It was at this time, late in the night, she decided to strike. Her faithful servant
told her exactly where her vessel was and now, all she had to do was whisk her away. She
would have been excited if not for how delicate the situation was. Usually her vessel would
be received thanks to the prayers of many and servants performing the correct rituals, but
now... she was taking a big risk, but if she didn't... she would die.
The last thing she wanted was to make a big commotion and attract that pair who had
interrupted her earlier that day. At least, with her vessel nearby and awakening, she was
stronger than before. The snake goddess slowly walked until she was beneath the correct
window. Silently, she pressed her hands to the ground and watched as a snake emerged from
the earth, made up of soil and rock.
She leaped onto its head and it dutifully raised her up to the window. She could feel
her vessel now... the girl was just in this room. She opened the window easily and slipped
in. The goddess calmed herself as she stepped towards the bed.
There she was, curled up under the covers, sleeping peacefully. She let one hand brush
some hair out of Erin's face before she cupped her cheek. Sitting down on the bed, she
murmured, "We're so close... you and I..."
As Erin leaned into the goddess's hand, her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she
stared dreamily at the ceiling, but when her hazel eyes landed on the goddess, she froze.
Erin wasn't sure why, but she couldn't speak and she could barely move... it was so
suffocating. The goddess leaned in and the most the frozen girl could let out was a gasp.
"Don't be scared... we're bonded, you and I, so there's nothing to be afraid of," The
goddess leaned in closer, some of her green-black hair brushing against Erin's face. "It's
strange, really... you're my other half - my vulnerable... shy... caring... emotional side."
The eighteen year old was slightly shocked upon realizing how much the spirit of the
goddess above her looked like herself. With her hair away from her face, the goddess shared
some of the same physical characteristics as Erin herself. Without another words, she moved
Erin's head aside and bared her fangs.
"I'm sorry... this will hurt," Erin wished she could scream as goddess bit into her
neck. All that came out was a sharp intake of breath. Her consciousness started to drift and
she found herself entering a state not unlike the trance the goddess put her in earlier in
the chamber.
Even though she was only a metaphysical state, the goddess was able to lift Erin out
of the bed thanks to the strength of being near her vessel. "Soon... we'll be one..." she
murmured. She was so close... now that her vessel was awakened and marked, Erin was prepared
to receive her spirit.
"Hmm, now if that doesn't sound strange, I wonder what does?"
The goddess instantly focused her yellow eyes upon the one who had spoken. Isaka was
leaning against the wall, feigning boredom. Having been the one who spoke, she gave the
woman a slight smirk when her inhuman eyes landed on her. Krystal walked out from the corner
she'd been waiting in, holding her sword confidently.
The goddess's hold on Erin tightened considerably. The girl being held bridal style in
her arms had a dream like expression on her face and was surrounded by an energy the Krystal
couldn't quite identify. The goddess hadn't expected the same pair as before to notice her
come in...
"The type of energy you give off is special," Krystal said, as though hearing the
unvoiced question. "...and we were waiting right by the door." Isaka finished, noticing the
look of growing agitation on the spirit's face.
She was so close! "I... can't allow you to stop me - not now. This is a matter beyond
your understanding." The goddess didn't wish to start a fight in this building, but if she
had to in order to secure her vessel... then so be it. She was stronger now that the bond
between her and Erin was secured, there was no way she would lose-
"Ah, we aren't here to fight," Krystal murmured, lowering her sword to her side. Isaka
straightened up and watched as the goddess seemed quite confused at her words. "If Erin is
your vessel," the demon said, "then she is what you need to be complete... at the same time,
she is incomplete without you."
"This would... probably be the best for Erin and for you," Krystal said, exchanging
glances with Isaka. "...so as long as Erin is safe, then..."
The demon finished her train of thought. "You have our blessing to possess her body,
so long as Erin is safe."
The goddess couldn't believe it. The mortals she had so despised for being ignorant
when they stopped her before were now allowing her to have her vessel? "...I don't
understand..."
Krystal just gave her a small smile. "You were sealed, right? It's not fair to just...
well, it's not fair to Erin either. Like we said, it would be best for her and... you didn't
deserve whatever fate you received."
The goddess closed her eyes and bowed deeply. "Thank you." With that, she walked over
to the window with the still entranced Erin in her arms. "I promise to take care of her,"
she said before hopping out the window and landing on the head of her snake golem.
