"Hey, Amity, I'm making breakfast, you want some?"

"That'd be great, honey, thanks."

Amity Noceda, now a twenty-five-year-old woman, was sitting in the living room of her house, and in her arms, she was cradling a baby. It had brown hair, golden yellow eyes, pointed ears, and its skin tone was just a couple of shades lighter than that of her other mother. Yes, this was Amity's child, the child that Luz birthed, a child they named Azura. They were a couple of Azura nerds, and they wanted to name their kid after a character in a book that connected them, so sue them, it was their kid.

Anyway, as Amity looked down at the bundle of joy that was her daughter, she could not help but reminisce on everything that led up to this point in their lives. Luz and Amity, together, managed to rid the island of all the Phantoms, bringing peace back to the world. But Emperor Belos did not seem to take kindly to them, so he tried to take them down. And in the process, Amity and Luz managed to figure out his sinister plans and thwarted them, dissolving the Coven System, and allowing all witches and demons to freely use magic once again.

Such a transition was not without its fair share of hiccups and growing pains. It took four years, but Luz and Amity managed to help quell the fighting and bring order back to the island. There were those who wanted both her and Luz to be the new rulers of the Boiling Isles, seeing as how they were the most powerful witches on it, but they decided that ruling was not their strong suit. They were better off as guardians of the Boiling Isles, figuring it was better that they stayed as Kamen Riders to serve as a check on any would be tyrants or oppressors who sought to bring back such bad times to the people.

And a year later after establishing the Coven Council that would have elected officials to govern the island, Luz proposed to Amity. Four years later, they had Azura, and now she was a year old. So many things happened in Amity's life, and she could honestly say she was happy with how it turned out. Across from her were pictures from their past. One was the Grom Night photo with all four of them. Another was of Luz and Amity's first date. The center piece was their wedding photo, with Willow being the Maid of Honor, and Gus being Luz's Best Man. Skara was a bride's maid, along with Amelia, Emira, and Cat, while King and Edric acted as the groomsmen.

Luz insisted on wearing a combo dress and tux, while Amity opted for a more traditional wedding dress. It was so Luz to choose something chaotic, but that was why she loved her. She remembered that it was her father who walked her down the aisle, her mother was unsurprisingly absent from the wedding. Not that she cared, Odalia made her displeasure known immediately when Amity informed her mother of their involvement, and engagement.

"I'm severing ties with you if you marry that human! You won't be getting a single snail from us!" Odalia threatened.

"Ask me if I care! I'm not a Blight anymore after this! So, it doesn't matter! Luz is a hero! We're both protectors of this island and the most powerful witches on it! If that's not enough for you to at least respect Luz, let alone accept her as my future wife! Then fine! I'm not a Blight anymore! I'm a Noceda!"

That was a heated argument, and strangely, she was not as sad about it as she thought. Of course, money was no object for them, being the heroes of the island did come with some perks, like a stipend from the new government to stay on as guardians of the Boiling Isles, and of course a fairly large home. It wasn't Blight Manor big, but honestly, Amity preferred this smaller home. It was more intimate, and if they ever decided to give Azura a sibling, they could always get a bigger home. Although Luz did tell her that if they did have another kid, that it was going to be Amity's turn to give birth.

"Breakfast is ready mi amor!" Luz called out.

Luz came into the living room, with two plates of chorizo and egg, and some tortillas. Despite not having the traditional ingredients, Luz was found some substitutes that she was able to eat on the island. It took some time to find them, but it was worth it to have a taste of home. It was at this time that Amity took a moment to admire her wife. She had gained quite a bit of lean muscle over their years of fighting, but not enough to erase her more feminine features, wide hips, and a slightly bigger bust than hers, Amity felt jealous about that for some reason. Luz had grown out her hair, which ran down her back, but was tied up in a ponytail.

