I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Path to Oblivion

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Crap, crap, CRAP! Damn it, Mudeenu! What the hell did you do that for?! Why can't you just believe me when I tell you something?! I get that you hate me, the repeated beatings during training prove that, but seriously, what the hell is wrong with you acting like that around an active mugic!

No, stop that Michael. It's not going to help you. You could be within a hundred feet of Phelphor. Focus on that, focus on saving Perim.

Ugh, I need to do inventory. I slide my provisions pack and weapons pack off my shoulders and set them on the ground.

Provision pack opens first, let's see what I have. Trail rations, ten days worth. I'll need to make sure I don't eat more than one a day. Canteens with- ugh, wine, not water. I'll need to find some clean water soon. Maps of the Underworld, yes, maps are good, I can definitely use maps. Mugics, useless to me, but they might be good bartering material. A bedroll, a flint and steel, a few torches.

Weapons pack now. My longsword, a parrying dagger, a cyclance, and an aqua shield, along with maintenance tools for each.

I pick up the cyclance and arm it. There's the hum of energy inside. Good, that works, turn that off and check the aqua shield. A field of fluid energy surrounds the buckler-sized shield as I activate it. Awesome, that works too.

I stand up and check what's on my person. Full helm on my head, check. Cuirass, consisting of breastplate, armored sleeves and gloves, check. Greaves, codpiece and boots, check. And then there are the decorative pieces, the cape and the loincloth.

I strap my longsword's scabbard to my waist, sword hanging from my left hip. Parrying dagger gets strapped to my left boot, aqua shield to my left forearm, cyclance's strap loops around my chest and hangs from my back.

I check my reflection in a wall of jade to see if anything is out of place. Ugh, I look like some kind of evil overlord. Black armor with yellow trim, gold-colored cape and a similarly colored loincloth, both with a black symbol of the Mipedian tribe. The metal of the cuirass is shaped to evoke the image of a muscular man's torso, and there are spikes on the back and the shoulders, as well as two curved horns on my helmet.

I always felt a little unnerved by this armor, with all the dark imagery, but it was designed to intimidate enemies, so I guess it's just a feature.

I turn away from the jade wall. Somewhere here, a M'arrillian has an appointment with the business end of my sword.

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I find the remains of a camp a few minutes later. Remains here doesn't mean a nicely cleaned up campsite with a pile of ash where the firepit was. No, it means the place is a wreck. There's a tent lying crumbled on the ground, a still smoldering campfire, and cooking tools strewn around haphazardly.

Arg! Phelphor's already left! I kick a metal pot in frustrations, and it bounces away loudly.

Ugh, well, I can at least scavenge the campsite. There's bound to be a canteen of something around here-

There's a whimpering noise. It's coming from the crumbled tent. The tent's fabric rises and falls slightly.

I slowly slide my parrying dagger from its sheath on my boot and transfer it to my right hand. Better safe than sorry, in case this is an ambush. I reach my left hand down to the tent fabric, take a grip, then pull it off.

...There's a small Danian maniblor lying on the ground, clutching his stomach. The ground around him is stained with blood. His chest shudders as he breathes, and each breath releases another whimper from his mouth. His eyes are wide, and they turn to stare at me. The Danian's breath catches in his throat, and his body shakes. His antennae twitch sporadically.

I set my dagger aside, then take off my helmet. No need to scare this guy any further. "What happened?" I ask. It would be stupid to ask if he was all right.

The Danian's mandibles twitch and tremble, and he answers in a high voice, "Ph-Phelphor... h-he..."

"No, stop talking," I say. "Let me see your injury." Maybe I can use my cape to bind the wound.

The Danian squeezes his eyes shut and holds his breath. He slowly takes his hands away from his stomach-

The exoskeleton falls open, revealing the interior of the Danian's stomach cavity. It's... It's an absolute wreck... The two stomachs are slit open, the liver is chopped into pieces, blood vessels are sliced into ribbons. It looks like someone- Phelphor, that is, took a blender to this Danian's gut.

I-I can't fix this... There's too much damage. Even if I could cast a Minor Florish on him, there's too much damage here for mugic to be able to make a difference. The mandiblor's own stomach acids have dissolved so much tissue, I can't even be sure there weren't more organs in here before now.

The Danian's chest heaves. "A-am I... gonna die...?"

I can't give him false hope, I just can't. "Yes..." I whisper. I can feel my chest freezing up inside, it's so awful.

