Kai’Vra found it quite interesting how the humans had chosen to outmaneuver her. She threw a punch, breaking down the seemingly ordinary brick wall before her, then looked down the elevator shaft. Thinking it might be a trap, she called a vine to burst from the ceiling and held onto it as she descended down the shaft.

Kai’Vra didn’t rush too much. The more time the humans spent trying to survive, the more she learned. Not just that, but she was far more concerned with caution than anything else. If she were her old self, that would be one thing, but as is, she could be theoretically killed by conventional means.

And also...When she had broken the wall that covered the elevator it had been obvious to her that something was hidden from her. She trusted that feeling because after she had consumed that eldritch being all those years ago, Kai’Vra had gained the ability to perceive secrets.

Just from looking at that possessed boy once, she could feel he was hiding much. He always looked just too confident, just too uncertain, as if he had choices other than running. When he had drawn those shapes, he had used magic unlike any Kai’Vra had seen before.

If he had a trump card, she wouldn’t let herself be caught off guard by it.

After landing on the elevator, she punched another hole into the top of it and dropped down. She pried its doors open and walked through.

“What’s that weird chick doing in there?”

Onei and Drauko simultaneously looked back at Kaleb with disgusted confusion. Inside this strange room, they had been left stunned at the sight of the ghost that had harassed Onei just a few minutes earlier.

“I mean, if she didn’t have tentacles growing from her back, she’d be pretty hot.”

Drade shrugged. “I’ll take you at your word.”

Luuko looked back at the little ghost. “So, why did you take us here? And why is she in that tank?”

“You all know her?” Kaleb asked, looking back into the hall. “Shit! The plant girl is coming down the h-”

A spear of plant mass burst through the windowed door, nearly skewering Kaleb, but he avoided it and quickly lashed at it with his chain, cutting it from where it entered the room.

Drauko took cover at the side of the entrance and Kaleb tensed, expecting another attack from the plant monster. Instead, Kai’Vra shattered the hall light, cloaking herself in darkness.

Nothing happened.

Kaleb’s chain twisted and shook in anticipation as he stared at the door with an unflinching glare. “I don’t think she just decided to stop chasing us. You all should do whatever you’re down here to do while she’s doing...whatever.”

“Y-yeah,” Luuko responded, walking to the crescent desk with the computers. The ghost sat on the desk and pointed to one of the computers, which Luuko turned on. The ghost didn’t seem to have a good grasp of how computers worked but knew where to point Luuko, hovering her index finger over the keys, guiding her through the password: renaissance, then to an app labeled: project: renaissance command center.

Why does she know this stuff? Isn’t she just a girl who died in a car crash? Luuko thought, perplexed.

If it helps us in the end, I don’t care to ask. Drade responded

That seems haphazard.

It’ll work out.

I didn’t expect you to be such an optimist in that head of yours.

It isn’t optimism, it is realism. Drade said like it was a simple fact.

The ‘command center’ had a lot of buttons they didn’t recognize, but the ghost girl pointed to ‘disable seal’, and without thinking they clicked the button.

‘This may be dangerous. Are you sure you want to release the seals?’

You sure we want to- Luuko thought before realizing Drade didn’t even hesitate to click it. I swear, Drade. If I die because of you, I’m gonna use your grave as a pillow.

You would be dead too...

I’ll make my final resting place your grave, is that better?

A lot of things began to happen within the chamber, as far as Drauko’s manasense went. They could see magic circulate through the technology that encapsulated the woman-thing moving through complex circuitry for a few seconds in winding, mesmerizing patterns.

The liquid in the tank was slowly drained, then the cylinder containing the monstrous but uninjured woman was lowered into the floor. Onei caught the body as it fell to the ground, limp.

Then, walking from the darkness of the hall, the ethereal being that had haunted Onei appeared.

The old woman’s burnt and disfigured mouth moved, speaking almost unintelligibly, “Madness...” Her robotic eye moved between Drauko and Onei with uncanny, robotic movement.

Onei dropped the soaking-wet body on the spot, then moved behind Drauko with an expression of fear that was unlike her. She was basically immortal, after all.

Drade put a hand out to show he was ready to defend her, while Kaleb was unable to see a thing, staring through the hideous woman in search of Kai’Vra.

“What in Chaos is this...” Luuko began, having difficulty forming words that could describe her, only to suddenly cough before continuing, “...this...you know.”

