Synexus had probably slain a thousand locked memories by this point, and he had only gotten a few small memories that meant nothing to him.

  The first was someone from the information sect delivering a report about the grand city which included reports of unrest amongst the citizens. It was clearly to show where this fell in the timeline of history.

  The second had been a memory from a new guard going through guard training for the facility. Mainly, it focused on the secrecy needed. All members used fake names and never talked about the Timeless Flats to anyone from the city.

  The third and final memory he had seen so far had been about a food shipment being delayed due to attacks by the Creation Coalition on the outskirts of the city. What Synexus had taken away from this one was that it was some sort of prison, or a place were they at least held prisoners.

  Each memory was increasing the cost of locked memories needed and they were getting stronger as he descended. Fortunately, his new weapon was more than up for the task especially since he had logged the material of the memories a long time ago and knew it well.

  Gene helped him search each room on the bigger floors before they descended down to face the next wave of enemies. The owl was obviously curious about what the place was and what it was used for. Anything out of their knowledge couldn’t have been good. These memories would have answers and those answers needed to be revealed even if they would be hard to confront.

  “Synexus, there are two more in that room over there. That will make your count 1200. I suspect a memory will form.”

  Katana blade easily sliced through the silver material of the two remaining locked memories and sure enough the last four hundred or so started to be pulled into ethereal light.

  One of the greater minds of the council his parents were a part of formed in front of Synexus followed by the form of a researcher.

  “I need a report on the project now. The city is in a panic, and we need to make decisions.”

  “Yes, greater mind. All fifty have successfully been offered the desired choice. We are currently levelling them up as quickly as we can.”

  “How soon can we expect them to be ready? The agriculture sect is in an outrage by how many of their people have been taken in the past year. It has now caught the attention of the first family.”

  “Unfortunately, the path starts out slowly. We don’t expect optimal results until at least level 50 now that we have a better understanding of the pathways.”

  “Level 50?! That is unacceptable. That could take years. We don’t have that long.”

  “I’m sorry, greater mind. It simply can’t be helped. We have developed an optimal levelling system that has gotten them to level 20 already and over the first big hurdle. The creator kept too many secrets, and we have just started unraveling them.”

  “We need that pace to double. If any of our enemies get wind of this, there will be an all-out war. They killed the creator for a reason. That fear has not gone anywhere.”

  “I understand, greater mind. We will do our best to succeed. Our army will be the salvation of Zax’xian.”

  They both nodded and walked away as the memory faded leaving Synexus and Gene standing side by side.

  “A secret army? That doesn’t sound good at all.”

  “No, Synexus. It does not. Especially since they mentioned my creator’s secrets. We need to pick up the pace as they did.”

  Quickly, they descended to the next level to face the next wave of locked memories. A feeling in Synexus’ gut made him uneasy. He would never pretend to know the intricacies of his planet’s political issues, but he was certain this wasn’t going to be anything good. From that last memory he pieced together that his own people were taking people from their own agriculture sect. In an earlier memory, that was one of the issues that had led people to vote for war. Why would his own people do such a thing? He needed more information.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Gene had already pieced together what they were going to discover, but this was Synexus’ trial. He would have to discover it all on his own. The owl was disgusted that this was what was kept from their eyes. If anyone had said anything then they could have helped save the planet while keeping this atrocity from happening. Their creator’s legacy mocked in such a disgusting way. It went against everything them, their creator, and their sibling stood for.

  Synexus noticed how quiet Gene had gotten and could see the anger practically evaporating off of the owl. Clearly, they had already figured out the ending to this mass of memories, and it was not good. He knew that they would still let him figure it out for himself.

  ***

  Eight-hundred more locked memories down before a new ethereal light coalesced. A cavernous room filled with ghostly figures before they solidified into the memory before him. A cloaked figure stood before the gathering and guards lined the room.

  “Fellow, Zaxillians. Our home is under attack by a greater foe than any of us could have imagined. We need to pick up the pace of your training and secure victory.”

  One of the gathered spoke. “Pick up the pace?! We are already training every minute of every day. We were taken from our families and forced into a class. You force us into fights with monsters constantly and we barely rest. This isn’t right, I want to see my family.”

  Murmurs of approval came from the crowd before the cloaked figure spoke again.

  “I understand your frustrations, but all this was necessary for us to survive. The creator let those defilers take his life in exchange for the safety of Zax’xian. Now they believe we broke the pact and have started talks of war. Our response is to destroy the pact that they’ve already torn in half. This is a great privilege and one we hope you can see as a good thing once your training is complete.”

  “Being held prisoner is a great privilege?” Someone in the crowd yelled out.

  A guard immediately moved forward. “Silence! All of you get to follow in the creator’s legacy and you’re complaining?! Do you not know how powerful he was?!”

  The cloaked figure held up a hand to silence the guard. “Now, now. They have a right to be upset. We didn’t have the luxury of doing this the right way and we shall pay for that when this war is done one way or the other. However, the guard makes a good point. You will be revered amongst our people! Followers of the greatest Zaxillian to ever live! His stories are all true. His creations still are a core of the universe to this day. He was powerful enough to take out armies of monsters all on his own. That could be all of you!”

  “But at what cost? Will we even make it through your training?”

  As he said that another cloaked figure entered the room and removed their hood revealing a familiar woman. Synexus’ mom began to speak.

  “They are correct, fellow great mind. We are simply working them too hard and even their class chosen bodies won’t be able to take much more. We do not want this entire project going to waste. We need to give them the rest they need and the healer sect needs to see them daily to ensure optimal health.”

  Light diminished before the memory faded into darkness. Synexus looked to where his mother was standing in shock. He knew his parents would be part of this, but she clearly was a big part of this.

  “Gene, this army, the cloaked figure said they are followers of the creator. Does that mean they are creating an army of Progress Druids?”

  “Indeed, Synexus. That is exactly what they are doing. It is an insult to my creator’s legacy and to your class. People, no matter the race, always see power over anything else. This underground sect clearly saw my creator and his path as a potent weapon when it was one of creation and life. It’s a mockery and I would have shut this down in a heartbeat if I would have known.”

  “I haven’t seen enough memories of my world yet to understand this fully, but I thought there already would be a ton of Progress Druids running around since Zunzutoxsian was clearly an influential figure in the society.”

  “No, Synexus. He was the only one. The Coalition made sure of that.”

  “Why? It seemed like he was able to help the world more than most. Wouldn’t it make sense for other civilizations to want that too?”

  The owl shook their head. “You’d think, but fear is more powerful than opportunity. I’m sure they tried to recreate the class, but it is extremely difficult to get offered. Even if they were, it wouldn’t be as effective as a Zaxillian wielding the path. Your race skills are well suited for it, especially with your sensors. People don’t want others to have what they can’t.”

  “I can’t believe my mother was part of this. Forcing people down a path they don’t want to take doesn’t sound something a healer would approve of.”

  “Desperate times often lead to people making decisions that don’t align with who they are. Unfortunately, that doesn’t absolve them. This project may have led to the destruction of our planet.”

  Synexus hung his head before taking steps toward the lift to descend once more towards the next memory, knowing he would probably have to take down another thousand for more answers.