In comparison, Amity was thinner, while they have fought side-by-side, Amity's physique was still svelte and elegant. She, too, had long hair, but unlike her wife, she did not tie it back, but instead let it loose. She still kept the lilac color, with some highlights of her original hair color to give it a bit more style. Amity was wearing a pink sundress, while Luz was wearing a pair of pants and a tank top, it was their off day, so they were just relaxing at home.

"How's little Azura?" Luz asked.

"Being a little angel, as always," said Amity.

Luz put the plates down on the coffee table and whipped out a bottle from her back pocket. "Here mi corazón, I have your yum-yums!"

Azura spluttered happily as she reached up for the bottle. Amity received the bottle and began to feed Azura. While she was doing this, Luz placed of the chorizo and egg onto a tortilla and prepared to serve her wife.

"Can you believe she's already a year old?" Amity asked.

"I know, it feels like just yesterday we brought her home from the Healing Coven Hospital," said Luz.

The human woman held the prepared food close to her wife, upon which Amity opened her mouth and chomped it down, chewing happily as she continued to feed Azura. After she swallowed, Amity smiled down at their daughter and said, "I wonder what kind of person she'll grow up to be?"

"Well, she's the daughter of a badass human witch, and equally badass witch, so, I'm pretty sure she'll be awesome at whatever she does," said Luz.

Amity shot her wife a little glare. "Language, Luz."

"Oops! Sorry!" Luz looked down at Azura. "Pretend you didn't hear that, sweetie."

If Azura did, she either didn't care or was too busy enjoying her milk.

A solemn expression appeared on the witch woman's face. "I hope I can be a good mother to her."

"Hey, don't do that, Am." Luz placed her hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You're nothing like Odalia."

"Can we be sure? What if I say or do something that's similar to her? Or, what if I start pushing Azura the same way she did me? I don't want to make our daughter go through what I did…Those habits and tendencies, I could have them, too. I could unknowingly do the same things that my mother did."

Luz gently put her arm over Amity's shoulders and brought her close. "That's why you have me. You know I won't just keep quiet about it. If you're slipping down that road, I'll be the first one to call you out on it. But I won't have to. Because I know you'll only take those experiences and learn what not to do. You'll give this little one all the love that Odalia never gave you, and I'll keep being the one to give you the love you deserve."

Amity's eyes watered a bit upon hearing those words. How did she get so lucky to fall in love and marry a girl like this? She looked down at the bundle of joy that was her daughter and smiled warmly at her. I promise you; I will never hurt you. Never talk down to you. I'll teach you good morals, and I'll always be there for you when you need me.

Luz smiled as well, but hers turned melancholy as she glanced over at the shelf with various pictures, one of which was of Luz and her mother.

Amity was not oblivious to this. Despite all their accomplishments, the one thing Luz was never able to achieve was creating a portal to the Human Realm. Unlike her, Luz had a mother who loved her, and no doubt thought she was dead at this point. Eleven years missing, there was no doubt that her mother-in-law thought Luz was dead. Part of her hated feeling this happy, knowing that Luz was still sad. That was one part of her life that Luz would never get closure, to never go home and say she was sorry, to introduce Amity and their daughter. As happy as they were, Amity knew that no amount of happiness they had would be able to heal that part of her heart.

"Tch, this is what you imagine?"

Amity looked around. "Who said that?"

"Take a guess, genius."

Amity looked over her shoulder, and that's when she spotted…herself. It was her, but her fourteen-year-old self, but with the green hair color she used to have. Suddenly, the world shifted, and Amity found herself now standing next to the green haired Amity, looking upon the same scene she was just in a moment ago.

"What in the name of Titan just happened?!" Amity asked as she jumped back. Her expression suddenly turned to one of annoyance. "Oh great, Bast, I am so not in the mood to deal with you right now."

"Sorry, Bast isn't here," said Other Amity.

"What do you mean? Of course, it's you! You're the only one who would transform into my likeness and try to mess with me."

