As I stepped up to the glowing pedestal, I looked once more back to Irving. Though he had expressed his concern before the ceremony, there was a distinct sense of urgency and worry to his face. I did not have the luxury of asking him about it before the Commander demanded we move on.
Greagoir was not here.
Sick to my stomach and worried over my templar's whereabouts, I took the final step towards the blue, glowing pool of light that filled the altar. I looked down at my wrists, barely concealed beneath the fabric of my robes. I had done my best to cover up the fresh scars inflicted upon me by the nameless monster the night before, but they cut as deeply as the ones before. Despite this, I was disgusted to find that my old wounds already shown so terribly still there was little to no difference from what he'd done to me in the abandoned tower chamber. I still couldn't break through the fog of my mind to recall a clear timeline of what had proceeded, and the vague memory of it scared me more than anything.
I couldn't remember what happened. Only a foggy dream of the night I met him remained in my immediate conscious.
With doubt lacing my mind and fear trembling on my fingertips, I reached out and touched the lyrium. Immediately I lost all sense of the world around me; my body went numb, and vision faded into black.
I opened my eyes and saw a blurry shape emerging from the endless abyss. A flame, at first, then it grew until I could make out the shape of a body. She approached me weightlessly, her fire-hair cascading behind her in a purple glow. Her eyes were black and smile poisoned. She reached out a sharp claw and touched my chin.
Chains twisted around my limbs and pulled me taut before I could fight back. I hung in the nothing, helpless. I tried to open my mouth to scream but silence came out. Panicked, I began to thrash and shout soundless pleas for help.
The demon creature sauntered closer to me with a chuckle, then touched my lips.
"I am your voice now," she purred in a two-toned voice. Her voice was as sweet as my master's, if not sweeter. Her otherwise naked form was decorated by dripping jewels of every sort, and spiked tail whipped out behind her. She hung in the air beside me, delighted by my immobility. Her claws dug deeper into my face until blood appeared. She grinned a wide-fanged smile.
"You are mine now, elf!" she screeched, then abruptly wrenched her hand away and plunged both arms into my chest. A searing, white-hot pain filled my body as I her claws pierced my flesh and grabbed my soul within. I screamed until my voice finally broke through and spilled into the blackness in a shrill, terrifying shout.
I felt my entire body being split in two. Blood boiled in my veins, ribs snapped and broke apart, and flesh felt as if it was slowly being torn apart by the seams. Her claws twisted deeper until she was submerged up to her elbows. I screamed until my throat turned raw, and continued screaming even when the blood began to bubble in my throat.
My pain turned to horror as I witnessed her purple flesh beginning to merge with my own. Skin melded together like liquid, and the more I struggled to pull away the more our bodies fused. Panic overwhelmed me as I threw all my weight against the chains in an attempt to break free. I arched my back in a last attempt and let out a terrible scream, convulsing and twisting to get away.
The next moments I only recall in horrible flashes of memory. Though I returned to the waking world, my body was not my own. I stood as nothing more than a bystander to the destruction my possessed body wreaked. She went for the commander first, plucking him from among the others and tearing his head from his body. The other templars ran in the first direction they could find, though Irving and the First Enchanter attempted to fight her.
I screamed in vain for her to stop, though she would not listen. Her claws raked across the First Enchanter's chest, and Irving retreated back to where her torn body had fallen. The demon wasted no time over the stragglers, but instead headed straight downstairs to the third floor where the templars' dorm resided. Templars fell before her like rag dolls, tossed and ripped to pieces until only scattered body parts remained.
To my horror, a select few she lifted from the ground and sucked their souls right from their bodies. What was left I could only describe as lifeless husks. A path of fire and destruction marked where she had been, and by the time the demon reached the first floor half of the tower had been massacred.
I begged her to leave them be - she could take me if she wanted but leave the rest of them alone. Though I had not seen him amongst their scarred, twisted faces, I dreaded that she would find him in the tower and take all that was left of me.
Like a beacon of light she turned her interest quite abruptly to the stairs that led down to the basement dungeons. She tore the large doors from their hinges and cast the splintered wood aside. Down below the world was quiet and damp, vastly different from the chaos and screams that reigned above. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest as I witnessed her glide to the floor and place her feet upon them. I had no conceivable way to take back control of my body - I was trapped within, helpless and terrified as I watched her kill those I held dear.
"Why are you doing this?" I begged through my sobs. She smiled then, and turned towards a door at the end of a chamber. I felt a sudden throb in my chest, and gasped. As she stepped towards the hallway, the sensation echoed again in the root of my body. She was thrilled by the sensation as well, and continued towards it until I felt a steady thrum run through us both.
An unknowing dread began to creep into my body as I watched her slowly push open the barred door. Another long chamber stretched out before us, lined on each side with the rusted iron bars of prison cells.
"No, go back," I told her. The strange pulse turned into a steady thrumming in my chest. She took a wary step closer and tapped her claws against the stone walls - my hands, twisted into a half-form of a demon. Maker, I had become exactly what the templars feared. How could I have so easily let a demon take control of me?
The more I receded, the closer she moved down the cells until I felt like the pulsing would burst from my veins. She turned and faced him curled up in the cell, cradling a glowing vial like a newborn child. My heart stopped.
"No," I whispered, low and throaty. Tears filled my eyes as I looked upon his startled face and recognized the fear. "No, stay away from him!" I screamed at her. If there was a breath left in my body, I would not dare let her steal him from me. Not him.
I surged forward with every bit of strength I could muster, and felt my vision lurch. She stumbled forward. I paused in my shock, then looked down at my hands. She raised them.
"You will not have him," I continued, angry tears staining my cheeks. I surged forward again with every ounce of my willpower until my body felt it would snap in half. Screaming, I felt the pressure leave and my body was flung to the floor. She fell to her knees and began to scream and wretch. Greagoir stood now, and placed himself against the far wall with arms outstretched.
She began to flail and kick anything within her vicinity. Her claws lashed out and caught the bars. She twisted around and hit the floor, screaming, then stood again and fell against the prison gate. The metal began to bend into itself like paper the louder she screamed. The sound was so shrill and high I could hardly stand it, but continued fighting against her. Pain struck every chord in my body, and I could feel my muscles and flesh tearing apart at the seams.
After a sharp white-hot pain, I felt the numbness leave my fingers. The stone beneath me was cold, and the air warm against my sweat-blanketed body. I was breathing heavy and fast and shaking so badly I could hardly keep myself steady.
"K-Kaida..sa?" Greagoir trembled. I looked up with hazy, surreal eyes to his form still plastered against the wall. The world around me lurched through a black, glowing tunnel vision. I reached out a hand towards Greagoir, but he recoiled in fear.
I looked down at my hands and shaped out the black-tipped purple claws and scales that blended in with my skin. Blood covered them. I fell back on my heels and looked at my sinful hands, shaking. My eyes returned to Greagoir, who looked horrified as he regarded my blood-stained, mutilated form. Guilt overwhelmed me, and before I could think I stumbled to my feet and ran away from him as fast as my feet could carry me.
I ran from the tower and never looked back.