Kola hung from the droopy spire branch, stunned. It was only the more sedentary nature of her altered hand muscles that prevented her from falling, as they maintained her grip instead of allowing the now mentally hyperventilating woman to become a sulfur sauced pancake. "Mentally" due to internal changes having removed hyperventilation from her list of automatic reactions.

Every thought or occurrence that Kola had repressed, that sat in the back of her mind to poke her every so often, from existential crises to the many more recent troubles had been allowed to surface during a rather enjoyable period of semi-mindless slaughter. It was one thing to face all that while mentally compromised in a rather pleasant way, completely incapable of feeling negative emotion, but to have every trauma, every worry brought to the forefront at once without such a defence? Simply put, it was not taken well.

Streams of black blood oozed from lower eyelids, instead of now nonexistent tear ducts, as Kola's body was wracked with great, heaving sobs. Unnoticed by any other creature, she lost herself in misery and despair.

She was stuck in a place that felt designed to cause pain, populated by abominable monsters who seemed to desire nothing more than to kill and eat her. She had sold her soul to a… demon, surely, and who knew whatever the fuck would come of that. Probably damn more clueless people to this nightmarish realm.

Fighting monsters was fun in the moment, but now it just felt terrifying and stressful. The only food she could eat was changing her into one of those monsters! Would she eventually become like them: stupid, disgusting, and filled with a desire to kill everything in sight? That didn't feel too far away. Memories of fighting them, eating them, rose up. She was already like them. A monster. An abhorrent, ugly, pathetic monster. Could she stop it? Could she change herself back? Maybe she could remove the pincers, cut out the bad parts.

Kola tried to pull away. To think about something, anything else. It didn’t work. Each time, her mind caught onto another self-destructive line of thought. Soon she was too tired and miserable, and just gave up.

She was alone. She would never see anyone she loved ever again. Good thing her parents had disowned her! Hadn’t thought about them in years!

But what about Lasora? Her best friend. Her saviour. Her… she didn’t deserve to think about her that way anymore. What would Las think if she saw her? Maybe it was a good thing Kola was stuck here. She wouldn’t have to see the look on Las's face when confronted by a monster, or feel the rejection.

Could this be fixed? What was the point? Anything to feel better than this. She could just let go. She could eat them all. Maybe the Demon wanted something else? Maybe becoming a monster would be-

“Better than feeling like this!”

She screamed, words quickly mutating into an inarticulate bawling howl.

“You know what!? Screw this! I do not care if Lasora hates me! I do not care if I have lost my soul! I am going to claw my way out of this moronic place and fucking see her again!!!”

Kola hung there, high above the slope, eyes still weeping blood. This was unfair. She didn't deserve to be sent wherever she was, but that was okay. It would get better. She would make it better.

Was it possible to escape? Yes, because she would accept nothing else. The question then became 'how?' It struck Kola that what she had seen of this place was so small. If there was something that could help her she couldn't wait for it to approach on its own. She'd have to go exploring.

There was only one issue, well, two. Her breakdown had lasted long enough for her torso to finish healing, though her calves were still bone, and Kola was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with her nakedness. It was annoying that it bothered her so much, but she was still too worn out to pretend it was for any practical reason. There were practical reasons for being clothed even when there was no one around to see, the air being number one, not just because she had an aversion to nudity. Unfortunately, there was no way to acquire clothing. Maybe she could find a settlement, which would be useful for multiple reasons.

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Anyway, the issue she originally intended to consider was whether or not to eat the monsters. Doing so made for one of the most pleasant experiences she had ever undergone. It made her more powerful, and thus better able to survive. Without the changes her body had already sustained she would be dead. On the other hand, it was supremely uncomfortable, unwanted, and would make it oh so much more difficult to return to a human life. At least it would be easier to protect herself and Las, for once, from Zair…

"No. No, that is wrong. Zair collapsed. He… died?"

Kola's memory of that night had been confused, hindered by pain and trauma. Now though, it seemed a bit easier to think about. Zair had collapsed after missing his shot. Yes, he died. She remembered it now! The still, quiet body with not a hint of breath. Was that the Demon's idea of helping?

His uncle wouldn't take that well, as happy as it made her. Would he blame Lasora? She had to get back as soon as she could. Kola could protect Las now, and nothing would hurt her friend. Nothing.

Her determination was interrupted by a feeling of intense relaxation, accompanied by rapid bodily disintegration. Within a second, all that could signify the woman's former presence was a just as quickly dissipating black mist.

She could feel something trying to fit around her. It was too small though, and ripped when she pushed against it.

Suddenly, Kola was in another place. A cramped wooden room crammed full with several tables, which were themselves occupied by a variety of tools, jugs, and cut wood. The ceiling was low, and Kola's new height meant she had to bow her head slightly. Candles illuminated a stained floor that had been scrawled on in blood to form a layered triangle. All but the centre layer had been filled with unknown script that smelled of sulphur.

She could smell the heavy scent of salt and feel rocking beneath her feet, which just so happened to be standing in the very centre of the triangle. The gentle sound of waves mixed with the taste of monster, her favourite food.

…monster? No, no, no. Her favourite food was that garlic fish casserole Las made. The best meal ever! The monsters just happened to taste like that. Why could she taste it now?

The tables had been pushed together, as much as they could be, to clear just enough room for the triangle. In that way they almost hid the human body beneath them. Almost.

Watching Kola with… probably some emotion, she couldn't read its expressions, was an odd creature that was too humanlike to fit in fighting monsters on the slope but would have been just as out of place in a supermarket back home. Its six limbs (having two extra arms sprouting from its back) were all much longer than hers, and included three elbow/knee joints instead of one. Continuing the trend of extraneous features, its hands had five regular fingers and two thumbs. It wore black boots, a light grey shirt and trousers, and a pink sleeveless jacket. The corpse wore the same clothes, only with glinting silver embroidery, and horn or ivory buttons instead of plain wood.

The creature's head though… It looked human at first glance, but after a few seconds of examination Kola realised it was just painted cloth except for the eyes. The eyes seemed perfectly normal.

Deciding that if it could have clothes then so could she, Kola began walking toward the corpse, but found herself stymied by an invisible wall that felt contiguous with the innermost blood triangle. Covering herself awkwardly, she glared at the creature.

"Get me some clothes, let me out of here, turn around, and then I will consider whatever you were trying to get from this."

She gestured to indicate the room at the same time as the creature's eyes flicked about wildly. It said something quiet in an alien language expectantly. Kola kicked the barrier, then the floor. Both held up without any sign of damage.

Despite the situation she wasn't afraid. As strange as the creature was, it had fingernails instead of claws, not even a sign of a mouth, and (unless its skin was some kind of superstrong material) human strength skin. The only weapons available to it were the tools, woodworking tools probably, and she had faith in her pincers (as much as she hated them).

It stepped closer to her and peered down at the triangle. After muttering to itself huffily, it walked past her up to a door she had failed to notice. Holding the doorknob for two minutes, it took a series of deep breaths, and left. She couldn't tell where it was breathing from, which was a little annoying.

Kola turned her attention to the triangle and began to scrutinise it in greater detail.