Chapter 20: Nyctophobia

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A/N: Writing should return to normal pace now. Time to begin Subcon Forest.

The kid restored power to her bedroom, and we entered. A telescope was now in the center of the carpet. I looked through the telescope, and landed at the base of a stupidly large tree. It seemed to be hollowed out, and the inside had some bookshelves and a seat, almost like it was someone's study or library. Odd.

I heard the kid land, and we walked around. I saw some... thing... looking at us, and I walked toward it. It was a strange shadow creature with a golden, glowing blob for a face. It looked at the kid, or at least seemed to.

"Found your way here already? That's a shame," It grumbled from no visible mouth.

Well, that's certainly not a good sign.

"Kid, stay near me. Don't ever leave my vicinity," I demanded, and she nodded. I looked around, and saw another shadow creature look at us, then run away. That seems like a good lead. "Hey! Wait!" I called, then began to chase it.

Eventually, it stopped, and we both approached it. But, instead of the shadow talking to us, I felt myself being swept off my feet, and was barely able to see a tarp rise up and ensnare us. I heard the shadow chuckle, then run away.

"Very funny, dude. Now release us!" I shouted, but no response came.

Ugh.

...

Why was it so quiet now? A cacophany of shrill noises pierced the air, which sounded like a colony of panicked bats fleeing.

A large, distant BOOM shook through us, then, after a few seconds, another one, but this sounded slightly closer. It was as if some titanic being was slowly walking toward us.

"We need to break this tarp, now!" The kid screamed, and we both began jutting our weapons out, trying to snag and tear the fabric.

After about a minute, it finally worked, and we fell down to the ground.

Something's wrong, VERY wrong!

The ground and the scenery was enveloped in a void, almost like we were phased into a dimension of void.

I sensed something behind us, and turned around to witness possibly the most awe-inspiring sight I've ever seen.

A huge humanoid shadow with a golden, glowing, evil face was roaring at us. My jaw dropped, and I heard the kid fall backward, clearly just as shocked.

The shadow cackled evilly.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!"

This is the beast that voice was talking about, isn't it?

"You blew it! You've totallly screwed yourselves! Nobody enters my home and leaves in one piece!" It hissed. Well, it had a masculine voice.

Yep, that proves it. This is the beast.

We are screwed.

It seemed to adopt a thoughtful look.

"Tell you what, though. Hang on a minute! You both get to live!" He stated evilly.

"Wait, really?" I stammered.

"That's right! Aren't you lucky? Normally I'd eat your souls and toss your bodies, but you're both very lucky!" He exclaimed.

This seemed... off. What's the catch?

"You've both won the lottery, as I just happen to be missing a braindead servant!" He explained.

Oh, there's the catch. He lets us live, and we do work for him. Well, it'd give us a chance to roam the forest and search for Time Pieces.

"What do you mean 'braindead servant'? What, did you work your old slave so hard he died?" I asked sarcastically. He didn't seem to get my sarcasm, and grinned evilly.

"That's right! The old one got himself killed, his head popped off, and now I need a new towel boy!" He said.

Ugh, here we go again.

He snapped his shadowy fingers, and a bolt of lightning struck down, creating a piece of paper labelled 'Contract'.

"So, tell you what, I've got a piece of paper here. Don't worry about the details, I just need you both to sign right here at the bottom!" He demanded, and I stepped forward and read the paper. The kid leaned forward, clearly wanting to see what it was about as well.

The jist of the contract was that he wanted us to find some village... kill... kill some fire spirits, and then find and clean some big, old well. Other than the second part, this seemed easy enough, no big deal! It actually seemed like a winning situation for us!

However, it was the message written at the bottom that ground me to a halt.

'I'll be keeping the following hostage: your souls, but keep anything you find on the way!'

I stepped back and shook my head. Why would I willingly hand over my soul to a shadow demon?! His smile lessened slightly.

"Come on, now! Don't make this difficult! You don't really have a say in this, so sign the paper," He grumbled.

"I'd rather not..." I said. He scowled at me.

Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"I don't think I made this clear enough. YOUR OPINION... DOESN'T MATTER TO ME! Put your names on the contract or I'll make your dead, hollow bodies sign it for you!"

I heard the kid make a whimpering noise, and I looked down at her. She was sitting on the ground, shaking. She must be so terrified...

I knelt down to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"I-I don't think we have a choice," She stuttered.

"But it's handing over our souls, I don't think that's a good idea," I countered.

"Please, I don't want to die," She begged, and I frowned.

Well, I guess she's right.

I got up, grabbed the quill that appeared, and wrote my 'name' on the contract. I handed it to the kid, and she wrote... something on the contract. It must've been in her alien language or something, because it looked like gibberish to me.

The contract disappeared into thin air, and the demon cackled again.

"That seals the deal, we're in business! Now, about those souls..." He grumbled, then loomed over me, grinning malevolently. "Seeing how you've been so intent on defying me, I'll take yours first!" He exclaimed, then did some pose.

...

Nothing happened.

I gave him a look of confusion, and he seemed just as confused. There were a few seconds of silence.

"Where is it?! I can sense it, why can't I find it?!" He hissed, and I just shrugged my shoulders. He loomed forth so that we were face to face, and he poked me on the forehead, which caused me to fall backward. "What are you?!" He asked angrily, and I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe I don't have one. Or, more likely, I already gave it away. I don't remember any of my past, maybe I did something stupid a while ago and sold my soul for something," I muttered, and he made a grumbling noise, then grinned evilly.

"Well, time for some contract modification!" He exclaimed, then I felt something coil around my wrists.

I looked down, and saw that my wrists had chains hanging from shackles that were attached to my wrists. I tried yanking one off, but it clamped down a bit tighter.

"So long as those chains hang from your wrists, you cannot leave!" He shouted, and I gave him the most irritated look I could come up with.

"Where will I stay?! What will I eat?!" I yelled, but he shushed me.

"Now it's your turn, kid," He said, then loomed down in front of her.

I have no clue what to expect.

Lightning seemed to come down from the sky and... struck her multiple times. She began convulsing, but she didn't make a peep, like she wasn't in any pain. She fell onto her hands and knees as a hazy purple figure flew out of her and into the demon's grasp.

"Whoops, guess this soul belongs to me now! Don't worry, though! If you finish your chores quickly, you'll have those chains off and your soul returned real soon!" He explained contently.

I knelt down to the kid, and she looked up at me.

Before, I used to see light in her eyes. Metaphorically, they were the brighter than the sun.

Now, I saw nothing. Void. Emptiness. Nothing but darkness. It was as if what made her... her was sucked out.

Now, I fear no man, but that... thing?

It terrifies me.

I crawled backward and tried putting as much distance between us as possible, and she continued to look at me. Now, she looked confused. I raised a shaky arm and pointed at her, and she got up and walked toward me, stumbling along the way. She fell down beside me, and... smiled.

"Hey... it's still me," She said warmly.

It was still her. Even without her soul, she hadn't truly lost her personality, or her humanity. I calmed down and nodded. The demon cleared his metaphorical throat.

"And, don't you dare forget our little contract! I've put it in your pocket so it'll never leave your grasp!" He hissed, then disappeared, returning us back to the path we chased that minion down.

The sun was beginning to set on this forest, causing it to become dark.

I finally remembered another phobia I have.

Nyctophobia: extreme or irrational fear of the night or anything dark.

We should probably find the village, there'll probably be light there.