Ker found herself standing at the outskirts of a forest overlooking a large city. Compared to some of the other cities of other Pokémon-exclusive dimensions, this one was more technologically advanced. It was on-par with the human civilizations that ran on electricity.
It was quite boring, Ker thought to herself. She couldn't tell any of the buildings apart from one another; they all looked like steel cubes. Only a few of them stretched high into the noon sky in long needle shapes, scraping the clouds.
At least there weren't any cars in this dimension. She detested the honking horns, the thick smog, the screeching of the rubber, the inane screaming from the drivers. It was like nails on a chalkboard to her. Pokémon in this dimension were smart and knew they could walk around just fine on their own feet or have a winged Pokémon carry them to faraway lands if need be.
Somewhere within this city, a "fragment" waited for her; a soul Gallows had ripped from reality and dragged into himself. That poor soul could be anywhere in the massive city. After all, he was but a tiny speck in an endless sea.
Thankfully for Ker, this search wouldn't take her long. She knew everything there was to know when it came to finding that soul.
How could she not know when she had Gallows, the omniscient creator of this vast multiverse, right beside her, guiding her the whole way?
At least, he had been floating a moment ago when he was still a Chandelure. His form had shifted again as it seemed to always do now, and he now stood as a Zorua.
"So one of your little characters is here, huh?" Ker asked as she looked over the city with a long scowl.
"That's right," Gallows said with a devious snicker fit for his current species. "His name is Nexus. He's an interesting fellow, but you won't have any problems finding him, don't worry. In fact, all you have to do is wander around for a while and your paths will cross."
"Well that sounds awfully convenient. What, are you manipulating everything to make all of this as easy as possible for me?"
"Ketetet, oh Ker, I may want you to reach me in reality, but I can't shift the narrative completely in your favor. I can only give those other souls distractions in their own narratives, all to buy you time to complete what needs to be done with Nexus."
The Sableye turned to Gallows and found that he had turned back into a Chandelure. His flames crackled softly as he took one of his shadowy tendrils and wound it through Ker's horns. She shuddered pleasantly as feverish tingles spread across her being.
"Oh no no, if you want me, you'll have to work for it," Gallows went on in a teasing tone. "Think of this like all of this a test of your love, like all of the trials Psyche endured to prove her love for Eros. You'll even become a god just like her if you succeed! My my, isn't that something!"
Ker vaguely remembered hearing that story, though she didn't know what happened during the trials. She only recalled the ending and how the two had a beautiful child together after Psyche gained godhood. Even still, she smiled at the comparison. Sure, she wouldn't gain real godhood by absorbing all the other souls, but it would be pretty close to it.
Gallows withdrew his tentacle. Ker already wanted it back. She missed his touch. He made her feel strange, wonderful things. Things that made her head exhilaratingly dizzy. However, now was not the time to demand. She had a soul to find and a multiverse to escape from. She would throw herself into Gallows and take in all his intoxicating, salacious darkness later.
"So just go into the city and walk around until I find him, huh?"
"Basically. Take a small walk through the city, and then you'll end up in a place called Emerald Park. You'll see him there."
"And what kind of Pokémon is he? Or is he some human you tossed into this Gallowsverse?"
"Oh no, all of the souls I took in were Pokémon. As for what species Nexus is… you'll see for yourself. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."
Ker huffed. He was toying with her, riling her up. She could practically feel him inhaling her irritation. Even in moments like this where time was limited, it seemed he still couldn't resist tormenting her. Her befuddled emotions were too delicious to resist. She snickered at the thought and felt oddly flattered by it all.
"You're not coming with me, are you?" Ker then asked Gallows, who had shifted into a Mismagius.
"I'm afraid this is something you need to do on your own. Of course, there's no reason to feel lonely; I'm technically everyone in this world, so in a way, I'll have never left you in the first place."
Ker wanted to say that it didn't count when everyone else in existence were just puppets following narratives set by Gallows, but then she remembered this Gallows beside her was also a puppet. The real Gallows (or whatever his name was, he had too many names) was just using this ghost beside her as a mouthpiece, all while waiting for her outside this dream world.
