As the words leave your lips you feel Catia’s mood shift. She seems more hostile saying,

“Do you not find me attractive or something? I don’t have time to talk and have many more people to see after you. Let’s focus on the now shall we? Take of your clothes.”
> You refuse
“I will be doing no such thing,” you say in protest.

Catia raises her eyebrow before breaking out in laughter.

“Well this is a first,” she says.

You stare at her as she seems to be deciding whether she’ll force you to remove your clothes. You feel the sweat drip down your back when she finally says,

“Maybe I really deserved to be sent here. I can’t even manipulate a human into having sex with me.”

A black cloud appears as she disappears from your room. You start violently coughing but don’t pass out this time. It’s not like it matters, you need to sleep anyway. You put out your candles and fall into bed. You focus on your breathing as you drift off to sleep. Best to reflect on what happens when you have a clearer mind.

You wake up with a throbbing pain in your head. The light coming from your window floods your mind with intense pain. Guess you drunk more last night than you thought. You decide its best to make yourself some food and drink to clear your head. You grab water and a slice of peach pie you made a few days ago. You scarf the food down and shallow the water in huge gulps. Your head should start feeling better within the next few hours.

Except it doesn’t, you lie in bed with constant tension on your head. It’s like someone is squeezing your brain with both hands, but not hard enough to cause physical harm. Something unnatural is going on and you know it. Hangovers should get better after rest, not worse. It’s hard to focus on anything but the pain. You try remembering what Catia did before she left. She dispelled a black cloud which didn’t knock you out. Is it possible this was a curse?

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. While she tried not to show it, she was upset you resisted her temptation. She wanted you to pay for hurting her ego. That bitch! As you think about her more, tension is released from your skull. In fact, you're able to think about her in vivid detail and feel headache free. Although, the second you stop thinking about her the pain comes rushing back. This certainly isn’t good.

You’re going to have to do something about this. There is one obvious solution which is trying to contact Catia and having her remove the curse. Though who knows if she’ll even remove it, assuming she still wants to visit you. The other option is going to a local witch doctor and having them remove the curse. Although, you’ve heard they’ve been busy since demons first started being sighted. Maybe the curse is temporary, why not wait it out?
> You call for Catia
You can barely move, so you know you’re in a susceptible state. The question is, does she still want to see you?

“Catia,” you whisper.

You wait a few tense seconds and feel the pain in your head begin to relieve itself. But then, nothing. She never comes and the pain comes rushing back. You find tears streaming down your face as you realize your chances with Catia are probably over. You’re also in no state to continue working as a guard and will probably be fired soon. The only thing you can do is lay in bed and suffer.

Days past and your state of mind only gets worse. You begin seeing shadowy figures at the corner of your eyes. One day you manage to touch one and ask,

“Who are you?”

He laughs and laughs before disappearing. This isn’t the most psychologically scaring part of this ordeal. Your recurring nightmares are much worse. You dream of your family returning home in vivid detail, only for it to all come crashing down as you realize they're not real. You stop eating and drink only when necessary. It gets to a point where you know if you don’t try to seek help you will die.

You have no idea where to go for help, especially since the local witch doctor has been arrested for using humans as potion ingredients. You wander aimlessly taking morning walks in a vain attempt to find your savior. Shadowy figures whisper about you as you walk past.

“There’s nothing out here, return home”

“You’re never going to get better, why not end it?”

You’ve been seeing these shadowy figures more frequently recently. You chalk this up to your lack of sleep. Sleeping is when your most vulnerable, so you try to do as little of it as you can.

During a morning walk you run into a familiar face. It’s your childhood friend Julia. You haven’t seen her since schooling and boy does she look different.

“Is that…” she says

“Yeah it’s me,” you reply

“Boy do you look different.”

You haven’t been grooming yourself since the madness occurred. You have lots of dark circles under your eyes and probably don’t smell too good either.

“You also look different.”

She raises an eyebrow not knowing if your complementing or insulting her.

“In a good way in a good way!” you clarify.

She laughs as her dress flows in the wind.

“Sorry I can’t say the same to you. Down on your luck?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” you say jokingly, even though it’s the truth.

“Hahah I bet. I was just about to get some coffee, wanna come with?”

“Would I ever! Is it ok if the shadow people follow along?”

“The what?”

“Never mind.”

Later

Julia and you decided to go to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe. As fancy as it may seem, its nothing more than a place to eat pastries and drink coffee. She begins telling you what’s she’s been doing lately.

“You know Andy right?”

“Of course, me and him have been on guard duty together a couple times.”

Julia bites her lips and chooses her words carefully,

“Well we broke up recently due to the fact that he...he...raped me...”

You’re shocked at this revelation, Andy has always seemed like a standup guy.

“How could he do such a thing?”

“He’s a piece of shit that’s how!”

Your lower your head as she composes herself.

“Sorry, I’m just not in the best mental space right now.”

“No need to apologize, you have every right to be angry.”

“Thank you.”

“So tell me, what happened?”

She explains how one night, after a long tiring day working as a cleaner, Andy wanted sex. They had been dating for a few months and had yet to have sex. The conversation went a little like this,

“All of my other friends constantly brag about sex. If I keep telling them I haven’t fucked you yet they might start thinking I’m gay," says Andy.

“Stop pressuring me! I told you, I am not in the mood and am not ready to pursue that kind of relationship with you.”

“You’re such a bitch, you know that right? Fuck you make me angry,” Andy says while walking towards Julia menacingly.

“Back off, get away from me!”

Julia stops talking and begins to choke up. She covers her face with her hands and says shakily,

“He grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth and clenched my throat. He violated me and nobody cares to do anything about it. Everyone’s to focused on the damn demons to give a shit about poor ol’ me.”

“That’s horrible, who else have you told?”

“Just you and the captain of the fucking guards. He wouldn’t even fire him, saying the demand for guards is ‘very high’ right now. No guard is better than a guards that’s a mother fucking rapist.”

“I wish I could help, but the captain probably won’t listen to me anymore. I haven’t shown up for work in days and didn’t give any notice.”

“It’s ok, I don’t want the captain’s help anyways. I need to move on and be strong.”

You make small talk about various things before saying your goodbyes. With Julia in such a vulnerable state, you wonder if it’s best to give her time to heal. At the same time, you long for human relationship. The shadow figures just aren’t the same as real human contact.
> You give her time to heal
You decide it’s best to give it time before pursuing a relationship. Not just for her, but you as well. You figure you’ll stop seeing shadow people sooner than later and be in a better headspace. A few days go by and the shadowy figures start to appear in the corner of your eyes. You’re starting to regret your decision of not pursing Julia but they reassure you.

“You’re better of without her.”

“Why have friends when you have us?”

And a particularly rude one says,

“She’s much better off without you in her life.”

You stop your morning walks and live a hermit lifestyle. You start eating bugs off the ground as you’ve long since ran out of food. This is no way to live your life and you know it. In a moment of clarity you sprint out of the house and run to “The Devil’s Cliff”. You jump off laughing as you’ve hit rock bottom in life and now in death.


You can barely move, so you know you’re in a susceptible state. The question is, does she still want to see you?

“Catia,” you whisper.

You wait a few tense seconds and feel the pain in your head begin to relieve itself. But then, nothing. She never comes and the pain comes rushing back. You find tears streaming down your face as you realize your chances with Catia are probably over. You’re also in no state to continue working as a guard and will probably be fired soon. The only thing you can do is lay in bed and suffer.

Days past and your state of mind only gets worse. You begin seeing shadowy figures at the corner of your eyes. One day you manage to touch one and ask,

“Who are you?”

He laughs and laughs before disappearing. This isn’t the most psychologically scaring part of this ordeal. Your recurring nightmares are much worse. You dream of your family returning home in vivid detail, only for it to all come crashing down as you realize they're not real. You stop eating and drink only when necessary. It gets to a point where you know if you don’t try to seek help you will die.

You have no idea where to go for help, especially since the local witch doctor has been arrested for using humans as potion ingredients. You wander aimlessly taking morning walks in a vain attempt to find your savior. Shadowy figures whisper about you as you walk past.

“There’s nothing out here, return home”

“You’re never going to get better, why not end it?”

You’ve been seeing these shadowy figures more frequently recently. You chalk this up to your lack of sleep. Sleeping is when your most vulnerable, so you try to do as little of it as you can.

During a morning walk you run into a familiar face. It’s your childhood friend Julia. You haven’t seen her since schooling and boy does she look different.

“Is that…” she says

“Yeah it’s me,” you reply

“Boy do you look different.”

You haven’t been grooming yourself since the madness occurred. You have lots of dark circles under your eyes and probably don’t smell too good either.

“You also look different.”

She raises an eyebrow not knowing if your complementing or insulting her.

“In a good way in a good way!” you clarify.

She laughs as her dress flows in the wind.

“Sorry I can’t say the same to you. Down on your luck?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” you say jokingly, even though it’s the truth.

“Hahah I bet. I was just about to get some coffee, wanna come with?”

“Would I ever! Is it ok if the shadow people follow along?”

“The what?”

“Never mind.”

Later

Julia and you decided to go to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe. As fancy as it may seem, its nothing more than a place to eat pastries and drink coffee. She begins telling you what’s she’s been doing lately.

“You know Andy right?”

“Of course, me and him have been on guard duty together a couple times.”

Julia bites her lips and chooses her words carefully,

“Well we broke up recently due to the fact that he...he...raped me...”

You’re shocked at this revelation, Andy has always seemed like a standup guy.

“How could he do such a thing?”

“He’s a piece of shit that’s how!”

Your lower your head as she composes herself.

“Sorry, I’m just not in the best mental space right now.”

“No need to apologize, you have every right to be angry.”

