Ah, we meet yet again, fair spectator.

Unfortunately, I come to you with another sad tale I'm afraid.

But it is important to see the dark and the light. For it is through viewing the darkness that we can better appreciate and hold onto the light within us all.

But unlike the other Dark Universes we have visited in the past, I find this one tragically heroic.

Where last you left off, Luz Noceda, Amity Blight, and their friends find themselves stranded in the "Human Realm" while the Demon Realm is left to the whims of a child god.

In the battle, Luz Noceda, Kamen Rider Witch, battled Another Inquisitor, known as Belos. She was able to keep up with him thanks in part to the power of her Twilight Style.

A power she gained from her adventures in the World of Oscura.

But in this universe, Witch never obtained the power of Twilight. And never met my Overlord's vassal Tsukasa Kadoya–

"Not a vassal Woz. We've been over this."

…

Ahem.

However, she has met her universes version of Anne Boonchuy, but never encountered a world that held Oscura.

With all of this, you may think that young Luz is the protagonist of this tale.

Quite the opposite.

She is the catalyst from which the true protagonist will use to ignite the flames of vengeance and seek out her prey.

This is the tale of Amity Blight, and how her vengeance changed her forever…

It had taken them a long, long time, but eventually, they had arrived. Out on the horizon, a small fleet of ships were approaching the harbor at Bonesborough. The sail of the three ships each bore the same marking, that of a crescent moon surrounded by four outward facing triangles. These ships belonged to the infamous Titan Trappers, a group of people whose lives were dedicated to the eradication of the giants known as Titans. Until now, they had been confined to their island on the other side of the world, waiting and preparing for the day they would resume their hunt for the last Titan. As fate would have it, a human girl brought the last Titan to them, and before they could release their god, the Grand Huntsman, she transformed into an armored warrior and whisked the last Titan away. They gave pursuit, but their means of teleporting from their island to one closer to the Boiling Isles was destroyed.

As a result, the Titan Trappers had to resort to sailing across the Boiling Seas for several months. The journey was long, but their spirits were never higher. They knew the long voyage would be worth it, for their prize was waiting for them, and glory was never as close as it was now. Although, as the Titan Trappers' ships approached the harbor, they found it strange. There weren't as many ships as they expected, and from what they could see from their spyglasses, the port was mostly vacant. On the lead ship, the Titan Trapper, Tarak, carefully inspected the port through his spyglass, strafing it from one end to the other, but no matter how many times he did, there was no activity whatsoever.

"Tarak!" an annoyed voice cried out. "What's the hold up?!"

Tarak, who was still dressed in his Titan disguise, turned around and watched as their leader, Bill, came stamping towards him. The little man looked up at him, crossing his arms and tapping his foot as he waited.

"Apologies, Bill. But something feels amiss," Tarak responded.

"Like how?"

"There is no sign of the townspeople. No activity. And it appears that the area has seen better days."

Bill scoffed. "So, they let this place go to pot! Big whoop! If anything, this works out better for us. If there's no one there, we can use it as our base of operations. It's big enough that we can use any building to hide in."

Tarak once again glanced at the seemingly abandoned town. "I still feel uneasy. Perhaps we should send a scouting party to assess–?"

"Hey! We have the element of surprise! If that cocky human and her demonic sock puppet decided we weren't a threat, then that's too bad for them! Wherever she is, so will that Titan. The real hunt begins as soon as we land. Dock the ships, that's an order!" Bill stated.

Tarak sighed but did as Bill had ordered. With the command given, the three ships sailed forward and eventually made it to the docks. Once there, they tied off their ships and began disembarking. Each of them was armed with a different weapon, ranging from spears, swords, axes, shields, and cudgels. They already appeared intimidating with their Titan disguises, but with their weapons they looked downright menacing. Once they were off the ships, Tarak's description of the town appearing empty seemed to be correct. Nature seemed to have reclaimed some of the area. Shops were abandoned, broken into by possible looters or just vandalized for fun. There was some graffiti here and there, one of them depicted an image of this land's ruler, Belos, and underneath was scrawled the words, "MURDERER!"

"Okay, this is kinda creepy now that we're actually here," said Bill.

"It feels as if a great sorrow has befallen this land," Tarak noted. "Pray tell, Bill. When the human came to you for help, what help did she request from thee?"

"Something about that Belos whelp plotting something big that was putting the 'people in danger'," Bill recalled. "She never got to the specifics, but considering how desperate she was, it was apparently worse than she was letting on."

"What could've happened here?"

Just then, a noise caught their attention. Some barrels were knocked over, and when they looked to see what caused it, they spotted a demon child.

"Halt!" Tarak ordered.

The demon child gasped and began to run away, but one of the Titan Trappers launched a bolo at the fleeing child and managed to ensnare his legs before he could get any further. Before the child could take the bolo snare off, four Trappers were already upon the demon child, pointing their weapons at the child as they whimpered and held up their hands.