"Good luck, Ker. I'll be watching~"
And with that, the ghost disappeared, leaving Ker alone atop the hill. She clenched her fists and steeled herself. It was time to prove just how much she loved Gallows. Her actions from here on out would determine if she was strong enough, worthy enough, to be with him in the real world.
But she had no fear.
Nothing was going to stop her from being with him, not even the thought that she'd be destroying multiple Pokémon's lives.
Reaching Gallows was the only thing that mattered to her.
It felt wrong to walk down the sidewalks like a mortal, but it was what Ker needed to do.
She wasn't even sure what she was looking for. Gallows had mentioned before that all of the souls would feel as if they knew each other when meeting, but that didn't help her much. In this city, Nexus could be literally anywhere.
If she had to guess, the population of this settlement was a few thousand Pokémon. That wasn't very big compared to some human cities she'd visited, but it was still a daunting number. As she looked around, she realized just how much this place did remind her of technologically advanced human cities. Giant screens flashed with advertisements that slowly but surely burned out everyone's retinas, peddlers lined the streets and offered useless goods that only served to distract Pokémon from their tedious and boring lives, Pokémon shuffled in and out of stores with bags filled with pointless gadgets that supposedly made their lives better but actually numbed their brains, and of course, no one seemed to pay attention to one another. They all walked past each other, not even saying "hello" or "excuse me" when they bumped into one another.
Ker knew no one around her was real, but she couldn't help but feel Gallows emulated the vapidness of mortals a little too well in this dream-world. Maybe some of those misanthropic rambles he had sometimes weren't just an act.
At least this made the walk easier for the Sableye. She kept her visibility up, but no one paid her much attention. They didn't even ask why a ghost was out in broad daylight. They only swerved around her small form and tried not to trip over her. Not that it would matter due to her intangibility.
After some time, Ker found herself in the park Gallows had mentioned. As the name suggested, it was a large stretch of land completely free of buildings. Only trees and some small bridges built over streams occupied this place. There seemed to be a few Pokémon here, namely small children and couples. They all hung out underneath the trees or on benches. Ker could at least tolerate the children running around and laughing wildly, but she couldn't stand even looking in the couples' direction. Their romantic words and gestures made her sick. It was all so gooey and fluffy and brainless. Disgusting. She wanted to demand they get a room, but she knew it was best not to make a scene. Even if a scene would probably attract Nexus's attention… wherever he was.
As she walked onto the middle of a stone bridge, she looked over all the Pokémon in the vicinity, double checking in some cases. The group of children consisted of a Pikachu, Skitty, and Eevee all playing tag with one another and wrestling each other to the ground if caught. None of them triggered that familiar feeling in her. She looked at a Spinda attempting to walk in a straight line through a grove of trees, but failing miserably and nearly stumbling over its own feet every five seconds. Again, there was no strange feeling. Though it made her want to gag, she looked toward an overly affectionate Mewostic couple that kept ramming their tongues into each other's mouths. Neither of them looked familiar either.
She did this with everyone that came in her sight for the next few minutes, but none of them were Nexus. They were all dream-people, mindless denizens of the Gallowsverse following a script. Ker grumbled as she looked down into the stream beneath. She could see her reflection staring back at her, frowning irritably. She noticed that her gemstone eyes seemed a little more tarnished than usual, probably because she hadn't eaten in who knew how long.
But she also noticed something else. Her shadow stretched into the water beside her because of the sun beating behind her back. That wouldn't be strange, if not for the fact that her shadow wasn't shaped correctly. It looked like a Sableye-shaped shadow, but only at first glance. When Ker kept staring at the shadow, she noticed how its horns weren't right. Their edges weren't sharp enough and they looked too short.
She stared at the shadow a little longer, then abruptly shifted to the right. The shadow followed, but it was a millisecond too slow.
The Sableye dove off the bridge and fell onto her shadow, not even feeling the water hit her form as she landed in the stream. She dug her claws deep into the darkness, plunging her whole arm into it. Something tangible grazed against her fingers, something that she instantly snagged and yanked out into the open.
