Chapter 5

Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that. How long they clung to that little bit of comfort before facing the outside world. But eventually they rose from the table, placed the crystal where it belonged. She knew better than to leave this place any different than she left it. Not this sacred place. A moment later they both left. Carrying heavy hearts.

As they closed the door the Symbiote shifted and wrapped over Lydia's form. And they were one body again, the monster form. Not long after they set off at speeds unmatched by any earthly creature. Heavy limbs slammed the dirt as they hunched to adopt a quadrupedal run, it was effortless. Yet Lydia felt so tired...

They had been running for some time now, yet neither of them said a single word. Neither of them knew what to say. What could they really say? Lydia doubted anyone she knew could even begin to comprehend this situation, except maybe her father. But he was away, so she was on her own. Well, maybe not alone. Audrey was roped into her little secret now, though this didn't bring any comfort. And she began to wonder if it would be better for everyone if she was alone.

They could see the Academy now, they couldn't tell how much time had passed in their journey. Time had lost all meaning to them both. They could see the window she left open, Audrey was probably already waiting. But how would they get inside without leaving marks in the wall or getting caught by someone inside the Academy. Just then, the creature took control of the body and in one fluid motion they jumped impossibly high to get inside as discreetly as possible. A glowing clawed hand grasping the stone wall to slow their fall as they flew into the room, and consequently slammed into the bed, flopping onto the solid floor as they slid off. Taking the covers with them.

The sigh that emerged from their throat resembled more of a low, bubbling hiss. Almost a gargle of breath, the Symbiote retracted, and Lydia was just a girl in her pajamas again. Not the girl who had just butchered a group of raiders. Not the girl responsible for the destruction of a town. Just... Lydia. Who now rose to her feet and turned to find Audrey, staring at her with tired, frightened eyes while sitting by her work desk.

Audrey had watched her friend fly through the window. Well more like fall through. And completely shift from a glowing, inky monster to the friend she had known for years. She didn't know what to say, what do you say in this situation? When your friend can seemingly become a monster on a whim. One strong enough to crumble stone and shred bone like paper. All she knew was they were both afraid, and that they couldn't risk putting off this discussion, since she didn't know if she'd have the guts to do bring it up again. But she struggled to get the words out. Instead they both just stared into each other's dull, weary eyes. Audrey was a mess of sweat and mostly wiped away soot, Her eyes wide and her breath heavy. She had inhaled a lot of smoke during the inferno. After several more gulps of air and focus on steeling her nerves. She managed one word. "Lydia.."

"Audrey..." another harsh silence. That's when Audrey noticed the tears. Some dried tears, so that's why she was gone so long. Why Audrey had been able to wait so long. She'll bring that up later, there's something more important to talk about.

"What... is that?" She pointed at Lydia, but rather not at her. She pointed at the beast she was a moment ago, her eyes focused on the claw marks left on the wall where she leapt in.

"A... friend... I'm still not sure what it is, it doesn't have a name but... it's not something you need to be scared of." Her voice was tired, her smile an obvious fake. Lydia looked almost ready to just fade away.

"And the monster... who was in control?" This question would determine just how scared Audrey would be of this strange creature.

"Me surprisingly." An attempt of a reassuring laugh left Lydia's throat, emphasis on attempt. "We share control but it mostly lets me do what I want. Sometimes it just... feeds into what I want." This neither eased or worsened Audrey's concern. That wasn't healthy, but what Lydia said... it didn't sound malicious in nature. But nonetheless.

"What does it want with you?" She had to know, this thing was practically wearing her friend like a skeleton. Using her body for its own. There at least must be a reason why, a reason why it chose her. A reason why she's so calm about such a mystery.

"I'm not entirely sure." Lydia looked out the window, the moonlight highlighting the dried tears and sunken expression. "It's been a bit cryptic on the subject. Just said it wanted a host. Somewhere to hide, to survive." The explanation left Audrey more questions. A host? Does that mean this creature's a spell of some kind? A curse? It's certainly not one Audrey had ever heard of, whatever it was she likened it to three options. Parasite, disease or an entity created by magic. And if she had any chance to keep this thing from hurting anyone, she would need to find out which.

"How long have you been hiding this thing?"