The little ghost girl pointed to the body on the ground, looking at the woman with a vaguely disgusted but passive expression.

The robot-eye landed on the body, then the spirit began to shamble towards it, speaking in a horrifically distorted voice. “Just who are you?” Its eyes looked to the little girl, dilating. “You wish to help me?”

You know, Drade, I’m beginning to think she wasn’t the most trustworthy ghost girl.

Drade didn’t respond, focused on what was happening.

She finally arrived at the body, then kneeled, revealing the small vines on the back of the decrepit woman’s legs, growing out from her body like natural appendages. “Ahh...I see...you are one of Its followers,” she continued, talking to the little girl. “I appreciate the aid. For long I have hoped to be revived.” As she said ‘It’, the world seemed to pause. All eyes stood still on her, even Kaleb, though he seemed not to understand why he had.

What is...that name?

The mention of It made Drade’s demeanor change in some way, and Luuko could tell.

“Who are you even talking to!?” Onei asked, unable to see the little girl.

She turned to look at Onei, smiling cruelly. “And you’ve brought both a Fatebreaker and a suitable vessel to me, packaged on a silver platter.”

The little ghost seemed uncertain as she reasonably should be, faced with someone whose ‘villain’ flags were about as subtle as spotlights. Her hand slowly reached behind her back.

“Oh, I see. Grandps never told you just who you were dealing with. HA! THEY’RE AN OLD FOOL! To think It would trust me so easily!” She reached down to the lifeless body on the ground, then as her hand touched it, a sphere filled with a starry void rapidly grew from her hand and encapsulated the room.

When the veil grew past Drauko and Onei, it was as if they were looking through the earth, the far-off stars, but not the moon, visible beyond the laboratory’s walls. They could still perceive the room, however.

“What is that thing!?” Kaleb asked, staring directly at the old lady. “Where did it come from?”

“I came from the depths of hell...” she said before standing from the body on the ground.

“Umm, should I, like, kill her, Drade?” He asked.

“I dunno.”

He rolled his eyes. “What a helpful employer you are.”

“You, Fatebringer!” she pointed to Drauko. “Give me the Fatebreaker, and you will the last of your kind to die!”

Drade and Luuko stared at the monstrosity with a disgusted twist of their mouth, not even sure what she was referring to. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but...” They glanced to the ghost who’d led them there. With an uncertain expression, she pulled something from her back, looked at it with an expression of fear, then pointed it at the ghost. Her knife began to leak black liquid, which dripped down her arms to her legs and evaporated into black mist as it touched the ground.

What is that stuff? Luuko thought.

Something from the astral plane. Drade responded. Probably...

A letter fell in front of her, which she snatched and opened with one hand. She read the letter with a curious expression as the room looked at her, everyone unsure why there was a letter or whose side of the conflict about to ensure she was a part of.

Then, Drauko noticed what had been happening beneath the floors. Magic had begun to grow beneath it, making a rootlike structure beneath everyone, centered around Onei, Drauko, and Kaleb. The magic was pouring through the wall adjacent to the hallway.

Where Kai’Vra was.

The ghost girl threw her letter to the side and then readied her knife, staring daggers at the other ghost in the room.

“You think you can stop me, now that I’ve regained my anchor?!” the abomination asked, staring at her with rage. “THEN, come at me, child.”

Just beneath her ribcage, a third arm burst out, built of mechanical parts, with axels that glowed a deep red. On her other side, her arm turned into a mass of yellow-flowered clovers, creating three individual, clawed arms. The tentacles in her back grew in length, surrounding her in a defensive array of black appendages. Her starry blood poured out in gallons, then her remaining human hand grasped the starry liquid, which solidified in its grip, and pointed it at the young, terrified girl, the end of the liquid forming a knifelike point.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“I have regained immortality, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Consider your death your own failure.” As if she were a spider, she fell to the ground and let her tentacles keep her body aloft.

“Oh fuck this shit!” Kaleb said, stumbling toward another exit.

Just as she got ready to fight the ghost girl and Drauko processed what was happening, mana surged into the roots of mana beneath the floor.

“Kaleb, Onei, sidestep!” Drade yelled, diving to the side as they saw it happen.

Both of them tried to react to Drade’s warning, but inevitably, vines burst from the concrete and entangled their legs, anchoring them in place. Another surge of mana burst from behind the wall, and before Luuko’s mind could keep up, Drade shouted, “Duck!”