She threw whatever it was onto the ground next to the stream. It was some black, shadow-like creature, borderline identical to her own shadow. She pounced onto the creature and pinned it down before it could even think about getting back up. She snarled as she dug her claws deep into its neck, enough to draw blood if it was mortal.
Except the entity didn't bleed. Her claws did sink into its flesh, but its insides felt cold, empty, an awful lot like a ghosts'. Not only that, but the creature started laughing. Mockingly laughing, as though it actually found her violent actions to be comical.
The Sableye looked at her captive. She then saw it wasn't a shadow monster; it was a Marshadow. Granted, it wasn't difficult to call it a shadow with how its wisps streamed from its body and the way its orange eyes flickered like candle lights.
Not only that, but the familiarity she had been searching for suddenly kicked in. It felt just like when she saw Glace, Sonata, and Yore. However, unlike how those souls must have felt, Ker knew the truth.
Nexus suddenly grabbed her wrist and threw her off in one fluid motion. She got back to her feet and prepared herself for an attack, but Nexus did no such thing. He only stood back up and rubbed his neck where Ker had punctured him, all while chuckling quietly to himself.
"Ker, Ker, Ker, we don't need to do this," he said, his voice borderline identical to Chandelure Gallows's, except far less breathy. It was hard to believe this wasn't yet another mask of Gallows. "You couldn't assimilate me anyway; I'm the stronger of the two of us."
"Oh, so you do know why I'm here," Ker said with a long frown.
"Of course, of course. You never wondered why my name was Nexus when Gallows told you to come find me?"
Ker stood there in stunned silence. She didn't even know how to begin processing what Nexus had just said. The Marshadow seemed to realize how she was feeling, because he smiled smugly, the same kind of smile that would fit Gallows perfectly.
"Some of us 'fragments' have certain advantages, so to speak," he said. "Sonata, if I recall right, was the only fragment that knew everyone's name and species and generally where to find them. Dimia has that All-Seer sight that lets her see multiple timelines and outcomes. And then there's me. I know what every one of us is doing at any given moment. You could almost say I have the entire script to this story 'Nyarlathotep' is making us play out. Or rather, 'Gallows' as he's been calling himself lately thanks to you."
Again, Ker had no idea what to say. She had thought dealing with Nexus would be easy, even if he supposedly was "interesting". She didn't realize "interesting" meant "he was a borderline clone of Gallows". She didn't feel conflicted about assimilating Nexus though. No, though he had that Chandelure's voice, that wasn't the problem.
It was his aura that intimidated her. She could feel great power radiating from his soul. Power that went beyond that of a rare Pokémon like him. Perhaps he had occupied the shadows of a few legendary Pokémon to obtain that power.
"If you know everything, then you know why I came after you," Ker said after a while.
"Yes, because 'Gallows' doesn't want to lose you," Nexus answered with a frown. "You're doing this out of 'love'."
"I sure am."
The Marshadow laughed hollowly as his eyes flickered. He gave the vicinity a momentary glance, as though to make sure no one was watching them, before looking back at the Sableye.
"So you really are doing this because you love him," Nexus said. "I do hope you realize that he doesn't love you back, Ker. He's just toying with you."
"You don't know that," Ker shot back.
"Actually I do! I know everything there is to know about you. Like how your entire relationship with him was built on him manipulating you again and again, all to indulge himself with your reactions. You're not an equal; you're a plaything to him, Ker. An addicting drug he can't get enough of. Even now, even after he says he supposedly loves you, he's still manipulating you. Maybe you can't see it because you're so hopelessly lost in the thrill of infatuation, but I can as an outsider. You keep listening to him and you're in for a world of pain."
"You're just saying all of this to rile me up. You want me to get all flustered so I mess up and can't assimilate you."
"You sure about that? Your gemstones are flickering a lot. You only do that when you're scared. Maybe you know I'm right and just don't want to admit it."
Ker didn't even need to look into the water's reflection to know her gemstones were indeed flashing. Part of her was scared, yes. Part of her did worry that Gallows was still playing with her and had sinister intentions in mind. That thought had never gone away completely, even after he confessed the true nature of everything to her atop that mountain.
