The person—thing—tapped its fingers together. “A local, a human with strange armor, and a truly odd specimen. You made it past my pet; so you’re not helpless.”

  Pet? Did it just say that thing Bark called a deviant was its pet? How?

  Its voice echoed in my head again. “You can come out and put the door down. There is no reason for you to stand and gawk.”

  I exchanged glances with my companions. Killa nodded her head forward. We cautiously stepped forward.

  “So, you know what we are, but what are you?” I asked. I shivered as its tentacles flicked towards me.

  *Silence!” Something pressed into my mind. “You’re the intruders. I’ll ask the questions here.” The monstrous person waved their hand in an arc in front of them. Their hand glowed a pale blue as it moved. “You want to answer my questions.”

  I want to answer his questions. Something about it seemed less scary. There was a buzzing in the back of my head that got annoying really quickly.

  The host’s mind is being influenced. Please disregard the creature’s suggestions.

  Why?

  “Okay.” Bark stood up straight and stepped in front of us.

  Killa pulled on Bark’s arm. “What are you doing? We don’t owe this creature anything.”

  “Curious.” My new friend stroked its tentacles as it narrowed its eyes on my slime friend. “You obviously have intelligence, but I can’t detect any cerebral presence. Why?”

  I had to tell him about Killa.

  “She’s a slime woman,” I piped up. “She talks without lungs and is extremely flexible. But she used to be taller too. Oh, her magic is always a tentacle, so you should be friends.”

  “Enough.” The tentacle person held up his hand.

  Why? If he is going to be our new friend, he should know about her.

  It is not the host's friend. The host should either kill the enemy or flee.

  But he’s friendly.

  “Rina, what’s gotten into you?” She looked at Bark. “What’s gotten into both of you?”

  “You seem to be unaffected by my magic.” It pointed at Killa. “Dispose of her, since you know so much about her.”

  Something pressed into the side of my mind. Why would I kill my friend? “No. She’s my friend.”

  A heavy pressure bore down on my mind. I dropped to a knee and grabbed my head. “Kill her!”

  No. She’s my friend. You will not make me.

  The pressure increases. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision. “Your reason for living is to do what I say. Now kill her!”

  You’re wrong. I’m supposed to find out why I’m not allowed to exist. That guy said I have to die. Then I was told my existence was a crime. Now you’re telling me that I have to do what you say?

  “You can’t tell me what to do. Nobody will tell me what to do!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The pressure on my mind released.

  I stood up, pulled out my gun, and aimed it at the creature messing with my mind. Before I could pull the trigger, Bark slammed his sword onto my arm.

  His eyes were glossed over. The resounding clang of metal on metal surprised me, and the shock throughout my arms caused me to drop my gun. He then pulled me by my hair, wrapped his arms around me, and placed his blade against my throat.

  Killa’s hand was glowing, but she stopped. “Bark, what are you thinking?”

  My arms weren’t cut or dented as I expected. The durability of my arms would have been more impressive if I wasn’t concerned with something more important. I froze as the cold steel pressed against my throat sent a wave of fear through me.

  The creature’s tentacles flicked. Its voice resounded in my mind, “Defiance, interesting, but futile. Your wills are mine to command. If you won’t serve me willingly, then I will force you. If you don’t want me to order her death, you’ll do what I say.”

  Bark’s eyes remained vacant. The blade against my throat dug in a bit. I could feel blood trickling down from the slight wound. Orange, don’t heal the wound, not yet.

  Killa’s eyes darted back and forth between Bark and the tentacle-faced creature until she settled on the creature. “What do you want from us? Why capture us? Why not just kill us?”

  The creature’s gaze shifted to Killa, its eyes narrowing. “Death is a simple end, but useless to me at this point. There are secrets hidden deep within the Soul Nexus. Secrets I want to extract.” The tentacles twitched. That’s getting really creepy. “You are something that can give me access to those secrets.”

  I exchanged a glance with Killa, her eyes conveying her confusion. This creature wants to learn about the Soul Nexus, but for some reason, it can’t. But why not? What can we do to change that?

  “Who are you?” Killa’s voice remained steady, though I could detect the undercurrent of anger beneath her words.

  The creature seemed to hesitate, and its right eye seemed to twitch. “Thralls don’t deserve to know my name. No more pointless questions. Killing you would be a waste, but it’s something I will do if you test me further. You’ve come here for something, haven’t you? Something related to the Soul Nexus.” The voice in my head made a hiss.

  Killa’s eyes narrowed, her mind racing. “The Soul Nexus? What do you want to know about it? Why go through all this? You could just ask.”

  “Ask?” The creature’s laugh echoed in my mind and sent a chill down my spine. “You think I would stoop to asking? Nevertheless, the Nexus’ secrets are elusive. It can’t be compelled or coerced by conventional means. Communication has been impossible. However, you thralls are uniquely capable of communicating with it.”

