The Behemoth sat leisurely at his go-to place: the tavern. He knew very well that The Skinless fell at the hands of The Lich. As he sipped his alcoholic drink, he realized that the time for testing was over, and he required a better understanding of its true strength.

With a clench of his fist which he then soon afterwards relaxed and opened, a spherical object began to float above his gauntlet. This strange object was almost entirely transparent, yet still altered the sight of whomever peered through it. Flicking his gauntlet, the orb fell to the ground before its form shifted and grew. It had begun to take a vaguely humanoid shape before eventually settling on a very simplistic outline of a person. For most, it was difficult to see, making it the perfect spy or assassin.

“Go my puppet. Seek out that foul creature and use as much might of mine as you can to destroy it,” The Behemoth spoke.

Without any further hesitation, the puppet became little more than a passing breeze as it sought out its only goal: to destroy The Lich.

The Lich glared at both Drew and Aborsphinx who crouched beside where he lay.

“Move,” He commanded, rising up from his position.

“Are you alright?” Aborsphinx asked.

“I’m fine.” The Lich shot him a glance. “What’s such a revolting creature as a chimera doing here anyway?”

An angry expression flashed across Aborsphinx’s face before disappearing as fast as it appeared. He took a deep breath before responding:

“I’m here to keep watch over you. You’re far too self-destructive to be left alone anymore.”

The Lich ignored the response and instead shifted his focus to Drew. It was amazing that he was even still alive, a normal human would’ve died instantly, although Drew was quite beat up with cuts and bruises across his body whilst also clutching his limp left arm.

“And what are you still doing here?” If The Lich had eyes, they would’ve been narrowed as he studied the resilient human. For most, he would expect a disgusted or even horrified look as one gazed upon his visage, but instead Drew stood there, completely unnerved.

“To check on you of course.” His face was completely neutral, but he spoke in such a tone that it was as if he and The Lich had been great friends for decades.

The Lich was extremely taken aback by Drew’s answer, why did this human act as if they were so close? Better yet, his companions and brother were just murdered right in front of him. Where was the sorrow?

“Interesting…” The Lich noted this phenomenon before his gaze naturally shifted towards the scattered ashes of the used to be Skinless.

“I’ve used too much power too quickly. Madness is on the horizon,” The Lich mumbled to himself

He pointed towards Drew with his illusioned hand. “You. I need a favor. Cut off my head.”

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It took a few moments before he replied to the dumbfounding request. “Why would I do that?”

The Lich sighed, expecting no questions to be asked. “It will only be a few moments before I become mad. I’ve passed the point my mind can handle and it will soon break-”

With a swift slice, Aborsphinx beheaded him with little to no hesitation. His headless body soon fell to the ground with a thump. Drew dropped into a fighting stance, ready to put his life on the line for nothing more than a stranger who he hadn’t known a few weeks prior.

“Calm down. This is for the best, his head needs to be isolated from his nexus so it can go through its own shattering and recover without too much damage to his psyche.”

Drew had little choice but to believe the strange half human half monster hybrid in front of him, after all, even if he did put his life on the line to fight for his newfound companion, could he even win?

Aborsphinx tossed the decapitated head towards him. As he held the lifeless head, Aborpshinx threw the headless body over his shoulder and signaled Drew to follow him.

“Where are we going?” Drew asked.

“To a nearby forest. I dislike staying in territories belonging to humans.”

Darkness flooded his vision, with bits of light slowly piercing through as time went on. Once his vision cleared and his senses returned, he noticed that he lay flat, gazing upon the night sky and trees. Hastily sitting up, he grasped his throbbing head in pain. It felt as if someone was tearing through it with an ice pick.

“Finally up I see.”

The Lich turned his head towards the other side of the crackling fire that separated him and Aborsphinx. Drew was asleep not far from the two.

“How long?” The Lich inquired.

“Hmm?”

“How long was I out for?”

“Ah, only for a few hours, not too long.”

“Ugh… I need to get moving.”

“How come? Where exactly are you heading?”

“Why should I tell you that? In fact, I do not even want to be communicating with you.”

“Shame.” Aborsphinx reached behind him and slid out a singular beaker full of a blue elixir.

“Are you trying to bribe me vermin?”

“Oh of course not, I’m warning you. Tell me or I smash this beaker and all of the other ones I took off you.”

The Lich quickly rummaged through the expanded space of his cloak. With rage emanating from him, he stood up and faced Aborsphinx.

“Tell you?! No, I’m going to turn you to cinders.” With his hand placed on the skull inside his cloak, he prepared for an all out battle.

“Tempt me, I dare you. Raise one hand against me and your precious sustenance will vanish from this world.” Aborsphinx had such a serious expression that it made The Lich hesitate, which was unlike him.

Before attacking, The Lich had a thought disguised as a question that escaped from his mouth. How did this beast know that he was dependent on mana potions for nourishment? It wasn’t hard for him to catch on to what was happening. This chimera had been watching him. This had to have been what was spying on him on that hill. No… It wasn’t just the hill, he had been watched for much longer than that.

He was still determined to unleash a flurry of flames upon the chimera, but a small crack that ran across the beaker completely halted his intent.

“The Forest of Mythos,” The Lich replied, sitting back on the ground defeated, but not as angry as one would expect him to still be.

“The Forest of Mythos?!” Aborsphinx said in surprise. “You mean at the edge of the world?!”