"Oh, and that's the only possibility? Pssh, you're worse than I thought," Other Amity scoffed.

Amity put her hands on her hips as she glared at her clone. "Then tell me, who you are?"

Other Amity flipped her hair haughtily as she retorted, "If you can't figure it out on your own, then you're failing as a witch. Tch, no surprise there. I mean, just look at you!"

Amity blinked. "What? What's wrong with me?"

Other Amity gestured to all of her. "Everything! Your attitude! Your skills! Your knowledge! Your style! It's all changed! You even changed our hair to that ridiculous color!"

Amity reflexively got a lock of her hair in her left hand and remarked, "It's Abomination color!"

"And, not to mention, you have a crush on a human. A HUMAN! I mean, how pathetic are you?!"

That crossed the line.

"Bast, now you're really starting to tick me off!" Amity warned as she approached Other Amity.

Other Amity walked forward, meeting Amity in the middle. "And I told you. I'M! NOT! BAST!"

"Then tell me who you are! 'Cause unless it's possible to have two Phantoms inside of me, you have to be Bast or –!"

"Or maybe you're just finally losing it," Other Amity interjected.

Other Amity started to walk around Amity, like a shark circling its prey. "A lot has changed since Luz has appeared…Nothing has gone as we wanted it, everything's become chaotic, and our future uncertain."

Amity had no response to that. Because, honestly, it was true. She really had no idea what her future was going to be now. Amity thought she wanted to be a part of the Emperor's Coven, but now…

Amity scoffed. "Please, enough of this! I thought we were past all these mind games."

"Fine, keep denying it then." Other Amity glanced back at the scene before them and made a sound of disgust. "I can't believe you would choose to procreate with that human. You're sullying the bloodline of the Blight family."

Amity's face turned blood red, both out of anger and embarrassment. "How dare you say that! Who I choose to…to…have a baby with is my choice! If that happens…which I'm not saying I want to have one with Luz right away! I mean, first we'd need to get married, and – UGH! Point is! None of your business!"

"It is my business when you're going to do something that'll ruin your life! Now, let me show you what we could have if we dumped that useless human," said Other Amity as she snapped her fingers.

Amity watched as everything started to turn to dust, she quickly tried to run to the older versions of herself and Luz, tried to save them and their child, but they were gone like dust in the wind, leaving herself and Other Amity in a void of darkness. With another snap of the fingers, a bright light shined around them, blinding Amity.

Amity Blight walked down the halls of the Emperor's palace. She rose to the top like a shooting star, becoming the strongest and most skilled witch on the Boiling Isles. At age fourteen she was inducted into the Emperor's Coven and put through grueling training under the tutelage of one Lilith Clawthorne, the head of the Emperor's Coven.

Of course, she was still told to attend school, but she was already branded with the sigil of the Emperor's Coven, which brought her and her family a great amount of prestige and admiration among her peers. By age fifteen, she had gone on at least several different missions, each of which tested not only her skills but her resolve to show that she belonged in that Coven. This included everything from guard duty, to patrols, and occasionally, hunting down a Wild Witch. She was good at that.

By age eighteen, her skills had been sharpened and honed to an even greater degree, graduating Hexside as valedictorian. And it was also upon her graduation that Emperor Belos put Amity in charge of creating a special unit of Coven Scouts with the sole purpose of hunting down and capturing Wild Witches. Although, she often wondered why her team was never called upon to hunt down the Owl Lady and bring her in. Apparently, that was a task regulated to Lilith Clawthorne, and since it was her mentor's task, Amity decided not to pursue the matter further.

Currently, Amity was on a solo mission to take down a Wild Witch. She had made her home deep in the forests, and anyone who had dared to try and get close was immediately set upon by the forest itself. Lilith had advised Amity to take her squad for this mission, but given who this witch was, Amity felt it better that she take care of this herself.