  Killa’s eyes widened. “You want to use us to access the Nexus’s knowledge? Why? How?”

  The creature’s gaze bore into hers. “The point of contact holds clues to the Nexus’ secrets, but I can’t communicate with it. So you will have to be my proxy. But your compliance has been... lacking.” The voice took on a sinister edge. “So, will you do as you are told? Or do things have to get personal?”

  Bark’s grip on the sword tightened, and I could feel the blade biting into my skin. I need a plan, a way to free him from the creature’s control. Killa’s gaze shifted between Bark and me, her hands clenched and relaxing repetitively. To do that, I need Killa to handle that creature controlling him.

  “Your defiance is tiresome,” the creature hissed in my mind. “One word from me, and your friend’s life is forfeit.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  I could see it in her eyes. Killa was preparing something, something dangerous. I’m probably not going to like this. My gun was still at my feet, too far away to be of use. As the creature spoke, I saw Killa’s magical tentacle shimmer with more intense light. She was readying an attack, and I knew that I had to be prepared to act as well.

  Yeah, she’s definitely going to attack. Which means Bark is going to slit my throat. Orange, can you tell me if he cuts off my head, will it kill me?

  Yes. The host can survive if the host has sufficient energy stores. Which the host does not. If the host’s head is reattached to the torso, the host will survive using significantly less energy. But if enough of the host’s brain is destroyed, they will die instantaneously. Minor brain damage and other injuries will be regenerated with sufficient energy.

  That’s unsettling. “Killa, it’s fine.” I swallowed.

  “Rina,” she whispered. “Are you going to be okay?”

  Here’s to hoping he just cuts my throat. I forced a nervous smile, the creature still in the corner of my vision. “Yes, Killa, I’ll be fine. Just don’t let me lose my head.”

  Killa cocked her head to the side before nodding. She turned to the tentacle creature. “I’ve decided on a third option. I’m going to kill you.”

  Her arm glowed white, and she threw a white tentacle at his face. It latched onto its face and wrapped around its head. Bark’s blade sliced through my throat, and pain surged through me. My hands instinctively clamped onto the gushing wound as blood soaked my fingers. My breaths came in ragged gasps, and I could feel the blood filling my lungs.

  My nanites surged into action, knitting the torn tissue and sealing the wound. The pain dulled, replaced by a tingling sensation as the nanites worked.

  Killa’s attack was equally quick, her magical tentacle latching onto the creature’s face. Her other arm glowed as a green tentacle wrapped around her and threw her towards the creature. The tentacle faced guy let out a gurgling sound as it clutched the tentacle, covering it with its own tentacles. Killa then landed on its head, wrapping herself around it. Its hands and tentacles flailed wildly, striking Killa’s body as she grappled with it.

  Killa tightened around the creature’s head. The creature resisted as its tentacles and hands continued striking at Killa. Bark clutched his head, screaming as he dropped his sword.

  I grabbed my handgun and shot the creature in the stomach. It stumbled into the wall, and something seemed to shift in Killa’s body. The creature’s eyes seemed to collapse, and it lurched before slumping to the ground. The tentacles twitched in their death throes as their head started dissolving inside Killa’s body.

  I lowered the gun and tried to catch my breath. I coughed up blood as I felt my nanites push it out of my lungs. My energy bar only lowered by a fifth as a result.

  “Rina, are you alright?” Killa asked as she knelt in front of me. Her eyes sparked as she looked up at me as I spat out another glob of blood.

  “I’m going to live.” After another hacking fit, I wiped the blood from my lips. My lungs weren’t tingling, so it was the last of the blood. “It’s just some blood in my lungs. I’m done.”

  Bark sank to the ground, his eyes pouring tears down his face. “Rina, I’m so sorry.” He held out a hand as he choked on his own voice. “I didn’t mean to... I couldn’t control myself.”

  I offered him a weak smile. “It’s okay, Bark. That thing really got into our heads.” I looked down at my arms where Bark had hit them with his sword. “This upgrade has already paid off. You would have cut my hands off if my arms weren’t covered in this strange metal.”

  Bark slumped as more tears continued to flow. “I didn’t want to, but I did. I had to. It was like I needed to.”

  “Bark, stop.” Killa held up a hand. “We get it. Whatever that thing did to your mind was awful. I’ve never seen something like that before. But we’re still standing; it isn’t.”

  “Believe me, Bark, I know exactly what you’re trying to say.” I grabbed his shoulder. “It wasn’t easy to break out of his control.”

  Bark wiped his face on his arm. “But you did. You don’t know how helpless I felt. It took control so easily, I was useless. I was more of a harm to you two than anything. I could hear Killa’s voice, but it sounded so far away.”

