Jack still sitting up from the floor looked over the clawed hand that was extended to him... The ring he gave Emily... This was the ring, but it was on the right hang. He remembered placing it on the left hand.
[A reflection? A reflection of the soul? Maybe it's like a mirror?]
Jack's flaming eyes crackled, as he traced the monstrous lines of Emily's face. He extended his own hand to this creature's face and held it softly. Unexpectantly it leaned into his hand as if cuddling.
"Emily... What is this place, exactly?" Jack asked, as he again looked around.
The creature tilted its head away from Jack's hand as if to ponder the question, but it remained silent.
Jack noticing that Emily was thinking, he finally pushed himself up from his place on the floor, and upon seeing no other doors in this bloodied pink room, Jack walked out back into the Mirrored hall.
As Jack walked back out of the room, the creature stopped thinking and noticed Jack's presence had left. Sensing his direction, it followed after him.
At the threshold into the mirrored hall, the ghoul stopped and sniffed the doorway, and then hesitantly crawled out of the room. It then went to Jack's side, as it leaned against his leg.
Jack stared at the remaining doors, wondering if this was Emily's reflection or just a part of Emily. So far it hadn't said a word, so reflection might not be... Emily was very opinionated, even if misguided at times.
Jack looked down and made another attempt to communicate with this Emily.
"Emily, you wouldn't happen to know what the Spider Bitch is doing around here do you?"
The ghoul stopped, but then shook its head left to right over and over again as if to emphasize she had no clue.
"Hmmm." Jack thought aloud, "Do you know where I can find out?"
The creature tilted its head, and then nodded, as it crawled over to a faraway door. This door too was chained.
Jack attempted to float over to the door but found that he wasn't able to make it. Deciding to keep what bit of power he had left; he walked the rest of the way to the door.
Standing in front of the same plain door like the others, Jack looked down to the ghoul-creature, as if to ask, 'are you sure?'
Somehow the creature understood what Jack was doing and nodded again.
Jack then reached out and ripped the chains from the door, though he felt that it took more strength than last time to do so... Maybe it was just his imagination.
He then turned the doorknob and walked into the room.
*******
Leslie continued to stand at the threshold of the room, but now she was conversing with a certain Vampire, who still remained firmly attached to the ceiling.
"And that's why I took up my father's proposal to visit the birth of a new god here in the barbarian lands, I mean, the Ruined Continent." Eris finished speaking her story to Leslie.
Leslie nodded a few times, "But, that doesn't explain the whole 'pet' thing, now does it?"
Hanging upside down on the ceiling, Eris put her two index fingers together putting them up, while speaking, "That's... Well, you know... That's just, yeah."
"Uh-huh... So, you like to be abused. Weird, but to each their own, I suppose." Leslie responded slightly bewildered. It wasn't like she didn't know of such things. The Offices and Clan Heads had must more elaborate playtime pre and post reaping... Most of which she didn't know, but she had no choice but to know.
"No!" Eris exclaimed, causing Leslie to become bewildered, as she looked back up at the Vampire.
"Ahem... I don't like being abused; I like being spoiled. There is a big difference really!"
"Didn't you just confess that your ass still hurts?"
"That's! That's DIFERENT!" Eris exclaimed, with a red face.
[Oh, how cute! She knows embarrassment.] Leslie giggled to herself.
"Stop that, ack! Is my god and Sister... Emily going to be alright?"
Leslie looked back over her shoulder to Jack who was still kneeling beside Emily's new body at her Evening Tomb.
"I have full confidence in Jack." Leslie turned back to see Eris thinking, "Now, dear Sister-Consort... Tell your big sister why you want to be spoiled, and if you tell me everything, I want to know... Maybe I'll see about persuading Jack to spend more time on you."
*******
Jack took a full step into the room, followed closely by the ghoul-like creature. The room was dark, as the only light that shined into the room was from Outside.
There were no sudden attacks, there was nothing jumping out, or any surprises. Just a small dark room without any furnishings, save for one small evening tomb.
"Hello?" Jack called out, as it echoed.
"So, you came..." a bland voice, without an echo chimed back.
"Emily?" Jack asked, while looking to the Ghoul to his side.
In the little light from the Mirrored Hall outside the door shining into the room, Jack made out a small thin arm that reached up out of the sole piece of furniture inside the darkroom. On that small thin arm, that Jack could tell was her right arm, he could make out the white and black ring.
"Yeah... It's me."
"But... Then who is this besides me?"
"That's also me." The bland voice issued, as the small tote looking undead, sat up, and looked over to Jack.
[Fragments...] Jack thought, as he spoke, "Do you know whe-"
"Where the Spider Goddess is? Yeah. She's currently approaching my Soul Crux. I assume she has decided to insert her own soul and to replace me.
"Fuck that, let's go!" Jack spoke, as he took large steps to grab up the small Emily, now in the light, he could see that she was a nude skeleton. No clothes, just all bones.
Not paying attention, Jack walked back into the Mirrored Hall, followed by the Ghoul-Emily.
Jack began to make way to the doorway that was originally torn, when the voice of the Skeletal Emily issued blandly, "You do realize with your Cherubs still up top fighting off her spiders, and only me and that... We aren't strong enough to take her down. She's far stronger than you can imagine."
"Then?"
"I guess it would be to get the rest, but who knows if it will work. It might just be better to let the Spider Goddess take over and replace me."
Jack stopped... He looked down to the Emily he held in his hands. He turned to face both the Ghoul, and the Skeleton. He pulled them both into his arms, and spoke, "Never think that. I want you always. Tell me... Tell me what We need to stop the Spider Goddess from taking over."
"If that's what you want, but I don't see the point." The Skeleton-Emily shrugged, but the Ghoul-Emily embraced Jack hard.
Blandly speaking, the Skeletal-Emily spoke, "Then we need the others."