"Since yesterday. After I bought you to your room I stormed out... broke the restrictions. And found it, it saved me from the raiders and..." Lydia's tears started again, she stopped speaking. Her eyes and fists clammed shut, her stuttering breaths barely audible. Audrey immediately rushed and held her close, offering support while she held her friend steady. "It's all... it's my... it's all my fault!" Lydia was barely understandable through her sobs, but Audrey got the message. Her expression twisted in the pain of her friend which filled the very air in the room.

"Shh, Shh. It's ok, none of this is your fault."

"No! I did this, all of it! I broke the rules, I stormed out like a baby! I'm the reason those people are dead! I'm the reason the raiders are mad! I'm the reason you nearly died today! I'm..." Lydia choked on her own breath, pausing before finishing her confession. "...I'm so, so sorry. I didn't think... I didn't mean to..." Audrey just continued to try and console her friend, unsure of what she could even do. She had one idea, it was a stupid idea. But it was all she had.

"Lydia..? I can tell you need a minute. And I'll be here all night if you need me to... but if you need a moment... can I speak to... it?" Lydia didn't respond, but she could see the inky black substance covering her friend. Forming the monster with jagged veins of ethereal light. Its spiral stared down at her from its massive form, this creature was easily twice her size. And more than double her short stature of 5'5. When it spoke it spoke with two overlapping voices, the dominant voice was deep, gurgling and came out in an echoing hiss. The second was faint, but unmistakably Lydia's. The body language was different too, it was still shaking slightly but it didn't seem on the same level as Lydia was. Rather it seemed to Audrey like the creature now looming over her was in a similar situation, feeling Lydia's heartbreak secondhand, no idea what to do.

"Audrey..." it looked like it was smiling, the knowing grin of a skull. But its lips conveyed the real emotion, it was curious, and upset. She couldn't tell which emotions specifically were making it upset, she knew almost nothing about this creature besides the carnage it had displayed. Audrey took a deep breath and looked into its glowing teeth and the maw that almost consumed her tonight. "Aaauudreeeyy." It spoke her name again, the word more drawn out. Its voice was completely monotone, but she noticed the slight quivering and shaking of its lower jaw. Whether that was what this creature understood to be a threat or not she couldn't tell.

"What... are you?" The creature seemed to notice her terror. It lowered itself to her level, adopting an ape-like stance. It was still much larger than her, but it seemed more focused on her now. It was frustrated. But she had the strange sense it wasn't at her.

"I... am Klyntar."

"Is that your name? Klyntar?"

"it is the name of my kind. I never received my name." That caught Audrey off guard, she thought she had learned something about this thing. But she knew as little as she did in the town.

"Then what do I call you?" This time it was the creature's turn to be caught off guard. It pondered wordlessly for a moment before responding.

"I do not know, pick something." It sounded more like a request than the command it worded. She decided she should save that for later. Business first.

"We'll circle back. Right now I need to know what you want from Lydia."

"A host. I give power for sanctuary. She accepted." Audrey didn't know what to make of that. Lydia went along with this deal willingly? She didn't understand. But she managed to narrow down what it was. It wasn't a parasite, what it described bordered on symbiosis. And it wasn't a curse, which narrows it down to an entity forged of magic. "Without a host I am just... a puddle, a liquid shadow."

"Well Puddle. Where ya from?" Audrey was still wary of this creature, but perhaps a less intimidating name might help. Hence, she chose the name Puddle.

Puddle crawled over to the window and simply pointed at the sky. "The void of space." Its voice was blunt, monotone. But that gave her so much more information than any of the previous questions combined. And she finally figured out what she was looking at.

"You're an Alien." She pieced together, Puddle nodded in response. That was somehow a more frightening concept than any she had theorised. Aliens didn't play by the rules she knew. The same thought process, the same needs and instincts. That made it so much more unpredictable and horrifying to even look at. But she tried to keep her expression unchanged, if this thing was evil, she wouldn't want to give it the satisfaction of seeing her afraid.

"Landed via meteorite. Found Lydia. But even now it's like I understand nothing at all." For once she could relate to this alien creature... absolutely bonkers as that concept was. But after seeing its body language convey what looked to be a strange mix of frustration and mental exhaustion. She tried to offer a small smile.

