"Now what?" I stared at the sun which had just started turning orange, knowing this was around the time Raine would pick me up.
"But I could just walk home?" I knew that sounded like a bad idea but I also knew that I didn't want to be close to this building right now.
'I've got the ghost too, so maybe it isn't so stupid?' I looked up and I saw the cap of the acorn-shaped haze that I knew the ghost took.
"It should be fine," I mumbled as I began walking...
"...Huh, this is surprisingly easy," walking through the town for a few minutes, I spotted quite a few familiar sights like the market and the plaza though they seemed to be completely empty for some reason.
"Weird, does the town usually look this abandoned at sunset?" I kept walking, occasionally stopping at interesting spots.
"Ok this is just getting creepier," I stopped again as I finally focused on my surroundings, revealing what looked to be some kinds of fruits with green lumpy exteriors scattered across the stone path.
I stared at the fruits oddly as I picked one up and turned it back and forth in my hand like the action would explain what was happening.
"I mean it looks like someone was running, but why?" I took a bite of the fruit and felt a large amount of sweet moist flesh hit my tongue.
"Mmm, this is amazing!" I glanced down at the rest of the fruits on the floor as I picked up as many as possible, only to stop when the fruits fell from my arms, frustrating me before I went to pick them up again.
"For Titan's sake, isn't there an easier way to carry these," but just as I went to pick up the fifth green fruit, I stopped and turned back to the cap of the acorn ghost.
"Could I do it?" I thought about it for a bit before shrugging.
"You can't know if you don't try," I commanded the acorn to open its cap and dropped a fruit in to see... it worked.
"Yes!" I pumped my fist, rushing back to the fruits only to freeze as I considered the morals of what I was doing.
"Hm, eh who cares," I went back to picking up the pieces of free produce.
"No one's here anyways, so-" Suddenly a tapping started up as I once again stopped picking up fruits.
"What the heck was that?" I turned my head left as I tried to spot the source of the sound.
"Seriously, is someone there?" I turned my head right as I called out for whoever it might be.
'Wait, why does it feel like that was a bad idea?' I was soon answered as I heard a growl from an alley behind me.
"Oh... shoot," I said slowly as I turned around to see a beast that looked oddly like... a wolf.
"Uh," I glanced around to look for a way to escape before I saw my fruit carrier- ahem, I mean ghost and with a thought I sent my perfect lumpy fruits launching through the air to hit the creature.
"Take that!" I watched as the wolf let the fruits hit it before they fell to the ground, making the wolf growl even more in what was probably anger while its fur seemed to darken to an inky black.
"Fudge," my arms fell limp to the side as my mind froze with thoughts of the centipede.
"G-Get away," I said, fighting through hesitance only to move away myself as it ignored me, stepping closer.
"Get away!" I tried again, this time yelling as I made another attempt to throw a fruit I had in my hand only to see the fruit fall to the ground uselessly as I noticed my arm despite having gotten control of myself had gone completely limp for some reason.
'...' I looked back to the creature as I felt my face turn a bit paler.
'I've gotta run,' quickly I turned and pushed my foot off the ground, only to feel a sense of fear as I heard a gust of wind followed by a looming shadow.
'No no no!' I felt everything slow down as I felt an impending sense of finality wash over me.
'Think! There has to be something!' I thought of every ability and tool I had only to stop when I thought of my air symbols.
'That...' I felt hesitance as the shadow loomed closer while images of the last few weeks flashed through my mind, images of the veins inching up my neck day by day and now this sudden lack of response from my arm.
'I can't,' I imagined the possibilities of what could happen with the veins that had already inched nearly the full length of my neck, 'but I need to,' I felt my mind whirl just like the wind as I tried to think of any other alternative.
'Maybe I can jump to the side?' I glanced over to see the wolf creature getting even closer despite how slow everything felt, eliminating the idea as I felt its eyes seem to land in the same area somehow.
"Fuck!" I yelled out as I did something I knew I'd be both thankful and regretful for later as black veins rose into view on my skin, leading up from my arm to the top of my neck.
