Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Return of a King
In the front yard of the Owl House, Flint and Amity could be seen standing a distance away from each other in the clearing. They stared intently at one another, falling into fighting stances. While Amity kept on her toes in a stance reminiscent of Tai Chi, Flint was in a back stance with his left hand and leg forward. After a few more moments of silence, Flint moved.
Flint planted himself, throwing a few punches forward and sending softball-sized fireballs which each thrust. Amity's hands glowed a dim pink as she motioned them upward in response. Diluted abomination sludge rose as rather than making a golem, it formed a semi-transparent wall in front of her, hardening as the fireballs struck it. In the same motion, the abomination witch lowered her hands after the fireballs were dispersed and sent forth the substance, now resembling its typical sludgy consistency, forward at Flint in a thin stream.
Flint sidestepped the incoming sludge but Amity moved her hands, causing it to curve shortly after passing him. Her attempt to strike him fails as Flint suddenly drops forward to the ground, letting the sludge sail over his head. The sludge flowed through the air as Amity caught it again, letting it orbit around her.
As Amity caught the sludge, it could be seen that Flint was holding himself close to a plank position as he held himself up only by his hands. Keeping his hands planted, Flint bent his legs in and pivoted, throwing his feet forward and sending a fireball the size of a volleyball toward Amity. Amity blocked the incoming attack by moving the sludge in front of her and holding her left arm forward as the sludge solidified around it, hardening to form a circular shield that tanked the blast, but caused Amity to be pushed back from the force.
Gritting her teeth, she held firm as the attack dispersed. Going on the offense, Amity spun as the shield went back to its prior state, throwing the sludge forward as it slung forward and cracked like a whip toward Flint. Flint had already gotten to his feet again as gauntlets of fire formed around his arms, extending further to armor his hands as he slashed the incoming whip with a set of fiery finger-claws. Amity kept moving as she continued to move the sludge around her like whips to attack, as Flint deflected each one with his claws. They continued like this for a bit until Amity changed tactics. While Flint continued to deflect, Amity threw her hand forward like usual, but this time coupled the whip with a barrage of ice shards from her Glyph Grafter. After blocking the whip, Flint's eyes widened as threw both arms up to shield himself from the barrage while Amity added her other hand to send more shards. Amity was losing steam so in a desperate attempt to win, she kicked her foot forward along the ground with a dim pink glow around it. The abomination sludge at her feet lurched forward encased Flint's legs and pulled, causing him to yelp in surprise as he was dragged to the ground and pulled toward Amity.
Before Amity could capitalize on it, the sludge encasing him lit in a scarlet glow. As the sludge began to tint, the color crawled up the trail of goop before grabbing Amity's leg as it did the same thing to her, causing her to fall back and onto the ground on her back with a splash. She groaned as Flint's body deconstructed into fire before reconstructing on his feet and standing over her with a smile.
"Looks like I win. You put up a pretty good fight though." Flint praised, offering his hand.
Amity sighed, taking the offered hand…before donning a devious smile. Before Flint could question, Amity pulled him down, causing him to fall face-first to her left in the puddle of abomination sludge.
Amity giggled as air bubbles emitted from the puddle, until Flint rolled onto his side with his entire front coated in abomination sludge, shooting a half-lidded look at the girl. Amity's giggling turned to full-blown laughter at seeing his expression, holding her side as she laughed.
Flint rolled his eyes fondly before doing the same deconstruct-reconstruct move causing the goop to slide off harmlessly. Amity let out a small yelp as she suddenly found herself being held in a bridal carry, causing her to instantly go tomato mode.
Flint chuckled. "What's wrong? Where'd all that bravado go?" Flint asked with a cheeky grin.
Amity sputtered for a bit before Flint let her get back to her feet, before walking over to his phone that had been precariously placed nearby with the recording light blinking.
"Come on Sugar Queen, I'm just messing with you." Flint teased.
Amity huffed, her face still a bit red from embarrassment. "But do you have to keep teasing me like that?" Amity asked with a pout.
Flint chuckled. "But I think it's adorable when you get like this. It's no wonder my first drawing of you ended up being like that too."
Amity shook away her blush as one word stood out from the boy's sentence. "'First'?"
This time it was Flint's turn to blush as he avoided eye contact. "Did I say 'first'? I meant only. If I said that it would imply there are more, which there definitely isn't." Flint said quickly.
Amity then gave a fake pout. "Aww, I was hoping to see what else you had."
Flint glared half-heartedly as he held his phone. "Confess to Luz and maybe I'll show you," Flint said.
Amity sighed. "I know. I just…I can't help but be nervous." Amity said, rubbing her elbow.
Flint sighed. "Sooner the better. We don't want any Titan-awful love-triangle confusion going on. Anyway, it's cool to see how much your fighting style has improved in the past few days." Flint said as he pocketed his phone.
Amity smiled. "You two were right about using some of Katara's moves with abomination goop. Still a little weirded out by how her voice sounds like mine though." Amity stated. Amity had been regularly coming over lately and they'd been sitting down to watch ATLA together. Hearing her own voice coming from one of the characters was a bit jarring, but then Luz asked if it would be possible for Amity to make the waterbending moves with abominations. After that, she'd started paying even closer attention to Katara and how she moved, with Flint helping to teach her by making illusions of Katara to copy as they trained.
"It helps when each bending style is based on different real-life fighting styles, so I've incorporated a lot of firebending, regrettably Azula too, to improve my own. Now that you mention it though, I did have a bit of a crush on Katara when I was little, and now I'm possibly in a relationship with a girl who sounds like her. What're the odds, right?" Flint asked.
Amity blushed a bit but chuckled. "Yeah, weird."
Flint snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! Cool trick with the see-through wall. And I see you were able to figure out how to replicate her ice too."
Amity nodded. "I was able to convince my dad to give me some tips. He's been standing up for us at home lately and doesn't look nearly as tired either. Doesn't quite make up for everything, but it's a start." Amity said with a light smile.
"That's good to hear," Flint responded before pointing over his shoulder at the door. "Let's head inside and see if Luz or Lilith made any discoveries," Flint suggested.
Amity's face twisted into a sneer at the name of her former mentor. "I get that you're giving her a chance, but does she really have to stick around?"
Flint sighed. "I know how you feel about her, and you have every right to. I'd feel the same way. She's been helping us with research, especially with the glyphs. But also…" Flint paused, pursing his lips as he debated whether he should mention that.
Amity noticed the look and frowned. "What is it?"
Flint was quiet for a moment. "Something…worrying about her has been brought to our attention recently," Flint said with a frown.
Amity donned a look of realization. "I get it. You're keeping her around so you can keep a better eye on her, aren't you?" Amity said confidently as the two arrived at the open door, Hooty having stretched inside for whatever reason.
"Yeah…you could say that," Flint muttered as they entered.
Inside the living room, one of the couches held King's assortment of plushies while Luz sat in front of a bunch of books piled up as she analyzed her notes. Luz held her left hand up as her palm glowed with an incomplete glyph, her face hardened with focus. Lilith was on the other couch, but…the obsessive look on her face made Flint turn back to Luz. Amity, on the other hand, had already started walking toward her.
"Hey, Luz. Flint and I just finished our spar. You find anything interesting?" Amity asked, peeking over her right shoulder to look in the notebook.
"I think so. I've almost figured out this glyph combo." Luz said.
"What are you trying to make it do?" Flint asked, looking over Luz's left.
Before Luz can answer, King jumps onto Flint's back and scurries up and onto his shoulder.
"Luz, Flint, I need your help! I think Francois is trying to start a rebellion." King said, pointing over to the couch covered in plushies. His pale pink bunny plush, Francois, is sitting in the center on a pillow. A moment later, a jagged dagger fell out from behind him.
"Sorry bud, I'm still catching my breath from the spar." Flint excuses.
Luz instead focused more on her notes. "In a minute, King. I've almost figured out this glyph combo."
King became visibly upset. "It's always glyphs and portals with you buys these days. What about King?" King whined.
Amity huffed. "Why don't you ask Lilith for help? She was the head of the Emperor's Coven. I'm sure she has more experience with unruly mobs than anyone." Amity said venomously, getting a frown from Flint as they all looked over to Lilith who…
Um…let's just say she does not look sane.