“Thank you.”

“So tell me, what happened?”

She explains how one night, after a long tiring day working as a cleaner, Andy wanted sex. They had been dating for a few months and had yet to have sex. The conversation went a little like this,

“All of my other friends constantly brag about sex. If I keep telling them I haven’t fucked you yet they might start thinking I’m gay," says Andy.

“Stop pressuring me! I told you, I am not in the mood and am not ready to pursue that kind of relationship with you.”

“You’re such a bitch, you know that right? Fuck you make me angry,” Andy says while walking towards Julia menacingly.

“Back off, get away from me!”

Julia stops talking and begins to choke up. She covers her face with her hands and says shakily,

“He grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth and clenched my throat. He violated me and nobody cares to do anything about it. Everyone’s to focused on the damn demons to give a shit about poor ol’ me.”

“That’s horrible, who else have you told?”

“Just you and the captain of the fucking guards. He wouldn’t even fire him, saying the demand for guards is ‘very high’ right now. No guard is better than a guards that’s a mother fucking rapist.”

“I wish I could help, but the captain probably won’t listen to me anymore. I haven’t shown up for work in days and didn’t give any notice.”

“It’s ok, I don’t want the captain’s help anyways. I need to move on and be strong.”

You make small talk about various things before saying your goodbyes. With Julia in such a vulnerable state, you wonder if it’s best to give her time to heal. At the same time, you long for human relationship. The shadow figures just aren’t the same as real human contact.
> You pursue a relationship
You’re both facing adversity in life. In a sense, you’ve both been raped. Julia in a literal sense and yourself in a mental sense. Catia cursed you and has left you a shell of your former self.The past few days have been hell. Why not reconnect with a old friend and see if it leads anywhere? Everyday you walk to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe hoping to see Julia. A few days go by and you never see her, however it’s not all bad. You’re now eating and staying hydrated, which is never a bad thing. You haven’t seen any shadow people in days and have stopped having nightmares. Things are looking up for you.

One day after ordering your usual (a cup of coffee and cinnamon toast) Julia walks in. She’s all alone and you make eye contact with her. She winks at you and holds up a finger indicating that you should give her a second. You watch as she orders a coffee and raisin bread. After paying, she walks over to join you.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she says.

“I’m here all the time now. I mean, their coffee’s really great.”

She laughs and asks,

“How have you been doing?”

“I’m great, but I’ve been worrying about you, how have you been holding up?”

She gets a little teary eyed while saying,

“That’s so sweet of you, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m planning on leaving Ashton tomorrow morning.”

You sit mouth agape shocked at the news. She could have easy left without telling you. You might have gone mad waiting for her, but now you have a chance to leave with her.

“Why are you leaving? I get why you might not want to live in a place with bad memories of your past, but why leave so soon?”

“It’s no longer safe here and you should know better than anyone being a guard and all.”

“Former guard, and what do you mean it’s not safe? I haven’t heard of any demon sightings...”

“Well there was one just a few nights ago and people living in Ashton died. I have family up in Kingsburg and know I’ll be safe there.”

“Are you going all alone or bringing anyone with you?”

“As of now, all alone. I don’t know how difficult travel will be, back if I survive, I’ll finally have a place to call home.”

You really don’t think it’s a good idea for her to travel alone. One for the selfish reason of wanting to be close to her, but also because it’s the middle of winter and travel hasn’t been safe since the demonic invasion. This is all happening so fast, you barely know Julia the adult considering you just reconnect with you. Will she even let you come with her if you ask?

> You ask if you can come with her
“Hey do you think I could go with you?”

“Umm...why would you want to do that?”

You explain how you don’t have any reason to stay in Ashton anymore. Your parents are likely dead and you’re unemployed. A new start in Kingsbury is just what the doctor ordered.

“You can come...just meet me outside the Cinnamon Pearl at dawn.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, I can’t wait!”

You leave the cafe and feel an incredible sense of euphoria. You can’t believe she said yes, although she was a bit apprehensive. You can’t wait to show her that she made the right choice in letting you come along. You spend the rest of the day gathering all your most prized belongings. You also take all of your parent’s savings figuring they’re never coming back. You fall asleep and begin to dream...

You're back in school and are sitting next to Julia. You don't hesitate and begin talking to her fully lucid of your actions.

"Hey Julia! Want a cookie?"

You pull a cookie out of thin air and hold it out to her. She reacts in disgust,

"Did you really think you could win my love so easily? Andy's my boyfriend and we're going to be together forever!"

You stammer out,

"One day you'll realize Andy isn't as nice as he may seem. Appearances can be deceiving..."

She bursts out in hysterical laughing and you have no idea why. Your look of confusion becomes apparent as she says,

"Appearances sure are deceiving!"

"Yeah..."

"For instance, I'm not even Julia."

Your pulse increases as you feel yourself losing control. Julia's face contorts feature by feature. First, her eyes turn red, then horns grow out of her head. By the end of it you are staring face to face with the demon of your nightmares.

"Catia?"

"You may think you've escaped me, but Julia will never be your true love."

"Shut up! Julia's just a friend..."

"No, YOU shut up! I know your deepest secrets and desires. Why keep up the charade? I know you think Julia can fill the void in your life, but that's just a fantasy."

"None of this is real and that includes you. This is nightmare, that's all."

"Go ahead, believe that. Just don't act like I didn't try to warn you."

You wake up as your head pounds like never before. You're suddenly very scared and seeing Julia and aren't sure why. It's clearly irrational, but a part of you wants to contact Catia again. Who's to say the curse will go away just because you're with Julia? Should you even bother?
> You go to the Cinnamon Pearl
It's best to ignore the nightmare and pretend it never happened. You head to meet Julia at the Cinnamon Pearl. You arrive shortly after and see her waiting for you.

“Ready to go?”

“Ready for anything,” you stay while brandishing your sword.

The road to Kingsbury is no easy journey. You feel Julia is glad you came along as you can scare away any thieves and bandits you come across. Who knows if you’ll make it in one piece but at least you have a purpose. You leave through the city walls and take the old dirt road to Kingsbury.

“You know the forest would be faster?” you say.

“I know, I have a feeling we’re much safer this way.”

You look at her and smile. Her blue eyes sparkle as you realize one thing: true beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You’ve been staring it in the face since childhood and are only realizing that now.
> You epilogue #4: The Kingsbury Kiss
The journey to Kingsbury wasn’t easy. You and Julia saved each other’s behind on multiple occasions. Through adversity, you grew closer together. Once you arrived at Kingsbury you had no plan. Julia saw this and invited you to stay with her. Before you knew it, you two started dating. She was everything you’ve ever wanted and more. You never cared that she wanted to take things slow, in fact, you embraced it.

“You only live once, might as well enjoy the whole ride,” you said to her one night.

“Oh shut up, you and your cheesy sayings need to stop,” she says while touching your shoulder.

“You want me to shut up? I’ll do it, just for you my Cinnamon Pearl.”

“If you say something cheesy one more time I’ll...”

“You’ll what?”

She pauses and stare at you with her beautiful, shinning blue eyes. You don’t have time to react before she leans in and says,

“I’ll... kiss you.”

Your lips connect and you feel a fullness in your heart for the first time in years. You’re reminded of the night you met Catia where everything about her gave you joy. Except this time it’s different, this isn’t some spell or magical aura. This is all real, and you can’t believe it.

“I love you,” you say to remind yourself this is really happening.

“I love you too.”


“Hey do you think I could go with you?”

“Umm...why would you want to do that?”

You explain how you don’t have any reason to stay in Ashton anymore. Your parents are likely dead and you’re unemployed. A new start in Kingsbury is just what the doctor ordered.

“You can come...just meet me outside the Cinnamon Pearl at dawn.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, I can’t wait!”

You leave the cafe and feel an incredible sense of euphoria. You can’t believe she said yes, although she was a bit apprehensive. You can’t wait to show her that she made the right choice in letting you come along. You spend the rest of the day gathering all your most prized belongings. You also take all of your parent’s savings figuring they’re never coming back. You fall asleep and begin to dream...

You're back in school and are sitting next to Julia. You don't hesitate and begin talking to her fully lucid of your actions.

"Hey Julia! Want a cookie?"

You pull a cookie out of thin air and hold it out to her. She reacts in disgust,

"Did you really think you could win my love so easily? Andy's my boyfriend and we're going to be together forever!"

You stammer out,

"One day you'll realize Andy isn't as nice as he may seem. Appearances can be deceiving..."

She bursts out in hysterical laughing and you have no idea why. Your look of confusion becomes apparent as she says,

"Appearances sure are deceiving!"

"Yeah..."

"For instance, I'm not even Julia."

Your pulse increases as you feel yourself losing control. Julia's face contorts feature by feature. First, her eyes turn red, then horns grow out of her head. By the end of it you are staring face to face with the demon of your nightmares.

"Catia?"

"You may think you've escaped me, but Julia will never be your true love."

"Shut up! Julia's just a friend..."

"No, YOU shut up! I know your deepest secrets and desires. Why keep up the charade? I know you think Julia can fill the void in your life, but that's just a fantasy."

"None of this is real and that includes you. This is nightmare, that's all."

"Go ahead, believe that. Just don't act like I didn't try to warn you."

You wake up as your head pounds like never before. You're suddenly very scared and seeing Julia and aren't sure why. It's clearly irrational, but a part of you wants to contact Catia again. Who's to say the curse will go away just because you're with Julia? Should you even bother?
> You summon Catia one more time
You don't care if it's irrational, something deep inside says you need to see Catia. You head out to The Drunk Tortoise Tavern to get in a "more suggestive state". It's warmed up quite a bit since the last time you've been there and you're glad. New weather, new you, and perhaps a new Catia? You can only hope...

