ducking and sliding at the last second to aim for his stomach. All my focus was on his dagger as I came within his reach. Instead of using it, he side-stepped and tried to kick me.

I managed to summon a Mana Shield just in time to block the kick, but missed the shadow arm that swung for me until the last moment. I dodged, catching part of the blow on my arm.

I felt something crunch and gritted my teeth against the pain. I added my own body to the four people I was currently trying to heal with Devour Mana.

Lyria and Ramzi were trying to stomp the shadows attacking Zahra, but they couldn’t reach Thorn or Sylara because they were behind Rake.

Rake smiled, then twitched his fingers, urging me to try again.

In the brief but intense moments, a slow, steady rage was building. It was the frustration of the cramped environment. It was the anger at not being able to stop him from hurting my friends. It was the seemingly never-ending feeling of not quite being strong enough to tackle the challenges I was faced with.

Except this time, it wasn’t entirely true.

If reaching Iron and earning a fusion class wasn’t enough to stop Rake… There was something else. Not yet, though. I could still try to do this. I might still be strong enough on my own.

I let out a shout and ran for him, dagger raised. This time, I wouldn’t—

I skidded to a stop when Rake melted into the shadows, disappearing.

When I spun and spotted him, he was behind me, waving with a sadistic grin. “Missed me, Helmet.” His eyes were too wide—almost crazed.

I was barely able to focus on standing as I tried to split my focus between keeping Caterpriest summoned, the Cloudfall, and four branches of Devour Mana. The only saving grace was that the pain from whatever had broken in my arm was easy to ignore thanks to my new boon.

Behind me, the shadow bloods swarming Thorn and Sylara were multiplying exponentially as they drew more and more blood from my allies. In front of me, Lyria and Ramzi were behind Rake, trying to kill enough of the shadows coming from Zahra to let the healing do its work.

Realization dawned on me with a heavy, cold weight.

I didn’t have the luxury of trying to do this the right way. If I waited even a few more seconds, the whole situation could be too far out of control.

The dark mana was my tool. It was my weapon. Maybe I wanted to learn to use it in a more controlled setting, but what other choice did I have?

My resolve clicked into place, firm and unbreakable. I was going to do what was necessary, and I was going to make damn sure I kept my head on straight this time.

“You’re going to regret this,” I said softly.

Rake let out half of a laugh just as I reached inside and opened a door inside myself.

Dark, sickening power flowed outward like water, pushing itself through my body as I held the inner door to my core open as long as I dared.

I let the power come and come for several seconds before finally snapping the door to my core shut. The power itself tried to fight it, holding the door open as more dark mana tried to flood me, but I summoned all my concentration and barely managed to snap it closed.

Hello again, a voice in my mind said. You chose wisely.

The dark mana moved through me, snaking out of my body and interacting with my spells.

The red cloud of Healing Potion darkened. Sudden plasma-like beams of red energy connected to my fallen allies, dripping magic as they squirmed and twitched. A red glow enveloped them as I sensed their wounds rapidly healing.

Caterpriest spun himself into a cocoon, then burst out a moment later as a pure black moth. Motes of dark purple light drifted out of him, landing on Thorn, Sylara, and Zahra. A purple shield formed around their bodies, flashing white as the shadows attacked, preventing further damage.

Rake half turned his head, then looked back at me. “What is this?”

The single moment of confusion and possibly even fear in his eyes was more rewarding than I could’ve possibly imagined. In that single, momentary expression, I tasted how addictive this kind of power could be. I imagined my enemies all feeling that same way. I imagined the hope and resolve leaking from them like water before me.

“I suppose you’re dead soon,” I said softly. “No point hiding my tricks.”

He tried to rush me, but I formed a Mana Shield the size of a small buckler. It grew spikes and slammed toward him. Even his shadow arm wasn’t fast enough to block it.

The shield slammed straight into his abdomen with a meaty squelch sound, spikes punching through his leather armor.

He gasped, melting away into the shadows as soon as it connected. Without anything to push against, the shield zipped forward and embedded itself into the wall before I released it.

Rake reappeared, slightly crouched as he touched one hand to the wound, looked down, and saw red.

“Brynn!” Lyria said. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure this ends,” I said.

Ramzi hummed softly as regenerative light bathed all of us. He didn’t know they were already saved. There was no way Rake’s flimsy little shadows could get through the layers of healing and protection I had on them now.