Lilith was kneeling at the desk, extremely focused on drawing a glyph with a red paintbrush. Her hair was disheveled, manic look on her face, and her face was only inches away from the paper.
Lilith finished making the circle and moved her face only a few inches back as she stared intently at the glyph and giggled. "Watching the ink dry is the best part," Lilith said giddily as King, Flint, and Luz cringed at the sight.
Well…that was concerning.
Hooty then stretches in from the kitchen with a mug in his beak, setting it on the desk. "A fresh cup of tea for my favorite cup of tea. That's you, Lulu." Hooty said.
Lilith snaps out of her bizarre state with a few blinks, pulling her hands up and straightening her hair as her expression returns to normal.
"Hootsifer, you truly are a gem. How do you always know what to do?" Lilith asked as she petted the bird-tube-seriously wtf is he?!-thing's head appreciatively.
"What am I watching?" King asked, weirded out.
"I don't know but I hate it," Amity replied, equally disturbed by the sight.
"As weird as he is, he still manages to have his charms…somehow. Pretty sure he helped put Luz and me in bed after we cried ourselves to sleep when Eda lost her magic," Flint said blankly.
"That was one of the worst nights of my life," Luz said with a strained smile.
Amity and King glanced at each other, unsure how to react to the eerily calm way they said that.
Luz closes her book and stands up, holding a glyph card in her hand. "Okay, gonna test this first before trying with the glove, but I'm sure this will work. Now you see me..." Luz trailed off, slapping the glyph to her chest and vanishing.
The three gasp at Luz's sudden disappearance, gaining Lilith's attention can causing the woman to look up. Just in time too, because only a few moments later, Luz reappears as she continues her sentence. "...now you don't," Luz said with a smile before realizing the glyph wore off. "Oh, I guess it only lasts as long as I hold my breath. Still pretty cool, huh?"
King jumps from Flint's shoulder and into Luz, who catches him as she clings to her chest. "Don't ever do that again!" King demanded.
Lilith stands up in amazement. "Do that again! How ever did you accomplish it?" Lilith asked.
Luz manages to pry King off and hands him to Flint, who just holds him in the air like a cat. "I've been experimenting by trying out combo glyphs. I got the invisibility idea from your history books, Lilith."
Amity tapped her chin. "What if you do it with the glove though…" Amity trailed off in thought.
Flint shrugged as he set King back on the ground. "We definitely have some testing to do then."
Lilith begins walking to the side with an air of pride. "Fascinating! As the lead historical scholar of the Emperor's Coven, my aid could be very helpful in-" She then proceeds to fall face-first into King's tower of plushies, toppling them.
"An ambush! Men, defend your ruler!" King demands, tossing a nearby plush at Lilith. Hooty blocks it and dramatically falls into Lilith's arms.
"I'm done for, Lulu," Hooty says.
Lilith gave him a flat look. "Hootsifer, this is make-believe."
"Ah, to die in your arms. Avenge me. Bleck." Hooty says as he proceeds to play dead by drooping and sticking his tongue out.
While Hooty continues to be…Hooty, King tosses another plushie at Lilith's head, which harmlessly bounces off with a squeaky-toy sound.
"The King of Demons yields to no one!" King declares.
"Historically, demons have never been united under a single rule until Belos. There's no such thing as a 'King of Demons'." Lilith says in a matter-of-fact voice. This earns her another plush being thrown by the young demon, bouncing off her head again, much to her irritation.
"Blasphemy! Clearly, you know nothing of my reign of terror. Allow me to tell you. I was once the mighty King of Demons. I was beloved almost as much as I was feared. But one dark day, an evil spell was cast…transforming me into this!" King said.
"Oh? What happened to your 'crown of power'?" Hooty asked.
"A trifle! That was just to test Eda, Flint, and Luz's dedication to me! They passed. My real crown is still out there. But when I shrank, my memories got, uh...fuzzy." King said hesitantly as Luz crouched down beside him.
"Are you sure you didn't just hit your head or something? I mean you do look like you're missing part of your horn." Amity asked pointedly.
Flint nodded. "Besides, all three of us knew from the start that the crown was fake. It was just a toy meant for little kids from a restaurant back on Earth," Flint added.
"Hey, I didn't hit nothing! I remember plenty, some of my memories were just um…sealed. Yeah! I remember armies bowing before me, being served the greatest of feasts...and falling from a massive height as evil hex shrank me. One day, I'll return to my rightful place and all shall fear me!" King declared.
Luz grabs King and gives him a belly rub. "Aw, you're gonna be such a good tyrant! Who's the scariest demon king? Who is it?" Luz said, like as if she was talking to a puppy.
"Me! It's me!" King said through his laughs.
"Your dedication to this farce would be charming if it wasn't so sad," Lilith said.
"Sad like cursing your own sister? Or sad like making me cheat during the Covention?" Amity said scathingly, causing the woman to wince.
"Ha! Take that ignorant fool! I'm not a liar, and I can prove it." King declared, freeing himself from Luz and storming off into the hallway nearby.
Lilith looked affronted. "He called me ignorant. Me!" Lilith said as Hooty shook his head in disapproval.
Amity was about to make a remark only for Flint to loudly clear his throat, catching her attention. She instead scoffs and crosses her arms.
"Stop it, you guys. This story is really important to him, so the least we can do is play along." Luz said as she walked over to the plushes, trying to stack them back up.
"You mean indulge his silly fantasy?" Lilith asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah! I'm a house of principles! You're asking me to lie? Hootrageous!" Hooty agreed.
"In his defense, we have no idea what species he even is. There could be some truth to what he says." Amity said, trying to play neutral on the argument.
"Might be time we try and figure that out actually," Flint muttered. It had been bugging him to no end how they still had no clue what he was.
Luz sighed. "Could you please just go with it? For his sake?" Luz pled.
King then arrives at the doorway, struggling to get through as he holds two poles in his arms. His grip slips and he decides to hold them vertically, revealing them to be Eda and Lilith's staffs.
"All right, you shall regret ever doubting me. We're going to my castle!" King declared.
Luz looked nervously at that, but Flint crouched before King.
"King, I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not sure about this," Flint said.
King looked half-betrayed. "Weh? You-you don't believe me?" King asked sadly.
Flint put his hands on King's shoulders. "I never said that. From the way you've been talking about this, it sounds like the truth. But remember that episode with Jet? From our show? The brainwashing made him believe a lie so much that he thought it was the truth, and Toph couldn't tell the difference." Flint said.
King was now more confused than anything. "What does that have to do with my castle?"
Amity snapped her fingers. "I get it. You're suggesting there's a chance King believes it so much that he doesn't remember if it's true or not, aren't you?" Amity realized.
Flint nodded his head. "Exactly." Flint turned back to King. "I want to believe you, I really do, but sometimes our minds can play tricks on us. I want you to promise me you'll keep an open mind, okay?" Flint requested.
King looked hesitant. After a bit, he sighed. "Okay. I'll try."
Flint smiled as he rose back to his feet, taking the staffs from him in the process.
"Field trip time! Who else is coming?" Luz asked as Flint handed her the Owl Staff.
Amity cupped her chin. "Well, my mother would probably be mad if we take too long…" Amity's face shifted into a grin. "But why would I care what she thinks anyway? Besides, I'm more than a bit curious too."
Lilith huffed. "My historical expertise is being questioned, and I will not allow it," Lilith said, swiping her staff from Flint's hand before turning to Hooty. "Hooty, would you like to accompany us?"
Hooty gasps excitedly. "I-I'll get ready!"
Flint frowned. "Wait, how is he going to-"
Flint's words died in his throat as he and the other four watched in pure disgust and horror as Hooty managed to do the single most disturbing thing any of them had ever seen. It was so horrific, that neither the narrator nor even the author, would dare attempt to come up with an actual description of what the eldritch monstrosity was doing; both for the sake of their own, and the readers', sanity.
[Ain't no way I want to imagine a description for that.]
This results in Hooty's spot in the door now hollow, with pulsing organs visible at the edges. Below it, Hooty is now sitting in a birdhouse-shaped backpack.
"Porta-Hooty, reporting for Hooty!" Hooty declared with a smile.
Luz dry-retches. King is tearing up while slowly shaking his head. Lilith's hand is on her chest and she's taken aback. Amity looks on mortified. Finally, Flint reacted the only rational way he could…
THUD
…his eyes rolled into the back of his head, falling to the ground unconscious.
