Chapter 3 : Midday

Anton smirked to himself as he checked in on his prisoners. The two dark elves stayed silent as they sat quivering in their bondage but judging by their labored breathing they both appeared to be at least somewhat conscious. With their bodies slumped forwards and their heads hanging low neither of them appeared to have noticed his little check in.

Both of the dark elves were “Dressed” the exact same way, which was barely at all. A wide leather belt was buckled strictly around each of their waists. To these were clipped short chains that were attached to leather cuffs around their ankles. Smaller belts were buckled around their thighs and shins, between their knees and hips, these kept their legs bent and took away their ability to walk upright. Their arms were locked in tight, stringent box-tie style leather armbinders, that kept them folded away behind their backs. These were held in place by thin leather harnesses that wrapped around their shoulders and upper bodies as well as their bare breasts.

Wrapped around their heads were rather cruel looking head-harnesses, that crisscrossed their faces as well as wrapped tightly around their foreheads, beneath their eyes and under their chins. These harnesses were made up of thin leather straps and were attached to, as well as held in place via metal clips, wide diamond shaped, rubber-coated plate masks that covered the dark elves lower faces by curving under their chins, spreading out over their cheeks and then curving up over the bridge of their noses. These plates fit snugly against their skin and gave the dark elves an almost ninja-like look.

Attached to the inside of the plates were a large bulbous gag that filled their mouths completely. These gags were made of a harden rubber material that was just soft enough that they could be bitten and molded to the jaws that they had been wedged between. With the straps of the head-harnesses forcing the dark elves to bite down on the gags, their tongues were kept crushed against the bottom of their mouths. This prevented speech and caused over time horribly painful cramps and aches in their jaws. Three small holes dotted along each of the top edges of the plates allowed the dark elves to breath through their covered noses.

Although their tight bondage gear was clearly uncomfortable. None of it was constrictive enough to cut off any of their circulation. So for the moment the only real hardship that the two dark elves faced were the sybian machines that they had unfortunately found themselves strapped down to.

The sybians the dark elves had chosen for their dungeon were very expensive, heavily-weighted models that came equipped with a number of controllable timers. And had currently been set to run with a nearly constant low level of intensity that would be interrupted by random increases in power. These random events would each be different in their duration and intensity as well as the length of time in between. Although set at random, the timing between the events would never be shorter than fifteen minutes or longer than three hours. In this way the dark elves were kept in a state of endless arousal and then plagued by instances of intense sexual stimulation that they had no way of either predicting or escaping from. With their bent legs strapped to the sides of these randomized sybians and their shoulder harnesses locked to chains clipped to metal ringlets set into the wall behind them, both of the dark elves were simply but effectively trapped in a pleasurable Hell.

Anton had found it difficult to resist the urge to make things so much worse for them. As it sits the dark elves had no bondage around their exposed breasts. No clamps on their nipples, clitorises, vulva lips, or ears. They wore no blindfolds and he had decided not to put anything around their necks as that was something that would come later and with much more fanfare. Even their lower holes were shown some mercy as even though they were strapped to the sybians, only moderately sized dildos had been shoved inside them and they had nothing in their rectums.

Anton mused for a moment longer as he watched the two quivering forms. Satisfied with his check in, and deciding that a few more hours should do them some good, he silently left them to continue their punishment.

As he turned to leave he was startled by a thin ink-black tendril that hung in the air just above his head. A tiny, glowing yellow eye at the very tip of the tendril blinked at him before the thin shape suddenly disappeared backwards as if it were sucked out of the room.

Anton smirked again as he left the dungeon and made his way back upstairs. As he entered the kitchen his eyes fell on a gallon sized, glass canning jar that was sitting on the table with it's lid at it's side. The large jar was filled with a swirling, black, jelly-like mass. Thin streaks of dim plasma-like white and purple lights would flicker eerily in and out of sight as the mass moved aimlessly about in the jar.

“Well, I see you're starting to get some feeling back into your cells” said Anton as he spoke to the jar “Are you able to reform yourself yet?”

A glob of the black jelly oozed out over the mouth of the jar and began to rise up into the air as if it were the stalk of a plant. A bulge at the end of the stalk split in two horizontally as it reached head height. The top half of the bulge fanned out becoming thin, silk-like hair that kept the black color it had started with, while the bottom half lightened in color until it became a soft, deep shade of purple. The purple bulge hung low as if it were about to break away from the rest of the mass before snapping back upwards and taking the shape of a humanoid face. The face was feminine in its structure and despite it's otherworldly qualities was quite lovely on the eyes. Its high cheek bones, and the soft angles of it's chin and nostril-less nose gave it a youthful but sage-like appearance.

