The evening before the Day of Unity a freak storm rolled in. Citizens of Bonesborough hurried inside as acid rain came down in droves, though those who were unfortunate enough to get caught in it noticed something strange. It didn't burn nearly as much as it should have. The coven scouts stationed outside the castle, on the other hand, would argue the exact opposite. To them it felt like the boiling rain was even more acidic than normal. This only made things more hectic as they scurried to take shelter, not one of them bothering to question how suddenly the elements turned against them.
"Suckers," Emira giggled as she high-fived her brother. As one she and Edric turned around to face Jean, who merely regarded them with a huff as he continued tracing the large spell circle before him. Maintaining such a widespread illusion required his utmost attention after all.
"You know," Edric stated while coming to stand on Jean's left. His sister popped up on Jean's right. "We Blights can do more than just keep the three of us shrouded in shadow."
The head witch of the Illusionist Coven rolled his eyes. "As if I need help from two teenagers who just finished carving their bonded palismen yesterday," he said.
Neither twin took his words to heart. In fact they were rather proud of their palismen, though they had taken considerably longer to carve compared to Amity's cat. Edric had chosen to labor over a very detailed looking Cyclops-eyed bat while his sister spent hours toiling away over the fine fur and textured scales of her fox-snake chimera thing. She'd gotten the idea for a mythical palismen after seeing Viney's own chimera in action, thus the cutest little fox with several tiny snakeheads for tails was born.
After exchanging a brief, mischievous look the twins used said palismen staffs to channel their magic into one big spell circle. Once it was drawn they gently guided it over to the older witch's spell circle until they overlapped one another, and a moment later they merged.
"What exactly did you just do?" Jean asked, his illusion becoming far less taxing than it had been seconds prior.
"Powered up your spell," Emira bragged.
He was flabbergasted. That wasn't something illusion magic could typically do. "And how in the realm did you do that? Illusion magic is the only type that doesn't benefit from power-up spells developed by the Construction Coven."
Edric put a hand on his hip. "It's not construction magic. Gus told us he once used illusion magic to make some plant magic of Willow's stronger, so Em and I experimented. Turns out illusions can be used for a lot more than simple party tricks."
"You're welcome," she added, a confident grin on her face.
The older illusionist flicked an ear. If he thanked them for their help, well, it was only because it was the polite thing to do.
On the opposite side of the canyon, across a pit of teeth, a trio of rebels carefully slipped inside the castle amidst the chaos of the "weather".
"Holy Titan," Mattholomule gasped once Willow, Gus, and he found an alcove to duck into. "That was terrible! And you're telling me Luz can hold her breath for twice that long? Humans must have hollow bones like birds."
"That's what I thought too, but it turns out they don't have hollow bones or gills." Gus replied excitedly only for Willow to shush them both.
"Guys, we need to focus. We need get to the Relic Room before the main strike team causes this place to go into lockdown. Last time I had the Green Thumb Gauntlet to bust through the gates; I don't want to use up my magic right at the get go because we got distracted."
The boys nodded reluctantly.
"We'll continue this conversation later, Matty." Gus promised. "Once we've secured the portal to the human realm we should take a day trip over there to human watch, by the way. Oh, and maybe you can help me reestablish contact with the giraffes too? From what Luz told me the human realm is big enough for more us to send more than one ambassador."
Mattholomule ducked his head almost shyly at the invite. "I'll think about it, nerd. Let's just get going before we blow the whole mission. My dad's life is on the line, you know."
Gus and Willow's expressions hardened at the reminder. Convincing the head of the Construction Coven to join the rebellion hadn't been difficult per say. He was a logical, patient man who'd sat and listened to their entire story before making the decision to help them; however, much like Raine, Faldwin, and Jean experienced there was a subtly required when betraying someone as powerful as the emperor. If Gemlö was caught helping wild witches and demons infiltrate the castle from underground tunnels he'd made there would no doubt be terrifying repercussions.
Clad in coven guard attire they'd acquired the day before, the trio set off down the hall with renewed vigor.
Intermingling with the coven scouts turned out to be easy. They weren't the most perceptive bunch, the gossip of such a strong freak storm on the tip of everyone's tongues. The trio was able to successfully evade any questions by walking confidently past those who seemed to be bored out of their minds.
"It's this way," Willow instructed when they got to the final stretch of corridors. There were no coven heads to be seen, no Kikimora, and no guards in sight. The coast was clear.
In lowest level of the castle Raine and Gwendolyn waited patiently. The hallways were cold, damp, and the only source of light they could rely on came from dimly lit magical torches. Said torches filled barely half the amount of sconces needed to illuminate the halls, but using a light glyph was out of the question. It could've attracted unwanted attention.
So under the cover of near darkness their respective groups broke off in separate directions in attempt to track down the coven heads who weren't accounted for, which was most of them. Other than Gemlö and Jean the other six hadn't been spotted anywhere.
"Feeling exhilarated?" Gwendolyn asked, noticing how Raine couldn't get their foot to stop tapping in place.
"Exhilarated? That's a nice way to put it," they chuckled lightly. "Though I suppose I am when I get past the churning in my stomach."
"You're worried?"
"Of course I am. Who wouldn't be at a time like this?"
Gwendolyn smiled. "Strangely enough I'm feeling quite calm. I know my intelligence team of Beast Keepers should have no problem tracking down Eberwolf, and your trio of bards is talented in their own right. With the pointers they got from the head of the Construction Coven they'll be able to get your message to Faldwin long before the alarms sound."
They nodded. "I believe in Katya, Amber, and Derwin, but we can't be sure of where Faldwin's loyalties lie. Hunter said he helped Kikimora get rid of his memories just the other day; what if that wasn't the first time? Even if it was in the name of feigning loyalty I've still got a bone to pick with him for his part in hurting Hunter."
She put a hand on their shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.
"I understand your frustration, sweetie. When this is all over we'll have a long meeting about who should face what consequences for their actions. Until then we should continue to prioritize subduing the other coven heads. Maia le Fey of the Plant Coven and Paeon of the Healing Coven are our biggest worries. Hopefully Luz's school friends can handle one of them while the BATs and we take care of Eberwolf, Darius, and Blair."
"Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus came up with a strategy to combat Paeon," Raine reminded. "Two words: overwhelming chaos. They're going to use her sensitivity to smell and sound to get the drop on her. As for Darius, Amity told me she messaged her parents for tips on how to combat his abomination form. Alador gave her a wonderful idea from an incident that occurred back in the day when they were just classmates at Hexside," they grinned. "Let's just say if he reacted negatively during our first fight because he got mud on his cloak then he's going to be absolutely murderous this time around."
Speaking of murderous…
Belos was hunched over in pain, an arm plastered to his side as another spasm swept through him. Holding back outburst after wretched outburst was becoming deadly. The past few days leading up to the Day of Unity had been particularly terrible; it was as if the closer the Demon Realm got to the human realm the worse his curse reacted.
