Two weeks earlier

Alley Struggled in the grip of the skeletal knight. The Undead monster towered over him at least six and a half feet tall. The thing’s grip was an implacable vice that easily rebuffed every trick Alley could think of to escape. He twisted and alternated directions, he attacked the joints of the creature’s hands. It got him precisely nowhere, the monster was simply too strong.

Before him advanced the person-shaped gap in reality that had hijacked the Deck he had only just gained. Hijacked and used to its full potential. Alley couldn’t believe it, he had spent over an hour experimenting with the Dealer and Cards and had come to the incontrovertible conclusion that he was saddled with a Cursed Deck now. Honestly, after the way the Deck had seized him, Alley was lucky that he was only rank twelve. This Deck held none of the Resonances he was used to and such a change could cause some serious problems if his body had been further harmonized.

Still, that was the reality. It was a Cursed Deck and that should mean Manifesting outside of a Challenge was impossible.

Impossible. After the things he had seen and was seeing today Alley was going to have to give removing that word from his vocabulary some serious consideration. Assuming he survived the next few minutes anyway.

The dark-haired boy opened his mouth to demand some sort of explanation if nothing else but as soon as he did the world shifted. Nausea exploded through him as Alley’s mind tried and failed to comprehend the way his perspective had changed…was changing? He could perceive his own body, feel the cold metal of the skeleton’s armor, the sharp edge of skinless fingers gripping him, and see the advancing being.

There was more, Alley could also see himself through the ‘eyes’ for lack of a better word, of the being. He could perceive its non-body like it was his own, feel the warmth of this reality slowly, painfully slowly seep into his extremities after an eternity trapped in a void of his own making.

‘What?!’

An intense pain blossomed behind Alley’s eyes and he began to scream. The ratty cloak he was wearing began to glow. The boy wearing The Cloak Of The Bloodless One was screaming and struggling as the artifact activated.

Alley felt a surge of life essence inside himself he didn’t recognize and couldn’t control.

The spirit within the boy’s dealer was trying to defend him, it made Anaten want to smile.

‘Who?’

Alley was sure he was losing his mind, the split perspective the way the non-being’s thoughts were cutting off his own. It was like the worst nightmare he had ever had, but worse because Alley was fairly sure he was about to throw up all over himself.

Suddenly the huge Skeletal hand that had controlled the other side of the field during the puzzle challenge appeared over Alley’s shoulder. With the tap of a casual finger it Demanifested the skeletal knight then interposed itself between Alley and the void figure.

The boy wanted to run, he really did but his body collapsed out from under him. Leaving Alley staring up at the ornate high ceiling above while the world span around him.

“Stop this.” Came the whiskey-soaked gravel voice. It wasn’t a command…more like a plea.

“And why should I do that?” Replied a voice that was not Alley’s but came from his mouth nonetheless.

“He’s just an Aspirant, your essence will shred him and leave you worse off than you are already.”

Not-Alley made a dismissive noise.

“He is strong, and from one of the slave bloodlines. I will make do.”

The hand made a desperate ‘wait’ motion with its palm open.

“You are back in the world now. There is plenty of Resonance here to sustain you. Please Nat just be patient.”

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"Patient? I have waited an eternity."

The chains that had seized and entered Alley earlier poured from his chest like a liquid, only to go suddenly rigid, in the shape of a thin person. The skeletal hand moved aside, and the chain being, which was still connected to Alley's chest stepped forward. It raised one of its pseudo-hands gently towards the 'face' of the void being.

Chapter 43: Not Quite Dry Land

Darius

Darius sat in stunned silence as Alley finished his tale. Apparently, the huge skeletal arm he had seen hovering over the sea earlier had appeared and defended Alley from some sort of being from beyond.

The same chains that had flowed into Alley when the Cursed Deck had become his had flowed back out of Alley’s chest into the form of a figure that had pleaded his case. Telling the being that if it seized Alley’s body now they would both die and that it needed to wait for him to become stronger.

“So It just let you go?”

Alley shook his head. “ The hand threw me onto the transiteration pad and the next thing I remember I’m coming to, back in Valeton. “

It was frankly some scary stuff to hear. What was more, the chain figure had the same voice as whatever it was that had tested Alley, and now he had been hearing that same voice in his head. He had promised Alley he wouldn’t think his friend had gone mad, which was proving slightly more challenging than Darius had anticipated.

Assuming Alabaster wasn’t insane from trauma that meant Darius’ friend had been keeping to himself just how much danger he was in. Not only had his Dealer almost killed him but it was starting to sound like there was a spirit inside it that considered Alley’s presence in his own body a temporary state of affairs.

“So… What are you going to do?” Asked Darius, Concern writ large on his features.

“Do? What do you mean?”

“Well, you can’t keep that Deck. It might be able to possess you plus there is the whole drinking your blood thing.” Alley frowned, putting aside his plate.

“You can’t just replace a Cursed Deck, even if I could swap it unless I find a Dealer with similar Resonances it can do all sorts of weird things to my body.” Darius winced a little.

“I know, I know but you could always.”

“What?! Just lock it away somewhere and have no Dealer at all? My Life essence wouldn’t even circulate properly if I did that.” he snapped, took a deep breath and added in a quiet voice. “It would mean giving up and just being a regular person.”

Darius ran a hand through his hair but didn’t press the issue further. He knew there was nothing he could say with any chance of convincing Alley to do that. There was a better chance he could get his friend to give up his hook than his Cards.

Darius kept an eye out for the weird ghost girl for the rest of the trip but he didn’t see her again. He did see another stream of migrating MuckDwell dragons but the captain of the fishing vessel gave them a wide berth. Something that was a lot easier to do when in possession of charts that logged the path the monsters were most likely to take and when.

Otherwise, it proved to be an uneventful few days at sea before they arrived at some nameless cove less than a day's walk from the township of Rak at the edge of the Rakino swamp.

It might not have any sign of human habitation or even use but the little cove was certainly a lot more inviting than the sheer gray cliffs further north had been. And besides Darius actually kind of liked traipsing through mud.

The pair of boys bid the folk of Ashton’s Lookout farewell, promising to visit their little crescent-shaped island again one day soon.

“So,” Said Darius, shooing away a hand-sized dragonfly. “ Are you going to congratulate me?”

Alley, who was slightly ahead, shot a quizzical look over his shoulder at his friend.

“For what?”

Darius grinned as he replied. “ I didn’t so much as leer at the captain’s daughter that whole trip.”

“That isn’t an accomplishment.” Said Alley with an amused snort.

“The hell it’s not, she was basically topless the entire time, floating about the ropes and masts like some sort of rigging fairy.”

“That sounds a lot like you were leering at her.”

Darius felt his face heat a little, Alley had him there he had to admit.

“Well…I didn't get caught leering.”

The pair of boys laughed and crested the top of the muddy bank. In the distance, they could see Rak town only a few miles away as the crow flies. Unfortunately, they weren’t crows and it was basically all waterlogged marshland between them and the town. There was a road of sorts that curved near the coast and was only a few hundred muddy yards away. It wouldn’t be a direct route to their destination but both boys agreed it beat continuing through marsh all day.

“You know.” Said Darius as he paused to inspect a pool full of tadpoles. “When I imagined adventuring with you, I thought we would just skip stuff like this by riding a Manifested monster. I know they only last like an hour each, but still.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience my curse causes you,” Alley said sarcastically