As Anton watched in silence, four thin slits appeared and split open into four large almond-shaped eyes. The faces eyes were rather eerie looking as they each had two pupil-less perfect circles that could move independently of each other. These “Irises” were a glowing yellow in color and were surrounded by solid black sclera.

The face blinked a few times as it focused all four of it's eyes and eight of it's irises on Anton and gave him a thin smile.

“Yes, it should not be too much longer before I am back to full motion” claimed the face in a soft tone.

The face's voice was, surprisingly, far more melodic than it's appearance would have suggested, and had a rather odd cadence to it that gave it an eerie almost echo-like effect.

“Good to hear” grinned Anton as he nodded absently “So, did you like what you saw downstairs?”

The faces features immediately scrunched up into a vicious looking scowl.

“Those two are not in nearly enough pain for my liking!” hissed the face “But its certainly a good start!”

“Really!?” questioned Anton as he leaned back in surprise “So you really don't have any issues with what I'm doing to them!? You have no problem with this at all!?”

“No” stated the face in a blunt, emotionless tone “Not at all. I wouldn't even care if you killed them”

“...Okay, well, this is an interesting sight!” teased Anton as he tilted his head to the side “It's not often that you get to see a Shoggoth become emotional enough to actually show some anger!”

The shoggoth blushed a luminescent shade of blue as she looked away from him.

“Well they certainly deserve it!” she exclaimed around an unhappy grimace “Those beastly creatures!”

“Oh, I'm sure they do!” declared Anton with a smile “Putting their poor maid in a jar and then sticking her in the freezer! That's definitely a “Beastly” thing to do!”

“That is merely one of the many humiliations I've suffered at their hands!” cried the shoggoth as her entire form swelled in size “They have never been kind to me! And I hate them in return!”

“Hm, really?” mumbled Anton as he creased his brow in question “Why would you chose them as your Mistresses then?”

“They are not my Mistresses! They hold no true mastery over me!” snapped the shoggoth “My true Master is a gentleman! He would never treat me in such a way as they do! Once he hears of my indignities I'm sure he will seek restitution in my name!”

“This is just a job then?” asked Anton as he raised an eyebrow in question.

“Yes, to bring capital to my Masters house I was contracted to serve them for a year” explained the shoggoth “That time-frame is nearly at it's end. And as its gotten closer those evil women have become especially cruel to me! Even threatening to keep me from going back to my beloved Master! I will never forgive them!”

“I see, well, I'm sorry to hear that” said Anton “If you'd like, you're more than welcome to join me and take out any more frustrations you might have with them”

The shoggoth blinked all four of her eyes and looked away as she became thoughtful for a moment.

“No” she said as she turned back to Anton “Though I do appreciate the offer. I'm afraid it's just not in my nature to be cruel. I'll take my joy from the knowledge that they will be punished though, and that will be enough for me”

“I understand” said Anton as he nodded “So do you plan to leave now then? Or will you still stay until the end of your contract?”

“If you will allow it I would be forever thankful to leave immediately!” exclaimed the shoggoth as she rose up higher on her “Stalk” and began to quiver in excitement.

“If I'll allow it?” questioned Anton “What do you mean if I'll allow it!?”

“You are now the one in control of the Dark Elves and by extension their home as well” explained the shoggoth “As far as I'm concerned, you are now the Master of this house”

“...I see, hm. Well, in that case I suppose I don't have any problem with you leaving now...” said Anton as he folded his arms over his chest “I would like as much time here as possible though... Do you think you could wait a week before you let your Master know about me and what's happening here?”

The shoggoth quickly shook her head.

“No, but there is no need to fret. My Master is an understanding man and I'm sure he will agree to give you the time you request before he takes any action on my part” she claimed in earnest “Especially once I explain the details of my treatment here”

“...I guess that'll work for me. Though again, I would appreciate as much time as possible” said Anton as he nodded thoughtfully “And if you could also contact me whenever he does decide to make any moves, I'd appreciate that as well”

“Of course! That won't be a problem at all!” exclaimed the shoggoth as she smiled broadly and revealed a set of human-like teeth that were colored a slightly luminescent blue “All I need is a number I can reach you at! Oh, and sir? May I have your name as well, please?”

