This wasn't the challenge of those three creatures and the old man in the tuxedo, or at least he was pretty sure it wasn't, after all, if they could do something like that, something so breaking to his very core that he forgot who he was, or even just realized that he wasn't himself, the being created by those around him, but the being created by the things around him, though he did not yet decide on his new name, perhaps having to convey with someone else for that, and even believing that to be less of a priority right now.
Truly, there was only really one being that had both the motive and the power, as well as the knowledge to do this to him, as well as a motive, at least as far as he knew, and that was more of a theory, something he felt deep within him, like a twin screaming in his face that he was real, the only being that could manipulate him where everything felt off, where his mana was too great, where there was no natural mana, where his body felt eerily numb in some places and far too sensitive in others, where his mind concentrated on some things with far too great detail, such as the wings of single ehetrians as they quickly vanished into the endless wall before him, still moving, though now almost gone, his mind not even moving them, almost as if they simply followed each other, just like ants whose stream was broken.
Perhaps he hadn't realized that he wasn't Cades because he had arrived here, perhaps he had been sent here because he realized Cades, perhaps he had lived through what Cades had yearned through, at least partially, perhaps he had seen all those ehetrians, nameless, endless quantities, almost as if he was supposed to see all that he was giving up on, all that he was writing off as a kind of monotone, greyish, memory, all that he was forsaking when he let go of his former self, of Cades, perhaps it wasn't one of those monsters that was facing him, perhaps the one who was facing him, the one who ruled above his mind and soul to a great degree, still, perhaps, Cades was the one he was up against, perhaps it was his former self, angry, sad, lost, forsaken, stuck for all time, perhaps it was himself.
Well, maybe he was wrong, but it would certainly explain almost everything that had happened until now, it was truly one of the only reasons he could think of, and perhaps because of exactly that, he felt how things were changing, as if Cades knew that everything was revealed, as if his subconsciousness was putting up one last fight so that he may not become someone else and let go of his perceived goal, a goal that neither of them had any idea on how to ever achieve, after all, they had never even found out who to take revenge on, though, he, the new one, would definitely take revenge on Cades behalf if he was to ever find out, and then there was the other Cades who was most likely still, well, Cades.
Finally, as if to confirm it, he felt the world changing, a world he now had realized to be built around an endless sea, obscured by countless clouds, strong, great, and grey, many lights dazzling deep beneath, dazzling strings of light that had previously been hidden grazing the infinitely extending horizon with their presence as he was beginning to be died in a violet colour by an eclipsed star rising from far beyond, never truly vanishing and instead turning around himself, as if he was standing right on the place where the sun was visible at every moment of the day, no matter what time, no matter what season, no matter what year, it was always there, and within a single minute, if even that, it was most likely a lot less after all, it had turned many times, and with it, his heart and soul raced, the world was against him, for the world he was within, was what remained of Cades, he was within Cades mind, he was where Cades, whatever might remain of him, was an absolute god.
The pillar fractured, countless shards piercing into his flesh as he fell downwards, fracturing further and further at an unimaginable pace, turning into pebbles, sand, dust, and finally, into nothingness, and he landed in an endless sea, quickly appearing once more, standing right as he had done before, almost as if he had fallen through the world and returned, perhaps the very way this worked, until, finally, chains appeared, like hungry snakes, coming out of the violent sea that he was somehow standing on, slithering towards him, gliding through the air, their heavy dark metal weighing it down already, tightly packed links interlocking with each other dozens of times per foot, though only a few inches wide in each case.
There were five in total that were moving towards him, each one most likely representing one of Cades fingers, two of them quickly wrapping tightly around his ankles, almost crushing the bones within as he felt fear rise up within his heart, the next two chains violently pressing onto his hands, quickly stopping the flow of blood from reaching them and turning them numb, just as his feet already were, almost as if the blood was gone as soon as it touched him, the last chain, however, didn't do anything, it simply waved around in the air, as if a powerful wind was controlling it's every movement, unpredictable, powerful, undoubtably strong enough to turn the chained by into mincemeat should it ever hit him, ripping him into pieces and splattering his guts all over the sea, becoming one with is, if that was even possible.
Slowly, the chain became smaller, contracting and layering itself over and over, layering itself hundreds of times, and finally, there stood a from he knew too well, hunched, but very much there, uneven skin and form, loose and unfitting, but it was Cades, the being he had been long before, his wings extending into the sky as he looked upon the restrained man that had now been pulled upwards, his four bodily parts spread into all directions, as if intend on ripping him apart, something that might very well happen soon.