I took a step toward Rake, smiling when he flinched backward. “Scared?”

Good. Make him fear you. Make him suffer.

I shook my head slightly. I didn’t care about any of that. I didn’t want people’s hopes to melt like water before me or to strike fear into my enemies. I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. Rake had to die because his existence threatened the people I cared about. That was all. These other thoughts… I wasn’t certain they were mine, even though they hadn’t come in that strange, alien voice. They had felt like my thoughts.

I blinked, staring at Rake as I tried to clear my head and focus. It wasn’t over yet. No matter how I dressed it up, this needed to end.

A few simple ways to end this flashed through my mind as I continued advancing toward the wounded man.

I could cage him in with Mana Shields and Bombroot, then detonate him like I had with the Eclipsed.

I could summon a Cloudfall of Dragon’s Tail above him and engulf him in molten lightning.

I could summon another Echo of my Elemental Spike and watch it slaughter him.

The list of ways went on and on, especially when I imagined the dark mana’s influence on my abilities.

I wanted to show him he had fucked up. I wanted him to look into my eyes as he was beaten down, blow by blow. I wanted him to pay for all the people he had killed and the number of times he had tried to hurt me and the people I cared about.

I kept walking toward him as I passed Thorn, Sylara, and Zahra, who were all back on their feet now and stomping the shadow bloods that were fruitlessly trying to break through Dark Caterpriests protective magic.

Something about taking him down with my own hands stuck out to me among the many options. I felt my lips trying to pull into a smile as dark mana flowed into my Elemental Spike, elongating it into a two-handed greatsword. Green plates of armor covered my hands, but not my wrists like before. The sword also didn’t look quite as ornate as the one I’d used against the Eclipsed, but that made sense.

This wasn’t the same amount of dark mana. I had shown restraint.

I was still in control. The strange thoughts were just battle rage.

“What the fuck is this power?” Rake whispered. There was so much in his eyes as he stared at me. Surprise. Fear. Anger.

Good. Let’s see how you like being on the other side, asshole. Let’s see how you like bleeding. Dying. Wondering what you could have done differently.

Again, the thoughts didn’t seem quite right. But after all he had done, why shouldn’t I want him to suffer before he died? Why not show him the lengths of his mistake in crossing me?

I lifted the sword and approached.

Rake vanished, appearing behind me as he rose out of my shadow. The attack was blindingly fast, but I triggered my Abyssal Step ability and let it pass right through me.

I jumped through his body and appeared behind him, sword raised high.

I slammed it down just as Abyssal Step ended. Rake ducked, one dagger held up to block the attack.

To my surprise, the greatsword slammed down on the small, curved dagger, but didn’t knock it aside or even bend his arm.

I stared in disbelief as Rake produced a second dagger, stabbing it toward my chest.

I took one hand from the sword to lift my palm between myself and the attack. His blade punched straight through the magical gauntlet and the back of my hand. By some strange instinct, I closed my fingers around the blade, ignoring the distant sense of pain from the sharp blade cutting into my fingers and skin. When he tried to pull it free, I had already gotten my fingers around the small blade guard, using the finger-hold to keep one of his hands occupied.

He stabbed at me with the other hand, but I knocked it aside with a Mana Shield, smacking the magical shield against his forearm to divert his attack.

I nearly dropped the greatsword, which was suddenly far too large for the way we were grappling at close range. Rake put his other hand on the dagger in my hand, giving a sudden shove that nearly bent my arms and sent the blade straight into my chest.

I skidded backward, only just keeping the dagger from impaling me.

In a panic, I tried something I had only theorized about.

I used my divine ability and tried to “delete” the dagger he had stabbed through my hand.

Yellow magic engulfed the weapon as it vanished from existence.

Rake’s eyes widened as he slipped forward, no longer leaning all his weight on the dagger but instead on an empty fist. As if sensing what I needed, the unwieldy greatsword in my left hand shrank into a shortsword, which I stabbed upward beneath Rake’s right arm.

I tugged him inward, pressing my wounded palm against his stomach before releasing a torrent of Viperlilly into his body, too.

The jet of dark mana infused poison blasted into him so hard his body was flung away from me, spinning in the air and slamming hard into the far wall. Liquid splashed back against me, but Voidgaze resisted the effect.

Dark Caterpriest flapped his black wings and motes of purple surrounded me, healing my wounds and covering me with the same purple shield I’d seen him use on my allies.