“Antonius” said Anton as he offered his hand to the shoggoth “Antonius Faustus North”

A small bulge formed on the side of the stalk that held the shoggoth's face. It quickly grew in size until it fell apart and unraveled into a long tentacle with a purple colored human-like hand at the end.

“Salia!” exclaimed the shoggoth as she placed her new hand into Anton's “It is a pleasure Master North! I am deeply in your debt!”

“Think nothing of it” smiled Anton as he gently but firmly gripped the still cold to the touch shoggoth and gave her fingers a quick squeeze before letting her go “Though before you leave I do have a little request”

“Of course!” cried Salia as her eyes brightened in excitement “Anything I can do to be of service to you would be a blessing for me!”

Anton couldn't help but to smile at her enthusiasm.

“Well, and I understand if this would be crossing a line for you, since you were technically in service to them” he reasoned as he looked upwards towards the second story “But I've found a few laptop computers in the house and I'd like to know if you would be willing to give me the passwords for them? And again I understand if that's not something you're comfortable with”

The shoggoth chuckled as she shook her head.

“I hold no loyalty to those fiendish Dark Elves and wish nothing but the worst for them!” she cried cheerily “Unfortunately, I'm afraid I wouldn't know of any of their passwords, though I would gladly give them to you if I did”

“Ah, well that's unfortunate...” mumbled Anton as he looked in the general direction of the dungeon “Guess I'll just have to get them the hard way...”

“Not necessarily!” declared Salia as a glob of her mass began to bubble it's way out of the top of the jar “If you can bring me the laptops it should be relatively easy for me to be able to decipher the passwords for you!”

“Oh really!?” said Anton as he looked back at her “That would be convenient!”

“It would be a pleasure!” exclaimed Salia as more of her body oozed its way out of the jar and came to rest on the table “And if you'd like I can also prepare a meal for you while you wait!”

“That sounds nice actually! Thank you!” smiled Anton as he turned to leave the room “I'll be right back with the computers then!”

Moving at a quick pace through the house, Anton made his way upstairs and quickly gathered both of the laptops. When he reentered the kitchen he found that Salia had not only left the jar completely but had apparently split herself into two. While one part of her still sat on the table and kept it's stalk-like shape with its face at it's top, the second, now much larger part of her, was at the stove and had reformed itself into a some-what humanoid shape.

The shoggoth at the stove was feminine in her new appearance but had formed her limbs and torso to be so disproportionately inaccurate that she was only vaguely human-like, and even then only from her waist upwards. She now stood about six feet tall and was “Dressed” in what looked like a traditional black and white colored French maid outfit that had not only been stylized to better fit her amorphous body, but actually seemed to be made out of, or formed from, said body as well. The “Skin” of her body, at least the sections that were not currently acting as clothing, was smooth, hairless and had a semi-transparency to it that gave it a pliable, gelatin-like quality. The only portions of her that appeared to be fully solid were her face, neck and hands. These areas were all colored the same deep purple as before while the rest of her form shifted though a series of blacks, grays, blues, lilacs and whites that would all change in hue and density depending on her movements and whether or not any of the bright kitchen lights happened to be shining on her.

Although the shoggoth now possessed a pair of arms and hands she also had a host of tendrils and full fledged tentacles that slipped out of holes and splits in her outfit as well as formed out of her flowing hair. All of these appendages worked independently of each other and allowed her to complete several tasks in unison. Her legs were all together non-existent, as from her hips downwards her body broke down into a stalk-like, quivering, gelatinous mass of ever-moving slime and tentacles. Though she technically had no legs, she was still able to move freely across the floor by simply sliding her entire mass along in an almost snail-like manner. As she moved about a never ending series of eyes, noses, ears and other unrecognizable organs, some of which would “Beat” in a manner that was similar to a heart or would make faint buzzing or clicking sounds, would bubble in and out of existence across her body. And these all worked together to give her a full range of awareness irregardless of wherever her head may be pointed. Thin streaks of luminescence continued to blink and flicker across the shoggoth's body as well, and these would glow the brightest with each of her movements, or whenever a new organ was about to take form on her body.

Both parts of Salia shared identical looking faces. And this was made even more apparent as the one that was still sitting on the table was suddenly sporting a frilly maids headband that was identical to her counterpart at the stove.

