Selen ran through the dreamy snow covered woodland, her breath visible in the crisp air.
The evergreens towered around her, their branches heavy with snow. The night sky above was a tapestry of stars, with a blood-red moon casting an eerie glow over the landscape. She felt exhilarated, at home amidst the wilderness. Her feet crunched in the snow as she moved forward with great joy.
She jumped, grabbing a branch from a tall tree and snapping it off. With a playful grin, she wielded it like a sword, twirling and slashing at imaginary foes. Snow flew up in a powdery mist around her, and she laughed, enjoying the sensation of running through it.
Eventually, she reached a lake. Its surface was so still that it looked like a gorgeous glass pane. A large Willow Deer stood at the water's edge, drinking peacefully. Selen waved her branch at the deer, but it startled and bolted into the forest. She pouted and kicked at the snow in frustration, glancing down at her stubby legs.
She approached the lakeside to check for ice, wanting to shatter and crack some of it on the edge but found none. Instead, she saw her reflection in the water—her cheeks red from the cold but still neat despite her playfulness. She spoke in a distorted voice, "It's so much more fun being a kid than a grumpy adult."
The lake's surface remained perfectly still until she splashed it with her bare hand, sending ripples across the water. She chuckled at her reflection in the disturbed water and leaned in closer.
Suddenly, rotten arms burst from beneath the surface and grabbed her, dragging her under. Selen screamed in fright, closing her eyes tightly as she felt herself being pulled down.
When she opened them again, she was no longer underwater but standing amidst strange ruins covered in vines and flowers like those found in a jungle. Confused and disoriented, she heard a gong ring out behind her.
Turning around, she saw an old monk with very large ears striking the gong repeatedly while crying his heart out. "They are all gone," he sobbed.
Curiosity overcame her fear as she approached him. "What's wrong?" she asked.
The monk continued to sob as she circled him to see his face. She recoiled in horror when she saw his empty eye sockets spilling out warm orange liquid. The monk smiled at her with an unsettling grin, revealing that he had only one incisor left.
"They are all gone!" he repeated gleefully.
Frightened once again and afraid that she was going to be hurt, Selen shut her eyes tightly as if it was going to save her, until curiosity overrode her fright when she finally opened her eyes once again—and found herself staring into pitch blackness. She sat up and heard wet sounds with each movement. Blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes, she quickly regretted it as she realized she was in a cave full of sharp protrusions with knee-deep water.
Unsure of what was happening but knowing she needed to escape, Selen stood up and began walking forward through the dark cave. From a pleasant dream, to a dark nightmare it only takes a moment…
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Silas placed a blanket over the bared form of Selen, his hands moving quickly without any flourish. He glanced at Poliana, who stood nearby with an expression that was a mix of guilt and curiosity. Likely, another simulation of concern.
"I did not expect to have to heal my target first before speaking to her," Silas remarked, his voice carrying a hint of irritation.
Poliana offered a wry smile. "Apologies for the inconvenience," she said, coughing into her hand to shift the topic. "Your abilities are quite surprising. It's not often one sees an Alchemist versed in all three forms."
Silas smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Strengthening, healing, and poisoning are all necessary if one wishes to roam the lands alone."
Poliana thought to herself that one of those was not like the other two. The Town Lord of Sichal did not lie when she praised him.
She was genuinely impressed by all of the procedures he had done to the imitator—reattaching missing limbs and a severed breast, staunching active wounds, and restoring blood flow to tissue on the verge of necrosis. Missing some dignity, hair, fingers, and teeth was much more preferable to being dead, she mused. He had somehow managed to restore her face by pulling on the parts that were caved in, much to Poliana's surprise.
Even the scars left over could probably be fixed; it was just that this Senior Ji chose not to. After all, he did not do it out of kindness but rather necessity to speak to the woman.
Silas, however discovered something strange about Selen during the process. The muscles under her skin were strangely malleable. He felt as if he could mold her shape quite freely, as long as he did not try to rip it off the bones. Intrigued, he went a step further in healing her when he noticed another abnormality. When he touched the exposed bone in her stubs, he found he could stretch it—it was not solid but something in between.
Truth be told, he had not exerted much effort or resources to restore her. When he brought the severed part of her large breast back to her torso to test his hunch, he was still surprised to confirm that he could squish down on the separated flesh and it would attach itself. A scar line had formed, but brushing his fingers upon it revealed that he could simply scrape it off, the little part that he did it on was almost pristine.
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"Curious," Silas thought.
Her bones—he could reproduce a similar effect by elongating a portion on the remaining bone and the severed end, followed by pressing them together. It was as if she were made out of clay.
"I wish to move to another inn," Silas said abruptly, breaking Poliana's train of thought. "I've added a sedative to the imposter and would like to try a civil discussion first."
Poliana nodded. "We can move to the Siren's Rest Inn."
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Selen's breath came in ragged gasps as the water rose to her neck, the cold liquid pressing against her skin, sending shivers down her spine. Panic clawed at her throat, making it hard to breathe. She tried to move forward, but her legs felt like they were encased in cement. Her heart pounded wildly as she struggled against the invisible force holding her back.
