Chapter 75: Hexknights And Curiosity

Subject: ??? => Inis (Closest Match) Location: Arlcada Territories - Count Kylant's Settlement Her head pounded, and overstrained limbs ached with the onset of virastarvation. Thoughts blurred together, and only the drive to survive motivated her body to fight on. "Don't hate me," something inside warned. "This life can't end here!" Inis's arms were grabbing hold of the closest of the armored strangers. These were knights. The best target, the one carrying no identifiable weapons, lay still on the floor. What have I done? she lamented. Why can't I control my body? Her whole body was cold. The pain was unbearable, unlike anything she'd ever felt before. "Release him!" one of the knights roared, striding forward and yanking the man from her hands. Like a wilderbeast, Inis summoned magic almost instinctively, rooting this second knight in place so she could press hands to flesh. She saw... so much vitality in this knight. Inis swallowed hard. "The other one said we need to drain a human," the inner voice explained. Perhaps this was a way of separating herself from her actions, and the resulting guilt? It didn't matter. She began to drain life away, circulating that energy within her own body as best she could. Having not studied the principle, it was a feeble attempt to more efficiently manage these scarce resources. Though she couldn't control her body, she could control the flow of vira energy. "What are you doing!?" another knight screamed. "Stop, Noa!" the target compelled. "Watch for spinners. She won't kill me." Inis sensed uncertainty in the knight's voice. She really didn't believe she would, without a doubt, survive this attack. Inis didn't know either. "Spinners... what is that?" the inner voice asked. The things I was killing. Up above, and around the knights, she automatically answered. Talking to herself like this, it was safe to assume she'd gone insane. The knight groaned. She must have felt Inis sapping away at her strength because. "If she's not a Bearer of Blue, how can she do this?" a small knight inquired, glancing sidelong at the one called Noa. Having sapped enough to strength to stave off immediate unconsciousness, her previously-supressed virasenses activated automatically in response to the danger of having so many knights around. Through this lens, the two smaller knights in front of her looked bizarre. Had she not had so much experience probing the world around her with magic, she might not have noticed it. It was like one person layered upon another. A false face. A false body. A false form. Reason temporarily overriding reaction , Inis deactivated her virasenses to conserve energy. It wasn't worth dying for her curiosity. Tendrils of blue rose from her body, grabbing hold of the remaining knights. She was no longer in control of her magic. Her head tilted up in response to a low clicking. The spinners above were making their move. "I'm sorry," she heard her own voice pleading. "I'm sorry too," the inner voice repeated, "but we must survive." It felt like someone else was talking. through her, but these really were her own thoughts, finally leaking out of her mouth. This was an uncomfortable sensation. What did she have to be sorry for? She couldn't remember. "Please... I can't control my body anymore. I don't want to die, but I don't want to do this!" The voice continued. Wait. I'm hurting someone. Which of these inner voices is mine? Two knights grabbed Inis's arms from behind, pulling them back and holding them still. Her body didn't struggle against the attack, but she could feel how compelled her body was to live. The tendrils drained their targets, until their grip on her arms weakened. They collapsed behind her. The spinners above descended, as if in slow motion. Those hiding among the ruined buildings began their approach. "We will run," the inner voice decided. A muted burst of energy shone a dull white light on the darkened surroundings. "Inistra, have you been dominated by magic affliction?" a voice suddenly asked. Inis's body was suddenly her own, and something inside was filled with a dawning realization. She stared up at the leader knight. The Hexknight had returned, dropping three armored corpses at Inis's feet. A flood of stream-of-consciousness thoughts swept past. Subject: ??? => Inis (Closest Match) Location: Arlcada Territories - Count Kylant's Settlement No. This is wrong. I'm... I've taken my host's body. This irresistible survival instinct is... It's as if my whole being is screaming for me to do whatever it takes. I never meant to compromise my rival's autonomy until absolutely necessary. It was wrong indeed. She'd learned so much from her host. She'd meant to sleep and continue to learn until it was time to come out. The host was stupid, hence this turn of events. The powerful Hexknight drew her weapon and vanished in white light, leaving a frozen afterimage. All around them, spinners burst in a violent display, painting the surroundings with blood. The Hexknight returned, having eliminated the closest threats in an instant. I think she only became stupid when I was born, Shade remembered from the memories she'd seen. Shade was the name her host had given her. It was the only identity she had. Even this "gender" was arbitrarily inherited as a result of the host's will. "To be honest, I don't know what's going on," the host said. "Why am I in so much pain? I don't