I read the translation of Mischief's story and got inspired.

This is my first published work in… god, ages, but I hope some people like it at least.

As a warning, the main character does go insane and do a couple pretty dark things, I won't spoil but still figure people might want the warning anyway.

Let The Show Begin~

—

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm doubled over, tears in my eyes which are blown wide open and- I'm laughing. I'm laughing past the point it hurts, I'm laughing and laughingandlaughing-

She's gone.

My hands reach out to grasp her-

She's gone.

They're gone.

Its so funny, isn't it?

—

I flip a coin between my fingers before flicking it up and catching it over and over.

The bazaar is full of people and so loud it grates on my ears, but I need to look, need to check-

As always though, there's nothing of hel-

I blink in confusion. "Mathi?"

—

The Curse feels like being bloated, feels like my skin being stretched as mana floods my body, feels like the worst cup of coffee that I snuck from Mam-

My nails bite painfully into my palms as I rage at the Curse.

"How dare you." My words are a hiss and I can feel it riding the waves of my anger and hate-

I snarl and twist my mana- Just like he taught me.

For the first time since it entered me the Curse pulls away.

I chase it.

Every thought, every emotion, every part of my body it has seeped into- I chase it, twisting my mana and herding it back into my core.

I painfully and jerkily get my body back onto my bed, the twisting of my mana pulling at my body and mind in wholly new ways.

I'd done tricks with it before, just small things to remember him by, but this-

I flicked my eyes to the pouch before turning away. No, that would be too much, no matter how much I wanted to destroy this curse now.

As I rolled over I froze, a pair of blue eyes staring at me from the bedding next to mine, soulful and full of concern.

Shaking, sweating, and exhausted I don't stop Vera as her hand covers mine.

—

My mana pulled back into its regular streams over time, but I would just twist it again.

It made traveling hard and painful, but anything to keep the Curse out of my precious memories.

Mathi's and Vera's eyes on my trembling form just made me feel vulnerable and I wasn't sure how to deal with that.

—

We stop half-way up the mountain early in the evening.

I tried to hide the exhausted shaking of my limbs, but-

I'm so tired.

I'm shaking like a leaf as they glance worriedly over my head.

Vera hovers beside me as Mathi aborts reaching out to grab my arm from the corner of my eye. "Why don't we take a rest Lithia?"

I pull myself upright and shake my head, brushing off the dizzy spell with now practiced ease. "No, the camping site is just up ahead, isn't it?"

I take a step- Vera catches me as I stagger and Mathi's holding my arm. Despite the circumstances my heart beats warmly in my chest.

How long had I been on my own with no one to catch me?

Shaking I lean on Vera and almost slump against her. "Its just up ahead and… I'm not sure if I'll be able to get back up if I sit down."

It scares me.

Vera is worried as she takes in my sweating face and Mathi lets go of my arm. "Alright, I'll clear the path."

—

I wake in the middle of the night, sitting up rigidly. "Something's wrong."

Mathi is already awake as well and Vera, who was on watch, looks to us before glancing around. "The mountain went quiet."

Me and Mathi glance at each other before he nods.

We find them.

Monsters and animals marching down the mountain, unnatural and silent.

We all hold our breath until Mathi whispers urgently. "There's a village down there."

He's right.

Our eyes all meet before I look up at the mountain top and back to them. "You two go warn them and get ready, I'll scout where they're all coming from."

Mathi is worriedly furious as Vera grasps at my hands. "Lithia, you're in no cond-"

I cut him off, letting Vera hold my hands. "I know, but we need to know what's going on and I'm the only one who can move up and down the mountain quickly."

I have half an eye on the march, but they aren't even paying attention to us.

Mathi bites his lip in frustration, but Vera gives me a hard look before nodding. "Stay safe Lithia."

There's a pleading note to her tone and my mouth opens and closes before I swallow and nod. "I will."

Mathi growls. "Dammit." His eyes draw mine as he looks up and I can feel the worry bleeding off of him.

I pull my hands from Vera and put them over his own. "I'll be okay, Mathi. Now go, both of you."

Not giving them a chance to respond I fire my zipline into the mountain side and begin scaling to the top.

—

I almost ran into the barrier face first. "Woah!"

I still end up smacking into it and- There's someone in there, she's turning a vial over a jewel in the pool. Her head turns to look at me before she tilts her head, hood covering her face in shadow.

