POV of Stan Pines
Edalyn Clawthorne, or simply Eda.
She's one of the most powerful magic users in the Boiling Isles, and probably the strongest if I exclude the Titan and the Collector from that ranking.
"I want to see if you can succeed where I failed and where all witches have failed. Emperor Stanley, try to cure me of this curse!"
She rolled up her sleeve to show me her forearm covered in feathers. I have to admit it's fascinating to look at up close.
I'd really like to study how a curse affects the soul and mind, as well as the body of its host.
Unfortunately, now's not the time for extensive experiments.
"Okay, let's start, but I really hope you'll keep your end of the deal."
I took Eda's hand.
My sudden gesture surprised her before she regained her composure. She probably understood that I have no interest in hurting her.
I started focusing on certain fragments of the Titan's memories within me.
I'm about to cast magic that the Titan had casually used on Luz in the original story.
It worked surprisingly easily. I was enveloped in light before finding myself in front of a familiar landscape.
"So this is what Eda's mind really looks like?" It was dark.
I found myself on a beach lit only by moonlight. The reason for my presence here is simple: I need to seal the owl or monster that embodies the curse with the Titan's magic.
I plan to extract it from Eda's body afterward, but it won't be a simple task, as it must first manifest itself or I have to find it.
"There's also Eda's inner version that could become hostile."
An inner version is a person's alter ego in their subconscious. It's born from emotions and memories and has a certain level of free will.
For example, Willow's inner version had decided that the memory of Amity Blight was too painful for the real Willow. So, she had made the decision to "burn" it.
Honestly, I should probably meet my inner version to clear things up.
The idea of having an entity in my mind that could arbitrarily decide things doesn't please me at all.
I wonder how Rick C-137 manages to sleep peacefully at night knowing there's another Rick C-137 in his mind, coming from his friend "Birdperson's" mind.
"She has a lot of memories of Earth," just like in the original story.
Eda regularly used Earth to escape the multiple problems of the Boiling Isles.
If I remember correctly, the beast that embodies Eda's curse often appears in the memories where Lilith cursed her.
Maybe I should look there.
After thinking about it, I decided to find this memory. I hope to find her curse there.
"Miss Marilyn, do you want to marry this man and do your best to fulfill and make him happy?"
I was about to close the door to Eda's memory when I had a realization while observing the scene in front of me.
"Damn, how could I miss this detail."
Even though I wasn't an extreme Gravity Falls fan, like those who had read all the journals and followed info on Reddit.
I thought that with my super brain and my knowledge of Gravity Falls, nothing important could escape me, but I missed a "negligible" detail in Stan's memories.
Specifically, a memory concerning a certain Marilyn.
While I was lost in thought, "Marilyn" cut the cake and celebrated a moment with Stan.
Everything matched with the memories I had, but at some point during the evening, Eda stole all the money she and Stan had accumulated before running away in their wedding car.
"This situation is going to make my interactions with GIFfany and Arlecchino a bit complicated." Involuntarily, I also thought of the charming Camila Noceda before pushing her out of my mind.
I'll decide what to do with this information later, but it seems Eda hasn't recognized me.
"You entered my mind without my permission," a familiar voice resonated behind me, clearly annoyed.
"Sorry if you take it badly, but it's necessary to heal your host... or you." I turned around to face the woman behind me.
Before me stood Eda. She wore her characteristic smile, but I could see she wasn't really happy about my presence here.
"Do you know where the creature that haunts Eda is?" I needed this information, otherwise I'd waste a lot of time searching every corner of Eda's mind.
Inner Eda seemed to hesitate, then let out a resigned sigh before motioning me to follow her.
"I hope you won't give me false hope." I just nodded in response.
If I had the Memory Gun with me, I think I could eradicate Eda's curse without directly entering her mind.
Yes, Eda's curse has consciousness. It had literally been able to reach a compromise with Eda.
From which I theorize that the Memory Gun could be effective on it.
