My eyes blinked rapidly as we passed through the light. I waited for my vision to return and during what was an unnaturally long free fall I found that my eyes finally cleared and I could see an odd view.
The place I was falling into was made of dark structures that almost resembled the walls of a crevice like a small canyon. Cubes passed around me as I was held in an unnaturally strong grip. I kept launching upwards until suddenly I was falling. I didn't know when, I didn't know how but my upward ascent had suddenly become a fall.
I struggled more than before as the weightlessness in my stomach took hold, and I turned my head to Josh. I still couldn't believe it was him. I didn't know how or when, but when I looked into his eyes, I saw that the familiar pitch black color of essence had taken prominence in his gaze, and his mouth was turned down in a scowl.
'That can't be possible.' I looked into my mind and felt Titus resting inside, inactive. 'Then how is he being controlled?' I didn't have much time to think about it as I saw a pitch black surface rising quickly to meet my head, so mustering my will I readied myself to transform despite the pain I knew was coming. I counted down and... hesitated. 'Come on just do it!' I growled as I tried to force myself but it was almost impossible until the ground was inches from my face and my survival instincts overwhelmed me.
In a flash, my body shifted and I broke free of Josh and pushed myself into what I hoped was a roll. It turned out that it was not as my shoulder hit the surface with a pop. I screamed out in pain but felt the green flames repairing the damage. A few seconds later, I stood up good as new, and surprisingly the pain I had expected when transforming wasn't present.
'Huh.' I looked over my flame-covered body as it took on new meaning. Whatever was happening with healing and whatever that lady had said was probably important. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember exactly what was said before I'd run. I groaned at myself before I pushed away the results of my hasty actions and focused back in the direction of where I thought Josh was.
The kid was looking towards me with the same scowl as he glared from across whatever this place was. I thought of what to say as I looked at Josh. No, it wasn't Josh. I knew it wasn't him but it was hard not to think that way with his face plainly displayed in front of me.
I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there until either I could think of something or the controlled Josh acted. We tensely stood for a few seconds and that seemed enough for the demon piloting Josh's body to speak.
"How!" They barked out. "How what?" I bristled as my tension increased. "How did you eliminate that parasite?" I scrunched my brow at the comment and sifted through my mind. I couldn't really think of something that fit the description, so I gave them a confused look.
This got a groan from the puppeteer as they let out an exasperated sigh. "The creature who calls itself Titus Maximillian!" The fake Josh pointed. "How'd you eliminate them!" My brows rose at that and I froze. My thoughts went back to my fight as more unorganized questions clattered around my head. How did they know Titus? Did they send him? Were they some kind of overseer or something for Titus? I shook my head before a final thought lodged itself within my skull.
'Who are they?' Returning to reality with the question in mind, I saw that the puppet Josh was much angrier than before. I wondered if it was a good idea to have kept them waiting that long before they spoke once again. "Are you going to keep me waiting Chosen?" Josh froze at the sentence and before my mind could spiral again I kept the most important question I needed to know in mind.
"I...!" Hesitating, I thought over his words again and tried to reason out what I could from his actions so far. I started by laying out what I knew and what I had seen. I tried to remember what had happened up to this point only to be interrupted by a yell. "My patience is thinning, I will not be disregarded while you're distracted with whatever a creature like you thinks of!" I jolted and noticed he had a growl that was layered over something familiar.
I thought it over for a moment. I squeezed my brain like a lemon for the information, knowing what would happen next when the puppet Josh realized I was ignoring them. 'Jeez, anger issues much?' Ignoring my attempt at easing my rushing mind I went back to probing my memory until a growl almost the exact same as the voice overlaying Josh's own came to me hazily with a blur of black and white.
Another image came to mind of a figure with a robe with the same color scheme but at this moment I didn't have time to confirm. Fake Josh finally noticed my distraction and decided that he should rush at me or maybe just get closer? I couldn't tell. Well, I couldn't tell until I had looked up to see Josh in my face with a pitch black tendril stabbing at me.
My eyes widened and I ducked below it using the reflexes my current body gave me. I felt my hands hit the water or whatever the stuff below me was and sizzle as it sort of parted to reveal a thicker, unmoving layer of the liquid below. "That's creepy!" I flung myself back and landed near another area of cubes that felt different somehow.