She turns back, ignoring me.

I slam on the barrier, feeling it not even tremble. The mana is… strange. Slippery and almost distant, like its not even really there.

My own probes slide right off it.

I take a breath and think- Right, its not just my normal mana I have anymore. Putting my hand on the barrier I twist-

Pain spikes up my arm as it spasms but- the barrier shudders, but holds.

I snarl, slamming my fist against it.

Then- I remember. I slowly reach into my pouch and pull the demonic ore out.

Closing my eyes I channel my twisted mana through the ore and slam it against the barrier-

It cracks.

The woman turns back to look at me and tilts her head. "Ho? Well, this experiment is a failure anyway." The barrier peels apart, fragmenting in great strips-

She's gone, teleporting away in a great rift through the world.

A Nauis comes up to the other side of the pool as I splash in, muscles trembling, and gather up the gem.

We look at each other for a long moment before the Nauis turns around and fades back into the forest.

—

I land with a heavy thump outside of the village, breath heavy and sweat on my face.

Mathi looks so relieved to see me and Vera smiles widely. "Lithia!"

I wave and tilt forward, the ground rushing up to my face-

—

I wake up in the dark, eyes cutting through it clearly.

I blink in confusion for a moment before shrugging it off in favor of the two lumps next to me. Vera lying down beside me and Mathi slumped over in a chair, head resting on the bed.

I smile, something bubbling into almost-laughter except that would wake them up.

I run my hand through Mathi's hair and squeeze Vera's hand.

Odd, I've never been one for actually laughing.

—

I snicker at the monsters as a load of dice explode amidst them before a top hat crashes down and then swirls up in a curtain making them all vanish.

Mathi is staring aghast as Vera shoots one of the stragglers with an arrow. "Lithia! That's Felix's Magic! You can't-"

I cover his mouth, smile still on my face- his eyes dart to it and he shivers once under my touch. "I know, but its so easy now and Mathi-" I calm down and shoot him a genuine smile, "The curse hates his mana."

His teeth click shut and he winces. "But Lithia-"

I scowl, suddenly just a little furious. "I know Mathi! I know better than you." He winces, hurt, and I pull back and take a breath, running my hand through my hair. "I know Mathi, but I'd rather risk that than let this curse crawl through my body and memories."

Vera fidgets with her bow as she looks between us. "Is it really that dangerous."

Mathi and I share a look before I purse my lips and look at Vera.

My heart overrides my brain a little. "Not here Vera, we'll tell you later, okay?"

Vera smiles at me and I feel myself smile back.

—

The ship rocks and my hand comes off of Vera's mouth, just a precaution, after I whispered what Felix was into her ear.

Vera is silent for a long moment, eyes seeming to look right through me. "So what you're using is…"

I nod, lips pulling in a contrite smile. "Yeah."

Her eyes swivel to Mathi. "And it's dangerous?"

Mathi fidgets with his book before letting out a sigh. "For humans? Very. Our mana isn't meant to twist like their own does."

—

I giggle madly, cutting through another passenger. "WhereisitwhereisitWhereIsIt!" Cards lodged in their throats, gore painting the walls, the pounding in my skull driving me to madness. "WHERE IS IT!?"

—

Vera bursts into tears. "I'm sorry, I took it off, I didn't know."

I hold the cold, cold, cold gem to my chest and stare at her, my wild eyes doing- I don't know, I can't- My eyes tear away to Mathi with his hand on her back and in between us a bit. "Lithia…"

I shiver and shake, brain overworked and pain wracking my body. "Don't- Don't touch it, never touch it, okay?"

She nods rapidly and I run my hand through my hair, blood dripping from the hand gripped around my gem too tightly.

—

I grab at Vera's hand as she's about to turn away, my eyes wide and heart hurting. "Vera…"

Her own wide eyes look back at me before she smiles softly and steps back towards me and Mathi. "Thank you." She kisses my cheek, right next to my lips. "Both of you." And then Mathi is kissed in the same spot.

I stand there, mouth hanging open and spot Mathi blushing the roots of his hair.

She smiles and turns away, sniffling. "Good bye."

My heart feels like it's tearing apart as I watch her walk away and I don't know if it's for her or because of her.

I want to laugh and cry so I do, giggles spilling into my hand as tears run down my face. Mathi hugs me from the side and I laugh harder behind my hand.

