We had been following the road for the remainder of the night, the snow in the distance seemed to be very far away. Abby and Funk both fell asleep at some point and leaned against me. Lory yawned, “The snow is just over there. I estimate about an hour, but I am so damn tired, I have been walking all night.” She lay down on the ground. Funk And Abby slowly got up. I lay down on my back, on Lory’s back and looked up.

“Thank you for walking Lory.”

Funk started lighting a campfire. “We need to rest Steve. Otherwise, we are not going to pass through the Northern Desert.”

“Yes set up camp, we are going to sleep and make sure we are full of energy before crossing the duality plains. Damn, an airship would have been nice right now, right Lory?” She did not respond, she had already fallen asleep. I closed my eyes, and soon I fell asleep as well.

When I woke up, I noticed that a woman was staring at me, I have no clue who that was. Snow colored, long wavy hair is pulled back to reveal a lean, friendly face. Squinting green eyes, are set in her sockets. “Who the fuck are you, and why are you staring at me?”

The woman smiled, “My name is Khione, I am connected to all snowflakes in each reality.”

“Alright? And why are you here?”

“Because I sensed an unusual energy, and it comes from you.”

“Yay, me?”

Khione chuckled, “And you are funny as well. You look familiar, have we met before?”

“No, believe me, I would recognize a woman with snow colored hair.” When I looked around, it seemed a new day dawned upon us, Funk, Abby, and Lory were still sleeping.

Khione put her hand on her chin, “Do you know a woman named Genja?”

I slowly sat up, making sure not to wake Lory. “No, I have never heard of her.”

Khione looked around, “What are you doing here?”

I pointed at the snow fields, “We are trying to go to the capital. My daughter is in danger.”

Khione nodded, “That is very unfortunate, but sometimes we are too attached to our children.”

I scratched my head, “She is going to get executed.”

Khione let out a deep sigh and snow lifted into the air in a loop and flew away. “If you help me, I will help you.”

“What do you need Khione?”

“It is simple, you only need to kill someone for me.”

“I am not exactly in that business.”

Khione turned around, “Then you are never going to make it in time to save your daughter.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

Khione glanced over her shoulder, “I have friends in high places, so bye. You are not interested.”

She started to walk away, “No wait, please, don’t leave.”

Khione turned around, “Alright, it seems I have your attention.”

I gently hopped off Lory’s back, she kept sleeping. “Who do I need to kill?”

Khione smiled, “That is what I like to hear.”

“Her name is Melin for short. She is, like me. She has been a thorn in my side for a while. If you get rid of her, then I will clear the snow, and the desert. You will have a clear path through the duality plains, I will even throw in a chariot.”

I nodded, “Alright, where is this Melin woman?”

Khione waved her hands and a portal opened up made from snowflakes. “She is bathing in Olympus. She is alone, no one wants to be in the same room as her. This will take you to the bathhouse. Kill her, come back, and our deal will be completed.”

I nodded and spawned my red blade and walked through. Then I found myself in a golden building, a hallway with pictures. When I looked around the corner, I saw a woman sitting in a hot steamy pool, alone. I sighed, why do people want me to kill others, and why do I keep doing it? I snuck over to her, and just as I was about to stab her in the back, she jumped up with amazing reflexes. Melin turned around to shoot some kind of divine energy beam at me and I got launched against the golden wall.

She slowly walked over to me, white hair on the right side, and black hair on the left side, it was perfectly groomed and pulled back to reveal a full, radiant face. Smart blue eyes, set a-symmetrically within her sockets. Water dripped off her naked body, “What is a, whatever you are, doing trying to stab a lady in the back?”

“Look, I have no idea who you are, I am just trying to do what is asked of me.”

“Oh, it must be Khione, again.”

“When will she learn, I am a goddess?”

When I looked at her, the left side seemed to be drained of blood. “Well, aren’t you looking drained?”

Melin stood in front of me, “It is you, how strange I did not expect this, you see through my basic illusion, but it does not mind. You seem like a fun toy, I will finish you before the prophecy comes true.”

She came closer and put her lips on my cheek, she gave me a kiss. “Oh, you are bonded to a soul, did I mention I am going to have fun with you before I kill you and save everyone? You lost people.”

She put her hand on my chest and I could feel her read me. She turned into Valentine, “Oh is this a woman you lost? Lory’s little sister? Is she dead because of you? Or how about,” she turned into Haley. “Is this your daughter, is she going to die? Because you failed her? Oh, that is just like you, right, there is failure everywhere you go, just like the devil inside of you. You always fail to safe people, all your plans go horribly wrong, you are so much alike. Lory’s death will be your next failure, or Haley.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I shed a tear, “Stop fucking around with this, this is not fun, I am trying to do everything possible to save them! And who is this devil that you say is locked inside of me?”

