"Is that all of them?" I turned to Darius as he sent a projectile piece of ooze to finish off the last visible demon beast.
"Yeah, and good thing too with those idiots who weren't careful not to get that blood on them," Darius turned to the Witches on the ground that'd been exposed as they struggled to break free of wood bindings that held them.
"So we're done here right?" I asked as Darius nodded.
"Great, because I need to go pick up my kid," I gestured to the town in the distance as Darius looked at him oddly.
"Your kid?" He looked oddly at me as I shrugged.
"Yeah, he was doing a volunteer program in the library and I usually pick him up about this time, so..." I started before I felt a hand land on my shoulder.
"Wait a second, I didn't come all the way out here to fight whatever kind of demon beasts these were for you to forget to talk to Eberwolf," I turned to see Darius holding his scroll up.
"I made that call, now use the chance to ask about that creature," I smiled nervously as I saw the annoyed look Darius gave me.
"Ok, ok," I gave him a placating smile before he sighed and started to walk off annoyed while mumbling something a stupid call wasting his free day.
"Huh, guess being the new head of a coven must be hard," I shrugged as I looked around for the only other new Coven Head in the crowd of Witches.
"Now, where is sh- ah, there," I quickly spotted a large mane of Auburn hair jumping between people as they headed toward the restrained Witches.
"Hey, Eberwolf!" I called out as the small Witch continued scampering on until he had arrived near the roots and turned to stare at me, waiting till I had finished pushing through the crowd that had stayed in the forest.
"S-sorry, I just needed to talk to you," I took in a large gulp of air as Eberwolf tilted his head with curiosity.
"So I'm looking for a beast or uh creature," I thought back to the 4 legged figure that looked to be made out of ooze-like blood.
"It was kind of odd when I saw it, but I think it had four legs and the ability to shape its body into stuff like tentacles," I felt my nerves act up as Eberwolf quietly watched me without blinking.
"Um, so I hoping you would be able to help?" I scratched the back of my head as Eberwolf stood there for a few seconds before looking at the infected Witches and pointing.
"What- oh yeah, it had the ability to take over people I think," Eberwolf seemed to smile at that as I sighed in relief.
"So can you track it or at least have someone help?" Eberwolf nodded as they quickly and carefully sniffed in the direction of the three Witches before looking at me and taking off in a random direction.
"H-hey, wait for me!" I exclaimed hesitating for a moment as I took a quick glance back at the library in the distance before turning back to follow after Eberwolf with my Palisman, thinking one last thing.
'I hope Azure can wait a little longer...'
**********
'Where am I?' I sat up on a mat that I had no memory of lying on as I felt a wary frown take shape on my face.
"More importantly, whose house is this?" I looked around to see a room lightly filled with a few random objects including a chest.
"Did I get kidnapped?" I panned my eyes around the room once again, feeling to see an unlocked window and door.
"No, someone would lock me in if that was the case," I relaxed, knowing I wasn't going to be hit with a fireball or have another skull-splitting headache.
"Should I explore then?" I took a step as I heard a tapping noise.
"What?" I looked down in confusion, but as I did, my heart dropped seeing my now-clawed feet.
"That's..." I quickly cast the soul sight spell and looked at my soul to see that it was a few shades darker than the azure blue I had the last time I checked.
"Shi-oot, I need to get back to Malphas," I frantically rushed to the door and pulled it open, only for it to fly off the hinges, causing me to flinch back in fear.
"Right, I'm stronger like this," I started to transform back, but as I did my body was wracked with horrible pain almost collapsing to the floor before I took a ragged breath.
"Ok, maybe don't transform back for now," I shakily pushed myself up as I stared at the broken door but stopped a moment later when I realized that I couldn't worry about a door right now.
"I'll just help fix it later," I said, rushing out of the room careful to not stomp my foot through a plank on the floor as I made my way into the hallway where I saw a light coming from a large opening that was probably the stairs.
Seeing that, I rushed over to what I assumed were the stairs and turned to see a familiar woman with gray-streaked orange hair, causing me to freeze.
"Oh, you're up!" The familiar woman said, smiling at me as they patted me on my shoulder before looking down the hallway.
"Great, now we can-" She stopped as her eyes widened.