"I'm starting to think part of the cost of being friends with you is to have nightmares," Amity said in a haunted tone, as Hooty's actions were the most disturbing thing the girl had ever witnessed including the death of her maybe-boyfriend.
After managing to bring Flint conscious again, the group all walked outside, with Luz having grabbed her cloak and Amity now donning a backpack adorned in abomination colors.
"Alright, who's flying with who? I could fly on my own and you guys pair up in twos, or I could carry King on my back like I assume he wants to, leaving only one pair riding the same staff." Flint asked.
"The second!" King quickly declared, scurrying up Flint and onto his shoulder, pointing out toward the sea. "Onward, my loyal subject! Carry your king to his castle!"
The three teens chuckled at the little demon's antics while Lilith simply rolled her eyes.
"Well, that answers that," Luz said before turning to Amity. "So, who are you-"
"I'm with you." Amity started quickly, walking closer to Luz. She turned to Lilith with a glare. "As if I'd join her." Amity spat.
Lilith for her part looked…sad, rather than angry.
"It's probably for the best anyway. I already have Hooty with me, best not put too much strain on Tart." Lilith said, her voice somewhat empty.
Flint and Luz shared a glance before turning back to Amity. "Okay then, hop on," Luz said, shaking off her head and getting the Owl Staff into flight mode.
In that moment, it only just occurred to Amity what this meant. She'd have to ride with Luz, right behind the girl she wants to ask out. This realization caused Amity to blush as she silently hopped onto the staff. She hoped this journey wouldn't be too long. At the same time though, she locked eyes with Flint, who had a grin and a knowing look on his face, which only served to make her blush even more as she could tell what he was suggesting.
'I knew I should've asked how far away the thing was.' Amity thought.
The six had been flying for hours at this point, and Amity was partly thinking she should have sent a message to the twins or her dad before they left. Judging from the darkening skies, at this rate, she likely wouldn't be getting home until sometime past midnight. Thank goodness it wasn't a school night at least.
Flint had taken to leading the pack with King since the latter was the one guiding them. Lilith and Hooty flanked the two's left, meanwhile, Luz and Amity were trailing behind.
They had all discussed varying topics over the flight. Luz had shown off the invisibility glyph again so that everyone knew the combo necessary, and with it they discovered that they could choose specific things to make invisible temporarily, with Luz having given them quite a scare when the staff the two girls were on had suddenly vanished from sight. The group even managed to strategize that forming the glyph on the back of their hand would be the most effective place, since they rarely used that side as often when it came to casting glyphs.
After a while though, Amity began to think about Flint's words.
'Sooner the better. We don't want any Titan-awful love-triangle confusion going on.'
Amity couldn't help but agree with Flint's remark. She didn't want to drive a wedge between the two, but she was also nervous about how Luz would react. Would she immediately deny it because she's already in a relationship? Would she entertain the idea of dating two people at once, even if both were cool with it?
"Hey Amity, can I ask you something?" Luz suddenly asked.
Amity blinked out of her thoughts. "What do you want to ask?" Amity responded.
Luz slowed down a bit so the two could talk more privately. "I wanted to ask if you could maybe take it down a notch with Lilith."
Amity looked at Luz in disbelief. "You can't be serious. After everything she did? She deserves it."
Luz sighed. "I know, and I agree, but…she's trying her best."
Amity scoffed. "Yeah, and her 'best' apparently involves cheating. Do you have any idea how much I looked up to her, Luz? And then she pulled that?"
Luz looked back at Amity with a frown. "I know, and I understand where you're getting at. But Eda told Flint and I to pay close attention to Lilith lately."
Amity rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know. Flint mentioned it earlier. It's harder for her to betray you again if you watch her so closely."
Luz shook her head. "No…that's not why Eda told us to look out for her," Luz said, her voice laced with concern.
Amity blinked in confusion. What was Luz talking about? If they weren't keeping Lilith close to ensure she couldn't betray them again, what other reason could there be?
Before Amity could ask what Luz meant by that, Hooty decided to make his displeasure known.
"Are we still flying? It's been hours." Hooty drawled.
"Should we call it a day? Or perhaps a night?" Lilith said with a laugh. "Hooty, your sense of humor is infectious."
King glared for a moment before something ahead of them caught his eye. "There it is!" King said, pointing ahead of them.
Before them was a large cloud of fog. As they approached, though, the fog parted to reveal a peculiar little island. The group descends a bit as more details can be made out. There is an ivory tower in the center of what looks like a carved-out mountain. The tower is slightly damaged near the top, as a chunk of it is missing.
Lilith looked on in shock. "This island shouldn't be here. It's not on any of the maps."
"It's always been there when I looked for it," King responded smugly.
The group lands on the shore, stopping before a lush jungle.
"After I shrunk, I woke up here, in Eda's arms, and she carried me away. Like a wittle baby." King said as Flint let him down.
"Awww..." Luz cooed.
Amity had brought out a journal from…somewhere and was writing in it, looking around at the island and taking in the surroundings. If this island wasn't on any maps, then she wanted to document what she could.
"Hey, it looks like the fog is clearing up a bit." Amity pointed out, as everyone looked ahead to see the tower becoming more visible.
King sighed. "Ah, home sweet home." The little demon said as he walked forward, with the others following…
Luz turned to Flint. "Hey Flintlock, isn't this…pretty…cool…?"
Amity stopped when Luz trailed off. The abomination witch turned back to see Flint staring with a concentrated look. "Flint? Is everything okay?" Amity asked worriedly.
Flint seemed to snap out of his trance, shaking his head a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just kinda zoned out for a minute there." Flint explained as he walked forward.
Luz took his right hand into her left as they walked forward, with Amity looking on with a nervous, and slightly jealous frown as they all walked forward. Amity decides to return to her journal for the time being not to think about it.
The group treks through the jungle, walking over exposed roots and whatnot as King leads the way.
"That tower is certainly intriguing, but—Oh!" Lilith says as she trips over a root, but Hooty quickly extends himself face-first into a nearby tree trunk to stabilize her.
"Thank you, Hootsifer." Lilith thanked.
"My pleasure." Hooty's muffled voice came from the tree.
"As I was saying, couldn't we have landed a little closer?" Lilith asked.
Amity tapped her chin with her pencil as she looked up. "The cover from the treetops looks a bit thick. I'm sure Sifu Hotman here could get through, but I'd rather we don't burn the whole island's wildlife down in the process." Amity said.
King nodded. "Yep. Plus, now I can dramatically do...this!" King said, grabbing a bush obscuring the path and pulling it aside dramatically, revealing a keyhole-shaped entrance to the tower that looked to be blocked off by a bunch of collapsed rocks.
"Ooh. A door fit for a tyrant." Luz said as she let go of Flint's hand.
"That's me!" King chuckled.
As the others walked ahead, Flint turned to Amity with a sly grin. "'Sifu Hotman'?"
Amity went tomato mode with a pout. "Y-You gave me a nickname from the show. I thought it was only fair I gave you one too." Amity sputtered.
Flint chuckled. "I like it," Flint said as he walked forward, leaving Amity to squeal internally while pumping her fist before joining them.
King climbs the rocks before turning back to them. "I'll find you guys another way in. Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle!" King said as he crawled through a crevice in the pile.
Lilith walks over to a wall with a strange symbol carved into it, with Flint and Amity catching up. Amity begins to draw the markings as Flint tilts his head. Lilith runs her hands along the groves curiously as Hooty peers over her shoulder.
"Huh. What a strange material. And this symbol. I've never seen anything quite like this." Lilith remarked.
Hooty laughed as he stretched close to it. "Ha! I've seen better graffiti. I've got better graffiti on me." Hooty stated, stretching a bit more to show off a few stylized S's, a 'LUZ!', a 'Flint was here!', and a 'Trixx was too!'
"Luz, look!" Lilith beckons the girl, who turns away from the crevice King disappeared through as walks over to look at the symbol. "This predates any language I know. King's story may be a fake, but these ruins are a history mystery." Lilith giggles and claps excitedly.
Amity rolled her eyes at the woman. "There's definitely something weird about this place, that much is for sure. But what could this symbol mean?" Amity wondered.
Some of the higher rocks behind them collapse, clearing the way as King peeks up from about where the crevice had been.
"Eh? What's weird?" King asked.