As you daydream, you lose track of where you're going. You don't even realize it when you take a wrong turn and end up in a dark alley. Logic tells you it's too dark to see anybody, but that isn't the case. The shadow people are back and they have you surrounded! You press yourself up against a wall and begin to scream.

"Hey, quiet down. We're not here to torment you," a shadow person says.

"In fact, we're here to prevent you from making a huge mistake," another says.

They explain how they weren't always shadow people. They used to be everyday people; soldiers, farmers, merchants, and every other occupation imaginable. However, one day they met a succubus and fell in love.

"I didn't want to go through with it, but once the madness hit I kept crawling back," one says.

"We all kept crawling back. There is a point where you lose so much individuality and can't even make decisions for yourself."

"That's how we all became shadow people. We lost our faces, our bodies, and our past to the abyss."

You can't believe you're having a full on conversation with the shadowy figures after all this time. You've completely lost it, why not see where this goes?

"Ok, so you lost all your individuality. How are you able to talk to me and tell me all of this?"

"What?"

"You said it yourself, you couldn't make 'decisions for yourself.' If so, how are you here right now?

"Shit he's on to us!"

"What should we do, can we still trick him?"

You shift uncomfortably.

"You idiot, why would you say that? Now we have to kill him."

You get up and try to run. You figure they aren't real and can't hurt you. Well, it turns out they can. They punch, kick, and slap you into a bloody mess.

"Finally, I will have a face again!"

They begin to peel away your skin and plaster it on their body. All the shadow people converged into a single mass resembling a ball. They tear off your arms and legs and add it to the mass. You're fully converged to the ball-like mass as a portal is conjured before you.

"Into the forest!"

You're don't die and live as part of this abomination. Your life is an eternal nightmare.


You’re both facing adversity in life. In a sense, you’ve both been raped. Julia in a literal sense and yourself in a mental sense. Catia cursed you and has left you a shell of your former self.The past few days have been hell. Why not reconnect with a old friend and see if it leads anywhere? Everyday you walk to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe hoping to see Julia. A few days go by and you never see her, however it’s not all bad. You’re now eating and staying hydrated, which is never a bad thing. You haven’t seen any shadow people in days and have stopped having nightmares. Things are looking up for you.

One day after ordering your usual (a cup of coffee and cinnamon toast) Julia walks in. She’s all alone and you make eye contact with her. She winks at you and holds up a finger indicating that you should give her a second. You watch as she orders a coffee and raisin bread. After paying, she walks over to join you.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she says.

“I’m here all the time now. I mean, their coffee’s really great.”

She laughs and asks,

“How have you been doing?”

“I’m great, but I’ve been worrying about you, how have you been holding up?”

She gets a little teary eyed while saying,

“That’s so sweet of you, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m planning on leaving Ashton tomorrow morning.”

You sit mouth agape shocked at the news. She could have easy left without telling you. You might have gone mad waiting for her, but now you have a chance to leave with her.

“Why are you leaving? I get why you might not want to live in a place with bad memories of your past, but why leave so soon?”

“It’s no longer safe here and you should know better than anyone being a guard and all.”

“Former guard, and what do you mean it’s not safe? I haven’t heard of any demon sightings...”

“Well there was one just a few nights ago and people living in Ashton died. I have family up in Kingsburg and know I’ll be safe there.”

“Are you going all alone or bringing anyone with you?”

“As of now, all alone. I don’t know how difficult travel will be, back if I survive, I’ll finally have a place to call home.”

You really don’t think it’s a good idea for her to travel alone. One for the selfish reason of wanting to be close to her, but also because it’s the middle of winter and travel hasn’t been safe since the demonic invasion. This is all happening so fast, you barely know Julia the adult considering you just reconnect with you. Will she even let you come with her if you ask?

> You wish her good luck and say goodbye
“Well best of luck, but I have to go.”

“Ok...goodbye.”

You leave and give her a smile, but on the inside you feel horrible. Why didn’t you ask if you could come along? The worse that could happen is her saying no, but at least you could say you tried. You arrive home and spend all day inside. During sleep, you have your first nightmare in days. Seeing no reason to go to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe now that’s Julia is gone, you stay inside all day. The shadow people start showing up in the corner of your vision and they taunt you relentlessly. Since you’re not eating or drinking, you don’t have the energy to leave bed anymore. You spend the next few days like this regretting the choice you made.

On a day like any other, you die from dehydration during your sleep. Rest easy knowing you’ll never have a nightmare again.


“I will be doing no such thing,” you say in protest.

Catia raises her eyebrow before breaking out in laughter.

“Well this is a first,” she says.

You stare at her as she seems to be deciding whether she’ll force you to remove your clothes. You feel the sweat drip down your back when she finally says,

“Maybe I really deserved to be sent here. I can’t even manipulate a human into having sex with me.”

A black cloud appears as she disappears from your room. You start violently coughing but don’t pass out this time. It’s not like it matters, you need to sleep anyway. You put out your candles and fall into bed. You focus on your breathing as you drift off to sleep. Best to reflect on what happens when you have a clearer mind.

You wake up with a throbbing pain in your head. The light coming from your window floods your mind with intense pain. Guess you drunk more last night than you thought. You decide its best to make yourself some food and drink to clear your head. You grab water and a slice of peach pie you made a few days ago. You scarf the food down and shallow the water in huge gulps. Your head should start feeling better within the next few hours.

Except it doesn’t, you lie in bed with constant tension on your head. It’s like someone is squeezing your brain with both hands, but not hard enough to cause physical harm. Something unnatural is going on and you know it. Hangovers should get better after rest, not worse. It’s hard to focus on anything but the pain. You try remembering what Catia did before she left. She dispelled a black cloud which didn’t knock you out. Is it possible this was a curse?

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. While she tried not to show it, she was upset you resisted her temptation. She wanted you to pay for hurting her ego. That bitch! As you think about her more, tension is released from your skull. In fact, you're able to think about her in vivid detail and feel headache free. Although, the second you stop thinking about her the pain comes rushing back. This certainly isn’t good.

You’re going to have to do something about this. There is one obvious solution which is trying to contact Catia and having her remove the curse. Though who knows if she’ll even remove it, assuming she still wants to visit you. The other option is going to a local witch doctor and having them remove the curse. Although, you’ve heard they’ve been busy since demons first started being sighted. Maybe the curse is temporary, why not wait it out?
> You visit the Witch Doctor
Your brain aches with pain and going to what you assume is the source of the pain will probably make it worst. While you’ve never been too trusting of witches, you know a local one with good reputation. As you make your way outside the light pierces through your skull. Your eye sockets feel like their burning and your brain feels like it’s melting. You press on and begin to enter the slums of the city. The practice of brewing potions containing humans, a required ingredient for witch doctors, is not exactly legal. Still, you are in no place to have such prejudice considering if your head keeps pounding like it is now, you might just kill someone.

You reach the witch doctor’s office and make your way inside. It’s pretty busy at the moment, which is no surprise as people want protection from demons. You wait in a line of about twenty people. The pounding has intensified, and you aren’t even aware how much time has passed when somebody says,

“Excuse me, do you need to see the witch doctor”

“SHUT UP!” you snap.

The clerk cowers as you finish screaming at him. You manage to calm down and whisper,

“Please help me.”

The clerk nods and orders you to follow him. You go down a hall way affixed with a assortment of trinkets and baubles pinned to the walls.

“To keep away evil spirts,” the clerk explains.

There is a huge variety of objects that you would normally want to know more about. You are in no mood now though and continue down the hall until you reach the doctor.

You enter a room lit only by bright red stones. In the center lays a boiling pot emitting the scent of rotten egg. The bright lights distract you from even noticing the witch doctor standing right in front of you.

“I sense a demonic curse within you. Don’t worry, I know the perfect potion for you.”

The witch doctor, who prefers you call her “a potion brewer”, starts throwing a concoction of ingredients into a cauldron.

“One imp carcass to ward off spirts, 2 cups of orc blood for personal strength, and a dash of lemon juice.”

“Why lemon?’ you ask.

She smiles and says,

“For flavor silly! Do you think you could stomach a potion solely comprised of raw meat and blood?”

She mixes everything together and pours out the cauldron into multiple bottles. She hands you one and the smell alone relieves your head. You down the vial and struggle to hold back from vomiting. It’s a lot thicker than you thought and the blood clumps up in your throat. The potion brewer notices your discomfort and gives you a small vial composed of a black liquid.

“Drink this it will help.”

You do as told and gulp the vial down. It seems to do the trick as the clumped blood slides down your throat. You still want to vomit out your insides.

“So how will you be paying today, soul or servitude?”

“I thought you accepted coin.”

“Oh, we do, but the black vial I gave you was extremely valuable. The ingredients needed to make it cannot be paid by mere coin.”

“What! How expensive can it be to make a potion that clears your throat?”

She laughs and shakes her head before saying,

“That’s not what the potion did, silly! It’s what I give to people if I sense they are close to death. It will prevent any proximate death, but can only be used once.”

“Why not just give me something else then?”

“I wasn’t sure if the curse was attacking you or if you were having an allergic reaction to the potion. While I can sense a lot, I’m not psychic. Rather than make a guess I did the only thing I could to guarantee your life.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Great! Now how about that payment, soul or servitude?”
> You soul
“I’ll pay with my soul.”

She smiles and says,

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

She latches onto you and pushes you to the ground.

“Clerk Anthony, tie him up!”

The clerk pounces and takes out a long thread of rope while the potion brewer holds you down. The rope is wrapped around your hands and legs and you’re tied up like an animal.

“Now time to harvest your flesh!”