'Come on!' I pulled air symbols onto me as quickly as I could before I felt time speed up again and with another flex of my legs, I was shooting off into the distance.
"Faster!" I felt more symbols latch on again as I felt more energy being spent.
"Just have to lose it!" I sped up again as the new symbols added to the energy cyclone in my body, leaving me with a familiar feeling of panic stirring up in-
'-No,' I shook my head as I took a deep breath to steady myself.
"Don't get caught up in it," I mumbled to myself as I hopped through the street, covering a meter or two per step before I noticed demons moving up ahead.
'Are you kidding me?' I looked back and saw the wolf creature still tailing after me.
'Fine,' I took in another breath and yelled out.
"Run!" I yelled, watching as they slowly turned towards me.
**********
"Come on, we can't be out here!" I insisted as Ed and Em kept picking up random stuff that was left on the ground.
"Are you even listening!" Edric and Emira looked up at me as they only smiled, rolling their eyes.
"Come on, little sis," Emira wrapped her arm around me as her eyebrow raised.
"Do you really think we're in danger?" Edric popped up from nowhere finishing Emira's sentence before pointing to the wall.
"The monsters are out there and we're in here, so there's nothing to worry about, right Em?" Emira nodded as she stepped away.
"Right, we'll be fine as long as we don't try to go outside the town," but I froze as I turned to Emira, a familiar blue-haired figure who was quickly approaching.
"Move!" It yelled out before I noticed something behind it and I froze.
"Wait, there's a monster in town?" Emira looked over to Edric and me in a panic as Emira acted and grabbed Edric before trying to reach for me.
"Mittens come on let's-," but before Emira could reach me another hand pulled me away as a pair of sharp teeth bit down on the now empty spot where I was standing.
"Why did you just stand there?!" The blue-haired demon I assumed was yelling at me before I turned to see a familiar face.
"It's you!" I felt confusion and annoyance bubble up as I saw Blue Hair, staring at me.
**********
"It's you!" I watched as the demon I now recognized as Brown Hair, gave me what looked like a confused yet irritated look.
"Yeah, it's me," I took another step, turning my eyes back to see that the creature was still following me.
"So let me ask again," I looked back to Brown Hair, returning the irritated look as I questioned why I didn't just push her out of the way instead.
"Why didn't you move?" I saw Brown Hair her look faltered as she turned away in what looked to be frustration.
"None of your business," Brown Hair growled as her eyes seemed to drift behind us before they widened.
"What is that?!" Brown Hair started to wiggle in my grip as I felt my body tipping but just before my next step, I was able to balance myself.
"Stop moving, I'm gonna trip!" I exclaimed as Brown Hair realized what she was doing before going still with an embarrassed face.
"S-sorry, I might have panicked," I rolled my eyes as I saw the gate in the distance.
"Yes, almost there!" I grinned as Brown Hair looked at me confused before turning to see what I did... and panicking again.
"F-, can you stop!" I looked back down at Brown Hair who still looked panicked.
"Are you stupid?!" Brown Hair pointed at the gates.
"More monsters are out there!" I stared at her for a second before looking at the gate and then back at her again as I processed what she said.
"What?!" I felt panic rise in me as well when I fully processed what she said before I looked around for other places to go only to see none.
'Come on think, there has to be something!' I looked at the gate for a moment as I noticed a lever just off to the side before looking down at Brown Hair.
"I have an idea, but I need you to do something," Brown Hair gazed up at me confused as I explained my idea.
"Drop me?!" I nodded as the gate came closer by the second.
"It'll be fine, I'm gonna drop you off at the gates, so you can close it when that thing chases me out, ok?" Brown Hair seemed to want to yell but stopped as she glanced over to the gate lever.
"Fine," she sighed before looking at me with a renewed annoyance.
"But you better drop me down as safely as you can or I'll make sure that monster catches up to you," I gave her a sarcastic look as I sighed.
"Sure, the gates coming up so get ready," Brown Hair nodded as she curled up and I got ready to safely place her down.
