"Come on let's haul up this corpse before our boss chews us out!" A random Emperor's Coven member yelled to her fellow guard, helping with the efforts to drag the corpse of the centipede out of the pool of boiling water.
"Alright, Alright, no one appreciates all that I do for the Emperor..." The other guard said as he carefully tugged on one of the legs with his magic.
"Come on," He gritted his teeth as he felt something budge, "Yeah, come on just a little more..."
He kept pulling and pulling and finally, "Wait shi-" A stream of black puss came streaming out into his face and the pool he was near.
"Ggglllggg?!" The Coven guard felt it slither across his body and into his mouth and nose, 'what the hell is this?' He started to hear thousands of whispering dissonant voices as he tried to scream, only he couldn't anymore.
'Help! Cyrie, Coven Head Lilith, anybody!' He screamed out into his mind as he felt himself fade into the background.
"Mmmm," The Coven Guard released his magical hold on the Centipede as his body went stiff for only a moment before it relaxed into a more natural posture.
"Hm, a new drone already?" He no the thing controlling his body spoke as it surveyed its surroundings, seeing the puss-ridden ichor spreading into the pool and dissolving.
"Damn boiling waters," It gave the water a look of contempt before looking up to the sky, seeing the gathering clouds far in the distance, "I must get to the boy before the rains purge my drones of my blood," It said to itself as it chuckled, letting a rasp of a thousand whispers slip.
"Then I will be able to bring him back to my main body and perform the ritual!" it continued before it heard footsteps approaching as it faded into the back of the man's mind.
"Hey Steve, what're you doing?" The Coven guard this body knew as Cyrie questioned.
"We were assigned to corpse duty and we all need to put in the work to haul it up," Cyrie gestured to the Centipede as 'Steve' chuckled with fake embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry, I just got sprayed by some gunk from the centipede, so I kind of lost focus," he apologized as Cyrie sighed.
"It's fine Steve, but at this rate, we won't be able to rise to the top in the Emperor's Coven like we dreamed of if we're still struggling with clean-up duty," Cyrie pointed a wand to the Centipede corpse and the pink glow of magic started to surround a portion of the large demon bug.
"You're right, I'll do better," He said with a genuine sounding voice that came from True Steve's consciousness as he played along until the next chance to find the boy.
**********
"Mmmm," I felt myself shift in bed as I woke up some time later, "where am I?" I looked around as the haze of sleep lifted.
"Oh, now I remember, I'm at Raine's house," I sat up from the bed in the guest room and looked around.
"Yep, same plain beige walls that I saw walking in here," I got up from the bed and walked towards the pale orange door that led out to the hallway.
"Kind of odd contrast," I looked between the wood and the walls before opening the door out into the hall.
"Right, it's the same everywhere," I said to myself remembering that all the walls were the same in every room I'd seen.
"Az, you're finally awake?" I jumped as the silence was broken by the voice of Raine Whispers, the man who's playing the role of my parent.
"Yeah DAD, I'm awake," I rolled my eyes, "So are you ready to talk?" I opened my mouth to say no but stopped as I remembered our agreement to talk about some of the stuff that happened yesterday when I woke up.
'I think I already know what he's going to say, but fine let's do it," I groused as I thought back to how Raine saved me from that centipede.
'I'm just repaying a favor,' I walked up to him and crossed my arms, "Sure," I walked up to Raine and looked up at him.
"So are we chatting here or-" I stopped, smelling an amazing aroma wafting from the hallway's entrance which had me drooling.
"I was thinking we could do it over lunch actually," Raine smiled at my reaction as he began walking to the hallway entrance, turning to the right as we passed the living room where a giant orb was sitting on a wooden rectangular stand with a couch sitting a few meters away, against a wall with a coffee table in front of it.
'That's pretty cozy looking,' I appreciated the layout before turning back to Raine who was now turning into an archway where I heard the sound of a simmering pot.
"So what'd you make?" I turned the corner just a second after as I saw what was simmering.