—

Its getting harder and harder to swallow the giggles.

Something's wrong, my mana twists itself into knots now without me even trying, and it hurts so good.

Unfortunately I'm sneaking into a castle right now.

Those cultists are here and its raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

Everything is wrong. My mana hurting me, Mathi and Vera being gone, the cultists working with or for the Duke…

I stumble as my leg spasms, catching myself on the windowsill I was hiding in. The drapes at least make sneaking easy.

And then…

"Its too bad the girl is so willful, perhaps she would have lived longer if she wasn't."

"As you say Your Majesty."

—

I roll under a swipe and- bounce off the shield, hitting the ground, and rolling to a painful stop.

My leg twitches as I push myself up, eyesight blurry.

I could blow past the regular soldiers, but this guard captain, he's really good.

The cultist woman makes another appearance. "I recognize you."

My eyes swim and I stagger.

Can't- Can't let them stop me- Vera-

My shaking hand grabs my entire pack of gems and I flood them with my mana before tossing them at the guard-

I zipline upwards and am still blown out the window when it explodes-

I black out-

and wake up in smashed tiles on a roof of the castle.

—

I can't stop laughing.

"Good Bye." Did you know Vera? Did you see it coming?

My eyes are dry, but I can't look away as red covers the ground, small ants crushed by a larger, black ant.

I'm so sorry, I loved you. I loved both of you.

I love you.

My head is thrown back and I smile at the moon.

I tilt to the side and swing around the guard post pole, ignoring the rushing soldiers below and zip off back towards the manor.

—

Dice and cards rain from my fingers as my twisted magic dances through the air to my laughter.

It's all so obvious, if you're hurt, make them hurt.

The pain is almost welcome from the twisting of my mana, at least its not the pain in my heart of losing yet more people I love.

I still love them, I love all of them still.

And that's why they have to die!

I laugh aloud and dance through a door, spinning around the lance and cartwheeling past the sword slice.

They fall in pieces behind me, cards of mana lodged through their joints and they bleed out in pain on the floor.

I spring up in front of the Duke with a wide smile. "You get it don't you!?"

He stumbles back. "Who-"

I lean forward. "You get it right? Making people scream is so fun isn't it? Like how you made her scream when she transformed! It's all so fun."

I lean back and laugh- Oh, there's the tears from my laughter.

He falls over, crawling away from me. "Guards!"

Metal strikes metal coming in our direction and I leap down, pinning the Duke beneath me. I stare into his eyes, smiling painfully wide. "I'm going to make you scream now."

My hand touches his chest and I reach in-

My twisting mana tears his apart, pushing into his body and I feel his heart beating like a drum- ThumpThumpThump- and he fights-

But I laugh and twist-

His body seizes as I ever so gently draw out his very soul- A blood red gem drip-dropping out of his chest and into my palm, the sheer pain of his soul being torn out of his body making his mouth froth and spasm and seize and go into shock but be unable to stop feeling-

I rip it free.

I'm not smiling.

I'm in awe of the disgusting and vile thing before me, his soul laid bare as a gem in my hand. "Beautiful. I wish I could have taken your souls Mathi and Vera, but maybe you can smile in heaven with this."

Then I giggle and laugh, tears streaming down my eyes.

"Get away from the duke!"

I scoff and stand, picking up his body and throwing it at the soldiers.

Then I raise the gem above me and tilt my head back.

I open my mouth.

I drop the gem.

My eyes shrink into pinpricks as it slides down my throat, the gem unraveling and being torn apart in the eddies of my twisted mana- My twisted soul-

Mana erupts from my body and I laugh freely and delighted.

My head falls to the side and I look at the soldiers.

A twist in the world itself tears open behind me and a great eye looks through before a giggle matches mine.

—

I follow her.

Of course I follow her, she's the last lead- the one who got away as well.

Those cultists putting their filthy hands on mama's work.

I look in the dark water, wondering at the twisted grin looking back at me- swirling, crazed eyes drawing any who see it into my madness.

The madness I'm living in.

I blink, suddenly aware.

I'm too far gone, too warped and pained and hateful and twisted-

It'll all come tumbling down and I'll break open my head like an egg.

I giggle and a card of mana cuts through a mutated mouse while a theater mask pops out of nowhere and blasts a bird out of the air and into the abyssal water below.