"Maybe he's still manipulating me," Ker confessed. "Maybe I'm doing all of this for nothing. But what if he isn't? What if he really has had a change of heart and he really does want me in the real world so we can be happy together? I won't know until I assimilate every single one of you souls."
"So you'll take our lives, just because of wishful thinking," Nexus said in a bored tone. "You'll erase everyone's existence just because you don't want to believe how stupid you're being."
"Even if I'm being stupid, it's better than losing myself to one of you," Ker spat. "I'd rather take my chances with whatever Gallows has got in store for me than forever fade into the oblivion of your mind! I'm not letting you strip me of my voice and trap me in your hellish, lonely darkness again!"
Ker paused. What had she just said? Where had that come from? And why had there been so much vitriol as she screamed those words, as though there had been an eternity of hatred festering within her being?
Whatever the reason, she didn't have time to think about it, because Nexus scowled hard at her declaration. He made a strange clicking noise before seeping into the ground and shifting into an amorphous shadow. He started creeping away.
"Hey!" Ker cried as she pounced at the shadow and dug her claws into it, holding Nexus in place. "We're not done here! You're getting assimilated whether you like it or not!"
"We both know I'd come out on top if there was a struggle," said Nexus' disembodied voice. "Mercifully for you, I have no interest in playing out Nyarlathotep's little story. He may have brought me into his little multiverse for his entertainment, but I don't have to play a part in it if I don't want to. I've found enough that I'm happy within this make-believe existence. That's what he gets for trying to control a Mythical.
"If you let me go right now, I'll leave you be. You'll never have to worry about me snuffing out your existence. I'll even stop Dimia, considering what a rampage she's on right now, thanks to Nyarlathotep. Both of us can live out the rest of our days in peace."
"And if I don't?"
"Do I really need to say it?"
No, he didn't. Ker knew one of two things would happen now, depending on her choice. She could either let Nexus go and she could remain here in this Gallowsverse, constantly surrounded by the one she loved, but never truly having him. They would never truly be equals, instead one being a god and other being a flimsy soul.
Or she could fight Nexus. She would probably lose. Even if she had some fighting capabilities since she was a Sableye in some sense, she had nothing on the Marshadow. She would be assimilated easily and thrown into the black nothingness of Nexus' mind, where he would refuse to acknowledge her and forever rot in the loneliness of it all. But if somehow, someway, she could win, she would be one step closer to leaving this dream existence and being with the real Gallows. From there, she could truly have him, not the mere puppets that he surrounded her with. There in the real world, they could love each other as equals.
It might have been a difficult choice to make some Pokémon, but not for Ker. She had made her choice long before she even met Nexus.
Ker ripped the Marshadow out of the ground and blasted him point-blank with a shadow ball. He went flying for a few seconds before hitting the grass, wisps flying freely into the air with every tumble like embers from a bonfire. He didn't look the least bit winded when he got back to his feet. Worst yet, he wasn't even grimacing; he was smiling.
"Oh Ker," Nexus said with a laugh. "I guess you're stupid and suicidal."
His head and collars suddenly shifted into a vibrant green color. His eyes flared like two infernos. One second he was standing in the distance, eyeing Ker deviously. The next second, his shadowy fist smashed into Ker's face. The force of his punch cracked her gemstone eyes and sent her stumbling backwards. Her intangibility failed her as she hit the ground, but she barely registered it. She was too busy reeling and screaming from the pain of the initial punch.
Gods, it hurt. She had never experienced anything like this before. How could she when she existed as a spectral entity? She didn't even know it was possible to feel pain. She had never engaged anyone in physical fights in all of her existence.
Mercifully, she could still see, if barely. She now saw the world as if viewing it through a kaleidoscope. Everything was too bright and broken into dozens of fragments. She banged her head with a claw a few times, hoping it would clear up her sight, but it did little to help. She would have to keep fighting with a crippled vision.
"I'm giving you one more chance, Ker," said the multiple Nexus in her twisted eyesight. "Leave right now and I'll let you go. You could probably even fix your sight with a good meal. You try attacking me one more time, and you're done."
