Chapter 10: Scarlet Fever
Dave
My eyes darted open, snapping at the nearby noise. Water dripped, splattering on a mound of rocks. Where… where was I?
"The plague. It claimed thee." The familiar voice of Vestia uttered. "Spread throughout thine body at a ridiculous pace, so fast that mine eyes couldn't track it. Worried, I was, for thine fate was out of my control. Life and death, intertwined, yet ever distant. So close, yet oh so far. Miracles, or any of the sort, none of them worked. It was as though the Scarlet Rot had taken a hold of thy body. Until, it stopped. Retreated."
Shifting myself to face, pain flared from my left hand, causing me to tumble back down into the ground. "Thine flesh has yet to recover, wrought by the disease. With no cure in sight."
"The tree-"
"Has been taken care of thanks to thine efforts. Burned to cinders, its ashes wafting through the wretched air of Caelid." A breath of relief left my lungs, only for the pain to once again flare, continuously.
"I don't assume we're near any sites of grace, are we?" I asked, cradling my arm. "Hopefully that will be enough to heal it."
"Is thou truly hopeful of such occurring?" Oh no. "Dave," Oh fuck. "thoust wouldn't think I have already attempted such? To do all that was within my power to help you. The great power of the demi-goddess Malenia appears to be one not meant to be trifled with, even though it, supposedly, has been many years since her arrival in this land."
Disbelief and doubt washed over all of my features, followed by a mountain of confusion, my lungs pulling a sharp inhale. "Crap." Shifting my body to turn towards Vestia, I stared at her dead in the eyes, her expression not changing one bit during this time. Slowly, the ramification of my actions hit me all at once.
Had I not... Had I not been so stupid, ignorant of the situation. More knowledgeable on the local wildlife. Hadn't been such a fucking idiot to fall into such an obvious pitfall tha-
Warmth, comfortable warmth. Funnily enough, it felt like the cold reaches of Ariandel when compared to my crippled appendage. Though, it was soothing, calmingly so, my rage drifting away like the wind.
"The infection… it was spreading. Did thoust feel it?" She whispered into my ear, my sight drifting to the appendage. Her words proved to be true, as bubbles of pus crept just below the surface, and a deep red hue painted all the way up my elbow. "Shshhh, it's alright." She hushed like a mother would. "Rest in mine bosom. Let thine sickness pass."
My eyelids grew heavy, sight blurring as it became harder and harder to stay awake. Just a little… bit…longer.
…
A few hours earlier
It didn't take long for her to return to her role as a useless slump.
Tending to her Ashen One, endlessly worrying over his health, all the while, never resting for a second. Tiring as it was, she could only feel slightly relaxed by the fact he wasn't dead yet.
Then, an axe came for her sense of security, her breathing sharply hitching as a vermillion growth crawled up his arm and into his shoulder. It was getting worse, and there was no way of stopping it. Moving towards the site of grace, Vestia called upon Melina for help, all the while tentatively caring for her unconscious beloved.
"Hello." The woman appeared suddenly, her eyes quickly assessing the situation. "He won't fare well, not for long." Gazing at Vestia for a second, she followed it up with a question. "How long has he been like this for? If it has only been a few minutes, there might still be a chance at permanently curing this.
"Ten or so minutes, it's been getting worse as time has gone by."
The maiden before her cursed, repeatedly at that, her fingers fidgeting with her cloak. "Stay here and don't move." She advised, standing up. "I will come back in swift haste with medicine. Watch him very carefully. Lest he dies right under our noses." She departed, leaving nothing behind except her worrisome caution.
News for her seemed to be only getting worse and worse, a stream of never-ending tragedy. Her heartrate raised by a few beats for every passing second, eventually reaching its peak when the sickness engulfed his own heart.
Then, and only then, did things truly go from worse, to even worse. The very situation itself devolving into chaos. His body convulsed, shaking uncontrollable with no end in sight. Multiple boils and sores threatened to burst at any moment. His skin cracked, muscles torn to shreds, and body…mutated.
It was restructuring his figure at a rapid pace, much like the birds from before. No… it was corrupting him, changing him inch by inch. Vestia's eyes instantly widened, raising her talisman high in the air as she chanted a miracle.
However, none of them worked. And those that slightly alleviated it, were immediately pushed back, as though the virus was fighting. She cursed, far too many times to count. It felt like the disease was playing a game with her, one where she lost more and more as time went on.
Parts of his left hand melted away, soon his left arm was nothing more than muscle and bones. Rapidly casting healing miracles did nothing but delay the inevitable, and when she ran out of both mana and cerulean flasks, she could only watch as the skin from his both withered away, tears quietly streaming down her eyes at her inability to save the person whom she loved.
There was a quiet acceptance. Silently staring as she couldn't do anything. His flasks were in the pocket space, completely out of her reach. And the constant resting at the site of grace did nothing to help her as well.
And yet, she clung onto the slivers of hope laying at the back of her mind, and her hopes were raised when Melina returned, with several crimson balls in her hands.
"Pass these through his mouth, one at a time, and he'll-" That hope was also squashed, when disbelief washed over the maiden's sole eye. "What happened to him? I was gone for no more than a few minutes, how could this have happened?"
It was the same confusion Vestia was feeling, only to a greater extent as she had gone on to say his current status was similar to that of those afflicted by the later stages of the Scarlet Rot. Whatever was happening to him, it wasn't natural at all, if it wasn't obvious enough.
