Chrysalis

I’m not sure what I expected, honestly. Here in the base of Garralosh’s psyche, I kind of thought I’d be talking to a person. Instead, her mind is represented by an amorphous shifting mass that is at any one time part human, part crocodile, part Escher painting.

[I WILL KILL YOU.]

Good start!

[You do a lot of that. Killing I mean. Why do you have such a grudge against the people up here anyway?]

[THEY HURT ME.]

When she communicates, it’s like a psychic scream that punches into my mind with brute force. Unpleasant, to say the least.

[How the hell did a bunch of farmers and townsfolk hurt you? They could barely hurt me!]

[NOT THEM. OTHER’S. VENGEANCE.]

So.... To get back at the person who had chopped off her arm, she annihilated a kingdom full of innocent people. Yeesh.

[So, care to explain that dragging feeling I noticed in your memories?]

The second I mention it, her struggles double in intensity and my mind starts to ache under the strain of pinning her down.

[GET OUT OF MY HEAD!]

[No.]

Once again I’m able to master her, my will is superior. Neglecting her mental stats is proving to be a grievous error. I suspect the Karmodo has done a fair bit of mind magic on her and she doesn’t even remember it. I can only imagine the Lizard Wizard would have magnitudes for control and finesse than I do. I barely know what I’m doing!

[THE PULL. I EVOLVED TOO MUCH. TOO FAST. I WAS CALLED TO THE CENTER. OTHERS LIKE ME. ALL DEEPER.]

Called? By the System? Or something else?

[You don’t like remembering that you were human do you? Tried pretty damn hard to suppress it. Must have been part of what kept you... sane-ish. Even a cruddy life as a human was better than being a monster in the Dungeon I suppose.]

[DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER.]

know. Then again, I’ve always sort of gone with the flow. The constant danger and the threat of death isn’t great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to feel like I

[NO.]

was the plan in the end? You came to the surface, destroyed a kingdom,

AWAY. BREAK THROUGH.

kill, kill, kill. What about my colony then, huh? What about us? We never did

[KILLED MY CHILDREN.]

to kill me first,

ARE MINE. THEY ARE

sense? Wait, I’m not sure I want

century! Maybe even two! Where’s the accumulated wisdom of the ages? I suppose, if you spend all your time sunk in a brutal, animalistic fog of fighting and eating, your mind doesn’t

emotions. There isn’t much left of the human inside. Just enough for me to taunt

isn’t passing on the outside, at least, that’s how I understand it. I’ve been in Garralosh’s head for a minute or two but probably only a few seconds have passed on the outside. My goal

victory, but I’ll take what I

I communicate, the careful weave of my spell continues. A cage. A prison of mind magic that will bind this weak mind from its decidedly not weak body. Mind magic is so damn useful,

happened to you, huh? You were a human being at one stage. I get you felt like embracing your new life here, I can relate to that, believe me,

ONE CAN STAND

can.

[I’LL KILL THEM!]

[Yeesh. Back to this.]

feel my brains working that sweet, sweet mana with all the grace and dexterity they can summon. The cage is rapidly

of madness. [I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU. ALL OF THE INSECTS WILL BE CRUSHED BENEATH MY FEET. I WILL CONSUME THE HUMANS AND TURN THEM INTO MORE OF MY KIND. THEN I WILL DESCEND AND THERE WILL BE DEATH. I WILL SLAUGHTER EVERYTHING I SEE UNTIL I FIND THE THING THAT BROUGHT ME HERE

Whoa there!

life. My mind strains to the breaking point, the very fabric of my mind coming apart at the seams as her desperate insanity gives the beast new strength. We fight a silent, mental war for a few minutes but I manage to subdue her once again. Come on, cage!

spoken to Gandalf, then? Err.. The System I

HAVE SUFFERED, I WILL KILL THAT CREATURE A

sound as if Garralosh has truly enjoyed her second life experience.

you don’t want to remember, but I can’t help but be curious. My name’s Anthony, by the way. I’ve kept that name

what I expected from the twisting, amorphous blob of rage that is Garralosh’s mind as a response. Perhaps she would fly off the handle again, or go nuts in some other way. Instead, she grows still. I can feel her searching. Reaching back into memories she’d long forgotten she had. It’s as if, once I

is ready to go! Finally!

BAM!

Why am I the one