"And stay stuck here in this fake existence with you?" Ker laughed bitterly. "Yeah right. I don't even know why you'd settle for that when you know the truth."
"Please, it doesn't matter if this reality is fake or not. All realities in a sense are fake. Even the one you're trying to escape to. Reality is nothing more than the combined false narratives of every living being. Nothing is real, Ker. Reality is whatever someone wants it to be, whether it be the truth or riddled with lies or a combination of both. Didn't Gallows himself even tell you that?"
He had yes, but Ker didn't care. She wasn't going to stay stuck inside Gallows. She dug her claws into the ground and sent her own shadow after Nexus. It shot after the Marshadow and leapt onto him, slashing into his chest with ghastly claws. At least, that's what Ker told the shadow to do. In her eyes, the shadow only looked like it had collided with him and merged into his being.
"You really don't listen."
Something tackled Ker from behind and smashed her into the ground. She clawed at her assailant, but that proved to be a mistake. Something cold and sharp slashed through her wrists and then suddenly, her claws disappeared into the wind.
Hurt. It hurt so much.
Something black entered Ker's vision. There was a loud shattering sound, and Ker's world went completely dark. She felt for her eyes with her claw-less stumps and felt only holes where the gemstones once were. She screamed and screamed as she felt Nexus throw her into the air. She fell for a second before something hit her in the torso, shattering the gemstone upon her chest.
Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. HURT.
When she hit the ground, Nexus held her down and punched her repeatedly, each of his fists crackling with different elemental energy. Fire, ice, electricity, darkness, and phantom energy pelted her relentlessly.
IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS
STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT
By the time Nexus finished his onslaught, Ker was a wreck. She couldn't see anything, but her body felt like it had been battered to bits. She wouldn't be surprised if her arms and legs had become detached from her body. She was probably streaming black, blood-like wisps.
"You could have walked the other way. I gave you a choice."
That was Nexus, wasn't it? His voice sounded so far away even though he was probably kneeling right beside her. Ker grasped for the Marshadow, but something hard came down on what remained of her arm. She sputtered out her attempt of a cry.
"I really don't want to assimilate you, you know. I saw what happens to the others when they have voices in their heads. But I can't kill you because of what you are, and I can't leave you like this now, can I? You'll probably regenerate, even if it'll take you five hundred years. And maybe you'll never be strong enough to take me on, but you'll still be a nuisance."
Maybe she would, who knew? Ker couldn't respond back anyway. She didn't have the strength to say the words.
She felt him place his hand on her forehead, right above the black holes that were now her eyes. She felt what remained of her tattered form seeping into this Marshadow. She could feel the grass beneath her body fading away.
"Hopefully you won't be too loud in my head. Maybe I can find some way to shut you up if you are."
No. This wasn't happening. She couldn't be assimilated. She wasn't done yet. She needed to get to Gallows. She couldn't let this happen.
This couldn't happen.
This couldn't happen.
She wouldn't let it.
The Marshadow absorbed what remained of the Sableye into his being. He clenched his fists as he took in her essence, bracing himself for the headache and memories that were to bombard him. That was how it always was for Glace and Dimia, so he would be no different.
But surprisingly, nothing happened. Though he clearly felt Ker merge into his being and settle somewhere deep within the dark reaches of his mind and heart, she didn't say a word. None of her memories even flooded his vision. All was silent within Nexus' head, as if nothing had happened in the first place.
The Marshadow stood up as the greenish hue emitting from some of his body slowly died down, returning him to his usual black color. He rubbed his temples before heading over to the bridge Ker had been standing on earlier and sat inside the tunnel. He leaned his head against the wall as he closed his eyes and relaxed. At least no one would bat an eye at the fight that had just ensued; none of the dream people had paid Ker and Nexus any mind the whole time. Perhaps Nyarlatehotep hadn't wanted any interference between their fight and influenced the world to ignore the two.
Though Ker hadn't been very strong, she left a few good marks on him. Namely, from when she blasted him with a shadow ball. He could still feel his face burning from the explosion. He needed to recuperate in the quiet darkness of this bridge where no one would bother him.
