Obviously the first thing I did when I woke up was to check on my abilities. I wanted to see what it looked like having two of them, hell, I wanted to see what it FELT like. I closed my eyes, reaching into myself and willing those purple flames to fill my vision.

Wishmaster candidate status. F-rank.

Ability: Intermediate Wish- Six times a day grant an Intermediate wish in return for proper compensation. Wish must be feasibly achievable by the candidate's own efforts within a three day period with current statistics.

Second Ability: Intermediate Path of the Doom Sovereign- A Solid Path toward a great destiny.

Might 975 Impact 35 Fantasy 500 Vitality 720 Focus 720 Perception 704 Creation 554 Progress to next rank: 4208/10000 Soul strength-

Azure Soul Body Stored: 7 shadow attacks, 7 shadow jump, 10 Stealth charges, 0 fire attacks, 10 triple strenth tranq blows (ten in reserve), 0 triple strength density shifted attacks (nine in reserve). 10 spider leg attacks (ten in reserve), 0 heal bursts, 3 gravity attacks, 2 shadow clone, 21 scan heals (I-rank ability so Shane can hold more) Pet: Wolf named Jin Skills: Intermediate Path of the Doom Sovereign, Lesser Valtek Mastery, Lesser Cooking Mastery, Lesser Inventing Mastery, Beginner Balam Mastery, Minor Piano Mastery, Minor Guitar Mastery, Minor First Aid Mastery,Beginner Paired Dueling DS Subskills:

Monk: Stone Limb, Moonlit Night, Consecration of Flame, Ripple Running, State of Grace, Steam Arrow, Afterburner, Pit of Despair, Mountain Stance.

Rogue: Mercy Kill, Double Trouble, Touch of Tears, Flurry of Blows, Heavy hands, Marked for Death

Diviner: Overlay, Song of the Soil, Rythym of the Wild, Eye of Revelation, Danger Sense

Goetia Staff Art:

First form- Belial. Touch of Tears, Stone Limb, Consecration of Flames

Second Form- Mephistopheles. Consecration of Flame, Afterburner, Mercy Kill, Marked for Death.

I felt...the same. Or maybe not? The Path of the Doom Sovereign felt more like a part of me now. Like every movement was more attuned to the steps I needed to take, but it also wasn't. I also felt a sense of rejection, like I was doing something wrong. Nothing severe enough to make me worry about my abilities, but just a sense of wrongness. I also didn't feel the need to use my overlay anymore. I still could, but I felt like my fate sense and my Fatewalker Path were more in tune.

The whole thing was deeply confusing and more than a little irritating, but I shoved it all away as I stood up to stretch and move, seeing how my body responded. No issues. I felt like my DS Mastery would be more flexible and easier to alter at least. That would make creating my future staff forms easier. Maybe I could even teach them to someone. Like Callie. At that thought my brain slammed to a halt.

I leapt to my feet, searching for any sign of the other me, but as he'd said, he was gone. Shaking my head to clear it, I bolted for the hut, slamming the door open and blurring through the small wooden room to the archway on the other side. I threw myself through it, golden light washing over me, and when the light cleared, I found myself standing in a large marble room.

At the center of the room was a roaring golden brazier flickering with equally golden fire. It reminded me somewhat of the one out at the external temple, but it seemed...smaller. Less important at least.

When I entered, I spotted Callie already there. She was standing opposite Billy, holes in her coat and burns on her arms and legs. The shadows of her costume were only partly obscuring her, and she was holding up one arm with a dagger in her hand, the rest of her riddled with damage and burns. They stood a few feet away from a bag lying on the ground, it looked like it belonged to Billy, but Callie was obviously trying to keep him away from it.

I felt our bond snap back into place and breathed a sigh of relief as I confirmed she was ok, and mostly winning. Billy had drawn a wicked looking knife and carved up his arms, blood was spitting and hissing all over the place. I slowly rounded the circular room, making sure not to make a sound as I signalled Callie not to look at me. I was tapping the bond to use her Stealth Skill, so it wasn't a tough message to get across.

Stolen story; please report.

Callie understood my plan, and started to draw his attention. "Hey asshole, you done already?" She taunted, flicking her hand and sending a barrage of shadow blades toward him. They speared him through, but began to break down from his acidic blood.

He cackled. "Don't be stupid. I've got plenty more blood, plus I have to drain all of yours. We're not even close to done." He started waving his arms in a frantic cascade of flailing limbs, flicking blood all over. Callie cursed and started to weave back and forth, doing her best not to get hit by any more, but I saw drops land on her, corroding her skin, clothes, and the darkness around her. I wanted so bad to help, but I stuck to the plan. Ending this was the best way to help her.

Exhaling, I triggered Mephistopheles as I drew my staff. Single target damage was the name of the game, and Mephistopheles was perfect for assassination. Lining up a strike, I wound up with my whole body like a cobra as Callie attacked to distract him.

