Die. Respawn. Repeat.

I try to get Bimar to tell me more about this Trialgoer, but she's shaken enough from the mere mention of Teluwat that she refuses to talk about it until we're safely back at Miktik's workshop. That's going to be a process in and of itself, because we have to figure out what to do with the frog-assassin-men first; eventually, we decide to just lock them up in one of the many empty holding cells that are available.

Letting them go would pose too many problems, and we might have more questions for them later. Bimar doesn't seem like she's in a state to come up with any, and I don't know enough to know what to ask.

They don't bother putting up a struggle, which is... a little disgruntling, for various reasons. One of them does try to go invisible and slip away, but he almost immediately turns back when I so much as glance at him, like the force of my gaze was enough to scare the idea out of his mind.

"There are a few holding cells that are adjacent to specially-built medical facilities," Bimar says. "We'll use one of those if you care about the nearly-dead ones."

"They do," I say, which isn't quite an answer to Bimar's implied question. Ahkelios gives me a questioning look, and I just shake my head slightly.

"Right." Bimar says nothing further. She just guides us toward the cells in question. I use a combination of Barrier and Accelerate to move the injured without jostling them too much, then set them down inside the cells when they're ready—Bimar doesn't take long to get them ready. She sets it all up with smooth, practiced motions, her gaze completely distracted and far-away all the while.

It's enough to bring up a lot of questions, but nothing I want to ask right now.

"There's something here you might be interested in, by the way," Bimar says bluntly, just as I think we're ready to leave. I frown and glance at her—there's no change to her expression. It's like she's bringing it up more as an afterthought than anything else. She's still focused on whatever the deal with this Teluwat is. "Cell block B. I found a file. Here."

I take the papers she hands me—how she managed to fold them under her wings I have no idea—and the words on the file make my eyes widen slightly; they're enough to completely redirect my train of thought, at least for the moment.

"Ahkelios," I say. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Only one way to find out," the mantis replies. From how intently he's staring at the file, I can tell he's hoping.

I can't sense another one of Ahkelios's Remnants nearby, but the holding cells here are pretty capable of blocking Firmament—I suppose they have to be, considering the nature of the experiments they're apparently running down here.

"You know where cell block B is?" I ask.

"Just around the corner." Bimar nods to a bend in the corridor ahead of us, and I hurry on.

This, at least, doesn't need to be complicated.

Remnant-02-A, as labeled by the file, is exactly what I think it is. Which makes me wonder about the number-letter scheme this lab is using and how many other Remnants they might be aware of.

It doesn't even take a search to find the exact cell that's holding the Remnant—a loud, screeching banging identifies the only occupied cell in the block pretty quickly. Ahkelios and I both come to a stop in front of the cell, staring at the grotesque monster behind it.

"I can hear your thoughts, you know," Ahkelios grumbles at me. "I'm not that ugly."

"Ahkelios, that's a monstrous version of you that has a giant tumor instead of that neck fluff you've got. And it's covered in spikes. Like a cactus. But ugly."

"Are you saying you wouldn't love me if I had a giant tumor and was covered in spikes?" Ahkelios crosses his arms over his chest.

I laugh, reaching up to give his chin a light flick. "Don't be ridiculous. If this guy was being witty at me instead of drooling acid that's burning his own chitin I'd probably like him a lot more," I say. "You ready to reintegrate him?"

"Am I allowed to say no?" Ahkelios asks. "Because now that I think about it, maybe I don't want to merge with him. What if I get spikes too? I wouldn't be able to sit on your head anymore."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," I say dryly.

Beneath the banter, there's a subtle feeling of tension. It's not that either of us are worried about the strength of this new Remnant, though it's clearly stronger than the monster that used to kill me at the start of my loops. Even if we can't kill it now, we'll find a way to kill it eventually.

No, the tension is more about how it might change Ahkelios. About how much it might cause him to remember.

I unlock the cell door, and several things happen in rapid succession.

The Remnant comes charging at us. I Warpstep behind it, already prepared. Ahkelios follows up by leaping off my head into the same twisting spin he used to punch himself through his last Remnant. This time, the Remnant reacts, crossing its arms in front of his attack and causing him to bounce harmlessly off of its blades.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I hear him cry out. I'm already charging back toward the Remnant—the crowded cell and corridor doesn't exactly give me a lot of room to maneuver, but it does give me the ability to use the walls to alter my momentum at a moment's notice. I reach out with a hand to catch Ahkelios, then toss him up toward the ceiling so he can reorient himself; at the same time, I charge my arm with Crystallized Strength and shield it with an Amplified Gauntlet, then Accelerate myself toward the Remnant, swinging in for an empowered punch.

The Remnant reacts. It holds up one arm as if to ward me off, but the second one is moving in a sharp, complicated pattern beneath it, so fast I have difficulty following it even with the benefit of Quicken Mind. The force of my fist punches straight through its first arm, shattering the blade—

—and then I experience a rebound impact so hard it shatters the Amplified Gauntlet of solidified Firmament off of my arm and nearly breaks the bone beneath it. I hiss in pain, retreating a few steps so I can recover while Ahkelios picks up the slack.