As he settled down and waited for the pain to disappear, he investigated the progress of the other souls. He closed his eyes and focused on each of them, mentally traveling across dimensions until he found himself seeing the world through their eyes. Thankfully, none of them ever noticed him doing this. His presence was most likely similar to that of a ghost when he observed their lives.
Jera had been assimilated into Dimia since he last checked on her. He couldn't say he was surprised; she was an elderly Pokémon. It was inevitable she'd fall to some other soul.
Peony was still alive, miraculously. It seemed no one had come after him yet, probably because of his insignificance. He was a gardener, nothing more, nothing less. He would never seek out the others and forever remain oblivious to his purpose in this false existence. Even now, he strolled through his massive botanical garden without a care in the world, ignorant of his doomed fate.
Abel was running through a long and winding desert. He didn't know where he was or what had happened to Jera. He didn't understand what that Braixen had been saying about Jera wanting to kill that nice Kirlia. He didn't understand anything at all; he could only run. Run, and hope answers would present themselves to him.
Caran was also on the run, except he had hitched a ride on a Lapras and now traveled to another continent entirely. He was still in his home dimension, but he had long fled his village. He too didn't know where he was going; he only knew he had to flee far away from Dimia. If that Braixen caught him, that was the end. He would become part of the darkness he always saw in his visions.
Then finally there was Dimia. She had finally recuperated from assimilating Jera, but it was obvious having now five souls inside her took its toll. She had to cast her silencing spell every hour now, lest her mind be flooded with whispers of those other Pokémon. It seemed she was going after Abel first. She struggled to find his location with Jera's memories, but she was making progress. She'd soon pinpoint exactly what dimension Jera threw him into and where within he waited for her. Nexus could hear her prayers to the Faceless God, begging for her All-Seer sight back, but of course, her pleas fell on deaf ears. Nyarlathotep was playing with her, just like he had been playing with Ker. He probably took away her visions to buy Ker more time to save herself. At least, that was the excuse he gave Ker.
Ker was stupid for thinking Nyarlathotep ever wanted to save her. She should have realized she was a toy to him just as much as anyone else. Nyarlathotep didn't love her.
It's dark in here.
Nexus flinched. That was Ker's voice. And yet, when he searched within for her, she was nowhere in sight. She was still slinking somewhere within the dark corners of his mind, evading his mind's eye.
Her voice shouldn't have startled him, considering they shared a body now. However, there was something decidedly off about her. Something sinister. Something primal. Something uncanny.
It's just like her heart. She always kept me locked up in there too. She tried to ignore me, pretend I didn't exist, snuff me out like a flame.
Nexus told himself to calm down. She was just angry, that was why she was saying these strange things. After all, he had essentially killed her. She could never see her lover again, even if she was too stupid to realize how much Nyarlathotep was manipulating her.
She imprisoned me. She left me to rot.
I'm not letting you out, Ker. You could have walked away, but you just couldn't. Now you're facing the consequences of your actions.
A pair of eyes blinked open from within Nexus' mind. They were vacant, white eyes brimming with unsettling, ancient power.
You're trying to imprison me too. Just like she did.
Those words boomed across Nexus' mind, striking him with a splitting headache. He even thought he felt something wrap around his heart and constrict it like a snake.
I WON'T LET YOU.
A jagged smile ripped across the darkness that held Ker within itself. A smile so large that it could snap him in half with one bite.
Suddenly, Nexus was no longer underneath the bridge. He was trapped within his own mind, surrounded by the endless black. He tried to escape, but it was no use. He was trapped within this strange world, this mental space that was no longer under his control. He could only stand there beneath the horrid gaze of the abominable darkness as it watched him, drool leaking from its maw.
And that was the last thing Nexus ever saw before it lunged.
Ker suddenly found herself beneath the bridge in Emerald Park, her eyesight restored.
She didn't understand. Didn't Nexus assimilate her into his being? She had been so sure she'd been tossed into his soul and promptly silenced. She had felt all that nothingness, all that lonely coldness all around her. Why was she back out here? For that matter, where was that Marshadow in the first place?