The Dania's eyes well up. "I-I don't want to die!" he cries out weakly as tears begin to leak down the sides of his face.

I slide myself over to the Danian's head. "I'm sorry," I say softly. "I'm so sorry..."

The Danian's eyes lock on my face again. "I-I know you... You're Osiris... the prince from Al.. from Al Mipedim..."

I nod.

The Danian weakly lifts his arms and lays his palm on his chest. "I-I am Piabo..."

"Hello, Piabo." It's the only thing I can say.

Piabo closes his eyes and gasps for breath. "I-it was supposed to... to be my first assignment... spend a solan g-guarding the Doors..."

"Your first assignment?" I ask. "How old are you?"

"T-twenty-six," Piabo says. "T-today is the f-first day of my... my twenty-sixth solan..."

Twenty-six. Barely thirteen years old. "You're so young," I say. "Why send you out so young?"

Piabo laughs weakly. "H-humans always ask that... I'm a m-mandiblor... F-from b-birth to death we serve..." He expression wilts into fear. "B-but I don't wanna die..."

"Nobody ever does," I mutter.

The young Danian looks at me with pleading eyes. "H-hold me..."

I carefully reach down and lift Piabo's upper body, then rest his back on my legs and hold his head in my arm. Piabo's breath shakes, and his hand reaches up and clutches mine.

"D-do you wonder what it's like to die?" Piabo asks.

My lungs seize up. I can't answer.

Piabo looks up at me. "...Did... Did you die once?"

I slowly nod.

Piabo's eyes widen. "Wh-what does dying feel like?"

I take a deep breath and give Piabo's hand a squeeze. "The pain goes away slowly," I say. "You can feel it, but it just doesn't matter anymore, it's just there the same way you feel the clothes on your body or your feet on the ground." My other hand wipes tears from my eyes. "Your mind becomes very clear for a while, everything in sharp focus, and then everything starts to go... soft. The edges starts to blur together in your vision, sounds face, and soon you feel like you're floating." I take a shaky breath. "Thinking becomes hard, and eventually you just want to relax. You let go of everything, and the world just drifts away..." I choke up, I can't say anything more.

Piabo's eyes are welling up again. "It sounds... very calm..." he gasps.

I can't just let him suffer. "Do... do you want me to help you die?" I ask, my chest seizing up as I say the words.

"No..." Piabo whispers. "No... just let me go quietly..."

Every second I stay is a second I lose trying to find Phelphor... but I can't let him die alone. My throat burns, my chest aches. Small wet circles appear on my armor as tears drip down my face.

Piabo's eyes widen, and his pupils turn into pinpricks. He hands grips mine with sudden strength. "He's going to open the Doors." His voice is suddenly strong as well.

"I'm going to stop him," I say quietly.

Piabo's eyes focus on mine. "Mowercycle. Inside the wrecked shack. Saw it while collecting wood for the fire."

I look around. There's the shack he's talking about.

Piabo's grip on my hand slackens, and his arm weakly falls onto his chest. "Stop him..." the young mandiblor whispers.

"I will," I promise.

The Danian's jaw trembles, and he stares straight up. "I don't wanna die... I don't wanna... I... I..."

Piabo's head feels heavier on my arm, his body heavier on my lap. His shoulders slowly droops down, and his chest slowly falls. I place a hand on his chest. His heart feels weak, the beats slowing and fading.

"Phelphor will pay," I whisper.

Piabo's eyes look at my face again. His pupils slowly widen. He whispers back, "Thank you... Osiris..."

"My real name, the one I was born with, is Michael," I say.

Piabo blinks very, very slowly. "Well... then thank... thank you... Michael..." He takes a shallow, shaky breath. "...Goodbye..."

Piabo dies in my arms. I hug his body and cry.

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There's nowhere I can feasibly bury him. Instead I lay him down and close his eyes. I remove my cape and tie it around his wound, then cross his arms over his chest. I remove my bedroll from my pack and lay the blanket on top of him and put the pillow below his head. There... now he could be sleeping.

Wait... He needs one more thing... I have a few coins. They're not ambers, but it's the best I can do. I open Piabo's mouth, place a coin on his tongue, and close it again.

"For paying the gatekeeper to heaven," I mutter as I stand, "though someone like you shouldn't have to pay to get in..."

I find the mowercycle Piabo told me about. It's in good condition. I clear away the wreckage of the shack it's in, then climb inside. I start the engine.

"Phelphor," I growl, "prepare to die." I turn the accelerator.

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Up next: The Duel at the Doors

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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