Fear ran through Mathew’s entire mind and body. “No! Let me out of here damn it!” He struggled against the tentacle arm, but he couldn’t do so.

Doozkora who looked like him but with a few minor differences smiled. “Why leave so soon? You are stuck here in your own mind with us. Why haven’t you used the gift we’ve given you? That man who just knocked you out with his words would be nothing if you absorbed Agnox and Cherry.”

Mathew struggled against the cold appendage that held him in place as Doozkora stared at Mathew like he was a piece of meat. “Power is everything. Take it. It can all be yours!”

The gray void they were standing in had a few random boxes of his memories in them. None of them were nearby to reach. “If this was any other day, I would be already trying to kill you. You fucking horrible bitch. Marking me! Thinking you can take my body! AGH! WHY ARE YOU HERE!”

“Mathew, my favorite human. We’ve always been here. Ever since you bound yourself to our soul, We’ve never left you. One might say we are linked forever. Besides, We didn’t bring you here, you came here of your own choice.”

His anger at the whole situation was driving him. He wasn’t going to banter with her. He pulled his Axiom of Bolster into his arms trying to fight back against the tentacle that held onto him. Yet the power did not come to him.

He was about to try and force Doozkora to leave as he did before, but the tentacle once again wrapped around his mouth, preventing it. “No no. What makes you think you can get rid of us? We are Doozkora. We have always gotten what we wanted. Even if we have to wait a hundred years. A thousand years. A millennium, we have always gotten what we want.”

Mathew just glared at Doozkora, trying everything he could to escape. This was the absolute worst time for him to be here. They were fighting right now. What if Keith killed him? What if a stray attack killed him?

Pain wouldn’t wake him up. Doozkora had him trapped here, within his own mind.

“You know there is a way to gain power.” Doozkora started to pace slowly around Mathew, “We’ve given you what you need. Simply use the ritual. Give in to your greed and absorb your summons. With their power combined with yours, you could fight anyone. Soon you could be on par with when I first started my Path. With that power, someone like those you fight now would be powerless to stop you.”

The faux version of Mathew paced around Mathew, continuing to talk, “Give in to your greed. Consume your summons, gather more to consume, and then you will join us once you are ready. It’s simple Mathew. Use the gift I gave you. Look how strong you’ve gotten on your own. You don’t need Blue Oaks. You don’t need your summons, at least not physically. Absorb them. Add their souls to your own and repair yourself faster. Gain new power!”

The tentacle left Mathew’s mouth, allowing him to speak. Mathew didn’t try to force Doozkora to leave, not yet. Something they said caused him to think. “Why should I? You can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do.”

“We can’t?” Doozkora asked innocently. “We’ve been with you since you have started your path to power. You just need to understand what it means to have power.”

“You can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. Nobody can.”

Doozkora raised an eyebrow, “Really? You think you have free will? Nobody has free will. The Gods and those of such power control everything. You are not even a pawn to them. You are a pawns pawns pawn. Even that is a generous assumption, but we do not question, we simply act.”

He stopped caring about what was happening in the real world at that moment. His understanding of everything came to a crashing halt. A single memory came crashing into the forefront of his mind.

Fate Marked - Your fate is outside of your control

“I don’t care what you think. I’m not letting someone control my life. Nobody but me thinks for me.”

“Really? Yet, you can’t even stand up against the one that sent you here. We have been wanting to talk to you ever since you met the Fae Blessed. She is an interesting person. You could absorb her too. The power of a Fae that you gained without a deal would be delicious.” The monstrous version of Mathew licked its own lips. A forked tongue showing for a moment.

Mathew chose then to try and force Doozkora out and himself away. “Lea-” The slimy limb once again covered his mouth, forcing him to stop talking too early.

“How about we make a deal! We will give you a smidge of strength. Show you what it means to absorb another's essence and add it to your own. Maybe the sweet nectar of true power will open your eyes to what it means to be us.”

Doozkora walked up to Mathew as the tentacle moved to expose Mathew’s torso. She reached out a hand and pressed it against his chest. A sinister grin came and Mathew felt a warmness flood him.

“I hope you enjoy our gift.”

Mathew’s eyes slowly opened as the sounds of battle echoed around him. The effects of Keith’s power were waning. Instead, he heard a sharp metal-on-metal sound and quickly opened his eyes all the way.

He watched as Agnox’s flaming sword bashed away Keith’s own sword. In turn, the ex-judge took two steps back and readied himself to stab at Agnox.

Henderson was right next to Agnox, with her rapier she parried the attack but was breathing heavily as if she had knocked away something five times heavier. Both of them were breathing heavily and struggling to stand.