I didn't have time to think about it as the puppet Josh rushed at me, screaming again. This time I was ready and focused on my claw-like nails that, to my surprise felt much larger than before. I slashed at the tendril and watched as they cut through the liquid essence like butter.
"You pest! I knew there was something off about you!" Josh's broken-off tendril fell to the substance below and sank beneath as it writhed before the essence still attached shortened in length, hardening to look almost like black ice or maybe obsidian. I wanted to question myself about those two things but again I was stuck ducking and diving as I scrambled my way back until I found myself in what felt like another area despite the cubes looking the same with a glowing black and gold hue. Footsteps followed my observation soon after as my lack of focus left me open for the puppet Josh to make a swipe at me.
"Wait!" I stood and placed my hands in front of me in the hope that the demon that was controlling Josh might stop. Luckily enough, my efforts paid off as they slowed. "What is it?" They gave me a quizzical, impatient look as I stumbled for an excuse to buy time in my mind.
"I-I think we should take a break!" The Josh imposter gave me an incredulous look and I put my finger up to give myself a moment to explain. The fake Josh despite his brash behavior restrained himself. "You were curious about how I got out of that attack with the wolf thing- I mean Titus, right?" Josh's body stood straighter at my words and a thoughtful look formed over Josh's face.
The demon hummed before stepping towards me. I backed up as they got closer. Soon to my relief, they stopped, only giving me a thoughtful look. I tried to use the time they were thinking to come up with my own plan as I went through a few options. Use my glyphs? No, that wouldn't help since they could probably use them too. Kill them? No, it might just make sure Josh could never return since he was possessed after all.
I thought of another final thought that might work but could also just cause the same problem as my previous idea. I weighed the risk versus the reward and thought of one way to possibly reduce the chance of the former from being a problem. My eyes sharpened as I saw that the demon was still thinking.
I tensed my legs as I waited and started to form a glyph behind my back. My body almost stiffened as the glyph disappeared quickly after I started to conjure it. 'Fuck.' I attempted to maintain my cool and tried again but something snuffed it out as quickly as I could draw it. I tried once again but this time I focused on how the magic was being messed with. I focused hard, using what underdeveloped senses I had and noticed... nothing.
I sigh internally and try again only to see that the fake Josh shifted or at least I thought they did. It was hard to tell in this dim crevice and the pitch black pools that they had for eyes were not making it any easier. Uncertain, I waited a moment before Puppet Josh spoke.
"You're willing to answer my questions?" I stilled for a moment before nodding. Their eyes narrowed at that but they didn't speak up about it, so I decided to go with it as well.
"I... will consider it if you give me an answer for how you survived the Parasite." I went to speak but they interrupted. "-and no stalling, I will not wait around any longer than a minute for you to explain." My body tensed at that and I renewed my efforts to draw the wind glyph. I went slower this time and felt around for the outside force that was disrupting my casting. I sharpened my mental tendrils of my senses just like with the roots of my soul sense spell.
I shaped them, weaving the tendrils into something net-like. I closed the gaps between the tendrils soon after and the holes between shrank in size as I refined them. Eventually, when I was finished I felt my senses sharpen as I felt like it was raised above a low beginner to halfway, or rather midway to the next level.
Suddenly the force became visible, if only just slightly. I noticed that it was snaking its way into my glyph and disrupting it through some kind of injection like a balloon being filled with too much air. Seeing that I took the chance to try to push the force out and close the hole made. A few seconds passed and I finally managed to form my wind glyph.
I focused back on my rambling mouth as I thought on the ridiculous tale I weaved about burning Titus alive with the flame of an artifact I had used to heal myself and purge his mind. This might have sounded ridiculous to me but to the puppeteer, they made it look like it was almost possible to them. I heard something about blighted heat as they mumbled before realizing I was just staring at them.
"Wait did I...?" They groaned and started to make their way to me. "Well, this has been interesting but I must get on with this." I gave him a grimace and started to back up as I readied to cut into Josh's leg with a blade of wind. I tried to play up my "impending doom" as best as I could before I felt I was getting close to another line or section of whatever it was.
"I hope you don't hold this against me." I scrunched my brow at that but got ready to fire anyway. The spike swung down soon after and in a moment I triggered the glyph and swung my arm in kind, gouging his thigh as he lost balance and his spike hit off center and cut my shirt open along with a bit of blood. I thought I was going to have to retreat again but before I knew it, I was falling into another flash of light and into wherever this light led.