As Anton stopped in the kitchens archway and took in the sight of the shoggoth for a moment, he couldn't help but to feel a slight twinge of hesitation. Though he knew that shoggoth were for the most part generally harmless and even subservient creatures, often finding joy and fulfillment by living in the service of others, and Salia in particular certainly did seem to be amicable towards him, he still couldn't shake the mire-like sense of uneasiness that seemed to hang about in the air like a fog. This subliminal repulsion was easy enough to understand when the fact was taken into account that this abominable, and seemingly unnatural creature, was in all truthfulness, an actual alien being.

“...It's always interesting to see a Shoggoth at work” mused Anton as he watched the Salia at the stove.

The standing shoggoth turned her head a full three hundred and sixty degrees and gave him a warm smile as she dropped a dollop of butter on a skillet, heated up a saucepan, chopped several different vegetables at once, gathered a plate and bowl from a cabinet and spread butter on several large slices of bread, all in unison.

“You're too kind Master North!” exclaimed the Salia sitting on the table.

“...Hm, “Master” you know I've always liked the sound of that!” chuckled Anton as he set the laptops down on the table and opened them for her “I don't know about calling me “Kind” though! I especially doubt that the Dark Elves would agree with you on that!”

Both of the shoggoth parts narrowed all of their eyes at the mention of the dark elves.

“Yes, I would think they would likely disagree...” mumbled the Salia on the table “Thankfully their opinions are no longer my concern!”

Anton chuckled again as he watched the shoggoth create two thin tentacles out of her stalk-like body. Using the very tips of her new tentacles, she pressed the laptops power buttons and waited for the “Enter Password” screens to appear.

Salia then let a tentacle lay coiled on each of the laptops keyboards, and as Anton watched with growing interest, the ends of the two tentacles melted away into oozing puddles that soaked down into the keyboards and seemed to caress the keys.

“Such filthy girls!” muttered the shoggoth “Neither of these keyboards have ever been cleaned! Today though this will be to our advantage!”

“What are you trying to do?” asked Anton as he leaned in for a closer look.

“By measuring the accumulated grime and filth I can determine which keys are used more often than others” explained Salia as her puddles began to quiver over the keyboards “Once I have the corrects keys I'll go through and try to guess at their passwords through trial and error”

“Ah, I see, that's pretty clever” nodded Anton “How difficult do you think the passwords will be to figure out?”

“I don't expect them to be very difficult at all...” mumbled Salia in a disregarding tone “Knowing those two as well as I do, I can't imagine them using anything too clever or complicated...”

Anton looked at the shoggoth and cocked an eyebrow as he took a seat at the table.

“So you know them pretty well?” he asked as he folded his arms on the table in front of himself.

Salia turned and gave him a wary look.

“I have lived with them for nearly a year” she explained as she turned her focus back to the laptops “I would never go so far as to call it a friendly experience but one does pick up on a few things in that amount of time... Why do you ask?”

Anton ran the tip of his tongue over his teeth as he thought out his next statement.

“This house is, interesting... Nearly empty! But still interesting...” he mused “I think they might be interesting as well”

The shoggoth let out a frustrated sigh as she hung both of her heads.

“They are both spoiled, lazy, terrible people and I lost all sympathy for them a long time ago!” she exclaimed without looking back at him.

“...I can understand that” nodded Anton as his face became thoughtful looking.

“...What would you like to know?” asked the shoggoth as she let out another sigh.

“Do they really live here alone?” questioned Anton.

“Yes” answered Salia “And they have the entire time I have been here”

“This is a pretty big house for only two people and a maid” mused Anton “There's nearly a dozen rooms with hardly anything in them. And do neither of them use the master bedroom? Because it's completely empty in there?”

“They have left it that way with the hope that their Mother will wish to use it again one day” explained Salia.

“I see...” mumbled Anton as he nodded again “So are they close with their Mother then?”

“No” declared Salia bluntly “They are not”

Anton tilted his head and smirked at the shoggoth.

Salia sighed again.

“I apologize for being blunt! But I do not wish for you to have any misplaced sympathies for them. They do not deserve any kindness!” she exclaimed as her puddles on the keyboards began to quiver furiously.

Anton glanced at the laptop screens as hidden passwords were quickly entered into the waiting boxes. As each one failed it was replaced almost instantaneously as Salia typed them in using her own mass.

