Waking up was disconcerting and slightly terrifying. Where was I? My last memory...I was sitting in a forest with Jerric. Then something threw me. There was the possibility that I had died, but this couldn't be the afterlife, could it? I looked around, taking in the blank Crystalglass walls and the cold floor. Nothing stood out to me here, except a small amount of blood scattered erratically. And... I had no shirt. That was strange. Shivering slightly in the cold air, I looked down at my bare torso. There was a perfect circle in the middle of my chest that was a much darker shade than the rest of my usually pale skin, almost black. That hadn't been there before. I raised an eyebrow and got off the table I had been on, then walked to the door and tested it. Locked, as expected. Usually, I'd be able to break through that easily, but the Crystalglass blocked my Gift, reminding me that I still needed to talk to Jerric about that. Wherever he was. Hopefully not in the same situation as I was. Panic was starting to come on as escape seemed less and less likely. Slowly wearing away in an undiscovered room somewhere was not the way I wished to die. Weirdly, whoever had left me here had given me my sword, so if things became truly hopeless, I could end this myself. Drawing the blade merely to stare at it, recognition of some of its importance sparked in my mind. It could do...anything. When did I learn that? It was a strange thing, to lack memories. Something felt like it was missing from my mind, but I had no idea what it was. Something I was supposed to tell Jerric? Probably. No matter. For now, I had nothing to worry about except getting out of this room. Trying to cut through the lock on the door, it didn't take long to learn that such a thing was impossible. It was made of stronger material than anything I'd ever tested. My sword was generally sharp enough to cut most things in a few good hits, but it failed here. About to just give up, I backed off from the door and put away my sword. Exceptionally well timed, a click echoed through the room, unlocking the door. It swung open to reveal a strange being. Blue skin, purple claws, a brown cloak. Swirling vortex of a head. What was this? Feeling like I should know what it was, I didn't say anything until it spoke first.
"Standing there blankly does you a lot of good," it spoke sarcastically, "I'm going to guess you don't remember who I am."
"I've never seen you in my life." I raised an eyebrow as the being approached.
"So, it wasn't me who brought you here. Right then." Somehow it became even more sarcastic than before. Tossing me a shirt, it turned and began floating back through the corridors. I was supremely confused but followed for lack of a better plan. Needless to say, I also put on the shirt I'd been offered as we walked. Or rather, as I walked, the being floated.
As my footsteps rang out along the close stone walls, Centrik-as I relearned his name was-explained things to me. The events of the previous day, and why I had been thrown through the air. Apparently Centrik had created a being that lived to protect the trees, and it had seen Jerric and I near an injured one. So naturally, it got rid of us. Centrik himself had the ability to spontaneously generate portals, and he did so to save our lives. Following that were some conversations and... pain. I remembered the pain. A worthy trade, if my life was owed to the portal man. That would put me somewhat in his debt, if any of this was to be believed. I chose to take it alongside a measure of doubt and wait until someone else could confirm.
Eventually I was led out into a larger room containing Jerric. He jumped to his feet, walking towards me with a wide grin.
"Vite! You were gone for a while." Jerric was here, and he seemed comfortable. That checked out with Centrik's story, for the most part. I asked him about the rest, and he confirmed: Centrik had not lied. Still, Jerric was obviously a bit concerned at the fact that I was asking him about all this.
"Why are you asking?"
"Memory loss."
"So... you don't remember last night, do you?" Disbelief and disappointment flashed across his face. As if there was something he was hoping I had kept in mind. No point in dwelling on the things I had no memory of, however. Regardless of how hard I tried, there would always be a gap.
"We should likely return to the Emperor." I feared what he would do if we came back without the sword, and I was also not wanting to discuss last night. Giving him that power wasn't an option. Centrik told us that we were free to go now; he'd done what he wanted. It was rather strange that he hadn't explained any of what he did to me while unconscious, but that couldn't be helped. I was sure it'd become clear at some point if it was noteworthy. We grabbed the few belongings we had and left Centrik's home far worse off than when we had found it, not expecting to see him again.
The journey back to the Arena took less time than expected and had little to no bumps. Jerric asked at least four different times about what I did and didn't remember, then fell into a moody quiet. I had no problem with that and appreciated silence. It let my thoughts stay free to inspect everything we'd just done. The hole in my memories greatly disturbed me, and I made up my mind to not tell Yviss about it as we rapidly advanced on the Arena. I hated that place, but always ended up there. Blackmail is a powerful thing.