"3... 2... 1..." I let her go as she rolled for a moment, coming to a stop soon after before the creature passed her, seeming to think she was some kind of obstacle rather than a demon.
'Nice!' I grinned as I ran through the gate with the creature in tow before a few seconds later, Brown Hair pulled the lever down using all of her weight.
"Good job!" I yelled as Brown Hair nodded with a satisfied grin as well before that grin shifted to a confused frown.
"How are you going to get back in?" Brown Hair yelled back before I realized what I'd just done running out here, Brown Hair's face seemed to become concerned when I didn't respond.
"You idiot!" I felt my jaw tighten at the response as the full weight of the situation fell on me.
"D-don't worry I'll be ju-," and before I could fully respond I felt a horrible pain shoot through my gums as my teeth grew and sharpened, making me lose focus as I tripped on a root of a random tree.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" I exclaimed as I tumbled onto the ground.
"Blue Hair!" I heard Brown Hair yell as I scrambled up in a panic before I saw the wolf creature and as if on instinct I put my hand forward, transforming it in a last-ditch attempt at surviving.
"Ahhh!" I screamed out in a totally manly voice as I felt the claws on my hand penetrate something rubbery with a snap before I heard a yelp of pain come from in front of me and a large amount of what was probably blood spray onto my body.
"Blue Hair?!" I heard Brown Hair yell out again as I opened my eyes only to freeze as I saw how close the thing's jaws were to my head.
'I-I almost died... again,' I took in shallow breaths, trying to stand up as the controlled panic from before spiraled out of any semblance of control before my skin lit up with pain.
'What the f-fuck?!' I felt like I was being boiled as the pitch-black blood I was covered in started to writhe before sinking into my pores raising the level of pain to new heights.
"AHHHHH," I screamed out as I felt the blackened veins spread to almost every limb in my body before I felt my body fall over, my only thought being to make it stop.
**********
"Blue Hair, why are-!" I froze as I saw the screaming, writhing body of the kid who snatched me away from that monster, now lying under it with an ooze-like blood, flowing from the monster, covering him.
"Blue Hair!" I ran over as this happened, but I hesitated when I noticed the blood moving somehow.
"W-What's happening?" I stood there frozen only able to keep watching whatever the blood was doing as it continued its actions.
'I can't just let whatever this is, happen,' and with that thought, I started searching for something, anything to help before I noticed what looked to be a hazy book that lay on the ground, completely clean despite the clear amount of blood that writhed around it almost like it was...
"It's repelling it," I quickly snatched the book, careful not to let a single bit of the ooze tough me as I opened the book to see an incantation before I drew a shoddy circle in the air and chanted.
"Invisibilis Servus," I hurriedly chanted before a blob appeared in front of me.
"What- never mind, go sweep that stuff off of that kid!" The blob floated over as it leisurely started to repel the ooze-like blood.
"A bit faster please!" I groaned as it sped up, cleaning off the body of Blue hair in seconds.
"Blue hair, are you ok?" I asked hesitantly as I slowly walked up, commanding the blob to clear a path to the kid.
"Say something if you aren't dead," A groan suddenly came as I hesitantly looked over to see something unexpected.
"Wait, who are you?" I looked on in incomprehension as I saw...
**********
"Ugghh," I lay there, drained of all will to move as I responded to someone's question.
'What the hell?' I felt tired as I tried to recall what happened before the feeling of pain from...
'Shit the blood!' I tried to muster the will to move only to stop when I heard another question from Brown Hair.
"Wait, who are you?" I paused in confusion as I glanced at Brown's Hair.
'Who am I?' I continued to look at her confused as she stood there.
'Why can't she recognize me?' I finally mustered the energy to stand up as I turned my head to her.
"What do you mean, it's me, Azure?" I saw her look at me warily, probably not recognizing my name.
"I mean Blue Hair just like my..." I stopped as I pulled down my hair to see that it wasn't azure blue anymore like I thought instead it was pitch black.
"What the-!" I stopped again as I noticed that I felt taller as well before I looked down to see that I was larger than the wolf that had chased me.