“They will make efforts to contact their Mother fairly often. Aside from an occasional returning phone call she does not reciprocate” explained Salia as a pair of her strange eyes became focused on each of the two screens in front of her “She is technically the one who hired me but I have never met her personally. Nor have I ever been aware of any time that she has even seen her daughters while I have been here”

“Really?” questioned Anton as he shifted his gaze from the shoggoth to the screens and back “Not even at any of the holidays?”

“No” declared Salia as she shook both of her heads “She does not seem to regard her daughters as being worthy of any priority”

“Do you have any idea why she wouldn't want to see them?” asked Anton as he looked from one shoggoth to the other.

“...No, I don't know of any specific reason” answered Salia “Whenever they have asked to spend time with her she has always claimed that she is busy with her work”

Anton nodded as his face became thoughtful.

“...How old are they?” he asked.

“I'm not sure of their exact age?” replied Salia as her brow creased in thought “They are in their early twenties at the very least, but beyond that I can't be sure. They seem much younger than they really are”

“I got that same impression” nodded Anton “Their bedrooms are... sparse, its hard to even discern any individuality between them”

Salia stopped typing and turned to look at him.

“...What? Don't look at me like that!” exclaimed Anton with a smile “It's not like I'm in there rolling around in their panties! I'm just trying to find out more about the people that kidnapped me, that's all!”

Still smiling, Anton stared back at the shoggoth as she seemed to assess him. After a moment she turned back to the computers and continued typing.

“From what I understand, they've spent the majority of their lives living in boarding school settings” she said without looking at him “They have continued to live that same lifestyle here. They request the same menu items every week. They keep their bedrooms sparsely decorated, as you've apparently noticed. They rarely ever leave the house. And they spend nearly every waking hour together. At this point, I'm not sure that they even know how to live any other way”

“Wait? They never leave?” asked Anton as he creased his eyebrows “Ever?”

“It is very rare, and only for short periods” explained Salia “They often come back in very somber moods that can last for days”

“...So, they don't have careers then?” questioned Anton.

“No, their mother pays for their living expenses. She is quite successful and wealthy” explained Salia.

“Hm... What about their little hunting trips? I'm guessing those are pretty rare as well?” asked Anton as he glanced in the general direction of the dungeon “It really doesn't seem like that dungeon down there has seen very much use... Although I guess it could be the case that you're just amazing at cleaning it”

“I would be!” boasted Salia “But so far that has not been necessary. You are their first attempt at acquiring a victim. And I think its safe to say that this has been a complete failure for them!”

“Really!?” exclaimed Anton as he cocked his eyebrow at the shoggoth “I could tell they weren't very experienced but I'm surprised to hear that I'm their very first!”

A sudden frantic scratching sound filled the kitchen and the Salia at the stove raised a long tentacle from the stalk that her body rested on and reached across the kitchen to the door that led to the backyard. A tiny happy looking Pomeranian zipped into the house and raced across the room to Anton. The little dog wore a pink collar with the name Molly etched onto a brass tag. She jumped up and down at Anton's chair and yipped for his attention. Grinning, he reached down and rubbed her ears as well as the side of her face and little dog grunted happily at his touch.

“Molly!” called the Salia at the stove as her long tentacle glided across the room while carrying a bowl of food.

Molly instantly turned her head as her name was called. She took off at a run and chased the floating food bowl while barking in excitement. Salia set the food down on a pink plastic mat that was shaped like a dog bone and Molly began to devour it immediately.

Anton was grinning as he turned back to the smaller Salia on the table.

“Do you think that might be why they put you in the freezer?” he asked “So that you wouldn't know that anything was happening?”

“I had the same theory and I wouldn't doubt that it was the truth” mumbled the shoggoth “It would certainly be within their scope of planning”

“Have they ever put you in the freezer before?” asked Anton.

Salia narrowed all of her eyes and nodded both of her heads.

“Oh yes, I have been frozen many times...” she mumbled through her clenched teeth.

“But you don't think they would have done something during any of those times?” asked Anton.

The shoggoth shook both of her heads again.

“It's very unlikely as they have never left me frozen for very long. And even if I wasn't ordered to clean up the mess, there is no way that I could believe they would be able to clean it well enough that I wouldn't be able to detect something” she explained “And besides that, this was the first time that I was frozen since I completed the dungeon for them”

“So then that dungeon is new?” questioned Anton “And you're the one that put it together!?”

“Yes, they designed it, ordered all the pieces for it and had me build it for them. The whole thing was completed only a few weeks ago” explained Salia as she smiled broadly “And I find it very poetic that they would be the first victims to fully experience it!”

