Secter marched forward down a black road. Everywhere was quiet, not a sound to be heard through the thick walls of the Nothing, just as it was so long ago. Sycamore walked alongside him while Koros strode several paces up ahead. Secter's eyes remained trained on the staff that Koros carried, now stained yellow for two reasons.

"Secter," said Sycamore. Secter's head snapped to attention at Sycamore's voice.

"Yeah?" asked Secter.

Two dark circles hung under Sycamore's eyes, and his shoulders and back remained slouched. He stared back at Secter with a grim determination in his eyes.

"You think we'll make it out of this?" he asked.

"I do."

"Hope Koros knows what the hell he's doing…"

Secter glanced back at Koros's staff.

"I'm not fully convinced," said Secter. "But we'll need all the help we can get, especially if Silan's still around."

"God I hope they're ok…" said Sycamore. "I just…I just have no idea…"

Secter's mouth tightened, a billowing burst of pain encapsulating his heart and taking it hostage. He blinked back tears, doing his best to keep them from escaping.

"I hope so too," said Secter. "I…don't really…want to think about that, I think that they're alive and need our help. So we need to get back to them as soon as possible."

"Agreed," said Sycamore. "And Secter…"

"Yeah?"

"We don't need to let this place change us. Like Fubuki told me, we don't have to be defined by it anymore."

"It…it will hurt us," said Secter. "Still have trouble comprehending that I'm even back. But I'll do my best to keep going, not gonna let this place break me."

"Me neither," said Sycamore. "We just have to keep going, whatever we can do."

"Oi, you two!" yelled Koros, his head snapping back around. "Look what we got."

He pointed to a cavern that sat just to the edge of the road, a rocky cave that stretched on into the Nothing and whose interior was hidden by a wall of black.

"There…there could be anything in there," said Sycamore. "You want to go in there?"

"Better than staying out here on the road," said Koros. "Plus I can tell you all need some good sleep. Not the two or three hours or whatever we got back at the outpost."

"So you want to rest in a cave…" said Sycamore.

"Yeah, you get any better ideas?" asked Koros. "And did you pick up that gun like I told you to?"

"Yes, of course I did," said Sycamore, glancing down at the gun at his side.

"Alright," said Koros. "Let's check it out real quick."

"You really think that's better than staying out here?" asked Secter.

"Well, either those armored cars come back and shoot us by mistake, or we start seeing Supremacy guards running around," said Koros. "Either one is a bad time."

"Fine," said Secter. "We'll check it out real quick. We've got your back."

Koros neared the entrance to the cave, his eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of movement. Squinting, he realized he could see the outline to the back of the cave as he took a step forward into it.

"It's not too deep," said Koros. "Looks abandoned. Good place to rest."

Secter and Sycamore drew up behind him, both clutching pistols upwards. The three of them entered the cave and walked towards the back, finding no signs of life within the cavern. Nodding, Koros sighed as he plopped down onto the ground, the floor nothing but solid rock.

"It ain't comfy but it'll do," said Koros. "So, who gets first watch?"

"I'll do it," said Sycamore, lowering his gun to his side.

"Sycamore, you just got us out of the outpost and nearly got shot," said Secter, scratching at the healing cut on his face. "You need to get some rest yourself-"

"It's fine," said Sycamore. "You two had to stay in that damned outpost while I got to go free. Plus, I wasn't the one to actually free you guys from your cell. How did you get out anyways?"

"Explosion," said Koros. "And if you want to go first, go for it. Scream at us if someone starts shooting at you."

"Right," said Sycamore, his voice dripping with irritation. "I'll be sure to do that."

Koros shrugged and collapsed down onto the floor, turning away from Sycamore. A snore started to escape his lungs the moment he laid down.

Secter sighed and looked over at Sycamore. He had already risen from his seat and was walking towards the entrance to the cave. Finding a spot not far from the opening gap, Sycamore sat down and stared out into the Nothing, watching out into the void and tilting his head to listen to the silence.

Secter gave Sycamore a sad look, wanting to reach out to him but finding his body fall from exhaustion. Laying down on the rock below, Secter shuffled and tossed in place as he struggled to find a comfortable position. Eventually he gave up and began to sleep lying face up towards the ceiling. He drifted off into the darkness.

Someone was on top of him, laying against his chest with one hand placed against it. Secter blinked and looked down in confusion, his eyes widening when he saw neon green hair splayed out all over his chest and collarbone. On top of him was a sleeping Tatsumaki, a tiny smile on her face as she slept peacefully atop Secter. Letting out a little cry of joy, Secter wrapped both his hands around her, tears pushing their way down his face as he squeezed Tatsumaki tight into his body. She was warm and content, letting out a quiet sigh as Secter held her close. Secter leaned down to kiss Tatsumaki on the top of the head, his back scraping against the stone as his spine rubbed against it. His lips meeting her scalp, Secter stayed there for a moment before pulling back and resting his head against the rock. It was heaven, and he never wanted it to end.

Then he opened his eyes.