Tarak hurried over to them and waved his hands at his fellow Trappers. "Lower your weapons, the child is frightened enough."

The four Trappers lowered their weapons as ordered, but only a little.

Tarak got down on one knee and looked at the child with sympathetic eyes. "Please do not fear us, we have not come to cause harm. We have just arrived, and we seek answers. Perchance you could inform us."

"A-Answers to what?" the child asked.

"Why is this area abandoned?" Tarak inquired.

"Yeah, kid, where are the adults? Where is anyone?" Bill questioned as he arrived next.

The child, a humanoid fish girl, furrowed her brow and pointed at the wall. The Trappers looked to what she was pointing to, it was more of the graffiti which had Belos' image and again had the words "MURDERER," "KILLER," "FALSE EMPEROR", and a few other choice curse words and profanities.

"Belos…he killed my parents. He killed everyone," she answered.

"What, like, everyone in the town?" Bill asked.

"No…on the island," she clarified.

The Titan Trappers gasped in horror. Heck, even Bill couldn't stifle his shock upon hearing this. Now he understood why the human wanted their help so badly, it was to prevent this.

"I…I don't understand, how was this done? How could one man kill so many?" Tarak questioned further.

"Tch, I guess 'everyone' isn't completely right. Only people who had Coven Sigils were killed when the Draining Spell was activated," she explained. "Any Wild Witches were already locked up and petrified. Belos tried to brand kids like me and others before the Day of Unity, but Hexside got the word out to others, so the teachers kept us safe from the Coven Scouts. All the good it did…Most of the adults and older kids died."

"Wait…so…you're telling me that there isn't a single adult left in this place?!" Bill questioned.

"Only one…but mostly they're all dead. Are you going to take me hostage or something?" she inquired.

Tarak's gaze softened as he shook his head and removed the bolo snare from her legs. "No child. You have been through more than enough. Go, and may the Grand Huntsman watch over you."

"Hopefully he's better than the Titan," she scoffed.

Once freed, the fish girl ran off and disappeared around the corner.

"Truly, the young human's pleas were dire. Perhaps we should have aided the her after all," Tarak thought aloud.

"All I heard was that this hunt just got a lot easier. An entire land filled with bratty, snotnosed kids, and no adults. We'll be able to find that Titan a lot faster without having to worry about any resistance," said Bill with glee.

"I admit that our hunt will be more efficient, but surely we could offer some aid to these children. They are without parents, killed by a madman in an act of genocide. We could help them rebuild," Tarak suggested.

Bill hummed for a minute as he thought of Tarak's words. After a minute, he perked up. "You know what, you have a point, Tarak. These little brats have been without any kind of adult guidance or protection for who knows how long! We could mold these parentless urchins into what we want them to be! We can create a whole new Titan Trapper society right here on this corpse island!"

"Um, that's not quite exactly what I was–"

"Slight change of plans everyone! We're going to take this port town for ourselves! We'll build it up and get these brats on our side! We'll make a new Titan Trapper Island right here! A new kingdom! And when the Grand Huntsman comes back, it will be to a new land!"

The Titan Trappers raised their weapons into the air and cheered loudly for their leader. Tarak wasn't exactly pleased by this, while it was what he was asking for, it wasn't how he was hoping to go about it.

"Well, it took you all long enough to get here."

The Titan Trappers stopped their cheering when they heard a new voice.

"Who said that?!" Bill demanded.

"Up here."

The Titan Trappers turned around and looked towards the rooftop. The person who was there was another child. She had long brown hair that went down her back and stopped at her waist. The lower half of her long hair was lilac colored, as if she hadn't bothered to cut the dyed portions and let it grow out. She wore a dark violet shirt with a wide collar, exposing her shoulders. Black pants with slight tears on them, and black boots adorned her lower half. Around this girl's neck was a necklace with a medallion that had the light glyph carved into it.

"Oh, great, another brat," said Bill. "Listen kid, we're going to start something here. So, if you want to, you can join us! We can keep you safe and help rebuild–!"

"Spare me. I know who you all are, Titan Trappers. I've been waiting for you," said the girl.

"Wait, you do?! How do you know about us?!"

"Because someone I loved dearly told me all about you. She told me that you tried to sacrifice King to your god. And that you might come here one day to try again." The girl stood up and continued to glare down at them. "I've been going from town to town along the coast every day, watching the horizon to see if your ships would come. And finally, you're here."

"So, are we to assume that King Clawthorne still lives?" Tarak inquired.

"He does."

Bill sighed in relief. "Great! I was going to be so pissed if he was dead by the time we got here."

"You don't need to worry about him. Because none of you are leaving this place alive," she threatened.

Bill let out a loud, boisterous laugh, which signaled the others – aside from Tarak – to do the same. "Uh, girl, have you seen how many of us there are?! We're armed to the teeth, and you want to pick a fight with us?"