I'll break and break and break- Break until I shatter into tiny little shards all over the ground.

But I'll break them first.

My breathing is heavy as I stumble to the side, catching myself on my staff-

A looming shadow comes out of the mist before me and there's suddenly a building in front of me.

"Huh, how funny." I break into a fit of laughter and then angrily tear through the door with a shade made of my mana, its crying mask melting through the metal like acid.

I walk inside, eyes wild and searching through the darkness and-

I stop, a moment of clarity.

It's her work.

Its mama's work writ large. The entire building for one portal.

My breath is taken away.

"It's a shame." The woman walks through a tear in reality. "You truly do appreciate her work."

I smile at her and laughandlaughandlaugh- My chest hurts as I lean back before tilting forward, hunched over. "Mama was the best, you're just a bunch of amateurs."

The woman's hood is down, finally showing me her face and I carve it into my memory. Her head tilts in curiosity. "She didn't have a daughter."

I scowl, nearly snarling at her, furious beyond words. "It's called adoption you sanctimonious cunt."

Her face is flat, but her tone is sincere. "I see, my apologies for upsetting you."

I blink wide eyes at her and tilt my head, my entire body following. "Oh no, its too late for that anyway, you killed the girl and boy I love, turned her into a monster and murdered them both."

Realization flashes over her face for a beat before she nods placidly. "The duke's niece, I see. At every step we could have been allies we ended up enemies. Truly fate makes a fool of us all."

I sway back and forth, walking towards her with anger bleeding into my sight. "That's not the funniest part." I have her attention still and I show my teeth as I come to a stop. "Mama was never the one who opened the portal. I was." Her breathing stopped as she took me in and I laughed. "Yes, that's what I want, give me it." My smile hurt and my eyes were painfully dry. "Give Me That Despair As I Tear Your Soul Out!"

The world cracked and she vanished in a buzzing hum that set my teeth on edge before I could hit her-

I dropped a coin on her head as I zipped over-

Her hand waved and lances of chaos tore through it, disrupting the mana-

Her hand was covered in a shield as she blocked my staff and I hefted her up, throwing her against the machine.

A box slammed down on top of her and spit out theater masks that exploded-

She tore open a portal on top of the box and ripped through it before teleporting away again.

I stare at her, face blank, and reach into the first part of the machine and twist the mana feeding into it just so.

It lights up.

Her face is resigned as I fade into reality nearby. "And what are you going to do?"

My face is serious and blank. "Drag you to hell with me after letting you glimpse your dream."

She nods, accepting the statement. "I see."

She fights.

She fails.

My breath is heavy, not from exertion, but from my beating excitement. I'm going to open a portal to the Chaos Beyond that this woman so desperately craves-

And then I'm going to tear her fucking soul out and eat it.

"You're not going to be able to get away in time you know." Her voice is calm, but heavy with despair and regret.

My smile hurts as I sink my hand into her chest- and wait. "Oh I know, I have nothing left anyway you know."

My mana claws against her own exhausted pool and I fight her- fight her with her own body and soul- fight to tear it all away.

Blood pooling down her mouth, she still manages to smile as the portal opens. "Beautiful."

I don't let go as we're sucked in, as the entire building collapses inward, I just hold onto her, tearing farther and farther into her-

My physical hand has clawed into her chest and grabbed her heart and I tear it out, biting into it, feeling the slick blood flow down my parched throat as the woman falls over and vanishes into the chaotic abyss.

And then I'm alone.

—

I giggle.

—

I frown.

—

I spin around in circles.

—

I listen to the voices in my head.

—

I live my memories again and again andagainandagain-

—

Please, I don't want to forget them.

—

I cry.

—

I lay on my back, giggling to myself as I run my fingers over her face again, a never-kiss shared between her before we both turned on Mathi.

I roll over, bumping my head against the chair-

My breath freezes.

My hand reaches out and runs along smooth grain wood- No, familiar wood.

I sit up in my room.

And break out into guffaws, full body shaking laughter that makes my throat want to bleed-

Sunlight falls across my eyes and I smile, truly and genuinely. "Time to play one more joke?"

I open the door and step outside, the light blinding me for a moment before Elrianode snaps into place around me.

I twist my mana, rolling a die around on my palm. "One last laugh it is."

I laugh and laugh andlaughandlaugh-