No one was there. The only sound in the cave was Koros snoring a few feet to his right. Blinking, Secter sat up and spotted Sycamore still staring out into the Nothing, his arms folded over his legs in a crisscross position. Secter's heart turned cold when he saw that nobody was holding him, that Tatsumaki was nowhere to be found. It was the worst feeling in the world, the many armed monster of loneliness threatening to drag him back down into the abyss. Sighing, he brought himself to his feet and shuffled over to Sycamore. Sycamore turned at the sight of Secter, a confused look on his face.

"Alright," said Secter. "How long's it been."

"No clue," said Sycamore. "Maybe…a few hours at most?"

"I'll take watch for a bit," said Secter. "You go get some sleep."

"Bad dream?"

"Not really. Just…a sad reality."

"Ah," said Sycamore. "Yeah. It is."

He pulled himself to his feet and started back to where Secter had been sleeping before, giving Secter one last glance as he sat down to take his watch.

"Wake me or Koros up if you need more sleep," said Sycamore. "And don't…don't feel too bad. Maybe we'll still get out of this."

"We got out of the outpost," said Secter. "That's a start. We just need a new plan now."

"We'll…we'll figure out something. We have to."

"That's talk for later," said Secter. "Get some sleep."

"Alright."

Sycamore laid down on the floor and took his turn at rest, while Secter stared out into the Nothing just as his friend had done before. The void shifted and swirled outside the cave, yet refused to reveal anything that could possibly be beyond it. It was as if the three of them were in a cavern in the midst of a sea of white, the only thing left in the universe and the only thing that could still exist.

. . .

"Alright everyone, let's get ready to move," said Secter with a weak smile as he stood from his resting place. Koros gave him a strange look from his perch near the entrance to the cave as Secter approached. Sycamore blinked himself into consciousness, scratching his back as he pulled himself up.

"The hell you smiling for?" asked Koros. "We're still lost as fuck."

"We're out of the outpost at least," said Secter. "It might not be a big step, but it's a step nonetheless."

"Trying to stay more positive eh," said Koros. "I would be the same if we actually found a damned ship or something. Otherwise, we'll see how long your positivity lasts."

Secter shook his head and peered out of the cave, not a soul outside of it to be seen. Sycamore joined him at his side, nervously glancing from side to side.

"Alright then," muttered Koros. "If you two are ready, we should go."

He picked himself up, grunting as he shook one leg out and began to stride back onto the road.

"Let's go," he said.

"You ready Sycamore?" asked Secter.

"Yeah, I guess," said Sycamore. "We can go."

The trio stalked along the road for a while, investigating a few side paths of dirt and rocks which extended out for impossible distances out into the Nothing. It was eerily quiet, the ground a maze of roads and pathways which seemed to extend out into nowhere. Secter's body felt like an anchor the longer he walked, the longer he had to look around at the emptiness around him.

"Ugh," said Secter as he walked alongside Sycamore. "Forgot how quiet this place was."

"Least when no one is shooting," said Sycamore. "But yeah, never makes any noise, the Nothing. People swear they hear it roaring at them from time to time, but I think they've just been here too long…"

"Probably," said Secter. "And shit, I hope Varo is ok."

"Varo?"

"He was brought down to the burner room after you left. Quiet guy, was really…depressed. Feel terrible for him."

"Least you got his name," said Sycamore. "Hate to say it but…these are the people who don't get written about."

"You just about summed up everyone here," said Koros from a few feet ahead. "People went here to be forgotten, they just didn't know it at first."

"No one wanted to be," said Secter. "But those who gave up…well, that's not going to be us."

"Yeah yeah," said Koros. "Though there are some I wish gave up. Supremacy and so on."

"I was…meaning to ask about that," said Secter. "What else do you know about Silan?"

"Not much," said Koros. "Man's a bastard though, just a sad little sociopath who seems to get off on hurting people. Something about twisting people or other…dunno, Supremacy officer, maybe a founder, seemed manipulative as hell. All around piece of shit, universe would be far better without him."

"Great," said Secter. "And what…what do you think he'd be doing with all our friends back home?"

"Uh…not sure," said Koros. "Never seen him interact with outsiders. If I had to guess, probably manipulating and hurting them as well. Maybe he just killed them, not sure. Then again, why didn't he kill the both of you then?"

"He…sent his group against us, but in an odd way," said Sycamore. "Let them go in small groups rather than just having them all fire against us."

"He doesn't give a shit about his group," said Koros. "Only cares about himself."

"They're not dead though," said Secter. "I can't accept that, I won't."

"If they are…" said Sycamore. "Then there's not a lot of reason to keep going…"

"No, don't say that," said Secter. "We have to hope for the best, get there as quick as we can to help."

"I know…" said Sycamore. "But it's hard…hard to even be here…" A heaviness hung from his voice, imaginary weights pulling his spirit down for all to hear.

"Ah calm down," said Koros. "We keep going, we'll find something."

"You don't know that," said Sycamore. "But I guess I don't have a choice."

The silence fell over the group again as they kept walking, Secter raising an eyebrow every time Koros took a sudden turn or stopped in place to glance around before continuing onward.

Does he even know where the hell he's going? thought Secter. We really are totally fucking lost…

"The fuck?" asked Koros, his voice lowered to a whisper. "You hear that?"

