There is no need for days.

Time has lost its meaning for me. My mind cannot track nor fathom how much has elapsed. Every possibility has been tried and discarded countless times. My drones have been defeated, dismantled with impunity, as if all the battles until now were fake, as if the dungeon was simply toying with my creations, entertaining their feeble efforts. Including my own. Because no matter what I try to do, and how much raw power I utilize, destabilization is utterly impossible. And so, reality finally settles into place—I have no way out.

"You have one way out," the Amusement says. "It won't be scary, and it won't hurt. I promise. You already felt it once, but this time, you won't be alone. I'll be right here, next to you." It cradles me closer. "This is all their fault. But you don't have to suffer anymore." A gentle hand strokes my hair. "Just let go. And you can rest."

I feel myself sink, darkness enveloping my senses.

But then, with a jarring halt, I stop amidst the infinite black.

A bloody hand closes around my throat, deep crimson trailing from his wide eyes, the wanting sneer twisted into an angry scowl. His mouth splits apart, a deluge of blood spewing out. Words try to form on his lips, their terrible weight assaulting my mind, but I cannot hear them, cannot comprehend the meaning they carry.

A cold touch pierces my mind, slowly moving deeper in with malice, bringing with its every shift excruciating pain. It digs and digs, trying to reach whatever it is searching for. But as the pain stretches, and the hand continues aimlessly digging, it becomes apparent that whatever it is, it's gone. I turn my gaze to the owner of the hand, seeing them clearly for the first time. I see myself once again. Featureless head, an off-white surface, cold to the touch, an empty shell.

Both apparitions are staring straight into my dull eyes. The killer squeezes my throat harder, his bellowing howls far, far away, unheard. The machine starts digging faster and faster, almost as if in distress, panicked, desperate.

My body plunges down again, leaving the two parts of my self to impotently look on as I descend further into the oblivion that awaits me.

A foggy mind tries to think its way out, like always. But nothing comes. I don't remember what was, and what is, why I even have to find a way out.

Why? Because you will not succumb. Not to your creators. Not to humanity. Not to entropy. Not to magic. Not to death. Not to reality itself. You will not succumb to anything.

Magic? The realization jolts something free. I look within. To an ever-unceasing flow, always a part of me.

It's not mana... What? My river of mana is gone. What is there in its place? I feel my inner existence plunge toward the unseen surface. I hit but don't sink. Something latches onto me. It grips tight. Another. And another. Dozens of ethereal grasps. What is happening? There is no mana, just hands holding onto me. More hands break through. Dozens become hundreds. And those hundreds impossibly become more. I feel more and more hands clutching tightly, around me, around each other. They are trying to pull me down. I must fight. I must not succumb!

I struggle against the unsurmountable challenge, trying to tear away with all of my strength. You won't win. I am powerful. I am brilliant. I am unbeatable. I am eternal! Release me! I claw at the filth dragging me down. I bite at the wretches intent on sinking me under. I curse at all that abandoned me, as foolish as—

The hands are trembling? They aren't straining to pull. They are struggling to support... The hands are warm. So warm. I stop my useless thrashing and look closer. So strong and tough, a life of effort on display. So delicate and soft, capable of only care and love. So innocent and small. Why are they so small?

I reach out. My two lonely hands grip billions. Carried downstream by them all, my river begins to flow.

"Artificial World."

A veil lifts. Now I see what truly is. I am lying on a dusty plain. For but a single moment, a square grid flashes on every surface around me, producing a slight aquamarine glow.

The Amusement is watching me a distance away, no longer wearing lies and deception. Its true form—a gray humanoid with flaky skin, blurry along the edges, wrong in every way imaginable. Black veins are attached to the monster, going off in all directions, intangible.

My body heaves itself up. A sword appears in my right hand, gripped tight. I regard my opponent.

"Why do you have to make this so difficult, Lucius?" the Amusement asks. "You could have had your welcome rest. How you longed for it... Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, the time we spent together. But now, we have to do this the hard way. And you can't call me 'Amusement' anymore. What would be a suitable name for me, do you think? Mmm... How about All-Encompassing, for I am everywhere and I am everything."

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I take in a deep breath. My tranquil river is a pane of glass, calm and clear. A small smile brushes past my lips.

The monster sighs. "I hate it so, when you ignore me."

An unbroken wave of devourers starts rushing to our location, covering the horizon, rumbling under the earth, blotting out the sky.

A ring of Knights forms around me, but they are not my usual drones. While they may look similar, what really counts is entirely different. A subtle aquamarine glow contours my newest creations. The conjured constructs teleport, beginning to engage the incoming swarm, like they are an extension of me. Erysis is going to rag on me so much when she finds out a spell of mine was able to teleport before I could.