I expected him to dodge at the last second, to conveniently notice the attack or somehow evade. I expected pretty much everything except for my staff hitting his back dead center and BLOWING a huge fucking hole in his torso, sending him pitching forward, barely catching himself on his hands and knees.

Grimacing, I slowly circled around him, keeping an eye out for traps. He gasped, choking up dark blood as he tried to get to his feet. "Well." I said blandly. "That was...easier than expected. Good work honey, guess you softened him up."

Callie grinned at me. "Well, that fight was closer than I liked. He had me on the ropes before you got here. I guess however he got in he brought him through my temple. I followed him inside and ended up in a fight before I knew it. He was surprisingly good in combat." She frowned. "Actually, I'm surprised he didn't notice you sneaking up on him. I'd have expected him to..." She froze, her eyes snapping to where I'd heard Billy trying to get up repeatedly. And failing. Except he wasn't failing. He was using his blood to slide towards the bag.

He grinned a triumphant, blood grin, managing to snag the bag and and pull out the bottle. I flicked out my staff to deflect it, expecting him to throw it into the brazier, but instead he tossed it back like a shot, his body going taught as he started to scream, blackness running through his veins and climbing across his body.

My eyes widened in panic as I slammed my staff down hard on the ground between him and Callie as he went from lying down to a blur of motion nearly instantly. The explosion of black flame tore at his face before dissolving into the air as it met black creeping darkness and went up in a hiss of evil looking steam. I grabbed Callie and stepped on air, dragging her away before he was able to right himself.

Letting out a wheezing, raspy chuckle, Billy grinned at us from where he stood as his chest began to knit itself back together. His eyes were filled with blood, seas of blackish red as he giggled madly. "I have to admit." He said gleefully. "This feels better than I ever expected. They told me to avoid this little ploy unless I had no other choice. Told me it would consume me body and soul."

"It looks like they were right." I said warily. "I thought you needed that bottle to complete your little plan. Won't you be in trouble with whoever you work for? How will you trigger the transportation protocol now?"

He flicked a wrist, and another rain of droplets flicked out at us. Having seen what that stuff had been doing to him, I grabbed Callie and shoved off the air again, shoving us clear before the blood hit the ground. Instead of steaming or hissing, the blood just...consumed. It ate a hole clear through the marble on impact, a section of stone in the shape of the drops vanishing, leaving behind a series of deep droplet sized holes.

"You think I can't spring the trap because I don't have the Lamentation Liquid?" He laughed. "I AM the Lamentation Liquid now. It's burning me up, using my poisoned blood for fuel. All hail Bloody Billy! Lord of Lamentation!" He squealed with childlike glee and spun in a circle, blood flying all over the place as we tried desperately to avoid it. A drop hit me and ate right through my armor chewing clear through my flesh and bone and leaving a hole in my arm.

"Shane!" Yelped Callie as she dragged me away from him. We hid behind the brazier, watching him. Her eyes flashed with rage and violence as she started to pull on the shadows, but I held her back. Sensing my question, she relaxed slightly. "But you need to think this through Billy." She called to him. "If you die who will complete your mission. You've got to be here for a reason. Who will accomplish your goal once you're gone. You're the only one who can do it."

Her voice was cajoling, trying to lure him into a false sense of security, but it didn't seem to work. He leapt at us, clearing the flames and landing precariously on the gilt edge of the brazier. He balanced on his toes, grinning down at us both as he leaned forward. "The only one?" He cocked his head in confusion. "Who exactly told you I was the only one? You think they sent me alone?"

My blood froze. Billy wasn't in charge here. We'd known that academically, but he was the one who was making all the noise. We'd assumed, I'd assumed, that he was some fringe lunatic acting on his own. I hadn't even considered that he might be acting on orders, and when he'd mentioned it I hadn't considered what it might mean. There were others here, hiding, waiting.

I reached up frantically to grab for him, realizing too late what he was doing. "Billy! No! Tell us who they are. Please. You have to tell us! Who are you working with?"

He jerked back, overbalancing on the edge of the brazier and tipping backwards, cackling madly. "Wait and see!" He crowed. "You won't know them until they get you! That's half the fun!" As he screamed the last part, his whole body was swallowed by the flame, consumed in an instant. The flame began to gutter, to snap and pop and spark. In the middle of it I saw creeping darkness begin to boil out, contaminating the golden fire, filling the brazier slowly.

Within a minute, the black energy had dyed the flame and was seeping out into the brazier itself, dying the gold a fathomless midnight black. As I watched, the thing began to turn, the floor beneath it lighting up with now visible symbols as it rotated, clicking into place as the fire inside erupted into a dark column, burning through the ceiling as it expanded into a massive pillar of flame.

I dove for Callie, grabbing hold of her, locking my staff behind her back to hold her in place as I pulled her close. The pillar had begun to waver, flickering and jumping, and I could sense something coming. My Danger Sense was screaming, had been screaming since I came into the room. With one last wail inside my head the pillar began to expand, exploding outward. The black flame consumed Callie and I and I pulled her against me, determined not to get separated by the space shifting flame. Then everything disappeared in darkness.