  I shook my head. “You didn’t do any permanent damage.” I held up my arms and rubbed my neck with a hand. “See? It’s fine. If there was one of us who could take it, it’s me.” I got up and offered Bark a hand. “I know it wasn’t you, so there’s nothing to forgive. Now, let’s move on from this. My guess is that it was the reason there were no spiders down here. It called that deviant spider from upstairs its pet.”

  Killa nodded. “It also talked about communicating with a part of the Nexus. That has to be Gary. But why couldn’t he talk to Gary? Gary loves talking with anyone and everyone.”

  I waved a hand at the slime woman. “Why didn’t his mind tricks work on you? Because you don’t actually have a brain? But you heard it talking to you, right?” Orange?

  Insufficient information.

  Killa crossed her arms and tapped her chin. “I didn't hear him, more of felt him. But that actually answers both questions.”

  “Huh?” If that answers both questions, then... “How does this Gary not have a brain? What is Gary?”

  And how does Killa think if she doesn't have a brain?

  The same way some powerful elementals can have thoughts: magic.

  Can you elaborate?

  No. We have no knowledge of how magic works or is used. We only know it exists and the effects it can have.

  Killa walked around Bark and pushed him up. “Let’s go check up on him. There’s no point ruining the surprise now.”

  Bark barely held himself up and moped to the door. Something about that creature really got to him. Maybe if I give him some time, he’ll be back to his old self again. Is he still blaming himself for what he did, despite us telling him it’s not his fault?

  My heart ached to see him so despondent, but I couldn’t find any words to say.

  Killa gave me a worried look before grabbing her pack and leading us out.

  As we walked through the halls, the situation in the room played out in my mind on repeat. Is that the reaction other people will have if we see them in dungeons? That creature seemed less interested in climbing the Soul Nexus than studying it. Orange, do you have any idea what that thing was?

  No such creature or species exists in our data banks.

  That was something you knew nothing about. That’s worrying.

  We are not omniscient.

  I mindlessly followed the other two. Each room was a blur until we stopped in front of a set of double doors that were already open.

  Two bodies were stacked on each other in front of the gate. Both were shaylips and clearly dead by the openings in their head. Their eye sockets were hollowed out, their skull below the eyes was crushed, and a long opening split the back of their skulls. From what I could see, it looked like something ate their brains.

  Bark’s face dropped the moment he saw them. He moved the bodies so that they were neatly lined up next to each other. Killa and I just stood and watched him handle the bodies with an almost uncharacteristic gentleness.

  “Two more lost.” Bark’s whisper was heavier than the stale air. “I’ve failed two more souls.”

  I wanted to say something, but Killa placed a hand on me and shook her head. Our friend hung over the two corpses in an unsettling silence for several minutes. He broke the silence by going through their pockets.

  “What are you doing?” I screeched.

  Bark didn’t stop, pulling out a small vial of black liquid. It was much thinner than the liquid metal of inactive nanites. “Whatever resources they have are better suited to be used by us rather than wasting away here. It’s too late to save them, but the least I can do is make their deaths worth it.” He held up the vial. “Do you know what this is?”

  I shook my head. “Not a clue.”

  He pocketed it. “It’s an oil harvested by darkrootshroom.”

  Killa tilted her head. “That’s not one I’m familiar with. Is that something specific to the Soul Nexus?”

  He nodded. “I don’t know, but it’s available in a few other dungeons on this floor. If they used it against that mind controlling creature they probably still would be alive.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Bark stood up, seemingly only finding another vial of the oil. “This oil disrupts mana. If they coated their weapons in it and struck it, it wouldn’t have been able to control them like it did me. But if it controlled them, why did it kill them?”

  Killa pointed to one of them. “From what I can tell, it looks like it ate their brains.”

  I shuddered. Gross.

  Bark motioned to the doors. “Let’s go.”

  Killa followed in behind our depressed friend.

  Inside was a room full of rocky debris. The ceiling had collapsed at one point, but a large portion of rock had been pushed to the sides, revealing something. On top of a heavily scratched metal pillar sat an equally damaged dome-shaped robotic head. It had eyes that were square yellow lights and a rectangular yellow light stretched horizontally for a mouth.

  “Has the mute gone?” a static robotic voice asked. As I heard the words, the light from the mouth of the robotic head flickered.

  I pointed at the head. “Is that Gary?”

  Killa skipped in front of the head and waved her arms out. “Yup. Rina, meet Gary. Gary, meet Rina. You’ll have a lot to talk about.”

  Of course. Why couldn’t anything be normal here?

  “There is something about you that doesn’t belong,” Gary said. “But I welcome you all the same artificial one, Rina.”

  He knows I’m an artificial soul?

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