Elara looked at me, her eyes still solid black but with a soft smile on her lips. "Did you enjoy your chat with the monster?"
"Oh, it was riveting," I replied sarcastically. "But we have bigger worries right now. There's something else in this castle, and I want to find out what it is."
Elara nodded, and together we began searching the castle for any signs of the mysterious presence. As we ventured deeper into the dark corridors, I could feel its energy growing stronger, as if it was calling out to me.
Finally, we came upon a hidden chamber deep within the castle walls, where we found a woman bound in chains. She was not human but a beautiful creature with silvery skin and glowing blue eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked, taking a step closer to examine her.
"I am Illiana, a celestial being who was captured and imprisoned here by Elara's husband when I refused to serve him," she explained, her voice musical and mesmerizing.
Illiana seemed to be harmless, so I decided to free her from her bonds. Upon doing so, she immediately stood up and stretched her wings, which shimmered like moonlight on water.
"Now that I am free, I offer my services to you, Azriel," she said, bowing before me. "I can help you fight against Yagtharoth and protect this world from further destruction."
"Woah woah, woah! Get your celestial-ness away from our man! The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with your sorts!" Elara said, but I was clearly Zulu.
I put up my hand to stop Zulu and looked at Illiana. I had dealt with her kind before and Forged with them, but this seemed to be almost too good to be true. This whole being a king and having a castle with women in waiting already was like a dream come true, and that made me suspicious.
Having lived many lives, I am familiar with things being too good to be true, but there was that Lachlan cunt, and the debt that I owed him for the castle. So maybe all was not perfect, but part of me felt like something was off.
"I appreciate your offer, Illiana," I said cautiously. "But first, I need to know why you were here in the first place and how you became entangled with Elara's husband."
Illiana looked down, her expression solemn. "I came to this world seeking refuge from an ancient enemy that threatened my kind. But when I arrived, I found myself captured by a man who sought power at any cost. He wanted to use my celestial abilities for his own gain, but when I refused, he imprisoned me here."
Nodding thoughtfully, I considered our options. On the one hand, having a celestial being on our side could be a tremendous asset against the Council of Verse. On the other hand, there was the possibility that she was more than just a victim of circumstances and had ulterior motives.
"Alright, Illiana," I decided. "I will accept your offer for now, but understand this: if you betray us, neither my allies nor I will hesitate to feed you to my wolf, or I will just eat you myself. Divinity is sweeter than most, if I remember correctly?"
Illiana bowed once more, her eyes filled with determination. "I understand your caution, Azriel, and I swear my loyalty to you. You will find no deceit in my heart."
With Illiana now a part of our unlikely alliance, we made our way back to the dungeon to confront Yagtharoth. The monstrous being had finally taken some solid form, its numerous red eyes staring at us from a writhing mass of shadows.
"Girls, please play nice outside while daddy goes and has a heart-to-heart with the streaming pile of ass boogers!" I laughed, but Zulu grabbed my arm.
"What is wrong with you?! Together we have more than enough power to take this out! Why are you trying to do this alone?!" She demanded, and I looked at her with an intense smile.
"I have been asleep for a very long time, so very long. You have no idea what it is like to wait in that place for my mind to clear. There is only nothing. But, now I am free, so forgive me, love; I would like to tear something apart."
Elara's hand slid off my arm, and she backed up from me with a worried face. "Do you think we should leave then? If you are going to do what I think, then-" She started to say but stopped when I nodded as I gave a small stretch.
"Best get the monsters away too. I think I am really going to cut loose," I yawned, my mouth opening so wide that my cheeks tore and then healed as my mouth closed again. My body felt excited.
Zulu grabbed Illiana and then started to run. Good girl.
I turned back to the room, still standing in the doorway.
"We meet again," it growled, clearly recognizing me from our earlier encounter. "And this time, I am prepared for your tricks."
"Do you know why the Verse wants me dead so badly?" I asked, and then I trembled as my muscles started to consume all the sugar and salt in my body.
"Because you are extremely hard to kill with your regeneration abilities. All Verse know of you!" the Yagtharoth hiss, its body a mass of eyes and a mess of red flesh. The thing was almost as disgusting as it was when it was forming.
"One... of the... reasons..." I said slowly as my vision faded in and out, and I started to stagger.
"What is wrong with you?! I haven't even touched you, and you are drying up like a husk!" The creature hissed back, and I placed a hand on the wall to balance myself as I licked my extremely dry and now-cracking lips that weren't healing.
I slipped to the ground and hit the cold floor that burned my skin. I groaned in real pain as my body fed on itself, but it was almost done.