She leaned down and whispered to it, "Mommy is almost back... take us to the altar..."
With that, the snake made from earth burrowed into the ground with the goddess and Erin upon
its head. As Krystal and Isaka peered out the window, they watched as the snake melted into
earth, leaving no trace of it behind - not even a hole.
The two lovers let out a simultaneous sigh. "Do you think we did the right thing?"
Krystal asked and Isaka just nodded. "Yeah. Erin is destined to be the goddess and we would
have been hindering fate... as much as she doesn't want it, she needs her other half..." The
demon then gave her a sheepish grin. "It also probably helped our decision to know that the
goddess would be so powerful that she could kill us in an instant."
Krystal laughed. "Yeah, it was nice of Seth to tell us that once the bond was
established between her and Erin that the goddess's strength would increase a hundred
fold..." The two of them didn't want to imagine how badly they would have been beaten.
"So now..." Krystal murmured, stroking Isaka's hair. "...we wait."
*****
She set Erin down gingerly on the altar, making sure her vessel was comfortable... or
rather as comfortable as she could be. The goddess took a step back and began to walk around
the altar, lighting the candles she had placed on the outside of the seal.
Before, when people still worshipped the gods, she would have priestesses dedicated to
her praying and setting up the ritual... but now... she had to complete it herself. All the
candles were lit and her vessel was here. She got down on her knees and began to pray. The
words she whispered were a tongue not spoken in this world, at least, not anymore, and the
seal on the floor of the altar began to glow.
The goddess regretted how crudely the ritual had to be performed... normally, the
vessel would pray to cleanse their minds and their bodies would be washed. Then, the trance
was induced when they were upon the altar. She had none of that to give to Erin, so it had
to be done this way.
Her prayers ceased and she moved slowly to where Erin was. The first stabs of guilt
began to pierce her. She knew this was not going to be easy for her vessel... not in the
least. She moved the young girl's head aside to stare at where she had bitten her. The
puncture wounds were virtually gone, but the area itself had a strange hue to it.
Her vessel was ready. The seal beneath the altar began to glow furiously, indicating
that now was the time to bind herself to Erin. The goddess felt her momentary physical form
leave her as she lifted herself onto the altar and hovered over Erin. She let one hand dance
over the entranced girl's face before leaning in to whisper, "I am sorry... but, this
will... this will hurt you..." With that, she affectionately kissed Erin on the neck, on the
same spot where she originally marked her.
Now, the painful joining of their souls began.
Erin, who had been floating along in darkness for awhile, was now very aware of what
was going on... or at least of the great pain surging through her body. She let out a scream
and was unaware that it was only the beginning of her painful ordeal.
*****
"Wait... you mean without a proper ritual, it could be extremely painful?" Krystal
asked, the color draining from her face. Seth just nodded, albeit hesitantly. "It didn't
help that Erin is 18 either... the ritual is usually done before the vessel hits puberty."
"So we basically sent Erin to a very painful end?" Isaka asked, feeling like a total
ass. So much for 'what's best for Erin'.
"Smooth... you guys let the goddess take her and you never thought to tag along?" Abby
asked, giving all three youths a scolding look. She was still suffering from a hangover and
giving Krystal and Isaka dubious looks for their actions last night. "First you try to have
a threeway with her and then you just let her get whisked off to a torture session?"
Seth gave them an alarmed look. "You did what?!" The both shook their heads. "It-it's
not like that," Krystal said, looking away. "She was just too tired to dress herself so Abby
thought we were being bad..." Isaka said, finishing the train of thought.
Currently, it was morning, Abby tending to a large breakfast for her guests while
Eveon and Mina were still sleeping and Tycara was grabbing some more of Seth's books in
another room. "It... it's not a torture session, she just... In order for them to bind
together, it's going to hurt a great deal, so the ritual is going to be nearly botched.
They'll become the same person, give or take a few temporary side effects," Seth said,
watching as Tycara came back into the kitchen with one of his demonology books.
"I took a look outside," Tycara said, sitting down next to Seth. "I can't feel Erin's
presence nearby and the ritual should have only taken an hour or so, regardless of how crude
it must have been."
Isaka and Krystal exchanged looks. The demon stood up and sighed. "We are such idiots.
Who knows what Erin is like now?"