Upon arriving at the edge of the forest, Amity could sense how hostile it was. But despite that, she went in anyway. As she walked further into this dense forest, she found scattered belongings on the ground. Some were from Coven Scouts, and others from bounty hunters. It was said the Wild Witch in this forest would prey upon anyone who dared to harm nature or come after her. But was known to help those who were lost, and sometimes would offer aid to them if they were injured or lost.

Amity stopped halfway through the forest as the feeling she was getting of hostility only got worse.

"Why are you here…?" a voice echoed.

"I want to talk with you."

"Ha! 'Talk' she says. Only now that I've become a Wild Witch do you want to actually talk with me! So, miss Wild Witch Hunter Captain, are you here to take me in?"

"It's my duty as a member of the Emperor's Coven. But it's also within my power to grant you amnesty," said Amity.

"Only if I join the Coven, right?"

"…Willow, I admit, I misjudged how powerful you really are. But it's a waste to be living like this." The trees started to groan, and the grass rustled beneath her feet. "Your magic is strong, and that kind of strength could be put to better use in a Coven. If you don't want to join the Emperor's Coven, then join the Plant Coven. I can obviously see how much you love nature; they'd be perfect for you."

A huge flower bloomed a few feet away from Amity, and out from it appeared Willow Park. Her life on the run as a Wild Witch had given her greater muscle tone, she looked like she could crack a boulder in two with one punch. Her hair had been let down, with the ends somewhat resembling vines.

"Oh, now why would I want to do that? Ever since I became a Wild Witch, I learned just how antiquated this whole Coven System is!" Vines wrapped around Willow's midsection and lifted her up as she moved around Amity. "The Emperor's words are so full of contradictions. Why is it blasphemous to the Titan that we mix magic, but only his Coven is allowed to do so? Who says Wild Magic is corrupt and wrong? Is it wrong to want to explore other magics? Is it wrong to broaden your understanding of it and find out what you really want? And the sigils, they're said to be a way of purifying our magic, but it's just a form of control. It's easier to make other people fall in line when only your Coven has the power to use all varieties of magic."

"Willow, you're talking nonsense. I don't know what lies those other Wild Witches have told you, but you're confused," said Amity.

"You would be right, but you're not, Amity! I've isolated myself! I've kept myself here for years now, and this is the conclusion I've reached after living outside of the Emperor's control! Makes you wonder how so many can come to the same conclusion, and yet have no prior affiliation with each other," said Willow.

Amity sighed heavily. "Then it's worse than I thought. You've just gone mad out here. Don't worry, the Healing Coven can help you."

Willow's eyes shined bright green as several vines rose up, each one barbed with razor sharp thorns. "Amity, in memory of our past friendship, I'm going to give you this one and only chance. Leave my forest, and never come back!"

"It's not your forest, Willow. Everything on this island belongs to Emperor Belos," Amity corrected.

"Not me!"

"Alright…Then I promise not to hurt you too badly."

Suddenly, Amity's body transformed into an Abomination that towered over Willow. Amity's Abomination body grew four extra arms, and fashioned blades out of their hands. In a matter of seconds, Amity whirled around, extending her arms out as all six blades slashed rapidly, cleaving a good acre of the forest in one blow. Several trees toppled over, crashing, and smashing into each other as their thunderous impacts echoed throughout the air. Amity emerged from the destruction and used one of her arms to dig through the destruction, pulling out Willow from it, knocked out, and wrapped from the neck down in her Abomination goo.

"Let's go back, Willow. Either you fall in line, or it's Petrification. I really hope you choose correctly,"Amity warned.

Suddenly, a burst of light came out of the sky, and from it appeared Luz Noceda, the human girl who was under the tutelage of the Owl Lady. She managed to get into Hexside through her strange mastery of Glyph Magic, and ever since she had made it her duty to be a thorn in the Emperor's side, along with her teacher. Lilith's job was to wrangle in the Owl Lady, and Amity was going to respect that, but there was no mention of Luz the human, so, that meant she was fair game.