**********
SOME TIME LATER...
A grainy texture was the first thing I felt as my mind cleared up along with a blinding light that hurt my eyes almost like I was... I sat up with a jolt of movement as I looked around with joy at finally being back in-. "Wait what?" I looked around and saw a place completely different from what I knew. No forests. No beasts. There were just buildings and a setting sun.
"Where the heck am I?!" I glanced around for any way off this shore and saw some stairs made of the too-smooth material. 'Maybe stone?' I looked at it closer and no, it wasn't like any stone stairs I'd seen in the library. I stood on wobbly legs that I chalked up to whatever happened and made my way over.
I tentatively put my still wobbly foot on the step and nothing happened. "Huh, I was at least expecting something like the stairs to talk with how colorful the rock looked?" I shrugged and took another step as I jerked to a stop for a moment before I carefully finished the next and I made my way up to places with... something? Some sticks or poles that were very colorful. "Maybe they talk?" I walked over and waved at the colorful thing and smiled. "Um, hi do you know where I am?" I got no response. "Um, hello?" I tentatively stuck my finger out and gently poked the demon tool.
"Are you asleep? Ignoring me? Come on just give me something!" I tried to talk for the next few minutes before huffing and finally walking off. "Rude little piece of..." I grumbled on as I made my way across the black rock and onto other places that looked like homes or businesses. Well, not the businesses I guess since they had signs that I could read despite never seeing them before to the best of my memory. That wasn't a great memory though, so maybe I'd... seen it somewhere on a stall or something! Yeah, that was it!
"That has to be it." It couldn't have been my memory loss, right? God, my memory loss... 'I didn't really want to think about it but is my memory coming back?' I dreaded the prospect and I kept walking. A tapping noise against the concrete soon woke me from my worries and I noticed my shoes were torn through. My claws tapped against the rock below me.
"Wait, my claws?" I swerved my head back down and my eyes widened in panic as I realized why I've been so wobbly. I was still in my large form, the uh... "I don't have a name for this look, do I?" I tried to come up with something creative. "My giant form? Enhanced form? Spooky form!" I waited for a few moments and shook my head at how stupid my whole naming thing was. 'If you insist on names then Titanic... call it your Titanic form, buffoon.' A familiar voice echoed in my head as I jumped. "Who?! Wait, it's you!" My back straightened in surprise. "I forgot you were up there uh... Titus, right?" There was a scoff as I chuckled awkwardly.
"So uh, I probably need to get out of this, right?" I said more to myself than to him as I went to transform. I hesitated for a moment almost reflexively as I remembered that right now I was not in the green phoenix flames. 'Wait, will it hurt to turn back then?' Titus hummed in thought before I somehow felt him shaking his head like he broadcast it in my mind.
'You should be fine since those flames adapted everything in your body including your transformation.' I sighed in relief, only to double-take as I felt a pang of suspicion. "And how do you know that?" Titus scoffed once again. 'I am in your mind and have some ways of knowing what your new essence is and is not capable of.' I felt that made sense but just in case I tried to do something I hadn't done in a while, partially transform.
I closed my eyes in concentration and tried to do what I always did with my transformation but in my right hand. I waited for a few moments as I heard some odd cracking noises but without any pain and opening my eyes I saw my normal hand in front of me. "Nice!" I went to transform the rest of me and felt quite a bit of soreness as I went back to normal. "Ow! I thought the whole pain from shifting was gone?" Titus spoke up once again. 'I said you'd be fine not that you wouldn't be sore.' Titus paused for a moment as I kept walking down the dark rock path. "Besides you only stayed in your Titanic form for a shorter while during your slumber.
"Um, thanks then?" I shrugged before focusing back on the road only to hear a sigh from within my head and mumbling about density and the wonders of the mind. I ignored it and went to my first destination. A house stood before me with odd paintings and a sign that said "home sweet home," which seemed... not suspicious?
My face screwed into a curious look as I looked at the sign and decided that it might not be good to ask this house for help. 'Better to find one that seems... less colorful?' I heard a sigh and agreed. I knew I was just talking myself out of knocking but I just didn't feel comfortable with this new place. This reminded me of the first time I had woken up after my memory loss and that just didn't feel good.