Tycara stood up and pulled Seth along with her. "Me and Seth can go check out the
temple. You two should wait here in case she returns." Isaka sat down dejectedly as Tycara
dragged her boyfriend out the door with her.
"How are they going to get to the temple? I thought they just showed up randomly,"
Abby murmured, putting the scrambled eggs aside and starting to work on the bacon. "Tycara
can travel to places faster than me... it's kind of creepy and embarrassing that she's
better at it..." Isaka murmured, chewing on the straw in her orange juice.
Her and Krystal effed up pretty bad. Handing Erin over to the goddess seemed like a
good idea at the time, or at least at 2:43 am. Speaking of which, her blonde haired
girlfriend seemed focused on the flowers in the vase.
"Mina told me about those," Isaka said, leaning over Krystal's shoulder. "Eveon bought
them for her." Krystal smiled just thinking of how cute they were. "Ugh, don't remind me.
They're so sweet together I'm going to get cavities..." Abby said, letting out a sigh. Her
meal was basically complete, but now... it was time for toast and hash browns.
Krystal eyed something bright near the vase of flowers and it was curiosity that made
her stand up and walk over to it. On the counter next to the vase were the remains of some
plastic wrapping and a neat red ribbon.
Isaka gave her girlfriend a perplexed look when she picked up the ribbon and began
staring at it like it was the most interesting in the world.
"Oh... that's the ribbon the lady from the flower shop used to wrap the flowers," said
Eveon, everyone turning to look at her. The young girl had just awoken and after a failed
attempt to wake up Mina, she opted to carry her girlfriend down stairs on her back.
"You can keep it if you want," she said, as she deposited an extremely tired Mina in a
seat before passing out plates and silverware. Krystal looked at the ribbon in her hands and
smiled, "Thanks, I was just curious about it because..."
Isaka quirked an eyebrow and Krystal began to explain. "That tiny snake that
disappeared was wearing a collar made from ribbon. If I'm not mistaken, I think this is the
same kind." The demon gave her a skeptical look as Eveon helped Abby with the rest of the
food.
"Are you sure? Maybe they just look alike," Isaka murmured, eyeing the food being set
out on the table. "No, the ribbon the snake was wearing wasn't man made but instead made
from an ethereal kind of energy. It felt similar to the snake goddess's, but it's still very
different..."
Isaka pulled her girlfriend over and sat her down in the chair. "Alright, so the
ribbon from the flower shop is the same ribbon around that snake's neck. It could be
possible that the flower shop owner gets her ribbon from a different source that leads back
to whomever created this type of ribbon in the first place." Krystal still looked a little
worried and unconvinced.
"You know..." Eveon started, spearing some scrambled eggs on her fork, "You guys sound
like total dorks when you start discussing energy and demons and stuff."
Krystal flushed at her words while Isaka just glared. "You know..." the demon started,
"When Mina has questions about how to take your relationship to the next level, she comes to
me." Her smirk following that statement made Eveon really uncomfortable and scared as to
what kind of advice the demon was imparting to her girlfriend.
"Mmm? Did someone say my name...?" Mina drawled out, lifting her head from the table.
She felt exhausted... how could everyone be so cheery in the morning?
"Why're so tired anyways? Usually you're up before me..." Eveon said, spreading jam on
a slice of toast before pushing it into Mina's mouth. The girl took a bite before letting
out a happy moan. A little bit of the strawberry jam smeared onto the corner of Mina's mouth
so Eveon leaned in and suckled the spot gently to remove it.
Mina blushed and sighed, "I slept well, I just... had some dreams." Eveon gave her an
inquisitive look. "Really? About what? Monsters or something?" Mina shook her head. "No...
about you."
When Mina's face flushed bright red, Eveon followed soon after until both of them were
blushing and awkwardly eating breakfast.
Krystal leaned towards Isaka and whispered, "I thought only guys had dreams like
that...?" The demon almost spewed out her orange juice trying not to laugh. "You're almost
as naïve as Eveon..."
The breakfast continued on, Abby feeling like a fifth wheel as she sat down to eat.
Finally, Mina noticed something. "Where's Erin? Is she still asleep?" Abby just let out a
dry laugh. "How about we let the lesbian duo over here explain their wonderful thinking last
night and tell you where Erin is at the moment."
The exorcist and the demon let out a simultaneous sigh. They had totally botched
things up. Who knew where Erin could be?
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