The witch, which is more apt of a title, pours a white liquid mixed with thousands of black dots down your throat. It’s not until you shallow when you realize what those black dots were, ticks! They burrow into your mouth and bite your gums. You feel bumps forming on your tongue, gums, and uvula. Then the biting spreads to your throat. More bumps form and you’re unable to breath. Your face starts to turn blue and your senses dim.

“He’ll be dead soon.”

“But what about his soul, master?”

She laughs and says,

“I never wanted his soul silly! My herbal tea requires human flesh.”

This is the last thing you hear before blacking out. Hopefully the tea was good.


Your brain aches with pain and going to what you assume is the source of the pain will probably make it worst. While you’ve never been too trusting of witches, you know a local one with good reputation. As you make your way outside the light pierces through your skull. Your eye sockets feel like their burning and your brain feels like it’s melting. You press on and begin to enter the slums of the city. The practice of brewing potions containing humans, a required ingredient for witch doctors, is not exactly legal. Still, you are in no place to have such prejudice considering if your head keeps pounding like it is now, you might just kill someone.

You reach the witch doctor’s office and make your way inside. It’s pretty busy at the moment, which is no surprise as people want protection from demons. You wait in a line of about twenty people. The pounding has intensified, and you aren’t even aware how much time has passed when somebody says,

“Excuse me, do you need to see the witch doctor”

“SHUT UP!” you snap.

The clerk cowers as you finish screaming at him. You manage to calm down and whisper,

“Please help me.”

The clerk nods and orders you to follow him. You go down a hall way affixed with a assortment of trinkets and baubles pinned to the walls.

“To keep away evil spirts,” the clerk explains.

There is a huge variety of objects that you would normally want to know more about. You are in no mood now though and continue down the hall until you reach the doctor.

You enter a room lit only by bright red stones. In the center lays a boiling pot emitting the scent of rotten egg. The bright lights distract you from even noticing the witch doctor standing right in front of you.

“I sense a demonic curse within you. Don’t worry, I know the perfect potion for you.”

The witch doctor, who prefers you call her “a potion brewer”, starts throwing a concoction of ingredients into a cauldron.

“One imp carcass to ward off spirts, 2 cups of orc blood for personal strength, and a dash of lemon juice.”

“Why lemon?’ you ask.

She smiles and says,

“For flavor silly! Do you think you could stomach a potion solely comprised of raw meat and blood?”

She mixes everything together and pours out the cauldron into multiple bottles. She hands you one and the smell alone relieves your head. You down the vial and struggle to hold back from vomiting. It’s a lot thicker than you thought and the blood clumps up in your throat. The potion brewer notices your discomfort and gives you a small vial composed of a black liquid.

“Drink this it will help.”

You do as told and gulp the vial down. It seems to do the trick as the clumped blood slides down your throat. You still want to vomit out your insides.

“So how will you be paying today, soul or servitude?”

“I thought you accepted coin.”

“Oh, we do, but the black vial I gave you was extremely valuable. The ingredients needed to make it cannot be paid by mere coin.”

“What! How expensive can it be to make a potion that clears your throat?”

She laughs and shakes her head before saying,

“That’s not what the potion did, silly! It’s what I give to people if I sense they are close to death. It will prevent any proximate death, but can only be used once.”

“Why not just give me something else then?”

“I wasn’t sure if the curse was attacking you or if you were having an allergic reaction to the potion. While I can sense a lot, I’m not psychic. Rather than make a guess I did the only thing I could to guarantee your life.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Great! Now how about that payment, soul or servitude?”
> You servitude
“I’ll pay in servitude.”

She frowns and murmurs,

“I wish you chose the other option That would have been a lot more fun.”

She explains how in exchange for saving your life you will be her assistant until she considers you debt repaid.

“My name’s Helena by the way, but you can call me master.”

“Can as in I have a choice?”

“You really are silly! No, can as in you can chose to call me master if you want to live, Understood?

“Yes…”

“Yes what!”

“Yes master…”

You begin work immediately and are sent out to gather various herbs for her potions. One day while gathering a rare mushroom, you encounter a demon who screams,

“I CRAVE DESTRUCTION!”

You try to run but he sends a bolt of fire into your chest. You burn into blackened ash.


“I will be doing no such thing,” you say in protest.

Catia raises her eyebrow before breaking out in laughter.

“Well this is a first,” she says.

You stare at her as she seems to be deciding whether she’ll force you to remove your clothes. You feel the sweat drip down your back when she finally says,

“Maybe I really deserved to be sent here. I can’t even manipulate a human into having sex with me.”

A black cloud appears as she disappears from your room. You start violently coughing but don’t pass out this time. It’s not like it matters, you need to sleep anyway. You put out your candles and fall into bed. You focus on your breathing as you drift off to sleep. Best to reflect on what happens when you have a clearer mind.

You wake up with a throbbing pain in your head. The light coming from your window floods your mind with intense pain. Guess you drunk more last night than you thought. You decide its best to make yourself some food and drink to clear your head. You grab water and a slice of peach pie you made a few days ago. You scarf the food down and shallow the water in huge gulps. Your head should start feeling better within the next few hours.

Except it doesn’t, you lie in bed with constant tension on your head. It’s like someone is squeezing your brain with both hands, but not hard enough to cause physical harm. Something unnatural is going on and you know it. Hangovers should get better after rest, not worse. It’s hard to focus on anything but the pain. You try remembering what Catia did before she left. She dispelled a black cloud which didn’t knock you out. Is it possible this was a curse?

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. While she tried not to show it, she was upset you resisted her temptation. She wanted you to pay for hurting her ego. That bitch! As you think about her more, tension is released from your skull. In fact, you're able to think about her in vivid detail and feel headache free. Although, the second you stop thinking about her the pain comes rushing back. This certainly isn’t good.

You’re going to have to do something about this. There is one obvious solution which is trying to contact Catia and having her remove the curse. Though who knows if she’ll even remove it, assuming she still wants to visit you. The other option is going to a local witch doctor and having them remove the curse. Although, you’ve heard they’ve been busy since demons first started being sighted. Maybe the curse is temporary, why not wait it out?
> You wait
You continue lying around and try to fall asleep. The pain won’t let this happen and you lie in bed starring at the ceiling. You start thinking about Catia again as it seems to be the only thing you can focus on. You think about how much of an idiot you are for passing up sex with a demon.

Your front door makes a loud squeaking sounds followed by footsteps. Is Catia back to finish the job? You try to get to grab your sword but your head pounds forcing you to stay in bed. Expecting Catia to kill you at any second, you are very surprised to hear,

“Son, I’m home.”

“Mmmm—-mmmmm—-mmother?

“Yes, it’s me and I come baring bad news. Your Father, he was killed on our way home. I feel so empty I don’t know how I’ll go on.”

She begins crying into her hands. The pounding in your head stops, allowing you to get up to comfort her.

“Everything will ok you just have to stay strong,” you say while patting her back.

Your mother looks up at you and smiles. Her blue eyes shine through the tears and you know everything will be ok. She goes in to hug you and you return the favor. As you embrace, she massages your back making you feel like a kid again. She whispers into your ear,

“Will you sleep with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone after all that’s happened.”

Now you’re really starting to feel like a kid again. This is your mother and as sad as it sounds, you could also use some company after all that’s happened.

“Sure, I don’t want to be alone either.”

You both fall into bed and feel instant relief. She moves closer to you and grabs your hand. She moves your arm over her body and huddles your body close to your chest. As much as you want to say something about how uncomfortable this makes you feel, you know she needs company after all she’s been through. You no longer feel like a kid, but feel like your father? This is pretty weird, but its just one night. One weird night is nothing to be alarmed about.

You drift off to sleep and have the best night of rest you’ve had in years. When you wake up you're surprised to find your mother still pressed up against your chest. Not wanting to disturb her, you just lay there eyes open. Your headache is gone, and you think you know why. Only the love between a son and a mother could dispel the curse Catia put on you. Your mother soon wakes up and says,

“I don’t want to be too forward, but can we do this again tonight? The horrors I saw, the bloodshed, is too much for me to be left alone with my thoughts. I need someone to be my rock, so I don’t fall into the pit of despair.”

You’ve never seen your mother so sad before, thought its understandable. The question is, are you ok with doing this again? Sure, one night of sleeping in the same bed of your mom after such trauma isn’t that crazy. But doing again, that may be a bit crazy.
> You agree to be her rock
You agree to comfort her again tonight. It’s as weird as the last time, but it seems to make your mom happy and that’s all a son could want.

“Thank you, I need this right now,” she says as you massage her back.

You sleep in the same bed as your mom everyday for the next few weeks. Demon sighting have been occurring more frequently and your mother is becoming increasingly worried.

“I think we need to get out of Ashton before its too late,” she says.

“Where will we go and how could we survive alone?”

“I know a place, but you have to trust me.”

You have no reason not to trust her and follow her once nightfall arrives. You leave the city walls and venture into a nearby forest.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

She speeds up showing a surprising amount of fitness for a middle-aged woman. You eventually reach a clearing where a river flows against rocks.

“It’s beautiful,” you say stunned..

“Not as beautiful as you,” your mother says with a playful wink.

It gets kind of awkward for a bit until you break the silence.

“I still don’t understand what we’re doing here. How is a forest any safe than Ashton?”

“Oh, it’s not safer at all. I just wanted to go somewhere nobody could hear you scream,”

Your mother dashes at you with inhuman speed. She pins you down and starts ripping off your clothes

“Ever since father died, I’ve had to suppress my sexual desires. Not anymore, never again.”

You try to struggle but it's no use. You find yourself buck naked in the middle of forest.

“I want you to enjoy this as much as I do, so please don’t fight back.”

