Simon put all the bags and supplies on the ground, in front of the stairs leading to the mansion. Their pn was to repair the five artifacts in a single day, but just in case he had searched through the manor to find food, clothes, and other supplies that could be needed for a trip. He knew that Thomas could store all of that in his flow, and even if it proved to not be useful, at the very least they wouldn’t be inconvenienced even if they carried it around.

  “Do you know where we are going next ?”

  Thomas answered while a smoke of pink magic was absorbing the pile of things, the pointy teeth of his beast face shining in the sun.

  “I unlocked the map with the second artifact. I already pnned the itinerary, if I had the freedom to choose it would take a few hours at most, but the game is forcing me to repair the artifacts in order, so it will probably take the whole day.”

  He secretly took a look at Simon. The knight was putting on his armor with a determined look, and on top of his head a hologram was glowing.

  [Affection : 91%]

  He sighed inwardly.

  ‘That idiot…’

  He was about to tell him to get ready when suddenly the door to the mansion burst open and the twins appeared, running frantically towards them.

  “What are you doing ? You both are unwell, you should be recuperating !”

  Tari was more critical, his brows furrowed.

  “I hope you are not going to repair the artifacts in this state !”

  Even with a stronger drug in his body, Thomas’ hands were shaking. Simon noticed it immediately. He didn’t hear the full story from the Shaman, but something must have definitely happened during the circution at the castle. Before Thomas could open his mouth, the commander stepped forward and put his body in front of him, shielding him from the twins’ view.

  “There is no time to waste, the more we wait, the more the Shaman is declining. You know perfectly well that it’s only a matter of time before he snaps. He will only get better when there are no more artefacts and no more circution. So we’ll take care of all of that now. Don’t try to stop us.”

  Then he took Thomas’ hand and gave him a knowing nod. Without wasting a second, webbed wings sprouted from the slim man’s back and they both disappeared. The two boys were left standing in front of the manor. Tari gritted his teeth.

  “Everything has gone to shit, why is it so complicated to keep him in one pce !”

  Tira nervously answered.

  “Well, they will have to come back anyway when ‘that’ happens, right ?”

  His brother seemed to calm down.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Doing five artefacts in one day is unrealistic. It might even accelerate our pns.”

  Tira bit his lips.

  “Are we still doing this ? Master will be very upset…”

  “This master is broken, something is wrong with him. If his brain shuts down because of the pain, it might give him some relief instead. And in this state, he wouldn’t know what is happening. Better we do it and take care of him, instead of someone else taking advantage.”

  The pink haired boy fiddled with his sleeves but eventually he nodded.

  “If being completely broken can give some peace to our master, that’s what we should do.”

  Several hundred meters away, above the forest, Thomas was holding Simon’s hand while taking out a cigarette.

  “We will probably meet other familiars on the way, but I don’t know what will happen to the story since we are speedrunning it.”

  The knight, who was floating next to him in a bubble of pink light, tilted his head in confusion.

  “What is speedrunning ?”

  “You know, when you are pying a game, you are supposed to follow the rules, let the story guide you through each step. But when you skip steps and find loopholes to advance even further at a frightening pace, what happens ?”

  Simon thought for a bit.

  “Is it like skipping pages from a book to reach the ending earlier ? Then you won’t be able to understand what is happening, the characters will be talking about things you don’t understand, and some will see their personalities change but you won’t know why because you didn’t follow their developpement.”

  “Exactly. I don’t think you will be affected since I spent a lot of time with you, but if I meet a familiar at the third artefact and immediately go to the fourth, we might notice some changes.”

  The commander scratched his neck nervously.

  “If that’s the case, it really means that this world is a creation… I don’t know how I feel about that, discovering that I am not a real person…”

  Thomas didn’t answer, keeping his eyes far ahead, but himself was having trouble processing everything that was happening. The new drug was strong, very strong, to the point that he had died from an overdose two times in a single day, but his powers prevented him from disappearing. He didn’t feel anything about it, probably too high or depressed to care, but it had made him question some things.

  ‘I know that the game won’t kill me, since the goal is to fuck and it’s not a survival, but can I even kill myself ? All this time I’ve been thinking about disappearing, but it seems like I can’t. Did the game make me immortal as soon as I became the Shaman ? It’s a problem…’

  He had always thought that if things became too unbearable, he always had a way out, but he had a growing suspicion that it wasn’t the case. He had no choice from the beginning, his only way out was finishing the story. And he could only do that with a sound mind, but it seemed less and less likely.

  “Simon ?”

  “Yes ?”

  “I trust you.”

  “I know. I will do everything I can.”

  “I can’t die, so if I lose my mind, it’s the end.”

  The knight bit his lips but slowly nodded. It reassured Thomas a bit who then turned to the other side.

  “You too, you need to help me.”

  The tall man nodded.

  “Of course, I will always be here for you.”

  Simon opened his eyes wide.

  “Who are you talking to ?”

  Thomas gestured to his side.

  “Did I not introduce you to him ? It’s Bael.”

  The king fshed a bright smile and waved.

  “Hi, nice to meet you !”

  But the commander didn’t answer, he could only stare at Thomas in shock. Because there was nobody next to him.

  ***

  With their speed, it took them two hours to reach the first artifact, at the submit of a mountain. The air was so cold and dry that Simon immediately felt his hand hurting, as if burnt by a scorching fire. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and moved forward.

  “Is it here ?”

  In front of them id a dipidated building, the walls had come crumbling long ago, maybe due to the harsh environment, and the artifact was exposed to the raging wind. It seemed in an even worse state than the others.

  “Yes, it’s here. I don’t know the state of the altar and you aren’t immune to the cold, so I’ll create a barrier and…”

  He suddenly turned his head and met eyes with a boy wrapped in warm clothes who was looking at them with curiosity.

  “Um… Hello ? Are you the Shaman from the legends ? The oracle told me to come here today and that I will meet my destiny.”

  Simon furrowed his brows. He had felt it too, that strange feeling of kinship. He was definitely a familiar.

  “Do you want to do it with him, or…”

  “If you dare to ask that one more time, I’ll rip your tongue off. Go expin everything to him while I repair the temple.”

  His way of speaking was very harsh, but Simon didn’t take offense since Thomas seemed irritated. He hated circution, so doing it with a stranger would feel even worse. It was his fault for asking.

  The knight walked to the boy with a smile.

  “Yes, he is the Shaman. You know the legends, right ?”

  The stranger nodded with energy.

  “Yes, I know all about it since I’m a familiar !”

  Simon was taken aback.

  “You already know ?”

  The boy showed a bright smile. He had a youthful look, but not in the way that Simon had, it was more feminine and delicate, androgynous like Thomas, but in a more seductive way, and with blond eyeshes that fluttered in the cold wind.

  “Of course ! Our vilge has an oracle that prophesied this day. They told me that I will meet my destiny, my lover, my everything, the Shaman. And I will spend the rest of my days by his side. I even learned all the ways I could love him so that I could be ready.”

  Simon covered his mouth in horror. If the prophecy was really about Thomas, the oracle would have never taught the boy about those things. It seemed like a predetermined event for whoever was to be the Shaman at this point, as if that role was a pceholder for whoever was to be sent in this world.

  ‘It really is like a game… And that boy is the worst match for Thomas !’