"Look." Audrey's expression steeled, the signs of weary stress and emotional turmoil still plain to see, but she would deal with that later. She had to make things clear. "I don't trust you, I don't understand what exactly you are or what exactly you want..." she sighed. "But if you're sticking around... I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you, make sure you aren't anything to worry about." Puddle stared at her for a moment. Its lips conveyed annoyance, contemplation... and then acceptance. It nodded, and her entire body breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down slightly. "If it helps. Nobody really figures that out on their own, we're all just tryna take it one step at a time." Puddle spent a long moment absorbing her words, contemplating.

suddenly Puddle rose to its full height, the animalistic stance gone. Its breath had taken on the shuddering quality only found in that of a crying person. Its armed dangled limply, as if they were suddenly the weight of mountains. Its jaw quivered, teeth clicking against each other as it almost seemed to silently weep. The distorted, alien aspect of its voice was no longer dominant, now seeming to be little more than background noise, much like Lydia's had been when the alien first took form.

"Audrey." This time Lydia's voice was the dominant one. Was that how to tell who was in control? "I'm so sorry." Audrey's voice sounded hoarse, tired, and devoid of emotion other than guilt.

"Lydia..." it wasn't a question. Rather an acknowledgment. "It's not your fault, the raiders have been a problem for a long time. All over the country."

"But... what do we... do?!" Lydia almost pleaded, they were all drained after the day. But Audrey knew that leaving them without a solution would be dangerous right now.

"Look. We need to know more about what we're dealing with, so tomorrow I'll bring up some books on intelligent species and we'll dig up as much as we can. But for now just... rest. We'll be useless in the state we're in." All 3 of them nod. And after a quick but awkward mutter of goodbyes and goodnights, Audrey retreated to her own room. Not even bothering to see if she had woken Mary, and sleep soon took them all away.

Chain sat in a room filled with chiefs and generals from the entire kingdom. It resembled a grand theatre, with rows of stern-faced men and women all focused on the stage ahead. A forensic artist sat at his podium, his hands moving deftly as he carved a human template into the paper, the image magically transferring to the much larger screen above for all to see. The King, draped in a dark green cape and regal red clothing, watched intently. Chain couldn't see the King's eyes in the dim light, but the air was thick with anticipation.

The artist broke the silence. "Tell me every detail from your rounds questioning the survivors. No detail is irrelevant; the more we know about this creature's appearance, the better we can understand its nature and identify this new species."

The room buzzed with murmurs until the King raised his arm, silencing them. He pointed to a random guard. "You first."

The guard stood, visibly nervous. "W-Well, it didn't have any eyes. Just a sharp-looking spiral on its head."

Another voice chimed in. "No nose either, but it had big teeth! They glowed, the whole thing glowed!"

"It was huge, easily twice the size of a man. And twice the muscle." This came from one of Chain's own men. The forensic artist's hands moved swiftly, capturing each detail.

"It had veins, and a heart that glowed white. The claws, too. But the skin itself was black as tar."

"An eyewitness said its skin seemed like ink, sprouting new tentacles on a whim."

"A shapeshifter?"

"Maybe."

"It was strong, and it seemed to target the raiders specifically."

Chain finally spoke up, his voice cutting through the room. "It's intelligent." Skeptical eyes turned to him. A general pointed accusingly.

"Intelligent? It's just a beast! Maybe smart for a beast, but not in any meaningful way."

Chain leaned forward. "I've scoured the town. It actively saved people. Half the survivors owe their lives to this 'beast.' If it wanted to hurt someone, it was the raiders."

The room filled with uneasy murmurs. Intelligent animals were unpredictable, and unpredictability meant danger.

"There's more," Chain continued. "Some witnesses saw it with a human, a young lady. Others thought the creature itself looked almost womanly in shape, despite its monstrous features."

The forensic artist finalized his sketch, and the image appeared on the screen. A figure stood between 1.8-1.9 meters tall, with long, muscular arms ending in sharp claws. A glowing heart and veins marked its black, inky skin. Its head was almost human, but eyeless, noseless, with a jagged spiral where its eyes should be. Sharp, glowing teeth filled its mouth. The figure was unnervingly human-like in shape but stripped of all humanity.

The King spoke, his voice echoing through the room. "Spread out! Spread the word! I want this monster found and captured, dead or alive!"

As the room emptied, Chain felt a nagging doubt. Something about the situation felt off. He resolved to take a different approach, trusting his instincts that there was more to this creature than met the eye.