You always assumed you were stronger than mother but aren’t so sure now. Perhaps you should give in to a deep seeded desire you’ve repressed for all these years.
> You give In
You decide to just enjoy yourself and throw away all logic. This plan backfires once you begin to have sex. This is all wrong, and its not because its your mom, it's because…

“WHY DID YOU HAVE A PENIS!” you scream.

Your mother’s voice grows deep and she begins to laugh. You are at her mercy as tears begin to fill your eyes. When it's all done you are left humiliated and at a loss of all self-ego.

“I don’t understand.”

“What’s there not to understand? I pretended to have your mom to have sex with you. I assumed you were a momma’s boy by the way you repelled my sexual aura. My assumption was correct!”

Your mother face contorts feature by feature. First, her eyes turn red, then horns grow out of her head. By the end of it you are staring face to face with the demon of your nightmares.

“Catia?”

You are given no explanation as she sends a powerful blast of dark energy at you.

“You may have been able to repel my aura, but you can’t repel dark magic.”

It strikes you and tears a hole through your heart. You die both literally and metaphorically heartbroken.


You agree to comfort her again tonight. It’s as weird as the last time, but it seems to make your mom happy and that’s all a son could want.

“Thank you, I need this right now,” she says as you massage her back.

You sleep in the same bed as your mom everyday for the next few weeks. Demon sighting have been occurring more frequently and your mother is becoming increasingly worried.

“I think we need to get out of Ashton before its too late,” she says.

“Where will we go and how could we survive alone?”

“I know a place, but you have to trust me.”

You have no reason not to trust her and follow her once nightfall arrives. You leave the city walls and venture into a nearby forest.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

She speeds up showing a surprising amount of fitness for a middle-aged woman. You eventually reach a clearing where a river flows against rocks.

“It’s beautiful,” you say stunned..

“Not as beautiful as you,” your mother says with a playful wink.

It gets kind of awkward for a bit until you break the silence.

“I still don’t understand what we’re doing here. How is a forest any safe than Ashton?”

“Oh, it’s not safer at all. I just wanted to go somewhere nobody could hear you scream,”

Your mother dashes at you with inhuman speed. She pins you down and starts ripping off your clothes

“Ever since father died, I’ve had to suppress my sexual desires. Not anymore, never again.”

You try to struggle but it's no use. You find yourself buck naked in the middle of forest.

“I want you to enjoy this as much as I do, so please don’t fight back.”

You always assumed you were stronger than mother but aren’t so sure now. Perhaps you should give in to a deep seeded desire you’ve repressed for all these years.
> You struggle
This is way too far, and you do not want it in any way.

“Mom, I love you, but please don’t do this.”

You expect her to understand, but her reaction is completely different.

“Are you impotent or some shit?”

For the first time in a long time your head starts pounding again. She continues,

“I mean I know you are right now, but I are you impotent in terms of sex?”

“I don’t want to have sex with my own mother! If that makes me impotent then I guess I am.”

She grows angry and grabs your crotch.

“It’s not just that! You didn’t even want to have sex with a hot succubus. I thought you must have had some mommy issues, but that doesn’t seem to be it either.”

“Whaaaaa,” is all you have time to say before she tears your crotch off.

“That’s for wasting my time!”

She finishes the job by setting you on fire and spitting on your charred corpse.

“And that’s for being a bitch.”


You continue lying around and try to fall asleep. The pain won’t let this happen and you lie in bed starring at the ceiling. You start thinking about Catia again as it seems to be the only thing you can focus on. You think about how much of an idiot you are for passing up sex with a demon.

Your front door makes a loud squeaking sounds followed by footsteps. Is Catia back to finish the job? You try to get to grab your sword but your head pounds forcing you to stay in bed. Expecting Catia to kill you at any second, you are very surprised to hear,

“Son, I’m home.”

“Mmmm—-mmmmm—-mmother?

“Yes, it’s me and I come baring bad news. Your Father, he was killed on our way home. I feel so empty I don’t know how I’ll go on.”

She begins crying into her hands. The pounding in your head stops, allowing you to get up to comfort her.

“Everything will ok you just have to stay strong,” you say while patting her back.

Your mother looks up at you and smiles. Her blue eyes shine through the tears and you know everything will be ok. She goes in to hug you and you return the favor. As you embrace, she massages your back making you feel like a kid again. She whispers into your ear,

“Will you sleep with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone after all that’s happened.”

Now you’re really starting to feel like a kid again. This is your mother and as sad as it sounds, you could also use some company after all that’s happened.

“Sure, I don’t want to be alone either.”

You both fall into bed and feel instant relief. She moves closer to you and grabs your hand. She moves your arm over her body and huddles your body close to your chest. As much as you want to say something about how uncomfortable this makes you feel, you know she needs company after all she’s been through. You no longer feel like a kid, but feel like your father? This is pretty weird, but its just one night. One weird night is nothing to be alarmed about.

You drift off to sleep and have the best night of rest you’ve had in years. When you wake up you're surprised to find your mother still pressed up against your chest. Not wanting to disturb her, you just lay there eyes open. Your headache is gone, and you think you know why. Only the love between a son and a mother could dispel the curse Catia put on you. Your mother soon wakes up and says,

“I don’t want to be too forward, but can we do this again tonight? The horrors I saw, the bloodshed, is too much for me to be left alone with my thoughts. I need someone to be my rock, so I don’t fall into the pit of despair.”

You’ve never seen your mother so sad before, thought its understandable. The question is, are you ok with doing this again? Sure, one night of sleeping in the same bed of your mom after such trauma isn’t that crazy. But doing again, that may be a bit crazy.
> You put a stop to this now
This is just too weird, and it needs to stop before spirals into something else.

“Mom, I love you, but I just don’t think this is the best path of recovery.”

You expect her to be sad, maybe cry a little, but her reaction is completely different.

“GOD FUCKING DAMN IT YOU ARE TOO PURE!” she screams.

A cloud of dark smoke blinds you as your mother morphs into a demon like form.

“Mother, what happened on your trip?” you say while blinded by smoke.

“You insolent fool, I’m not your mom I am a succubus.”

The smoke clears and you find Catia standing before you.

“Whaaaaa,” is all you have time to say before she tears your head of.

“That’s for wasting my time!”


“Thank you,” Greg whispers.

“You what!”

“Pfft! And to think, I used to respect soldiers.”

Tom and Connor start shouting about how much of a dumbass you are. You don’t bother to engage with such idiotic banter. Instead, you walk out of the tavern without a second glance. As you make your way outside you are hit with a rush of cool air.

“I can’t wait to meet Catia,” you mutter to yourself.

“Who’s Catia?”

You turn around and only see the entrance to the tavern.

“Hello?”

“Ermm down here sir!”

You glance down and instantly recoil. It’s Greg, what’s he doing here?

“What the hell do you want?”

He begins to squirm uncomfortably and hyperventilate.

“I…uh…I…erm…”

“Spit it out!”

“I wanted to thank you for agreeing with me,” he says between irregular gasps for air.

Oh, that’s why he’s here. You normally wouldn’t mind but you have plans tonight and have no time for conversation.

“People don’t agree with you often kid? That’s too bad,” you say while walking away.

“I’m not a kid, I’m 20. But yeah, everyone I meet either ignores or makes fun of me. I almost prefer the latter as at least they keep me company,”  he says while following behind you.

“Damn that really sucks,” you stop walking and stare him in the eyes, “Look I’d love to keep you company, but I have somewhere very important to be.”

Greg looks at you with a face of disappointment. But he lights up to ask,

“Where do you have to be? Maybe I could come with you.”

Gah! As bad as you feel for Greg, under no circumstances could he come with you. She agreed to see you, not Greg and you.

“Sorry I don’t have time.”

“God damn it. Can you at least tell me why? I don’t want to be near Connor and Tom right now. They make me feel inhuman.”

Does this guy ever shut up? You been trying to exit this conversation gracefully since it started. You should just tell him to fuck off and be done it. Of course, you could humor him and tell him what you’re doing. It’s been hard keeping this succubus thing a secret and having someone to confide in wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. On the other hand, you really want to go have demon sex.
> You tell him to fuck off
“Fuck off worm.”

Greg surprises you when he snaps back,

“Connor and Tom picking on me is one thing, but you? I don’t know why, but I thought you were different.”

For a second, you feel hurt. But then you realize it's Greg and feel a bit better.

“Your fault, not mine. Now do as you're told and stop following me,” you say while walking away.

This guys persistent and runs to catch up when you start walking fast. Are you going to have to kick the shit out of him so he leaves you alone? You hope not, but that may be the only option as he’s acting like a child.

“I don’t want to go back to the tavern. Wherever you’re going, it's better than there.”

He’s probably not wrong, but it's beyond pathetic that he still follows you. Guess when you take so much abuse you can shrug it off pretty easily.

“Go ahead, follow me. Just know if you try to enter my house you won’t be able to leave.”

He gulps but continues to follow you. He’s wasted a lot of your time so you decide to take a shortcut to your parents’ house. You find yourself exiting out of the slums and into the residential part of the city. Most guards sleep in the barracks, however, since your parents never returned from their trip their house is all yours. If they ever return, you hope they don’t mind you bringing a demon inside the house. Although, they were always bugging you about finding a girlfriend, this might not be what they had in mind.

You arrive at your parent’s old home and open the door. The wooden door squeaks loudly as you open it.

“Some things never change,” you whisper to yourself.

You immediately start making yourself more presentable. You change out of your soldiers’ uniform and put on a loose-fitting black tunic. You probably should take a bath but you're too excited to see Catia that you forget to. Do demons mind odor?

You’re about to sit down in your bed when a chill runs down your spin. Your door makes a squeaking noise and a cold breeze rushes towards you.

“I swear to god Greg! you shout.