"This won't be a 'fight', so much as it will be a slaughter. Remember this name as you go to meet your god. I am Amity Blight, the sole protector of the Boiling Isles." Suddenly, the black, rounded pupils of Amity's eyes changed to a cat-like slit as her entire body was engulfed in golden flames.

The Titan Trappers gasped in fear when they saw this, believing the girl had just committed suicide. They were going to wish she had. From the flames emerged a new form, a new being. She stood much taller than Amity, about five-nine. Her hair was made of golden flames, while her eyes shined a bright emerald green. More golden flames appeared, wrapping around her forearms and shins. She now had a cat-like tail, with the tip of the tail lit by a golden flame. Her body was mostly comprised of gold accented by black, giving her a regal appearance. The creature did not have the pointed ears of a witch, but now had large cat ears on top of her head that twitched back and forth as she caught different sounds on the air.

"Oooooh great…another one who change," Bill groaned in annoyance.

Bill hadn't anticipated another transforming kid, but he didn't feel that threatened.

That human girl could've killed us all with her power if she wanted to, but she chose to take the Titan and run. She didn't have a killer instinct, but that's not the case with us. We'll use her hesitancy to gain the upper hand and–!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Bill's train of thought was halted when he heard the screams of one of his fellow Titan Trappers. Everyone looked in the direction of the screams, and that's when they beheld Amity, in the form of the Phantom, Bast, with her left hand pierced through the chest of a Trapper. Her clawed hand and forearm were coated in the witch's blood, but a moment later, the Trapper's body was lit up in golden flames. Within mere seconds the Trapper's body was incinerated, not even ash was left.

Amity dashed with incredible swiftness towards another warrior and slashed him across the throat with her claws. The Trapper immediately dropped his weapons as he clutched at his ripped-out throat, blood pouring from the deep wound as he gasped and gagged. Amity wasted little time and moved on to the next. She appeared in front of another, leaped into the air, and came down with a flying ax kick. The Cat Phantom buried her heel in the skull of the Titan Trapper's head, smashing through the Titan skull mask, and breaking through into the Trapper's actual skull before using his head as a springboard. The Phantom landed amongst a group of the Titan Trappers, each one ready to attack.

The first one slashed with his sword, but Amity gracefully dodged it. Another tried to stab her with his spear. Amity easily weaved around the attack, but before the Trapper could pull back, Amity grabbed the spear and used the momentum from her weave to pull the Trapper and his spear forward. That action made the Trapper continue his thrust as he pierced into the chest of his fellow Trapper. The impaled Trapper coughed up blood, looking down at his wound and then back at the Trapper who stabbed him.

Amity twirled around and used her claws to break the spear down the middle, grabbed the end of the spear that was still stabbed into the Trapper, and used that same spearhead to stab the owner of that spear through his heart.

"MOVE AWAY!" one of the Trappers ordered.

The Titan Trappers that were left around Amity jumped back as far as they could. When they did, several other Trappers drew spell circles and unleashed a concentrated blast of magical energy from all sides. Ten beams of light converged on Amity before exploding around her. The Trappers waited as the smoke cloud disappeared and were shocked to see that she was still alive, not a scratch on her.

"Phantoms have a high resistance against the magic of witches and demons. And to make matters worse for you…" Amity raised her left hand and made the golden flames form over that hand, creating a large claw construct. "My flames don't just burn people and objects; I can also burn away magic. Do you understand now? You have no chance of winning this battle."

"This girl…she's a monster…a real-life monster!" Bill exclaimed.

"Hardly…I saw the face of a true monster, and I'm timid by comparison!"

"RETREAT!"

The Titan Trapper heeded Bill's orders and began running towards the ships. However, Amity wasn't about to let that happen. The Cat Phantom got into a crouching stance, getting on all fours before launching herself towards one of the ships. The shockwave of her dash threw some of the Trappers into the air, with some of them landing in the Boiling Sea, and others were sent crashing through buildings and dying on impact. Amity coated herself in intense golden flames as she pierced into the first ship. She released a loud panther-like roar before unleashing a torrent of her golden flames into the boat. The flames swiftly spread from the inside out, setting everything ablaze. Within seconds the first Titan Trapper ship exploded violently.

Amity wasted no time and shot straight for the second, piercing through the haul and repeating the same action. Some of the Titan Trappers hurriedly managed to get onto the third and final ship, and in their desperation removed the gangplanks to prevent more of their fellow Trappers from getting onboard. At this point it was every witch for themselves, and they were not about to stick around and be killed by that monster. The ones that were still stuck on land were yelling obscenities at the ones who were now starting to back the ship out of the dock.

The second ship exploded just as the third ship got away from the dock. Amity, standing amongst the flames, glared in the direction of the fleeing ship. "You truly think you'll get away from me?"