"King, do you know what this symbol means?" Flint asked suddenly as he traced his hand along the carving,
"Weh? I'm pretty sure it's just decorative." King waved his question off before beckoning them. "Come on in."
Flint turned back, taking his hand off the carving-
"̴̢̘̖͉̐͗̂T̷͓̈́͑͠h̴̙͍͝e̶̖͕̞̔̀̿͜ŗ̷̖̭̏̌e̶̡̼̓̚.̷̣̿̅̚̕ ̵̣̲͚͍͌̉W̘̱̤i̴̡͇̻̹̅̆̕t̜̩́̒͘ḣ̴͉̟̓̎̉ ̢̬̱̼̆t̹̜̙̓h̵̖͍̦̳́̎͐̋i̵̛͓̬s̶̝̩̕͠,̴̼̲̊́ ̶̟̻̲̝̄ṯh̴̞͗̌ẻ̬̬̤ͅȳ̵̮̩͖ ̙͂w̷̡̰̘̾̔̊̈́ȯ̴̖̕͘n̘̆'̶̝̇̿̓ț̶̑̀̿ ̷̟̱͖̈́͒̔͛b̶̧̛̘́̑̋e̪͂̔ ̵͙͊a̹̹̝b̶̲̥̈͆͌̀l̴͘͜e̴͔̦̖͝ ̵̧̫̫̯͆̏̄ţ̴͙͔̿̀͘ǒ̵̡̡̹ ̷̨̥̈́̎͐f̵̘̩̳̔̽̾̔i̷̡̫̎̋n̴̢͍͔̐͘͝d̴̖̾͋̀͋ ̷͕̞̮͒͐y̶̨͍̝̏̊̚ō̲̟̭̼ů̮͎̇͛̑.̶̢̞̂̚"̶̨̫̞̪̐̔
Flint blinked, holding his head a bit before following the others into the tower.
As the group enters, the girls each use their Glyph Grafters to summon a ball of light. Flint summons one too as the glyph appears in the space above his hand with a scarlet glow, filling out until a ball of scarlet light occupies the diameter of the glyph. With the room now lit, the group examines the room to see several small structures of rocks stacked similarly. [Ain't that a mouthful.] The body of the stacks would have two or three round rocks while the 'head' was crescent-shaped and oriented so the ends would face upward. Above them and along the walls were a variety of images.
"Ah, the chamber where I would devour the hearts of my foes. The taste was cold and bitter, but I bet yours would be sweet, Luz." King said.
"With all the sugar I eat, I probably am," Luz said, glancing back at Flint for a moment and wiggling her eyebrows teasingly before turning back.
Amity saw this interaction and looked at Flint confused. The boy blushed before cupping his hand and whispering something into her. Amity immediately felt like she was going to pass out as she sputtered, looking at Flint in shock as he walked forward while she tried to fan herself.
[No, the two minors did not do such a thing. They just made the mistake of reading from Madelyn's very, very, very spicy reading material. Get your minds a bit out of the gutters you freaks.]
Coming from the guy who wrote it, and those particular Amity moments?
As the author proceeds to flip me off, a large shadow moves between Luz and King, causing her to let out a gasp as she rapidly turns around with her light, looking for the source. She is met with the sight of more of the stacks, looking around warily.
Luz jolts a bit when King suddenly crawls up her back and onto her shoulder. "Can't believe your eyes, huh? My castle does have that effect." King said proudly.
"Heh heh. Yeah…so much wonder…" Luz responded sheepishly as she glanced around. She looks to Amity and Flint, but both are distracted with analyzing the environment as they pass her, while Liltih and Hooty branch off down a hallway.
Amity and Flint end up going up to a large carving in the back of the main room, one seeming to depict a being that bore a resemblance to King, holding a spear as they seemed to be fighting some kind of beast using a breathing attack, as multiple bright stars gleamed in the background.
Amity cupped her chin in thought with her free hand. "These carvings are strange. If this really is King, or perhaps a part of his species, it looks like they were fighting something. And if they were really this strong…what could be strong enough to challenge them?" Amity pondered. She looked over at Flint nearby, who was staring intently at the carving in front of them. She was about to get his attention-
But then she heard an odd clicking sound.
Amity's eyes widened as she swiveled around, pointing her ball of light in the direction of the sound, only to find nothing. She turned back to Flint for a moment before heading back toward the middle of the room. She couldn't help but glance in every direction though, feeling as though they were being watched.
Amity returned to Luz's side as King climbed atop a pile of rocks, showing off to Luz.
"Ah, my kingdom. I, uh..." King wipes a tear from his eye. "I got some bone dust in my eye."
Luz looked up as Amity went to her side. "What was up there?" Luz asked, pointing to a hole in the ceiling with rocks plugging it.
"I-I can't quite recall. I just remember a muffled roar, probably some minion praising my name." King said.
Amity frowned. "That hole isn't natural. The edges are too well-designed to be. There's definitely something up there." Amity remarked before turning to Luz. "Hey Luz, is it just me, or does it feel like we're being watched?" Amity asked quietly, glancing around.
Luz's eyes widened. "You too?" Luz said in a bit of fear.
Amity nodded her head slowly.
Luz gulped. "Well, uh...wanna head back? This is all so cool, but Eda's probably on her third cup of apple blood by now, and the last time, it was real hard getting her off the roof." Luz said nervously.
All of a sudden, Hooty slams into Luz and knocks her to the ground.
"Your Majesty! It's me, faithful ole Hooty. You know I was messin' around with you the whole time, right?" Hooty asked, curling around King.
Luz manages to get back to her feet using the pile of rocks as leverage.
"'Your Majesty'?" Both Amity and Luz asked in confusion. Before they could get an answer though, Lilith barged up and pushed the two aside. In her panic, Luz grabs Amity's hand and they both tumble to the ground with a yelp.
"It's clear these ruins are of immense historical value. Perhaps you could tell me more about them." Lilith said, heavily invested in King now.
The teens groan as they open their eyes, seeing each other looking right in their eyes. They look down to realize the position they are in, with Luz looming over Amity on her hands and knees. Luz's hands face down on the ground a bit past Amity's shoulders, essentially pinning the minty-haired girl to the ground.
Both girls blush as Luz quickly gets to her feet, offering Amity a hand up, the witch girl taking it absently and getting back to their feet without a word and brushing themselves off.
The two look over as King laughs. "I suppose I could, uh, regale you with some tales. Am I using that word right? Regale?" King says.
Amity growled a bit, her fist clenching in anger as she glared at Lilith. As she does this, Luz frowns at her before looking toward a dark corridor, having heard a hissing sound coming from that direction. Luz walks toward it, and Amity notices, walking over with her as they both shine their lights down the corridor to reveal long gashes along the walls and floor…ones that were unnatural among the architecture.
"You hear that too…right?" Luz asked, getting a concerned nod from Amity.
The girls look back as King leads Lilith and Hooty around, continuing to tell his story. Shining their lights to either side of the hall, the two are met with the sight of many stone figures lined within recesses along the walls. The figures seemed to resemble the stacks in the main room, only larger and covered with a flesh-like goop.
"What are these things?" Luz wondered.
"They look like those things in the main room," Amity pointed out.
Luz hummed in agreement as the two continued through the hall. As they walked, something seemed to be bugging Amity as she frowned in thought.
"Hey, Luz?" Amity suddenly asked.
"Yeah?" Luz asked, turning back to the abomination user.
Amity took a breath. "There's something I don't understand. Every time I've said something about Lilith lately, you and Flint defend her. I don't get it. After everything she's done, why?" Amity asked.
Luz looked down to the side sadly. "It's…complicated." Luz sighed before turning back to Amity. "Look, I know she hurt you, and I won't deny she deserves the hate, but we need to be careful about what we say about her."
Amity's fist at her side clenched. "But why?"
"Because we're worried about her," Luz answered.
Amity looked at Luz in disbelief. "Worried?! You're worried about her?" Amity laughed mirthlessly. "You've got to be kidding me! Everything she's done, and you're worried about her?" Amity's face twisted into anger. "No! She deserves it! Why in the Titan's name do any of you give a shit about her?!"
Luz frowned. "Amity-"
Amity swiped her arm across her body. "No! She cursed Eda! And she used me to try and get her to join that tyrant!"