Luz was dressed in a purple witch's cloak, her arms had tattoos that were in the shape of intricate circles with the very glyphs she used to perform her magic. The markings went all the way to her hands, forearms, and upper arms, some of it even formed more patterns that went over her chest, as seen by the small opening on her shirt that allowed one to see the Light Glyph at the center. Even her back was covered in the markings. Luz's hair was cut short, with a scar over her left eye, she narrowed her gaze at Amity in threatening manner as multicolored lights danced around her in the air.

"Amity, let Willow go. NOW!" Luz warned.

"Human, you're a disgrace to all those who wield magic. You should've gone back home to your world a long time ago! This isn't your place to meddle with!" Amity stated.

"As if I can just stand by and watch as that tyrant continues to oppress people! And you…" Luz's eyes softened, now filled with sadness. "I had hoped you were better than this. I kept thinking, 'Someday, Amity's going to wake up and realize that she's on the wrong side.' But with each captured witch, with each Petrification, I understood. You're never going to see the light."

"You're the one who's in the dark, human! I haven't killed you because I keep waiting for YOU to finally get out of my world and go home! I've been showing you mercy, just so you can finally take the hint and go back to your Human Realm and leave my home alone! But now, because of you, you've got Willow into Wild Magic," Amity accused. "I will not stand for this! Now you've put me in a situation where I have to make sure she joins a Coven or have her punished!"

Luz's glyph tattoos began to glow. "You have another choice, just let her go! You don't have to do any of this, Amity! You can still be better! Just let her go!"

Amity's body morphed into a hydra made of Abomination goo, roaring at Luz with all six of its head. Luz's response was to create two glowing blades of light as she channeled the magic that flowed through the world. Her brown hair shimmered and glowed, becoming bright white as an aurora aura outlined her body.

"Amity, today's the day we settle this!"

"Then show me what you got! Once and for all! Human!"

"Stop it…"

Luz melded the two swords into an orb of light and fired it at the hydra.

"Stop it…!"

All six heads of the hydra opened their mouths and unleashed six violet beams of light.

"Stop it!"

The beams slammed into each other and exploded, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke. Luz flew above the smoke and created a scythe and twirled it around as she readied to attack. From the smoke, all six heads burst forth, all of them hissing and roaring as they opened their mouths and readied to snap their jaws around Luz. The human woman descended from the skies, spinning the weapon around as she readied to behead the hydra.

"STOP IT!"

The scene continued to play out, but now there were two Amitys. One with lilac hair, and the other with green. Both of them were floating in the air as they watched the battle unfold before them. Amity looked away from the battle, but she could hear how savage it was, explosions, roaring, and yelling, all of it the symphony of a fierce battle between herself and the girl loved.

"Why are you showing me this?!" Amity asked.

"Because this is what we could've been, what we can still be," said Other Amity. "Although, with the addition of the Kamen Rider thing, we'd be far more powerful than this. I'm just showing you what could've been if everything wasn't the way it is now."

Amity was starting to get tired of this whole thing as she rushed at Other Amity and grabbed her by her uniform hood. "If you're not Bast! Then tell me who you are! Are you a Phantom?! Are you trying to drive me into despair?!"

"You know who I am! I am you! I'm the you that you keep denying! But deep down, I'm still here!" Other Amity stated.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT ME!"

Other Amity smirked and batted Amity's hands away as her eyes had a golden glow to them. The scene around them faded into darkness as Other Amity faded into that darkness as well, "I'll be seeing you soon…"

"AMITY!"

Amity heard a voice in the darkness, she looked around and that's when she saw a golden orb shining like the sun. "Bast…?"

"AMITY! FOLLOW MY VOICE! IF YOU CAN SEE MY LIGHT, RUN TO IT!"