"It's demon beast stew," I looked to see chunks of brown meat sitting floating with purple vegetables in an equally purple broth under a clear pot lid.
"It's a relatively simple recipe I picked up from the library while you were asleep," Raine turned back to me as he saw my reaction.
"That looks weird..." I looked between Raine and the stew, "are you sure you got the recipe right?" I asked as he let out an awkward chuckle.
"I-I think so?" I watched he'd as he pulled out a book from a bag on the kitchen table before he flipped through the pages, "It's in here, let me just... found it!" He seemed to read through the recipe before his smile turned even more tense.
"Sooo I might have forgotten to drain the juices from the violet fruit but it shouldn't be poisonous, so-" I gave him the best skeptical look I could, "are you sure?"
Raine chuckled as he took a ladle from one of the drawers under his kitchen countertops, lifting the clear covering on the stew, and placed the ladle in the stew before lifting it back out for a taste, placing it to his lips.
"Hm..." Raine let it linger in his mouth for a second before spitting it out in the sink.
"So that's a no then?" Raine shook his head before pulling a jug out of a fridge, "what's that?" I saw him put a finger up as he grabbed a cup from the counter and poured what looked like blood from the jug before taking a large gulp of it.
"Phew, that tasted... not great," Raine placed the cup down carefully as he looked back to the stew with a frown.
"Maybe if I..." I watched Raine create a ring of magical energy just above the pot before whistling into it as it shined with a glow that Raine didn't seem to register.
'What was what?' I walked closer to the pot but couldn't see anything from the ground with my height.
'I can just ask later, I guess,' I sighed before going back to the table, "Hey Raine, I know that stew is really interesting, but can we focus on the conversation?" I said despite the drool that lingered despite seeing Raine's reaction to the stew, 'How does it smell so good, yet be so gross?'
"Ah, right!" Raine put the lid back down on the pot before turning to the table and- Knocking came from the door, "I'll get it," turned away from the table before walking through the archway and turned left towards the Foyer which was just past the hallway with the bedrooms.
"Hello? Oh, Mr.Crane!" I heard him yell, piquing my interest as I got out of my chair and hopped to the floor before peeking out of the kitchen archway to see a stout old man with horns as well as a hunched back.
"Raine, my young pupil!" He hugged Raine with what I thought was a smile, "I heard about your achievement, good job stopping that nasty bug demon from rampaging in town!"
I leaned out more to get a better look, only for the old man to spot me before I ducked into the kitchen again, "oh, and who might that little imp back there be?" I cringed, feeling stupid for being spotted.
"Oh um, that's..." Raine seemed to hesitate as I felt dread build in my stomach, "that's my kid, Azure," I groaned as I knew what he was going to say next.
"Az, do you mind coming over here to say hi?" I reluctantly walked out from the kitchen and headed to the front door, 'ugghhh, do I really have to talk to this old guy?' I stopped as I finally reached the front door.
"Y-your child!" The old man called Mr.Crane looked at me with shock and... excitement?
"So who's the lucky lady who made this little guy with you?" I cringed at that, somehow realizing what he meant, 'ew, why would you say that in front of a child?'
"Perhaps that Clawthorne girl?" He suggested making something click in my head as I saw a vague flash of an older lady in a cartoon, 'what was that?' I shook off the image and made a note to look into that later.
"What! No, how could I have- I-" Raine tried to explain but he ended up a blabbering mess as his face lit up with red, "oh ho, you're too easy to read, besides I can see the same spunk that his mom has, present in him," The Old Man waved his hand as I rolled my eyes, but he seemed to spot it.
"See what I mean?" He gestured to me mid-eye-roll as his smile turned into a grin, "Even has the same temperament!" He laughed as he rubbed his calloused hands on my hair.
'I wish I could be somewhere else right now,' I whined in my mind before focusing on a symbol that floated by, 'wait, the symbols, I still don't know what they are and I remember Raine mentioning where he got that recipe book from...' I thought back to what Raine said about a library, "That's it!"
