WINIFRED
Detecting the plague through scent was just one of the things I could do. With everything blanketed in darkness, there were a few things highlighted in a color I could see vividly. That sickening green fog in the air was what I guessed it to be; the breath of the god of misfortune.
Of course, since I was surrounded by ignorant men, I wasn't gifted an explanation for these things. In the first place, the one who provided me with such explanations was not yet present. I could only wait around to see what I could do to help.
"Purifying the plague isn't very complicated, fortunately. I have drawn a circle representing an altar that I just need you to stand in the middle of. As a conduit of the goddess of light, those touched by you in this circle would be purified."
"I see you still believe I am a saintess of the goddess of light."
"I..."
"What do you think would happen if I were to stand in the middle of that circle? Wouldn't Oriel strike me dead right away?"
"The goddess is merciful. She wouldn't..."
"The goddess isn't as merciful as you think she is. Still, I'm surprised your conviction is that strong to use holy power. But I won't be purifying the infected."
"What shall you do then?"
"I'll be absorbing the darkness of the plague. You can either help me or get in my way. The choice is yours. It's not like I have the capability of harming you. Or maybe I do."
I couldn't see his expression but I knew he was crestfallen from his sigh. I said I would absorb the darkness but I truly didn't have a way of doing so. If only Nathan was here to...
{You didn't think of asking me. You don't think I can help?}
It didn't cross my mind to ask 'her'. But she helped me out one time. What's another?
{To absorb the darkness in your current state would be too hard. I need your permission to use our body.}
"Don't you just want to take over the body? I mean, it's never been hard for you to do so."
{I can't forcefully take over if it isn't a precarious situation. But I truly want to help. Everything I do is for our benefit.}
"Fine. You can't harm me anyway."
Like other times before, I felt extremely lightheaded for an indescribable amount of time before I realized I was back in the middle of the lake. This time, there was no eerie voice or hands reaching out to me. There was a certain stillness that put me on alert.
{Stay put. Everything would be over soon}
Her voice echoed around me, disrupting the stillness. But once it was gone, everything became still once more. So, at that point, all I could do was wait.
NATHAN
I want it to be clear that it's not that I didn't believe I wouldn't get my body. But I never imagined it would come this easily. Not only was it hidden skillfully from the sight of the gods, but not even my familiar was able to find it. He went to great lengths to hide it for so long. His dedication is to be appreciated.
"You look as handsome as the last time I saw you, my lord."
Compared to the body I was possessing, my body was a thousand times more handsome. It was the same rugged handsomeness that fell several kingdoms in the past and made most of the gods hate me.
"It's perfectly preserved. I guess I should thank him."
"Are you going to repossess your body, my lord?"
"No. I promised her my eyes. So, I'll wait for her to return. I fear...if I were to repossess my body, she might not be able to see me anymore."
"Your original body is far more powerful, my lord. The source of your magic is still sealed in this body, my lord. This would be a much better alternative."
"Still! What should I do if she's not able to see my handsome face anymore?!"
"Master...I think you're worried about the wrong thing even though you're worried about the little lady. Why don't you go to see her?"
I truly did wonder how Winifred was doing with that priest. There was no way he won't take care of her but it had me worried. If he tried to use light magic on her, it won't really end well.
"Then, let's go see our little lady."
Finding her was simple enough using magic. In fact, due to the high volume of magic that I could suddenly sense from her, I was able to trace her location and open a portal closer to her. The huge magical pulses meant one thing; she was no longer in control.
Without interfering, I watched her use a strange magic circle that closely resembled one of Oriel's to absorb the dark magic from the plague victims. Even though it looked on the outside like she was cleansing and purifying them, I knew exactly what she was doing.
How exactly is that 'Winifred' so good at powerful magic? Winifred already had an extremely large reserve of dark magic so it was easy for her alter ego to tap into that. But for her alter ego to be able to use such complicated magic without a strong effect on the body, it truly was magnificent.
Drawing out the dark magic from the bodies of the plague victims not only enhanced her magic reserves, but it also sharpened her efficiency and affinity for dark magic. It was truly peculiar.
And it looked like she had noticed us as well.
"Bishop Matthew, could you fetch me a glass of water? My throat is parched."
"I can call a servant."
"The breath of that awful god is still strong in this building. I won't be drinking anything unless it is purified by your hands."
"...yes, my lady."
Once he was gone from the tent, her gaze was swiftly on us. She didn't need to call me before I teleported directly into their tent. The first thing I looked at was the magic circle she stood inside of.
"How bizarre."
"Your compliments truly warm my heart, teacher."
"Did I teach this to you?"
"You did not. After learning the basics of magic, I decided to experiment with my own magic. This magic circle is the fruit of my efforts. By taking the basic purification ritual circle based solely on light magic, I inverted some of the characters. However, that made the circle look too different. Since I was looking to disguise it, I decided to dig deeper into the archives of the church and what do you know? Dark magic and Light magic used to be indistinguishable. That gave me the idea I needed and I was able to make this."
"Your talent with magic scares me."
"It should not. After all, you have already found your body."
The look on her face was smug. I wasn't even going to ask how she knew we did. But it was thanks to her we did.
"Thank you for your help. I can at least admit that."
"It was important to me. But there is something I need you to do for me."
"What is it?"
"We don't need your eyes to replace ours. What we need is for you to assist us in finding something."
"What is it?"
"You cannot know of it now until you have repossessed your body. Go ahead and do that. But remember, be aware of stray spirits."
"...I'll be sure to do so."