Rake coughed and spit out green-tinged blood that hissed on the ground. His body was covered in green poison, and the wound under his arm steamed as it leaked congealing blood.

He stared up at me, eyes defiant.

Even as despicable as he was, I shouldn’t relish the task of killing him. But I found myself wanting to do it. I wanted to watch the light leave his eyes. I wanted the rush of power from knowing he had tested himself against me and found himself wanting—that he had walked into this with the confidence of a predator and found himself the prey.

I smiled as I approached him, sword dripping green magic as it grew again, looking more like an executioner’s axe.

Rake spit blood out, stood, and looked oddly calm. “Well, Helmet… I can’t believe you’re going to make me waste this fucking thing.” He pulled an ornate green gem from somewhere. It was surrounded by a metal cage with what looked like black-tipped needles all pointed toward the gem at the center. The whole thing fit inside his palm.

He lifted it, inspecting it and making a sour face. “I guess I’m glad I didn’t sell this thing. Always thought I might need it someday. But fuck.” He pointed a finger at me, then coughed up some more blood.

I already had a very strong hunch about what he held. The poison had knocked him a few dozen feet away, though. I had a feeling I couldn’t reach him before he did whatever he was about to do with it. If I moved suddenly, he certainly would do something with it.

So I kept creeping closer, long weapon held at the ready.

Give me more control. I can stop him. I can stop him from using it.

“I was pissed when I got this,” he said. “Who gives a legendary escape charm to a man who doesn’t ever run, I said.” He looked up at me, smiled with blood-stained teeth, and then shrugged. “I’ll be Silver next time you see me.”

There was a delicate sound of shattered glass as Rake crushed the object in his hand.

Wind and mana flowed toward him in a sudden rush. His body distorted as if it was being sucked in toward the gem he crushed. An orange tear in reality appeared behind him, giving me a glimpse of an unfamiliar city in the distance. Rake gave it all a curious look, as if he hadn’t known exactly how this would work either, then stepped in the portal.

I tried to rush toward him, but the tear snapped shut, sending out a shockwave of warped reality.

I stared at the space where he had been moments ago, frustration and anger mounting.

“Dammit!” I shouted, slamming my fist down hard enough to leave a small crater in the wall and shake dust from the ceiling

I was breathing too hard. Bright red rage thumped inside me, threatening to overwhelm me. I wanted to tear the fucking dungeon down to find him. I wanted to punch through the walls. I wanted to open the door to my core again and let every last scrap of dark mana free so I could have enough power to hunt him down right here and now.

Without the fight looming, I was vividly aware how many of these thoughts weren’t my own. The burned man or the dark mana itself was weaving together with my own thoughts, tainting and touching them in concerning ways.

I tried to push back against the influence and felt myself suddenly uneasy on my feet. Dizziness settled into my head and I swayed, now distinctly aware of the battle for control waging inside my body. I had been unconsciously using mana to cage in the dark mana where I could, acting like the zookeeper for a dangerous animal let loose within my body. But it was like trying to hold in water with my bare hands. It leaked free everywhere, requiring constant attention and mana.

In fact… I was almost empty on mana. What would happen if I ran dry? I’d have no way to fight back against the darkness.

“Help…” I breathed, looking back toward my group with a sudden rush of panic.

Lyria took me by the shoulders, easing me to sit down. She sat with me, holding me upright and shushing me as my body shook with the physical effort of restraining it.

How had I felt none of this during the fight? Had I been so focused on winning? Or was this the burned man making a full effort to take control now that he knew I wouldn’t get killed while incapacitated from the struggle?

I managed to cut off all the spells I was still maintaining, but even that was a struggle. The dark mana wanted the spells to keep running, draining my reserves even more.

Maybe with the extra regeneration from my bedroll’s buff, I could avoid running empty on mana.

The bedroll. It had helped me during the fight with the Eclipsed, so it should be able to help now.

I summoned it from my slip space and stuck an arm out. “Bite me,” I said.

The bedroll just sat there as if it didn’t even smell dark mana.

“Help me,” I demanded, shaking my arm toward the motionless bedroll.

Lyria was still sitting with me as the others gathered slowly around. I imagined I looked insane and had just shown off some incredibly powerful abilities. I wouldn’t blame them if they wondered how safe it was to get closer.

Don’t fight it, whispered the voice. You already saw how I can help. We want the same thing. Why are you fighting it? Together, we could do great things. Truly amazing things, Seraphel. You only need to let me out.

