[It is an otherworldly monster called a Yagtharoth, a being that exists beyond the borders of our understanding and feasts on the suffering and chaos it creates. When Elara's husband realized he couldn't control the Ice Spirit and me, he made a pact with Yagtharoth in his desperation for power and vengeance against us all.]
Silence fell over my mind as I processed this information. An horror like Yagtharoth in our world was no small threat – its very existence could destabilize the fabric of reality, unleashing unimaginable devastation upon everything we held dear.
"Alright," I said finally, steeling myself for what must come next. "First things first: We need to forge our bond again, Zulu, and then I will bond with the Ice Spirit as well."
[You'll... you'll really bond with me?] The Ice Spirit asked hesitantly, her mental voice filled with a mixture of uncertainty and hope.
"Yes! we are all going to go on a date!" I laughed, the light finally starting to dim from Elara. It made sense now why it took so long.
Yagtharoth were creatures that fed on darkness and despair, and with Elara's traumatic past and the presence of both Zulu and the Ice Spirit within her, there was plenty for it to feast on. Purifying her of its influence would naturally take time.
[Wait, Wait, Wait! The dungeon is not a date! And we can't just form bonds like that! You know they take time!] Zulu snapped.
"Yeah, I know," I said, and then slowly caught Elara as the light left her. "I am going to go kill the monster so I can go take you all home and do this properly. I am sure this big son of a botch with have lots of crystals, and I will make you a new body."
[What do you mean?! I have a body and a host!] Zulu complained, but I shook my head.
"No... What her face has a body, you are the third wheel," I said and then looked down at Elara, who was looking much cuter now that she was purified. "This body definitely fits the ice spirit better than a malevolent Umbramancer. You need something taller and with much bigger tits. You know how much I love playing with them, right?" I teased.
Zulu groaned in my mind, clearly annoyed but ultimately relenting. [Fine, just... don't take too long to find me a new body. I'm not entirely comfortable being stuck in your head forever.]
I chuckled at her feisty attitude – it was one of the many things that drew me to her in all our past lives together.
The Ice Spirit chimed in nervously. [Thank you for agreeing to bond with me as well, Azriel. I promise to do my best and help in any way possible.]
"Of course," I reassured her. "We will make great allies, but first, I need to deal with this monstrous problem hiding in the dungeon."
With Elara now freed from Yagtharoth's influence and Zulu and the Ice Spirit within me, we set off toward the castle's dungeon. The air grew colder and heavier as we descended into its depths, a palpable sense of dread hanging over us like an oppressive fog.
As we entered the dungeon, we beheld a nightmare of twisted flesh and writhing shadows – Yagtharoth had begun to manifest itself physically in this world, and it was even more horrifying than I could have imagined.
"Oh man, that thing is ugly!" I groaned.
[Why did you bring Elara with you?] Zulu asked.
"She would have frozen to death up there, and I am going to put you both back into her for now," I said, doing just that, and Elara's eyes opened, but they were solid black. Definitely not cute.
"How are you supposed to fight something like that without a weapon?" Elara's voice asked, but I knew it was Zulu.
"You two are going to keep Elara safe, so no-name ice spirit here has a body to host," I said as I pushed her back and out of the room.
"What about you?!"
"I have been asleep for a long time, and I need to stretch. It's not like this is a mind slayer or something of that nature, right? I can even remember the last time I fought one of these things!" I laughed and then shut the door on them.
In hindsight, I could have just left them all up the stairs, but there was something else in the castle that the girls didn't seem to know about. What it was, I wasn't really sure, but it wasn't evil. That didn't mean it wasn't bad, but I wasn't going to take any risks.
"You should not exist."
I turned and frowned at the boiling and writhing pile of tar. "That really rich from a pile of burning tar."
"I was invited here by this king. You were not invited to this world. You forced your way in. I have more right to be here than you do," the Yagtharoth said, and I shrugged.
"And yet, here we both are. Listen, Muck. Can I call you Muck? Don't answer that. Listen. I need you to pull yourself into one solid piece of shit, so I can kick your ass back to Verse, where you and the rest of those sons of a bitches belong!" I growled, but the Yagtharoth was clearly in no hurry.
"You know that the others of my kind will find you, right? According to the legends, each time you appear, the Council of Verse sends you to the Veil, but your soul is always pulled back. What keeps something like you returning every time?"
I wasn't in the mood to chat, so I called fire to me and set the ooze a blaze, but it had no effect as the Yagtharoth continued to slowly pull together. It was a horror for the same family as the one that had killed me last time, Vlish. Yagtharoth were a mess of eyes that could control weak-minded humans, but they had no effect on a monster like me.
"You know, for something without a mouth, you talk too much," I groaned, picking up some rocks and then throwing them into the black ooze.
"Stop that!" the Yagtharoth complained.
"Then hurry up! Man, you are the worst excuse for a monster! You had a host, and then you ate him, and now you have to congeal into a pile of moving ass boogers with eyes!" I complained, only pissing it off more, but the thing was taking forever.
"This is not easy! Give me a minute!"
"Most anti-climactic fight ever," I sighed and turned for the door. "There is some other little shit running around the castle. Do you know anything about that?" I asked over my shoulder.
"Even if I did, why would I tell you?! You are going to try to kill me when you get back!" the ooze boiled.
"I was just asking, jeez! In all fairness, you are going to try to kill me, and if you let me live, which I am not, then you will squeal to someone, that will tell someone, and at some point, Vlish will hear. Personally, that is bad for my business of taking over worlds under their noses!" I laughed and then left the room to find Elara waiting for me.