"My suffering is trivial compared to the Titan's," he reminded himself. The mantra didn't stop him from roaring in agony seconds later when his curse flared up yet again. The worst part was that there was nothing he could do. Without palismen or magic stolen from wild witches there was little he could fall back on other than riding through the pain. Sure he could've taken a random coven scout's magic, but that would be one less sacrifice for the Titan. He couldn't do that when so many coven branded witches were freeing themselves of their brands thanks to Lilith's treachery.
She'll pay with her life. They'll all pay with their lives, especially my ungrateful little creation.
Thinking of Hunter, and by extension his dead brother, seemed to make the curse react more violently. One second he was fighting to keep himself together and the next he was being ripped apart with a guttural scream of agony that echoed across the throne room. When he was done lashing out at the nearest wall, a familiar brown-green muck splattered across the stone, he sucked in a greedy breath of air. Then he all but collapsed onto his seat. Why was his head spinning worse than normal?
It took him a few minutes to pinpoint why, his consciousness spreading throughout the castle using his artificial magic, but when he did he nearly laughed. Of course it would rain the hottest acid to date on the eve of the Day of Unity. His ever inadequate scouts were running around like firebees whose nest had been agitated. Between their chaotic movements and his own misery he could hardly keep tract of everything going in the castle as he usually did.
Pathetic creatures, he thought, his heart rate rising. The Titan's heart sped up in sync with his own. One more day and I will be rid of their incompetence for good.
A few minutes ticked by, his attempt to rest as fruitless as ever. Closing his eyes for five, maybe ten minute bursts was all he could manage before the pounding in his head began to steadily grow louder. He could tell from experience it wouldn't be long until another outburst.
"Oh Emperor Belos! Are you in there, my liege?"
His soulless blue eyes snapped open at the sound of the single most ear-grating voice he'd ever heard. He didn't recognize the speaker at all, so he could only assume it was a highly-unfortunate coven scout.
"Did Kikimora or your captain not teach you protocol?" He barked, forcing himself to stand up. It took all his self-control not to take out his foul mood on whoever was on the other side of the door. "You are to report to one of them first and then they will decide how important your—"
Belos didn't get to finish his sentence. One moment he was walking towards the double doors, and the next something shot out of the floor below him. It was so unexpected and unnaturally quick that his artificial staff had barely begun to glow red with magic when he heard a deep "hoot".
The next thing he knew was darkness as he was swallowed whole.
If someone told Hunter he'd see the emperor, the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles, get swallowed alive by the most annoying demon he knew he would've said they were crazy. And yet here he was standing next to Eda, Luz, and King as Hooty wiggled his weird neck-body thing around before spitting out a Belos-sized owl pellet onto the floor.
Luz shivered in disgust. "It never gets any easier to watch."
"I'd feel sorry for him if he didn't deserve it," King agreed from Eda's shoulder. "So slimy…"
Before anything else could be said small red cracks formed in the cocoon of indigestible matter keeping their enemy contained. Eda warned Hooty to fall back to the tiny portable house on her back just as the owl pellet burst open, sending burning bits of bone, fur, feathers, and teeth flying. When the smoke cleared a single hulking form partially covered in demon saliva could be seen.
Unmasked, Emperor Belos stood before the residents of the Owl House. His eyes flashed a radioactive green as he glared at the demon who'd just gotten the drop on him.
"If it isn't the Owl Lady's unruly pet. Did you actually think you could contain me?" He questioned, a murderous aura coming off of him in droves. "You disgusting, vile creature. For your transgression I won't even ask for an apology; I'll enjoy tearing you apart limb from limb."
Hooty gasped. "Me? Disgusting? If anything you should be apologizing to me, hoot hoot! That sludge on your face tasted awful!"
"That and he doesn't have any limbs," Eda added playfully. She would have torn off one of her arms and offered him a limb of her own, but now wasn't the best time for her antics. Instead her demeanor became more serious when Belos' attention shifted from Hooty to her. "Nice hair by the way. It looks like evil overlords aren't beyond using conditioner."
Belos was not amused.
"Edalyn Clawthorne. I see you're just as cheeky as you were the last time we clashed." His eyes fell onto Hunter, who only held back a flinch through sheer force of will. "I also see you've brought back something that belongs to me. How kind of you."
"Hunter doesn't belong to you!" Luz shouted back, staff wielded in front of her.
King nodded vigorously. "What she said! If anyone owns him it'd be me, the future king of demons!"
A humorless chuckle escaped Belos. "That's amusing. You actually think you'll live long enough to have a future."
In time with his words he struck the bottom of his staff on the ground. In an instant the torches lining the walls went out, plunging the throne room into complete darkness. Not a second later there was a gross sloshing sound coming from the direction he'd been standing.
"Watch out!" Luz warned, whipping out a dozen light glyphs. She splayed them on the ground in front of her and in a sweeping motion activated them all at once. The orbs of light illuminated the area around them just in time for them to see a series of muscle-like sludge heading towards them. Luckily Eda had the sense to erect a protective dome as soon as the lights went out, which meant the tendrils splattered harmlessly against the dome.
Unfortunately, her magic didn't protect them from anything coming out of the ground. It was Hunter's intuition and scream of warning that had them reacting before a giant worm-monster rose up from the stone they'd just been standing on.
"Hang on tight boys!" Eda yelled, flying upwards vertically while blasting the thing in the face with a fireball. Her protection spell faded so Luz and Hunter could fly out of the way of danger, but with that it left them open to several spikes of rock rushing at them from nearly every direction. The residents of the Owl House found themselves on the defensive as they tried to use the seconds they weren't dodging to figure out where Belos was hiding among the shadows.
He's a coward, Hunter thought as he used earth magic to combat the emperor's. His ears flicked back and to the side as he heard more ominous sounds come from the various sections of the room that were still dark.
"Enough games!" The next then he knew a massive ball of light appeared in the center of the room from a large spell circle the human had drawn using a plant glyph's vines. "Show yourself, Belos!"
Hooty hooted sadly as he squinted in the sudden brightness. "But I like games. Besides, Belos has been hiding behind his throne this entire time."
Hunter shot him a dirty look as it dawned on him. "You had night vision and you didn't tell us where he was this entire time?"
"Well excuse me! I thought it would be more fair if you found him on your own."
King opened his mouth to say either something snappy or insulting, likely both, when Eda whispered something in his ear. When she pulled away the small demon's eyes glowed resolutely.
"Cover us, kids!" She said.
Luz and Hunter didn't have time to think as she flew off towards the other side of the room. All they could do was fly after her, drawing spell circles or throwing glyphs at the tendrils, spikes, and the occasional worm-monster thrown their way.
Then, only seconds later, Eda had arrived at the throne. She held out her arm, and King ran down it slightly before releasing a large sonic wail.
"Weh!"
The throne cracked, crumbled into pieces, and spilled out over the floor.
"Ha! Take that sucker," Luz gloated. "So much for your fancy… chair?"