"My door!" She turned her eyes back to me angrily as I felt her hand tighten on my shoulder with surprising strength.
'Ow! What's with this absurd strength!' I tried to pry her hand off as I took a step back.
"You're either fixing or paying for whatever you did, got it?" I nodded frantically as I kept trying to pry off the hand of the woman in front of me before she suddenly let go.
"Good, now let's go down and talk," I looked up at the absurdly strong woman with a grimace, knowing that I didn't have time for this but also knowing I probably couldn't run away from this woman without a lot of effort.
"O-ok," I grit my teeth as I walked down the stairs but almost immediately stopped when I felt it poke my lip like a knife point.
"So, what are we talking about?" I asked as we reached the bottom of the steps.
"Are you kidding me, kid?" She looked back at me, focusing on the more prominent features of my body.
"I thought it'd be obvious with how you were acting upstairs," I gulped as I remembered the glare she gave me moments ago for breaking one of her doors.
"Miss, to put this in the nicest way possible, I don't have time for this right now," I saw the woman frown at my words as I continued speaking.
"I need to be somewhere because of a time-sensitive issue, of course, I'll come back to help fix the door, so-" I felt two fingers pinch my lips as the woman's eyes narrowed.
"Is it about that appearance of yours?" My eyes widened as I reluctantly nodded, resolving myself to reveal whatever I needed to, to get back as quickly as possible.
"Well how about this, I'll let you go if you answer a few quick questions," I nodded again as her face brightened up again.
"What do you want to know?" I asked quickly as she held her chin in thought.
"Mmm, is this a transformation?" I nodded as she started walking over to a couch that was a few meters away.
"Can you turn back?" I shook my head before she sat down and gave me a neutral look.
"Why can't you turn back?" I felt my teeth grit as I sighed.
"It hurts too much," The woman raised her brow at that as I rolled my eyes.
"I get why you wouldn't want to be stuck like that, but I need to know..." My lips tightened as I dreaded what she might ask.
"Why is it-" A squeak rang out as a tiny dog-like demon with a skull on its head nibbled on my leg.
"What the heck?" I looked down at it confused before looking up to see the woman's eyes widen.
"King, we don't bite people," She walked over and picked it up, cradling it in her arms as I felt a weird familiarity coming from this demon too.
"Sorry about that, so back to my question," I snapped back to attention as I turned to look at her.
"Why is it bad to stay like that?" I stared at her for a moment as I glanced at King once again, seeing how cared for it was, I felt my hesitance ease up a bit.
"It's because it's spreading into my soul," I turned my head up to face her.
"That's why I need to go and get help," The woman seemed to grimace but then reluctantly grinned as she started walking toward the stairs.
"Uh, where are you going?" The woman put up a finger, signaling for me to wait, so I stood there for a minute before she walked back down with a glass bottle of orange liquids that had replaced the tiny dog.
"What's that?" I examined the bottle in her hand with confusion before she held it out to me.
"Drink it," The woman that I now knew was crazy said as I stepped away.
"No way, I don't even know what that is," She glanced down at the bottle and her eyes widened.
"Oh right, it's a potion that helps stop curses!" I looked at the woman strangely before I realized what she meant.
'She thinks this is a curse,' I felt a few things connect in my head as I realized what this was all about now.
"Uh, it's..." I stopped myself as I focused back on the woman, 'why did she have this?', 'Was she a potion brewer?', 'Maybe it could help', all of these thoughts went through my mind but I had one thing to ask before I decided if I wanted to take it.
"Does it help with souls?" The woman gave me a thoughtful look before she seemed to remember something.
"I think it does actually," I felt my uncertainty turn to eagerness at the statement before I reached out to grab it only to be stopped as she pulled it back from me.
"But before I give it to you I need another thing," I rolled as she smiled greedily at me.
"What is it?" I asked impatiently as her smile widened even more.
"I need you to work at my shop," My annoyed frown turned into a surprised one as my brows knitted together.
"Why would I do that?" I looked at the bottle before reluctantly lowering my hand.
"This potion is expensive and I need a helper when I'm selling my wares," my frown became a bit deeper as I looked between the door and the potion.
'Risk running back to town from who knows where or...' I looked at the potion again.