Sycamore strained his head forward, while Secter crept forward next to Koros.

Something in the near distance was yelling, screaming out into the void as if it truly believed someone were out there to hear them. Koros grimaced at the sound, unsure of what to make of it.

"Odd," he said. "You guys want to check it out?"

"No, not really," said Sycamore.

"Could be someone asking for help," said Secter. "Maybe we could help them, and they would know where to go."

"Fat fucking chance," said Koros. "Could be a trap, but I kind of doubt it. Bit obvious. No…I think this might actually be an injured or dying person, in which case maybe they have some shit on them."

"The fuck?" asked Secter, his face wrinkled in rage. "We're not stealing from a dying person!"

"Better him than us," said Koros. "Plus, we kind of already did steal."

"Those were from people already dead, all of whom had been trying to kill us," said Secter. "But we can check this out from a distance, see what's going on."

Sycamore groaned and lowered his arms, but marched along with Secter and Koros as they drew closer and closer to the sound. The voice was exploding through the air now, the sound of someone shouting to the heavens themselves.

"Everything must go, everything must go!" came the voice.

"The hell?" muttered Koros.

Up ahead, the jet-black road branched off into a side-path, obscured by fluffy walls of mist. The voice echoed through the secondary road, with Koros stalking over to the edge of the path to poke his head around the Nothing.

"What do you see?" asked Secter.

"Clearing," said Koros. "And a…stage?"

"What?" asked Sycamore.

Secter slid over to the other side of the pathway across from Koros and peered down the way. The path led down into a clearing, surrounded by the Nothing along with a few other paths. Several rows of plastic seats were aligned neatly in front of a wooden stage, with a single Soulless standing atop the stage and gesturing wildly out to an invisible audience. Only one other Soulless was in the area, his head dipped over his chest as he slumbered in one of the seats. The Soulless up on the stage shouted and flung his arms up and down as he spotted Koros and Secter, gesturing and flailing for them to come over.

"Come along!" shouted the Soulless. "Come along! I won't bite! I only have things to offer!"

Behind the Soulless was an assortment of items, an array of crumbling objects all of which sat in massive piles on the back of the stage. Secter saw the base of a stone statue adorned with two clawed Soulless feet of grey, a heap of cracked and broken elimination rifles, a large glass case with a shard of metal within it, and various other relics haphazardly placed around.

"So many damned weirdos in this place," said Koros. "The hell you want?"

"Come, come!" said the auctioneer. "Do not think me a mere anomaly on the road to greatness!"

Secter and Koros exchanged looks of uneasiness and confusion before turning back to the auctioneer.

"Eh fuck it," muttered Koros to Secter. "Maybe he's got some stuff to help us out. If not, and he turns on us, we can just kill him."

"Seriously, the hell is wrong with you," said Secter. "Stop jumping straight to killing people."

"I'm just saying, if he tries anything…" said Koros. "He doesn't look too right in the head."

"Doesn't look like he has a gun," said Sycamore. "We talking to him?"

"Yeah, let's go for it," said Secter.

The trio marched forward into the clearing, cautiously making their way past rows of white chairs to get close to the stage. The auctioneer spread his hands wide from his sides as they came close, prompting Sycamore to lay a hand on the pistol at his waist.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the auctioneer. He beamed with exuberance, joy pouring out of every feature on his smiling face. He watched as Koros came close to the bottom of his perch.

"The hell is all this?" asked Koros, pointing to the piles of assorted objects behind the auctioneer.

"Ah, relics of the past age!" said the auctioneer. "We have been doing bidding for the past few hours, the highest bid is the winner!"

Sycamore glanced around at the empty rows of seats as he stood furthest from the stage, squinting at the slumbering Soulless who made up the only audience member.

"There's no one around," said Sycamore. "You're preaching to no one."

"Ah, we are all struggling to find a purpose in life by this point, are we not?" asked the auctioneer. "Sure, the crowd has been sparse today, in fact only my traveling companion has attended. And he needs the rest, done me a great deal of saving these past few days. But, just a few days ago I had quite a few interested parties!"

"Finding a purpose…" said Sycamore, his gaze turning distant. "Yeah, I know what you mean…"

"We're not interested in any of this junk," said Koros. "Only here to find a way out of this place."

"Ah, one man's junk is another man's treasure," said the auctioneer as he waggled a finger at Koros. "And this…why this is my trove. Though of course, I am willing to part with most of these items for a nominal fee. The usual currency of the Nothing of course, weapons, drugs, perhaps even healing items but of course I'm not really hurting for those…" He chuckled as he gestured to a small box at the side of the stage.

Secter eyed the base of the statue as he walked near the stage next to Koros.

"This is your trove huh," said Secter. "What exactly is that?" He pointed to the statue base, nothing but a pair of clawed feet adorning it. "Who was that of?"

"Uh," said the auctioneer as he glanced back at the statue. "Don't know. But in any case, you can own a piece of history! This used to be a great statue of one of the Four himself! The former great leaders of the Soulless factions! Until the war, that is… But it's all for your taking at a low price! I can start the bid if you're interested!"

