Blutox sat on a small bench at the mouth of the village with the Utagri Al kept on the bench next to him. He had his eyes fixed on the marking on a tree that held the energy shield surrounding the village and was lost in thoughts he didn't notice as Monk Zumma approached him.
"How do you feel?"
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see the old man. Blutox shut his eyes andinhaled sharply. He felt ashamed to look at the monk, preceding his previous actions.
"I thought I could control the sword—" he stopped and buried his face in his hand. "I let myself get engulfed by all the negative emotions it comes with."
"I almost killed a friend with it."
Monk Zumma groaned as he made a chair in front of Blutox with his abilities and sat on it. "The Utagri Al is a powerful weapon that can only be controlled by few," he started. "I have heard tales of many War Kanrei who went on a rampage and killed their friends and family after picking up the blade... Only a few can tame and control the blade."
Blutox sniffled and looked at the sword. "I shouldn't have this blade, especially after what I did."
The old monk placed his hand on Blutox's shoulder. "Yes you made a mistake, but don't let this action decide who you are or what you do."
He continued. "You could stash away the sword, but that is a simple form of letting the blade control you. Move on from that moment, forget what transpired, and pick up the sword again, use it, control it, tame all that energy and defeat Hex," he added before leaving Blutox alone.
The blue-skinned man took a deep breath and turned to the sword. He held the handle and picked it up before rising to his feet. A large amount of dark smoke flushed out of the blade and engulfed the War Kanrei's body.
He winced and grabbed the sword with both his hand, plunging it into the ground and dispelling the smoke all around. He stood up straight and pulled the sword out of the ground.
.
.
.
The witch took a few steps towards Eryth who stood his ground.
"You asked what I think, and I gave you my honest opinion, is that wrong?" He questioned.
The witch glared at him for a few seconds without saying a word before smiling. "Absolutely not," she said. "I for one love honesty."
She moved behind a table that had different shapes of glass flask with different colours and kinds of liquid in it. Trippier and Grevla both let out a sigh before glaring at Eryth who shrugged.
"It's been more than a hundred centuries since I've had anyone through this forest."
"Whoa," Eryth and the others exclaimed.
"More than a hundred century? Don't you ever get bored of living alone?" Eryth questioned. "I definitely would have gone mad if I was in your shoes."
The witch smiled and poured a red liquid into a flask containing blue liquid, causing it to let out a moment of spark before turning pitch black.
"Have you seen my legs? I have pretty big shoes to fill," she smiled, causing Eryth to involuntarily glance down at her rather, large feet.
Komnene covered the flask with its head and mumbled some magic words while shaking it before dropping it into a rack containing other similar flasks.
"May I ask what it is you are making?" The dark brown-haired man questioned.
Grevla and Trippier simultaneously turned to Eryth with a sharp glare but he ignored them and continued nonetheless, taking a few steps closer to the witch.
The witch smiled. "Aren't you a curious fellow?"
She swept her hand over the table, making all the pieces of equipment she had previously used for the making of her potions disappear.
"It's a love potion," she revealed. "An Adiophori god friend of mine asked for it, so I'm doing her a favour in return for a Fruit from High Realm."
Eryth furrowed. "Only a fruit?"
"You have no idea what one can do with a Fruit from the High realm do you?"
Eryth shrugged. "No, I don't. But I just figured out that you are a lot more people-friendly than what my companions say you to be."
The witch tucked a hair behind her ear and laughed softly. "Oh, Honey, cross me and you'll see."
"Now…" She waved her hand around and the room entirely changed, making all the equipment and potions to be replaced by large shelves filled with books, with a stair in one corner of the room leading up to where other shelves were. "I believe you came here for the Tome of Discordia?"
"You know it is here?"
The witch hissed. "Oh please, you all completely misunderstood things," she started. "Everyone, including some of the gods, think I have no idea the book is here, but see I do."
"Frostholm is actually a really good friend of mine… we met at the Forest she was trapped in and she tasked me with keeping the book from the public eye."
"The Shadow Fae?" Eryth questioned.
The witch nodded. "You may have crossed parts with her on a less friendly occasion, but I had the privilege of seeing the good side in her… a lovely woman she was."
"Does that mean you knew we were coming here for the book, and also heard our conversation about you?"
She smiled. "The part where you said the gods couldn't tame me? I heard all of it. Plus…" she marched towards Trippier and caressed his cheek. "I am but a woman who happen to come across a very powerful energy that granted me abilities beyond a normal beings understanding, okay?"
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't make out any words, stunned by the witches scent.
She then turned to Eryth. "What will you do if you have the Tome of Discordia?"
"To put an end to Hex's reign of terror."
The witch hummed before waving a hand in a half-circle motion. A purple light enveloped her palm, and when it cleared, she was holding a rather large book which had thick covers with strange writings on it.
The trio could feel the amount of Chaos energy that exuded from the book, and even without being told, they could tell…
"The Tome of Discordia."
"You— are touching the book," Grevla muttered.
"It's fine… I coated the book with a large amount of Black Magic, so touching it shouldn't have any effect on you. I have no desire for the kind of energy this book comes with," she revealed.
"Will you give the book to us? despite your task to keep it away from the world?" Grevla questioned.
Komene smiled. "Have you ever heard of the Mirrored Eyes?" She asked but the trio shook their heads no. "It is an ability that allows one to be able to take a glimpse into the future but at the expense of a life."
She continued. "There's only one missing variable to determine if giving the book to you is the right or wrong thing to do. Once complete, the future shall be set… plus it's taking a lot of my energy to keep the book."
The orange-haired witch performed the motion again and the book was replaced by a small vile containing a yellow liquid. "Consider it a test, one that will determine whether or not I will give the book to you. But if you fail, I will have to kill all of you." Her smile immediately got replaced by a stern expression.
"What must I do?"
….
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