Alex's chest rose faintly as she slept by my side. Her hair spilled over her face, looking rough and disheveled but she still managed to look cute as she snored. Hours had passed, but if the rough bartender cared about her break lasting longer than she said, he would have shown himself by now. Not that it mattered, I doubted someone like Alex took kindly to being interrupted.

The room had survived the last few hours, although the desk and chair in the corner needed some repairs. Thankfully, felkin biology prevented me from sweating, so at least one of us remained dry.

If she were tier zero, she might catch a cold but she should be fine.

Whatever set of skills one needed to serve beer and food to customers, I doubted body enhancement and lightning empowerment were required. She was tough—and didn't need me worrying about her.

Thankfully, the scratches on my back had already healed. It's easy to forget when you've got access to a healing skill, but my passive regeneration handled most of the smaller injuries on its own.

As for the glaring new addition plastered on my chest... I ignored it for now. The tattoo and the prompt for the skill could come later, when I was back at the manor.

What I did allow myself to focus on, brought my gaze to my hands. The physical release of tension helped. No new memories tried to force themselves in, and whenever I felt the edge of one rise up, Alex did a damn good job of pulling my focus elsewhere.

It felt good.

It was good.

It was also déjà vu'. Now that I had some of my memories restored, I was distinctly reminded with the uncomfortable recollection of some of my earlier coping mechanism in my young adult life. Specifically the year where my therapist had pointed out the habits I subconsciously gravitated towards.

That had been an annoying month. Sam wouldn't stop calling me all sorts of names.

11:27 p.m.

With a pop, Galarion appeared and I squished him flat before his colors woke up the woman beside me. He slid into my head without protest and settled in with a curious buzz around his tentacles.

"That tickles," I said.

Galarion hummed but stopped the vibrations. "Feel okay?"

I smiled. "Yeah. What about you?"

"Good…" Galarion hesitated, his emotion bleeding through the link. I waited patiently, and he shifted around until he formulated his thoughts. "Your memories… Broken."

That easy to sense, huh? No point lying to the mind squid.

I leaned back and put my arms behind my head, making sure not to move too quickly.

"It seems that way. How does it feel being inside my head? I imagine it has to feel weird."

Another pause, more hesitation but not from being afraid to ask more that he wanted to confirm something with himself.

Eventually he shook a tentacle. "Feels like before."

"Before?"

"Before Master. Before the Naming."

Ahhh.

Easy to forget that all of my familiars came from strange places not of this world. I hardly thought about it, but Galarion originally belonged to the Astral, or whatever that plane of existence was.

"You remember the astral plane?"

"Some. Brief, small memories. Scattered, and broken. I-Galarion, was many broken pieces before the Naming. Master made me whole."

"Do you remember Macaroni?"

"No. But… I remember some." Galarion's voice changed and a complex web of emotions surged through the link, bombarding me. "Endless stars, dying fragmented as the void consumes. Sometimes I was the last breath of a being or the first life of a flower. Sand eroded skin before the rain built it anew. Chains shackled down as I devoured a sun in one moment while the squirming tide birthed the Unborn. There the wood became glass and-"

"I-I think I get it, Galarion."

"Sorry!" He squeezed out of my head and pressed his face against my nose. "I'm sorry!"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I rubbed his head and gently squeezed him back, shivering at the transition. "It's okay, I promise. It's my fault for asking a mini-eldritch horror about their memories."

"Like Erebus? He likes to share tasty memories but they taste funny. You said nightmares are good, but he only knows bones and flesh."

That was a lot to unpack. One thing a time, or else my sanity would crumble. What little I kept at least.

I stared at my hand and turned it so the drop of pinkish blood stayed in my palm and not onto the sheets. More continued to drip down but slowly. I grabbed a nearby towel and held it to my nose, sighing.

"Is it uncomfortable being in my head right now? Be honest."

The silence continued for a while and Galarion's thoughts bubbled. Eventually, he wilted and gently squeezed.

"A little. Like the Before, without name."

I sighed and forced my fist to unclench.

"Well, that settles it. I guess this means I can't keep up the usual coping method. Probably for the best, Isaac was one bad day away from dragging me to Syrreisha." I clicked my fangs and forced through the strange tension in my chest. "Alright, Galarion. Do you still have those memories from inside the arena?"

In response, Galarion extended one tentacle outside my ear and produced two marbles.

"Left is bad guy. Right is… Not-Master."

I counted to thirty. Taking in the gentle snoring from the woman beside me while admiring her shoulder with the moonlight bathing through the window. My fangs slipped as I bit down and I tasted blood.

"Start with Vell's memories. Might as well see what he knows."