Amity pointed her right arm into the air as she flattened the palm of her hand. Golden flames started to erupt from her forearm, shooting up higher and higher into the air. Amity crouched low and jumped, ascending higher into the air as she got a bird's eye view of her target. Once she was at the desired altitude, Amity slashed down in a vertical angle with her arm in the direction of the ship. A blade made of those golden flames shot out in the form of a crescent. The flames were so hot that they cut a groove through the boiling waters of the sea and through the ship itself in one fluid motion. The moment this happened, the third and final ship exploded on the waters as a huge golden fireball. The sea water around the ship was already boiling hot to begin with, but now it was bubbling even more and giving off a ton of steam.

The Cat Phantom used her flames to create and small explosion under feet that propelled her through the air and allowed her to basically jump back to dryland as she perched on a rooftop. From there, she used her keen hearing to listen to the screams of agony from the Trappers who were thrown overboard by the explosion. Even if their Titan pelts could protect them from the Boiling Sea, she wondered how much protection it granted them if they were submerged for an extended period of time, and in water that was boiling twice as hot as it normally was. The results were satisfactory.

Bill, Tarak, and the remaining Trappers watched in stunned horror as this all occurred. They had come to hunt for a Titan, but instead had become the prey to another hunter. Bill immediately turned in the direction of Amity, got down on his knees, and put his hands into a prayer position.

"PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU! SPARE MY LIFE!" Bill begged.

Amity got down on all fours, her brow furrowing as she bared her fangs at them. "Tell me. How many of King's people begged for mercy? How many of the Titans' children pleaded for you to spare their lives?! And yet, here you stand, wearing their skins and their skulls and proud of it! They deserve to be avenged! And I'll be the bring their wrath upon them!"

The Cat Phantom launched herself off the roof top and moved with inhuman speed as she began tearing through the Titan Trappers. Blood painted the air as the roar of flames and screams of agony echoed about. Bill and Tarak watched in horror as their fellow Trappers were felled one after the other, torn apart or burned alive. The smell of burning flesh wafted on the winds for several seconds before Amity had finished her work. The only Trappers who were left were Tarak and Bill. They were more fearful now, considering she slaughtered the others and left them for last. There was a faint glimmer of hope in Bill's heart that maybe the child monster was going to take pity on him since he was an old man. That flicker of hope was snuffed out as quickly as it appeared. Amity reached out and grabbed Bill by the throat, hoisting the little man up as he gagged and flailed.

"ACK – AHGH – L-LET ME GO – AACK – P-PLEASE!" Bill pleaded.

Amity slowly squeezed her hand, letting the sharp claws at the ends of her digits dig into Bill's flesh at a slow pace. She could feel the blood start to drip down from the points of entry, but his increased flailing indicated that he understood his position. With one final squeeze, Amity clenched her fist around Bill's neck, crushing it into a bloody pulp. His headless body fell to the ground, while his head remained in the palm of Amity's hand. She could see it in his eyes, his brain was still alive, but only for a few seconds more. Seconds she was going to make sure he continued to suffer through. In an instant, her left hand was engulfed in golden flames, setting the severed head on fire. His expression changed to panic as Bill's head opened its mouth to scream, but without any lungs to draw breath all that was heard was the crackling of the flames. Amity dropped the severed head and gave it a swift kick towards the sea where the head splashed into the waters.

Now that Bill was dead, there was still the matter of Tarak. The currently eldest Titan Trapper had dropped to his knees and lowered his head, as if accepting his fate.

"Not going to beg?" she asked.

"I see no need to do so. What good does it do to waste my final breaths," Tarak answered. "I am sorry for what has befallen your people young witchling. Before you take my life, may I ask a question of you?"

"What?"

"What has become of the young the human girl who protects King?"

"…The human you spoke of. Her name was Luz. She…She died trying to stop the one responsible for all of this," Amity answered.

"I see…that girl was a true warrior to the end…"

"She was." Amity held her left hand out and pointed it at Tarak. "This will be quick and painless."

"I thank thee."

Golden flames built up around Amity's claw and released themselves in a powerful burst. The flames washed over Tarak, rapidly smothering his body as he turned to ash immediately upon getting hit. No screams, no pain, just death. Amity remembered something that Luz told her, that there was a Titan Trapper who was reluctant about harming King, and Tarak was his name. Even if he had a change of heart, Tarak was just as guilty as the rest of his fellow Trappers in the killing of the Titans, King's relatives.

Amity's body was engulfed in flames again, but when they died out, she had returned to her original form. Her slit pupils shifted back to normal as she released a long-drawn-out sigh. The Abomination witch clapped her hands together and summoned her staff, Ghost, into her hands. Once she had appeared, Amity mounted her staff and took off into the sky.

Amity soared through the skies, but the scenery wasn't all that pleasant. Stretched out as far as the eye could see were hundreds of thousands of headstones, each one marking a grave. It had taken months, and it was gruesome work, but it had to be done. The Day of Unity was not halted, and many witches and demons lost their lives in the process, at least those who had Coven Sigils. The ones who didn't, which was mostly made up of witches and demons who were in their younger teens and those who were elementary school age, were left to pick up the pieces. The pieces in this case were the bodies of their parents and relatives.