I saw the two jump as I yelled before I heard the clinking of armor and a pair of white-robed people rushed up from behind, "Sir, are you ok?" A feminine voice came from the robed person on the right before The Old Man turned to them waving in a placating gesture.
"It's fine, It's fine," he smiled at them kindly, "It was just my Coven Member's child," he chuckled seeing how embarrassed they looked.
"Sorry sir, it's just this job's important with how we're here to escort you and the hero of BonesBorough who-" The Old Man glared at the two guards, causing them to flinch and step back.
"Wait, what do they mean by 'the hero'?" I turned to look up at Raine who was looking at The Old Man with confusion, "That's what I came here to talk to you about," The Old Man sighed, looking at the ground.
"Youngsters these days never let their elders surprise them," The Old Man lifted his head, looking at Raine with a kind smile, "how about you step out and we can talk about it?" he said before looking at me as well.
"You also, little demon," He adjusted his glasses, "you need to hear this too," his smile seemed to widen again, turning into a smirk.
"After all, your daddy is going to get awarded for his bravery!" I froze as The Old Man patted Raine's shoulder excitedly before Raine's eyes widened in shock, "I'M WHAT?!"
**********
'Ugh, how long am I going to have to put up with The Blasphemer before I can take the child away?' I thought standing there as he talked with the hunched whelp.
"Hey Steve, you've gotta focus man," I heard the whelp who this body knew as Cyrie say, "Oh uh, sorry I was just kind of out of it, y'know since we got assigned something as important as escorting the new hero of BonesBorough who killed the giant centipede on his own," I saw the girl whelp sigh and shake her head.
"Oh look, they're walking out now!" Girl Whelp suddenly said, pointing to the pair and the child I was looking for, 'Yessss, it's almost time,' I grinned under my mask as I saw them getting closer, 'now, how to get them to leave the child alone?'
"So, to sum it up, the Emperor wants to award me with a medal for killing that centipede?" The Blasphemer stated as I looked back to his annoying face, "Yes, that is essentially it, but he is also awarding the Bard Coven as well," The hunched whelp interjected.
"He's going to have the construction Coven make a large concert hall for us to use in both public and private events," The Hunched Whelp seemed overjoyed by that fact, "Well, that's great, but I have Az here," The Blasphemer gestured to the child before The Hunched Whelp seemed to look thoughtfully at the child.
"Hm... maybe one of the guards here could look after him until you get back or maybe we could take him wit-" I jumped in before The Hunched Whelp could continue, "I'll do it!" I said with fake eagerness as Girl Whelp looked at me shocked for interrupting The Hunched Whelp.
"Uh, what?" I played up this body's cluelessness as Girl Whelp facepalmed.
"Coven Guard, approach," I turned to The Hunched Whelp and tilted my head in genuine confusion before I saw The Hunched Whelp not hunching anymore, looming over this body with an intimidating figure.
"You do not talk over your elders when they are trying to help others, do you understand?" Looking up at the Whelp, I felt something I hadn't felt since I came to this world, 'No I can't be, I am the Great Hunter Titus!' I ignored that insignificant feeling that the humans of the other world call fear as I bowed to him, "My apologies sir."
"Now seeing that this guard here can't seem to behave responsibly I think it would be best if we bring your child along," I felt my annoyance surge as I saw the child looking at me skeptically.
'No, do not lose your temper, the child is perceptive and there will come a time when you can take him,' I dampened the flame of anger that was growing and looked up to the clouds that seemed closer than before, filling me with a sense of urgency, 'just have to be patient.'
**********
'What the heck is this?!' I grabbed my hair as I rode on top of my Palisman with Az, 'I didn't think that I'd get rewarded for killing that thing!' I thought back to the centipede splashing around in the ponds worth of boiling water.
"Hey. it's ok," I heard Az reassure me while looking off into the distance, trying to act aloof at the same time, "th-thanks Az," I smiled as I ruffled his hair before slapping my hand away, looking at me annoyed just like...
