Worthy's mind was being conquered by a monster, Furfur. It had taken everyone's mind, not only his own. There must not have been a single individual with a mind on their own outside, which was cordoned off by Alice, the First Craftsman, who had been born from a memory of her past life he viewed after gazing into the tapestry of the Tower. If he had to explain this to somebody, they would believe he was crazy, a lunatic on the same level of insanity as Crazy Viper.
Sadly, the child was not psychotic. He was sound of mind, much more sound of mind than anybody else enthralled by Furfur, the Demon of the Mind.
"Did you give him a name on the spot?" The voice of Alice sounded amused as she studied the child. His train of thought was so peculiar, she couldn't help but comment about it.
Worthy had given Alice access to all of his memories. Well, it'd be more precise to say she'd finally been given the freedom to wander through his memories.
Giving Alice access to the rest of his memories was a difficult task. It required a high level of concentration that he was unable to deliver for a time. Although it didn't look like it, his mind was heavily suppressed, even in the compartment created from Alice's fragment. Therefore, he had to give an unprecedented level of concentration to giving the woman the freedom to explore and influence his mind.
Ordinarily, he'd despise the idea of submitting his mind to someone else. Alice was a being of the mind, and therefore had more influence over his thoughts than he did himself. By giving the fragment the freedom to roam around, she could indulge in any memory she wanted, and thus any thought that then became a memory thereafter.
There were benefits, of course. For example, Alice had now created a beautiful, ethereal body that matched his, joining him in the space that was no longer empty.
Images now covered the space, passing points in time he recalled. He saw the first fight he and Hope ever got into. He also saw when his father carried him home after narrowly avoiding a confrontation with a group of cannibals. Across the boundless space from those unpleasant memories, there were times he and his family sat on the couch contently enjoying scraps of god knew what. They were simpler times.
He'd never imagined all those years ago that he'd one day be fighting to repair his wounded mind with the spirit of a woman who was probably long-dead. He wanted to ask her whether she was alive, but sadly, the fragment did not know. Her memories ended at the same point that Worthy had seen. Although Alice's mental fragment knew more than what he did, since he also apparently maintained the knowledge of history that herself from that time housed, there was a limit to how much information could be given in such a short window of time.
"This is going to hurt a lot, I must warn. All the pain you are about to feel is in your mind. From the memories I've witnessed, your people use the phrase 'it's all in your head' to help cope with physical trauma. You need to create a distinction here and now, this pain is mental, and it is very real. If you don't endure it, your mind will shatter, and then you'll be a mindless husk forever under the demon's control. Even if you're freed, you'll be a husk of a person."
Worthy already figured as much.
There was no way he'd receive a free pass back to freedom without having to endure some suffering. Alas, it was finally his turn to step up and endure a burden.
This entire time, he'd been following closely in the shadows of other people. He felt like he was making steps towards becoming a better fighter with his dagger, but that was all. He was just becoming a good fighter, but a fighter wasn't what he should've been striving to become.
Before a fighter, the child was a guide, and until recently, he'd neglected his guide duties.
He thought his ability was too limited. There were doubts in his mind about whether or not he could help anyone reach their objective. Hell, for the longest time, he only cared about himself reaching his objective. That still rang true, but it was because of this truth that he understood how short-sighted he was.
Everyone in the tower shared the same objective, and allies were an essential part in reaching it. By neglecting others, and letting people simply carry him on their backs, he'd eventually become a burden. That is why building favor by leading others to the places they needed to be was such an important step in his journey as a guide. It was a step he had not taken yet.
Leading the group to Deadman Walkyr was nice… It didn't get them anywhere in the grand scheme of things, nowhere meaningful.
They were no step closer to escaping Floor One. In fact, although reaching Walkyr had been a meaningful accomplishment in the short term, it ended up causing more harm than good.
Walkyr and Lady Freya worked in unison with one another and took out many of the main players of Furfur's game. Asterie was… killed?
Worthy still didn't know if the woman was alive, but the kick from the Stone Golem should've rendered her unconscious at the very least.
The Climbers creating the portals and bombs were killed, crushed beneath the hand of the titan as well. In hindsight, the bulk of the work was accomplished by Lady Freya. After that, another terrifying enemy emerged.
Furfur was too powerful. Walkyr, who had enough runic enchantments to make him among the strongest men in the world, was overpowered by the man. The mercenary was weakened, of course, but that still did not take away from much. In a matter of seconds, Furfur had overwhelmed the greatest combatant in the wall.
Lady Freya was infected not just through the link she shared with her construct, but also because Furfur had managed to engulf the entire wall with his miasma over time, and thus spread his influence to others without restriction. Only those that were with War Reaver or in possession of mind-strengthening Rewards were spared from the infection.
'Nothing I've done really helps. Depending on how this goes, I'm hoping for more than just my freedom, Ms. Alice.'
"Really? Pray tell, what else are you hoping to achieve by breaking out of the demon's control?"
'I'll beat him. If there's one thing greater than breaking free, it's beating your oppressor, isn't it?'
"You want to… defeat him? I don't see how you could potentially hope to defeat Furfur. Even if you break out of his control, you don't meet the… physical standards to confront him. He'll kill you instantly."
Her words were true. The child was worlds apart from the demon's power, and would likely never be on the same level of strength as the supernatural being. Still, he had a more unique method of utilizing Alice's newfound control over the mental space, which she could weave in her fingertips.
'You're right. I'm not strong enough to beat it. I might not even be smart enough to outwit it. But, I have an avatar in my mind. You've got one as well from me just looking through your eyes. I'd be willing to bet my firstborn child that it has one too. It's knocking at my door, so if I were to open the floodgates as I'm going out… it'll be left to fester here until I lose my mind again, right?'
Entering the mindscape was not something the boy could consciously do. Every time it happened, it was the result of him losing his mind in some way. Maybe it was something all humans possessed, but the boy had to doubt that. Something about looking into the secrets of the Tower had impacted his mind more than he thought. It changed him, creating a spot in his mind that did not exist in other people's.
If he brought Furfur's consciousness into this place as he was in the middle of regaining his… then there would be nothing left to control him.
Even if the pink miasma remained, there would be no owner of it, nobody that could control it. Furfur would be trapped in space with the fragment of Alice, and the fragment of Alice would hold the reins over what happened there and what did not.
"That…" Alice could see the child's train of thought through his memories, and it left her speechless.
Moments ago, the boy claimed he could not outwit Furfur. It may have been true that the child was not wiser than the ancient menace, yet that description felt far too humble. He was not wiser, but he was certainly just as sinister as the entity.
He was going to trap it inside of a spot of his mind he could seldom reach.
Worse than being trapped, it would become a prisoner with a warden in the form of Alice's fragment, who the child had given full control over the opening in his mind for this sole purpose.
It was the most evil vengeance he could think of, created by just a few moments of calculation from a child that spent his life surviving.
"That… is truly a cruel vengeance. I admire it, in a way. Truly, I do. You are among the most fearsome children I've ever met."