It had to be done, otherwise their corpses would just end up rotting and be food for the crows and carrion crawlers. Thankfully, there were some among the survivors who excelled at Healing magic and combined their power to preserve the corpses as best and as long as they could so that the bodies could be buried without decaying or being picked at. Again, it was a gruesome task. While adults would say it should be the child who buries their parents, and not the other way around, the adults of the Boiling Isles couldn't have imagined that that would happen literally.

There wasn't time to say prayers or hold any funeral rites. There was too much work to do, too many who needed to be put to rest. In some cases, the task was put to the children of the parents who died, if it was too hard, then others would do it for them. Thankfully, Amity was able to take command of the Abomatons and had them aid in the burial process. It saved time, but the machines weren't exactly gentle with their charges. Often times they would drop the body into the grave in a robotic fashion, which was to be expected. They were there to do a task, and considering no one wanted their parents' bodies rotting and being food for the beasts, efficiency and swiftness were valued. Burial rites and the like could be done later. Cold as it was, that was just how things had to be.

Amity slowed down a bit and hovered over one of headstones. It belonged to her father, Alador. Amity remembered when she, Emira, and Edric buried him. There were many tears shed by her older siblings, but at that time, Amity felt hollow inside. She couldn't shed a tear, but that was mostly due to the fact she had cried so much before that. Edric and Emira understood, and didn't hold it against her.

After pausing over her father's grave, Amity continued her flight. Out of all the graves, there were two that were set aside and stood out from the others. When Amity landed, she stood before the first statue. It depicted Hunter standing heroically in his civilian clothes and holding Flapjack in staff form, and not his Golden Guard attire. Next to him, on the same pedestal, was another statue that depicted Hunter in the form of Kamen Rider Crusader. On the statue's platform was a metallic plaque that read, "Here lies Hunter, Kamen Rider Crusader. A great friend, a courageous ally, and defier of fate." Surrounding the base of the statue were multiple flowers, each one colorful, seeming to glow with a faint iridescent light. Amity looked up and saw Flapjack perched on Hunter's head. She knew the pain of the little Palisman. She knew it well.

Amity walked away and turned to the statue that was slightly larger than Hunter's. It was a statue dedicated to the hero of the Boiling Isles. A person who saw the good in everyone and strived to spread hope to the people. Her name was Luz Noceda. The first of two statues showed Luz in a pose that made her look like a saint. Because she was one as far as Amity was concerned. Standing next to the Luz statue was the statue of her heroic persona, Kamen Rider Witch. Above them was a third statue that depicted the image of Luz's Inner Phantom, La Lechuza. When the statue was commissioned, Amity made sure that La Lechuza was included. She knew Luz would've wanted that, and it's what Bast would've wanted as well. There were more flowers like the ones around Hunter's statue. She figured it was Willow's work and reminded herself to thank her friend the next time they met. Amity sighed as she sat down before the statue and looked up at her lover.

"Hey, Luz. It's been a minute," said Amity. "I remembered you told me about the Titan Trappers. And how they might come after King. And they did. But I took care of them. All of them. They won't ever threaten the Boiling Isles or King ever again."

Amity hugged her legs to her chest.

"I know you wouldn't have approved of my methods, but…with the way things are…I can't afford to just defeat them and let them run away. As the Boiling Isle's only Kamen Rider, I have to put down a threat before it can cause trouble to everyone. Which reminds me, I took care of a couple of Phantoms a week ago. More kids falling into despair. At this rate…even those who are left won't be around for much longer."

Amity lowered her head as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"It's been six months since that day…and we're trying, Luz. I'm trying. But I feel hollow inside. I can't love anyone other than you. I don't want to love anyone other than you. It's all I can do to not feel the pain of you not being here. Traveling around the Isles, destroying Phantoms, keeping what's left of my people from turning on themselves…"

Amity wiped her eyes as she sniffled.

"It angers me that Belos is still out there. In your world, living comfortably while all of us are suffering. I swear to you, batata, if I ever find a way to go to the Human Realm, I will take his head!"

When Amity made that declaration, her body erupted with golden flames. She quickly quelled the flames, not wanting the embers to spread to the flowers and incinerate them.

"Sorry…Sorry…I'm still getting used to being part Phantom. It's easier to control when I'm in Phantom form or when I become Heka. But outside of the transformation, it's a small struggle, but I'm getting better at it." Amity sighed as she looked up at the statue of her deceased lover. "I miss Bast. I am her, and yet I'm not her. But I feel her pain because it's my pain too. We both lost someone we cared about on that day, and through that pain we became one. I wish I could talk to her, but right now, the closest I have to that is Ghost. And she's been so helpful through these months."

