———

Slight breeze blows gray dust over the colorless sky of hell - not quite a storm, but the sands of a nearby desert keep invading the wasteland below.

I'm still staying at the broken mountain; in this small hidden valley where the rose used to grow, and where I was recovering after the ambush followed by subsequent evolution. Shielded from the wind by its craggy walls. From what little could be seen in the message I received right before the forced shutdown, something interfered with my menu and picked the evolution for me... The though that this is possible— it is rather unpleasant and concerning.

My theory is, this was all Rose's doing; it was messing around inside my head at the time, whispering in my mind even although I couldn't understand any of it. The idea of a sentient plant, honestly is not that surprising - considering this is hell of some magical world; and I've seen weirder stuff, both down here and up there in the mortal realm. I'm not sure how much time passed since my demonic rebirth - It's hard to keep track of time here, yet even with my reclusive lifestyle crazy shit just kept happening.

With no day night cycle and not needing to sleep; with even the food being seemingly more optional for demons, were I to conserve my power and just sit around doing nothing. I'm sure I could last weeks - maybe more. And the attempt at counting seconds got boring at around 400. As far as I know, with magic being a thing time might not even be linear here. I just don't know, and there isn't anyone to ask.

Anyway it's been a while.

-But now I'm staring at a young devil, standing just few steps away from me. Half a head taller with lean body, somewhat androgynous but rather more pretty than handsome. With a hint of muscle– and something else, under its red skin. Little wings can be seen growing from the back, not something you should be able to fly with.

A pair of small horns, slightly curving back on a bald head. It looks back at me while turning a definitely too feminine, inhuman face slightly left to right, and showing off its long pointy ears. Something I would expect on an elf - a bit longer from usual, more Lodoss than Tolkien.

It shrugs, and the petals covering its shoulder sway a bit. This big dark flower that seems to be fused with the arm is its most eye catching feature - but not the only one. There are many dark and thorny vines coiling over the body. One even forms something akin to a spiky choker, at the front adorned with a tiny rose over a slim neck. -Is this on purpose?

Thicker vines are half fused with the flesh, also have flowers blooming on them; one entwines itself over its right arm, another goes down the left leg - those are more normal sized for a rose. Four somehow flat flowers, bigger on the left hip and getting smaller while going down the thigh. And then two more on the arm.

―That's a lot of flowers, there are even tiny leaves near them. The thing narrows its big black eyes at me. They are completely black and a bit shiny like a pair of smooth gems. A tail is lazily swinging behind the red demon in front of me. It turns around while keeping me in sight.

Another damn flower grows on the right wing's 'wrist', the limb has thorns sparsely covering it. -Is that really necessary?

The 'choker' vine seems to grow out of the spine. There are clearly more of those under the skin on the back, especially near the base of the wings and the thin tail. Suddenly two of them break out and the creature now has two more, thorn covered tails. They twist in the air, showing off their dexterity.

―Alright, that's a neat trick. On an unspoken command the thorns grow a bit larger; Their black edges sharp and a bit serrated, turning the new extra bits into dangerous weapons; before simply retreating back inside the flesh where they came from, gone without a trace.

It turns back to me making a face. Arms crossed over the thankfully flat chest.

"Not bad actually, could have been worse." Saying that I glance at the cloth covering its private parts, the demonic form before mimicking the move.

"With a pair of hooves instead of clawed, rabbit-like paws, you would look like a classic devil. One covered in a rose bush and with way too small wings, but still." I remark after taking a good look. Hands move to the chins while we study each other - moving in perfect sync, like reflections in a mirror.

"Well that's enough staring."

With a wave of a claw the demon in front of me disappears, like hiding behind a heat haze.

Illusion dispersed I turn around to look out into the wasteland. A mirror image is a simple illusion but it still costs mana to keep it up, and that's in short supply here. With no mirrors one has to improvise, and with changes this drastic - I just had to take a look.

-The mana problem might have been somehow solved with my new additions though. I can still feel as the small amount of taint my body accumulated over the trip to the Rim is being absorbed by the Rose. Slowly converted into mana that it now shares with me. My demonic body can do that as well, even if I hate the stuff - but this Rose is so much better at it.

Honestly had I known this evolution can do that, I'd have picked it anyway. Although it would have been nice to see all the options available...

Thorny vines over my left arm unwrap themselves and move closer to my face as I study them - almost glass-like black edged thorns, with a red sheen and glossy luster cover their entire length. Twisting and coiling according to my will, they feel like an extension of my body. I glance to the big flower and can swear there is a hint of smugness to it. Sigh!

There is something out there deep in my mind, a weak connection to another one. Just a hint of emotion and a wisp of thoughts, but enough to know I'm not alone.

Again I bring the status screen up to read the description of its abilities.

> Rose Symbiote (2):

>

> -Rip and Tear: Chaotic energy fills your thorns making them grow, granting them the ability to shred magic constructs and flesh alike.

>

> -Vampiric Embrace: Roots gain the ability to drain the energy from their victims.