Her words fell flat when she realized it wasn't Belos rising out from the shadows behind the throne and beneath the Titan's heart. Well, it was, but it also wasn't. The monster's form was a mix between that of a demon and a human. Its shape, eerily similar to Belos when wearing his antler mask, had the feet, head, and claws of a beast while the body composition remained more like the emperor's. The only slivers of color that glittered through the constantly flowing ruddy green muck falling off its body came from the ivory horn-antlers, razor-sharp claws, and glowing emerald eyes.
Hunter felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up.
"It's the curse," he breathed, the fear he'd been forcing down surging strongly once more. When he noticed Eda, King, and Hooty were far too close to the monster his fear turned to panic. "Get away from him! He'll—"
A deafening roar buried his warning. His ears flattened instinctively as the monster leapt towards Eda only to be knocked into the air by a fist made of stone.
"Nice save!" Eda thanked Luz before adding an earthen owl to the equation. It distracted the monster long enough for her to drawing a sleep spell circle between her and it.
"I don't think that's going to work," he told her as she fell back somewhat.
The older witch shrugged. "Probably not, but it's worth a try."
"We need to restrain him."
"Already working on it, kid. Luz has her plant glyphs at the ready and Owlbert's got a restraining spell just waiting to go. As long as it comes our way we've got it."
An explosion put a cog in her plans as the doors to the throne room were blasted off their hinges. Hunter's heart sank as a familiar looking staff could be seen glowing in the wake of the debris, and to his dismay a mix of Abomatons and coven scouts quickly flooded the room. Slowing strolling out of the crowd was none other than Kikimora.
"Well well well, if it isn't our guest of honor. And company," she greeted, snapping her fingers at the Abomaton wielding Hunter's old artificial staff. In an instant the monster that both was and wasn't Belos was transported over to her.
"Hey, that's our catch!" Eda growled, feathers beginning to appear on her arms. She blinked her eyes and suddenly she was in her harpy form. "Give it back!"
Kikimora cackled dementedly as she walked over to where a few Abomatons were busy occupying the monster's wrath. When she got too close it let loose a guttural screech and lunged at her; however, it never reached her. Before it could she commanded the Abomaton holding the artificial staff to break it in half.
A red light flooded the room as the magic poured onto the monster, and when it faded the sludge had reformed to become the hunched over form of the emperor.
"Kikimora," he groaned, slowly straightening. After he reoriented himself he took note of how the situation now swayed in their favor. "Excellent work. I knew I could count on you."
The tiny demon preened at the attention. "Thank you, Emperor Belos! As the leader of the Emperor's Coven it is my honor to—"
Her words were lost when a terrifying gust of wind blew into the throne room. Many abominations and coven scouts alike toppled from the force of the gusts, and without Belos grabbing her arm Kikimora would have been blown away. When it finally died down the sound of flapping wings could be heard.
"And I thought getting replaced by a child was insulting," Lilith commented. Her ebony feathers seemed to shine under the light of Luz's glyph as her unimpressed gaze moved from Kikimora to Belos. "Her? You must have gotten desperate after the last two witches in that position found better company."
Hunter's jaw dropped before he noticed Eda grinning like a moron.
"She has a harpy form too?"
"Lily told me she'd been doing some special kind of mental training, so I assumed. Obviously I'm still the more experienced when it comes to battling in this form. And red is much more flattering than black," she tacked on jokingly.
He wanted to roll his eyes, but before he could his ears picked up a strange noise coming from behind him. Luz, who was hovering on her staff by his side, spun around in time with him to see a large spike rushing towards them.
His heart nearly stopped. There was no time to blast it into bits.
"Luz!"
Without thinking he grabbed her arm and teleported them several feet out of the way. This sent them both sprawling, though a few bruises were preferred to getting impaled. The human scrambled to her feet once she'd grabbed her staff from where it landed on the floor. Hunter, having landed at an angle, felt a sharp spike of pain travel from his ankle up across his leg.
"Thanks for the save, Hunter!"
"No need to thank me," he responded, watching as Eda and King began attacking Belos again. The sounds of battle only increased when Lilith, now with Hooty at her side rather than Eda's, dove down to engage in combat with not only Kikimora but the squadron of Abomatons and terrified coven scouts. Though to Hunter it seemed like the number of scouts in the room had slimmed drastically. It was almost as if they'd just left.
Steve was right. Most of the scouts are on our side.
His relief was short-lived, however, when Belos' voice suddenly reverberated throughout the whole room.
"I grow tired of these shenanigans. The Titan will rise; if I have to move up the timeline by a few hours, then so be it."
"Uh, Hunter? What's he talking about?" Luz asked, worry apparent as the blood drained from her face. "He can't summon the Titan a day early, can he?"
He was in the middle forming an answer when Eda suddenly shouted his name from across the room. There was no inclination as to why until he felt a cold hand suddenly grip his shoulder in a painful, unyielding embrace.
Magenta met icy blue, and Hunter could say for the first time ever his life actually flashed in front of his eyes.
"Hello, Hunter," Belos said apathetically. "And goodbye."
There was a scream from Luz as she watched the emperor's hand become the clawed one of that of his cursed form. She attempted to hit him with a pillar of ice at the same time as Hunter tried to teleport away, but neither of them managed to do what they'd been aiming to do. Belos' almost fluid body dodged the pillar of ice with ease like he'd been anticipating the move. As for Hunter he suddenly found his staff being pulled out from underneath him by a muscle-like tendril.
"Rascal!"
He raised an arm, intending to tap his heart so he could call upon the power of the galderstone to teleport, yet something unexpected stopped him. It was a burst of pain so white-hot that after a split-second it actually registered as numbingly cold instead. Looking down at the source of the feeling, Hunter's brain short-circuited as he saw exactly what happened. Then he stopped thinking altogether.
Sticking out of the large hole having been freshly put his chest was a bloody arm. In the emperor's sludge-covered claws was a light blue stone pulsing with magical energy, Hunter's heart.
The witches and demons in the room, even those in support of the emperor, went stock still at the sight before them. Only Luz who was closest to the scene had the unfortunate luck of watching the light fade from Hunter's eyes. It only took an instant. A mixture of blood and dark green fluid leaked out of his lips, and with an uncaring movement of Belos' arm he was thrown like discarded trash onto the floor. Luz shut her eyes reflexively as the sound of his body thudding onto stone almost echoed around the throne room. When she opened them she regretted it, because seeing Hunter's head lolling to the side with a giant hole in his chest had her stumbling back and regurgitating her dinner faster than she could control herself.
Belos dipped his head solemnly. "The Titan thanks you for your sacrifice."
"No. No! Belos, you sick bastard! What have you done?" Eda screeched, her eyes wild and mouth practically frothing. She bunched her muscles and wings as if to dive-bomb him when a large, purple spectral hand blocked her path.
Kikimora glared at her dangerously.
"You will not harm the emperor for exacting the Titan's will."
"The Titan's will was for him to die?" She retorted, snarling. Only King's presence on her shoulder stopped her from brute forcing her way to the emperor so she could claw the soulless smile from his face.