Luz pursed her lips, now looking a bit frustrated. "Amity, you didn't see her when we were on Earth. I think-"
Amity was getting fed up with this. "What Luz?! What do you think?!" Amity demanded.
"I think trying to cure Eda was worth more to her than her own life!" Luz yelled.
Amity's eyes widened as her blood ran cold. "What…?" Amity's mind was running a mile a minute. Did Luz just say what she thought she said?
"Luz…are you saying...are you saying she would've been willing to die if it meant Eda could be cured?" Amity asked in dread.
Luz nodded grimly. "Eda warned me and Flint to keep a close eye on what she says. She must have overheard Lilith say something like that when they discovered how to combine glyphs. And after what she said on Earth...it worries me. Flint was about to kill her…and she just…gave up. With Eda off to be petrified…it was like she had nothing left to live for." Luz said with a downcast look.
This revelation echoed in the abomination witch's mind. Amity was mad, of course, but hearing something like that…the thought of it made her nearly feel sick. For people in the Demon Realm, the concept of death was bad, yes, but overall violence was less frowned upon compared to on Earth. After all, they had ways of communicating with the dead via magic. But if there was anything she believed would have the same implications between the realms, it was that self-inflicted injuries or deaths were never to be taken lightly.
Luz sighed. "That's why we've been looking out for her more lately. None of us want her to…have an episode." Luz said hesitantly. "Everything we've told her to do, she hardly fights back about. She's been doing so much to try and help us however she can." Luz said, looking down.
Amity's gaze softened as she put her hand on Luz's shoulder, causing the human girl to look back up at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." Amity apologized. "Look, I-"
Amity stopped for a moment, blinking as something behind Luz caught her eye. She walked past Luz and toward the wall. Luz looked at Amity in confusion as she looked in the direction she was looking.
"What's wrong?" Luz asked.
Amity walked over to one of the statues. "These statues," Amity said, before pointing her ball of light upward to reveal more going up the walls. "They look like the ones in the main room, but upside down like a bat…like they're sleeping," Amity stated.
Luz furrowed her brow in thought. She summoned a ball of ice from her glove and lightly tossed it toward one nearby that was covered in green moss, watching it jiggle from the contact, and causing both girls to pale.
"These aren't statues…" Luz said quietly in fear, as she moved her ball of light near the wall, shining light on each of the-
One of the recesses was empty.
One of the recesses was empty.
Why is it empty?!
The girls jolt as they suddenly hear a hissing noise coming from behind them. They turn to see a figure running away. Alarmed, the two quickly chase after it.
They never noticed the statue Luz had struck moments ago move as well.
King, Lilith, and Hooty could be seen walking by the carving Flint was looking at with Amity earlier.
"And that's how I would annihilate my enemies. Who needs due process, am I right?" King explained, riding on top of Hooty's backpack.
Lilith gestured toward the carving. "What does this image represent, my lord?" Wow, this woman was a suck-up.
King scratched his head. "Uh, it's hard to remember. But that handsome devil looks familiar, huh?" King said, pointing to the skull-headed being holding a spear.
Luz and Amity suddenly arrive, running up to them.
"Tour's over! We gotta go! Now!" Luz said frantically.
Lilith looked confused. "But there's so much to learn." She whined.
"We're not alone in here! There's some kind of creature watching us!" Amity said in a panic.
King waved off their concerns as he jumped to the ground. "Ah, you must've seen the horrifying monstrosity room. Don't worry, they're just statues."
HISS
King's eyes widened at hearing the hissing sound, as the group all frantically looked around the room, raising their lights toward the shadowy figure crawling along the ceiling. The half-flesh half-rock monster could be seen more clearly, its eyes glowing a piercing blue as it stared at them from above. It then proceeded to twist its head unnaturally to look down at them.
"Tell that to him!" Luz and Amity screamed as Luz quickly grabbed King and the three bolted for the entrance.
Lilith watched the creature carefully as they ran, but something landed between them and the door before they could go any further. The figure was the moss-covered one from earlier, looming over the group as crawled slowly toward them.
"Not another one!" Amity panicked.
Mosshead raised its right arm as the flesh morphed, revealing an extended pair of stone claws causing all three's eyes to widen in fear. It swipes at them, but Luz shoots off a jet of fog into its face, obscuring its vision as it flailed its arms around to strike them. Luz slammed her foot down, causing ice to trail along the ground, and uppercut the monster with a fist-shaped column of ice.
Lilith was meanwhile dealing with Stonehead, firing a barrage of ice spikes at the creature, only a few hitting but barely doing the creature any damage as it took the attacks unflinchingly.
"What are these things?!" Lilith yelled as Hooty stretched forward to ram his face into the creature, only for it to dodge the blow and make Hooty hit the ceiling. Stonehead took advantage of Hooty being stretched out and rapidly crawled on all fours at Lilith.
Lilith yelped at the sight and made a mass of plants that wrapped up her staff, surrounding Tart to take the shape of a sledgehammer and swinging, sending Stonehead flying to the side and off of Hooty as he stretched back.
"Whoa," Amity said in surprise at the woman's action before shaking off her surprise to trace a spell, causing her backpack to melt as it floated through the air, morphing into a wave of abomination goop that washed Stonehead away for a moment. She then hardened the goop to pin it as they all made a run for the entrance.
Mosshead managed to blow away the fog as Stonehead shattered the hardened sludge, and both of them crawled rapidly around either side of the group, causing them to halt as Mosshead landed in front to their left, and Stonehead to their right.
Each monster stood tall, at least twice Lilith's height as they each rose an arm morphed into an axe, about to strike until something flew between them before being shot at, exploding as it caused both monsters to stumble to the side.
The group looks past to see a figure obscured at the entrance with a fire glyph glowing from their outstretched hand.
"Come with me if you want to live," Eda said, revealing herself as she jumped between the monsters, armed with potions.
Realizing this was their best chance to get out of there, the group sprinted for the exit. Luz jumped into the air with ice glyph lighting from the pads in her shoes. The ice crawled to each monster and flash-froze them while forming an ice path toward the door. Amity brought her abomination goop to her and hopped into the air, some of it hardening to give her a set of ice skates as she landed, using them to their full ability as she recalled the rest of the goop to help distract the monsters before forming a smaller bag on her. Lilith threw her open hand forward with a plant glyph, using the trick she remembered Luz utilizing on the bridge and latching a sturdy vine to the top of the entrance, pulling herself and Hooty forward. Luz hops onto the Owl Staff and flies toward the entrance after giving Amity her runway.
"Wait for me outside!" Eda called out to them as they went past her. Eda smirked. "Been a while. And I see you've made a new friend." Eda remarked tauntingly toward the monsters. She grabbed two more potions and threw one each at the monsters as they stumbled from the abomination sludge. The potions exploded and forced the two to recover. Eda took advantage of this distraction by turning toward the entrance and throwing her arms behind her with fire glyphs in her palms. Fire erupted from the glyphs as they rocketed her toward the entrance.
From an outside perspective, Lilith and Amity reached the entrance at the same time. Amity was able to jump over the rocks and turn her skates back to goop as it eased her landing on the other side at the bottom of the stairs. However, Lilith flew past the entrance as Hooty quickly stretched himself around a tree and helped her land safely on her feet to Amity's left. Soon after, Luz and King flew past with the Owl Staff and Eda with her fire shortly after them. Luz touched down on Amity's other side and Eda next to her sister.
"Woo!" Luz cheered before falling on her back, panting. "That was a rush!"
The rest couldn't help but murmur in agreement as they panted too.
Lilith turned to Eda. "What of the monsters?"
As if summoned, Stonehead appeared at the entrance. It pulled an arm back as they threw it forward, attempting to send some kind of elongated punch, only for a blue barrier to emit from the doorway. As the limb reached a few feet past the barrier, it suddenly went limp. Seeing this, Stonehead retracted its arm, seemingly glaring at the group before trudging off back into the tower.
"They can't get past the entrance. We're safe now." Eda stated.
Luz sat up. "Those things must be guarding this place against intruders."
King frowned from the ground next to her. "But it's my castle. How could we be intruders?"
Luz looked sheepish. "Remember what Flint said, about keeping an open mind?" Luz asked.
King looked disheartened. "But Luz, I wasn't lying."
Eda sighed. "You aren't. But sometimes the truth isn't what you think it is. It's time I finally told you how we really met. It's a shame Flint isn't here to hear it too."