No reply, although you don’t know what you were expecting. It’s possible the breeze pushed the door open, it's pretty flimsy and it wouldn’t be the craziest thing that’s happened in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, you can’t shake the feeling you're being watched. Should you investigate?
> You investigate
Maybe it’s paranoia, but what kind of brain-dead retard wouldn’t rather be safe than sorry? Assuming its just Greg, you don’t even bother grabbing your sword, and leave the bed room, checking every corner as you do so. This pays of as you notice a shadowy figure standing outside your bedroom. Is that…Lars?

He wastes no time in attacking you, but why? You’ll never know as he slams your head into his knee until you die.


“Fuck off worm.”

Greg surprises you when he snaps back,

“Connor and Tom picking on me is one thing, but you? I don’t know why, but I thought you were different.”

For a second, you feel hurt. But then you realize it's Greg and feel a bit better.

“Your fault, not mine. Now do as you're told and stop following me,” you say while walking away.

This guys persistent and runs to catch up when you start walking fast. Are you going to have to kick the shit out of him so he leaves you alone? You hope not, but that may be the only option as he’s acting like a child.

“I don’t want to go back to the tavern. Wherever you’re going, it's better than there.”

He’s probably not wrong, but it's beyond pathetic that he still follows you. Guess when you take so much abuse you can shrug it off pretty easily.

“Go ahead, follow me. Just know if you try to enter my house you won’t be able to leave.”

He gulps but continues to follow you. He’s wasted a lot of your time so you decide to take a shortcut to your parents’ house. You find yourself exiting out of the slums and into the residential part of the city. Most guards sleep in the barracks, however, since your parents never returned from their trip their house is all yours. If they ever return, you hope they don’t mind you bringing a demon inside the house. Although, they were always bugging you about finding a girlfriend, this might not be what they had in mind.

You arrive at your parent’s old home and open the door. The wooden door squeaks loudly as you open it.

“Some things never change,” you whisper to yourself.

You immediately start making yourself more presentable. You change out of your soldiers’ uniform and put on a loose-fitting black tunic. You probably should take a bath but you're too excited to see Catia that you forget to. Do demons mind odor?

You’re about to sit down in your bed when a chill runs down your spin. Your door makes a squeaking noise and a cold breeze rushes towards you.

“I swear to god Greg! you shout.

No reply, although you don’t know what you were expecting. It’s possible the breeze pushed the door open, it's pretty flimsy and it wouldn’t be the craziest thing that’s happened in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, you can’t shake the feeling you're being watched. Should you investigate?
> You ignore it
It probably was just the wind, no need to be paranoid. You hop in bed and close your eyes.

“Cat---”

You head is struck making you collapse. You black out from what you assume to be Greg’s doing. Who knew he was so strong? You suffer intensive internal bleeding and die a slow, painful death.


“This is the last time I’m saying this Greg, immortality is not worth cutting off your cock. What’s the point of being immortal if you’re deprived of the best feeling in the world?”

“Ey’ maybe he’s lacking in that area. No wonder he wants immortality if all he has to do his cut off an inch or two worth of pecker.”

Greg suddenly stands up, drawing your eyes to the bickering trio. They’ve been arguing random hypotheticals since you’ve gotten here. All you wanted was to get a quiet drink before meeting with Catia. As long as these buffoons are here, that’s impossible.

Even as Greg stands up he’s shorter than the other two sitting. It’s no wonder they pick on him, he looks pathetic.

“Can you both just shut the fuck up? I mean, god damn. All I’m saying is living forever outweighs the downsides of not having a dick,” he says in a whiny voice.

The other two laugh uncontrollably at his pitiful attempt of defiance. One manages to calm down and spits out,

“Maybe when it’s smaller than a gnome’s toothbrush, but for the rest us it’s not so easy.”

Queue more uncontrollable laughter as Greg’s face becomes redder than demon blood.

“I’ll shove a gnome’s toothbrush up your ass if you say that one more time! C’mon, let’s move on to another question.”

The trio quiets down and you zone them out. You take a swig of whisky and start to remember the reason while you’re here. Oh yeah, the succubus. She wanted you to drink a bit before meeting her. You didn’t necessarily jump at the idea of getting drunk before meeting with a demon, but she promised you she would make it worthwhile. You’re pretty sure that means…

Your thoughts are interrupted by the thickheaded trio once again.

“You’re telling me you’d prefer your child be retarded and kind than ingenious and mean?”

“Yes Connor, I would.”

“God damn it, Greg! You want to spend an eternity with no dick while taking care of a retarded child? Pathetic. I would kill myself after a week.”

“Har har har! I would kill myself in a week if I had to live Greg’s life as it is. No, scratch that, a day!”

“Fuck you Tom. I can’t be the only one who thinks this…”

Greg glances around nervously looking for a savior. Eventually he turns his gaze towards you and his eyes light up.

“Hey you over there! What would you rather have, a dumb, but kind child; or a smart, but cruel child?” he says while pointing at you.

You stare blankly ahead and breathe a deep sigh. This is beyond stupid. You briefly consider just ignoring him and getting the hell out of this place.

“Why do you think that man would agree with you? He’s a soldier. Surely, he recognizes the benefits a genius could provide for society. Especially when you consider the need for mages regarding the growing demon problem.”

Soldier? Shit you forgot to change out of your uniform. So much for staying inconspicuous. You can thank your lucky stars none of the other guards are here to see you in this shithole.

“Now now, let the man speak. Just because he’s a soldier doesn’t mean he agrees with you,” says Tom.

“Fine, what do you think...and hurry up! We don’t have all day.”
> You say "I prefer a genius but cruel child."
“My man!” shouts Connor.

“Har har Greg probably wants a retarded child to have someone finally agree with him,” Tom jokes.

Tom and Connor start shouting about how much of a dumbass Greg is. You agree, but don’t join in on the berating. Instead, you walk out of the tavern without a second glance. As you make your way outside you are hit with a rush of cool air.

“I can’t wait to meet Catia,” you mutter to yourself.

You tuck your hands in your pockets and begin the walk to your home. On the way, you bump into a familiar face. It’s Lars.

“How did last night go?” he asks.

Something about Lars is rubbing you the wrong way. It might be his emotionless eyes or his downtrodden tone, but you feel like telling him about Catia is a bad idea

“I nearly froze to death,” you say, wanting to be vague.

“Yeah how exactly did you avoid doing that? When I left it looked like you were about to pass out.”

“Just lucky I guess.”

“Lucky huh? Well it’s your ‘luck’ that got me fired. Thanks a lot, now my family can starve to death before getting killed by demons.”

You remain silent.

“The captain chewed my ass out for quitting guard duty. I thought he would berate me and give me a warning, but he fucking fired me. I told him how much bullshit that was because I would have frozen to death otherwise. He told me I was lazy and incompetent because ‘the other guard didn’t complain’ as if your dumbass was smart to stay.”

You try to apologize but Lars is having none of it. He gets angry and says,

“I pray to god the demons invade and gut you and the captain like fish. Scrape out your insides with their claws and your other insides with their dick.”

“Jesus man I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t feed my family. Get out of my way, I’m gonna’ drink until I die.”

You move aside as Lars storms past you. Well, that was an interesting encounter. You don’t even know what to think, were you wrong to lie to him? How would he have reacted if you told him the truth? You push these thoughts out of your head and focus on getting home. It’s super cold and you don’t want to freeze to death and not have a succubus save you.

You find yourself exiting out of the slums and into the residential part of the city. Most guards sleep in the barracks, however, since your parents never returned from their trip their house is all yours. If they ever return, you hope they don’t mind you bringing a demon inside the house. Although, they were always bugging you about finding a girlfriend, this might not be what they had in mind.

You arrive at your parent’s old home and open the door. The wooden door squeaks loudly as you open it.

“Some things never change,” you whisper to yourself.

You immediately start making yourself more presentable. You change out of your soldiers’ uniform and put on a loose-fitting black tunic. You probably should take a bath but you're too excited to see Catia that you forget to. Do demons mind odor?

You’re about to sit down in your bed when a chill runs down your spin. Your door makes a squeaking noise and a cold breeze rushes towards you.

“Is somebody there?” you ask.

No reply, although you don’t know what you were expecting. It’s possible the breeze pushed the door open, it's pretty flimsy and it wouldn’t be the craziest thing that’s happened in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, you can’t shake the feeling your being watched. Should you grab your sword and investigate?
> You close the door and get in bed
It probably was just the wind, no need to be paranoid. You hop in bed and close your eyes.

“Cat---”

Your head is struck making you collapse.

“They may have taken my job, but they didn’t take my sword.”

“Lars?” You ask through blurred vision.

“Why yes, it’s me, demon! You really think I believed you survived on pure luck?"

He looks completely unhinged. You try to say something but just start coughing blood. It comes out in chunks resembling mashed berries.

“You really thought you could get away with it, didn’t you? HAHAHAHA! I know you’ve been possessed by a demon; how else could you survive the frigid cold?”

Clumps of blood continue flying out of your mouth as you fail to speak. Lars crotches down next to you and strokes your face.

“It’s ok, calm down. Like I told you before, or at least the non-possessed you, the city could use some heating up.”

Where is this going?

“I want to make a deal with you! Kill the Captain and I’ll let you live. Hell, I’ll even give you something in exchange. Perhaps a part of my soul? If there’s anything left in there.”
> You nod your head
That’s the last thing you do before passing. Between your shuttered eyes you can make out one last thing.

An even bigger smile on Lars’ face.

The next time you wake up your chained in darkness. You can still reach around a fair bit and waste no time exploring your surroundings by touch. When you get to your face you find it hastily wrapped in gauze and bandages. You shallow and taste dried up blood sticking to your mouth like honey. You really need a drink. With nobody around you start banging your chains against the ground. It makes a loud rattling sound that will surely attract anyone close by.