"The fuck?" asked Koros. "You expect me to lug that thing around with me wherever I go? Not interested. The only thing I'm interested in is if you have an actual vehicle."

"I…I am afraid not," said the auctioneer. "Not yet at least! We mustn't lose hope friends, keep searching and I'm sure we'll all find what we're looking for!"

"And what exactly are you looking for?" asked Sycamore.

"Ah, the same as many…" said the auctioneer. He peered up to the sky of white and stretched his hands up into the air, as if to grab the void itself. "The search for happiness! Will he find it? Will he find it?!"

My God, thought Secter as he gave the auctioneer a sad little look. The people are going mad in this place, can't say I blame them. Finding whatever they can to fill the hole…

"Well, I hope you find it," said Secter. He twitched when he realized Koros wasn't at his side anymore, wandered off to the side of the stage as the auctioneer's attention was brought to Secter.

"Why thank you sir, you are most kind," said the auctioneer. "Rare nowadays, let me tell you."

"Thanks," said Secter. "And I'd like to help you out, but we don't really have anything to trade or buy stuff with…and most of that stuff you have probably wouldn't help us much anyways."

"Oh, a shame," said the auctioneer. "Well I would give you some things to aid you on your journey, but a man must be able to survive in this day and age!" He chuckled. "As much as I would like to give things out for free, I am afraid I can't afford to do so nowadays. So, all I can grant you is a wish of luck."

"Thanks," muttered Sycamore. "Keep at it, I guess."

"Of course!" said the auctioneer. "A historian, I am! A purveyor and seller of fine items! I never would've thought this would become my dream, but one must keep their victories small when loud voices bring so much attention. Such is the unfortunate reality of the situation."

The fuck is this guy on about, thought Koros as he lifted the small box and swept it behind his back. Shuffling back over to the row of seats, he smiled as the auctioneer turned back to his items and began examining them. Secter and Sycamore nodded goodbye and watched the strange Soulless carefully as they made their way back down the road. Reaching the area they had started in, Koros whipped the box around to his front and opened it up, grinning at the small heaps of glowing bandages inside.

"Fuckin idiot," said Koros. "Can't believe he's lived that long being so oblivious."

Secter gave Koros a startled look, which quickly turned to irritation as he spotted the box.

"You serious?" asked Secter. "You stole that from him?"

"Yep," said Koros. "Better him than us, that's for fuckin sure."

"He didn't even do anything to us," said Sycamore. "He's just trying to make his way through…"

"Yeah, but unlike him we got a long journey ahead," snarled Koros. "And don't you two have people who are counting on you? They can't count on you if you're dead, or laying in a ditch bleeding out somewhere."

"You're going to make us a lot more enemies than friends," said Secter, his hands straining from being balled into fists. "There's no need to treat everyone here like shit, they're not all Supremacy."

"And you're gonna get all goody-two-shoes to someone who won't deserve it," said Koros. "And going to pay for it dearly later."

"Trust me, I'll fight if I need to," said Secter. "There's just no fucking reason to piss people off who could be friendly! You're adding to the problem, not solving it!"

"I'm surviving," said Koros. "Who gives a fuck about that auctioneer guy? He could be dead tomorrow for all we know, with the medical stuff stolen by some shithead group. Like I said, if someone's gonna steal it, might as well be people who need it."

"Ugh," said Secter, rubbing his face with both hands.

"Guys, let's not fight now," said Sycamore. "We've been through enough, I don't have the energy for this."

"Good point," said Koros. "You guys are best off following my lead, since clearly I know this place better than the lot of you. Remember how I've been here multiple times and still made it back out? Yeah, there's a reason for that."

"If you were smarter you wouldn't have been brought back in the first place," snarled Secter.

Koros glared at him, crushing the corners of the box with his massive hands. Sycamore frowned at the sight of the container being destroyed.

"Guys let's just go," said Sycamore. "No need to fight over a box…"

"You're going to be the death of us Secter," said Koros. "You keep acting as stupid as you are now, and you're going to get us all killed."

"Look, I know the stuff will help," said Secter. "But you keep acting the way you are now, and you're going to get us into more trouble than we should be."

"Guys…" said Sycamore, his head dipping.

"Shut it," said Koros. "Now let's go, before that crazy bastard notices what we took."

"Not we, you," said Secter.

Koros rolled his eyes as he turned around and continued forward on the road ahead. Secter and Sycamore followed with reluctance in their steps, not a single one of them aware of what lay in the void beyond.

. . .

"You bastards don't even know," said Koros as he stepped over a rock on the dirt path winding through the Nothing. "Medical supplies are a hot fuckin commodity out here. You heard the auction guy, he accepted payment in drugs, guns, or med stuff. All that shit is all that's worth anything out here."

"You're not totally wrong," said Sycamore. "You're just kind of an asshole."

"Yeah I know that," said Koros. "But assholes are the ones who survive out here."

Secter's was tired again, feeling as heavy as a sinking ship and aching all over. His old wounds from his fight with Silan's gang were flaring up, with his shoulder aching with ever step. He wished with every ounce of his being that he could just lay down, feel the warmth of Tatsumaki as she stepped over to him to cuddle with him, but there was nothing but dirt and silence all around him. Sniffling, he stepped over to Sycamore as they walked.