The young witchling did as her Inner Phantom instructed and ran towards the orb of light. Once she reached it, the orb burst open and transformed into Bast. The cat Phantom wrapped herself around Amity in a protective manner, and afterwards, filled the darkness with her golden glow.

Amity awoke with a start, her head whipped back and forth as she took in her surroundings, realizing that she was back home. Her body was sweating profusely, making her pajamas cling to her body uncomfortably. There were some healing glyphs on her body as well.

"What…What happened…?" On her nightstand was some medicine and a bowl of water. There was damp cloth that still clung to her forehead, and that's when she remembered. "Oh, that's right…I was sick, wasn't I?"

"Finally, I got you back," said Bast.

"Wow…was I really that bad?" Amity asked.

"It was strange, it was as if you were far away from me. I could not hear your thoughts, nor feel your psyche. It was as if your mind was pulled to a place where I was not allowed to go. Or could not find…? It was very strange. What happened, do you remember?"

"Yeah…I do. I saw me…and dreams, and nightmares, about my future," said Amity. "But then there was another me there…and I thought it was you, but…I'm not sure anymore."

"Hmm, well, your fever finally broke. And my mana should be doing its job to heal up the rest of you. Go back to sleep."

"Ugh, after I change out of these clothes."

"Yeah, that would be best."

It had been a couple of days since Amity kissed Luz on the cheek, an action that she was still berating herself for. It was so impulsive, so forward, and so embarrassing that she couldn't believe she did that. The thing is part of her both regretted and didn't regret that she kissed Luz Noceda like that. She was in love with that human girl, but she agreed to wait for Luz to accept her feelings, to make the first move and ask her out, if that was what she wanted. And here she went and kissed her, practically forcing the poor girl to make a decision.

However, that was the least of her concerns at the moment. Not long after doing that, Amity felt ill. In the physical sense. She was in bed for two days with a fever, all the while tossing and turning, and sweating profusely. Her head felt like it was going to be split in two at some point, or else she was going to do it just to make it stop. Odalia had the Healing Coven come in to give her some treatment, and while their healing glyphs and other remedies did manage to ease the pain, and reduce the fever, it was still rough going for the young Blight child.

During her time in bed, she would dream, some were nightmares, and some were dreams that would slowly morph into nightmares. One such dream showed Amity as the head of the Emperor's Coven, swearing fealty to Emperor Belos, and standing as the second most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, of course this was all pre-Phantom times. There was another where she saw herself and Luz. It was a rather sad scenario, bittersweet really.

Luz failed to create a portal door back to the Human Realm, and while sad, Amity swore she would do everything in her power to make sure Luz was as happy as she could be in this world. Going so far as to marry the human girl and start a family with her. Various dreams kept popping in and out of her head like this, some sweet, some dark, and others somewhere in between, as if she was getting a glimpse of the multiverse of possibilities that laid out before her. Heck, there was this one where she swore she saw herself as an assassin that was trying to kill Luz, who had somehow become some kind of dark empress. Like that would ever happen.

Finally, her fever broke, and she was back to feeling like a hundred percent. Odalia even took her to the Healing Coven Hospital just to double check and make sure that she was fine. After everything that had happened the last couple of days, between her impulsive kissing of Luz, and her freakish fever, Amity was not much in the mood to return to school, and she needed a distraction.

Thankfully, a distraction came at the right time after that. When they arrived home, her mother brought Amity into her study and revealed to her a hunk of white Palistrom wood.

"Mom! You got Palistrom wood!" Amity exclaimed as she looked at the chunk that she placed on the desk.

"Indeed, I did, Mittens. It was not easy, given that there are fewer of these things now than when I was in school. But, regardless, you don't say 'no' to a Blight. And thanks to that, I was able to obtain the rarest type of Palistrom wood, well, next to the azure color. But that one was stolen, don't fret, it's just as strong and potent as the azure type," said Odalia.

"I can't believe I'm going to get to carve my own Palisman," said Amity with awe.

