Chapter 144

Chapter 144

How could I forget something so important?

More than that, I had other memories that directly conflicted with it. Recent memories. I remembered googling the killers name less than a year ago to confirm he was still in prison.

And mom was there. She knew. Shed known for years, and wed never talked about it. And despite the many opportunities she had to throw my shortcomings in my face, shed never mentioned it, or even hinted at it.

The only times Id ever been to court was during her hearings.

Another memory bubbled to the surface. Cold water plunging down over me as I clung to myself and shivered, words repeated over and over.

Youre a good boy, Matthias. Listen to me. You did nothing. You wandered in here looking for your father and that monster threatened you. Dragged you to the bathroom and tried to drown you. Everything else is a blur, you understand?

Had she taken my place?

I wanted to believe it wasnt true. That the Lithids power was just that all-encompassing.

But the dull chill coupled with the constant pounding in my head said otherwise.

Move! Talia roared, slamming into the back of my knees and dead-legging me. The near-silent whisper of a crossbow bolt sailed over me, directly where my head was. Talia left me to pick myself up as she raced to intercept the mongrel racing towards usmore monstrous mutt than dog. They collided in a horrible blur of claws and teeth and yelps.

Nearly twenty feet away, the Lithid advanced towards the clashing dogs, holding its aim and looking for an opening.

It likely had little concern for friendly fire. The thought stirred me out of my daze, throwing me into action. I loaded the first of the poison bolts and spiked it with probability cascade, pulling the trigger and firing it at the lithid. The bolt spiraled through the air andcaught by an errant breezestruck the lithid dead-center as it dodged away.

It hissed and immediately switched targets, its attention entirely on me.

You hid it away because of how you felt. For the first time that emptiness within you was filled. The knife brought you joy, unfiltered happiness, and contentment. Things youd never felt before. Things you swore to never feel again.

Shut up! I shouted, firing another cascade bolt at the lithid.

It was ready this time. Not bothering to dodge, it raised a hand and swatted the bolt away. ticked in the back of my mind, recognizing the ability as

On my left, Talia was losing her clash with the mongrel.

I juked an incoming bolt, using awareness to guide me, and rushed towards her.

Give me an opening, Talia.

But there was a key disparity that had to do with the nature of the adaptive dungeon. The Lithid had been generated exclusively as a monster for me to fight. Shed hinted that Talias pups had always been dead. Had I entered the fifth floor with someone else, it would have been entirely different.

If the Lithid died without dropping a core, my life would continue on as it had.

If I died, however, the Lithid would cease to exist.

And it was possibly the only monster in existence with enough self-awareness and external knowledge to piece that together.

It made a critical mistake, telegraphing its intentions. The Lithid didnt want to kill me. It wanted to break me.

I took a split second to review my inventory











I snorted. The wasnt meant to be used as bait. It wasnt meant for anything at all. The randomness of the item was a hint.

There was no plan.

Id come to the conclusion that if the Lithid could read my mind, there was no way to prepare for it ahead of timethat any concrete strategy could easily be used against me if I stuck to it while the enemy was aware.

The poison of clouded judgement wasnt for the Lithid. It was for me. Intended to create an opening the Lithid couldnt predict, once Id gathered enough information within the dungeon to generate a strategy on the fly. My vision more or less returned, save the corona of violet pulsing around the fringes. I wiped the blood from my mouth and grinned at the Lithid. It was standing a few feet away from me, a strange expression on its face that looked almost wounded.

Behind her, Talia was chasing the mongrel. It darted between parked cars and trash cans, beating a pointless retreat. Shed have it in a matter of moments.

You can read my mind, right? I leered. Then you know that this isnt a bluff. Because Ill do whatevers necessary to win.

Wait The Lithid reached out a hand and rushed towards me.

But it was too late. I swallowed the poison of clouded judgement and quick drew loading it with three cascade-infused arrows and fired them straight up in the air.

Its impossible to fire a projectile perfectly upwards. No matter how precise you are, the most minuscule shift will inevitably alter trajectory. I laughed maniacally as the three poisoned arrows reached their apex, and, following the directive of plunged directly towards me.