'Take the potion that could potentially help and possible directions back to town,' I groaned and nodded.
"Fine, I'll help you with your stupid shop," A resounding "Yes!" Rang out before I grabbed the potion from her hand and took off the cork.
"So that thing about souls, could you tell me what that is exactly?" I put the bottle to my lips as I stared at the woman.
"Oh right," She said as she seemed to start thinking about what the thing about the potion or whatever curse it was used for did.
"What was it," I passively listened as I was almost finished drinking the potion.
"Something about transformation curses like mine bonding with the soul," I froze as I heard that before looking back at the now-empty glass bottle.
"Wait, what was that about a-" I suddenly felt very odd as what felt like a thread started to uncomfortably squeeze my soul pushing what I could only describe as a mist into my very being.
"Is something wrong?" I tried to answer, but as I did, the feeling got worse as I suddenly felt out of breath.
"Need... lay on... couch," I managed to wheeze out as I started rushing over to the couch.
"What happened, did the potion not work?" The woman seemed concerned now as I tried taking in deep breaths but it felt like my lungs were filled with water as I kept gasping for air.
'What's happening?' I felt a bit of panic seep in as I struggled before a soothing green glow washed over me filling me with comfort but it was pointless with my vision starting to fade and soon turning black.
**********
"St-er-th," I felt irritated as I heard voices in the distance that had interrupted my slumber.
'Who dares enter my domain,' I thought as my head lifted from the rock I had chosen as my resting place.
"Seriously, Eberwolf I need a moment," I felt my eyes narrow with confusion, knowing I had heard that voice from somewhere, but was it important? They are just pieces of food I could kill easily even without my drone servants that I had sent off to look for the boy.
'Speaking of them, why can't I feel my connection with them,' I felt my annoyance rise as I deduced what happened.
'The Whelps killed them all?' I bared my teeth in a snarl as that annoyance turned to rage.
'They dare impede my goals to obtain the seed that will further my goals!' I stood up as the voice that seemed so insignificant before, became like steel scraping stone.
'I will not stand for this nor the intrusion of irritating whelps on my territory!' I grew in size as I took on a smaller version of my original form, a gray skull growing over my head and claws the size of a whelp's head extending from my hands and feet before my eyes turned a crimson red.
"Whelps, you dare intrude on my dominion," my deeper voice echoed out like a force of nature across my territory as the voice from before went silent.
'They tempt my patience by hiding?' I felt my anger grow as I summoned an array of glyphs to rend the earth and clear the trees that would obscure their presence.
"There you are," I spotted a teal-haired Whelp and an insignificant ball of fur who was growling at me.
"You dare to growl?" I stepped forward, filled with a climbing rage as I went to crush the insects in front of me.
"Let's get out of here!" One of the Whelps yelled but I only looked on with the same anger, unbothered by the noise but just as my fist was about to crush them, another whelp in black and white stood in front of them, blocking my strike.
'What?!' I felt my snarl grow as my eyes started to glow with fury.
"How!" The man looked up at me with disgust as he drew a pitch-black circle of... essence(!) before I was sent flying back.
*********
'...' I watched the static on the crystal ball as I sat there hidden from the world outside, but why was that again?
"Why am I sitting here?" I mumbled as a discrepancy made itself known in my mind before I felt a wave of clarity wash over me.
"I can't brea-!" I stopped as I noticed I was perfectly fine.
"What?" I felt my chest in confusion before I took a deep breath in to check my lungs and they felt fine.
"Good, didn't die at least," I smiled with relief before remembering where he was.
"Right, I need to check my soul," I started to cast the spell, only to stop when... I couldn't cast magic.
"What, why can't I cycle my magic?" I repeated the same motions and used the same sensations but it did nothing.
"Ok, what's happening?" I stood as I looked over to the orb in front of me.
"Did that lady leave me in front of her crystal ball?" My focus on the ball soon shifted as I looked for the orange-haired woman who gave me that potion only to see a pitch-black stairway off to the side.
'Right, her bedroom should be up there,' I took a step toward the stairs but stopped as I looked back at the crystal ball that seemed to be the only light source in this house.
"I'll put it back later," I grabbed it and held it in front of me as I turned back to the stairs and made my way up.