A small hum was her answer as Belos transported himself over to where the Titan's heart was beating erratically. He didn't even bother with Rascal, who'd transformed back into his bird form and was pecking at Hunter's head frantically.
"Hunter? My boy?" He trilled worriedly while head butting his witch. "No no no— wake up! Wake up!"
The scarred witch did not move.
"Taking back what's mine," Belos stated simply. "I know from scrying on him that you've discovered my true origins as well as his. It was a selfish as well as foolish decision on my part to make him in the likeness of my own brother; perhaps that's why I didn't body swap with him when I had the chance. It would have felt… wrong."
"Wrong?" Luz croaked, tears falling from her eyes like no one's business. Then she was shakily getting her feet back underneath her as her brows narrowed. "You're crazy! You wouldn't swap bodies with him but you'd murder him without a second thought? Eres un monstruo," she spit. It wasn't difficult to understand what she'd just called him.
"I'm the monster? Human, you haven't seen anything yet." He promised. "As for your other accusation I would say murder isn't the right term. Unlike me, whose soul is undeniably human, Hunter was a Grimwalker with an artificially created soul formed out of pure magic not unlike the palismen witches carve as companions. In a way that was all I ever did; I made myself a companion to help ease my pain who also doubled as a dutiful, useful soldier. I created him to be the Hunter you all knew and led astray. Knowing that," he smirked, "was his life really lost if it didn't truly exist to begin with?"
King wasn't having it.
"You're wrong!" The small demon argued. "That's not how it works at all. Grimwalkers aren't just constructs with false personalities; they're shaped by how they're nurtured just as much as they are the nature of their creation. And his lame, nerdy personality? You couldn't have come up with something so full of depth if you'd tried!"
"You are misguided."
"No, I'm not! My father taught me all about Hunter's kind after I found out you killed my species to make beings like him. When Grimwalkers are created oracle magic pulls upon the essence of the bone they are made with to create a true duplicate of the creature they were crafted after. That means Hunter wasn't just a witch-human hybrid who looked like your brother— he was the real and honest copy of him the entire time."
The emperor made a noncommittal noise, though from where Luz was standing close by she could see King's words had rattled him if the white-knuckled grip on the galderstone was anything to go by.
"As if I would believe a child's unfounded knowledge over centuries of my own research."
Lilith opened her mouth to debate, but another voice cut her off.
"He's correct, Belos. You just snuffed the light out of your beloved brother, John Wittebane, yet again."
To everyone's shock one of the coven scouts who hadn't been participating much in the fight discarded his robes to reveal the head witch of the Oracle Coven. Faldwin, while standing only slightly taller than Kikimora, commanded a stronger presence with his strangely calm demeanor much more than her own unhinged aura did.
"Fateweaver," the emperor droned, tone sour. "I had my suspicions. Still, it is bold of you to proposition yourself before me."
Faldwin teased a long strand of his mustache and hummed.
"Forgive me, but as a resident of the Boiling Isles I would very much like to see my home intact. I know not how you've tricked the other coven heads to follow your plan despite the widespread devastation it will cause; however, I do know what you've ultimately done is kill an innocent child. A child with the same heart and thirst for knowledge as John, not to mention one who still loved you despite all the pain you caused him. "
"Silence!" Belos roared, his face beginning to sweat. Whether it was because of his guilt or the curse acting up again the onlookers didn't know. "If he loved me then he was a fool! Uncle this, uncle that— any affection I bestowed upon him was calculated. It meant nothing to me."
"And yet it meant everything to him!" Eda shot back, King blasting Kikimora's ethereal hand away with a wail while she flew downward so she could stand by Luz's side. "That boy idolized you, Belos. It didn't matter how much pain you caused him or how many scars you left him with. Even after getting his memories back he still stuck by the idea that you could be saved, that the Titan was the one to blame for your descent into madness. Are you telling me he was wrong? Did you feel nothing as you killed the boy who would've given you the realm to make you happy?"
The emperor's composure was breaking. A low groan escaped him as his free hand clutched his head, his eyes flashing between green and blue when he wasn't squeezing them closed in agony. For a second it seemed King, Faldwin, and Eda's words had reached him.
Then he jammed the galderstone into the Titan's heart.
Minutes prior…
"I don't still don't get why you're fighting us!" Willow shouted, eyes glowing a radiant green as her plant magic clashed with that of the Plant Coven's head witch. "What part of Belos is going to destroy our home don't you understand?"
The rafflesia on Maia's head was in full bloom. It filled the hallways with a pungent odor as the fight between them and Willow moved from one section of the castle to another.
"It's not that I don't understand what you're saying," they countered sagely, "I just don't believe you. Belos told his most trusted that the Day of Unity would unite our forsaken realm with one where nature rules the land. I wish to see it."
There was no time for Willow to argue with them as the hall suddenly filled with Venus fly traps and pitcher plants. Luckily for her the Green Thumb Gauntlet on her left hand made it less taxing to grow a wall of vines between them.
Back in the Relic Room another fight ensued.
"Hold still you brats!"
"Uh, how about no?" Gus countered sassily while evading Blair's attacks. He continued to fly easily out of the path of another exploding potion, though this time he could feel a bit of heat from the blast.
"Careful! She almost singed my pants."
"Then tell me where I'm supposed to go quicker next time, Matty."
"Don't you use that tone with me. Do you know how hard it is to hold onto a giant bag of heavy artifacts with only one arm?"
"Then use both!"
"Maybe if you weren't flying like you just drank six cartons of apple blood I would!" Mattholomule replied, tightening his hold around Gus' midsection to make a point. It was all he could do so the relics crushed between him and the illusionist stayed out of enemy hands.
Willow had taken the Green Thumb Gauntlet as soon as they'd arrived in the room. This left Gus and Mattholomule to quickly gather up the rest of the rarest relics in existence: the Oracle Sphere, the Golden Harp, a white orb containing the purest of abomination goo, a vial containing a diluted potion of immortality, the Master Looking Glass, the Bell of Beast Taming, and the Dwarven Hammer. One relic per coven accounted for, though the Healing Hat was basically a pile of string after their last visit.
"We need to buy time for my double to find help by fighting back," Gus said after a potion sent glass shattering far too close to his face for comfort. "Can you use some construction magic to distract her?"
"I don't have a free hand to cast a circle. And don't you dare take your hands off the staff," he warned when he noticed Gus trying and failing to maneuver one-handed. "Can't you just fly us out of here?"
"She's blocking the exit, dude. Do you want a face full of some deadly potion? Also, I'm pretty sure the Plant Coven head witch and Willow are fighting not too far away. We do not want to get in between that showdown."
"So fighting is impossible and retreating is suicide. Great!" He groaned dramatically. "I should have never agreed to help infiltrate the castle."
"Then why did you?"