She stood up to look around. That was when she noticed everything seemed shorter than before. She also didn't rise on just two legs, instead remaining on all fours. She looked over her body and realized what exactly was wrong.
She wasn't a Sableye anymore. She didn't know what she was, but she most certainly wasn't a Sableye. She seemed to be a strange fox creature. Something vaguely Zorua-like? Her body seemed completely comprised of darkness that had a wispy look to it, as if she were a creature perpetually shrouded in thick smoke.
Despite her new strange form, she felt oddly comfortable in it. Almost like this was always her body and her Sableye form was a temporary replacement.
"What is this…?" she muttered to herself.
"Oh good, you devoured Nexus. I was wondering if you could do it."
Ker looked up to see Gallows floating ahead of her in his usual Chandelure form. His flames burned delightfully as he made a soft cooing sound, all the while he circled around Ker.
"My my, don't you look rather nice~" he purred. "What a lovely new body you now have! I must say, you look far more beautiful this way than you did as a Sableye!"
"Gallows, what exactly happened?" Ker asked. "I know Nexus assimilated me; I felt myself disappear. But now I'm out here in this weird fox body and I don't know where Nexus went…"
"Oh, why, that's easy to answer. It's like I said; you ate him. You consumed him from the inside out and now you're possessing what remains of his body. You've made a few altercations to it though, it seems."
Ker sat down and lifted her front paws to her face. So this was Nexus' body she was inhibiting, somewhat. Either that it was a product of both their bodies merged. But why did she look like this? They were both bipedal creatures; why had her actions turned her into a fox?
"I… I don't remember doing any of that though," Ker then said. "I was just in his head, and I remember hating being in there and then I'm just… out here. Looking like this."
"Oh but you did," Gallows said, not even bothering to hide his glee. "You devoured Nexus from the inside out and now you're here, talking to me as yourself while brimming with Nexus' power. You must really love me to do something so unexpected like that~"
Yes, maybe that was it. Maybe her willpower, her deep desire to have Gallows, allowed her to take over Nexus. She didn't know how it was possible, but something about this power of hers felt natural. Normal. Like she had done this before somewhere long ago in another life.
She wanted to say she felt bad about apparently snuffing him out of existence (as she most certainly couldn't hear or feel him anywhere inside her), but there wasn't a single pang of regret to be felt.
"How this all came about doesn't matter too much," Gallows then said as he swooped closer to Ker. "What matters is that you came out on top in this struggle! Congratulations, you're one step closer to being with me in the real world."
"I am," Ker realized with a smile. "I… I am. Wow, I… I'm so close to seeing you. How much more do I need to do? What other souls do I need to assimilate?"
Though he didn't have a mouth, Ker could tell Gallows was smiling deviously. He took his shadowy tendrils and wrapped Ker's body up in them. His touch felt strangely warm, much warmer than she was used to. It was like sitting too close to a fireplace.
"You don't need to do anything, Ker," Gallows started to say. "Now that you've figured out how to eat souls from the inside out… now you wait for them to come to you. But fiiiiiiiirst~"
One of his feelers pushed itself inside Ker. She grimaced as it wormed its way through her insides, as if searching for something. She squirmed and moaned, but Gallows just dragged her closer until she pressed up against his domed body.
"It's alright, it's alright," he whispered softly in her ear. "Don't fight it. You might have Nexus' power inside you, but you need some help harnessing it. Without this, you'll never be able to reach it. And if you can't reach it, you couldn't possibly hope to win against those other souls."
"Uaah, it just… it's a bit much," she groaned.
"Ketetetetetetet! Sorry~"
He of course wasn't sorry, but Ker didn't dare say anything. Whatever he was doing, it would help her. She just needed to tolerate it until he was done. Besides, she couldn't necessarily say she hated it… he felt oddly nice inside her. Forceful and girthy, but strangely comforting all the same.
So she let him fish around her insides, unlocking her full potential. As she rested against him and listened to the crackle of his flames, she couldn't help but think back to when she had been within Nexus' darkness. That darkness that felt so much like someone else's, that darkness which Ker loathed.
Whose darkness had Ker been thinking of?