Energy is such a broad term, what do you mean exactly? I know rose was very good and sucking up taint from the corpses that were brought to it —She already almost cleared my own body from all the taint that was there.

-She? Well, sure why not. I thought my change was due to the essence of the succubi that was still present in me when the evolution started, but maybe there is more to it. Not sure how I feel about suddenly being called a maiden though... I'm still a man - I checked. Three times.

That shouldn't be a problem. Just system being weird—

The part about the chaotic energy gave me a pause. My first time seeing or hearing any mention of that —No wait, the Alchemist did. During one of the experiments involving Taint, if I remember correctly.

Wish Identify allowed me to examine the terms mentioned in the various descriptions. Heck I would be happy if it just provided better ones instead of being arbitrarily vague like this.

-Back on track. I have some points to allocate and a bunch of traits to fill; but I just went through a serious transformation, so would rather leave that for later since getting used to this will take time.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The plan was to visit the desert after checking out the Rim; which then got slightly altered into confirming what was I actually growing up here on this mountain. Resulting in me getting redecorated. That is something I still wish to do - the trip that is, not grow more leaves. I need to make sure I'm not stuck between a rock and a hard place, what with all the plant zombies spreading at the wastelands border.

-I swear if those are now also in the dunes, I might cry.

I will need to make a new cape... Red is not the most stealthy color in hell. There is some silk left at my place that I've gathered in the past. Some more potions, and remaking my mana bottle would be nice as well. I should still have more of the alchemical fire stashed away, so will grab that. Since my pocket space is so limited I can't carry everything, so resupply is in order.

That means we are going back home. I guess there won't be much reason to visit this mountain in the future...

——

A light jog and a short storm later, and I'm back here again at the old bones buried in this hill. No demons in sight throughout the whole journey make my suspicions about the Rim getting taken over grow. Something would almost always end up here after getting carried by wind and getting lost. Lemures don't really spawn in the wasteland itself, due to how poor it is in taint to this day; but the border was usually always crawling with them, and their absence is concerning.

They also seem to need those creepy trees to turn into proper Hell Spawns. Otherwise a Beast is the best they can get, so they tend to stick to the Rim where those already started to appear.

-I might have to move somewhere else.

Since I've gotten a bit taller again after the evolution I was forced to widen the entrance to my lair, spending more magic in the process. But now I'm inside - and I have no clue how can all this junk that's accumulated over the years of exploring the area, be reasonably moved anywhere. Most of it is some scrap armor and broken weapons, but there is also quite a lot of odd trinkets. A hoard, kinda.

-I want to start preparing for the trip to the desert, but can feel rose getting all excited all of a sudden. She is drawn to the huge bones supporting my ceiling. Another reason I've picked this spot was because those were soaking up the miasma like a sponge, allowing me to meditate in a relatively clean environment. If this makes her all giddy she will go bananas when we visit the Rim again.

Sheesh. -I won't be able to focus on enchanting a new bottle from one of the vials I stole from the lab with an overenthusiastic puppy on my shoulder.

"Alright I get it."

Reaching up to the giant spine above I allow the roots inside of me to emerge from my palm. They grow and make their way to the bone, driven by some new instinct likely coming from my new companion. Finding weak spots they start to burrow in the cracks. I watch with interest and some fascination at the sensations being transmitted over the roots. This has now essentially became part of me. This feels so alien, and yet natural... Hmm?

There is something—

The bone breaks and I'm bathed in a deluge of thick black goop.

"Nyah! Motherfu- Eww, this is awful— No, why would you do that!?" Disgusted I start wiping my face with the other hand, spitting to the ground and cursing the hells for this bullshit. Still connected to the now breached spine column above with the tangle of roots coming out of my right arm.

There was so much of this crap up there and I didn't even notice.

Roots emerge from all over my body and start licking it off. And I fucking allow them since this foul substance is much worse than the Rose's antics.

-Now this is what I call 'having mixed feelings'. My revulsion and the greedy hunger coming over our bond making for a unique experience. It's nice to finally have some 'company' but-

While all this is happening I can feel something new with the roots that were spreading inside the skeleton. They grab something, and we pull it out. My eyes narrow at the sight of what Rose has found.

From the taint filled remains of an ancient beast a sharp, long crystal was removed. Dark blue, almost black. It has a dark glow to it, and now that it's free from its prison I can feel the magic emanating from it. Strong magic that tastes like winter.

I look between Rose sitting on my shoulder and the thing we discovered in my lair. She wants it -a lot. Not sure what to do, there is only one way to find out. Jam it into my head―

"-Like Hell !" This isn't a time for jokes and old references.

Identify.

> Essence of Greed: Pure greed crystalized in a demon's body over the centuries of absorbing the Taint of Sin born of miasma coming from the Mortal Realm. Cultivated by the demon to contain an Ability.

Now That is surprising... Identify actually provided a proper explanation. What changed?

