Usually, Derek knew that the best response to anything unusual was to flee. But it had been a while since he'd seen an actual human, or at least a soul of one, so curiosity outweighed rationality, and he dashed toward the sound of the voice in the distance.
Tearing through a thick patch of bushes, Derek came upon an interesting sight: a swarm of flying insects were trying to prey on someone.
She was a Convert, probably newly spawned, and with quite high soul and mind awareness, given her thinking capacity, Derek surmised after prying into her mind.
She was clothed in an apparel dexterously woven from leaves and twigs, and was trying to put up a pathetic fight against the colony.
Derek would have laughed out loud if he didn't want any attention, but since he was there, he decided to help her out. It would be quite a chore to tap into and alter the minds of each and every insect in the colony, so he just scanned through their minds—something he's been really practicing lately because it's his greatest advantage—and found their leader. He reduced the bloodlust in its mind and replaced it with a feverish lust to return to its hive, and it worked perfectly.
If there was anything Derek had noticed combing through the minds of creatures in the past few weeks, it was that, as long as any feeling was extreme, be it anger, nostalgia, melancholy, just name it, it has a tinge of lust to it, it might be very small but it's there.
Derek did the deductions and realized that any feeling can be made extreme and unhealthy if lust is added to it, and reverted back to normal if removed. He still couldn't control any other feeling apart from lust, but in a way, he could alter them with lust.
A good example being what he just did to the queen of the colony: she felt a sense of urgency to go back to the hive, but she also decided to hunt when she saw a perfect opportunity arise, so all Derek had to do was reduce her bloodlust and add a little tinge of lust to the sense of urgency, making it feverish and extreme. And that was it; he didn't even have to lift a finger.
He regarded the Convert for a second as she stumbled awkwardly into the distance, trying to decipher why they just let her be. She really was lucky that Derek came at the right time; she would have probably been stung to death, only if she doesn't die of essence desiccation first, because they seemed ready and enough to suck her dry of essence.
Anyway, his job was done. Admittedly, he was weak, so going around with someone even weaker would be a complete drawback.
And he wasn't ready to babysit some new Convert. The world was cruel that way; one has to be selfish sometimes to survive.
So Derek bade her good luck in his mind and turned back.
He had places to be.
"Hey! What happened?" Quarren asked.
"Nothing much, where are we heading to from here, though?"
"Well, we'd have to break into the tunnel; the door to the tunnel is that dark clearing from earlier, and since it's already occupied, we have to find another place."
"Do you have anywhere in mind?" Derek inquired.
"Of course, but we'll need days to prepare for it, given the right conditions," Quarren said.
"Prepare? What do we need to prepare?"
"A sacrifice, to the Tree of Oblivion."
*
Derek wondered what sacrifice a tree would require. Turns out it wasn't too far fetched.
"It's going to take your memories," Quarren said.
"What? So what will happen to me?"
"Well, obviously you'd be without one, a husk of your former self."
"Heyy… my memories! What can I do without my memories?" Derek yelled.
"It's either that, or you try to fight your way through thousands of bugs that are capable of tearing you apart; even your soul core won't be spared."
Derek gulped. "Is there any other way?"
"I'll think of something…" Quarren paused and continued.
"Look, I've always respected your privacy, and I appreciate you doing the same for me.
I've never pried into where the hell you came from, what your specific concept is. Hell, I don't even know your real name."
Quarren paused, a hint of steel in his voice. "I have my suspicions, but I need you to answer this honestly. Are you a Sentient?"
"No, I'm Lucid… I guess," Derek said with a shrug.
Quarren was silent for a long moment. Finally, he replied, "Interesting. Truly interesting. So, how did you find out?"
"Some weird, powerful guy told me," Derek replied.
"Great. Then you have a chance. You just have to create a fake memory of a life back in the living world," Quarren stated flatly.
Derek's eyes narrowed. He didn't know how possible what the mace said was, but he knew if it was possible, he would be capable of it. Back when Auror had dragged his soul back into the afterlife, all of his fragmented memories had returned in a rush, but he'd been too terrified to dwell on them at the time.
My family… they'd be somewhere here too,
Derek thought. It was too early to dwell on those things though. He needed to survive and grow stronger first, then he would find them.
"So, what do I have to do first, to create these… false memories?" Derek asked, snapping himself out of his introspection.
"You have to understand that our names are anchors to our memories, so first off, you'll have to change your name from…"
"Derek. That's my name."
Quarren chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. "What a pathetic choice of words for a name."
Derek's eye twitched in annoyance. "You're sure one to talk. You know, I've always wondered why you don't have teeth, fangs, mandibles, or even a mouth like every other soul in this world. Turns out you lost them all trying to pronounce your own name to people."
"You...!" Quarren snarled, preparing a furious retort.
And just like that, another round of arguments began.