The Fool's Freedom

Alan could feel the curse at work. The first time had been different, as it hadn’t been truly his. Just a memory of a strange ability that had somehow swum up from the shadows and destroyed what had once been Bonez’s mind. But now it was. The terror, the grief, and the buried trauma spilling out of his target's mind and into the waking world was too much even for him.

He couldn’t see what the person was seeing, but he could feel bits and pieces and with surprise, he realized that he could influence the effect. He could guide it, but he was not strong enough yet. As he reached toward the curse and tried to finetune the details his mind was simply overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. It did seem like something in the realm of mind magic, but it was also something far deeper and far worse.

He was like a therapist who brought trauma out to light only to twist it and use it as a tool to harm. Alan didn’t know how he felt about that. He had been consumed by rage and pain the first time it had happened and he had greatly enjoyed Bonez’s suffering. Now, however, it felt even worse than outright killing the guy.

There was another aspect to it too. A curiosity. A desire to peek into the horror behind those inhuman eyes and learn and experience the worst bits of someone else’s life. Alan had never been one to meddle in the affairs of others, nor was he alright with others meddling with him.

Quite hypocritical of me. He thought. Here he was, killing indiscriminately, destroying lives at the flicker of a shadowy blade.

He justified it to himself to an extent. It was for the common good. It was to save the fractal and to help his new friends. Lives were cheaper than ever in this new System driven reality.

The [Curse of Buried Shadows] was terrifying and imagining it being used against him made him quite afraid. It was like a weapon that should not be, and it was at his disposal. There had been only a slight resistance when he had used it now, and he assumed higher-tier enemies might have workarounds against it. What if there were skills with similar strengths out there? What if it could backfire and be returned to him?

He didn’t want to think about it. It was bad enough that he was afraid of his own newly gained power.

He walked closer to the twitching form of his enemy but paused. Another hooded figure landed nearby. You too?

Alan felt an urge just quickly to break this new enemy. It was in the way of his fun! No. It was no fun. Fighting was fun, what he was doing was not fun. This was simply destroying someone in the worst way possible. He wanted to end the poor bastard's mystery. Being left tortured and afraid by the shadows of the past was fate much worse than death. It would be so simple with his speed. Alan shook his head and chased some of the ideas the shadows were putting there.

“What did you do?!” the new figure asked, their voice filled with anger. Why did they care? Was it a friend? How could they even tell with all the goddamn hoods everyone had on.

“Won,” Alan responded. He meant it. The shadows cheered him on and even the silent Xil chuckled in his mind.

“Stop it. Now.”

The shadows stirred at the demand. Why would I? “Your friend tried to kill me, and you’re an enemy as well. Why should I listen to you?”

His will covered the surroundings, bleeding them of color. Wisps of shadow could be seen passing by, whispering and laughing in languages long lost to time and history. It was draining him, and Alan didn’t know if he could keep it up for very long. However, the curse fed the strange manifestation much like the one stealing life fed his dark servants or him.

Do I recover by making others suffer? Breaking them? That’s kind of sick. It was too… evil. He was not a villain. He was just a guy trying to live his life in this new reality.

His attention was once again turned toward this new enemy. They were weak. Much weaker than the one blankly staring at the brownish-red sky above. The one currently fighting his past and whatever hurt was contained in it. They were like those he had easily killed, stabbed, cut apart. Like those he didn’t even think about who were just obstacles in his way.

The world felt colder now. Was it his will and the shadows bound to it making it so?

The figure before him seemed to tremble. Few of the fights around him had ended, and the survivors were focused on the screams that suddenly reached Alan’s ears too. It was mostly outpost guards remaining, as the hooded figures were pulling back toward the dragon.

Alan frowned. How long had the screaming been going on? Was his enemy screaming from the very start, or was there some change brought by his curse? He hadn’t paid attention.

“You are a monster,” the new figure said. A ball of water shot from it and harmlessly splashed against the shadows. Even [Monochrome Armor] seemed to have grown larger, shrouding him like a protective suit that kept the world at a distance.

“We’re just on different sides,” Alan responded.

Arrows made of boiling liquid shot out at him but couldn’t even force him to replenish the [Monochrome Armor]. Alan moved in a blur and his dagger swung. The new arrival screamed as their hand was separated from their body by the dagger that extended almost like a mix between a sword and a whip and reached them at a strange angle.

Round spheres of darkness appeared around the fleeing enemy and bound it with chains of solid black. Alan didn’t need to use the full form of [Chains of the Dark Servants] as it required life energy to give the illusion of life to the servants. This new enemy was weak, and for some reason, the concern they had shown had made him reluctant to outright kill them.

Alan had accepted the robed figures as monsters until now. It made him feel strange. He didn’t want to live in a delusion only to justify his actions. He was still going to fight, and he was going to kill, but it would be with wide-open eyes and the acceptance of what he was doing. They were people, even if most of them were not human.

“What is your aim here?” Alan asked.

The figure didn’t respond. Strange manifestations of water appeared and tried to break the bindings, but it was worthless. Weak.

Alan shrugged and focused on the one suffering the curse… He pulled at the connection. That much he could do even now. It took a moment until the screaming stopped and a few more before his target’s eyes focused. They were filled with terror and tears.

The air shimmered violently and their body broke apart like glass, disappearing from where they had just laid. Alan grinned. So you can still run. The curse came back with full force and whatever skill was being used fell apart instantly. The screams returned and the figure appeared a few meters away, clutching at its head and crying.