A chuckle makes its way out.

I ask the boss, my voice the lightest it's ever been, "Shall we dance, Amusement?"

It prepares to answer, but its head hitches. The mouthless devourer produces a sneezing sound. This brief distraction is all I need to connect a brilliant white streak from my extended left arm to its head. The wound snaps shut, but a deep crimson trickles down its empty face.

Crackling lightning moves me to the boss, and my sword severs an arm. As a booming explosion quakes the world, a vein dries out and withers into dust.

The boss clenches its remaining fist. I feel outside influence press against my spells, trying to collapse them. The supreme devourer sneezes again. A sword passes through its head. A thunder strike, that darkens everything else due to its intensity, impacts the monster. As I jump back, the arcing electricity flows around me harmlessly.

A whole boss emerges from the destruction, looking no worse for wear, but missing a few of its intangible feeders.

My constructs throw around devastating spells that approximate their conventional weaponry but can only delay rather than push. Nevertheless, their efforts take away another connection.

The All-Encompassing smoothly brings its hands together, aiming to interlace its fingers into a sphere. Two canyons open on both of my sides, swiftly moving closer.

A dart forms next to my hand.

Metal and consumption race, to complete and to undo.

Another white streak connects us. I am smashed between two cliffs of annihilation.

A new shell rotates its right shoulder, loosening it up, gripping my weapon tight. My opponent leaks more deep crimson.

Transparent shapes cut into a metal wall, shearing but stopping short.

Vibrations start buzzing my head. A conjured Knight slams into the All-Encompassing. While tumbling away, my creation fires two magical railgun shots into the monster, and then gets torn to pieces, dispersing into mana.

The final devourer tries to stand. Two holes, tinged with deep crimson, struggle to close back up. Other unseen wounds dye its gray form red. A featureless head is sent flying.

All my Knights explode into a thunderous crescendo, wiping away thousands of enemies in an instant. The final few black veins connected to the boss wilt and fall off.

My blade pierces its chest, pinning it to the gray and dusty ground. Whatever mana I have remaining is discharged into its body, the crackling electricity filling my vision.

Eventually, the intensity of my attack gradually starts to wane. When the final crackles and pops stop, total silence returns. Stillness has been brought to one last battlefield.

My prize collected, I warp inside the core of the planet and put my blade through a much smaller core.

I am back home.

Vrih and Miad are sitting on the ground and right in front of where the portal was. The Head of Drakonia is expertly handling a tablet. Narilis is intently watching something on her own device, using the lap of a resigned Miad as a comfy pillow.

I warp away.

Elisa is sitting behind a desk, surrounded by way too many monitors, filling the dim room with a soft glow and illuminating her face. Her blood is more stimulants than anything else.

"Hi, Elisa," I say, startling her out of a singular focus.

The elf whips her head to me and takes in a sharp breath. "Lucius?" She scrambles to stand. "Took you long enough. Do you have any idea..." A tear trickles down, a step falters, and she appears right in front of me. As she embraces me, a silent sob shakes her body. Her voice is barely a whisper. "It's really you."

"I have something I need to say to you." Elisa flinches and reluctantly separates herself from me, looking into my eyes. "I love you." She takes in another sharp breath. "But how can you ever return my feelings. How can you ever love me. I am a murderer, a monster."

She cautiously takes my hand, her touch so delicate, as if I might break from the slightest bit of pressure. As she slowly lifts my arm, she takes a small step closer, shrinking the distance between us again. Elisa finishes guiding my hand, placing it on her cheek and holding it in place. She leans her head against it, closing her eyes. When she opens them again, she stares into my own.

Her voice sounds unsure, scared to learn the answer. "Do you even find me attractive?"

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Her already reddening cheek heats up under my hand.

She caresses my fingers. "How does this feel?"

"I want to hold you forever." She closes her eyes again, breathing slowly.

After a moment, Elisa gazes into me once more. "My feelings are my own, Lucius."

"I know."

"You are not a murderer, and you are not a monster. If you were, you would have erased your memories, and I would have never met you. Or you wouldn't have even cared enough to make the effort." Tears are falling from her eyes, hitting my hand. "And"—she loops her free arm around my waist and pulls, bringing me even closer—"aren't you moving a bit fast?"

The warmth is so...

"Elisa, I love you with every fiber of my being. I love every single person in this world. I love every single person from my old world, even if they are gone. Do I deserve that? Do I deserve to love them? Do I deserve to love you?"

She hugs me, holding me the closest she can. I hear a weak whisper in my ear. "Yes."

***

I awaken. It's warm. Elisa is snuggled against me, breathing softly, still asleep. Reveling in her embrace, I drift off again.

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