If I destroy the ego of the creature or the curse, then Eda could probably assimilate the rest without merging with it, like in the original story.
Of course, that's not possible right now.
After walking for a while on this beach without any interesting conversation topic with inner Eda, we reached a door surrounded by a slightly disturbing aura.
I could feel there was something behind this door that wasn't supposed to be there.
"This is where that 'thing' has taken up residence. I've already tried to destroy it, but it seems to be an integral part of my mind," Inner Eda explained, glaring at the door.
Interesting.
The curse is similar to a virus like HIV. It attacks and forcefully merges with Eda, which explains why inner Eda couldn't get rid of it.
She would literally have to destroy a part of Eda to save her host, but if she did that, "Eda" would never be the same again.
If Eda changes radically, Inner Eda will also undergo drastic changes. It seems an inner version has a certain level of self-preservation instinct.
"Are you coming inside with me?" to my question, inner Eda expressed a quick refusal.
"If I go inside, I risk getting devoured and if that happens, even this door won't be able to keep that thing in this place *sigh*"
"I see, I'll have to handle this alone as planned from the start." I crossed beyond the door that was holding back Eda's curse.
The door disappeared behind me. I was in a dimly lit room and in front of me, a young sleeping Eda.
I instinctively approached her and...
"Grrr" a shrill howl came out of the half-raised girl's mouth.
I backed away reflexively.
*bam* the spot where I previously stood was destroyed by a claw strike. Young Edalyn started changing form and taking on a more monstrous and familiar appearance.
[Image]
*Grrrrr* she let out a shrill howl before rushing towards me.
"Very poorly played little ant" I couldn't help dropping a reference to this situation strangely similar to Netero and Pito.
Of course, for many this monster is terrifying but, the difference in strength between us is just enormous.
*clap* sound of hands clapping.
Light glyphs materialized around me. I knew this thing hates light and as expected, the sudden light destabilized it.
*Grrrr* howl of pain.
I immediately used several ice glyphs to freeze this creature before closing the show with my next action.
"I don't know if this will work with Bill but, if the Collector was a victim of this spell then you won't make it" several extremely complex glyph combinations materialized around me and the ice sculpture of the monster embodying the curse.
This is the spell that sealed the Collector, I plan to use it to seal Eda's problems forever.
I can probably permanently erase Eda's problem but, this curse has interesting properties.
It would be really regrettable to destroy it completely, and I'm really interested in replicating this curse later.
*Bam* The glyph combinations started shrinking with the monster inside, still frozen by the ice.
It didn't take long for a disk with strange drawings to form at the location of Eda's curse.
"I think Eda won't mind if I take this with me."
....
*Bam* An explosion of light flooded the room after my return from my little trip to a mental dimension.
"There, you're cured." After these words, I let go of Eda's hand that I was holding.
"I... I don't feel the curse in me anymore!" The jewel Eda wears allows her to know the degree of evolution of her curse. When she arrived, it had a slight black tint.
Now it has an ordinary gold color. I have indeed successfully sealed and extracted Eda's curse.
While Eda was still in shock, she was suddenly embraced by a crying Lilith and King came out of her hair.
"Finally... *sniff* you're cured, Edalyn... *sniff*" Lilith's words weren't coherent because of her tears, but the message got through.
"Calm down, sis, it's over now." Lilith nodded awkwardly to show her agreement with Eda's words, but I can see shame in her eyes.
If I were a protagonist of H, I would have had fun thanks to Lilith's secret concerning the curse, but that's not my style.
"Lilith, I have a speech, don't I?" I turned to leave the room. The coven heads followed me with Hunter, but Raine stopped for a moment before giving a sign to Eda.
Now that I know Marilyn's true identity, I can't help but view their relationship in a bad light.
I've held back for now. I have too many formal things to deal with to handle this now, but one thing is certain.
The seat of the empress of the Boiling Isles is already occupied.