I thought of what Mr.Crane said, 'Just like Eda, huh?' I smiled at the thought, 'Hah, no way that'd be true!' I chuckled as Az smacked me on the back.
"What's so funny?!" He seemed to be embarrassed, "I only said that because I didn't want you crashing into something while you were off in your own world!"
"Aw, it's ok to say you care about your dad," I messed with him as his blush seemed to grow a bit redder, "Shut up!" I heard another person chuckling as I saw Mr.Crane drift next to us.
"Seems like a little family bonding time is needed with your son's behavior," He joked as I chuckled a bit more, "Nah, my son here is just shy," I received a chuckle in return as the Emperor's castle came into sight.
"Finally, we're here," I looked back to Az who was pinching his nose with an annoyed look on his face.
"Oh lighten up, I mean your father is getting a medal for their bravery," I saw Az give Mr.Crane an odd look.
**********
"Don't you mean his?" I looked over to Raine who looked at me with wide eyes, "Oh yeah, I never told you this since it wasn't really important for a kid like you and it might be confusing, but I'm not a guy," I looked at him strangely.
"So you're a girl? Wait, that doesn't make sense, what are you then?" Raine chuckled as he ruffled my hair again, much to my annoyance.
"I'm non-binary, I don't see myself as a girl or guy, but like I said, this isn't important for you right now, you're a kid and you'll learn about it more when you're older," Raine explained as my eyes widened, "Ohhh, so that's why he said it that way," I looked dumbly at Raine and The Old Man before realizing what I was doing and put on a more neutral face.
"So, can I keep calling you a guy then?" I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "Well I'm not a guy, but sure since you're my kid," I scratched the back of my head.
"Thanks for telling me, this was sort of informative," I scratched the back of my head as I looked at Raine in a slightly new light.
"Ah, we've arrived!" I heard The Old Man say as I snapped out of my daze and looked down to see us descending in front of the Emperor's Castle which seemed to faintly glow blue.
"What?" I mumbled as I looked at it closer just to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and when I looked closer, 'It's definitely glowing,' I thought back to when Raine drew a circle of magic before the pot glowed like the castle, 'Only difference being that it glowed red.'
I started to think, 'Does this have to do with how I see symbols?' I thought about it further as a theory popped into my head, 'can I see magic?' I facepalmed as I thought back to all those times in the past few days when I was struggling to come up with an answer to why I could see those symbols, 'It's because I can see magic energy, it was so obvious, but I needed to see other magic to realize!'
I chuckled, thinking about how stupid I was, "Hey Az, what's got you laughing?" Raine looked over at me curiously, "oh uh, just thinking about something I had a hard time figuring out," I said vaguely as Raine's eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Do you want to tell me what it is?" Raine glanced back at me as he finally landed just in front of the bridge connecting the castle to the other side of the moat, "wow, that's a lot of spikes," I looked down into the moat before Raine pulled me back from the edge.
"Az, be careful, the ground isn't that stable on the edge," To prove his point, Raine gestured to a crumbling, cracked corner of the moat wall I was standing on as a chunk cracked and fell into the pit.
"Oh," I said dumbly, realizing that I could have fallen if Raine hadn't pulled me back, "Well thanks... Dad," I felt odd saying it, but with how much he saved me in these two- "huh? Is something wrong?" I saw Raine, who seemed to freeze for a second when I said that, "n-nothing, just that was the first time you genuinely..." He stopped as I looked at him confused, but shrugged brushing it off.
"Whatever, keep acting weird," I turned from Raine to the bridge as I followed after The Old Man and the two guards who were already a quarter of the way to the castle gate.
"Hey, wait up!" I heard Raine say before I heard his steps quicken in rhythm to catch up to me as I walked towards the castle with an answer to an annoying question and anticipation for what could be inside a medieval castle like this.
'medieval, huh?' I smiled, 'I like the sound of that.' I said, the word settling in my head as I gazed at the fortress of a building in front of me.