Arwen awoke to find herself still in the Afterlife.
Blinking a few tis, she couldn’t help but wonder why she had passed out in the first place.
Closing her eyes, she sought to rember, but there were only bits and pieces of what had transpired before her blackout.
It seed like whatever had happened before was a bad dream.
Massaging her temples to get rid of the slight headache plaguing her, she got to her feet and looked around only to make eye contact with the sentinel at that mont.
She imdiately grew tense as she prepared to fight back but against all expectations, the sentinel... turned away.
Confused as to what just happened, she watched the sentinel leave like it hadn’t seen her.
"What just happened?" She mouthed.
She left where she stood and followed behind the sentinel for a few ters, with the burning skull completely ignoring her existence.
Pursing her lips, she conjured a fla tongue and was about to attack when she froze as she noticed sothing strange.
Instead of pale, her flas were now green!
"When did this happen?" She grew even more perplexed as she watched the fla dance hypnotically in her palm.
Her eyes reflected the fla for a few seconds before she casually put it away.
With a blank expression on her face, she turned to leave only for Elena to suddenly appear, stepping through a dinsional door.
This caused the sentinel to react as it turned back and imdiately attacked her.
Elena didn’t even hesitate to act as she grabbed Arwen and pulled her through the door into the dinsional hallway she was building.
"Oh hey, did you miss ?" Elena inquired in a jovial tone as she helped Arwen to her feet.
Dusting herself, Arwen’s wooden expression quickly changed as she replied. "And here I thought you forgot about ."
"Oh co on, how could I?... I was just caught up with certain matters. So, any progress?"
Beaming, Arwen opened her palm and conjured the green fla tongue once again. "What do you think?"
Elena’s expression shifted as she intoned. "Your fla changed."
"Indeed."
"How?"
Arwen shrugged. "I guess staying in the Afterlife for a while was helpful for my flas."
"I see." Elena pursed her lips, scrutinizing Arwen thoroughly before inquiring. "Are you alright?... Feeling off or weird?"
"No, not really."
"Alright then, I guess I’m just overthinking things."
"What?... You think sothing is wrong with ?"
"Arwen, your flas are a fundantal part of your being. It changing is no small matter, even if it’s only its color."
"Don’t overthink it so much, I’m fine."
"I guess." Elena decided not to bother too much about it since Arwen was alright.
***
In the Spirit World, within a tree house made completely out of pristine white paper with strange writings etched on its surface, the Higher Spirit otherwise known as the Witch of Fables, was having a conversation with Victoria.
An egg of a Salamander and the corpse of a Weaver. I didn’t think you’d be able to get your hands on such premium materials.
The Witch praised as she glanced at the items placed out before her.
"Since the upgrade can only be done once, I need to make sure my bonds get the best. If I could hunt a Higher Spirit, I would." Victoria calmly remarked.
The Witch’s pale white eyes, seemingly devoid of a soul, briefly scrutinized the vampire before she spoke up.
Are you alright?
Victoria didn’t imdiately respond, taking the ti to spare a few glances at her current state.
Her skin appeared slightly burned, she was missing her left arm, and her regeneration was at an all-ti low, all injuries she’d received on her quest to strengthen her bonds.
Vampires were known as the most beautiful Cryptids in Eventide, but such a phrase could no longer apply to Victoria given her current state.
But this did not faze her as she calmly intoned. "It was worth it."
Do you truly believe that?
"Yes," Victoria replied without hesitation, raising her eyes to et the Witch’s gaze.
Very well then. Now that the materials are ready, the next phase is the most important.
"What do I need to do?"
A mont.
As she spoke, the Witch reached out, and a piece of paper flew into her palm, which she then handed over to Victoria.
The Vampire perused it briefly before once again eting the Witch’s gaze. "A Concoction?"
Indeed. You must be careful not to damage the materials else the desired effect will not happen. Once the brewing process is completed, your bonds must ingest the potion no more than a minute after else it would be equivalent to a poison.
"What will happen after?"
They will grow, or they will die; it all depends on them... and on you.
"?" Victoria raised a brow in slight confusion.
How much do you trust your bonds, Victoria?... Do you believe that when placed at a crossroads, they would choose to remain with you?... Speak truthfully.
Victoria hesitated, taking a bit longer than a mont to ponder her answer.
She could still recall the first ti she t her bonds.
They were both outcasts of their kind, perhaps due to their peculiar deanor.
She resonated deeply with them because she also felt like an outcast among the Vampires of Ra’as.
So they adopted each other, finding solace in themselves.
From that mont till now, it had been more than five hundred years of trials and tribulations.
Did she think they would have chosen her if they had a better option?... Maybe back then, but now... now the answer was clear without a shadow of a doubt.
"Yes, they would."
The Witch said nothing and for a mont, Victoria felt like she might have made the wrong choice.
But then, the Higher Spirit spoke, her voice as ethereal as her presence.
Then all is well. I look forward to the results.
"Thank you." Victoria intoned.
No need to thank . My actions are not without reason.
Saying that, she took out another piece of paper and tossed it at the Salamander egg and Weaver remains.
The paper enlarged, taking the shape of a large blanket that covered both before rapidly shrinking back into a piece of paper which then floated into Victoria’s open palm.
You should begin the process imdiately. The materials don’t exactly have a long shelf life.
"Understood."
With that, Victoria bowed as she got to her feet, and with the Witch’s aid, she left the Spirit World, returning to Eventide with a goal in mind.
Letting out a sigh once the vampire was gone, the Witch looked down at her palm to find that it had grown transparent.
Her expression shifted as she muttered.
Quite unfortunate.
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