A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Suddenly, Elora looked at the fairy behind this man a little differently. She had no idea what her name was, or what she even looked like. No idea what her personality was truly like or what it'd once been.

Plenty of atrocities were being committed in this fairy's name, but… truthfully, Elora was plenty callous herself, and after so many years of racial isolation and constantly swapping hosts, she might have very well started inflating that part of her, just like this fairy might have.

Then again, she also knew plenty of fairies who might have done this from the start.

Whatever the case, she asked Erik to relay her words again.

"There aren't any more of us on this world that I know of," Erik said, shaking his head and repeating Elora's words. "As for how I came here… it's not something either of us can repeat, so let's not talk about it. Instead… I'd like to ask how you're doing. I can't imagine what it was like to subsist on this world while jumping from protector to protector."

Instantly, the man recoiled a little, as if shocked by his, or rather, Elora's words. But then, slowly, fury and madness started flowing into his eyes.

"D— Don't you dare pity me!" he, or rather the fairy, snarled defensively. "I did what I had to do to survive! I— I did what I could… at first… to make them live longer, but… I— I—"

Helpless fury and grief sputtered out of the man as the fairy controlling him started losing her composure. The faces of every host she'd had over the many, many years passed through her eyes.

Their feelings, their desires. Some evil, some good. Some appreciated her presence, others… others hated her. The latter ones always tried to betray her at every turn, even as she tried desperately to make them appreciate what she could do for them.

But, eventually, most of her hosts had to be… persuaded. But what other choice did she have? Death was not an option. She needed to tell her family the truth… Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

A great host of emotions passed through the fairy's eyes. For a while, her thoughts focused on one previous host, in particular, someone she'd lost more than two thousand years ago now…

But eventually, she got a hold of her emotions and slammed down the hammer. Still panting, the man's face slowly returned to normal. "W— Whatever… Protectors is a dirty word, anyway. They're just meat sleeves until a better one comes along."

But Elora had studied the man's face thoroughly in these few moments. Erik shook his head. "You didn't used to think that, did you? Is all this death and hatred you're sowing really what you want?"

Somehow, Elora was getting a twisted feeling from this fairy. As if they'd been something far different in the past.

Strain and struggle reappeared in the man's eyes, but it lasted far shorter this time. He shook his head violently. "Enough! Enough of this, I—" He glared at Erik furiously. "Congratulations, you've managed to ruin what should have been a joyous occasion!"

"You don't have to keep doing this, you know," Erik contained, still giving voice to Elora's thoughts. "If survival was your only goal, then you've succeeded. Earth is reawakening, and we could work together. So long as you let go of this hatred for the Runebound…"

"No!" the fairy immediately screeched, using the man's voice. "They need to pay for what they did!"

Suddenly, Corspe calmed down again and waved his hands dismissively. "I'm not talking about this anymore!" He pointed a finger at Erik. "Since you insist on talking about useless things, let me get the conversation back on track! Your host, he's the so-called harbinger, no? Tell me what you know of that bitch and her plans!"

Silence reigned for a moment as Erik looked at the man sombrely, reflecting Elora's feelings. Meanwhile, Eira was bristling and raging inside her sigil core. This fairy had just insulted her mistress, and it took Erik all his efforts to stop her from charging out and attacking the possessed man.

After he'd convinced her to let him handle this, he relayed Elora's last words for the fairy. "As you wish, then. But if that's what you wish to talk about, you should just speak to Erik instead. He's not my slave. We have a bond of equals and became husband and wife."

Immediately afterwards, Erik returned his stance and expression to normal, no longer pretending to be possessed by Elora. Instead, he looked at the man expectantly. Despite already having gone through some surprises, he was obviously quite interested in what this fairy had to say about Audumla and his role as a harbinger.

However, the fairy didn't seem immediately interested in continuing that line of thought. Instead, she seemed taken aback by Elora's revelation about her relationship with Erik. The possessed man's expression became strange, conflicted, and a little angry.

Though, mostly, she seemed sad, grief-stricken, and furious about how this whole conversation had turned out.

"W— Whatever," she finally snarled, using the man's voice. "None of this matters." She finally looked at Erik as if she was truly seeing him, rather than the fairy behind him.

"Ymir and Audumla are deluded maniacs," she growled aggressively. "I want your help in making them pay. In return, my hunters will leave you alone, as will Lilith here. Admittedly, I don't know the endgame of the bitch's plans, only that she was preparing for you. But she's insane and will likely betray you, just as she did this world. There's no reason for loyalty to her."

Besides the possessed man, the so-far quiet Lilith's suddenly widened. Her malicious gaze had previously been focused on Erik, but now she turned to look at Corpse in shock. "Primarch, you—"

"Shut up," the man immediately growled at her. "This transcends anything else. It involves the culmination of my, and by extension, the hunter's goals. Remember who you swore your oath to."

The man's words reverberated with power. On the back of Lilith's hand, a previously invisible covenant mark sparked, and she shut her mouth again, her gaze unwilling but bound by whatever oath she made.

With that, Corpse turned back to Erik. "Well? What do you say?"