All five of the others immediately paled as they looked around frantically. Seeing this, Eda groaned. "He's still in there…isn't he?" She groaned as they all nodded.
Eda let out a long sigh. "Crapbaskets."
"What are we saying crapbaskets about?"
Everyone's eyes widened as Flint stood at the entrance, completely unharmed and looking very confused.
"What the- How are you okay?!" Eda said in shock.
Flint tilted his head confused and pointed a thumb toward the entrance. "You talking about the golem things? They seemed pretty passive, if not a bit creepily curious about me. Also, when did the room get covered in ice and stuff?"
Amity looked at him in disbelief. "Did you- did you not hear any of the fight we were just in?!"
Flint blinked. "There was a fight?"
All of them facefaulted at that.
"Luz. Is that normal of him?" Lilith asked.
"Not really, no. Flint's pretty aware of his surroundings usually." Luz answered before turning to Flint. "Why didn't they attack you?"
"I…"
Flint continued to stare at the wall as Amity left. He was pretty sure he heard King talking at some point, but he couldn't stop analyzing the craving in front of him with a frown.
"̵̘͉̆͊͛Y̶̢̊͑̔́o̵̡̨͉̳̱̒̇̌̈́̌ú͉͚͚͙̃̂'̵͎̘̜̖͋r̷̙̞̬͔̊͂̓̓͜͠e̴̩͇̪̒̽͌̃̕ ̶͔̼̪̞̗̅̽̾̿͗d̝͕̗ȩ̴̨̳͙̱̔͂̈́̀͑a̙̦̳͙̓̓͘d̶͓̥͔͒̋͆͋͘!̴̯̺̦́̀̊̾ ̨̥A̵̠̗̩̋̈̑͑l̶̗̝͗̚͘l̶̛͈̘͚̖̤̃̐̅͝ ̜͈̓́̏̽o̶͎͛f̷͙͚̩͍̅ ̨̬̞̼̬y̵̡̘̦͛͜ŏ̴̲̈́̉ų̶͍͐!̷͎̫̽̈̏ ̷̙̓̈͆Y͇̬̗̩̅O̵͉̼̝̦̍̈Ų̶̬̦̯̖̺̜̻̓H̶̪͇̻̮͂͝E̵͇̫̰̭̦͒͗̋̊Ã̴̟́̄̑R̵̹̽̑̈́̆ ̴͍̍̕M̴͙͔͚̭̒̿E̷͇͇̣͝ ̡̩̭͖̑̔̚Ā̶̙̗͚͂Ŗ̵͎̰̯͉̂C̵̡̯̟̼̻̎͐͒H̴͓̐̓͆̕Ȋ̧̢̘͝V̶̘͋̒̇̚̚Ǐ̶̫̮S̶͎̣̉̈̇͊̕Ţ̴̹̇͋͆̌̊S̵̥̾͒!̴̡̛̯̟̄̈́̆?̶̱͂̅̔̅̕!̶̡͖̘̠̅"̥͈̖͇̓
Flint could hear, no, feel the anger in the strange…vision? What was that? He wasn't able to understand much from it, but he could feel the hatred in the speaker's voice as easily as his own. Was this place trying to tell him something?
As he mulled through his thoughts, a figure approached him. He turned, expecting to see one of the others, but was greeted by the sight of a strange moss-covered golem-like creature. It stared at him. As Flint blinked in confusion, the creature tilted its head. It was as if the creature was confused by him.
Weirded out, Flint walked past it warily as he saw the destruction in the room, including the trail leading to the entrance, where another being like the moss-covered one was retracting its arm. It turned away from the entrance and walked toward him, also seeming to look at him in confusion.
"…don't know," Flint said with a frown.
Everyone looked at each other at that. Flint continued to get weirder and weirder.
"Okay, let's figure out Fireboy's stuff later," Eda said before turning to King. "About eight years ago I was looking for a place to hide from the Emperor's Coven. I never knew this place existed and it just...appeared out of the mist. So, I landed. Now, I was one hot tamale, but the boiling rains were even hotter. I needed shelter. I found this tower, but when I found it…I wasn't alone. I found you." Eda said, pointing to King, who pointed to himself in confusion.
"I assumed you were just some stray dog. But then that stone monster showed up. It was gonna kill us both, so I picked you up and bounced. Unfortunately on the way out, it shot something that managed to hit you in the head and broke off your other horn. And against my better judgment, I took you home with me." Eda continued.
Eda chuckled a bit. "I got you the collar because…well, that's what you do when you get a new pet. But then you did something I wasn't expecting. See, when I first encountered you, you were making these little towers from rocks. You started doing it again with the things around the house. I said something about you looking like a 'king', and then…you spoke. You managed to say 'king', and so seeing you so happy, I decided to play along with it. I told you all about the things that kings do, and that's how you got the idea you were some despotic overlord," Eda revealed.
Eda sighed. "I wanted to tell you the truth, but you were just so happy. I…couldn't bring myself to ruin your fantasy." Eda said sadly.
King looked at Eda in disbelief. "No…that can't…please, tell me you're just messing with me!" King begged.
Eda sighed, reaching into her hair and pulling something out. It was a piece of bone, and looking at it, everyone could tell just what it was: the missing piece of King's horn.
King is left shocked and curious about the item, and he slowly takes it from Eda's hand. As he took it into his hand, memories seemed to flood his mind as everything clicked into place. "My army? My feasts…my life..." King said, devastated as he looked at the horn.
Panicking, he throws the horn to the ground.
"No…it can't be! My…my life can't just be a lie!" King yelled in disbelief and denial.
Luz looks at him sympathetically as she reaches out to him. "King, it's gonna be okay."
But King began to hyperventilate. "No! No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" King said on the verge of tears, breathing heavily as he held his head before running away from the group as he sobbed.
Before King could get far though, something appears in front of him, scooping him up as he panickedly tries to escape their grip.
"No! Let me go! Please! Just let me go!" King said as tears welled in his eyes.
But Flint held on to him, not letting the young one out of his grip and not saying a word. He just held him close.
"Please…I'm not who I say I am…" King whimpered, tears flowing.
"But this is the only you I've ever known, and I wouldn't trade that for the world," Flint said softly with his eyes closed.
King wanted to get free, but his body stopped listening to him. No matter how much he tried, Flint's words struck him deeply. The boy's embrace was soothing…he couldn't help but feel that no matter what, as long as Flint held him, he was safe. So instead of fighting, he gave in to the boy's embrace.
The two were like this for a while. The others were in tears as they couldn't bring themselves to interrupt the moment. Though Luz and Amity both had to suppress a swoon.
Eventually, Flint kneeled to let the little demon down but left his hands on his shoulders. "King, it doesn't matter what you thought you were. We care about you, and that's all that matters. So what if you aren't an actual king? I've never seen you as a king, I've only ever seen you as King." Flint said with a soft smile. "So come on. I don't like seeing my lil' bro so upset."
King's snout quivered as he went up and hugged Flint again, who rubbed his back soothingly.
"Thanks," King said quietly, making Flint smile fondly.
Eda wiped her tears away and walked up to them, getting on one knee, and getting King's attention. "King, I'm sorry for not telling you. All this time I just wanted you to be happy, I guess I did a crumby job." Eda said with a downcast look.
King's eyes were apologetic. "No. I should be saying sorry." King apologized as he looked at his paws. "You took care of me, even after all the trouble. So…thanks." King said gratefully, as he went up and hugged Eda.
Eda smiled softly, embracing the young demon. Everyone else watched on with a smile, but one in particular had something else running through her mind. Amity was deep in thought, chewing her lip a bit as she occasionally glanced to her side at Lilith.
Eda lifted King up, the young demon perching on her shoulder as they turned back to the main group, barring Flint, who stood behind them. "So, what say we all head home?" Eda asked.
Luz frowned though, as something from earlier was bugging her. "Hang on. King said he remembered falling from somewhere high before meeting you. The only place high enough for that is likely past that blocked-up hole in the ceiling."
Amity cupped her chin. "If that's the case, there's probably more answers up there."
Flint nodded. "You're right," Flint said, looking down at his hand as he flexed it a few times. "There's got to be more to all this. How did King even get here in the first place? Those carvings were made by someone and at least one of the figures bore a resemblance to King. There's also the odd visions I've been seeing…hearing…feeling(?) while here."