Both Kaleb and Onei ducked, and a vine speared the air where Kaleb’s torso had been, tearing through the thick concrete wall and making a crater behind the teen.

“That bitch, she attacked through the walls?!”

Metal hit metal, attracting everyone’s attention for a second as the little girl’s knife clashed with the abomination’s robotic arm, the impact so strong it dented the unknown metal. As the abomination’s human arm stabbed with the starry liquid and her vines crept towards the girl, her blade moved at blinding speed, slicing the arm off, then cutting the many vines in a flurry of cuts. She then jumped backward, making distance between them.

The abomination’s arms floated back into place and healed, seeming good as new after just a second of regeneration. “I am immortal, child. I think it best you gave up on this farce.” Suddenly, a tentacle lashed out at Onei but was intercepted by a chain.

Kaleb’s chain cut through three of her tentacles, then smashed into the wall, causing a large portion of it to collapse, and finally slashed some of Kai’Vra’s retracting arm off.

When the dust from his attack settled, Kai’Vra was looking through the collapsed wall with an expression of confusion and indecision:

Kaleb was busy cutting at the vines with his chain, the object not built for the precise, small-scale movement needed to do so, Drauko was overlooking the field with emotions that flickered between concentration and fear, Onei was standing behind them, too perplexed to act, and a child with a knife was fighting some strange abomination. As far as Kai’Vra was concerned, this was a very interesting situation.

Then, she saw the child’s movements. In the blink of an eye, the girl ran to her foe, cut off two of her arms with an instantaneous sweep of her blade, then slid underneath as tentacles tried to grasp her, and cut off five of them with an upward swipe, and finally sliced into the abomination’s body with another attack, only for her blade to be stopped entirely by a metal rib.

She stepped back once Kaleb broke the vine she’d used to restrain him, then readied his chain.

“You two, what are you doing?” Kaleb yelled through the chaos, glancing back at Onei and Drauko, “Find the stairs or something! I doubt they only had one exit from this weird place!” The sound of concrete breaking resounded on the other side of the room as the abomination was pounded into the wall by a small girl’s foot, only to heal in seconds. “And can’t I just kill that thing’s vessel or something? Just decapitate that woman?” He pointed to the body on the floor.

Drauko glanced back at the door behind them. “If you want to!”

A chain hit the body, only for it to phase through, only damaging the concrete beneath. “Damnit. In that case...” he glanced to Kai’Vra, only to see her gone. “Oh great...”

While Drauko grabbed Onei’s hand and began to drag her down the other hallway, Kaleb ran with them.

Drade and Luuko watched as mana was prepared beyond the walls and had to direct Kaleb and Onei as they ran. “Duck again!” Drade yelled just before five vines skewered the wall above them.

“Stop!”

Three more vines broke through the wall in front of them, and a pulse of mana surged through them.

“Destroy them!”

Kaleb’s chain broke the vines just as they moved to skewer Drauko, saving them.

It wasn’t long before they took a left, causing the magic that had been preparing a new spell to redirect, instead being used to break down a wall, revealing Kai’Vra, staring daggers at the group.

“What is that?” she asked, running after the group far faster than any of them could compete.

“What is what, plant bitch?” he asked sarcastically he flicked his chain toward her, forcing the nymph to slow and block it, stumbling into the wall but otherwise remaining uninjured.

“jump!” Drauko yelled as a surge of mana made the nymph’s arm stab at their feet from afar, only to be cut off again by Kaleb’s chain.

“What is that?” Kai’Vra asked again, watching them as if mesmerized. “Is that...?” They all sighed of relief when they saw Kai’Vra simply hold her injured right arm with her other, regenerated one, and watched her marks dash away. Suddenly, cutting them off, an abomination crashed through the wall, then was pinned to the next by a knife.

Onei, Drauko, and Kaleb made it to the end of the hall, where another elevator stood.

Luuko hastily tapped its button, which began to glow a dim orange. Of course it’s at the top...

While they waited for the elevator to pick them up, a brutal battle happened further down the hall, with limbs flying about as the little girl cut the abomination like a vegetable, making a blood-soaked dish, only for it to fly back into place.

“There is nothing you can do to stop m-” its head was cut off, and when it returned, it screamed again, “the power of Omega is not infini-”

Lobbed off again, alongside a rain of limbs.

“Soon, I will be released and gain the power of Fatebre-”

Plop! Fell on the ground, along with a splatter of blood, causing everyone but Drade, Onei, and Kai’Vra to step back in revulsion.

