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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Finally, the recovered memory took its lasting place within
my mind, even as it burned into murmuring ash. I placed my
father and my grinning sisters onto the floor. Before I could
speak my mind, a familiar presence invaded the place of my
second birth, for a second time.
“We were gonna wait till you were napping again,” the
invader dressed in an all-concealing cloak said, “but then
you laid down your weapons. This is quite the little freak
show you’ve got down here, by the way. Who’s the star of
the show?” He pointed to the Red Ouroboros. “Is it a friend
of yours, maybe?”
He said we. I scanned the darkness and found others lying
beneath the shadows with malice aforethought and weapons
aplenty. Before I could take up my sisters, a figure rose from
the stairwell and kicked them away. Another shape leaked
across the stones of the ceiling, raining bullets down upon
me. I leaped behind a nearby worktable, disappointing the
swarm of bullets chasing me.
“We’re social animals, aren’t we, big man?” the speaker
continued. “So, how better to win this contest than to
mobilize some help? And just in case you’ve got escape
on the brain, don’t bother. I’ve got guys all over this place.
You’re all done, big fella.”
More shadows poured into the room, bearing blades,
guns, and arrogance. Sparks leapt from the walls from
additional bullets. Lights and shadows played all around me.

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