Melin looked at me, “You ambushed me, in my spare time, I am just here taking a bath, and you come here to kill me, then complain I am not being fun and you even demand answers? You think you can demand answers from a Nymphic Goddess who sits high in the ranks of the Inner Circle? Just because poor old Khione still hates me for taking her man, which I did not do, she was cold to him, get it, cold?”

I tried to struggle and point my blade at her. Melin stretched her hand, ghosts came out of the floor, like real ghosts. They grabbed my weapon and threw it away. Then two of them grabbed my legs, and two other ghosts grabbed my wrist. Melin turned into Lory. She came closer, “Maybe you want to play a game with me, a game for, adults? You like Lory, you love her, and you like her tail.” She turned around and showed her tail to me. I looked away, but one of the ghosts grabbed me by my head and turned it to Melin.

She came closer, “I am Lory now, it is not wrong if we do an adult dance, there is even a pool, we can have loads of fun in that pool!” Melin came even closer and kissed me. I did not kiss her back and tried to turn my head away. Melin backed off and I spit on the ground. Melin crossed her arms, “You are a tough nut to crack, I had not expected anything less from you.”

She twirled her fingers and darkness covered the gates. “There is one thing you need to know, Steve and Captain, and the other devil inside of you, you are not leaving this place alive.”

I grunted and tried to shoot an energy beam at her. Melin waved it away. She looked at her claws, “These are nice claws your lady has.” She walked over towards me and scratched her nails across my torso and ripped off my shirt as some of my blood dripped to the ground. “Oh, those are some nice abs. Are they from your days as an agent, Agent S?”

“How can you know these things?”

Melin let her finger slide over my abs, “The moment I touched you, I read all your emotions, memories, and much more, desires, wishes, what you long for, oh, and I have inside information. Even the memories you do not know about. I know what you are. And to be honest, you are in a weakened state, who does not want to catch a ride on what you are?”

“Well fuck me, I am not interested, poor choice of words there, sorry.”

Melin grimaced at me, “Did it ever occur to you why all the ladies are interested in you? Not just for the pheromone ability, you know the ones you have on overdrive, but being sired by a man like you would prove to be, the best offspring anyone could hope for. You never give your true powers to all your offspring, the offspring the devil inside you has made. However, Haley, you gave her, everything, combine that with Lory's lovely past.”

“What do mean? What are you talking about?”

“Khione was right to trust in you, if you had your full power, you would have been able to beat me. But now, you are a weak little lost puppy. But your power, it flows within you. I am the ghost queen! Yet, my father does not allow me to hunt souls while it is day, maybe I would rather do my own thing. With your power, I might be able to do whatever I want.” She leaned against me, “Why are you not looking down?”

“I am not interested, just give me answers and let me go, tell me about the devil, tell me about Lory's past, what does this Inner Circle know?”

“We know everything, all the way from now, until the destruction of existence, and we are trying to stop it, now back to the matter at hand. These breasts, are those of your lady. Nothing wrong with looking at them. Or do you want to look at other things?”

I grunted and struggled, “I want nothing from you except answers! You are not Lory, this is a mere illusion!”

Melin chuckled, “I am going to break you. And, when I have broken you, you will do whatever I want, including giving me a child, and then, I will destroy you and be the hero of the day, two flies in one swat.”

“I believe the words you were looking for were, killing two birds with one stone.”

Melin forced my mouth open, and she put her mouth on mine and images flashed through my mind, horrible images. Lory getting killed over and over. Me accidentally killing Haley. Both of them getting abducted, horrible things were done to them. Weird ominous music started playing in my head. More images poured through me, horrible things. People that I am killing, my loved ones dying over and over.

I could her whisper in my mind, “Pathetic weakling, you almost have no defense, this is not something I often do, it gives me an uneasy feeling. Come on, break and let me kill you.”

Tears started streaming down as I saw all my loved ones die the most gruesome deaths. Lory got caught by a giant spider and ripped into shreds. Another vision of Lory get taking into a room by a burly man and her screaming, and when I looked into the room she had been skinned. Melin backed off.

I panted, “What, is going on?”

Melin smiled, That is what I am going to do, to your loved ones. I will raise them from the dead, as zombies, and kill them again, until nothing of their humanity will remain, they will be my immortal slaves, she let out a maniacal laugh! Unless you surrender right now, do what I want and let me kill you.

Captain spoke up in my head, “Don't listen to her, she is lying.”

I answered, “What do you mean?”

“I know she is being persuasive, but she would never hurt a fly, she is just trying to get into your head. She is a kind woman, she can inflict pain, but there is a good reason why she is doing this.”

While grunting, I replied in my mind, “I am going to need some answers if we survive this.”