Galarion retracted his tentacle. Unlike when sharing a memory with others, Galarion was my familiar—his memories were my memories, and vice versa.

Although, now that I thought about it, maybe that wasn't entirely true. I definitely didn't have any existential nightmare-horror snippets bouncing around in my head. At least, not the ones from his past experiences or the patients at Syrreisha's clinic.

Either way, Galarion absorbed the marbles into his being and slid two tentacles into the core of my brain. They turned ethereal, slipping into a strange plane of existence as he connected with my soul and opened the spigot.

Twenty minutes later, I summoned a piece of candy and washed the taste of poison out of my mouth.

"Master okay?" Galarion prodded.

"I'm fine. Just processing everything," I responded.

I expected memories from a week back at most, perhaps something before the tournament if somehow Vell's contract to murder me somehow premeditated my participation in the arena.

I wasn't expecting snippets from his life. Memories of jobs, and habits. I especially didn't expect tender memories of her. But I forced the memories down and let them settle, turning them into background static amongst the sea.

It wasn't all for naught. In the more recent memories, a few stood out. Specifically of a bar where tokens were exchanged and a secret hideout where clients met with contractors. Vell met one of those clients, a hired hand for a noble.

And now I had a name–one of the many–responsible for the shitshow in the arena.

My smile curled and I bared my fangs even if the anger fluttered in response rather than burn in my chest.

The others will love this. Maybe Teddy's parents can go for a stroll and have some fun.

The smile slipped and I remembered their reactions after marching to the castle one night.

Unless they knew and they still couldn't act. Like Myol… Damn.

I shook my head and flicked my tail into view. The thin cracks of damage were long gone. My passive regeneration took care of that a couple of hours ago.

Vell's memories were subjected to his state of mind during the time of the memory. Only a snippet, more blurry and confusing than most, but I recognized what he saw the second I bisected him.

So gremlin me knows how to use and apply runes while actual me doesn't? What bullshit is that.

It wasn't like I knew it to be impossible but the fucker did something I couldn't do. I growled and Alex stirred. Thankfully, she didn't wake up. I pulled the blanket over her stomach and stared at my tail again. I had to confront him or me. Bah! Nobody mentioned felkin biology making your brain develop a split personality. Surely, Cal would have warned me, or Sereza. The fact they didn't meant that the gremlin wasn't normal.

Or it was and Cal didn't think I'd be stupid enough to keep repressing my issues. Yeah, that's a possibility…

Galarion shifted. "Next one?"

I clicked my fangs together and closed my eyes. Did I want to deal with it now? Surely it could wait until tomorrow. Galarion shifted again and I groaned.

No. That'll be repeating the same stupid mistakes.

Galarion already admitted my mind was currently uncomfortable to be around. That coming from a mind squid made up of the dreams and nightmares of dead gods and eldritch beings said enough.

Against every fiber of my being wanting to say no and sleep it off, I subtly nodded and allowed Galarion to unload the next memory.

It played out. Two separate screens simultaneously running. One from my bodies perspective and the other from Galarion's. I watched my body move on its own.

Speak on its own.

My arm tensed, forced through his gut and holding him like skewered meat.

I-he-me played the villain well. For some reason my mask was off, slid above my head to expose my face to Vell. That expression wasn't mine, even if it wore my face to do it.

Then the moment came, the very air shook as the world took on a strange film around us. From Galarion's perspective the flame on my tail grew in size as did my horns sprout their own. Everything looked off–brightly colored and yet somehow dull.

My tail raised above my shoulder and stretched. When it reached past my hand, I pinched it between two fingers and pushed my nails against the bone. The rune imposed itself onto the crystal tip and mana surged.

"Never forget what I am, who you are. I don't torture this fool because I am not the anger you wield like a sharpened club. I am not anger. I am not rage. I am a demon of Wrath."

I sliced upward, cutting Vell apart and curving around my arm and move past his chest and through his jaw. The rune pulsed in my senses but the action happened in less then a second. Too quick to understand how it worked, but the results spoke for themselves.

Vell's body split apart and splattered on the ground. I turned my head to face Galarion and my familiar recoiled, flinching.

"You know where to find me. Don't take too long, I'm stupid enough to allow my soul to erode, and Áine's skill won't heal you this time." My eyes flashed red and the flames along my horns died as the rune on my tail faded. "Stop being a coward and face yourself, Cyrus. Now come take this memory Galarion. No need to fracture my fragile little mind more than it already is."

With that, I turned back to Vell and slid my mask into place. Galarion hesitantly floated over and extended a tentacle into my head, pulling the memory free. The scene went black and I opened my eyes in the present.

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