You'd think after our brief cozy moment, these Ori monks would let my new owner take me away as a free man. But Eiza places those damn shackles around my hands, and Agidi walks me out into the night himself after a long day of waiting for the sun to sink into the horizon.

The air outside the temple feels lighter, freer, promising reprieve in all the right ways. Agidi drags me by the shackles while finalizing the deal with the dark mage. He seems awfully eager to get rid of me, and I can't blame the old bastard. Of all the Elders, he's experienced the harsher side of my ability. It's not like before when I was able to show people my true form without driving them insane. Now a brief glimpse and a single question make a dead American and a native suicidal.

We walk down the uneven path of the Southern hills, where towering healthy trees populate the fields and nothing but the sound of crickets can be heard from a mile. There's the occasional howling of the wind, of course, as the dark clouds hover in the sky, impregnated with rain. Makes me wonder if Etori still favors the spring season like old times. It used to rain every other day for months on end. The concept of autumn and winter was very much nonexistent at the time. Yet how much I enjoyed every moment of it. I never was one for sunshine and good weather, after all.

"Ovivi, remember what I told you," Agidi says as we reach the mage's small car. Red, of course, as if everything has to scream danger.

"Yes." Ovivi smiles, bringing out the car key from his pocket. "If he tries to act smart, I should burn the skin off his flesh."

I wince at the disorienting imagery that conjures in my mind and have to shake off that thought with an aggressive shake of my head. "I'm sure it won't come to that, old friend," I assure the Elder. "You raised me to be complacent, remember?"

Agidi frowns as he makes eye contact with me. "Let's hope so." He swings me toward the car by the chains before handing them over to Ovivi. "It's not every day a priest and a dark magician come to an agreement. But you know just as much as I do how important it is that he stays alive."

Ovivi takes the chains from him and crushes his end with brute strength or something more, causing the whole thing to come apart, crumbling to dust. "I may not act like it, but I care about this town more than you do. No Etori means no battlefield to dominate, and that simply makes me unhappy for reasons you're much aware of."

Agidi breaks eye contact with him, nodding to his words with resilient devotion. His expression hardens as he looks at me. "For the last time, Adahwahyi, I'm not your friend, or his. You're just my burden, which I have to let go of for now."

He begins to slowly back away, massaging his bandaged temple with one hand to show that he's clearly not over yesterday's entrancement. "It's entirely up to you now to either evolve for the better or come back here a changed man," he adds. "If you choose the darkness over light, we'll continue to treat you as an object of nightmare upon your return—"

"But if I come back redeemed, you'll make a place for me in your ranks?" I smirk.

He glares harder at me and shakes his head. "You're not cut for that kind of life, Adahwahyi. And I'll certainly not have you as one of my Ezori if you keep interrupting me."

"Sorry, old friend." I laugh and walk over to the passenger seat. "Try not to miss me too hard while I'm gone." I wink at him, open the door, get into the air-conditioned car, and sit down. I see the frustrated look on Agidi's face through the screen, and I could've sworn he cursed at me before breaking eye contact.

Laughing, I almost miss the sneaky interaction between the mage and priest as Agidi swiftly hands him a folded parchment before turning around and leaving for the towering brick temple perched on the edge of the hill.

I almost can't resist the urge to ask Ovivi what the letter is about as he joins me in the car, sitting in the driver's seat. Yet I watch him closely as he slips the parchment into the front compartment, starting the car.

"So just out of curiosity..." I start, trailing off when the ferocious look in his eyes as he glances at me repels my burning curiosity.

"What?" he asks, driving the car down the winding path leading to the main road. "Adahwahyi?"

"Um... It's just... How bright are the lights up north at night? I heard it can be—"

"Blinding," he responds, scaring my initial curiosity away.

"Are you being serious right now?"

He stares intently at me for a minute before going soft, chuckling and shaking his head in ridicule. "No, Adahwahyi, it's not all lighthouses and fireworks out there. You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm just—"

"Anxious? Says the god of fear."

I roll my eyes and look out the window. "You know I'm not really a god, right? Gods don't burn or scar. I'm just... different."

"You don't remember much from your past, do you?"

"I remember getting captured by Inda—"

"Right, and that was over five hundred years ago."

"See! Someone finally believes me!" I gasp in disbelief, relieved he's not playing the dumb game as the monks. "The Ézori don't agree! They're all under the impression that they were around when I was brought in."

Ovivi laughs, dismissing my remark with a wave of his hand. "All part of their plan to humanize you, no doubt. They thought if they could convince you you're mortal, you'd start to behave like one eventually."

Wait, that's supposed to work? Why? How slow are those statue-worshiping monks? I can barely contain my hollow emptiness and they think they can deceive me into forgetting my immortality?

"Well, I guess it actually worked in a way," I admit reluctantly, reflecting on the missing chunk of memory from my past. "I have no idea how I came to be. Everything preceding my capture by Inda has somehow disappeared. You think they had something to do with that?"

Ovivi shrugs. "I wouldn't know for sure. The magicking community up north are under the impression that you surrendered yourself voluntarily."

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