"Something is influencing the sickness, molding him to become a vessel." Melina theorized, trying to come up with a conclusion. "Of course, how could I not see it. Malenia, the Blade of Miquella, has to have had a hand in worsening his symptoms, hastening its effects so that she may have control over his body. Or perhaps the person who did it had more sinister motives…"
Her words held a surprising amount of substance, and could float on their own if Vestia were to squint hard enough. Then again, it felt as though, "Something is missing." She unconsciously said, her head drifting to her palm. "The demi-goddess wouldn't have a motive or reason to go against us, she hasn't even interacted with us yet. Thine theory may hold weight, however, there are many holes waiting to be poked out."
The brunet looked slightly dejected by this answer, clicking her tongue in frustration. "That doesn't mean it can't be somewhat true, if only in a different sense. Tell me, mine dearest finger maiden, is there perhaps another entity who can control the rot?"
She looked around the dark cave for a moment, deep in thought. "Maybe-." It clicked, everything did. The puzzle was solved, and all the pieces were in place. "The Outer God of Rot, the same being who cursed Malenia… it couldn't mean."
"Our luck really is rotten, isn't it, Ashen One." Vestia couldn't help but sigh at the thought, her fingers grazing his newly reformed lips. "If only I could bear half of thine burden."
"It is impossible now, I'm afraid." Melina begrudgingly notified, drawing her eyes to the keeper's beloved. "The sickness has spread, faster than any of us could have predicted. Not only that, but there seems to be someone dead-set on claiming his life. There is very little we can do from here. For what could a mortal do to reverse a god's work? One thing's for certain however, he will survive the encounter, if barely." She stood up, shaking her head.
"Should he wake from his slumber, prepare for the worst. The Tarnis-Dave- will still have his body, but will his mind stay intact as well?" Poising this question, a chill ran down Vestia's spine, shivers shaking her to the bone. "Should the events play out as I think them to, then I shall cease serving you as a maiden. Farewell, for this might be the last time I help you."
Grabbing the firekeeper's hand, she invested all the runes she could into her, and left without another word. Moats of light sparkled where she had previously been, glinting as Vestia stared for a moment, slightly unable to process the situation.
Just then, he began to stir awake. The ashe-, Dave's constitution having fully healed in the time the two women were talking. He was back, and that's all that she cared about.
…
Did… did someone put drugs in the water or am I seeing things wrongly?
A massive, writing red mass pulsated before me, beating to the exact rhythm of my heart. Consistent, ever-present, overbearing. Each thump felt more and more like a titanic weight pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to my knees in no more than a few seconds.
Bringing my eyes back up to the creature, I stared at it for a few moments, both my hands and legs struggling to escape. ""Brave traveler from a distant land… Welcome to our WORLD."" A large number of repeating voices greeted, their tone very much so elated to my presence. ""Long have we waited for you. For thee to grace us with thine time. It truly is an honor.""
Who? What the fuck?
""Fufu…" The voices creepily laughed, ending up as nothing more than a distorted imitation, a broken copy. ""Very well, if thou shalt wish, then our form shall change to fit thine desire.""
The congealed mass condensed, blobs separating off to become something more. First, they were rectangles, gaining definite shape and mass. Bringing to me something familiar, something that my brain could understand. Next, definition, concaves and drawn shapes. My eyes drew, staring at the vaguely human entity, the hairs at the back of my spine rising, the thought of what laid ahead taunting me with mystery.
Then, it gained the finer details. Eyes, a mouth, skin, hair, and everything else in between. All to reveal a woman underneath. Her head was a mess of shaggy red hair, and her eyes with a golden yellow hue. Her skin was pristine, uncannily so, not a single imperfection in sight (nor an article of clothing). And her body was downright perfection incarnate, all of her proportions felt as though they sculpted by a master craftsman.
It took many a great effort not to be enthralled by her appearance. My mind could barely keep things together, my fingers becoming uneasy at the sight. Take a deep breath, calm down, and return as if nothing happened. Alright…
This was harder than I thought. The air in my throat stopped, my heart rate only seemed to spite with every passing moment, and multiple beads of sweat trailed down my body. Everything wasn't going as planned!
"S-so. What's your deal." I shakily questioned, my teeth rattling with each word. "Normally, people don't do this type of thing. I know my body is currently resting. However, you're able to will yourself into my thoughts. Either you are nothing more than a creature of my mind, or something of a dream walker."
""Impressive. For thou to cometh to thine realization, it is a commendable feat. Yes, I come bearing a contract. An offer between you and ME.""
"And what would it be?"
""Thine body as mine vassal-""
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[A/N: This is shameless, but I'll plug it anyway. I have a new fic running. It's called "Fuck the Devil", a SMT 3 x CSM fic and it's on FF, QQ, and SB. I only ask that you check it out and tell me if you like it. I really want to continue writing for it, but with the numbers it's pull, my motivation goes down ever so slightly. Thank you for reading my selfish request. Copy and paste stuff below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Also, join discord server. I have one.: discord . gg / eTb2kPab4z
I also have a pa- tr eon at pa- t reon / balls112. Right now, there's only 1 advanced chapter, but I'll try my best to fit in a few more.
With that being said, back to writing]
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