Rargnes walked through the corridors of the military base with cold air, paying little attention to the people standing in the hallways, occasionally bumping into them. He stared at the door of his temporary room, an expression of rage appearing, and slammed the door shut.
'He was telling facts.'
'Look! He just wants you to feel bad. Once you're strong enough, you can kill them all or not - you can do everything you want to.'
He let himself fall onto the bed and brought his hand to his forehead, cursing for a few minutes before the voices stopped. He didn't speak, he didn't think - at least not with his consciousness. He lay emotionlessly, one leg half off the bed, staring blankly at a point on the ceiling, his hand becoming increasingly blurred.
He felt his mind moisten with a tear he couldn't shed. Perhaps his power had already evolved before the visions arrived, even those of the voices, changing what he couldn't see.
Then, what was between a voice and a thought crossed his mind: "I-I just wanted you to be proud of me." The voice seemed familiar but wasn't exactly his own. "But it's still me! I-I haven't abandoned you, mom."
Motionless, his eyes still staring at the roof, he associated the thought to Sengrar. Hadn't he said one day he wanted to see his family again? He hoped for him that he had or will - even if he doubted the possibility. A sudden thought made him open his clenched hand and intensify his gaze before his body became motionless again. Where was he? Yes... After all, the cities had emptied of their inhabitants with the attacks of the invaders.
'I will live,' his voice repeated.
The cities had emptied and...A frown appeared on Rargnes' face as he reviewed the tutorial scenes in his mind.
'No, wait...'
If there were only 5 portals, there would be only 5 areas... then...why did no one live in the buildings? A few people had come to the police camp, but nowhere enough to represent the fifth of a city numbering thousands of people. They were far from it.
The reflection made him rack his brain so much that he was truly beginning to calm down and review the situation more carefully this time. He was making hypotheses while the visions played out and enjoyed the exercise.
His eye looked at the other parts of the ceiling, and he shook his limbs. Then, with a sharp jerk of his arm, he got up and walked quickly down the corridors to Sengrar's room. The guard opened the door for him, liberating the sound of training noises.
Sengrar was casting spell after spell, throwing blow after blow, his gigantic red body panting heavily. He turned around frightened, his reddish face ashamed, and mumbled a few words while hiding his face with a gesturing hand.
"Wha- what is it?" he finally said, his voice a little less breathless but still fatigued.
"Are you always training like that?"
"No!" he said suddenly, almost violently. "No, no. It was exceptional. It's to prepare for why you were all called here. Why did you want to see me?"
"For the fourth world... could you tell me about the tutorial?"
Sengrar hung his weapons on his leather belt near a purse.
"Uh... yes," he said, troubled, as if he was afraid to explain the discussion of the fourth Rargnes they had never shared with him, just as Sengrar and Heze had hidden the existence of the commander's wife. "What exactly do you want to know?"
"Did you see a lot of people in the tutorial?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Rargnes looked at the tightly closed iron door that had to be knocked on to reopen and whose insulation and magical defenses learned from the goblin mage normally prevented them from being heard. He explained his reasoning to him while Rargnes' face showed surprise but never interrupted him.
"So?"
"Well... I didn't notice anything strange, to be honest," Sengrar replied. "I see what you're talking about, but it's normal for those buildings to be empty."
"What?" Rargnes blurted out.
"Well... the selection process before? You remember that, don't you?"
'He... he fucking just dropped a major info, didn't he? It proves he's from the invaders' world,' Rargnes' voice became agitated. 'The cops were damn right! He arrived before the apocalypse and... and the damn goblins led by Strength-Nature too! Given the layout of the portals, they could never have made it in time! The portals appeared after the fog!'
Then Sengrar seemed to remember something. "Oh, but with your visions! It must be messing with your mind! I didn't think of that!" He shook his head and approached him.
"What do you mean?" said Rargnes, looking for a way out in case Sengrar wanted to silence him for good.
'But he's tired! And you have to try to fight!'
Fear immobilized him, and he couldn't draw his sword.
To his surprise, Sengrar walked over to him and knocked on the iron door, inviting the guard in and explaining the situation. The guard seemed a little lost at first, then, when he thought about it, he said:
"I... I'm not sure."
"But it happened!" Said Sengrar. "And even if it didn't, you should remember, right? I mean! That was bloody!"
"It's blurry..." the guard replied.
Sengrar looked at them both like they were sick and ordered them to follow him down the corridors while he ordered a gathering by shouting and headed toward the training grounds.