Mathew slowly sat up, the warm feeling still flooding him that Doozkora gave. He wanted to do nothing with it, to ignore it. Yet, he felt the power flow through him. It reminded him of when Cherry would use [Gaia’s Grace] on him, but far more.

“Boss!” Agnox shouted as she saw Mathew was awake and starting to stand.

Keith looked over and his eyes went wide. “How are you awake and standing?” He stopped his engagement with the two warriors and turned toward Mathew.

“It takes more than a single trick to keep me down and out. Give up Keith. This won’t end easily for you.” With those words, Mathew conjured Quiq’s Spear and took up a stance.

Dozens of Guardians were knocking out the other humans that belonged to Keith. Yet he didn’t care about them. A burning desire to kill Keith here and now overtook him. He could fight anyone and not have to worry about casting a single spell. The fact that the power came from Doozkora was quickly forgotten.

“Sorry, I have no other choice. Either I win, or nothing matters anymore.” Keith charged forward at Mathew. Taking only a half step back, Mathew launched his [Frostrim Chains] toward Keith.

The man was able to deflect them both and lunged forward. Mathew didn’t try to dodge. Instead one of the shields from his robes triggered, blocking the attack completely. Mathew in turn shoved his spear forward. Not expecting the magical shield, Keith was even further unable to react to the attack.

Luckily for the Baron, Keith’s armor mitigated most of the damage. The metal heavily dented from the weight of Mathew’s attack. He stepped back and winced. “That’s some power you have there. I didn’t know you were this strong.”

Mathew smirked, “Me neither.” He then shoved white energy toward Keith casting [Fracture]. With a quick dodge, the man was able to avoid the slow-moving attack and engaged with Mathew.

The two clashed weapons. Occasional sword swings were blocked by [Mana Shields] and spear thrusts were either dodged or parried. To those watching, it was clearly a one-sided battle.

Baron Keith was losing, and his face showed that he also knew he was losing. Mathew was toying with him. Keith could tell in the way Mathew moved and fought. His attacks were not lethal, they were barely aimed to deal damage.

It was small attacks to show Mathew could attack with lethal intent, but he didn’t. Keith gritted his teeth and his green sword took on a glow. “Stop playing games and fight me like a man!”

Mathew didn’t respond with words, instead, when Keith went in to attack, a dagger of ice appeared in his left hand and was thrown suddenly. The blade left a thin cut across Keith’s face.

That forced the man to pause. Mathew stood there smiling. “Give up yet? This is what happens when you mistake me for being weak.”

Keith gritted his teeth and re-engaged his charge. He leaped forward at a faster speed and swept out to slash at Mathew. The Summoner once again created two [Mana Shields] and didn’t try to dodge.

With Keith overreaching, Mathew flipped his spear around and slammed the back end across Keith’s back, slamming him into the ground. Mathew pressed the heel of his foot into the back of Keith. “You lose.”

Looking up around him, Mathew raised his arms into the air, “Capture them all. Nobody escapes.” Chains warped around the baron.

“You lose Keith. You banked one single trick and when it failed, you had nothing left to save you. While I always have a plan for everything, even if my initial one fails. That's why I’m better than you.”

Keith struggled against the chains. Mathew was impressed he wasn’t screaming in pain as he expected him to. Mathew turned his attention to the fight, watching people push through the effects Keith put them under. Some people were still unable to move. Most of whom were still on the ground. The ones who could move without restraint were fighting with all they had.

The Golem Guardians were the true shining stars of the fight. Mathew had yet to see them fight, and it exceeded his initial expectations. They used metal rods to fight with, whacking anyone who got close and within range. Once one person could not fight, chains appeared in the Guardian’s hands and they wrapped them up. The chains were tight, ensuring nobody could move once bound.

The Elves were not the only ones with archers. Lindsey and a few other ranged fighters with bows and guns of their own returned fire. The battle was over quickly. Mathew saw the elves run away once half the humans were detained.

He couldn’t chase after them. But, they would handle them soon enough. There wouldn’t be enough defenses to protect them once he showed up.

Mathew wasn’t targeted by any rogue humans going for a desperate attack. In actuality, once the elves left, most people surrendered. He let everyone do their designated job. His role was completed for this battle. He looked down at Keith, “End your spell effect. Now.” Mathew demanded. Reaching into his [Contest] skill to put a commanding effect on his words.

Keith sneered at Mathew. “It’s on a timer you idiot. You think I would have a spell that expensive that stays on forever?”

Mathew kicked him on the side. “How long?” That kick almost caused him to fall, but Jeffery was there to help him stay upright.

Keith didn’t answer, which earned him yet another kick. It took three additional kicks before Keith said something. “Only ten minutes.”

“You better not have lied to me,” Mathew said and kicked the soon-to-be ex-baron for good measure.