"Missing them," said Secter. "Still worried."

"Me too," said Sycamore. "Worried we won't even make it out of here."

"For the love of God, calm down," said Koros. "We'll find a way out, I've done it before."

"Yet you don't even know where to go," said Secter. "You know how large this place is-"

Krak-boom! came an explosion in the distance, somewhere off to the south. Secter froze in place, his heart constricting into a painful mess.

"The hell?!" asked Koros. "What the fuck-"

A yellow flash of light emanated out from behind them, an entire mile of pathway being obliterated and thrown into the Nothing only to vanish as dirt hit void.

"Artillery," whispered Secter. He was terrified, the sound bringing back memories of a shattered building and a hanging guillotine-like blade. "We have to run." His mind was going as white as his surroundings, his stomach roiling as he found Sycamore pushing him forward like one would push a statue along the ground.

"Don't just say it, move it!" yelled Sycamore.

"Who the hell has that, and who the…ah fuck it just run!" said Koros. He sprinted ahead at full speed, with Secter breaking into a half-stumble, half-run right behind him. Sycamore followed along, drawing his pistol and glancing around with panicked eyes as more explosions sounded off from somewhere in the nothing to the side of them.

The path led to a gigantic clearing several stadiums in width and length, a massive field of dead grass and withered trees with several earth-coated craters off to the sides of the area. A crisscross maze of trenches lined the clearing like a series of scars off of a whipped man's back, the top of each crevice blocked by sections of wood or shiny metal. Small bunkers adorned sections of the trenches, obscuring the places underneath from view. With no other paths in sight, it was the only way forward.

"Oh for fucks' sakes," said Koros, crouching as he crept towards the entrance to the nearest trench.

Ahead, several dozen Soulless, all armed with guns and glowing blades, screamed and hooted as they streamed over and into the trenches. On the other side of the field, a similarly-sized group of Soulless did the same, waving red and grey flags as they pointed their guns forward.

"Gang war?" asked Koros. "Just our luck."

"Why are they still doing this…" said Sycamore, shuffling up to a shellshocked Secter. "Aren't they tired of this?"

"That's the only way through-" began Koros.

Another explosion from behind them, followed by two more blinding yellow eruptions of energy out in the field ahead. Entire chunks of earth were destroyed to leave little but a crater in the crumbling remains of the land below. Chunks of the earth were flung into the nearby Nothing in the wake of each burst. Secter gasped and fell to his knees just as Koros darted forward, pulling his box up in one hand and his staff into the other.

"Secter!" yelled Sycamore, his voice like the buzz of a single bee against the cheer of a hundred-man choir. "You have to move!"

Secter clutched at his stomach, only bringing himself up when he felt Sycamore's hand on his back. He was sickly, horrific thoughts running through his head.

"Don't like those guns," said Secter. "Hate that sound."

"You don't have a choice!" said Sycamore. "Either you move or you die!"

Secter gave a small nod, closing his eyes as he and Sycamore ran forward. Within seconds they were in the nearest trench, deep enough to encompass the body of a seven-foot-tall Soulless and illuminated by little more than a few white gaslights affixed to the walls. Secter wrapped his arms around himself as his body convulsed, with Sycamore pulling out his pistol in the lead.

"Completely lost Koros," muttered Sycamore. "Where the hell did he go?"

Secter retched as another explosion hit the ground in the distance, shaking the walls of the trench as if the world itself as falling apart at its impact. He leaned against the side of the trench, his breathing labored as he stared ahead. Sycamore glanced back at him, his eyes widening at Secter's face.

"You ok?" asked Sycamore. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"Feel sick," said Secter. "Hate those sounds…"

"Oh," said Sycamore, not sure why Secter was feeling the way he was but hurting for him all the same. "Oh. Well, I hate to say it, but we have to press on, we can't sit here…"

"I know," said Secter. "I know. Shouldn't even be getting sick at those sounds, should be able to push through…but it's still so hard…"

He coughed as he pushed himself away from the wall, swaying and shaking as he reached down and withdrew his pistol.

"Let's go," said Secter.

"You gonna be alright?" asked Sycamore.

"I'll manage," said Secter. "I'll take point, you keep an eye out for Koros or anyone else."

Sycamore gave a small nod and watched as Secter pushed past him to take the lead. Following him down the trench, Sycamore twitched every time he heard screaming or shouting from the Soulless combatants up above or from deeper within the trench network. The entire maze of caves had turned into a choir for the dead, moaning and shouting of the injured or dying echoing out through the dark tunnels from which there was no escape. Explosions continued to shake the ground as energy shells impacted the ground in the distance, occasionally sounding off so close that Secter would fall to his forearms and bury the back of his head in his hands. Nothing but dirt fell upon him, and he picked himself up at Sycamore's encouragement and kept going.

"You think this is the end?" screamed a voice from above. "You think we're going to forgive you for what you did?! Take this, you fucking bastards!"