"Because you're my first real friend and I wanted to help you!" Mattholomule's voice cracked, making him flush in embarrassment. "Everyone at Glandus ended up being a jerk to me in the end, but you? You never were. Even when I got you in trouble when we first met you still saved me from detention, and then you were more brave when you stood up to Bria and her friends at the Looking Glass Ruins. What I'm trying to say is I think I—"
Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a potion hitting him in the side. It caused a sensation similar to that of flaming ants crawling over skin to wash over him, making his grip on Gus as well as the bag of artifacts falter.
"Matty? Are you okay? Oh Titan I wasn't fast enough, I'm sorry!"
A pained wheeze was the other boy's response.
In a sudden bout of anger Gus' eyes glowed a bright blue, and the Master Looking Glass in the bag pressed between him and Mattholomule glowed the same color.
On the ground below the head witch of the Potions Coven quickly found herself plunged into darkness.
Meanwhile, in another section of the castle…
"And stay down you foul beast," Gwendolyn stated with an air of finality. Eberwolf didn't as much as growl in response to her taunt likely because he was out cold. Between Raine's ultrasonic violin chords only beast demons could be hurt by and her own raw power (she'd punched him so hard in the jaw it had sent a fang flying) defeating Eberwolf had been a piece of cake.
Darius, on the other hand, was proving to be a much bigger problem.
"Maybe covering him in mud and feathers wasn't the brightest idea," Amity stated as she narrowly avoided a spear of abomination goo to the face. Principal Bump merely caught the spear aimed at him with a magic circle which allowed him to take control over the spear so he could hurl it back at their enemy.
"I was told by Eda that making him angry would be advantageous for us. I should have known after years of being her principal that she might have been wrong."
"It's not that she was wrong. He's definitely getting sloppier the angrier he gets; the issue is he's also getting more powerful."
"You know," Principal Bump said after deflecting another attack, "I think the real problem is that abomination form of his. If we could get him to revert back to his humanoid form we could knock him out."
"How?"
He grinned. "You aren't Hexside's top student for nothing. You've grown stronger these past few weeks than I have in years; use that strength to command him like you would any other abomination."
Amity's eyes widened. "I can do that?"
"It's plausible. He's merged with his own abomination goo, and while it does make him more powerful it also makes him vulnerable to being manipulated like all other abominations. Actually… with your skill you might be able to sever his connection with his goo and take the form he's in yourself."
The end of his sentence was punctuated by a loud crash as a large plant was tossed in their direction. They both watched as Darius came around the corner with eyes glowing a radioactive green.
"You know, Hieronymus, back when you were my principal I took you for someone who didn't run from a fight."
Principal Bump scoffed. "That's when I was young and foolish; I've matured since then. You, Darius? It appears you haven't changed at all."
The Abomination Coven's head witch snarled, his scimitar drawn like he was going to cut down his former principal, when Amity stepped in between them. This made the Darius pause. A moment later he was laughing, a delighted look on his face.
"I thought I recognized you before, but now that I've got a better look at your eyes I can be sure. You're Alador's youngest, aren't you? Amity Blight."
She raised her chin confidently. "Yes I am."
Darius chuckled excitedly. "This is wonderful. Once I dispose of you Alador will be furious, perhaps even furious enough to leave Odalia's side and face me himself."
"Why do you hate my dad so much? He told me after you two graduated from Hexside you drifted apart, but before that you used to be best friends. What changed? If it's because you ended up being more powerful than him he knows you're better with abomination magic than him. He holds no ill-will against you for that."
"Silly girl, I don't hate your father in the slightest. In fact it used to be quite the opposite. Why do you think I toiled away until I could become this?" He gestured at his purple abomination form before whipping his hand out dramatically. "I admired Alador since the moment we met. He was an airhead, but a smart one. Always so curious. I might have been better with combat oriented magic but he could create and command abominations to do far more versatile things than I could. We complimented each other nicely.
"And then your mother entered the picture. She'd approached him during our final year of school spewing garbage about how she'd seen him in her visions of the future. Before I knew it she'd swept him off his feet, and where did that leave me? All alone!"
Amity put her arms up in the air in a peace-making gesture.
"Look, Darius, I'm sorry that happened. I don't have the best relationship with my mom either. My father chose to be with her though, and you have to respect that choice. What I don't understand is why my dad didn't mention your little crush on him. He told me so much about you and yet… you never told him how you felt, did you?"
Now Darius reared back. "Shut up! You have no idea what it's like to have feelings for someone who could never return them. I didn't tell your father anything because I'd always thought he loved his abominations more than other people."
"You assumed too much. You were afraid of rejection, which is a feeling I happen to be well aware of. As for my dad, it might help you move on if you told him how you feel."
"Feel? Stupid girl, my feelings of love have long since faded. He was a fool. He made his choice to lie with a snake and have children who I'm sure are just mere trifles to Odalia. All she ever cared about in school is money, fame, and fortune. And her fashion sense? Horrid," he said. "As far as I'm concerned she used him to make her dreams come true. She—"
He was forced to stop, a gasp of pain filling him as his abomination form began to bubble and lose shape.
"Sorry, but I'm tired of listening to you insult my parents." Amity said, eyes narrowing in concentration. Her hands and staff glowed a bright purple color as her magic activated. Sure they'd ruined most of her childhood and nearly killed her girlfriend, but Darius was arguably worse. He was in no place to be lecturing her about suffering when he was one of the witches supporting Belos' attempts to destroy the Boiling Isles. "I think this fight has gone on long enough."
A few seconds later her sclera turned black, and her golden irises turned into pinpricks of green.
The current and former residents of the Owl House watched in horror as the galderstone turned from a radiant light blue to a dull gray. As its magic was drained by the Titan's heart the organ began to beat faster and faster until each contraction sounded like a thunderclap. The tremors it created under their feet foreshadowed something even more sinister.
"Kikimora." Belos' magically enhanced voice could barely be heard over the now deafening beating of the heart in the room.
"Yes, my liege?"
"Keep our guests entertained."
With that the orb topping his metal staff flashed a malignant shade of red. A second later he disappeared into the floor, making those who'd come there to see him defeated curse.
Faldwin reacted quickly, almost as if he'd known this would happen. His voice broadcasted telepathically to the minds of his allies while he formed a spherical protective barrier that separated Eda, King, Luz, Hunter, and himself from the rest of those in the throne room.
"You must go after him. He's headed to the room below where he keeps the portal; if he's given enough time he'll activate the device he created to steal the magic from every witch and demon who possesses a coven brand. You need to break as many of the tubes as you can so the magic being channeled into the portal as well as the Titan itself is stopped. Should it gain too much power our realm will be utterly destroyed."
Lilith, ever the good under pressure, acted first upon hearing the message.
"Hootsifer and I will take chase since he can break through stone without getting hurt!" She hollered, flying as close to Eda as she could get from the other side of Faldwin's protection spell. "The rest of you should be able to handle Kikimora and her soldiers. What coven scouts remain won't cause much trouble. And sister," her mismatched eyes met those burning with hatred, "please don't let your anger get the best of you. Something tells me Hunter might not be lost to us yet."
She tapped her head, winked, and flew off with Hooty strapped to her back before Eda could comment.
King tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, what is she talking about? Didn't she see Belos rip Hunter's heart out?"
His heart. Eda's eyes widened comically as she recalled what her sister's gesture meant. She hadn't been drawing attention to her head, but rather her hair. That's it!
"King, I want you go with Luz. Luz, take King. I've got an idea of how I can help Hunter. If I'm correct and it all goes well I think we can save him."
"How?" The demon questioned as she handed him off to Luz. "Belos basically impaled him."
Luz glanced between the fallen witch and her mentor with a frown, but nodded nonetheless. "I trust you, Eda. If anyone can save him it's the strongest witch in the Boiling Isles. King and I will keep Kikimora and the Abomatons occupied."
Eda smiled encouragingly. "Thanks, kid. Don't go easy on them, got it? No mercy."
After a shared glance between King and Luz the latter spoke, an idea forming in her head.
"Hey, King. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"If it's taking Luz and King's comedy hour on tour but calling it 'excessive violence' hour instead then yes."
The human's lips quirked up at that. "I was actually thinking we could sing a duet to destroy the Abomatons in case the barrier falls, which would also annoy Kikimora, but your idea works too."
"How about we meet in the middle and sing while knocking out those who fight back?"
"Singing and kicking butt simultaneously? With my favorite demon overlord? Sounds like plan to me."
When they were gone Eda turned around, her eyes falling on Hunter's still-bleeding form. She kneeled on the stained stone next to him, wings folded against her back, and rolled him over so his torso was facing her. There was no point in checking if he had a pulse and or was still breathing. Instead she reached into her mane of hair in search of the only item that could save him.
Rascal, not understanding how playing with her hair was benefitting his witch, chirped at her urgently.
"Calm down, buddy. I'm going as fast as I can. I think I've almost got it…"
A couple seconds later she withdrew her hand, producing a small galderstone she'd stolen back during her first and only visit to the Looking Glass Ruins.
Hunter's palisman locked an eye on it before staring at Eda like she was crazy.
"I know, I know. I made a promise not to touch or take the stones, and I broke it. Honestly I only had Owlbert steal it because I was worried Hunter's galderstone would run out of magic. I suppose I could have explained the situation and asked for one," she admitted while shoving the stone into the cavity where Hunter's heart had been. Were her hands becoming soaked with blood as well as some strange green substance the consistency of mud? Yes. Was this the most sanitary open heart surgery she'd ever performed? Yes, because this was the only she'd ever done.
Once it was in place she began drawing healing circle after healing circle while placing Healing Coven patches from her pockets onto the exposed area of his chest. She found herself speaking to Rascal as she did so mostly to calm her own panicked nerves. If this didn't work she didn't know what she'd do.
"Stealing is one of my talents though. The fact nobody noticed one was missing is pretty telling; if we survive this I'll have to tell Gus and the keeper of the ruins they need to ramp up security even more. Oh well, it's not like this one is being used for evil or going to waste. I told myself it would only be used in an emergency and this happens to be one. If only I'd warned him faster."
Rascal gave a sharp tweet. "It wasn't your fault," he admonished despite the fact she had no idea what he was saying.
Eda offered the bird a wobbly smile. She couldn't understand him, but she got the gist of it. She just didn't believe him in the slightest.
Another minute passed, and soon Hunter's chest was more or less knitted back together. There was still scarring but he physically seemed to be in one piece. Why he wasn't responding she didn't know.
"C'mon, kid." She brushed a hand against his cheek, fighting the urge to recoil when she found the skin there to be cold. "This can't be it for you. Didn't you tell me you were considering enrolling in the potions track at Hexside when this was over? I know I eventually convinced you being in all of the tracks like Luz was a better idea since you're a huge nerd, but I was super happy when you originally picked potions. It's the track I chose when I was a student at Hexside. Did I ever tell you that?"
There was still no response.
"Or," she continued as her eyes grew glassy, "another option I wanted to offer you was that you could become my apprentice. My teaching style is a bit unorthodox, but I wanted to give you another option in case school ended up not being your cup of tea. I guess you wouldn't be my apprentice for long though, huh? You're so fast of a learner I'd run out of material within a couple weeks."
Rascal chirped something she didn't comprehend in terms of words. The feeling she got from the palisman, however, was one of gratitude mixed with a somber acceptance.
"Thank you for trying," he seemed to say. "But I think my witch is gone."
She bunched her fists up in her lap, her eyes squeezing shut in an attempt to hold back her tears. She'd never lost a kid before. Why did it feel like it was her heart that'd been ripped out of her chest?
No. No! I've got to be missing something. The wound is sealed and the new heart is in place. From what Lily and Chief told me about his biology the galderstone's almost limitless magic should be enough to jumpstart the rest of his bodily functions. If that's the case then why isn't he waking up?
"Excuse me, Edalyn. I think I can be of assistance."
She didn't need to open her eyes to know Faldwin had approached.
"You," she growled at him, ears flattening. "You helped Kikimora wipe his memories!"
"I did. It pained me to do so, but it was necessary in order for the others to escape. It helped him in the end too, didn't it?"
"Maybe it did, but if you saw the future then why didn't you warn us about the attack on the island? Better yet why didn't you tell us when we were here last time that Belos was scrying on Hunter?" Then she froze, another accusation forming on her tongue. "Did you know this was going to happen?"
"If I did?"
"Don't play games with me! You could have prevented this."
The head witch of the Oracle Coven shook his head. "You like many others misunderstand how oracle magic truly works. It is not exact in accuracy or all-knowing; I only see bits and pieces of the past, present, and future. It's tricky because even if I could predict something from coming true fate works in ways far more mysterious than the magic itself. Perhaps I did know Belos would acquire Hunter's galderstone, but something told me that wasn't the end of Hunter's story."
"If that's true then why won't he wake up? He's got a new heart. I healed the injury. What did I do wrong?"
"You didn't do anything wrong. He just needs someone to cast the spell that gives Grimwalkers life."
"But I don't know that spell! I could try to locate the book, but by the time I make it to Belos' study and back he—"
"The book was destroyed days go. Belos burned it to ash in order to prevent the spell from being used against him."
Eda's jaw dropped. "He did what? If the book's gone then how am I supposed to save him?"
A gentle touch on her arm made her still. She finally turned her gaze to Faldwin, and when she did she noticed the strange finger-strands of hair on his forehead were parted. In the middle of his forehead having been hidden by his hair was a glowing purple eye made of pure magic.
"Belos isn't the only one who can scry on others for information," he said. "I happen to know the spell. Would you allow me to cast it?"
Rascal answered for her in the form of one long trill.
"Hurry up!" He seemed to demand. Eda concurred.
"Why are you even asking? Do it!"
He nodded. "Very well."