“This world will not last! Fate will have its way unless you...”

Cut off again.

Onei sighed. “And here she creeped me out. Its almost funny watching her die over and over again.”

“The Fatebringers wish to bring law. Law is the end of all!-” Cut.

“You shouldn’t like watching people die,” Drade said in monotone.

The monstrosity simply focused on fighting after that.

“And why is that?” Onei asked incredulously.

“Because it’s bad.”

“Good talk, good talk,” Onei said with a nod.

“Sorry about Drade,” Luuko said, “he’s lawful...good. I think.”

Ding!

They walked through the elevator door as it opened.

The door closed on the fight outside, leaving them in silence.

“So, anyone want to explain what that shit was?” Kaleb asked, bundling his chain up now that they were safe, his expression mortified. “Because I can’t begin to describe it.”

“I don’t know,” Drade said. “I think that thing might be my aunt, though.”

What?! Luuko thought.

“W-what thing?” Kaleb asked while Onei’s face got a skeptical smile like she’d heard some dark joke.

“The girl. She implied her grandpa was It, so that makes her my aunt.”

“I regret asking.”

...This feels awkward, standing here after that terrifying...thing. Luuko thought.

No, I like times like this.

You said so.

I learn a lot of things when I’m alone, in a tense situation, with someone else.

Is that so?

You don’t talk much about yourself, do you? Drade asked.

No, I guess I don’t. Is that a problem?

Not really, but it makes you boring to talk to.

So it is a problem!?

I already said it isn’t.

...

So, Drade continued, What’s your hobbies?

Sleeping. Watching people.

That’s it?

Kinda. Sometimes I watch TV shows, especially reality TV. I do things with friends.

Watch anime at all?

Not unless its convenient.

Uffieldufkyalluphanimwartailophanathaz likes to watch anime a ton. She likes to call herself an otaku.

Wow, you actually remembered her full name.

Did you not!?

Ha, no. Luuko responded with an internal chuckle. I don’t think even Faio can remember her whole name, and she knows her best.

Drade sighed. Anyway, you probably haven’t seen her room but-

Oh, no, I have. I possess your mom sometimes and look around your house.

Then I guess you already know. Drade responded, unperturbed by the polysomnomancer’s ordinarily frightful response.

...

Now that I think about it, Luuko thought, you’re usually pretty quiet. Why’re you talking about your sister? Luuko asked.

She...she needs friends.

She’s got-

Friends. Every one of you all are wonderful, but you all don’t usually feel that safe around her, and even fewer of you really want to be her...friend.

I mean, you can’t blame us. She’s a tentacle...thing.

Drade didn’t respond for a second, which felt like a minute inside their minds, making Luuko feel guilty. She just wants to be a normal girl...Unlike me, she really is one, beneath the tentacles.

Unlike you? You’re just a normal boy.

No, I’m not. Drade said matter-of-factly. I’m a being of law. I don’t think like a normal boy, or a normal girl, nor a nonbinary person if you wanted to count that. I’m not human, and that’s that.

I guess you’re strange, but... Luuko didn’t continue. Something about Drade’s categorization of himself chilled her. She could tell he didn’t think like a normal person, but it felt wrong to think of him as anything but a human.

...

After some hesitation, Drade said, So talk about yourself. I’m bored.

I mean, I sleep, I go to school, I come home, I walk, I hang out with friends, I go home, I sleep. I-I’m really not all that interesting.

Putting yourself down like that isn’t good for your health.

That’s strange, coming from you.

“Hey, I actually have a question,” Kaleb said, interrupting their thoughts after about twenty seconds. “That plant monster chick, will she be back?”

Luuko shrugged, “I hope not. She was chasing us just for the Chaos of-” Drauko suddenly coughed, leaning over in surprise. Luuko continued, “For the Chaos of i-” only to cough again. “Of it...”

Drade, why are you coughing?

I didn’t cough.

Oh, sorry, it just felt like you did it on purpose.

Drauko’s eyes were half-closed in annoyance. I wonder why... Drade thought sarcastically.

Kaleb sighed. “Just so you all know, fighting that girl is way above my pay grade.”

“Got it,” Drade said.

From the ceiling, a starry liquid seemingly fell through the group, taking them out of the strange zone that had made the ghosts visible. Then, the elevator door opened once more, where brick wall outside it slowly slid inward, then to the side, revealing the dark sewer, and a latter.