Secter pulled his pistol up to his chest, Sycamore creeping behind him. Ahead was nothing but a dark tunnel, branching off into several other pitch-black narrow caverns. Secter squinted through the shadows, the gaslights having been destroyed due to sections of the trenches being caved in by shelling. Turning back to Sycamore, Secter opened his mouth to speak but could find no words for a second as he spotted a pair of glowing eyes headed straight for Sycamore's back.

Turning around and rushing forward, Secter pushed Sycamore off to the side just as a glowing blade hissed through the air and shaved its way down Secter's back, right where Sycamore's head had been moments ago. Secter grunted in pain and he charged forward to bowl into the unknown Soulless.

Sycamore whipped around, terrified. Raising his pistol, Sycamore's eyes widened as he heard another Soulless charging from behind him. He was forced to turn around just as a new attacker attempted to ram his blade into Sycamore's abdomen. Sycamore thrust his arms and gun downward to knock the blade away, but found himself being forced onto the ground as the Soulless collided into him.

Secter felt something brush against the lower part of his back as the top shelf of his skin folded back over from where it had been shaved off by the blade. Hot streams of blood ran down his back as he reared back and punched the Soulless attacker in the face.

"You bastard, we aren't even a part of this!" said Secter as he watched yellow blood spray forth from the enemy Soulless's mouth. Despite the impact, the Soulless turned up and grinned at Secter, liquid gushing out from between black teeth.

"You are now," said the Soulless.

Secter was lifted off the Soulless as the alien reached out to his side to grab his fallen machete. Tumbling over, Secter brought both arms in front of his face as the Soulless whipped around and stabbed his machete through Secter's forearm. Hissing through flesh and bone alike, Secter winced as the tip of the machete rushed out through his arm, stopping just inches away from his nose. The Soulless grunted as he gripped the machete with both hands, tugging at it to pull it back from Secter's arm. His grip slipped on the bloodied handle, and the Soulless stumbled back as Secter ripped his arm away.

With eyes full of hatred, Secter tore the machete out from his forearm, the pain melting away as he focused on the Soulless in front of him. Secter charged forth just as the Soulless pulled out a small pipe from his side. He drove the blade into the Soulless's throat, gritting his teeth as he plunged it all the way through. The Soulless dropped the pipe and clasped both hands to his neck just as an explosion obliterated a section of the trench but a few feet away from the two of them, sending Secter tripping to the side. The Soulless was sprayed with dirt and chunks of wood as he gurgled and choked, desperately trying to pull the machete from his throat but his hands finding no hold.

Secter snatched the pipe from the ground despite the pain in his arm and drew his pistol. He glanced over to see the spot where Sycamore used to be was now an avalanche of dirt and burning metal. Taking a step back, Secter stared down at his attacker, whose eyes were already turning dull as he slumped against the wall of the trench. Secter felt nothing for him, only exhaustion and panic clouding his mind.

"Sycamore!" yelled Secter. He dashed forward onto the pile of earth and onto his knees, scooping out handful after handful as he dropped his weapons to the ground. "Sycamore, can you hear me?!"

Another explosion jolted Secter to his feet, and he snatched up both his weapons as he stared at the pile in utter despair. His back stinging in pain, Secter turned from the dirt and ran down back towards the entrance to the trench where he had came, instead taking a left to enter into a new section of the underground maze.

"Sycamore!" yelled Secter as he stumbled through the dark. "Koros! Can you guys hear me?!"

Nothing but distant shouts and screams as Secter walked, bleary-eyed through the shadows. At any moment his death could come for him, buried and forgotten like the Soulless he had just left behind. His heart could feel it, every explosion sending shockwaves down from his bones and into his soul. Clutching at his bloody forearm as he walked, Secter twitched at every scuffle, every shriek, every sound that echoed throughout the trench as the explosions continued in the distance. Then came silence, eerie and sudden. Secter blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, yet the quiet remained. Wading through the darkness with nothing but his weapons, Secter listened as he heard voices from up above the trenches.

"Ah, we've won comrade!" said a stranger from the fields. "They burn in a glorious fire!"

"It's quiet," said another. "You think we got them all? They're all gone?"

"Course we did," said the first Soulless. "We had the artillery, they did not. And now! Now! The land belongs to us!"

"This?" asked the second. "This…random field?"

"Stop fucking questioning it! We lose this, we lose everything."

"We already lost everything. Don't you ever think about it? Just why the hell we're still doing this? War ended years ago, just what the hell are we doing? I don't even know half the people on the other side!"

"You don't understand. We do this, because it feels right. What else are we going to do? Years spent up here, and no signs of being any closer to being out. Just let it consume you, what we do, and think of nothing else. One day you'll learn to not care about anything but what feels right, that's all that matters."

"Everyone's going nuts. I just want to go home…"

"We never had a home, remember? We were stuck in cryosleep most of the time, or forced to patrol or guard things that didn't matter. All so the higher-ups could control such a powerful species, we didn't matter to them and when it was time for war they threw us out like trash! But now, now we're free! To do as we please!"

"No, we're still trapped. Just as aimless and numb as before. We can't start families up here, you know that Soulless can't have kids with one another. We're here to die, we can only live if we get out! This isn't freedom, this is nonsense!"

"This is the closest thing to freedom we've ever had! Don't you ever forget that! Don't you ever question what we've built!"