Amity sat up and dusted her pants off as she held out her left hand for Ghost to come to her. The cat Palisman immediately transformed into her staff form and floated into Amity's hand.

"I'll come by again, hopefully not too long. I need to go and report to Eda," Amity informed. "Adios, mi batata."

After giving her parting words, Amity took off into the distance. Her destination? Bonesborough.

While the adults and young adults who bore a sigil died, not every adult died. There was one left. Eda the Owl Lady. As the only adult left on the Boiling Isles, many looked to her for guidance. Which was hard considering, at that time, everyone was grief stricken, and Eda was no exception. She had lost her mother and father, her sister, and her lover, Raine Whispers, all on the same day. There was definitely some survivor's guilt, as Raine used the last of their strength to remove half of Eda's arm where the Coven Sigil had been placed. Thanks to that, Eda's life was spared, but as a result, the burden of helping the youths of the Boiling Isles was placed on her shoulders. In a way, it helped to distract her, since there was much to do to help everyone who was left.

Bonesborough had become the unofficial capital of the Boiling Isles. With Eda serving as the leader of the town. It was determined that search parties would go out and bring as many of the orphaned kids from across the Isles as possible to the town, and from there they could spread out. It would be easier to keep track of them. For Eda, her priority was to ensure the remaining youth of the Boiling Isles would survive and grow into adults themselves. It went without saying that they were the literal future of the Isles, and Eda was going to make sure they had everything they needed for when she was gone.

Currently, Eda had taken up residence in Bonesborough Town Hall. Which – for all intents and purposes – acted as a makeshift palace. Eda was not keen on anyone calling her "empress," that was the last thing she needed to hear from the kids. For now, she was just the "leader" of the Isles. The town was guarded by the Abomatons, and the search parties that were sent out were also accompanied by Abomaton soldiers to keep the search parties safe, and to make sure that their journey out of and back to the town had as few incidents as possible. Hooty was doing his best to keep things in order in the room as Eda glanced over some reports from search parties, reports on the current state of their food supply, incident reports, and others.

The Owl Lady had cut her hair and changed her attire to something that she could easily move around in. With Amity's help, she was able to create an artificial arm similar to that of the Abomatons. It came in handy, no pun intended.

A knock came at the door, and Eda answered, "Yeah?"

The door opened and an older demon teen answered, "It's, um, Amity Blight here to see you, ma'am."

"Ah, send her in," said Eda.

The door opened fully as Amity walked in, with Ghost at her side.

"Boots, been a minute."

"It has. I came to give you a report," said Amity.

Eda stopped her work and looked to face Amity. "Sounds serious."

"The Titan Trappers made landfall at the port town. I took care of them," Amity informed.

Eda steepled her fingers and asked, "Now when you say, 'took care of them,' do you mean…EEEK!" The Owl Lady used her left hand to run her index finger across her throat.

"Obviously. We can't afford for them to retreat and come back with reinforcements. Killing them was the only option."

Eda sighed as she stood up. "I'm starting to worry about you, Boots. You're kinda gettin' more brutal as the months drag on. Becoming part Phantom might be messing with your head a little."

"I'm fine, Eda," Amiy insisted. "I'm getting it under control. And like I said, beating them up and letting those Trappers run away would only make them come back with more forces and better weapons."

Eda put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "You're tellin' me you're afraid you can't beat them?"

Amity scoffed at the notion. "Hardly. I made it a point to visit different port towns to check for any signs of the Trappers. Thankfully, the one time I checked the closest port to Bonesborough, they showed up. They were talking about taking the Isles since the adults were gone and brainwashing the kids into believing Titans are evil monsters. Do you really want the whole island after King?"

Eda closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily. "No. I don't."

"Then don't worry about it. I can't say for sure if that was every single one of them. If there are more back on their island, then it'll take them a long time to realize that they're not coming back." Amity walked over to the couch near the wall and sat down as Ghost leaped onto her lap.

"You look exhausted, Amity. You really should just take a few days off, at the least. Spend time with your brother and sister," Eda suggested.

"I'm fine. One of the benefits of being part Phantom is my mana supply. Exhaustion and fatigue don't affect me as they used to when I was just a witch," Amity reminded.

Now it was Eda's turn to scoff. "It may not affect you the same, but you do still get exhausted and fatigued."

Amity crossed her arms. "Yes…But I know my limits, and the more I fight, the stronger I get. I'm exceeding my limits with each passing month. At this rate, I could fight an army for hours on end without feeling tired."

"Heh, well, I don't think we need that just yet. But there is another reason why I want you to take some time off." Eda walked to the large couch and sat next to Amity. "It's about Willow…"

"…" Amity's gaze lowered. "Is it bad?"

"Gus came over about a week ago, said she was acting funny. She's been raiding the Emperor's Palace a lot, and Skara's worried too. She took the death of Hunter and Luz hard, maybe harder than she let us realize," Eda explained.