"What's going on?!" I quickly stood up as I wobbled, not being used to the sudden increase in height before I looked over to the tree I had tripped on, noticing that it felt smaller now compared to the huge size it had before.
"You... you're Blue hair- or uh Azure?" I back to Brown Hair as I nodded with a distressed look seeming to take over my face.
"Yeah, I'm Azure!" I started to pace as I started to think about what was happening before I focused back on the black blood that had burrowed into my skin.
'No,' I cycled my magic as I created the image of an acorn before I injected it into the circle I had just finished drawing.
"Are you kidding me?" I watched as my vision adjusted to the soul sight before I looked at my soul which currently had a tiny dark mist slowly drifting into my soul.
"No no no!" I started pacing back and forth before I looked down at my hands to see long claws jutting out of my fingers.
"Amity!" I looked as I saw a group of witches following a pair of green-haired kids who looked on in concern, trying to run to Brown Hair who was apparently named Amity.
"Wait, Amity?" I felt a familiar click in my head as an aching pain that made my face tense and jaw tighten before stumbling towards Amity only stopping when a burning pain in my shoulder woke me up.
"Ahhh!" I turned to see what had happened before I saw a man pointing his finger at me.
"Don't worry young blights, we'll save your sister," Blight? Why did that sound so- another click resounded through my head as my head felt even worse before I noticed the Witches starting to run toward me.
"Wait, don't that's not-" Amity was cut off as they snatched her from the floor before shooting yet another fireball.
"Gah!" I caught myself as a burst of physical pain hit me.
'I need to-' I turned to the group as I saw all of their fingers up with spells in the process of casting.
'Run!' My mind screamed at me as I ran, feeling a burst of pain, this time mental causing me to stumble just as a line of lightning flew past my head just missing it.
'Fuck!' I felt pure terror chill me to my core as I picked up my pace, easily pulling air symbols and something else to push me forward.
"..." I grit my teeth as my speed boosted beyond what I thought, my feet practically remolding the ground as I took a step.
"Who was that, what was-" I felt my head ache even more, throwing off my balance as a familiar feeling flooded my head before I noticed the mental vault swung wide open, completing another part of the obscured picture in my head, which revealed Amity.
"Is that Amity?" I felt an image of an older green and purple-haired version of Amity rise to the front of my mind before everything went sideways with a mind-splitting slam shut the vault as my vision went dark.
**********
"What the heck was that?!" I turned to the people I was told were the Elemental Coven and glared.
"Mittens, it's ok, they drove that monster guy away," Edric tried reassuring, but Emira seemed to go silent at the exclamation as she seemed to realize something.
"That was my..." I paused, everyone turning to me as I thought over my connection to Azure before a moment later I made a decision.
"That was my friend," I stated with a calmer voice as both the Coven members and the twins looked awkward.
"Amity, we didn't know," Emira was the first to speak but soon hesitated going quiet after a quick "sorry".
"Um, would you like us to search for the child?" I turned to the Coven member who spoke and only glared.
"What can you do?" I watched the Witch step away as another moved forward.
"Well, we should at least escort you back to your parents, they must be worried sick," I only sighed, looking back at the forest line before reluctantly nodding.
'Azure, I hope you're ok,' and with that, I walked off back towards town.
**********
"What the heck is this?" I stared at the weird Witch who looked halfway between some kind of beast I'd seen wandering the forest and a Witch.
"Well, this is a fine situation I've gotten myself into," I thought about my options here as I pulled back my hood to get a better view of the witch, my orange hair falling to my shoulders.
"Bring him or leave him to do his... passing out," I looked them over again as I noticed black veins writhing in his body, eyes narrowing I crept closer to examine his clothes.
"Torn... is this a transformation?" I suddenly considered another option as I took a step away, recognizing that it was a kid's clothes.
"Was he cursed?" I felt an unsure smile creeping up as I finally made a decision, knowing that leaving a kid was just wrong.
"I hope you don't make me regret this, brat," I said as I cast a spell of levitation and walked off back to my home.