Nothing. Wherever you are nobody is here. Although, you assume Lars will be back soon. That is, unless he was killed as raving mad men often are. As you sit here hungry, tired, and thirsty you rack your mind trying to remember anything that can help you. Your head pounds with each thought, it feels like a hangover but a 100 time worse. Getting whack in the head may have some long-lasting effect on your mental capabilities.

After a few minutes of fruitless concentration, it hits you. The thing that got you into this mess is what will get you out; Catia. While the alcohol has mostly worn off, your injuries have left you in a susceptible state. Assuming she wasn’t lying when she said she would meet you again, she should be able to get you out of this mess. You can’t believe you need a demon to rescue you, but you have no choice.

“Catia,” you whisper.

A few seconds pass and despair creeps in. Just before you lose all hope a dark cloud appears in the room. It dispels a nauseous fume that ferociously attacks your lungs. You start violently coughing more blood, mostly dry, as you vision blurs. Your eyes shut close and you feel your grip on reality slipping away.

You awaken to find yourself in a metallic cage. This room is much brighter than the one before.

“When I saw you chained I figured a cage would make you feel right at home.”

It’s Catia and you’re getting a very different vibe from her than last time. Your gut tells you to do what she says as you are powerless.

“Now tell me, how come I wasn’t the first one to put you in chains?” she says while licking her lips.

“It’s not like it was consensual. I was blindsided and nearly died.”

She gives you a playful smile and whispers in to your ear

“Tell me everything and don’t spare any details.

Seeing as you don’t have much of a choice you describe everything that’s occurred since you last saw her. You don’t withhold even the most irrelevant details.

“It’s nice to know you believe I exist. I know it’s hard to believe someone this beautiful isn’t a figment of your imagination.”

Her red eyes pierce into your mind, daring you to think otherwise.

“So, what do you think we should do about Lars?” you ask.

She starts laughing to herself.

“What?”

She walks towards your cage and reaches inside. She puts her hand on your chin and points your head upwards. She locks eyes with you and grins widely

“You’re going to kill the captain!”

Later

It took a lot less convincing that you thought it would. Something about Catia just makes you want to obey her, though this time around you didn’t have much choice. She didn’t give you a reason other than saying

“Chaos sows the seeds of discontent.”

Which if you agree with this line of thinking, you are only helping the infernal realm by following Catia. Her influence is so strong you didn’t consider any other option. Or maybe you just really want to fuck her. Either way, time to kill the captain.

After releasing you from your cage, she offers to heal you with dark magic. You agree, as you can barely move let alone assassinate someone. What you didn’t know is that another demon would be performing the ritual.

“Why is a human stinking up the place?”

“Mind your manners, Jirzan. Someone finally wants you for your magic and you treat them like this?”

“Heh I guess you got a point. They don’t call me Jirzan the Lunatic for nothing. Alright tell me what you need me to do.”

She whispers into his ear and is too quiet to understand. Though you make out words such as “transform” and painful.

What exactly do they plan on doing to you? Perhaps you should try backing out of this whole ritual.
> You go on with it
Catia asks you to join hands with Jirzan and her. Once you do, they begin chanting nonsensical words. Their eyes roll into the back of their heads and their bodies go limp. After a few seconds they get up and it’s now you that’s limp. You feel excruciating pain course through your veins. Your skin burns, and it feels like fire ants are crawling in your eyes.

You can’t help but scream as every part of your body feels like hell, literally. Your skin starts to red and your head feels like it’s being ripped apart. They can’t be doing what you think they’re doing.

“The transformation is working!” Jirzan shouts.

You begin spazzing out on the floor. This isn’t what you thought she meant by healing you.

“Enjoy your new life under my servitude,” Catia laughs.

Your body starts contorting as blood spills out of your eyes. You jolt in and out of consciousness while Catia laughs louder. Her voice sounds dreamlike as the room around you morphs into hell. You black out.

When you wake up you find Catia and Jirzan shorter than before. In fact, the whole room feels smaller.

“There he is!” shouts Jirzan.

“How does it feel?” asks Catia.

You stare at them in shock.

“What did you do to me?’

Catia approaches you differently than before. She no longer seems to be trying to seduce you. Rather, she carries a wave of supremacy not present before.

“You will obey my commands as long as I live. Now, get on your knees,” she says.

You try to protest, but find your whole body paralyzed. You assume this must be some sort of magic forcing you to obey. This however is not the case as she makes clear.

“WHY AREN’T YOU MOVING?”

“It seems like my ritual may have had some unintended effects.”

Your body goes into an epileptic seizure as they start arguing over the ritual. None of that matter to you as your heart can’t support your new body. The world becomes a blur as you hear one last thing,

“Great, I’ll never return home now that he’s dead.”

While you aren’t dead yet, you will be soon. Your tale ends here.


That’s the last thing you do before passing. Between your shuttered eyes you can make out one last thing.

An even bigger smile on Lars’ face.

The next time you wake up your chained in darkness. You can still reach around a fair bit and waste no time exploring your surroundings by touch. When you get to your face you find it hastily wrapped in gauze and bandages. You shallow and taste dried up blood sticking to your mouth like honey. You really need a drink. With nobody around you start banging your chains against the ground. It makes a loud rattling sound that will surely attract anyone close by.

Nothing. Wherever you are nobody is here. Although, you assume Lars will be back soon. That is, unless he was killed as raving mad men often are. As you sit here hungry, tired, and thirsty you rack your mind trying to remember anything that can help you. Your head pounds with each thought, it feels like a hangover but a 100 time worse. Getting whack in the head may have some long-lasting effect on your mental capabilities.

After a few minutes of fruitless concentration, it hits you. The thing that got you into this mess is what will get you out; Catia. While the alcohol has mostly worn off, your injuries have left you in a susceptible state. Assuming she wasn’t lying when she said she would meet you again, she should be able to get you out of this mess. You can’t believe you need a demon to rescue you, but you have no choice.

“Catia,” you whisper.

A few seconds pass and despair creeps in. Just before you lose all hope a dark cloud appears in the room. It dispels a nauseous fume that ferociously attacks your lungs. You start violently coughing more blood, mostly dry, as you vision blurs. Your eyes shut close and you feel your grip on reality slipping away.

You awaken to find yourself in a metallic cage. This room is much brighter than the one before.

“When I saw you chained I figured a cage would make you feel right at home.”

It’s Catia and you’re getting a very different vibe from her than last time. Your gut tells you to do what she says as you are powerless.

“Now tell me, how come I wasn’t the first one to put you in chains?” she says while licking her lips.

“It’s not like it was consensual. I was blindsided and nearly died.”

She gives you a playful smile and whispers in to your ear

“Tell me everything and don’t spare any details.

Seeing as you don’t have much of a choice you describe everything that’s occurred since you last saw her. You don’t withhold even the most irrelevant details.

“It’s nice to know you believe I exist. I know it’s hard to believe someone this beautiful isn’t a figment of your imagination.”

Her red eyes pierce into your mind, daring you to think otherwise.

“So, what do you think we should do about Lars?” you ask.

She starts laughing to herself.

“What?”

She walks towards your cage and reaches inside. She puts her hand on your chin and points your head upwards. She locks eyes with you and grins widely

“You’re going to kill the captain!”

Later

It took a lot less convincing that you thought it would. Something about Catia just makes you want to obey her, though this time around you didn’t have much choice. She didn’t give you a reason other than saying

“Chaos sows the seeds of discontent.”

Which if you agree with this line of thinking, you are only helping the infernal realm by following Catia. Her influence is so strong you didn’t consider any other option. Or maybe you just really want to fuck her. Either way, time to kill the captain.

After releasing you from your cage, she offers to heal you with dark magic. You agree, as you can barely move let alone assassinate someone. What you didn’t know is that another demon would be performing the ritual.

“Why is a human stinking up the place?”

“Mind your manners, Jirzan. Someone finally wants you for your magic and you treat them like this?”

“Heh I guess you got a point. They don’t call me Jirzan the Lunatic for nothing. Alright tell me what you need me to do.”

She whispers into his ear and is too quiet to understand. Though you make out words such as “transform” and painful.

What exactly do they plan on doing to you? Perhaps you should try backing out of this whole ritual.
> Back out
“Hey uh guys, I don’t know about this. I think it would be best if I just heal the natural way.”

Jirzan turns towards you and hisses.

“You insolent fool! You dare turn the opportunity to become a demon, what else do you have going for you in life?”

You instinctively start backing away as he gets angrier.

“Is it my epithet ‘Lunatic’ that scares you? You humans disgust me. If that scares you I couldn’t imagine what you’d think about the meaning of my first name.”

Well his epithet played a role, but dark magic frightens you more. Now you’re curious about his first name and don’t hesitate in asking him,

“What does Jirzan mean?”

He does a little dance and is excited to share,

“Enslaver. My full name means translates to Enslaver the Lunatic. As a shorthand, ‘Deranged Enslaver’ works as well.”

He’s known as an Enslaver? Kind of ironic seeing as he is doing Catia’s bidding. How did he plan to enslave you with dark magic? Does dark magic break demonic rule or did he have no intent on subjugating you?

“Were you planning to enslave me? How can you just do that, doesn’t a deal have to be made?”

“A deal? Why do you think I was banished to earth? I don’t do deals and see no reason why I should. All I need is your consent to use dark magic and I can do whatever I want.”

Looks like you dodge a bullet. Although, you’re still confused about this whole banishment to earth. You thought demons were mounting a full-scale invasion. You bring up your confusion and that only causes him to laugh at you.