That was the Spatial Cut.

I can't tell exactly what happened. The name of the skill made me assume it was a sort of portal-creating ability, not unlike the way the Interface opens a portal into the Empty City when I ask it for dungeon access—but what the Remnant did there was very different. It did cut into space, but it was almost like it did so just to lock it into position, turning what was essentially empty space into an impenetrable barrier.

That's... a pretty impressive use of that skill. Creative, too. Almost intelligent.

Which is a little bit worrying when it comes to potential future Remnants of Ahkelios, especially considering at least one Remnant was fully conscious and intelligent.

"I don't suppose you can talk?" I say out loud. Ahkelios stops mid-flight to give me an incredulous look, which is just enough of a distraction that the Remnant is able to bat him out of the air; he slams into the nearest wall with an almost-familiar crack that makes dread coil in my stomach. I can't quite keep the worry out of my voice. "Ahkelios!"

"You distracted me," he complains, picking himself off the ground. I sigh with relief; he's fine. "Why'd you ask if it can talk?"

"Because it's fighting smart!"

The Remnant makes a noise. Both of us turn sharply to look toward it—it isn't outright trying to attack us anymore, though it doesn't look like it's decided on peace, either. It takes us a moment to figure out that it's... laughing.

The sound is a choked warble that makes its tumorous neck vibrate uncomfortably.

"Ew," Ahkelios says.

"Yeah, nope, we're killing that thing," I decide with a grimace.

Another choked, warbling laugh. It moves toward us, a disturbing, staccato movement that almost doesn't look like a charge until I realize it's covering a lot more space than it should.

"That's a Triplestep!" Ahkelios calls out, alarmed.

"Yeah, I noticed that!" I use another Warpstep—

—only to stumble as I reappear halfway down the corridor, my vision swimming and my Firmament suddenly burning with a persistent ache. There's a ringing in my ears that nearly drowns out the sound of Ahkelios's cry of concern, alongside a metallic taste in my mouth that's far too reminiscent of blood.

What... just happened?

I stagger to my feet. Ahkelios is distracting the Remnant in the background, and I try to use those precious seconds to gather myself—but even then, everything feels like it's happening too quickly. It takes me a moment to realize that my connection with Quicken MInd was disrupted, and that I have to reactivate the skill.

I let out a slow breath.

The Warpstep worked. I'm about where I intended to teleport. There's a sharp ache inside me that I'm almost certain is Firmament strain from overusing my skills, but there was almost no leadup, no warning. I felt a slight pull internally, but I've always had more warning than this.

Doesn't matter. No time to think. We're still in a fight. I'll need a better way to keep track of how many skills I can use and how frequently I can use them—not knowing my own limits is going to get me killed.

No more Warpsteps. Minimal Firmament use. What skill do I need?

Phaseslip. Accelerate.

The Remnant does try to react to me, to its credit, but the rock-solid barrier of space it erects in front of me is useless—it's a spatial barrier, not a Firmament barrier. Phaseslip lets me pass through it like it isn't even there. The familiar crackling thrum of Crystallized Strength fills my arm, and I wind up to land a punch hopefully somewhere right in the middle of its brain.

Instead, I encounter resistance.

There's a core of Firmament in its body that keeps me out when I have Phaseslip active. I grit my teeth and try to compensate, calling forth the now-sluggish Firmament in my body and trying to force more into Crystallized Strength.

At the same time, the Remnant moves. Its entire body pivots and it launches itself at me, a spiky wrecking ball of still-laughing rage. I stumble backward, an instinctive attempt at Warpstep only bringing forth a bout of nausea; a bladed arm swings down toward me—

Ahkelios rushes in to create a bright, flaring distraction, and it's just enough for me to twist out of the way. I catch myself against the wall, pain rattling through my body.

Come on. I need options. My mind feels like it's working against me, like I'm struggling against the current of my own thoughts.

Then Bimar shows up. She takes one glance at the Remnant, looks at me, and then flings her knife directly toward... well, it feels like she threw it toward my head, but it was probably technically a few inches to the right.

I catch it. Barely. Firmament Control lets me extend its reach, and I stab forward, pushing a chunk of Bimar's Firmament straight into the Remnant's skull. There's a loud, disgustingly visceral crack before its body collapses.

Temporal Link.

There. Ahkelios... needs that. To link with his Remnant. I can feel the resonance between him and the Remnant snapping into place, and I catch a glimpse of the Interface popping up with a notification—with more than one notification—but I can't focus on either event.

I'm dizzy. Incredibly dizzy. And the exhaustion that's pushing through me is now so intense it's taking everything I have not to collapse entirely. I'm struggling to understand how I could have strained myself this much this suddenly, but it's all I can do to stay conscious, and even that's rapidly slipping away from me.

The last thing I think is that I really hope I don't lose this loop like this. That would just be embarrassing.