Then he stepped forward, the light coming from his crystal ball beginning to grow to nearly blinding levels in time with his third eye. Eda should have looked away, her harpy eyes sensitive to bright flashes of light, and yet she couldn't tear her gaze from Hunter. Not when Faldwin was in the middle of using all four of his arms to form a spell circle in the air above her unresponsive child. Instead she watched the purple glow shimmer with sparks of cobalt as if there was another form of magic mixed with the demon's oracle magic. She didn't have time to think too much about it though; she was too busy moving Rascal out of the way as the spell circle settled over Hunter.
There was a flash of white light and crack of magical energy, and when the spell fizzled away something miraculous happened. Hunter's chest began to rise and fall.
"Hunter?" She gathered him into her arms, ignoring the dried blood on her hands and the warm red-brown substance staining the young witch's close. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes as Hunter's face twitched, then his hands, and finally his eyelids. Rascal flew above him in circles chirping impatiently until magenta orbs finally revealed themselves.
A hand immediately went to his chest. When he felt the wound there was gone he looked between Eda and Rascal in pure awe.
"I thought I was dead," Hunter whispered. The sound of the Titan's heartbeat dwarfed the words, but Eda knew what he'd said from reading the movement of his lips.
She chuckled while using an arm to wipe away her still falling tears. "I think you were for a second there. Luckily mama was able to perform a rushed heart transplant."
"How?" He asked, before realization hit him. "You stole a galderstone from the ruins, didn't you? That's why you looked so shifty the entire trip there."
"Guilty as charged."
She expected him to say something scathing, but to her surprise he shifted so that he could wrap his arms around her in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Eda."
If her grip on him tightened further neither of them commented on it.
"Hey!" Rascal tweeted insistently while pushing himself underneath his witch's chin in order to join in on the hug. "That's my witch! I found him first."
Hunter pulled away from Eda a bit so he could cup his hands around his palisman.
"I'm sorry, Rascal. That was probably really scary for you."
"It was. I already lost one witch; losing you would have been the last straw. If Faldwin hadn't helped Eda bring you back I would have gone after Belos myself."
The implication of such a reckless plan was obvious to Hunter.
"Well I'm glad you didn't. We'll go after him together, okay?" Then he blinked, looking around the throne room in confusion. "Uh, where did Belos go?"
Eda quickly filled him in the situation. They were about to grab Luz and King, who'd long since destroyed the Abomatons and were now keeping Kikimora busy, before realizing something was wrong with Faldwin.
The old demon's eyelids were drooping, and the crystal ball he'd been holding onto was cracked at his feet.
"Uh, Faldwin?" Eda questioned worriedly when she noticed he'd resorted to leaning up against a chunk of broken stone. "You okay there?"
He ignored her question in favor of speaking to the younger witch.
"Hunter," he regarded with exhaustion in his voice that made Eda's harpy senses prickle with unease. "I want to formally apologize for the pain I've caused you. Being a weaver of fate is a difficult path; there were times I could have stepped in, and yet I chose to remain a slave to fate. Your... mentor here made me realize perhaps the future can be changed with a little intervention."
He turned his gaze to Eda and smiled lightly. "Belos did not destroy the book containing the Grimwalker spell. It's in his study on his desk; it may prove useful to both of you in the future. I merely lied so I could be the one to cast the spell."
"But why? Why not let me cast it?"
"Because, my dear, that was what was supposed to happen. But the spell's toll would have been too high. I couldn't bear to see a mother give her life to bring back her son's," he said. "My own? Well, I've lived long enough."
Hunter and Eda's eyes widened. Before either of them could say anything, however, Faldwin's slipped closed.
"I wish you both a happy life," he projected into their minds. "The future... is bright."
Then he was gone, leaving two witches and a palisman behind.
Ears pinned back, Hunter fought back the instinctive guilt that rose up at knowing Faldwin gave his life in exchange for his own. The old demon had made his choice. And he'd apparently saved Eda's life in the process.
"I didn't even get to tell him thank you," he stated sadly.
Eda squeezed his shoulder. "Neither did I, kid. We'll have to pay our respects to him after we stop the Titan from waking up. Lily and Hooty have been fighting Belos by themselves for a few minutes; we need to help—"
An inhuman roar, accompanied by the ground shaking violently beneath them, shut down whatever she'd been about to say.
Hunter's heart sank in his chest.
"We're too late."
All across the Boiling Isles the land began to churn and shift.
The Titan was awake.
Minutes before the Titan awoke…
A strangled groan escaped the emperor as he reformed within the portal room. His head felt like it was splitting, as if he'd taken an axe clean down the middle. There was no reason for him to feel this way. He hadn't been injured during the fight in the throne room. The artificial magic he absorbed should've been staving off the affects of his curse too. So if he wasn't hurt, and there was no threat of him turning into a beast, then why did he feel like there was something gravely wrong with him?
It doesn't matter. Must activate the portal, he thought deliriously. Must give the Titan the power it seeks.
As if summoning the monster telltale whispers began to assault his ears.
"Yes, yes. Seek the key," it practically sang as Belos retrieved it from the confines of his robe. "Fear the cost."
"I have nothing to fear. The magic will be coming from all the witches who've been branded over the past fifty years; you shall be well-fed."
It laughed in response while Belos shambled up the steps leading to the completed portal. Currently the door was closed due to the Titan's blood in the key not being sufficient enough to open it. Combined with the magic of several hundred witches and demons, however, it would only be a matter of time.
"Seething seas and puppet strings, he no longer dreams of home. Grimly he walks, all alone. Only one way to atone."
Belos barely contained a growl. The Titan often spoke to him in nonsensical riddles, but he wasn't in good enough shape to entertain such trivial games. On the other hand, he knew remaining silent would just lead to more whispered words. At least if he kept a conversation going the Titan might say something meaningful.
"Atone indeed. With your help I will rid this realm of as many witches and demons as possible and finally be able to return to the human realm. For him."
"Him?"
"My brother," he reminded. "John Wittebane."
There was a spike of pain behind his eyes, and suddenly his vision cut out. Words and images flashed across the inner theater of his mind leaving him gasping for air.
First he saw himself as Philip, John dead in the woods just beyond Bonesborough. "Two witches torn apart," the Titan cooed before it showed him walking the Boiling Isles by himself. "Now alone. Two hearts of stone." A series of images showing Philip crafting a Grimwalker for himself, his identity changing again and again until he eventually made the artificial body he was in now, flew by quickly. When it landed on a picture of him standing before a younger version of Hunter he felt a strange tug in his chest. "A curse of feathers and mud." Cue Hunter with his scarlet-feathered palisman and Belos turning into the horrifying mud-demon from before. "A betrayal of blood," it ended, showing the scene of Hunter turning his back on him overlaid by the scene of Belos ripping the young witch's galderstone from his chest in vivid detail.
A feeling sparked within Belos at watching the death of his creation. He didn't know the exact word for it, but the human part of his mind that remained would've said it was something akin to what he'd felt moments after ending his brother's life all those years ago.
Guilt.
When Belos' could see again his head was pounding even worse than before.