Anton couldn't help but to chuckle at her glee.

“...There's actually something else that I've noticed and want to ask you about. At first I thought that maybe it was some kind of trick, or a game they were trying to play. And, I guess that could still be the case though at this point I can't imagine that it is... These two are Dark Elves, adult Dark Elves, but not only do they not use magic in any way, they don't even seem to be familiar with it!?” he stated as he raised his eyebrows at the shoggoth “At all!?”

“No they don't!” exclaimed Salia as she turned to him with a perplexed look on her own face “It's very odd but aside from fleeting glimpses of minute usage, I've never seen either of them utilize any form of magic! And even the small amounts of power that I have seen have been completely unrefined and seem to be done on a subliminal level! I don't think they actually know how to manifest their own magic! And honestly I've begun to think it's possible that they may not even realize that they can!”

“Hm...” mused Anton as he thoughtfully cradled his chin in his hand “They have shown that they can use it though, right? You don't think there's anything actually wrong with them, do you?”

“No, from what I've seen I would say they certainly can use magic” reassured the shoggoth “They just simply don't?”

“Hm...” pondered Anton “Interesting...”

“Master North, your meal is ready!” exclaimed the fully formed Salia as she glided up to Anton's seat with a dinner tray in her hands.

“Oh wonderful! Thank you so much!” cried Anton she set the tray down in front of him.

The meal laid out across the tray consisted of a large toasted sandwich with fried tomatoes, onions and melted cheese over sliced beef. And a bowl of vegetable soup with a bullion broth.

“This looks delicious!” praised Anton as he turned to look up at the standing Salia “Thank you again!”

“You're very welcome!” she exclaimed as she folded her hands in front of herself and gave him a closed eyed smile.

Tension suddenly seemed to fill the air as Anton stared at the waiting shoggoth. Slowly she opened her strange eyes and looked down at him. Her smile never faltered as dozens and dozens of new eyes began to open all over her body and then slowly turn to stare directly at him.

Molly let out a low growl from across the room.

“...Hm, alright then. Come on now, let's get this over with!” sighed Anton as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest “I don't have all day!”

Without a word the shoggoth exploded into a wave of withering tentacles that instantly engulfed Anton in darkness.

Blackness. Formless. Empty and suffocating. This was the Void.

Considered to be the cushion on which all of Reality sits. The Void is the expanse of nothingness that separates Terra from both Heaven and Hell, or the celestial and chaotic planes, as well as the artificial realms. And beyond all that, the Life Stream where the souls of the living ebb and flow through birth and death.

It is from the Life Stream that the beings populating the Void are believed to have originated. Souls that have somehow slipped out of the stream itself would have found their way into the Void and become it's myriad of twisted denizens known collectively as voidlings.

Whether this was true or not Salia couldn't say, nor did she care, she like all the other voidlings was essentially unconcerned with her own origin. The voidlings existed, and they were each capable of producing more of their own kind and thus promoting their own species. This was all that mattered.

Whether they were an intentional creation of the Gods or a mistake generated out of a flaw in Reality would not change anything for them either way, and as such this question was considered irrelevant to the voidlings as a whole.

Salia's consciousness flexed outward as it expanded in the empty, openness of the Void. The tight constraints of existing on Terra were such a bother that she couldn't help but reel in elation at the freedom of non-existence. To swim through a mar of chaos, to be one with both bliss and oblivion. To visit ones own true home.

And such joy to have found a morsel worth bringing with her.

To say why she acted how and when she did would be beyond even her own understanding. A call from so deep within her that she could not separate its voice from her own had made itself known in an instant.

Take it. Feel it. Own it. Must have it all.

What triggers were strong enough to cause her to break her own subservient nature? To pluck away this mind and steal it away to the Void? She could not say. She did not care. Here she would hold it. Know it. Feel every corner of this being. Mold it and strip it down until all that was worth having would be hers. And everything that wasn't worth having, could simply be discarded.

Guilt and pity were but meaningless ideas now. What is one mortal mind stolen from a world of billions. Nothing lost. So much to gain.

Now, to find it. So quickly will a mortal mind break in the freedom of the Void.

Ah. There. Good. Still whole.

Floating among the nothingness was a single tiny sphere of consciousness.

Life and thought. Memories and hopes. Dreams and fears. All free for her to know and taste. To touch and to take. One tiny mind. A single point of light. All alone in the darkness.

