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Excerpt from Devil May Care: The Memoirs of Dr. Laslo Grigorovich Budynek, unabridged edition.
One vould think vitnessing apocalyptic downfall of Magnimar and entire vest coast of Varisia consumed by fire vould be enough to drive home the extreme severity of situation. Yet I must admit the truth of it only really penetrated to the innermost core of my understanding vhen ve attempted to travel home and materialized in gaping hole vhere it used to be.
In cosmic scale of things, is no doubt infinitely less important than, say, entirety of Magnimar. I barely allowed myself thought for my colloquium, esteemed colleagues at University, my little bay-view studio, vhen ve abandoned city as total loss. Our private tower over the cliffs of Windsong Abbey, though: This is vhere gets personal.
Gone the innumerable mementos of life-changing moments and fond memories. Gone my hard-von honorary doctorate certificates. Gone Viv's custom-built recreational brazier, just large enough for two. Gone the jar of candied gelatinous cube cubes.
Oh.
Gone Viv's old body.
Definitely is personal now. I vould kill those qlippoths several times over if I could (and if it weren't so extraordinarily dangerous to fight them). Even just looking at them unravels my mind and body, and the big ones don't even have decency to be fooled by invisibility. I must admit their anatomy is fascinating in the extreme — like two spiky oliphaunts fused together where heads should be, and mouth like giant wound along bottom of belly. Vhat I vould give for a chance to study one of the carcasses in peace! But there is no time, and it vould no doubt cost me my sanity. Still, I'm tempted. That's how dangerous they are, even in death.
I hate qlippoths.
Vait, I just had strange déjà-vu. Somebody said that to me yesterday, but I cannot for life of me remember vho. Is like black hole in mind. Vell, one more for the collection, I suppose.
Now, ve are off to collapse last remainders of my only true home in this world. Part of me is still convinced we had some kind of plan to restore timeline, but if so, I cannot see it anymore. I cannot tell anymore vhether we are fighting the end of the vorld, or completing it. But Viv is vith me: Is only thing that still matters.