"We've built nothing, accomplished nothing! I want out of this fucking void, I'm losing my mind up here!"

Secter felt bad for the second Soulless, the comments about losing his mind ringing true for him as well. He continued on, the argument becoming distant as he reached the end of the tunnel he had been creeping through. Rays of white light illuminated Secter's pale face as he climbed up a ramp back out onto the battlefield. Peering around, Secter spotted the two speakers heading towards the other end of the field, while a single path stretched on in front of him. Waiting until the two Soulless disappeared from sight, Secter staggered out onto the path, his body shaking uncontrollably as he moved. His mind felt as if it was in a sea of haze, swimming through an endless expanse of grey.

Maybe they got out, thought Secter. He glanced back at the battlefield, half-expecting an energy shell to come flying towards him to end him for good. Should I go back?

He blinked over at the clearing, a jumbled mess of craters and scorched earth. A few bodies remained strewn among the battlefield, several of them missing limbs or chunks of flesh. At least one was still twitching, gasping and staring off into the void as if silently praying it would move just a little closer. Secter shivered at the sight, turning away from a scene which was all too familiar.

He wasn't wrong…thought Secter as he marched forward, alone. Sycamore and Koros…they were all still fighting…do they even know why?

He was a speck amongst the mist as he walked, taking careful steps along the rocky path as a single wrong step would send him tumbling to his doom. The path twisted along to the right, and Secter followed it along to come to an intersection of different trailways. Grumbling as he felt a sliver of his back scraping along the upper part of his waist, Secter turned around and grabbed the hanging section of skin and took hold. One deep breath. Secter tore the section of skin off of his back, his face contorting as the pain erupted over his spine. He groaned as he took a look at the clump of skin in his hand before tossing it into the Nothing. Blood flowed freely from his wounds, a reminder of the constant brutality he had escaped from not so long ago.

Taking a right, Secter spotted a row of sleek silver speedbikes, each one adorned with several slim ovular pods of grey and tipped by a long slender spike. A yellow cushion rested on each of the top of the speedbikes chassis, leading up to a couple of black handlebars which would jut out towards the rider. They sat abandoned along the side of the path, no one but a single bloody corpse sitting near them. Secter eyed the body but reeled back when he couldn't recognize the face. Moving along, Secter's eyes widened when he saw a large human and a bloodied Soulless laying on the ground not far from the speedbikes.

The ground beneath Secter was torn apart as he rushed forward, dirt flying back behind him as if his body alone were a hurricane of movement. Secter reached a bloodied Sycamore, who looked up at him with streams of yellow coating both sides of his face. Reaching down, Secter helped Sycamore up to a sitting position while he examined his wounds. There were several bleeding holes all over Sycamore's torso, and his mouth oozed yellow as he looked up at Secter.

"You got out," said Secter, his eyes full of incredulity. "I thought…I thought you were dead."

"Same…goes for you," whispered Sycamore, his voice thin. "I had to…jump forward when the trench collapsed…got hit…multiple times…" He gasped in pain before falling backward, Secter pushing him back up before his head could hit the ground. Looking over at Koros, he saw that Koros was clenching a bloodied staff to his chest, the top of the staff cracked and pointed with several shards of broken metal.

Koros had fared little better than Sycamore, one leg coated in blood while a few dark gashes allowed for his clothes to run red. A tear so deep that it shone white at the bottom stretched out from one side of his head around to the back of his skull, and Koros grinned at Secter as he propped Sycamore up.

"There you are," said Koros. "Thought we lost you there for a bit."

Sycamore gave Secter a wary look, gripping Secter's shirt with a shaky hand.

"Ahhh, looky what we found," said Koros, pointing to the speedbikes. "Course, one of those gangs had a guard, but I took care of that real quick."

"Those…" said Secter, peering over at the sleek craft. "Those might help us get out of here."

"Risky," said Koros. "If we don't know the specific way out, we'll just be speeding along random paths for everyone to hear. But it's better than what we got. First though, we should heal up best we can, especially Sycamore… Aren't you glad I got those fucking bandages now?"

"You held on to them?" asked Secter. He spotted a small box tucked under one of Koros's arms, the cardboard sagging from all the blood that had drenched it.

"Yep," said Koros. "Will help with the healing for sure." He pulled himself into a sitting position and slid the box over towards Secter, nearly tipping it over as it stopped midway through its journey across the path. Secter laid Sycamore down with care, eying the wounds all over Sycamore's body. Many of the gunshot injuries had hit Sycamore near the center of the chest, and the amount of blood streaming out from Sycamore was enough to make Secter's heart drop. Grimacing, Secter got up to walk over to the box. He froze when he heard a roar from behind him, for the briefest of moments his mind imagining a burst of yellow coming to end them all.

In a flash, a silver speeder shot out from behind the three of them, a Soulless with a grey helmet with several slim spines on the back and a black visor riding the speedbike. He reached down as the vehicle rocketed past the shocked group and snatched the upturned box of bandages, before pulling the box up to his side and tearing off down the long path deeper into the Nothing.

"The hell?!" asked Koros. "Jus-shoot…ah fuck it, he's too far off now!"