“You think I would be near humans willingly? The only reason I’m here is because dark magic is outlawed in hell. Demons tend to stray away from things they don’t understand”

“Same reason I’m here,” adds Catia.

If not here by free-will, what explains the siege of the capital? How would a bunch of misfits pose a threat to the elite empiric army? As you to reason through it, your brain aches with pain. Damn that hit from Lars got you good.

“Well if he doesn’t want to go through with the ritual then my work here is done,” says Jirzan.

“Not so fast!” says Catia.

“Eh? Do you want me to kill him or something? I thought you could use the practice.”

Catia sighs and places her hand on hip whist saying,

“What about instead of turning him into a demon we make him a Doom Knight? All you’d have to do is teach him a little dark magic and we should be all set.”

You don’t even know what a Doom Knight is and still don’t trust Jirzan to teach you.

“You think this imbecile could handle learning the dark arts? You have truly gone mad! And to think, they call me the lunatic.”

“C’mon Zan, you owe me this. Backing out will only lead to more consequences down the road.”

This seems to shut him up real quick. He starts cursing as it becomes clear to you Catia has something he dearly wants.

“Fine I’ll do it, under two conditions. The first, I will need his full consent to do the initiation spell. Without it, there is no way he could become a Doom Knight. The second, you return Coyote back to me once I finish.”

Catia nods and agrees to his terms. She now turns to you and asks,

“Any questions?”
> You what's a Doom Knight?
You rack your brain and try to formulate some questions. Everything they’ve been saying kind of has blurred together. Though you do want to know what exactly a Doom Knight is.

“Doom Knights are slayers of all things good and holy. Think of them as some sort of reverse paladin.”

You always thought paladins were self-righteous assholes. They claim to protect others from evil yet persecute the smallest of sins. Who knows, Doom Knights might be more to your liking.

Other questions?
> You why you\?
“I told you he would ask this!” says Jirzan.

“We might as well tell him the truth, or he might not join,” says Catia.

“Go ahead, though you are putting a lot of trust in a meathead.”

Catia explains how if they wanted to, demons could conquer earth in minutes.

“Why don’t you then?” you ask.

Catia pauses and starts speaking in a sad tone,

“If we did, I could never return to my homeland. In the underworld, different dimensions are at constant war. When darkness fights darkness, brute strength does nothing. You must outsmart your opponent through trickery and manipulation. That’s where you come in.”

She goes on to explain how banished demons are sent to lesser domains, such as earth, to earn redemption. Some demons are content with wreaking havoc, but others long for home. Take Jirzan for example, he couldn’t care less about the underworld. He thrives of chaos and enslaves all weaker than him.

“The only reason he’s helping is because he has no choice,” adds Catia.

In Catia’s case, she needs to others to do her own bidding to prove she does not have to relay on brute strength. Lucky for her, succubi are experts at having others do what they want. By having you kill the captain, she can prove just how capable she is.

“Making Lars believe you are a demon, and constructing a fake deal with him, proves how I can bend reality to my whim,” boasts Catia.

Regardless of what you think of her motivations, it seems the only choice you have is to follow her.

What else do you want to know?


It probably was just the wind, no need to be paranoid. You hop in bed and close your eyes.

“Cat---”

Your head is struck making you collapse.

“They may have taken my job, but they didn’t take my sword.”

“Lars?” You ask through blurred vision.

“Why yes, it’s me, demon! You really think I believed you survived on pure luck?"

He looks completely unhinged. You try to say something but just start coughing blood. It comes out in chunks resembling mashed berries.

“You really thought you could get away with it, didn’t you? HAHAHAHA! I know you’ve been possessed by a demon; how else could you survive the frigid cold?”

Clumps of blood continue flying out of your mouth as you fail to speak. Lars crotches down next to you and strokes your face.

“It’s ok, calm down. Like I told you before, or at least the non-possessed you, the city could use some heating up.”

Where is this going?

“I want to make a deal with you! Kill the Captain and I’ll let you live. Hell, I’ll even give you something in exchange. Perhaps a part of my soul? If there’s anything left in there.”
> You shake your head
That’s the last thing you do before passing out.

And the last thing you’ll ever do as Lars makes no attempt at reliving you.

End...


“My man!” shouts Connor.

“Har har Greg probably wants a retarded child to have someone finally agree with him,” Tom jokes.

Tom and Connor start shouting about how much of a dumbass Greg is. You agree, but don’t join in on the berating. Instead, you walk out of the tavern without a second glance. As you make your way outside you are hit with a rush of cool air.

“I can’t wait to meet Catia,” you mutter to yourself.

You tuck your hands in your pockets and begin the walk to your home. On the way, you bump into a familiar face. It’s Lars.

“How did last night go?” he asks.

Something about Lars is rubbing you the wrong way. It might be his emotionless eyes or his downtrodden tone, but you feel like telling him about Catia is a bad idea

“I nearly froze to death,” you say, wanting to be vague.

“Yeah how exactly did you avoid doing that? When I left it looked like you were about to pass out.”

“Just lucky I guess.”

“Lucky huh? Well it’s your ‘luck’ that got me fired. Thanks a lot, now my family can starve to death before getting killed by demons.”

You remain silent.

“The captain chewed my ass out for quitting guard duty. I thought he would berate me and give me a warning, but he fucking fired me. I told him how much bullshit that was because I would have frozen to death otherwise. He told me I was lazy and incompetent because ‘the other guard didn’t complain’ as if your dumbass was smart to stay.”

You try to apologize but Lars is having none of it. He gets angry and says,

“I pray to god the demons invade and gut you and the captain like fish. Scrape out your insides with their claws and your other insides with their dick.”

“Jesus man I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t feed my family. Get out of my way, I’m gonna’ drink until I die.”

You move aside as Lars storms past you. Well, that was an interesting encounter. You don’t even know what to think, were you wrong to lie to him? How would he have reacted if you told him the truth? You push these thoughts out of your head and focus on getting home. It’s super cold and you don’t want to freeze to death and not have a succubus save you.

You find yourself exiting out of the slums and into the residential part of the city. Most guards sleep in the barracks, however, since your parents never returned from their trip their house is all yours. If they ever return, you hope they don’t mind you bringing a demon inside the house. Although, they were always bugging you about finding a girlfriend, this might not be what they had in mind.

You arrive at your parent’s old home and open the door. The wooden door squeaks loudly as you open it.

“Some things never change,” you whisper to yourself.

You immediately start making yourself more presentable. You change out of your soldiers’ uniform and put on a loose-fitting black tunic. You probably should take a bath but you're too excited to see Catia that you forget to. Do demons mind odor?

You’re about to sit down in your bed when a chill runs down your spin. Your door makes a squeaking noise and a cold breeze rushes towards you.

“Is somebody there?” you ask.

No reply, although you don’t know what you were expecting. It’s possible the breeze pushed the door open, it's pretty flimsy and it wouldn’t be the craziest thing that’s happened in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, you can’t shake the feeling your being watched. Should you grab your sword and investigate?
> You grab your sword and investigate
Maybe it’s paranoia, but what kind of brain-dead retard wouldn’t rather be safe than sorry? You take out your sword and leave the bed room, checking every corner as you do so. This pays of as you notice a shadowy figure standing outside your bedroom. Is that…Lars?

“Your senses are very good, demon. I knew you were possessed, how else could you have heard me?”

“The annoying door squeak, for one. Also, it's fucking freezing so I knew someone let in the cold.”

“More lies! First you tell me you survived the cold from pure luck, now you tell me your heighten senses are nothing special?

“Lars, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Stop pretending, I know your secret. You’ve been possessed by a demon; how else could you survive the frigid cold?”

Not wanting to fight a former friend, you decide to tell him the truth.

“I haven’t been possessed by a demon, but one did save me. It all started once you left…”

Later

“So that’s why you were at the drunk tortoise? I admit, you’ve never been one to drink.”

“Exactly! I’m glad you understand.”

“What now? You’re going to come clean to the captain and convince him to give me back my job, right?

While the captain may give Lars his job back, you would probably be fired. Coming into direct contact with a demon and living to tell the tale is a no go. He’ll probably think you made some sort of deal to avoid being killed. Regardless of what you plan to do, you say,

“I will definitely do that tomorrow.”

Lars nods but still looks a little unhinged. His hand twitches and he gives you a half grin.

“Ok I’m holding you to it, because if you don’t, you’re gonna wish you froze to death last night.”

You gulp as you have no doubt Lars could kill you if he wanted. He leaves and you hear the door squeak once again. The cold breeze has expanded throughout your house and you could use some heating up. After securing to house to make sure Lars isn’t still lurking, you fall into bed.

You’re super tired and debate whether you still want to see Catia. It’s been a long day and if you have any intention of talking to your captain tomorrow, you should go to sleep.
> You summon Catia
“Catia.”

A dark cloud appears in your room, dispelling a toxic fume. You start violently coughing as you vision blurs indiscriminately. Your eyes shut close and you feel you grip on reality slipping away from you.

“Ah shit,” you whisper before passing out.

Your eyes jitter open and you’re greeted by Catia stroking your face. Her palm flushes the coolness off your face. Beads of sweat drip furiously down your neck as she continues caressing you.

“Couldn’t wait a single day before seeing me again? Especially after you promised your friend you would visit ‘the captain’? How cute.”

You don’t have time to question how she knows that before she crawls on top of your bed and snuggles against you. Her aura is all consuming and you feel your free will being drained away. Yet, the whole process is extremely pleasing to you. She moves her mouth to your ear and whispers,

“Do you want to see everything I have to offer?”

You bite your tongue to avoid instinctively shouting yes. This may be your last chance to not go through with this. At the very least, it would give you chance to ask her a few more questions.