Fragile Mind

The adrenaline left the sergeant's body in an instant. He fell to his good knee, wincing as his other leg's injury worsened. He swore to himself; he was so caught up on killing Gorn that he had forgotten about the blood gushing from his leg. Now he was woozy from the blood loss and could feel his consciousness fading away.

'This is what happens when you let a wound this bad flow with blood uninterrupted for twelve minutes,' he lamented. 'Guess I'm gonna die after all…'

Fate watched the courageous man fall with a grave expression. To his back, the shaman tutted and lowered the Mana barriers. The imp stared placidly at the space where Gorn had sunken into the rock, unpleased with having lost such a useful tool.

"A shame, truly," the shaman bemoaned. "He was the only one of my brothers that didn't suffer from crippling stupidity and laziness. It's a true shame that he won't be here to see you four pass into the void."

Fate didn't notice how the shaman already wrote the sergeant off as dead. He realized that he had never learned the man's name, a sad thought that made the entire situation even more miserable.

"Now, hold on!" Bregg said. "You said we could go free if we killed him!"

"Wrong, human," the shaman hissed. "Gorn said that, not I. He does not have the power to dictate my actions, not in life, and certainly not in death. And as I said before, releasing you would mean the end of the goal I have spent centuries working toward. My brothers would turn on me, and hunt you down soon after."

"You pale light-worshippers aren't leaving this cave alive!" shouted an imp.

The cavern rumbled as the thousands of other imps vocalized the same sentiment, even the ones behind the illusion of the cave walls, something that caused the shaman to scrunch his face in anger.

"Silence, you fools!" the mystic shouted. His voice rang out like a thunderclap, washing over the imps with a trace of Mana.

At once, the imps shut their mouths, the ones behind the illusion cowering as they realized their mistake, although Fate and his group could not see this. The yellow-skinned imp turned his red gaze to the Guards, a withered wooden staff appearing in his hand, with a ring at the top that gave it the appearance of a knobby butterfly net without the net.

The imp pointed this staff at the humans, blood-red eyes narrowing as Mana surged from him and into the staff. "Die with grace, humans. Die with the knowledge that soon, our kind will have no reason to war any longer."

"Fuck this! I'm not dying for that stuck-up bastard and his 'code!'" Bregg made a break for it, an explosion of light bursting outward and blinding all in attendance. When Fate's eyesight recovered, he found Bregg's corpse pinned to the wall next to the exit tunnel by two nails embedded in his hands. A third nail pierced his forehead, his expression locked into eternal surprise.

"Running will not save you," the shaman said amusedly, lowering his staff. "And since you want to make it difficult, I shall give the three of you a taste of my true power before your inevitable deaths. Archmad's Chains."

Chains of light manifested from thin air, binding Brent, Gus, and Fate and forcing them to their knees in a situation similar to what the sergeant had done to Gorn. The shaman crossed the distance between them, staring into the hateful eyes of Gus. To Gus' left, Brent raised his voice.

"How the hell are you doing this? Imps can't have Facets, and yet somehow you have Light, Earth, and Sound?!"

The imp shaman's apathetic gaze flitted from Gus to Brent. "Do you know how shamans like me come to be?"

"A mutation that repurposes any Mana you absorb so you can use Mage Reach," Brent said confusedly after a few seconds, not understanding how that was related.

"But what if that mutation mutated once more?"

The older man's eyes widened as he caught on. "You don't mean – "

"Yes, I have evolved past the constraints of other shamans of my race. Along with Mana expanding my Mana pool, like a typical imp shaman, it also gives me the capability to use a brief fraction of the power of the Facet whose Mana I stole.

"This is how I can cast Spells. But sadly, my powers will never grow past the Master Stage, which is why I need a human to work my masterpiece.

"But enough talk. It is time for me to learn who you three truly are. My Spell shall make you relive every memory you have while allowing me to see them as well. After I dispose of you, I shall use this knowledge to end your bloodlines as recompense for the deaths you have caused today. Fragile Mind."

The three let out simultaneous screams as a tendril of Mana stabbed into their brains, rooting through their synapses before their worlds went dark.

Madds and Richard dropped to a knee, having just killed the imps charging down the tunnel. "We won't be able to do that again sarge," panted Madds. "This stone is tougher than we thought."

"Go back outside, then," the sergeant said. "Guard our backs and recuperate your strength. The rest of us will go find the shaman and gut the fucker. When you feel up to it, come join us."

'Ah, there are two others with you,' the shaman's voice said from within Fate's mind. 'I'll be sure to take care of them when I'm done with you.'

Fate's thoughts whirled, stopping on his Awakening Ceremony. He recalled with excruciating detail the looks of jealousy and hate the townsfolk of Brergan gave him when he succeeded where they had failed.

'Interesting, but unimportant,' the shaman sniffed. 'Further.'

"What makes you think I'd ever marry someone like you?" Samantha said disdainfully, her blue eyes regarding him with contempt as her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You're a freak, and you always will be. And with that mark on your back, your chances of getting a job to support me are nil."

Fate was a child once more, barely nine years of age, and was kneeling against the bed as he gripped his mother's hand. His mother smiled, as beautiful as an angel even when at death's door, as she whispered reassuring words to him.

Tears streaked down his face as he felt his mother's tight hold grow limp, and he fought against his father's hold as he was dragged away.