Jack stepped off of his golden throne and took a few steps to approach the wiggling tome on the floor of his library.

Peering down, he saw the surface of the book that appeared to be made of... Hamburger? It had the appearance of cooked Hamburger, perhaps like meatloaf from Jack's last life, complete with a rub of ketchup looking substance that Jack bet was dried blood... It was a mash of chewed meat that seemed to be bound together with a sticky substance that oozed a green puss. From the baked splits in the pours that oozed the foul green puss, wiggled small blue tentacles with purpose suckers.

"I'm not sure I even want to pick this shit up." Jack paused as he looked into the air, "Yoggi, this shit isn't diseased is it?"

Jack heard a chuckle, then silence.

"Well, that didn't explain anything to me." Jack thought out loud, as he walked over to Tux, and left the Laptop. He brought it over to the squiggling mass that was supposed to be a tome.

"Tux please scan this for any... Problems."

Without missing a beat, Tux responded, "What is this?"

"..."

A silence ensured, as Jack finally responded, "It's a tome."

"Unlikely." Tux replied.

"Can you elaborate?"

"This collection of tissues looks to be more of a crafted creature of various parts of flesh that is held together by what I can only assume is magicks. As far as it being a Tome remains to be seen, even if it has the shape of a tome." Tux replied, while his figured looked curious on the screen of Jack's Laptop.

Jack knowing that Tux wasn't of much help decided to just trust Yoggi that he wasn't going to catch some magical disease from this... Thing. He sat Tux back on the table, as he went to the tome on the floor again and beat down to carefully pick up the putrid tome.

Putting his right hand on the tomb, the tomb too touched him back with the small feeler tentacles from a crack on the cover. As Jack picked up the tome, the sticky slime ooze stuck to the floor ever so slightly, but gave way after a small bit of force, as Jack walked it back over to his desk, and laid it on the table next to Tux.

Jack looked to his right hand to see it covered in the green ooze.

[Lucius.] Jack reached out.

[Yes, my God-King.]

[Lucius...]

[Yes, your Grace.]

[Haaa~ Close enough. Can you have someone bring me some Holy Water to the front of my Library?]

[Your will be done.] Lucius sounded more pious than before, as he cried through the transmission.

[...]

A few minutes later, Jack felt someone outside his library. Staring at the wiggling, and squiggling tome was enough to disgust him. Thankfully, Jack felt again, that it was nice not having a stomach to empty.

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

As he exited his Library, he found Young-Priest Jasper bowing before retreating without word. Jack did want to say thanks but found that Young-Priest Jasper was already out of sight. Shrugging, Jack lifted the basin of water with his strength and walked it into his Library.

Sitting the basin of water on the desk, Jack put both his hands into the basin to clean off the slimy ooze.

He successfully cleaned the mess from his hands, but Jack watched as the basin of water changed from its clear brilliance as it changed hue into a greenish-blue tint, and then thicken up to the consistency of sludge.

"A small amount of the ooze from this book befouled the Holy water???" Jack muttered aloud.

[What the fuck did Yoggi give me???] Jack roared in his mind, as Jack was complaining, he noticed that the muck that was now bubbling in the Holy water began to stir, as tiny tin arms arose from the disgusting pool of filth that now filled the holy water basin.

[...] Jack watched on, as these tiny arms that emerged, were followed by tiny green fat little imp-like creatures. These creatures had mouths in their bellies that opened and closed as they made sounds. On their small heads were just a pair of small beady eyes. Six of them climbed over the side of the basin, flopped outside of the basin, and rolled around.

Jack poked one for it to giggle in a menacing way. He then looked to the wiggling tome and shook his head.

[I really need to be able to mentally message fucking Yoggi, when I need too... This is some gremlin shit...]

Jack watched as one of them was bumped off the table and landed with a splat onto the floor. Its inners squirmed out, showing that it had organs on the inside, before it bubbled and dissolved into the green ooze, as if acidic.

Jack brought his hand to his chin, as he rubbed, wondering how all this worked, and how he could use these creatures.

Before his thoughts could come to a clear conclusion, four of the remaining ones helped each other down from the table to the chair, and then to the floor. They then began to eat the tome that were on the floor nearest to them.

"Wait! STOP THAT!!!" Jack yelled at the tiny imp-like creatures, as they giggled while stuffing their largemouths.

Jack pointed his finger and a small bolt of light fired at one of the green imps causing it to splat its insides out.

This did little to deter the other green imps, as they took large bites out of the tomes, and anything that was in sight.

Jack quickly dispatched the few remaining imps, as he looked at the pile of half-eaten tomes, and a bit of the chair leg gnawed off.

[I'm going to need a lot more holy water if I want to see how this works.] Jack thought to himself.

*******

In distant lands, roared the Priestess of the Beyond One!

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE LOST THE DARK YOUNG!!!"

"Priestess, please forgive us... We accompanied her for days and days... But... When we went to bring her food again this afternoon, she... She was gone."

"HOW DOES ONE LOSE THE REVERED MESSAGER OF THE BEYOND ONE! FIND HER!" The Priestess had a veil of three colors covering her face, but her rage was not hard to miss.

"Priestess Moon, we have looked all over the temple lands... We have others searching the nearby cities... It's like she disappeared completely." One of the two servants cowered before Priestess Moon, Servant of the Beyond One.

"Who... Who was the one that was watching the Dark Young?" The priestess suddenly softened her voice, as she sat back down in her seat. The Dark hall she was a part of seemed to echo with her chilling voice, unlike when she was yelling.

"That would be... That would be me, Priestess."

"Very well." Priestess Moon looked to the servant to her left.

"Servant, what is your name?"

"Priestess of the Beyond One, I am Jakold, and I have served this hall for one hundred and two years."

"Good... Take your fellow servant outback. Cut his neck, drain his blood into the pit. Flay his skin and bound a new tome of conduct with it. Cut his meat from the bone, and feed the orchard of gnarled trees, and use his bones to make a chair. At least he will be good for something... And lastly... Bring me his eyes cut freshly from the sockets. It has been a long time since I've had a good martini, this time I won't hold on the eyes.

You will take his place Servant Jakold.

Now begone... I must consult the Beyond to locate this wayward one."

The Priestess flipped her hand, as both servants were flung out of the halls long passage and outside the doors, as the doors shut behind their exit.

The priest sat upon her chair brooding, as she muttered to herself.

"My two sisters are going to have a field day with this... Beyond One, why send me a Dark Young and then take it back? When will I receive my sweet release?" The Priestess looked up as if waiting for an answer that would never come.