"Huh, these feel bigger than before," I looked down at myself and I noticed that I was back in my normal body.
"Did the potion do this?" I felt a bit of relief at that but also annoyance as I thought back to my sudden inability to do magic.
"Is there something I can do to fix that?" I held my chin, continuing to walk up the stairs before I shrugged.
"The lady here's a potion maker, so she could probably do something about it, right?" I walked in silence as the question spun in my head.
"I mean she has to, after what happened," I felt the phantom sensation of what was essentially drowning as I shivered in discomfort.
"Yeah, I'll just talk to her about it and I'll leave," but I focused on the dark around me.
"Should I leave now? It's night out and wandering through the forest wouldn't be smart," I thought over the two ideas, and within moments, the idea of staying out of harm's way won over.
"Alright, so leave in the morning then," I nodded to myself as I reached the final step of the stairs.
"Now let's... find her room?" A wave of confusion hit me as I looked to see that the hallway I assumed would be there, was not.
"But that doesn't make sense," I looked back down the stairs to only see darkness obscuring my path back.
"Am I in a dream?" I thought as I tried to make the place light up but to no surprise, it didn't work.
"It isn't a dream and it isn't real life, so what is this place?" I thought back to what had happened once again and felt anxiety enter my mind.
"Did I... no, no way," I shook my head as I started to walk again.
"Whatever this is, I'll find a way out," I rushed through the dark as my footsteps became more and more frequent until I was running.
"I just gotta find a way to get through this like I always do," I felt my lips curl up into a smile as I tried to convince myself of anything else but my previous conclusion.
"I'm probably in some illusion or something and I can get out, right? Right!" I smiled nervously as I kept walking before the sound of footsteps froze me in place.
"Oh hey, there you are!" I looked to see the woman who had made me drink that potion appear.
"It's you!" I exclaimed as I ran up to her.
"Whoa, calm down," The potion maker jumped as I stopped in front of her.
"Do you know where I am?" The woman looked at me thoughtfully before opening her mouth to speak.
"So that's what you look like without the curse," She seemed to ignore my question as she looked me over from head to toe.
"Oh right, your question," She cleared her throat as she looked into my eyes.
"We're in your mind and it seems like whatever effect the potion had on you..." The woman hesitated for a moment with a guilty look.
"It seems it's taking the gunk in your soul and fusing it to the soul itself," I looked on in disbelief as the woman kept her guilty look for a moment before she turned annoyed.
"What? I came in here to help you and you're annoyed!" She threw her arms up acting like she was the one stuck in their mind as I sighed.
'Crazy old woman,' I thought, steadying myself before looking back at her.
"Thanks for coming," The old lady seemed to pause at that before she looked back to me with a smug smile.
"Good, now let's get you through this and out of this place," I felt my jaw clench again but I kept my face from turning annoyed again.
"Now you know that you're in the mindscape which by the way is really dreary with this pitch-black space," She gestured to the darkness around us.
"You should try cheering up," I rolled my eyes as she kept going.
"What was I talking about?" She looked at me for a second before she perked up.
"Oh right, in your mindscape, you should find some kind of object that represents your life based on your memories," I looked over to the orb in my hand.
"Does this count?" The woman fixed her gaze on it as she started to smile before it turned into a strange look.
"What's going on with that?" She pointed at the static orb and I only shrugged.
"Is that not normal?" The woman looked at me with concern before she went back to looking at the orb.
"Yeah, memories should be showing themselves in one way or another or at least that's the advice I heard with unusual situations like yours, but..." She gestured to it.
"It's just a crystal ball with static," the woman stopped as a piece of her body started to flicker.
"Shoot, I'm running out of time," The woman looked back at me frantically as she grabbed my shoulder.
"The important thing is to use that to complete the fusion otherwise your soul will end up hurt, got it?" I quickly nodded as she sighed in relief before the flickering spread to the restroom of her body.
"Oh and one last thing," She said as her body started to fade away.
"Try to find your inner self, they-" was all she could say before she fully faded away.
"Find my inner self?" I frowned as I looked around the abyssal space that I'd been walking around before sighing.
"Yep, totally easy with this darkness," I complained before continuing on to find this inner self that was somewhere in the dark.