Rather than meeting with Griffos, Harvard would be transported elsewhere, a dark forest with oak trees the size of mountains. The boy was stunned and curious at such a landscape, as he'd get up and walked around the dense area. "GRIFFOOOOOSS!! WHERE ARE YOU!? GRIFFOOOOOOSSS!!" He'd scream, cupping his hands around his mouth to let him speak louder.
Silence.
The boy kept wandering in the large forest, trying to see if there was at least some form of life. That was when the ground began to pulsate, the earth behaving as a personal heart. The boy's eyes widened as he recognized this movement, rushing himself through the forest, going deeper and deeper to investigate its source. He would swat away any branches that would come close, as he'd began to hear noises from within. Small growls and scratches, as well as a voice. A hum. A chant. A song with such tribal nature, it felt like a personal lure to his own soul. As he ran across the grassy terrain, he would find it. A massive beast, embedding itself in the trees, long arms acting as its branches, a horse's head at the bottom of the trunk, a human's on the top. The top's head, however, had no features. Rather, it was scattered in the barks of other trees, eyes and mouths by the dozen, looking at the boy, breathing heavily, taking in its oxygen.
The Nuckelavee was alive.
"You're... real?" Harvard asked, stunned to see such a beast remain in this personal mirror, pondering what exactly caused him to be given such a gift.
"Peculiar question. Humans should've been expecting the unordinary ages ago... Why is this such a surprise...?" The beast would reply, shocking the child further. It can speak!? When? How? At what point? Why did it not before? The beast stared at the child, knowing about such questions before he would even bring them up. "Even more peculiar... You never thought I had a voice? A Tongue? A Speech that I can bring?" The boy can't help but nod, slightly embarrassed and worried if such a feat was obvious from the beginning. "Well, you were correct at least, in assuming I couldn't talk beforehand. With your magic, I was infused into your body, was I not? Your heart, your mind, your nerves. We share them as you made us into one. It was only natural I pick up your language and learned it accordingly."
"You used my head?!"
"Only to grasp the lexicon you humans use. Nothing else too substantial."
Harvard also couldn't help but be insulted. His memories clearly had substance, if it was tantalizing enough for the Nuckelavee to peer into his mind and learn from it. He should've known there was a lot of worth there. "So, what gives? Why am I seeing you and not-"
"Your counterparts? Another simple inquiry. He's merely hiding. Waiting. Biding until you properly join them."
"Join them?" The beast's heads nodded as the many hands began to extend, the flesh twisting and creating shapes in the form of people. Multiple Harvard's, to be exact. Each one had their own specific design: One with no eyes but two crows on his shoulders. One with sharp teeth and eyes like a canines. One with a doll-like body, complete with hinges. One as a Demon, horns and tail included. One with half his flesh removed, a skeleton in its place. Each one was prevalent in what changes the monster meant: Their appearance. They were monstrous in design by nature. Always something that feels slightly off compared to the rest. "Oh... That's what you meant."
The beast nodded once more as the hands parted. "They are simply waiting for your metamorphosis. Your chance to change. To do so, you must accept the monstrous spirit that lays in your heart: Me." Its voice boomed across the dark forest, as it stared down at the child with such piercing eyes. "You have made your decision to take in such a beast, yet you still retain your humanity. I can sense your desires all too well. To achieve the strength you wish to yield, one must forego any and all human parts of themselves. One must take the risk and descend into the beast that all would fear. Human Joy, Human Sorrow, Human Wrath, Human Fear. You have so far been met with two of them, blind anger and pure excitement. You learned Fear once you had the potential of losing your loved ones. Now, all that's left, is pure Sorrow. The link that shows empathy. That shows soul."
Harvard's mind was flooded with such information, as he'd raise his hands up. "Wait, wait, slow that down for me, will yah? I have to discard my humanity?? Why!?" He'd protest, yet the trees remained still.
"Another easy quiz. If you truly wish to attain strength, you must forego the limits of the human body. These limits can appear anywhere, whether it be physical... Or mental. You may have a selfless style, but your desire to save others is what acts as your hinderance. Your willingness to offer yourself as such a lamb is a detriment. You must be selfish. Greedy. Hungering at every opportunity to destroy. A Monster is simply that: A Force of destruction." The boy pondered at such a response, looking down at the grass as he contemplates. His humanity, his very being. It was the glue that ensured such a state was contained. A stronger source of power that requires him to remove the glue and submit to his own primal instincts feels like a living nightmare. He'd shudder at the thought he'd live as someone, nay, something else. Yet, despite such a horrific side effect, he'd look up and nod at the monster.
"I'll do it. Just as long as I don't hurt or kill any of my friends while I'm a monster, I'll do it." The boy announced with such bravery, prompting the mouths to smile.
"Perfect. With any luck, perhaps with this new self, you can potentially bond with every monster at once. A chance to retain your own immortality: Where death itself cannot reach you anymore."
"...WAIT REALLY!?" The Card Magician's eyes became starry and full of wonder as he alluded to such a potential desire. The Nuckelavee began to stretch out from the tree and prepared its training for the boy, letting him arm himself with his cards, prepared to face the Devil of the Sea once more.