I guess I shouldn’t prolong this. They were enemies.

“ALAN! RUN!” Xil suddenly screamed. “HE’S—”

The demon’s voice disappeared as if muted by another presence.

Alan swiveled around as he sensed danger and his mind went blank.

Mortal danger.

Danger which made his heart leap in his chest. The small domain of will he had created fell apart an instant later and briefly, he imagined he heard new voices coming from the shadows. Worried. Angry.

He looked toward the dragon. And the clash high up in the sky where explosions raged in futility against various barriers.

He looked at the battlefield that had become fragmented as groups had created space around them, dueling to the death for a cause that seemed almost silly. The enemies were retreating slowly.

He blinked and his field of view became obscured.

Alan found himself face to face with a blank dark mask and a mummified jaw. There was a sword as dark as the abyss to the side of the masked man, still sheathed, and for a brief moment, it distracted Alan from all the alarms ringing in his head.

[First Pathfinder] had remained dormant, which meant the person had appeared without using spatial tricks.

Alan didn’t wait as he pushed back and swung with both daggers. The shadow slashes crashed into the black armor, and the man tilted his head.

In the next instance, Alan found himself unable to move his arm. Black armored fingers were holding his forearm with unmovable strength. The blank mask was next to him again. He threw him to the ground almost in a casual manner, without intent to hurt, but Alan felt the air leave his body.

The masked man stood above him, and it seemed it was only the two of them left on the whole fractal. He stood motionless, unhurried to attack.

Alan felt outclassed. Truly and utterly outclassed. He prepared to cast the [The Curse of Buried Shadows]. It was his strongest skill at the moment. There was not enough life force left in the large parasite he had cursed so long ago for a proper [Sacrificial Attack].

He didn’t want things to come to that either.

“What is that skill?” the masked one asked. The words came like a ghastly wail as if forcing them out had a price. The mask was turned toward the still screaming form of Alan’s previous enemy. The one bearing the weight of the curse.

Alan remained silent. He felt the cold sweat on his back and the madness stirring inside of him. Was this tier two? Was the gap that large? Come closer you fuck. Just come. I’ll show you.

“What is its name, friend of the Undying Greyheart?”

A lightning struck Alan’s mind. Back in the Transient Bazaar, as he was leaving the cottage, there had been two people seeking a meeting with the Old Greyheart. A strange woman, and what Alan had assumed had been her guard. Was this the same person?

“Y-you. You were there.”

“Do not fear me. I shall not kill a friend of the Undying. My mistress would be angered,” the blank mask said.

What the fuck is going on.

“What is the name—” the blank mask paused and raised a hand. It was a casual movement, but Alan felt his mouth dry out at it.

A steel orb crashed into the raised armored hand and was stopped dead in its tracks. The hand of the blank mask closed around it and crushed it with ease unlike any Alan had seen. He knew who that orb belonged to, and seeing it destroyed like that was inconceivable.

He scrambled backward, using the opportunity. With all of his speed, he put some distance between himself and the strange person. Not that speed would save him.

Kalyntha came down almost at the same time. There was an army of steel orbs around her. She didn’t look at Alan or the battlefield, as her eyes were unblinkingly staring at the one in the black armor.

“What is a [Blackguard] doing here?” she asked. Her voice was tense, shaky. Is she angry? Or is she… afraid? No, Kalyntha was never afraid.

The man didn’t respond. He threw the crushed orb back to her as if tossing a ball to a child. It melted and reformed midair becoming whole again and joining the swarm around her.

The shadows around Alan were oddly quiet now. And thinner.

“Will you fight us?” Kalyntha asked again.

“I have a purpose. The dragon… I won’t fight for it. His presence changes things,” he pointed toward Alan, “and so does yours, daughter of metal. I will not interfere in this fight. But if you attack me, I will defend.” The man responded. “I do want an answer, friend of the Undying.”

Kalyntha threw a confused look toward Alan, then back at the [Blackguard].

Alan shivered.

“I’ve no answers for you. Not here. Not now.” He eventually responded.

The [Blackguard] remained motionless for a few tense seconds, then nodded. He threw something toward Alan – a small plate with a featureless mask engraved on it.

“We shall speak again.”

And just like that he was gone. Alan looked up and found him standing near the dragon again. A robed person seemed to speak to him, but the [Blackguard] remained motionless.

There was another figure next to the strange man. Alan realized the screams were gone. Did he take that bastard along? Why? Is he going to try and figure out my skill?

Kalyntha exhaled loudly, in both relief and frustration. “This is bullshit. Fucking bullshit!” She quietly said before turning toward Alan. “We’ll talk later. Don’t tell anyone about this!”

“Could you have… fought him?” Alan asked.

“Not even close. Maybe my original…Fuck. If he says he won’t stop us, then he won’t stop us. Come, let’s end this. I might need some help. I can’t fight a tier two on my own in this state and Ziri is still busy.”

What the fuck…

“You’re one… I don’t know. Lucky doesn’t even begin to describe you. I almost think dying would be a mercy compared to some of the shit you get involved with.” Xil said. “That thing was not normal. Not at all. I don’t think anyone here can fight it.”

Another figure rose from behind the dragon just as Kalyntha took the air and the fractal seemed to tremble slightly. For some reason, Alan decided that the whole thing coming crashing down wasn’t the scariest thing about the situation.