The white-robed priestess swivelled her head around, taking in the volcanic scenery. Her white eyes lingered on every rock, every surface, every wall, waiting for any sudden movements and mistakes from unwanted spies.
A rock fell from the ceiling, bouncing on the ground before rolling to stop at her feet. She craned her head upwards to look at the space where the small projectile had originated. She flicked her staff. A light missile slammed into the area, dissolving the nearby stalactites upon impact. The ceiling rumbled angrily in response to the death of her offspring.
As the smoke and dust cleared, all that remained was a massive crater. No corpse. A false alarm. Remaining suspicious and on alert, her eyes glowed white.
The world around her changed into grey, the foreground and background melding together into a strange two-dimensional plane. The different shapes and lines were coloured in grey tones. She slowly turned around, eyes firmly locked on the visuals in front of her.
A red human shape came into view. The area within the figure fluctuated between a bright red and dark orange, melding and separating in wave patterns like two immiscible liquids mixed together. Her thin lips slowly bent upwards to form a nasty, cruel smile. The priestess's eyes returned to their normal state. The bright, pearly pupils have disappeared without a trace, leaving behind plain, brown eyes.
She strolled towards the unconscious man, not caring about the debris or lava pools in her way. Her feet smashed through the rocks without care. Her boots ripped and bent. However, her toes remained perfect and unharmed. Even as the leather soles dissolved in leather, her feet were unmarred, not the slightest bruise or blister. She waded through the thousand-degree liquid like water, eagerly dipping her toes into rockpools of molten rock with a sigh of pure euphoria. The "priestess" finally reached the man after multiple detours to sample the sights.
Upon reaching the adventurer, the woman placed her hand within the pouch and withdrew a small, plain dagger. She triggered her mana sight, surveying the room for unwanted observers. Satisfied with her brief search, she turned the function off, returning her attention to the blade. The acolyte traced a finger along the edge, nicking the skin. Drops of blood seeped out through the thin laceration.
Adjusting her grip on the hilt to expose the pommel, she traced the bloodied finger along the circular marking. As her hand returned to the starting position, the circle glowed blue. She dabbed the blood on the man's tunic before grabbing the blunt sides of the blade with the thumb and middle finger, flicking it by approximately 15 degrees to either side. The circle glowed red.
A billowing black smoke came from within the inscription that swarmed over the entire weapon. The "priestess" hurriedly placed the dagger on the ground before retracting her hand. Tiny, gut-clenching whispers and cries echoed from within the dark mists. After a couple minutes, the cloud disappeared into the circular inscription, making the engraving inert.
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The design of the dagger had been utterly transformed. The weapon was pitch black, its specific features nigh distinguishable due to sucking in all the light that came in contact with it. The blade was no longer straight but curved like a scimitar but still retained a straight handle and cross guard. The tips of the cross guard had curved inwards to form demonic-like horns. Miniature skull imprints lined the leather handle, looping the entire shaft like wallpaper.
Grabbing her weapon, the woman pressed it against the sleeping man's forehead, driving only the tip into the flesh. A spurt of blood. The man stirred but remained unconscious. She delicately manoeuvred the blade like a painter with a paintbrush, carefully maintaining a safe distance from the skull structure, drawing a large circle with a five-pointed star in the centre, a pentagram.
Completing the symbol, she double-tapped the circle on the dagger's hilt. The line flickered red and then blue before dying out, taking the terrifying design along with it, leaving behind a mundane dagger-like before. She sheathed it and dropped it into her bag.
Placing a hand on the man's blood-coated face, the priestess began chanting. Twisted, unidentifiable, inhuman sounds rose from her throat, sounding like a jumbled mess of different languages spruced up with animal noises, all drenched in the screams of the dying. The world around her began to flee. The colour in the ground receded, leaving behind dull greyness. Air shied away, leaving a bubble of vacuum around the being. The warm rays of glowing lava halted in redirected their trajectory, circling around the edges of the scene. The light weaved a translucent, amber cocoon around the woman.
As her chant grew to a crescendo, the acolyte's body began to flicker. The white robe switched to blood red, the star inlays a reddish black. Her brown eyes dilated and recoloured, the iris became blood red and her pupil pitch black. Her once pearly white teeth grew jagged and sharp like a canine's. Faint, ghostly horns grew from her head, paired with a nigh-invisible set of bat wings.
At the peak of her shout, the adventurer's body pulsated a bright red six times before dimming. After croaking out the last few phrases, the woman ripped out multiple bottles from within her satchel, popped their lids and dumped their contents into her mouth. After downing the liquid, the "priestess" had regained her holy facade, complete with the white robes and brown eyes just like before, her demonic form nowhere to be found.
The man's eyelids flickered open, eyes were no longer blue but completely black. His lips opened. A feminine voice rose from his vocal cords, oozing with sweetness and desire, "Hello, Mira dear. It is good to walk in the mortal realm once more."
The acolyte knelt and kowtowed. She slammed her forehead into the ground repeatedly with utmost devotion and fervour, leaving a small crater on the floor. "This unworthy servant greets the Goddess of Demons! Lady of the dark! The embodiment of evil!"
"Rise, [Cardinal of Darkness]!" The man gently placed his hands on the new cardinal's shoulders and lifted her back on her feet.
[Congratulations! Your class has evolved into [Cardinal of Darkness]! You have gained the title [Catalyst] and [Servant of Evil]. For more information please open up your character sheet!]
The former adventurer, now the host of a demonic goddess, smirked at her disciple. The goddess gestured for Mira to follow as they walked towards the passageway leading to the dungeon's core, "Let's get the plan underway shall we?" The freshly-minted cardinal shot her boss a quizzical look but remained silent, obediently trailing behind her.