Zara took Ed’s hand and led him back down the hall. “Come on! Let’s see what you can do.” She smiled as she dragged him along.

Feeling out the new addition to his body, Ed tried to get a better understanding of it while just following along beside Zara absentmindedly. A violin huh? I hadn’t even touched one before setting foot in that store, so why is this what I got? Ira said that it was based off what my soul wanted. If that’s true, then why did my soul want a violin?

Leaving Zara to guide him, he let his mind sink into the void. Surrounded by the familiar darkness, he saw the violin floating there. Its body almost blended in with the void, with Ed only being able to see it because of the strings, sides, and the spattering of red throughout it.

Calling it towards him, he held it up and studied it, following every line of red in the wood and marvelling at its beauty. Comparing it side by side with his threads, he confirmed that the red came from himself.

Ira must’ve snipped off a bit of my soul. No wonder I was feeling so dizzy.

The red veins called to him, resonating with his soul and urging him into action. Without even thinking, he called on the violin and watched it twist and morph in his hands. Letting go of it, it floated in the air and expanded in size.

Eventually it stopped, and a piano took the place of the violin.

What? Perplexed, he just stared at the piano, unable to understand what had just happened.

The piano shared many similarities with the violin. A primarily black body with an ashen trim along the edges. The angelic strings moved into the inside, while the keys were made out of the draconic bones.

All on its own, the piano changed again before Ed could get close to it. Shrinking down, it turned into a cello bearing the same style and design as the violin.

Violin, Piano, Cello. “Can you change into anything else?” Ed asked.

The cello shrunk back down, returning to its original state as a violin.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

His exploration of the instrument was cut short when he felt Zara let go of his hand. We must be there now. Pulling himself out of the void, he found himself in a large plain room, entirely empty except for a circled-out area in the middle, and a screen set up on a pole in front of it.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I was figuring stuff out earlier, so just go stand in the circle there. I’ll sort everything out.” Zara said, stepping up to the screen.

Following her instructions, he stepped into the circle. After a bit of fiddling with the screen from Zara, a see-through blue shield rose up out of the ground, encasing Ed in a protective dome. He looked back at her quizzically.

“Just precautionary measures. Who knows what he made that thing do.” She explained.

It’s just an instrument. Pulling the violin out of his chest, he cradled the base of it on his collarbone, moving it around until he found a comfortable way to hold it. A bow materialised in his right hand.

He rested his fingers up on the neck, laying them gently on the strings as he brought the bow up to the violin. Pulling the bow along the strings, he sent himself flying through the air. His back slammed into the barrier, causing him to grunt in pain as he nearly dropped the violin.

What the fuck was that?

“Are you okay?” The barrier came down as Zara rushed to his side to check on him.

“I’m fine.” Picking himself off the ground, he readied the violin and stepped back into the middle. “Again.”

“If you’re sure.” Slightly worried, Zara still listened to him and turned the barrier back on.

Steadying himself, he played another note on the violin, this time tripping over himself and faceplanting into the ground. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” He groaned. There’s gotta be something I can do that doesn’t end in me hurting myself.

Picking himself back up, he played a note. And then another. And another. Each time, sending himself hurtling into the barrier, or crumpling to the ground in an embarrassing fashion.

This is gonna be a long day.

~

In a large field in the royal estate of the Pride Circle, Elaine rode atop a horse. Lola was off in the distance, chasing a large, three-headed dog, while Wilfred rode on his own steed just behind Elaine.

The dog was large and muscular, standing at one and half metres tall when on all fours. Its mouths were filled with razor-sharp teeth, and its claws looked like it could cut through diamonds. It had short black fur.

The large dog came to a sudden halt before turning around and charging at Lola. It leapt up into her arms, its three heads licking her playfully, slobbering all over her face.

Elaine smiled, watching them from a distance as they played. “Has uncle Ira sent the information yet?” She asked Wilfred. Before he could answer, a notification appeared on Elaine’s phone. Pulling it open, she smiled slightly. “Never mind, looks like he sent it to me.”

Reading through the long message he sent her containing everything Ed told Ira about him, she locked in on the thing she was most interested in. “There was a gap of a couple months between him disappearing from Earth and when he was first spotted in Hell. Did he spend that long in Limbo, or is he hiding something?”

“If he’s hiding something from Ira, then there must be a reason for it. I doubt he would tell us if we just asked about it.” Wilfred said.

“That’s true. But at least we’ve got more information on him. You can call back the people we sent to Earth; their mission has been cancelled.” She said.

“As you wish, your Majesty.” Wilfred bowed before leaving.