"Yes, well, make sure it's something elegant. Your father and I weren't able to make ones for ourselves thanks to the low supply of Palistrom wood, and it's unlikely that your brother and sister won't get one. Plus, I'd much rather you carve one yourself rather than participate in that, ugh, horrid 'Palismen Adoption' nonsense at the school."

Amity raised an eyebrow. "Wait, an adoption day for Palismen? How does that work?"

Odalia threw her hands into the air and said, "How should I know. I just heard something about the Bat Queen being involved. But I'd much rather you have one you made yourself, rather than someone else's discarded trash. Honestly, who knows what kind of owners those Palismen had! Could've been owned by thugs or degenerates, or worse, Wild Witches. No Blight under this roof will have a hand-me-down Palisman, not so long as I can help it."

"Everything this woman says only ticks me off that much more. Can I please eat her?"

She's my Mom, Bast!

"I didn't hear a 'no'."

Oh, be quiet you.

"Well, anyway, thank you, Mom." Amity rubbed the back of her head as she asked, "Would you…like to help me carve it?"

Odalia scoffed. "Mittens, please, I'm far too busy, and you're old enough, and capable enough to carve your own Palisman."

"Okay, just thought I ask," said Amity.

Odalia narrowed her eyes at her daughter, staring at the new hairdo and color change of her youngest daughter. "Honestly, I still don't know what possessed you to change your hair, now the color synergy is all wrong."

Amity thanked her mother again and left the study, she had still been fuming about the fact that Amity changed her hair color to this lilac color. Another clear act of rebellion against her mother, something that Amity knew she did not like. The Abomaton showcase was one thing, but this was another. Strangely, Amity was feeling quite pleased with herself that her mother was getting visibly irritated by her decisions as of late.

With that pleasant conversation over with, Amity headed down into the basement. Taking care to make sure that she wasn't seen, Amity opened the door to the secret subbasement where her father was working. As she descended the stairs, she found her father hard at work creating something new.

"Dad?"

"Ah, Amity, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked.

"We just got back from the doctors, and they said I'm alright now," said Amity.

"Ah, good, I was…getting a bit worried there for a moment," Alador admitted.

Amity smiled a little and said, "Apparently, Mom got me some Palistrom wood." Amity held up the chunk of wood.

Alador stopped his machinations and turned to look in Amity's direction. He held out his hand, silently asking Amity to give him the wood. Amity did so without hesitation and watched as he began to examine the Palistrom wood. After a minute, he handed the wood back to Amity.

"It's of pristine quality, and a rare white type. It'll make a great Palisman when you're done. You're lucky, some of us weren't able to get one when we graduated Hexside due to the shortage," said Alador.

"Yeah, I heard. What are you making?" Amity asked.

Alador moved to the side and showed off a staff with a crystal ball at the top. "After what you told me about the monster you and Witch encountered, I realized that the current state of the MagiDriver is not adequate enough to deal with such a threat. So, I've been down here trying to create a new weapon that can possibly augment and enhance your current powers, elevating them to greater heights."

"Wow…are you close to finishing it?"

"Not quite…" Alador looked down at his creation. "I can get the rudimentary design to work, as well as the internal mechanisms. But at this point, I'd say I'm relying on you and your Inner Phantom to finish this."

Amity blinked in confusion. "Me and Bast?"

"The MagiDriver did not take on its current form until you managed to capture your Inner Phantom. And those rings that I made changed as a direct result of your willpower. I believe that you can finish this. I hate to say it, but I can only do so much, the rest will be up to you when it's done," Alador explained.

Amity remembered her encounter with that unknown monster that ate Asura, Bria. It was horrifying, seeing that Phantom, a powerful creature, get dragged away, pleading for its life as an even greater monster hunted her, captured her, and in the end, devoured her. What scared her, and at the same time angered her, was the fact that she was paralyzed with fear. Whatever that monster did, it had the power to induce fear into its prey, keeping them from acting at all. Amity knew that if that happened again, she might not be able to protect Luz, and it could cost her the life of the one she loved.