Lilith cupped her chin. "Perhaps you've managed to use some form of psychometry using your magic. Although, that doesn't explain why those monsters didn't attack you."
Luz's eyes lit up. "I think we can use that to our advantage!" Luz said excitedly, as everyone huddled closer to hear the girl's plan.
Inside the castle, the statues could be seen now repaired by the monsters as Stonehead adjusted the 'head' of one in particular. Both monsters suddenly let out a rapid clicking sound, turning their heads all the way around to look toward the entrance.
They are met with the sight of Flint, who hops down from the rocks at the entrance. He walks toward the two nonchalantly and walks between them. The two watched him attentively as he made his way through the room, stopping beneath the pile of rocks.
Flint looked up toward the blocked hole with narrowed eyes. Raising his right hand, he closed his left eye and aimed at the center of the hole his right hand making a finger-gun.
"Bang."
A fire glyph appeared in the air in front of his index finger, ejecting a blast of condensed fire into the center of the rocks and detonating, causing an explosion that shattered the innermost rocks and caused the rest to fall around him, obscuring his view from the monsters.
The monsters tensed as they quickly began to scramble toward the obscured Flint, only for them to suddenly turn back to the entrance once more only to see nothing.
The sound of something swooping by can be heard as the two monsters look on confusedly, only for two balls of light to suddenly appear in the air, moving toward the hole.
GASP
All of a sudden, two groups of individuals could be seen flying in the air. Eda, Luz, and King (on Luz's shoulder) on the Owl Staff as Lilith, Hooty, and Amity could be seen following closely behind on the Raven Staff. Both groups had an orb floating beside them.
Both monsters jolted and clicked as they quickly jumped in to attack the intruders, only for Amity to use her abomination sludge to push them back again.
"Dang girl! You're getting good with that stuff!" Luz praised her as they made it to the hole.
Amity blushed as she scratched the back of her neck. "T-Thanks." Amity managed to get out.
"Flirt later you two, let's go," Eda called out, causing both girls to blush as the six disappeared up the hole.
The monsters recovered before jumping onto the ceiling. They crawled like bugs as they reached the hole, only for a wisp of fire to fly past them before solidifying to reveal Flint hovering above them with his fire wings engaged. He grabbed each of their heads, holding off their advances as they continued to click.
P̵̨͓̼̈́͂̄̓̚͠-̡̛̜̯̘̰̉Ř̳̪͇͔͖͎-̶͖̅̈́̈́͐͋̃̚̕Ő̶͍͕̯̺̩͓̈́̃̒͝-̴͙͇͗̈́̍̾́͐̓̕T̴̨̢̼̗̞͓̫͇̈͐͆̽̏̈̈́-̷̢̝̩͚̱̈́͘͜E̵͇͖͔͈̎́̈́̕ͅ-̵̙̼͍͖͓͈̹͓̒͂̉̾̔ͅĊ̴̨̝̖̦͓͕̬͙̦̚-̶̠̭̩̯͉͔̓̆̐̂̆̄̑T̴̵̢͓̲̟̯̹̻̗͇͓̖̖̄̽̉͐̔̂̂͗̈́̅͑̔̏̂̂͝C̨̖̺̳̥̖̤̈̾͗-̴̧͇̜͓̮̙͖̳̑̈̕͘H̶̜͙̯̮̰̰̩̲̃̆̋̅̿͘͠-̷̢̻͙̤̩͊̋̉ͅȈ̴̞͇̪͕͔̺-̷͖̹̼͓͗̒̒̐͘͜͝L̈̌̾͜-̴͕̞̤͌̈̋̇͌́͜͝Ḑ̶͒̃̋̀̔̆͜
P̷̙̈́-̷̦̈́R̴̡͋-̵̥̈́Ȏ̭-̵̡͑T̴͇̚-̵̜͐Ě̶͓-̵͈̃C̷͛ͅ-̛̼Ť̷͖̦̊C̷̰̚-̵̤̚H̴̝̊-̶͚̄I̲̽-L̵̖̅-̴̢̽D̼
P-R-O-T-E-C-T C-H-I-L-D
Flint blinked in surprise.
As the six flew through the tunnel, only two of them truly worried about him, those being Luz and Amity. Even though they knew he could handle himself, not to mention how the monsters weren't very aggressive with him, they still couldn't quite shake the sight of him at the petrification ceremony out of their minds.
"He'll be fine." Surprisingly, it was Lilith who said that.
Amity looked at her in surprise as the woman continued to fly.
"Afterall. If neither Belos nor death could stop him…" Lilith turned to send Amity a reassuring smile. "I think you get the point."
As Lilith turned her attention back to flying, Amity couldn't help but ponder the woman's words. Before she could think about it anymore, the group finally reached the end of the tunnel to reveal-
An empty room with the only details to note being the cobwebs and what looked to be-
Amity pointed forward. "Hey, is that some kind of door?"
True enough, there was a closed door along the wall. Everyone gets off the staffs and begins to walk toward the door.
Eda tries to pull on one side to no avail. Everyone begins to increase their efforts by joining in. Amity even tried to send some abomination goop under/through the door, but it was sealed tight.
"Come on! We can't just let a door get the better of us!" Eda cried out. There wasn't a single one of them that didn't agree with that statement, it would just be embarrassing.
King watched the whole time with a thoughtful look on his face. 'If I'm somehow connected to all this…' King thought as he looked down at his paw. King walked up to the door and gently placed it up against the door.
Suddenly, waves of magical energy rippled from the spot King's paw rested on, enveloping the door in a glow. The door opened as the others all fell over, leaving King the only one left on their feet as he looked at his raised paw in wonder.
Everyone saw the newly opened door and brushed themselves off as they got back to their feet.
"How did you do that?" Eda asked.
"I just touched it," King said as he continued to look at his paw.
The group all stepped into the room as they took in their surroundings. The room is decorated with decaying plants and a skylight on the ceiling. There are some murals on the walls as images depicting what looked like the monsters were present. But in the middle of the room is a golden pedestal. A pedestal that, upon closer inspection, King could see the remains of what looked to be an eggshell.
"Based on these inscriptions, it would appear those creatures were made to guard whatever was in here," Lilith noted, running her hand along one of the murals as she turned back to the group.
Luz turned to King. "King, does any of this feel familiar to you?"
King walked up onto the pedestal. "I'm not sure, but I think I know how to jog my memory." King looked at Eda. "Eda, I'm ready," King said, extending his paw.
Eda looked at him with worry. "Are you sure?"
"I am," King replied with a nod.
Eda reached into her hair and brought out the piece of King's horn, handing it to the young demon. King raised it and held it in place at the end of his chipped horn. The piece fit perfectly as he let out a gasp, the lost memories flooding his mind.
"I remember a deep roar. And then, something happened...but I was too small to do anything. So, I went back to sleep. And the next time I woke up...I was here." King said.
The newborn King opens his eyes for the first time and sees the castle's mysterious symbol on the skylight. King then pulls himself across the room until he reaches the door. It magically reacts to his touch and opens, revealing Stonehead behind it. The two look at each other. The monster picks up King, cradles him, and walks to the shaft. It dives down the hole with King in its arms, and King reaches for the light from the top as it disappears from view.
King lowers his paws and the broken horn as he wears a look of revelation on his face. "That roar. It meant 'son'. I don't know how I know that, but I do. Someone called me their son." King turned to Luz. "Luz, I think it was my dad!"
Amity turned to Luz. "And given the resemblance with the being on the carvings…"
"That might've been him on all those wall carvings." Luz finished Amity's thought.
"This place was built to hide him."
Everyone blinked as they turned to the entrance, finding Flint standing there with each of the monsters at his side. Flint gestured to the monsters, who were oddly calm now, confusing everyone but King and Flint. The others had put their guard up though, ready for a fight.
Flint walked forward. "These golems were made to protect their creator's child. The magic in this place is powerful…and old. Very old." Flint stated, stopping as he stood next to Luz.
King looks thoughtful as he turns to the golems. "Kneel."
The golems react, bowing to King in respect.
"Huh…all right," Eda said absentmindedly.
"Maybe you weren't exactly the King of Demons, but..." Luz trailed off.
"I was important to someone." King finished the thought as he began tearing up. "If...if he's out there, I want to find him. I'm not that old! It could be possible! Would you help me?" King pled.