Then, without warning, the water began to drain away. The ceiling above her cracked open, and a single beam of moonlight pierced through the darkness, blinding her momentarily. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. When her vision cleared, she found herself standing on bone dry land.
The moonlight illuminated a large pointed rock formation in the center of the cave. Beneath it lay a skeleton, its bones draped in the tattered remains of what might have once been a silken blouse and a strange ceremonial skirt adorned with images of various animals.
Selen's curiosity drew her closer.
As she approached, she noticed two small lines etched into the ground, as if something had clawed its way away from the skeleton. The lines began below the ceremonial skirt and trailed off into the darkness. Another shiver ran down Selen's spine at the sight.
Before she could process what she was seeing, something cold and clammy grabbed her calf. She looked down and saw a hideous creature clinging to her leg. It was about the size of a ripe melon, with clawed hands resembling hooks and a malformed head that looked like an unhinged mouth folded in on itself.
Revulsion surged through her, and she kicked out with all her strength, flinging the creature into the darkness. She nearly vomited from disgust but forced herself to stay composed. Her reprieve was short-lived as more of those grotesque creatures began crawling towards her from all directions, their numbers growing like an incoming tide.
Fear gripped her heart as she ran towards the skeleton, hoping to escape the encroaching horde. But they surrounded her from all sides, drawing closer with every passing second. Just when it seemed they would overwhelm her, they reached the edge of the moonlight and began to evaporate into nothingness.
Relief washed over Selen as she realized that the moonlight offered protection from these nightmarish beings. She moved closer to the skeleton and noticed that its bony hands were clutching something beneath the ceremonial skirt—a small, tiny skeleton nestled lovingly in its grasp.
Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, each beat echoing through the cave like a drum. The sight filled her with a profound sense of sorrow and unease.
Suddenly, water began to drip down from the crack in the ceiling above. Selen looked up and saw herself as a child staring down at her with wide eyes and making funny faces. The surreal image left her frozen in place, unable to comprehend what was happening.
The child version of herself continued to make faces, seemingly oblivious to Selen's confusion and fear below.
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Zinnia walked towards the inn, her mind replaying the amusing interaction she had inside the Artificer's Guild.
Theo, the receptionist, had been sweating bullets as he greeted her, his face a mask of anxiety. He had started apologizing profusely for doubting her identity thinking that she was the Selen he saw yesterday.
Zinnia held her chin in a thinking pose, tilting her head slightly. Theo squirmed under her gaze, clearly uncomfortable. She then broke into a full-faced smile under Selen's guise and extended her hand forward.
"Don't worry about it," she said warmly.
Theo took a relieved breath as he accepted the handshake. But before he could relax, Zinnia pulled him in so close that their noses mashed against each other.
"Although, you are going to have to pay up for that," she whispered breathily.
The sound of something falling to the ground drew their attention. They locked eyes with Mureli, who stood stunned by the scene. Zinnia's fun quickly turned into a painful annoyance, as she had to explain her flirting to Mureli as a joke and nothing serious.
Afterwards, she gave them the story of how Theo was correct and that the Selen from the day before was a pretender. Both were shocked. As Zinnia filled in more details, they also quickly started spilling the information she wanted to hear—namely, the events of Selen's arrival back at the guild, what had caught their suspicion, and whether she would have to do anything else to cement herself as the real deal.
With that done, Zinnia was ready to meet back up with Silas. She headed towards the inn, her thoughts still lingering on the funny yet troublesome encounter at the guild.
As she arrived at the inn, she noticed a gaping hole where a window should be and a pile of debris being cleaned up by the staff. She puckered her lips in a face that seemed to say, "Not my problem," and entered.
The receptionist looked confused as he saw her approach. He could swear he had seen Selen—albeit bald and wrapped in a blanket—being carried out just a couple of minutes ago.
"That person you saw was a fake," Zinnia informed him confidently. "I'm the real deal."
The receptionist blinked in confusion.
"Was it a tall guy, with a weirdly trustworthy face carrying her out?" she asked.
The receptionist hesitated but then nodded slowly. "Yes, that's an… apt description. The man called Ji did look very reliable."
After a bit more talking he finally told her where they went. He said politely, "They were headed to the Siren's Rest Inn."
Zinnia whistled softly. "Expensive."
The receptionist agreed with a nod.
As she headed out again, Zinnia thought to herself, ''What the hell happened in just one damn hour?! And why does he not give any sort of heads-up?'' She muttered grumpily under her breath, "...probably is just making it up as he goes along."
Suddenly, a pair of large talons landed atop her head as Nyx squawked loudly in affirmation.
"What do you want?" Zinnia asked irritably.
Nyx simply sat down atop her head, making himself comfortable. Zinnia's mouth twitched in annoyance as she realized the crow was using her for transportation.
"Great," she muttered sarcastically as she continued towards Siren's Rest Inn with Nyx perched on her head like an oversized hat.