23

Your body's still recovering, but you can't just let what happened go without an answer. You can't just let them all get away with it. You push yourself hard and fast, slamming into a squid and surprising it. It turns to wrap you up, but you're faster than that. They took away your original weapon, but you still have a backup knife on your belt. You stab into it, making it pay for the mass murder.

The rest of the squid give you a much wider berth, and Arraia puts a hand on your shoulder. "Let it go," she says. "We lost today. I'm sorry you had to come this time."

You look around, and everything just feels like you're in a haze. A thought chills you: Could you be dreaming still? How could you know that this release was true? Since they're unable to kill you, maybe they've been keeping you imprisoned in your own mind, trading you off between different giant squid. How would you even know?