Secter bolted back towards the speedbikes, his fists clenched in rage. Every vein in his body felt ready to burst, his back straining as he leaned over the cushion of the nearest vehicle. Setting his pistol at his side, he placed his feet in the twin holsters near the bottom of the speedbike and grasped the handles with both hands.

Been a long time since I used one of these, thought Secter. But if I don't go, Sycamore's going to die.

Revving the engine, Secter pulled out from the row of other speedbikes and yanked the craft back. Within seconds, he was darting after the thief, drawing his pipe from his side as he flew along.

Koros watched Secter rush away with a big smile on his face, managing to stand as he limped forward towards where Secter had driven away. The man was but a grey speck along an empty road by now, but Koros yelled after him anyways.

"Get that bastard Secter!" said Koros. "That's how to fucking do it, kill that son of a bitch!"

Sycamore watched from the ground, his breathing turning slow as his chest pumped out blood like a leaking pipe.

Ahead, Secter's eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to maintain his grip on the handlebars with a stabbed arm. He could see the burning form of the Soulless rushing down the path thousands of feet away, the box still tucked underneath his armpit. Secter hated this stranger, he was the one keeping his friend from safety. His eyes were wild and pouring hatred. The world around him became irrelevant as he rushed towards his query, his grip tightening on the handlebars with one arm while his other slid off of them to pull his pipe around to his back, ready to strike.

Secter's query turned his speedbike around, dirt exploding forth from behind it as the vehicle slid to a sudden stop. Eyes narrowing, Secter went flying past the target, too slow to catch the Soulless. Tearing his body to the side and pulling the handlebars with, Secter gasped as his vehicle shuddered as it turned around, the tip of the speedbike edging right into the Nothing and vanishing from existence as it touched the void. As Secter pulled the vehicle around, the pointed spike of his speedbike was completely gone, erased from reality. Secter peered up from his damaged speedbike to see that the Soulless had once again turned towards him, revving his engine with a single hand while holding a small black club with glowing streaks in the other.

Secter stared into the visor of the Soulless, his breathing turning heavy as he imagined what the Soulless would look like with his helmet smashed in.

You're all doing your best to take everything away from me, huh, thought Secter. To drag me down with the rest of you. Well guess what? It's not going to happen. Me, and Sycamore, we're going to get out of this, and there's nothing you can do can stop us. You won't break us down.

The visor foretold nothing.

Secter revved his engine, heat flaring out from the back of the speedbike as he gritted his teeth at the helmeted Soulless. With a sharp turn of his knuckle, Secter blasted forward, the air around him being cut like a knife through paper as he rocketed towards the Soulless. The stranger did the same, flying towards Secter with the club behind his back, ready to strike. Secter reared back with his own weapon, and just before the two of them came within striking range, Secter could just barely hear the Soulless say something to him:

"They did not belong to you."

Secter blinked. He hesitated.

The Soulless struck, the club catching Secter in the ribs just as Secter tried to pull away. Secter's breath was knocked from him and he tumbled from his vehicle. The Soulless crashed into the side of Secter's speedbike and went flying off of his as well. The Soulless's speedbike flipped over onto its tip before rolling off into the Nothing, while Secter's rolled and crashed onto the path, its rider tumbling and crashing along with it.

Secter groaned as he picked himself up, his eyes watering as he rubbed the side where the club had connected. The skin was soft where the blow had been struck, and underneath it, Secter could've sworn he felt a small crack in his ribs. Enraged, agonized, and brimming with motivation, Secter let out a cry of pain before stumbling towards his fallen weapon. Finding his pipe nearby, he shuffled back over to the scene of the collision, bits of metal and a few glowing bandages strewn all over the ground at the crash site. His head trained to the ground, Secter followed a trail of bandages to where the Soulless had fallen.

The Soulless was rubbing his head, a section of his helmet caved in and oozing yellow from a maze of dark cracks along the steel. Looking up at Secter as he approached, he grabbed his club from nearby and started to get up.

Secter glared at the Soulless and rushed forward even as his body strained and tore at the effort. In a mighty swing, Secter smacked the Soulless's helmet right where the damaged section was, crushing the metal inwards and sending the Soulless down to the ground. Blinking, Secter shook his head as if to wake himself from a bad dream, and spotted the box sitting on the ground next to where the Soulless had fallen. His body ready to collapse from the pain, Secter stumbled over and grabbed the box, taking a few stuttered steps back as he listened to the Soulless groan. The Soulless started to crawl along the ground, blood seeping out from the bottom of his helmet and dripping down onto the dirt. He looked up at Secter as he collected the last remaining bandages from off the ground and stuffed them into the box. It was the look a man wronged.

Secter couldn't stand it, but he knew he had to leave. The bandages he collected would not be enough for the trio in addition to the stranger.

"We…we need this," said Secter, noticing the Soulless's desperate stare. "We need this."

The Soulless laid his head onto the dirt, a pool of blood starting to form around his helmet. Weak gasps emanated out from behind his visor.

"We need this…" said Secter, stepping away from the Soulless. "I…I'm sorry." He turned away from the Soulless, his mind and body all but too willing to give up.