I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was picking itself back up, slowly but very surely, and it couldn’t just be my imagination. The tales of an Amrita’s immortality had apparently all been true. It really was going to keep on coming back up no matter how many times we defeated it.

Being able to feel my arms again, I dragged myself through the opening at the end of the wall, the concrete digging into my flesh, and eliciting a small cry of pain. My mind flashed, and I was transported to a fresh memory once again. This time, I was standing in some open plains, with a woman next to me. She had silvery robes on, with a crafted bow and iron-tipped arrows. Her face was young, without wrinkles and her eyes sharp.

There were forests on either side of the plains, reaching back into the distance, and far-flung trees rose into the sky, obscured by a fog that covered everything more than sixty or seventy feet away.

There were some peaceful creatures grazing on the plains, locking their horns together and pushing each other back. They resembled bulls in a sense, with powerful legs and meaty bodies. Every so often one of them would near a potential mate and initiate a show of strength up right next to them, though the females largely gave them little to no attention as their horns clashed.

“All right, you can exceed my expectations now,” I said, and looked at the archer. My companion smiled at me and unleashed a hail of arrows that did not hit even a single one. They scattered aimlessly, running off in all directions, but mainly avoiding the forest.

“Well, that was spectacularly bad,” I teased, putting my arm around her.

“Just watch,” she said, still smiling. She turned her bow upwards, and fired off an arrow while still looking at me. I snorted as I saw the arrow fly off, twirling through the air, until it smacked straight into one of the creatures. It gave a cry of pain, before falling over with a thump and remaining still. She repeated the procedure until not one creature remained standing. She then did a little bow. “How was that?” she asked, trying to contain her laughter.

“Ah, much better than expected,” I said, pulling her towards me.

“Wait, what’s that next to the forest?” She pointed to a pond behind a pale of trees. There was a dark shadow coming from around them, with a long appendage flicking around. “Wait here, I’ll go check it out.”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes. “What would I do without you,” she muttered under her breath. “My knight in shining armor.”

I made my way down into the edge of the clearing, my holy shield tapered onto my right arm, and my iron sword in my left. As soon as I got there, the shadows lashed forth to strike me, but I dodged without much difficulty. With one bash of my shield, the shadows were pushed away, revealing a large, six-legged, somewhat insect-like being. “That takes care of that,” I said, and gave her a cheesy thumbs-up.

“Look out!” I heard her scream and she told me to move, but I was too slow. I felt a blow impact my back, and I staggered forward, slightly dazed, but still unharmed. “That... didn’t even hurt.” With a swift blow, the creature was flung apart once again. I watched it as it somehow put itself back together, starting with those six split legs, its misshapen torso, until it got to that putrid and disgusting face. “Hmm, it may not be able to do anything to us, but perhaps we should try and permanently destroy it.”

“Ah, I have just the thing.” She reached into her pocket and took out a small vial. She looked at it for a second, making sure it was the right solution.

I kept my eyes glued to the creature in front of me. Like a ghastly and willowy specter, the shadows kept reforming endlessly, not matter how many times I used my attacks to scatter them.

“Better hurry up. My arm is getting sore.” She sighed. “This is what’s called cold iron. When any ‘immortal’ spirit is hit by this, it vanishes completely, without a trace.”

“Why didn’t we use it against the Awakened Mandrake?”

“Hah, you’d have done as much good had you covered it with nice-smelling plants. When used on anything that cannot regenerate, it does nothing. You might as well use it to grow crops.”

“To grow crops, huh?”

My arm pulled feebly at the drawer, and the sounds of my uncle getting hit by that long tongue penetrated my mind, but my will remained strong. I pushed through the unimaginable pain, as even more debris fell upon me. I didn’t think it was possible for a human to endure that much pain at once, but I was proven wrong, as I continued despite the tears soaking the carpet under me.

My arms were bruised and bartered beyond compare, but I kept going, no matter the agony sustained. Out of the drawer fell a small vial, barely bigger than a needle, labeled ‘fertilizer, 85% cold iron’ which I grabbed like it was my most prized and noble treasure. The Amrita flung my uncle aside like a rag-doll, and I cried out as I heard his bones shatter, but it only made me more determined to end that foul creature’s life. I got up wearily, my legs barely able to support my weight, even without moving, and I opened the vial, taking in the sweet smell.

The Amrita screeched loudly and threw itself at me, but I merely let my body fall away from it, and threw the vial at it as hard as my frail arms could manage. It exploded upon impact, shattering its entire frame. Its last yell was music to my ears, as my legs finally collapsed and I passed out, and the last thing I saw was my uncle trying to get up and get to me.