Nexus had tested them all. Even the toughest of them were worn out and exhausted from the harsh weather, the constant wind, and the uncompromising march through.

But the trip had been particularly demanding for Eddy. His father and sisters had seemed to be a greater burden with every step he took beyond them. The continual scowls from Jasper, the biting remarks from Gia, and the reserved judgment from Arachnia bore on him, leaving him feeling further inferior.

Nightfall brought a brief respite as the group set up camp.

The crackling of a fire was the only sound that broke the oppressive silence.

Eddy sneaked stares at his father, peering into the flames, lost in meditation. His sisters, each in a particular route, entertained oneself by arranging supplies, refining arms, or just lying about moping.

Eddy chose his tent toward the exterior of the stay, wherein it was slightly isolated from all else. He felt weary as he leaned down, and his body ached for slumber. In a bid to fend off the last of the cold, he stretched his cloak.

Yet rest was lost on its way to the young mage.

A strange, cold, unearthly atmosphere started to creep into the tent, he lay there, twisting and thrashing. Breathless, Eddy raised his eyes and noticed a churning violet cloud engulfing him in its ominous grasp.

He tried to move, but his body held immobile as panic surged across him.

He felt himself veering from reality as the veil of smog became thicker, obscuring his vision.

He opened the lids, finding himself in an odd setting.

Everything shone with an ethereal splendor, his form seemed clear, almost haunting. As Eddy struggled to make out whatever was occurring, his pulse pounded.

"Where...?" he muttered, his voice echoing unnaturally.

Sultry and sinuous, a voice answered from the shadows. "Ssssso, you have awoken young one."

Eddy spun around, his eyes widening as they met the figure before him. She was enormous, towering over him with a presence that demanded attention.

Her hair was a rich, deep purple, cascading down her back like a waterfall of silk.

Her body was tattooed with several piercings, gracing her lips, nostrils, and ears. His eyes, however, were drawn to her hips in horror, her lengthy, serpentine tail, which curled beneath her and moved with a sinuous elegance.

"Who art thou?" Eddy stammered, retreating a step, his breath unsteady. "Where hast you brought me?" His eyes searched the gloom, fear gnawing at his resolve.

With a broad grin, the woman's incisors showed off their glitter in the low light. "I am the goddessss of lust, young one. I have been anticipating you."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Eddy felt a chill go down his spine at the hiss in her words. She arousing and horrifying him at the same instant. "Thou art expecting me?" Eddy questioned, his voice trembling with uncertainty. "But how...how dost know of me?"

The goddess slithered closer, her tail dragging behind her, her eyes gleaming with mirth. "I have been watching you. You have much potential, but you ssssuffer in the shadowsss of others. I sssee everything, and I have come to offer you aid."

“Watching me?” Eddy repeated, his voice steadying. “But I have never crossed paths with thee before.”

The goddess chuckled, a low, throaty sound. “Oh, but you have. I had to take a pretty orc lasssss to get clossse to you. Her body wasss… accommodating.”

Eddy's heart skipped a beat as the realization dawned on him.

“Yessss,” the goddess hissed, her smile widening. “I knew you were different when I firsssst laid eyesss on you. So handsssome, even in death.”

“Death?” Directly down at his glass hands, Eddy let out a shriek. “Am I… dead?”

The goddess snorted once more, her voice rich and sweet. “No, you are not dead, but you aren’t alive either. You are in between, where the sssoulsss of the living and the dead meet. And I have brought you here for a reasssson.”

Eddy's voice wavered, the sadness within him stirring. “Why dost thou care for one such as me? What could I possibly be to thee?”

The goddess's indigo eyes turned nearly compassionate as her posture softened. “Becausssse, I sssee your ssssuffering.

You don’t fully enjoy the life you live, do you? Alwayssss in the shadowsss of otherssss, never heard, never ssseen. Your sssistersss, your father—they treat you like a meager child.”

Eddy looked down, her words heavy on his shoulders. “They never listen to me. Especially Jasper. She’s always so... angry, and I don’t know why.”

With a curiously soothing curl of tail about him, her image assent. “I can grant you power, boy. Power over those who are weaker than you. Power to make them lisssten, maybe even more...”

A hint of optimism sparked in Eddy's eyes. “Power…?”

The goddess reached out a hand, and something little materialized in it—a finely detailed figurine of a snake with its mouth open. “Take thisss,” she whispered, her voice almost hypnotic. “Thisss will give you control over them. It spewsss a violet mist that actsss as pheromonessss for your sister’s kind. It will make them more… open-minded to you.”

Eddy reached out, his fingers trembling with anticipation. But just as he was about to touch the statuette, the goddess’s tail whipped around and struck his hand away. He yelped in surprise, clutching his hand to his chest.

“Oh, my! Not so fassst, young one,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing. “There is a pricssse for everything.”

Eddy winced, rubbing his hand where her tail had struck. “What…what do you want?”

The goddess's clawed finger traced a circle on his spectral chest. “A piece of you, young one,” she whispered, her voice dripping with dark intent.

Eddy’s eyes widened in fear, but he forced himself to remain still. “If… if that’s what it takes.”

With a sinister grin, the goddess pressed her nail into his chest. Pain shot through Eddy’s body as she drew out a small, glowing fragment.

He cried out, feeling as though a part of him had been torn away. The goddess’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she brought the fragment to her lips, licking it before biting down and devouring it.

“Mmm,” she purred, savoring the taste. “You have a sssweet sssoul, young one.”

Eddy, his breath ragged and limbs quivering, gazed upon the goddess with wide eyes that held both fear and reverence. “Is… is this all there is, then?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, laden with uncertainty.

The goddess nodded, handing him the figurine. “Yessss, that isss all. Take thisss, and ussse it well.”

Eddy took the artifact with shaky hands, staring at it in disbelief. The goddess leaned closer, her breath warm against his face, her voice deepened to a familiar tone. “Wake up, runt!”

In an instant, the world around him vanished, and Eddy bolted upright in his tent, gasping for air. His heart pounded in his chest, and his body was drenched in cold sweat. He looked around, half-expecting the goddess to appear before him, but he was alone.

Except… the statuette lay in his hand, solid and real. Eddy stared at it, his mind reeling from the encounter. He then touched his chest, wincing as he felt a faint ache where the goddess had taken the fragment.

The pain was a reminder of the price he had paid, a promise of the power he now held. Eddy knew that his life would never be the same.

The night was quiet, but the weight of the statuette and the ache in his chest whispered of the changes to come.

“Eddy! Wake up, we’re leaving!” Jasper barked.