As Seris stood her ground, the little imp stared her down. A burning hatred seared through its gaze. A drip of drool fell from the ghastly monkey's mouth. In a moment the monster was going to rip her throat out with a frenzied fervor. and yet the young woman appeared calm, a slight smirk illuminated her ivory face.

"I got you now bastard!"

Seris readied herself, getting into a stance akin to a boxer. In a moment's notice, the imp was upon her. Its movements were sluggish—the complete opposite of what they had been just moments prior.

Dashing forward without another thought Seris pivoted her left foot and sidestepped a swipe from the fiend. Without hesitating for even a moment she grabbed the damned thing by its neck and got it in a chokehold.

Not even sparing a breath she propelled herself and the goblin to the ground, Seris began choking the life out of the unsightly imp. She could feel the tiny glass shards on its back scraping against her tracksuit and reaching her skin. Every second she held the goblin was truly harrowing. It began to bite down and scrape against her flesh. Attempting to mutilate her to gain a chance at freedom.

"Just a little more. Just a little more, and it'll be over.'

She proclaimed a fierce determination beginning to dwindle in her crimson eyes.

A second turned to a dozen and from a dozen to several. At last, Seris felt a gut-wrenching snap. And in an instant, it was over.

The Imp like monkey had succumbed to its suffocation

Seris exhaustively tried to push the corpse of the vile creature off herself. Attempting to stand was to no avail. It was as if she had lost all the strength in her limbs

A cold sense of terror fell over her. This was a one-of-a-kind dread, something she had never experienced before.

Seris had completely lost control of her body. Every muscle every ligament—even her damned eyes seemed to be glued to the vibrant night sky above her.

If she did not get moving soon something would surely come to clean up what was left of the previous battle.

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Seris tried with all her might. But all she could muster was a slight twitch from her left hand. A realization hit her in an instant.

A beacon of hope encompassed her tired mind. Remembering the corpse of the dreadful goblin that was still lying limp on her lower stomach. She moved with every inch of strength and vigor she had left. Seris managed to pull off one of the fractured mirror shards on its back. Remembering a memory from long ago, she recited in her mind

'Reflect.'

She paused for a second. then continued her chant.

'Fracture'

'Reflect'

A sudden warmth flowed from her fingertips to her temple. it was as if her blood itself had begun burning with the soft blue light from the mirror., A sudden surge of strength surged through her body. Allowing her to stand once more. But that was not all.

Suddenly undergoing this transformation Seris let out a quiet groan, Her muscles spasmed as this unknown power began coalescing and melding itself into her very being. The soft blue hue slowly trailed from the palm of her hand into her veins and from her veins to her organs. In no more than a dozen seconds this sudden metamorphosis of her body had begun to subside. And her vision slowly began to refocus.

"Heya! Not doing too well, are we Ser?"

An oddly familiar voice spoke.

Seris recollected herself and pushed the ugly imp off her chest. Without a second hesitation, she stood and began surveying her surroundings. Her sudden transformation couldn't have taken more than a couple of seconds and yet…

"What, don't you remember me?"

The same familiar voice spoke again. Its resounding echo made it feel like it was just out of reach.

Seris stood in the beautiful expanse of the vast orchard she had found herself in after the clash with the goblin. The giant evergreen trees let almost none of the moonlight sky through. If not for the opening she had stumbled upon during her fight,

Seris began looking around her. The voice had resounded from every direction. Almost as if it had been said in unison at every end of the forest,

"Oh. So you're ignoring me now, huh?"

The voice stated.

"Well, I'd like to see you ignore this."

Suddenly a searing hot pain gnawed at the back of Ser's crimson eyes.

In an outburst, Seris cried out and grasped at her eyes.

"Graah! What the hell is this?"

The pain was so intense it was as if a gallon of acid had just been dumped in the young woman's eye sockets. Slowly eating away at the back of her eyes.

"Fine. enough!"

She proclaimed with anguish her voice turning hoarse from the previous outburst of agony

"Nuh uh uh. I'm not done yet. You pretended to not see me, even after calling for me so desperately to save you?"

The searing pain subsided a bit before Seris spoke again.

"Look, I'm sorry. Just stop disintegrating my damn brain."

The voice waited a bit then said.

'Hmph. You know Ser. I should really torture you some more, My heart yearns to, even. But seeing as I am a benevolent Fractal I'll give you a pass."

Seris stared into the empty expanse of forest in front of her before answering in an annoyed tone.

"What do u want Nephilim?"