Chapter 29 - Storytime

Vivian worked at a gym, a very large corporate gym company as one of the coaches. It was pretty great, honestly. She didn't like how all the guys were looking at her though. She had a C-cup and what the Japanese call "absolute territory" thighs, but she really wished that she could leave this place for once.

So, she did, and took herself on a paid vacation to mount Ebbot. Nice views, slightly ominous rumors of missing people, and a well-made trail to jog on! What can go wrong?

Apparently everything! Vivian regretted her choice but didn't at the same time since ogling eyes made themselves very known, and blacked out.

Waking up in a patch of snow, she soon realized her well-toned muscles were absolutely gone, instead only her bones and clothes left. Also some strange turquoise substance in her body though she'll get to that later.

Wandering for a bit, she finally got out of that goddamn pine forest if those could even EXIST underground. Ugh. Vivian always hated pines, the needles always getting stuck in her shoes and pants.

A fairly large cabin was currently in the near distance, so Vivian ran as fast as she could with her magic muscles- wait, magic muscles?

She paused in her stride and looked down at her body that now had turquoise flesh-stuff. Weird, but at least she had some resemblance of her body back. Oh well. Vivian regained her stride towards the cabin, reaching its door.

*knock knock knock*

...

She could hear hurried footsteps coming from inside the cabin, like rubber against wood. She could hear an eccentric-sounding voice inside, though it was kinda nice after only hearing deep and scratchy voices for a few months.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a very, very tall skeleton. The resemblance between a regular skeleton and him... her... them? Well, never mind.

"HELLO NEW FRIEND, IT IS ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

Her ear canals slightly ringing, she said her name.

"It's... uh, Vivian. Nice to meet you too."

{And that, my nieces and nephews and saplings inbetween and outside of gender, is how Vialuor became a skeleton and had her first adoptive family.}

+But how did she become what she is now?+

-Yeah! Tell us how she became a soulmerchant!-

;Tell us, tell us, tell us!;

{alright little ones, I'll tell you. It's fairly simple, actually. She made a deal to become my heir, and she deals with souls to train herself for keeping them for long periods of time. Want to see a contracted soul?}

;Yeah!;

Yggardael lifts up a root to show a clover-looking soul, two parts human and two parts monster. The shape is constantly rotating, but it seems kind of broken.

{This is a contracted soul, the ones I make are clover shaped because they bring good luck to those that collect them. I, Of course, made them so I have the best of luck.}

=Kinda narcissistic, Auntle Ygga.=

{I know, but it's true isn't it?}

The rest of the saplings bend down as they all collectively groan. They know that their auntie/uncle\relative was right. The eldritch tree-god didn't have to shove it in their Cryovisuals, though.