By the time Lydia had awoken the sun was already high in the sky. She must have been asleep for quite a while. And yet, she'd never felt so lethargic. Last night's events were still present in the back of her mind, and it gave her pause on even getting out of bed. She just wanted it all to fade away, but life never worked that way. She forced herself out of bed and shambled over to the mirror, dragging her legs with each step. Once she arrived she placed her hands on the table and leaned on them to hold her upright. Lydia looked into the mirror to find the reflection of the sym-... of Puddle staring back at her. She had almost forgotten it now had a name, as unserious at said name was. Puddle's expression was hard to read, its mouth a permanent grin akin to that of a skull, and no other facial features besides the jagged spiral that adorned the centre of its face. But all the same the reflection mimicked her movements flawlessly, all but its head. Which unlike her own was held high, not showing even an ounce of the lethargy Lydia felt wracking her mind and body. Instead it just stared at her, its eyeless gaze for some reason bringing her more irritation than confusion or unease. She raised her head fully and met its gaze, Puddle's expression remained unchanged, Lydia's eye twitched. "Need the mirror." Her tone was sharp, almost harsh. Puddle responded with an almost imperceptible recoil, its mouth contorting slightly in what could either be described as surprise or confusion, maybe a mix of all three. But Lydia wasn't in the state to care right now, she didn't need her Penitence getting any worse than it was. She just needed to stay focused on the task at hand, making sure that this mess she started didn't end in anymore death. Right now that was all she cared about, after that... she didn't know. Her vision became blurry for a moment, and she rubbed her eyes in increasing frustration. Once she opened her eyes again she found her own reflection staring back at her. 'Oh...' Lydia seemed to simmer down slightly upon her realisation. It was just puddle doing what she asked of it. "Thanks." She responded in a less harsh tone of voice, even in her current mindset she knew it was just trying to help. She couldn't fault the... alien... for that. She focused on getting ready. She'd make time to process that revelation later.

As she worked on fixing herself up for the day ahead, following a monotonous routine she'd committed to memory a thousand times, Puddle's voice echoed in her mind once more. "You should slumber, your body needs maintenance." Its voice was cold and authoritative devoid of life, Lydia's irritation spiked again.

"No." she touched up her face with mild makeup to hide the visible signs of exhaustion or burnout. "The longer we leave this the worse it gets. If you're worried you fix what's broken in me." Once again Lydia allowed her ever present rage to infect her words before accidentally biting clean through her toothbrush, crushing the now useless stick before throwing it away and spitting the bristling end into the bowl. "Damn it!" She swatted the bowl away, spattering the wooden floorboards in water and used toothpaste. 'Great. I'll have to fix that too, one more stupid mistake for the record. Just. Fuckin-' In that moment she caught herself, her thoughts turning back into that familiar rage, rage that she couldn't afford the luxury of. So she fell back into familiar practices she hadn't used in the last few days, the motions seeming both familiar and alien to the girl of growing wrath. Deep breath in, longer breath out. Clench your fists as tight as can be, then release and stretch them out. A practice that had delayed the inevitable for her so many times before, a drug that brought her just enough relief to almost justify the pain it brought to her sanity. But all her relentless anger had brought was a worse end to an awful situation. It was her anger that almost led to her death. It was her anger that provoked the raiders to torch the village leading to a death toll she didn't dare ponder. Her gaze fell back on the mirror, her mind flipping between her own appearance and that of the strange monster she and Puddle could become, and the power that it brought her. With the alien's help she decimated the raiders' numbers, she could move faster than any midrealmer, she could tear stone and steel and flesh without the slightest hint of effort. She held power that beyond made up for the legal restrictions imposed on her magic. And now all she could wonder was 'Do I deserve that kind of power? Could I ever hope to keep myself in check?' A thousand questions and doubts pelted her brain making it harder and harder to clear her mind and suppress the frustration that builds faster now than ever before.

Lydia heard it before she felt it, sharp crack followed by a chittering of shards colliding with wood. Then came the pain of the cuts as she removed her clenched fist from the broken mirror, shards and splinters lodged in cuts littering the appendage. The splinters and shards fell to her feet as the alien quickly repaired her damaged hand, not even feeling the pain for more than a moment. Yet she continued to stare at her hand, her rage momentarily replaced with a realisation that stripped the emotion from her soul. A realisation that made her slump to her knees her head resting on the edge of the table. The realisation that she was now as volatile as the very magic she kept locked away, but there was no putting it back in the box anymore. There was no pushing the problem into some pit to fester, Lydia had become infected by her own rage, morphed into something she couldn't trust with the kind of power and responsibility that she now had. Lives were at stake and she can't control herself, her rage would only escalate things and now Lydia feared she wouldn't have the power to stop herself. And with that, all she could think to do... was weep.