feel like myself." The Hexknight kicked the dead humans at their feet. "No matter. Here! These are vile creatures. They made the lives of the citizens in the region miserable. No one will miss them. It is a guilt-free act of survival." Inis's body did not act, for the one in control knew now that she was not really Inis, but the other... Shade had recovered her senses now that the host body was not at immediate risk of dying. The real Inis did not feed on humans as a rule. Her reason for restricting herself were not very clear to Shade, but they were rooted deep. The spinners around them were closing in. "After attempting to steal the lives of my living knights, you won't use the bodies of dead predators? I don't understand you, but you've earned my curiosity." Before Inis or Shade could react, the powerful stranger cast a powerful spell. Her hands lit up bright purple, and, then her body started to slump over. "I... don't know... how this goes..." she panted, just as a terrible force took hold of Shade and Inis's body. "But I... refuse... to let your violence fade from this world." Of its own volition, Shade felt Inis's body kneel down and grab the throat of one of the dead men. Inis was silent. Shade was no longer privy to her thoughts. She feared what her host might think. "As a Hexaline Knight of Shroud, I command you to drain the vira from this corpse and use it for survival." Shade managed to pass full control of the body back over to the real Inis. Still, Inis did nothing. "I've killed more people than I can count, but I think this moment is more agonizing than risking death on the battlefield. Arise, my loyal children." "What?" one of the mumbled as she came to. "What were- We don't deserve forgiveness, my lord!" The Hexknight smiled sweetly, with hint of guilt secreted away in her fair features. "You don't require forgiveness, for you've done everything you could. I gave you an impossible task. I almost let you die. Let me make up for it." The knights looked shaken by the attack, but wholly devoted to this bizarre Hexaline Knight. "Our lives are yours to spend," another knight pleaded. Shade had learned from Inis about deceptive words, and it was clear this human didn't believe she would have died. This powerful owner, the Hexaline Knight, was probably the reason for her assuredness. The spinner corpses around were difficult for Shade to quantify. Inis, dominated by the powerful knight, finished draining one of the corpses of their residual life. All that remained was a pile of bones and dense musculature still clinging on. Horrified, Inis slid onto her backside and kicked away from the dead. She leaned forward again, clasping her hands together. Tears dripped down and wet the dirt. The knights standing around her couldn't decide how to feel. Only the one named Luc had willingly allowed his body to be used as fuel. The others resented her for attacking, and the only reason they seemed to be frozen in place was because their leader had taken an interest in Inis. Now that she thought about it... it wasn't really Shade's fault that her host was in this predicament. Even though she'd accidentally seized control of the host's body and drained the knights, the real Inis had placed them both in this situation by recklessly hunting the spinners here in the first place. "Continue on your own, Inistra," the Hexknight commanded. No matter Shade's perspective, Inis had a tenuous grasp of her surroundings. She was far too reactive, having given in to the pleasure of progress. Progress toward her goals of wielding more and more powerful magic. Her body was shaking, and a bout of dizziness almost knocked her off her knees. Shade thought the two of them were going to succumb, until... "Understood." Inis cast her powerful siphoning magic on the corpse, pulling in nutrients to replace that which she had exhausted in her drunk fervor. "Incredible," exclaimed the frailest of the knights. "I've only seen those bearing the Blue Mark stealing vitality like that. What about you, Noxianna?" Inis's eyes were downcast such that Shade could only make out the one named Noxianna in the periphery. She looked down at Inis very seriously, clad in thick armor and carrying something Shade couldn't identify. If Inis didn't know of it, neither did Shade. Threat? Shade wondered. "Yes, Luc. And yet, she retains her senses. There is only vira deprivation and desperation to blame for anything of the sort." "Yes, yes, but I want to know more..." the strong one complained, like Inis wasn't even there. She fed Inis, so Shade was inclined to believe she didn't want them dead, but Shade couldn't ignore her power. Inherited instinct reasoned that it was usually best to eliminate threats before they became a problem, not after. But could this creature even be hunted? "I will ask her more when she wakes up" "Wakes up?" A knight asked. "What's that supposed to mean?" As if waiting for this powerful figure's permission, the exhaustion hit. It was frightful, like the sleep of nonexistence closing in. Shade experienced it just as Inis did, and it was a familiar feeling for one who existed as an auxiliary consciousness in another's body. Familiarity did not always breed comfort. Wisdom from Inis. Inis's eyelids grew heavy and slid closed. The strong creature vanished, and arms cradled Inis's body as she fell. "Sleep, my curious pet. When you wake, let's have a long chat," a voice whispered.