Chapter 59: Inside the Mind

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Inside the Mind

"Victor!" Brika’s voice rang out from the distance, coming from a blurry memory Victor could see before his eyes.

"Victor!" a child shouted, his voice blending with Brika’s.

"Victor!"

Again and again, deep inside his mind and surrounded by darkness, he heard distant voices calling his name. The next moment, he opened his eyes just as a powerful punch connected with his face. He stumbled backward, crashing into the lockers lining the hallway.

Confused, Victor blinked a couple of times until he found himself in a place he thought he’d buried deep within his memories.

"This is..." he muttered to himself, but another punch struck him in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.

’I remember,’ he thought.

The looks on everyone’s faces. That girl calling out to him.

’I remember it all too well.’

He closed his eyes, darkness enveloped him, and the next moment, he opened them again in the solitude of an alley littered with trash. He was holding a broken glass bottle in his hand, while another homeless man stood in front of him, gripping a metal rod.

"I told you to give it back!" the homeless man shouted.

"I don’t want to!" Victor replied, charging at the other man.

Darkness flooded his mind once again, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the sky with a soda and a piece of stale bread in his hands. He was sitting on a park bench at night, completely alone and filthy.

Once again, darkness swallowed everything he could see. There were no more visions this time. However, floating in the empty void, a pair of eyes opened. They were bright, blood-red, and gave off a strange, oppressive sensation.

Lost in the darkness, Victor watched as a System window appeared:

[You have fallen victim to the Path: The Wendigo’s Lullaby]

[You are under the effect of the ability: Soul Gaze.]

[All your memories now belong to Richard Graves (Serial Killer).]

’A serial killer? I don’t even know why I’m not surprised.’

He tried to escape from wherever he was. He thought it through carefully. Then he tried to strengthen himself with Against All Odds, but...

[You cannot use abilities within your mind unless they belong to the "Psychic Abilities" type.]

Suddenly, the Wendigo spoke:

"Goggles has had a pretty complicated life, huh?... Wouldn’t you like to remember everything all at once?"

Victor clenched his fist. So this was what the beast had used on Brika to leave her so mentally broken.

He didn’t need to imagine what kind of things the little goblin girl had experienced for remembering them all to hurt her so badly. But now that he no longer had the Fairy Tear’s help, he felt as though he’d lost any chance of winning.

"Let’s dig a little deeper, Goggles. Every memory. Every night you cried. Every time you questioned what you were doing."

Richard Graves burst out laughing.

"Who you are... ’Someone who tries so hard to please others.’ It was a rather tragic way of thinking, if you ask me. It’s a good thing you only look out for yourself now."

"Get out of my head, you damn monster. There’s nothing here for you."

"Nothing here? But this is an amazing playground! I just need to make a few little adjustments, and..."

Darkness once again flooded Victor’s mind. Another memory took shape before him. It was seen from the perspective of a small child who, inside a rundown room, stood in front of two other children, protecting them from the shadow of an adult figure who was raising a hand.

Victor closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was staring directly into the eyes of that monster in the darkness.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU SON OF A—!" Victor shouted, but his mouth suddenly snapped shut, interrupted by the Wendigo’s mental powers.

"Shhh... Let’s watch our language, Goggles. Wouldn’t want to disappoint Mommy and Daddy with all those nasty words, would you?"

Victor struggled with all his might, but nothing worked.

"Listen to me. Listen to my voice. We’re going to play a game. Yes, a very fun game. I like looking for things. I think it keeps the mind active and healthy. So here’s what we’re going to do."

Outside Victor’s mind, Richard Graves extended his other hand and placed it on Brika’s head, forcing her to look into his eyes. Then, inside Victor’s mind, in the deepest darkness, a small green light appeared.

’Brika...’

"I’m going to hide the little goblin inside a maze of memories. If you manage to find her within an hour, I’ll let you leave together so you can both keep enjoying the second scenario. But if you fail, I’ll tear you apart in front of her, wear your skin, and use your abilities. If you lose... you disappear, and I become you. Are we clear?"

Victor didn’t answer.

"Oh, right. Your mouth."

"You damn bastard, you son of a—!"

"Wow. Hold your horses, you potty mouth. Anyway, that’s what you have to do. Exactly one hour," the Wendigo said.

A countdown appeared in front of Victor.

"However, these won’t be limited to your memories or the little goblin’s. After all, you aren’t the only ones I’ve come across. Anyway, good luck, Goggles. Win this game for me."

A snap echoed. Everything turned white. Victor fell face-first onto the dirt, his hands smaller than he remembered. When he got back to his feet, he noticed he was wearing a Boy Scout uniform and that his body had returned to the time when he was around eight years old.

He stared into nothingness for several long seconds.

"It was this or die... It was this or die!"

Unable to contain his anger, he punched a tree.

"Ah! Damn it!"

However, the pain was so intense that his fist began to bleed. With tiny tears of pain gathering at the corners of his eyes, Victor held his injured hand and looked around.

"A maze of memories... Memories..."

[The god "Serpent That Bites Its Own Tail" is interested in your past.]

[The god "Fisher of Opportunities" begins theorizing about your past.]

[An unnamed god rolls its eyes.]

[The god "President of the Snows" has taken an interest in your story.]