Salia spread wide in the great expanse and wrapped herself around the tiny ball of light.

Hunger and pleasure. Knowledge and power. All that this mind had to offer would now belong to her, forever.

Wait.

What. Laughing. No. How. Stop. Stop. Its wrong. It hurts.

This mind. Not afraid. Opportunity.

Salia couldn't move as the presence she thought was trapped within her began to swell in size.

No. It burns. Stop. Stop this now.

“No”

It spoke. How. Its wrong. No. Control. I will have it.

“No”

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Salia's formless conscious reeled in agony as the tiny ball of light erupted and grew into a blazing sun.

It burns. It burns. Stop.

Salia withered in her agony as the light began to slice her darkness into ribbons.

No. Please. Do not burn me away. Please.

Wrapping her torn being in on itself, the shoggoth cringed away from the massive sun that now blazed in front of her. The weight of its gravity condensed around her being, crushing her until she was nothing more but a tiny drop of shadow.

Please. No more. Surrender. Forgive me.

She quivered in horror as the sun dimmed and reformed itself, becoming a giant, burning eye that loomed above her as it focused on and then stared down at her tiny being.

Please. Wait.

“No”

The great eye blinked and exploded into a massive inferno of blazing heat, light and color.

Reeling in agony, Salia desperately tried to hold herself together and preserve as much of her existence as possible. As she was burned and engulfed by the exploding eye she could feel small pieces of her splintered mind and body being ripped away and then pulled into the heat around her. These pieces of her would then be absorbed into the heat itself, or burnt away into nothing.

Before losing herself completely she heard the voice speak once more.

“Horizon... Break...”

Salia collapsed into two puddles as the world snapped back into place around her. For a few moments she could feel nothing. Slowly her heavy dread eased away and she opened a single tiny eye.

Anton was looking down at her from his seat. He wore a closed mouth smile as he chewed away at a mouthful of sandwich. He closed his eyes and made sounds of satisfaction as he swallowed.

“Now this is an amazing sandwich!” he exclaimed “You've really done a great job with this!”

Salia stared at him as confusion marred her mind.

“Aw! Are you feeling small and broken?” asked Anton “Well take your time and put yourself back together whenever you're ready. No rush”

Salia blinked her single eye and reached out her awareness to check her condition. Her body that lay puddled against the kitchen floor didn't feel damaged in anyway but she was still too afraid to move. The smaller part of her on the table felt cold but was no less alive than the rest of her. She opened a few more tiny eyes and slowly began to shift her form until her head and neck took shape again.

“Feeling better?” asked Anton.

“What, happened?” questioned Salia as she blinked her four full sized eyes back into existence.

“You assaulted me and sucked my mind into the Void where you tried to absorb my consciousness” explained Anton as he nonchalantly dipped a corner of his sandwich into his soup “It didn't work out for you though”

“...I, I'm so sorry!” cried Salia as all of her eyes went wide “I don't know what came over me!”

“It happens” said Anton with a shrug “You weren't the first Voidling to try that and I'm sure you won't be the last”

“...You've been to the Void before!?” exclaimed Salia.

“Many times” said Anton as he nodded absently “First time was the worst, very annoying!”

“...Who, what are you?” asked Salia as she gathered herself together and began to lift herself partially up off the floor.

“Me?” said Anton as he shrugged with indifference “I'm just a man. A man who's enjoying a nice sandwich and having a conversation with a lifeform that probably shouldn't even exist”

Salia opened more and more new eyes as she stared at Anton.

“This is really hitting the spot!” exclaimed Anton with a smile “Again, thank you!”

“...Of course! It was my pleasure!” cried Salia as she rose up completely and retook her humanoid form “I should really see to tidying up the mess though!”

Anton nodded as Salia bowed and turned to head back to the stove area.

“Oh, Salia!” called Anton as he began to tear the last half of the sandwich into smaller bite sized pieces “Before I forget...”

“Yes?” said Salia as she turned back to face him. Her entire being was little more than eyes now.

“You wouldn't happen to be brave enough to try that again?” asked Anton as he gave her a playfully questioning look “Would you!?”

“...No! I would never!” cried Salia as all her eyes became focused on him.