Amity had a suspicion that that was the case. Willow seemed strong and sturdy. She was a reliable girl, and more often than not, their emotional rock that kept them grounded. But it seemed that there were cracks in that rock that were hidden from their view.

"…I'll check on her tomorrow. What about Boscha? Is she giving you any trouble lately?" Amity asked.

"No trouble. In fact, she's been damn helpful. Leading search parties and helping to the keep everyone in check."

Amity narrowed her gaze. It might be her past bias when it came to Boscha, but she decided to check on her just in case. "I'll look into Boscha as soon as I leave here. How's King?"

"He's been secretive. He goes to the Head a lot. I don't like it," Eda admitted.

"He lost his big sister. Let him grieve. And going there might be as close as he can get to his father," Amity stated.

"You have a point…"

Ghost hopped off Amity's lap as the witch girl got up.

"Does your arm need any adjustments?"

"No, it's working fine."

Amity nodded her head. "I'll be going now."

Eda watched as Amity headed for the door. "Hey, Boots."

Amity stopped.

"You need to let it go."

"What?"

"I know how you feel. The anger, the pain. You want to make him hurt, and you wish you could. But we don't have any means to go after him. Focus on the here and now. Luz would want you to live your life," said Eda.

Amity glanced over her shoulder, her left eye glowing a little with golden light. "My life ended the day a monster killed the girl I loved and was reborn as something else. Not a witch, and not a Phantom. I'm both and yet neither. It may be the Phantom part of me, or just my own will, but I can't. I don't know how, Eda, but I will find a way to go to the Human Realm. And when I do…I'm going to kill Belos. And the only disappointment about it will be that I can only do it once."

"Hey, break it up!"

Amity flew towards the outskirts of the town. Tent cities had been formed around Bonesborough. With so many kids flocking to the town since Eda was the only adult left, the town itself was slowly running out of room to house them all. Someday the kids would go back to their original towns and homes to live their lives, but until they were old enough and strong enough to fend for themselves in their given locations on the Isles, it was better for them to remain close to others. To that end, tents were erected to house them. Some Construction witches were working on creating makeshift homes, but it was a slow process as they were still learning the ins and outs of the craft.

Down below, Amity watched as Boscha was breaking up a fight between two witches. She often acted as an enforcer to keep the other kids from tearing each other apart. It helped that she had an intimidating aura. Most of the time, the fights were started by Glandus High kids. They adopted the philosophy of "might makes right" and "the strong command the weak." With the downfall of the old government, some of the Glandus students believed this was the chance for them to take control. However, Boscha wasn't about to let that happen.

The triclops summoned her staff, Maya, and released a huge blast of flames that created a wall that separated the two witches. Once they had backed away, Boscha twirled her staff around and dispelled her flames. Now that she had gotten their attention, Boscha strode out to the middle and glared at the two witches.

"Okay, what in the name of the Titan is your guys' damage?!" Boscha interrogated.

"That asshole said that Witch was responsible for this!" said boy witch.

"Isn't she?! She was the one who attacked the Isles along with that Heka chick! She probably fucked up the ceremony during the Day of Unity!" said the Glandus witch.

Boscha growled as she glared at the Glandus student. "Are you shitting me right now? What part of that makes sense?! Belos planned this from the start! He's been playing everyone since day one! And you're still buying that crap!"

"Tch, the only people who were there were the Owl Lady, and the people who died – my parents! So, how the hell can we take her words seriously?!"

Boscha pointed her staff at the boy and said, "You – oh, shit…"

"What? 'Oh shit' what?"

Just then the Glandus boy heard something hit the ground behind him. The teenager slowly turned his head and that's when he saw Amity Blight. Golden flames were wisping out the corners of her eyes as she glared at the boy with her cat-like eyes.

"Care to repeat those words?" Amity asked.

"Uh…"

"What's the matter…?" Golden flames suddenly erupted around Amity's body, transforming her into the Phantom, Bast. "Cat got your tongue?"

The Glandus kid yelped in fear as he turned around and fell onto his rear. The other kids nearby backed away. Some had seen Amity in this form before, while others were just seeing it for the first time. Either way, it was still a frightening sight to behold. The Cat Phantom raised her left foot and planted it on the boy's chest, pinning him down on the ground as she bared her fangs. Her flaming hair crackled in tandem with her rising anger of the boy who dared to speak ill of her beloved.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the Glandus kid screamed.

As soon as he did, Amity reached out with her right hand and grabbed his lower jaw, keeping his mouth open thanks to her superior strength. Amity leaned down and looked into his mouth.

"Nope, it's still there. But maybe I should take it? I think it's fitting punishment for ignorant piece of shit like you!" Amity shouted.

"AMITY!" Boscha yelled as she walked up to the Cat Phantom. "That's enough."

Amity raised her head and growled at Boscha, but the triclops didn't flinch. The witch and Phantom held each other's gazes for a long tense moment. After a minute, Amity released the boy's lower jaw and took her foot off him.