"Please do what you can, Dad," said Amity.

"I will."

Amity nodded and headed back upstairs, leaving her father to his work.

"You're not going ask him if you want to carve the Palisman?"

"He's busy, and besides, we'll need whatever he's making if we're going to be a match for that monster."

"Agreed."

Amity entered her room and sat down on her bed as she looked at the Palistrom wood. As she thought about what her Palisman would look like, the world around her seemed to lose color, and that's when Bast appeared, not in Amity's old form, but in her original form, albeit a lot smaller. Small in this case being the size of a lioness.

The cat Phantom looked upon the hunk of wood with fascination as she laid down before it. "How interesting that this piece of wood, once carved, will become a living being. As strange as your world is, your magic is very intriguing."

"Thanks," said Amity.

"So, what sort of creature are you going to carve?"

Amity leaned back as she said, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I didn't think I'd get my staff this early, so, I never really thought about it. Plus, when I was going to go into the Emperor's Coven, I heard that they confiscate your Palisman. I guess it evens out, considering that Coven Scouts are allowed to use all types of magic, you already hold an advantage over the majority of witches and demons who can only use one type of magic, even with a Palisman staff. So, I didn't really see the need in making one."

"Hmm, makes me wonder why your mother bothered to procure this for you then. If it's just going to be taken away, why bother?" Bast asked.

"Tch, she probably wants me to make it so it'll be a great offering to the Coven," said Amity with some amount of bitterness.

Bast pawed at the wood, her limb passed right through the thing, but that didn't stop her from doing it. "You've changed quite a bit in these last few months, Amity."

The youngest Blight child snapped forward and looked at Bast with shock. "You…You just used my name!"

Bast looked at Amity as if she had said something strange. "I did. And?"

"You always call me, 'Little Miss Perfect'."

The cat Phantom shrugged. "It was starting to become a mouthful, and it's not annoying you as much as it used to. So, there's really no point in using it anymore."

"Uh…okay."

Amity had to admit, even though she had changed, she was noticing that Bast was changing as well. She could never really get a read on this Phantom, like a cat, her actions were shrouded in mystery, unknown to everyone but her. Bast always talked about waiting to emerge the moment that she fell into despair, however, Bast had not taken any proactive actions to make that happen recently. Amity was reluctant to let her guard down, she kind of wanted to trust Bast, but at the same time, she had to remember that Bast is a Phantom. A creature of despair and darkness, something that wanted to escape the prison that was her Underworld and take over her body so that she could roam free and do whatever she wanted.

Still, maybe she needed to show trust to Bast. And perhaps there was a way to do that. "Hey, Bast, do me a favor?"

Bast looked at Amity curiously.

"You mind sitting up straight?" Amity asked.

"Why's that?"

"Just do it, please."

Bast sat down on her rear as Amity squinted at her, as if scrutinizing her appearance for a moment. After a couple of moments, Amity smiled at her.

"Okay, I've decided."

"Decided on what?"

"I want you to be the model for my Palisman."

Bast was taken aback by what Amity said. "You…You want me to be the model for your Palisman?"

Amity nodded.

Bast was at a loss for words, she honestly looked embarrassed, bashful even. But after a few seconds, Bast put on her airs and said, "Well, I can hardly blame you. I am quite the elegant creature."

Amity smirked as she rolled her eyes. "So, will you do it or not?"

Bast repositioned herself so that she was sitting in a more regal fashion. "Carve away."

"Good, but we aren't going to do it here," said Amity.

"Seriously? Then where are we going to carve it?"

Amity drew a spell circle and made a book fly off the shelf and hover next to her. It was a book on proper Palisman carving. Although she never thought she'd get the chance to have one, she wanted to be prepared in case she ever did.

"For something this special, I think we need a change of venue."