“No,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re my tool.”

Crazed laughter rang out in my head, making me feel as though I was truly losing my mind. A tool you don’t even begin to understand, Seraphel. Do you even know why your little pet won’t feed? No, of course you don’t.

The only thing that kept me grounded was the feeling of Lyria’s hands squeezing my shoulders and her soft assurances that I could hold on. She likely had no real idea what I was battling, but the sound of her voice and the feeling of her hands was like an anchor keeping me locked into the real world, to my body, and to the desire to keep it under my control.

Ramzi stood over me, humming softly with his eyes closed as some magic bathed me.

Sylara stood back, face a mask of distrust as she watched with her arms folded and a short sword in one hand.

Zahra was kneeling to my other side, squeezing one of my hands in hers.

I was sweating. God I was hot. I felt like I was boiling alive from the inside.

“Come on,” I said, shaking my hand again toward the motionless bedroll.

Lyria’s voice was soft. “Why isn’t it working?”

Yes, yes, yes, the voice echoed. Why, Seraphel? It worked before, so why not now?

“I’m not sure,” I said, speaking to Lyria, but the voice acted as though I had talked to it.

I will tell you why. Let this be an example of how we can help one another, Seraphel—an offering of truce, if you will… When the girl put it on your head, the bedroll was drinking foreign mana from your body. It was mana directly from Krete’s core, which I was able to reach into and use.

Now, though, you’ve integrated the dark mana with your own core. The mana flooding your body is not a foreign substance. If your pet were to feed on it through mundane means, you would die, just as surely as if it drained you of your blood. In other words, if your bedroll didn’t also heal you when you sleep, the process of cleansing the dark mana would leave you very much dead.

I closed my eyes in frustrated understanding. I didn’t want to believe the voice in my head, but my belief didn’t exactly matter right now. My muscles felt locked up and unresponsive. My head felt stuffed with wool. Trying to form thoughts was physically painful, and all I wanted was to find a way to make this pain stop.

“I watched him sleep on it before,” Zahra said softly. She was speaking to Lyria, maybe already assuming I was too far gone to hear or understand her. “Let him sleep on the thing. It seemed to heal his wounds.”

“It… won’t work this soon,” Lyria said carefully. “He has to wait a full day. That’s what, ten hours from now? More?” I thought I knew her well enough to sense the panic beneath the calm front she was putting up.

I saw grommets had begun emerging from the walls and the air hole they dug before the fight. Timbo was at the front of the group, clad in his white robe with his root staff in one hand. His expression was grave as he and the other grommets formed a circle around me.

Timbo leaned forward, wide saucer eyes level with mine as he bent to look in my face. “This one… knows a trick.”

“A trick?” Lyria asked.

Her voice sounded fuzzy. There was a rushing feeling inside me, as if something was gaining speed or power. I felt the walls of my core vibrating. I realized almost too late that something was pushing on the door, trying to open it again from the inside. It hurt, too. Not in a physical way that I could ignore with my Iron boon. It felt like something in me was burning, and I knew all I had to do to stop it was release. I just had to let go, and this feeling would stop.

Let go, the voice urged. Let me out, and I’ll make it all better, Seraphel… You can trust me.

Honestly, that didn’t sound so terrible right now. He had helped explain the problem with the bedroll. Why was I resisting so hard, anyway?

“Mmm, yes,” Timbo said. “This one is knowing many tricks. Old ways. Very powerful.”

“Do it,” Lyria said.

Darkness crept in from the corners of my vision, narrowing my view of the hooded grommet to small, fuzzy orbs. He tilted his head, then tapped my helmet with the tip of his root staff.

“The procedure is… delicate. You will remove the helmet, yes?”

I couldn’t see if Lyria hesitated, but I felt her gently pull Voidgaze from my head. She was careful to place it directly in my hands. “Can you put it in your slip space?” she whispered.

I swallowed hard, barely managing to command the mana necessary to stash the helmet safely.

“Mhm, mhm. Yes,” Timbo muttered. “Now… The trick!” Timbo lifted his root high as if he was about to perform a spell. “This one is called… the best patient is the one who sleeps.”

What did that mean?

Timbo brought his staff down in an overhead strike that smacked me between the eyes. A bright white light flashed across my vision, followed by darkness and swimming thoughts. The world seemed to spin around me just before consciousness slipped from my grasp.