"Would you please stop?" He shouted, the hand holding the key shaking. "I am trying to make sure you regain your full strength! If you don't, you won't be able to keep your end of the bargain. I—"
The sound of stone cracking a few feet behind him made him pause. He whirled around just in time to watch as a familiar demon burst through the floor, regurgitating a large owl pellet as soon as he was able to.
"C'mon, Lulu. We're here!"
A single slice of Hooty's beak against the owl pellet later, Lilith sprang fee without as much as a hint of disgust her face.
"Thanks for the lift, Hootsifer. I'll deal with Belos while you break as many things in this room as possible. Prioritize the tubes that sort of look like worms though, okay? "
Hooty's eyes widened comically. "Break as many things as I want you say? Hoot, I've been waiting for this day to come my entire life!"
He disappeared below ground in an instant, popping up elsewhere in the room while Lilith flew straight towards Belos. The emperor blocked her claw strike with his staff easily on account of having had plenty of time to draw it.
"Lilith," Belos said, his tone one of disdain. "I see you've changed your look."
"I did. My sister gave me the idea."
"Charming, but I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle. You couldn't even win a duel against your sister at her worst without resorting to petty tricks. Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"
"It's not about winning!" She shot back, slapping a plant glyph on his staff the next time she raced by him. It exploded in a flurry of vines which wrapped around him long enough for the spell he was in the process of casting to fail. "It's about making sure you lose!"
They collided again, but this time Belos wasn't playing around. He knew if he only stalled her reinforcements would arrive and all would be lost. No, he was done holding back.
Raising his staff in the air, a glowing red light filled the room.
"Enough!"
Lilith's body glowed red as Belos threw her backward telekinetically. She sailed away with wing immobilized with magic, unable to maneuver midair as a large worm monster appeared out of the wall behind her. It consumed her in an instant.
"Lulu!"
Hooty shot towards the monster only for it to explode in a burst of flames. Unfortunately, Belos had been waiting for that. The second Lilith was free tendrils of flesh fell from the ceiling and encased her midsection as well as Hooty's entire face in the horrid substance.
Unconcerned with their struggling, Belos lurched towards the portal one more time and inserted the key into the keyhole.
Present time.
Rascal could feel the thrum of magic coming from the Titan. It made sense considering palistrom wood was born from its carcass. This meant he knew the titan was indeed awake, but he also could feel that something was very, very wrong with it.
Yes it was fully conscious. Its heart was beating, and its long-decaying lungs were expanding and deflating well enough to shake the isles, yet struggled as if it found movement impossible. It was like it was paralyzed, alive but unable to act upon the stimulus it was receiving.
Across the castle, a frustrated cry pierced the ears of every soul in it.
Rascal, on the other hand, perked up.
"Hunter, it's not too late!" He chirped, flying around his witch animatedly. "Not enough magic! It can't rise."
Hunter's eyes widened at the news. "Wait, really?"
"Think about it. Raine, Jean, and Gemlö aren't branded anymore. Faldwin, unfortunately, is gone."
"You're right. That's half of the coven heads out of the picture, not to mention all the witches and demons the BATs and Hexside's principal managed to save. We can still stop it and Belos!"
He relayed this information to Eda, who smirked at the news.
"Now that's the pick-me-up I needed. Let's grab Luz and King so—"
A loud squeal cut her off.
"Hunter, you're alive!"
A second later Hunter was on the ground with both Luz and King sprawled on top of him. The human had tears in her eyes as she hugged him close, and the small demon was full on sobbing.
"Alright, kiddos, give the boy some space. He just had open heart surgery," Eda said while peeling them off of him. He stood up gratefully. "Did you manage to take down Kikimora?"
"Yep!" Luz reported proudly as she was gently placed onto her staff with King seated in front of her. Several yards away the hand-haired house demon could be seen trying and failing to cast magic while collapsed on the floor. "King and I had her on the ropes for a bit, but it got kind of boring after her magic got taken away. She's, uh, not taking the fact she's powerless very well."
King nodded. "She's in denial. She doesn't believe Belos purposely stole her magic away to give to the Titan."
A quiet scoff escaped Hunter. "Of course she'd think that. To her the emperor can do no wrong. There's no use in trying to reason with her," he waved off. "Anyway, shouldn't we meet up with Lily and Hooty? If the magic draining spell was cast and the Titan's gained consciousness that means the portal might be open too."
"My home!" Luz exclaimed.
Eda turned to Hunter meaningfully. "You used to live here. What's the quickest way to get to where they're at?"
He pointed to a section of wall behind where the throne used to be. It also happened to be the place Faldwin laid. "I know a secret passage that can get us down there in less than a minute. It'll be dark though, so prepare some light glyphs."
Luz brought out a fistful of them from one of her pockets.
"I think I've got us covered."
When Hunter and company burst into the portal room the first thing he noticed was the absolute devastation. Some of it had obviously been done by Hooty if the holes in the ground were any inclination, but there were also stalagmites and stalactites of flesh-covered stone emanating away from where an active portal stood. In the middle of the room two figures slumped on the ground unmoving.
"Lily!" Eda shouted, flying to her sister's side. Luz and King flew to where Hooty's long body was piled up outside the original hole he'd erupted from. After a quick onceover Eda determined they were unconscious rather than dead. Still, the sight of so many cuts and bruises on her loved ones made her blood boil. Her eyes scanned her surroundings in search of the culprit; however, Belos seemed to be gone.
Hunter, staff clenched tightly in his fingers, felt a chill go up his spine. Was it just him or were the shadows along the wall and floor moving?
"Guys," he stated loudly while teleporting to Luz and King's side. "He's here."
"Where?" King demanded, hopping onto Luz's shoulder.
Luz frowned. "I don't see him. Are you sure he didn't run?"
The scarred witch shook his head while keeping his ears pricked for any strange sounds. "I'm sure he's here. It's like I can sense his presence, I guess? I think he's circling us."
Eda flew back into the air with a growl at his words.
"Belos, you've lost!" She declared. "So stop hiding and face us you—"
"Coward?" An echoing voice finished her sentence, and from her shadow a horned figure composed of dark green sludge stepped out. Glowing green eyes flashed dangerously. "I am no coward."
It flicked a finger and suddenly Eda's body was sent flying backwards into the wall. She hit it with a sickening crack, her body skidding along the stone until she landed in a heap on the floor.
Belos' telekinesis, Hunter thought. But there's something wrong with him. That's not his voice, and he never used to have this overwhelming aura.
The figure turned its gaze to Hunter, who felt his breath catch in his throat.
"Ah, if it isn't the little traitor. I've heard so much about you."
"Who are you?" He asked, suddenly far more aware of the large circular hole in his shirt and witch's wool cloak.
An amused chuckle escaped the monster. "You're a smart boy, aren't you? Surely you can guess. Though, I suppose you could be confused since this isn't my regular form. Philip, or rather Belos, lent me his body after he failed to provide me with the power I needed to fully reanimate. We'd made a deal after all, one he failed to keep due to your group's meddling."
Hunter could hear the quiet gasps coming from Luz and King on either side of him.
"You're the Titan."