"Get outta here, and don't start any more trouble. Otherwise, next time, I'm not going to be there to save your sorry ass. Got it?!"

"Y-Yes!"

The Glandus boy hurriedly scrambled to his feet and ran away.

Once he was gone, Boscha returned her gaze to the Phantom before her. "It's over, Amity. Calm down."

Amity took a deep breath. Golden flames wrapped around her body and transformed Amity back to her original form. "I wasn't going to kill him or anything."

"Kinda looked like you wanted to, Blight," Boscha observed.

"…Maybe. A little bit," Amity admitted.

Boscha sighed. "You really need to get handle on that. I get you're…different now. But still, I can't have you going around nearly ripping out peoples' tongues."

The triclops walked up to Amity and smirked.

"Only I'm allowed to rip people's tongues out. Otherwise, nobody will respect my authority if you do that."

Amity smirked back. "Tch, fine. But the next time that guy says something about Luz, I'm taking more than his tongue."

"Fair enough."

The two teens began walking through the dirt roads of the tent city. Some didn't bat an eye to Amity, while others waved at the witch-Phantom. Her reputation as Heka had been spreading considering she was the sole Kamen Rider left after the Day of Unity. So, many of the young witches and demons have either seen her in action or know her through word of mouth.

"How're things on the ground?" Amity asked.

"We're still bringing in more kids from around the Isles. Every once in a while, we'll run into a gang made up of upstarts who are trying to carve a name for themselves in this new normal we have to deal with, but thanks to the Abomatons you reprogramed, we've been able to fight back without much trouble," Boscha informed.

"You need me for any other searches? I've been trying to keep tabs on any Phantom activity, but so far it's been quiet."

"Nah. I have been keeping my eyes out for anyone who develops cracks, or rumors about weird happenings. But otherwise, it's been quiet on my end too. Maybe they finally figured out it wasn't worth popping up here if they were going to get slain by you," Boscha joked.

"If that's the case I wouldn't mind. One less thing for me to worry about. Speaking of you can spread the word that we don't need to monitor the ports. I dealt with the 'potential hostile invaders' already," Amity informed.

Boscha paused for a moment before asking, "…And by 'dealt with,' you mean you went straight up beast mode on them, right?"

"Considering that I overheard them talking about taking over the Isles and killing King. I'd say it was warranted."

"Fair."

The two old friends kept their pace as they continued their walk through the road.

"How's Willow been doing?" Amity inquired.

"Honestly? Don't know. I've heard that Park's been acting…off…for a while now. But I'm not sure since I haven't met her lately. Been busy as you can see," Boscha remarked.

Amity sighed. "I'd probably be more worried if she were still a Gate. There was a chance she could become a Phantom, but…Luz made sure that wouldn't happen when she destroyed Willow's Inner Phantom."

"Glad she did. I don't know if we could deal with a monster version of Park."

Boscha glanced at Amity, looking over her form. She would be lying if she said that she didn't find Amity's new look attractive. Although, it was kind of soured by the fact that this fierceness, this strength that Amity now possessed, was due to the loss of someone she cared about. There were days during these past six months when Boscha thought to try and ease her crush's pain. To try and comfort her. But upon looking into those cat-like eyes, Boscha knew that Amity had changed. It seemed that Luz Noceda would always be in Amity's heart.

"Wondering if you could still have a chance with me Bosch?" Amity asked in a casual manner.

"That obvious, huh?"

"You'd be amazed how much more perceptive I've gotten thanks to my…merger." Amity had a cattish grin on her face as she added, "I can pretty much sense you want to kiss me. Am I right?"

Boscha blushed up to her ears, but she managed to maintain her composure.

"T-That's – well – what do you think?! I'm still crushing on you. Doesn't matter that you changed," Boscha stated.

"Are you hoping for a chance with me?"

"…I'm not stupid enough to believe in a fantasy." Boscha stopped walking, and so did Amity. "I know how much you loved Noceda. And I know how dumb it is to keep pining over you when you're still in this state. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop caring about you."

Amity glanced down at the ground for a moment.

"Even with all you're doing. I want to be someone you can still rely on. Even if it's not as your girlfriend. I know you're still hurting, but do you really think Noceda would want you to keep wallowing like this?"

"Wallowing in a state of anger and despair? Hope died when Luz died. All I have left is my anger and my duty."

"…And when the Isles regains something close to normal again, what's left for you?" Boscha asked.

Amity went silent. She wasn't thinking of the far future. All she cared about was doing what needed to be done in the immediate future. That meant putting down Phantoms, stopping threats from within the Boiling Isles and possibly outside invaders.

"I'll let you know when that day comes around." Amity held out her hand and Ghost jumped back up into staff form. "I'm heading back to my home. Eda told me I should spend some time with my family. What's left of it. If you need me, you can find me there."

Without another word spoken, Amity took off into the air, heading for Blight Manor.

"Amity…"