My eyes sprung open and my face twisted in silent agony. Every moment of awareness was agony. It was like my whole body was being torn apart, bit by bit. Barely able to make out the tent around me through my blurring vision, I tried to get up but my body wouldn’t listen. Desperate, and already feeling my grasp on reality slipping, I sent Elmidath a tortured cry through our link just before the darkness claimed me.

Compared to the hell I’d just experienced, oblivion was a preferable alternative. But that’s not what I found on the other side; the pain followed me even there. It changed shape, blossoming far beyond a mere sensation and forming a new reality onto itself. One which contained only suffering.

I didn’t know if any of it was real, or just some sort of fever dream as darkness gave way to thousands of fragments glittering with every colour. Were it not for the torment I was experiencing, it might have been beautiful, but I doubted anything good was going to come of it.

As if to prove my point, the fragments arranged themselves into a vast maw brimming with colourful teeth. It contracted around me slowly and inevitably. I tried to avoid it, only to find that I had no agency here nor a body for them to tear apart. Despite my lack of form, the pain intensified as the teeth closed. Somehow my greater suffering made it no more difficult to think, it was as if all the pain were happening to someone else and I was simply aware of it.

As the sensation continued to grow stronger, I could finally comprehend the deeper meaning within. I was connected to a vast entity, formed of boundless energy capable of destroying me in an instant. The darkness I’d encountered beneath the ground was somehow linked to this; I could feel it. But unlike that other entity, this one seemed to have no will of its own. It was simply a force, changing and destroying according to its nature and direction.

I could already feel the energy seeping into me, reshaping me at a pace that rendered the shifts imperceptible. Easy as the transition was, I had no desire to change and resisted with all my will. But my efforts amounted to less than spitting into the wind, at least in that case I would be able to discernibly affect my reality.

The process was cut short by the arrival of a new light. Or perhaps the light simply marked the end of my metamorphosis; it was impossible to tell which. Harsh and devoid of subtlety, the light was terribly out of place amongst the glittering teeth yet there was a familiarity to it that made me reach out toward it. I don’t know if my choice made any difference, but I was torn away from this strange, painful place.

My tent in the real world returned just as I’d left it, with the sole exception of Elmidath’s presence. The demon’s head was bowed and she was looking intently at me, with a handful of solitary tears marking her crimson cheeks. Why had she been crying? Surely it hadn’t been because of me? Noticing that I was awake, she wiped her face with her sleeve.

I blinked up at her and groaned. “What happened?”

“The corruption in your body had built up too much, it nearly turned you.”

“Turned me into what?” The pain had faded, but there was an oddly sweet taste in my mouth and my throat ached.

“At worst a Tertium, though you might’ve ended up as something a little better.”

I shivered at the thought of turning into one of those bestial creatures, and looked down to confirm that I was still me. From what I could see, nothing about my body had changed. Massaging my neck, I sat up. “Did you save me?”

She nodded. “I gave you most of the Yomence I had left, though I was worried I might be too late. How do you feel?”

“A little sore, but I can’t really complain.” Not after what I’d been through. “How did my body get so corrupted? Was it from that thing that took over your father?”

“No, I don’t think it had anything to do with that. Have you been eating anything other than food I’ve had prepared?”

I shrugged. “Not that I can remember.”

“I’m not sure what it could be then. Still, I take it you can recognise what corruption feels like now?”

“Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“Good, then the next time this happens you can tell me before it gets too bad. You might not be so lucky next time.”

She was already turning to leave when I spoke. “Thanks by the way. For saving me.”

Without turning around, she tapped her foot on the ground. “I still need you after all. Now get some sleep, we have a lot to figure out tomorrow.”

I lay back down in my tent and was soon fast asleep. The next day dawned and to my relief, the pain in my head was gone. Getting up, I dressed and prepared my equipment before venturing into the outside world.

The sun was already up, and so was Elmidath along with the rest of her followers. Off in the distance, the villagers were milling around their ramshackle camp.

Elmidath spotted me and frowned. “About time, we should have left at dawn.”

It occurred to me that she could have woken up or left me if she was really in a hurry, but she hadn’t. Presumably that was her way of being considerate towards my condition, though I can’t say I appreciated it much if she was just going to complain.

“Where are we going anyway?”

She rolled her eyes. “To Biustarn, of course.”

I suppose it made sense, Biustarn was the closest thing Elmidath had left to a friend. He would also be capable of housing us and the villagers but he wasn’t the least bit trustworthy. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Glancing at Korzan, who was standing near her own tent, Elmidath lowered her voice. “What other choice do we have?”

“I met someone who worked for Soarister. I bet they could help us. Or if not, then their boss probably could.”

Elmidath shuddered. “It’s not even worth considering working with those things, not if we have any other option.”

“Why not? What’s so bad about them?”

“They’re dangerous. Every day their horrible greenery spreads a little further. Besides, they’re nothing like us; we can’t trust them.”

I shook my head “And we can trust Biustarn? At best he’ll try to exploit us as much as possible, at worst he’ll kill us the moment we get there.”

“He wouldn’t kill us unless there was something in it for him. Which is exactly why he’s a lot more trustworthy than Soarister and his people. Biustarn is predictable. He’ll stay on our side so long as it benefits him. We just have to make sure that remains the case.”

I had very little confidence in our ability to sustain that state of affairs for long but Elmidath had a point. While the forest spirit, or whatever they were, was the nicest person I’d met in this world, I knew almost nothing about her kind or what they were after. “Okay, but just be careful. There’s a lot of lives at stake here.” Mine for one.

“When have I ever not been careful?”

I gave her a look and she cracked a smile. “Okay, don’t answer that. But I will be careful this time, that’s a promise.”