'Well, I may not be an expert on mortal affairs and bipeds in general but I think you would find a place to sleep first?' I felt a stone sink in my gut as I realized just what kind of situation I was in with this new world. I had no one to help me and no one to trust. 'Besides me?' My face scrunched in thought. 'Eh... yeah, you're teaching me about this essence stuff so I guess?' My face turned serious for a moment as I scowled inwardly.
'But don't think I'm just going to listen to everything you say or trust you because we aren't trying to kill each other anymore, got it?' I felt a pulse of surprise at the sudden shift and got an affirmative in return along with a sigh. "Good, now let's find somewhere to sleep!" I turned with my cheeriest disposition as I tried not to freak out about this whole thing. That was a long time ago as I wandered further and further into the black rock paths until I saw large metal boxes I remembered were called cars.
This both achieved something and yet it was not what I wanted. This also meant that wherever this is, I might be from here. I couldn't tell if that was worse or better but before I could get further I heard Titus speak. 'How about you use your glyphs?' I cringed at that as I realized how dumb I had been just walking this whole time with my little legs. "Right, I probably should." A voice spoke from nearby as I turned to see a man in a trench coat and with some poorly matched clothes was looking at me.
"Uh, hi?" The man didn't say anything back, only sighed and shooed me off with a hand as he took a swig from a can of something or other. I took that as a signal that the man wanted nothing to do with me and walked off into another area. I looked around for anyone else before I tried my glyphs and found that I was alone. My hand was soon off into casting and I watched buildings and cars rushing past as I followed the paths in what I hoped was a straight line inland. Eventually after exhausting myself, I found myself in front of an odd business with a flashy sign that says Thai Go.
I sighed and decided to sit on the sidewalk of the car path or rather road from the angry yells I heard as I passed cars. "Why did I even head this way again?" I let my eyes drift to the cars passing by and the lines up above I could vaguely recall were named wires. I couldn't even be bothered to think about it further as I lay on the ground and looked up at the sky.
"Am I ever going to find somewhere to sleep?" Thinking of that my home came to mind and I wondered what everyone was doing as I sighed again. "What about Josh?" I remembered he came through the same way but I couldn't find him at the beach. "I hope nothing bad happens..." I grimace as I try to imagine what kind of damage he could do in this world.
**********
"Where are they?" A distorted voice echoed through the shadowed bricks of an alley. Roderia was starting this body irritatingly insufficient as an echo of pain reflected over the link and he looked down to see a slowly mending wound of the blessed essence.
He prayed to his lord, thanking them for their gift before forcing the body he made into a tool to limp along towards the light, towards the sound he knew all too well. "The human realm..." He scowled at the thought of the mundane place. He knew he was so much more yet he was stuck in this unblessed, ordinary place, searching for a brat that was more trouble than-. 'No, that's not right.' He took a mundane breath and embraced the simplicity of this beautiful realm.
A realm full of potential servants and vessels to aid in the search for the Blessed Chosen that is. Just as his faith was tested, he saw a sign from his lord in the form of a man in ragged clothing and glassy eyes lying upon a wall. An empty glass vessel of a different blight sat on the ground as he looked upon the poor creature, the poor human who had become a lost lamb upon the new soil of his soon-to-be sacred grounds.
"Sir, are you in need of help?" A gracious smile painted itself upon the vessel from which Roderia has done his works. "Huh?" The glassy-eyed man turned to him and squinted. "A kid?" The man extended his arm in a shooing motion. "Go, get out of here. I don't have time to entertain little shits like you." Roderia's brow twitched as he held back a glare. 'He is lost, do not take his transgressions upon yourself.' Roderia calmed himself at his own words.
"So you need for nothing?" The man quirked his brow and glanced at the vessel as his eyes trailed around his pristine clothes. A gold-like glimmer seemed to appear in his eyes and the Blight-filled man looked upon him with a smile that knew only currency and how to waste it. Roderia could only pity the lost lamb.
"Yeah, you know what? You can help me." He stood and loomed over Roderia's vessel. "Your parents are well off, right?" Roderia sighed internally as he made the vessel nod. "Then how about you do me a favor and follow me?" The man walked further into the alley after a quick check and Roderia followed. The next thing heard was a muffled scream and a splash before everything went silent except a pair of tiny footsteps that rang out in the dark.