“That's good to hear! Very good to hear... Because I would honestly just hate for you to have to spend the rest of your existence, crushed down and turned into a tiny living fuel-cell that was sealed inside a jar and then used as a sentient Mana battery. In fact, I think that if something as terrifying and as painful as that were to somehow happen to you, it really would be just so very, very horrible!” said Anton as he dipped a piece of the sandwich into his soup “...Don't you agree?”

The shoggoth went completely still for several moments as she silently stared back at Anton and digested all that he had just said.

“...Yes!” she chirped as all her eyes widened at once “That would be, very, horrible!”

“Good! I'm so glad that we agree!” said Anton as he popped the bite of sandwich into his mouth.

All of Salia's eyes disappeared from her body which left her to look as human-like as possible. She bowed again and gave Anton a warm smile before turning and quickly making her way back to the stove.

“So, how are we doing with those passwords?” asked Anton.

The smaller Salia on the table quickly reformed herself and continued to furiously type away at the laptops.

“I apologize for the delay! I'm afraid I have made no progress as of yet Master North! I'll be sure to redouble my efforts!” cried Salia “...I-in the meantime, was there perhaps anything else you would like to know about the Dark Elves!?”

“Well, some general info I suppose” mused Anton as he looked up at the ceiling “I know their names are Kianna and Fiona but beyond that I don't know anything about them. Not even their last name”

“Vale!” cried Salia “Their surname is Vale! And their Mothers name is Olivia Vale! I'm afraid I don't have any information on their Father! They have never said anything about him, at least not while I have been here!”

“Hm, interesting...” mused Anton “You said their Mother was well off. Do you know what she does?”

“She is the owner and CEO of an investment company known as the “Vale Investment Firm'” explained Salia “From what I understand she has been very successful with her endeavors!”

“'Vale Investment Firm'” repeated Anton “Interesting...”

“Oh, Master North! I have the passwords!” exclaimed Salia as both laptops suddenly booted to their desktops.

“Really? Excellent!” smiled Anton “You got them both at the same time!?”

“They were identical...” said Salia “I do believe this was probably a coincidence, and not intentional on their part though”

“What was the password?” asked Anton.

“'Olivia'” answered Salia “Their Mothers name”

“I see...” nodded Anton “Well, excellent job! I really appreciate all your help!”

“It was a pleasure!” exclaimed Salia as she bowed her head “Is there anything else I can do to be of service to you!? Anything at all!?”

“I don't believe so...” mused Anton “At least not anything that I can think of off the top of my head...”

The full sized Salia glided up to the table and the smaller one zipped to the edge where she was immediately reabsorbed into the larger mass.

“Then if it's all right with you I'd love to take my leave now!” cried the now single shoggoth.

“Sure, of course!” said Anton as he rose from his chair “I'll see you out”

Moving at a quick pace as her lower half slid effortlessly across the floor, Salia led the way through the house and to the front door. Once outside she turned her torso around at the waist and bowed to Anton.

“It was a pleasure to serve you Master North!” she claimed as she rose out of her bow “I do hope that you truly enjoyed your meal!”

“I did! And thank you for all your help today Maphoxud'desulux'cral'salia'favahsas” said Anton with a nod “It was a pleasure to meet you as well!”

All four of the shoggoth's eyes widened as her face paled.

“O-of course!” she cried as she quickly bowed again “The pleasure was all mine!”

“By the way...” said Anton as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper “I found a notebook up in one of the Dark Elves rooms and borrowed a page from it to write down my number for you... You do still plan to call me, I assume?”

“Oh, of course! Yes! I will certainly need that!” cried Salia as she tentatively reached out with a very thin tendril and took the offered piece of paper “Once I've spoken with my Master I shall contact you immediately, and inform you of when and how he shall make his proceedings!”

“I would very much appreciate that!” smiled Anton as he watched the tendril, and the paper it carried, disappear as it was sucked into and then reabsorbed into the shoggoth's gelatinous body “I hope to hear from you soon then!”

“Yes! ...Though it may take me some time to reach my Master! Possibly even a week!” explained Salia as she slowly backed away “I will, without question, contact you when I do though!”

“That's good to hear!” smiled Anton as he gave her a wave goodbye “Safe travels then!”

“Yes, farewell!” exclaimed Salia as she turned around and glided down the walkway towards the drive. Once she reached the end of the walkway, Salia quickly melted herself down into a puddle and took off across the ground at an incredible speed.

After watching her quickly disappear, Anton chuckled to himself and closed the door as he made his way back towards the dungeon to give the dark elves another quick check in.