Jokes aside, what now? Rose seems to know, but should I let her? She really, really wants it.

It was swimming in the Taint for gods know how long, but I'm not feeling such a strong revulsion from the crystal as I would expect. This is supposed to be crystalized from sin but there is no... malice? Not sure what to call this, but it was changed. The description said it is 'pure' and somehow that seems to be accurate in more than one way....

Do I even have a choice? This could go so horribly wrong. We were supposed to relax, do some crafting— But no, you had to find a scary treasure. Hidden in the ancient bones unearthed by a cataclysm.

I glance down at my paws, that look a bit like a rabbit's. ―Yea, just my luck.

The flower on my shoulder spreads its petals uncovering a maw of thorns. Waiting for the treat... —Oh, you could do that? You are a scary little thing. Whatever. Do your worst.

——

—I have the power!.. Not really, no.

*Sigh.

It wasn't that bad. I mean, I knew the hell was driving me insane but this was one of my biggest 'Don't do that you idiot' moments. Rose might be to blame.

But it ended with just a mild headache, she likely shielded me from the worst of it as I let her do... whatever she did.

Honestly? Very anticlimactic... The Ability is nice, sure -but nothing to write home about really. Was almost expecting this to be some sort of ancient, powerful skill that will change everything. Let me shake the hell to its core and rule over it... Ha!

So now I'm just sitting by my bone desk, preparing to enchant a vial that used to contain a mana potion and infuse it with some hellish materials while thinking about this whole core thing; meanwhile Rose is gathering spilled Taint from the floor.

I check the system again.

> New Trait: Greed Core (2)

>

> -Dark Ice: Your ice magic takes mana from the surroundings and from your target to strengthen and support its effects. Ice you create won't melt as long as there is mana to be taken.

>

> -Ice Mastery: Increase your proficiency with Ice Magic.

Yeah, I even went ahead and actually bought the second ability with one of my points. Only ice abilities are available for this new trait - most rather mediocre and can't compare with the one that was already contained inside, mastery was the best one among them but didn't unlock anything new to my surprise. Maybe if I were to meet some requirements there would be something worth the points. It's nice sure, but I always preferred stealthy Earth Magic or something hard to detect like Wind. Manipulating mana itself is also good if more taxing.

Ice is somewhat flashy and if you can see it, you can dodge it...

-I put some purified demonic salt inside the prepared mold, and after that fill the vial with more of it. Coating will need to be thick.

...Got all excited and that's all there was. There isn't much mana in hell so no never melting ice castle for me. Besides I've seen enough descriptions like this to notice the fine print that wasn't included. Like there being nothing preventing anyone from simply breaking the ice or dispersing the mana.

Maybe we should try and find a Core that gives earth powers? Don't even know where to start with that. Digging through the wasteland looking for more bones sounds like a plan but...

-I'm using the old magic circle left from my previous work when I enchanted the now broken flask. The seal can still be reused, so that's good. Just need the actual container.

Runes are carved onto the mold with my claw since I lack special magic tools.

It's actually better and gives me more control over the mana.

...Or we could try to find and kill a powerful demon that has developed such a Core― Ha ha! No, that's not going to happen. I'm not suicidal... yet. Give me a few more years in hell and who knows...

-The salt left after demons die is a pretty useful ingredient if it's kept away from Taint. It sucks up mana so applications are plenty, but if it takes miasma it becomes useless dust that you can find all over the hell.

Some demonic fire to melt it inside the vial while under proper enchantment will result in a mana absorbing bottle. Coating on the outside will have the mana gather around faster. Then another trick to prevent it from getting tainted.

The glass is already special to prevent the contamination of its contents and I can use that.

While the enchantments are cooking I go to grab some silk—

The roots are reabsorbed into me and Rose is happy and full, converting the taint to mana. Where does she even keep all this ooze she just took?

-I'm sure I stuffed some of the old cocoons in the back - this place is a mess. On my way I stop by the mace I picked up recently, now gathering dust on a pile of scrap. This gets me thinking, and I reach for the weapon.

-Nope. This is still way too heavy to be of any use to me, and most importantly won't fit inside my Magic Pocket if need be. Even with Empower active this would just slow me down. The incident at the Rim with the rose demons showed me I made a mistake in my preparations; I was unable to defend myself properly while my magic was sealed by the skill.

To be fair I had this option for a rather short time and didn't yet plan around it, but it was still a mistake.

Dropping the big piece of dark steel I grab an old jagged blade. -This probably used to be a tip of a spear or something similar but the rest of it is now gone. Hmm, I should be able to fix a handle to it, could use this bone maybe?

With the Empower's boost to my 'physical' attributes now part of my arsenal, having a weapon at hand will be worth it, especially since it makes casting magic impossible. I didn't like the idea of close combat before and I don't like it now -still better to have it and not need than the other way around.

And a big heavy dagger should fit in my small space if I were to make some room. Would rather make a belt for it and tie it to my waist though. Should add some real pockets while at it.

Let's do that as well....

――——