Y̴̱̞̯͎͋͗͠ơ̹̦̞̗̏̾͠u̴͇̎͜ ̵̰̓ạ̷̥̒̇́̂ḹr̡̙̘̙̄ȅ̶͖̠̉͊ͅā̵͈̄̈́͠ͅd̴̮̽̋̓y̝ ̷̨͂̂͝h̴̥̭̆͌̄ą̷̗̳̋͊ṿ̱e̶̠̽̄͆͠.̴̧͙̅̚
"I'd do anything for you, buddy," Luz said.
"Same here lil' bro," Flint said with a wide smile.
"Then...can we keep him?" King asked, pointing to the golems.
"No!" The girls and Flint said flatly.
"Yes!" Hooty cheered happily, wrapping his body around the girls and Flint, who are all looking displeased.
"The only thing keeping me from biting him is that I don't know where he's been," Amity said bluntly.
The group eventually made their way back, to the Owl House. When they arrived, Amity was about to head home but hesitated.
"Lilith, can I talk to you? Alone." Amity requested.
Lilith looked surprised for a moment but agreed. Hooty had already reattached himself to the house (somehow that process was just as horrifying for all of them to witness) so she went with Amity as they stood a distance from the house, looking out toward the ocean, sitting on the ground.
"Do you know why I wanted to talk to you?" Amity asked neutrally.
"Is it to berate me again for the Covention?" Lilith asked. Amity hadn't exactly been subtle with her disdain for the woman.
Amity shook her head. "No. Luz told me that she and the others think that curing Eda was the only thing that mattered to you for decades. So I have to ask...what would you have done if you found a way? And how far would you have been willing to go if it meant she could be cured?" Amity asked.
Lilith sighed sadly. "If I'm being honest, I would've been willing to do anything if it meant I could take back what I did. I spent so long, most of my life dedicated to it...I'm not sure what I would've done if she were cured after all that time." Lilith revealed.
"Does 'anything' include sacrificing yourself?" Amity asked.
Lilith looked at Amity with tired eyes. "Edalyn heard that...didn't she?" Lilith got her answer from Amity's silence, and it elicited a sad chuckle from the older witch. "I should have guessed when she started working with me willingly." Lilith looked out to the horizon. "To answer your question...I was." Lilith admitted.
The two sat there for a while, letting Lilith's words sink in as they simply listened to the world around them, watching the boiling waters in the distance.
"I hate myself for what I did that day. It was unforgivable." Lilith said after a long silence.
"Yeah, cursing your sister isn't exactly a great thing to do," Amity said neutrally.
"I'm not talking about that day anymore..." Lilith corrected.
This confused Amity, causing her to look back at Lilith. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the Covention, Amity...about betraying you," Lilith answered.
Amity's eyes widened. "What?"
"I was so focused on trying to capture Eda, to make up for my stupid mistake, that I threw away what we had. I wagered on your duel, I used you." Lilith got angry, slamming her hand on the ground.
"And I did it again! I was so focused on my own issues that I betrayed your trust! I know how awful Odalia is, it's partly why I decided to take you under my wing in the first place. I wanted to give you someone you could talk to no matter what, to be what I knew Odalia never would. It's true that for the longest time, finding a cure for Eda was the only thing that mattered to me..."
Lilith looked at Amity with a sad smile.
"That was until you became my student. I finally had another reason to live for the first time since cursing Eda, and it was all because of you Amity. Teaching you made me the happiest I've ever been for thirty years." Lilith said. "You are such a talented young woman. I know I messed up, I've done nothing but mess up since I foolishly chose to curse my sister. I need you to know, that no matter how much you hate me...for whatever it's worth, I'm proud of the strong young lady I never deserved to call my pupil." Lilith said proudly with a sad smile.
The two sat in silence again as Amity collected her thoughts.
"I...looked forward to every lesson," Amity said, causing Lilith to turn to her curiously. "I didn't care what my moth- what Odalia said, but every time you praised me, congratulated me, or even just listened to me ramble...it meant the world to me," Amity said with a soft smile.
"Both of us were too weak for the people we cared about. For me, it was Willow, for you it was Eda. So if it's all the same to you..." Amity held out her hand. "Would you be willing to teach me again, Ms. Clawthorne?" Amity asked kindly.
Lilith's lip quivered as her eyes began to water. She brought her arm up to wipe her face with her sleeve before smiling, taking the offered hand, and shaking it. "Only if you'd be willing to be my student again, Amity."
The two shook hands and separated, though Lilith hesitated briefly, seeming to consider something. She shakes her head, deciding against it, until Amity suddenly wraps her in a hug. The action shocked Lilith as it caused tears to roll down her face. The older woman closed her eyes and returned the gesture, embracing the youngest Blight as a great burden was lifted off both witches' hearts.
After a few minutes, the two separated and got to their feet.
"You should head home and get some sleep. Today's been a long day for all of us." Lilith stated.
Amity nodded. "Yeah. And I've got a bit of a walk too."
"If you would like, I can fly you over real quick with Tart." Lilith offered.
"I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'd just like to talk with Luz and Flint first before I head out." Amity replied.
"To ask them out, I presume?"
Amity froze at Lilith's words, the older woman smiling slyly as the girl sputtered.
"Don't look so surprised. I may be aromantic myself, Titan knows I was one of the few unaffected by thatincident Edalyn caused, but it doesn't mean I haven't seen how you look to our Earthling companions." Lilith said as she walked up to the door. "Just have a little faith," Lilith said as Amity followed her into the living room where Flint and Luz could be seen sifting through pictures of the ruins with Eda.
Amity took a deep breath. 'Okay. You talked with Lilith, you know Flint is willing, this is nothing in comparison. Just be cool.'
"Hey, Luz?" Amity asked, getting the girl's attention, as well as the others' too.
"What's up?" Luz asked curiously.
"I was wonderingifyouandFlintwouldliketogooutwithme!" Amity blurted rapidly.
'SO MUCH FOR BEING COOL!' Amity screamed in her mind.
Luz stared at Amity for what felt like forever, making Amity begin to twiddle her thumbs nervously. Was she going to have to try and ask again? No. This was a mistake. Luz already has Flint, why would she-
"Sure!"
...eh?
Amity stood in stunned silence. Did she just hear that right?
"I-I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Amity sputtered.
Luz smiled with a blush. "Y-yeah, I'd love to. I'm open for it."
'What is going on?!' It didn't make any sense to Amity!
"Oh...um...wow. I wasn't expecting such a quick response." Amity said, trying to cool herself down.
Luz scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Well...about that..." Luz said, reaching into her pocket.
Amity watched in confusion until Luz pulled something out. A very familiar pink note.
Realization washed over Amity as she turned to Flint with exasperation. "You told her?!"
Flint turned to Amity with a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I didn't want anything to get between us. I was worried...worried of what might happen if Luz got the wrong idea, so I gave her the note the other night."
Luz put her hand in Amity's. "Please don't be mad at him. I know how Flint is, and I know he wouldn't have done it if he wasn't looking out for us. I'll admit, I was getting a little jealous sometimes like the other day or on the Knee. And if I'm honest...I was scared." Luz admitted. "I asked Flint about it the other night and he gave me the note. He told me about your conversation, and I've been waiting for you to ask since."
Amity's gaze softened as Luz explained, and she felt a wave of guilt as she turned to Flint. "I'm sorry for assuming like that."
Flint smiled, pulling both girls in for a hug. "It's okay. I just didn't want this whole thing to go on for too long." Flint said, as the two girls practically melted into his warm embrace.
Flint pulled back, but left his hands on their shoulders. "I didn't want to hurt either of you. After what happened at the ceremony, I didn't want to leave it up to chance and not tell either of you how I felt."
Luz smiled. "Yeah, you also hate lying. I bet it probably sucked when you lied to your mom about not being at that camp."
Flint chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah...that's not gonna be a fun conversation…" Flint trailed off as he averted his gaze.
"So, just to be clear, you're both interested in this?" Amity asked again for clarification.
Luz smiled brightly with a prominent blush. "Yeah. I am."
Flint snickered with a light blush. "Yep."
"Oh. Okay. Awesome." Amity said in a stunned state.
Lilith took the opportunity to guide Amity out the door. "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's get you home," Lilith said, with Amity absentmindedly following.
Amity would later pass out from shock the moment her face hit the pillow.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone