Veraform watched as Mechamputax emerged from the portal. Veraform decided not to re-summon the others for now. Mechamputax was his power house so he saved until he could afford the summoning.

That’s what he told himself.

He also told himself he was calm and level headed. He was so calm and level headed that he would have Mechamputax attempt to sacrifice a rat, and this time Veraform would stay composed regardless of what happened. A lesser soul was a small thing. Inconsequential compared to what could be gained. So Veraform would experiment. Perhaps Mechamputax would be better at performing the sacrifice. Perhaps it takes more than one rat to gain anything.

Perhaps Veraform still felt this situation was unfair and that it simply must get better if he just pushed it harder.

Veraform was wrong. Mechamputax held down a rat, and performed the sacrifice in much the same way Leo had. Veraform lost another lesser soul. He was angry but he would not act on it.

He told himself again, that this was a test. He knew he might gain nothing.

In his heart he hadn’t accepted that until it was confirmed.

Veraform recentered himself and considered his options. He had no rooms left to test, though he was uncertain what the sacrificial altar or ruined church were for.

He had 95 KP and several options to spend it on. The most expensive option, and therefore most powerful, Veraform reasoned, was the bonework devil. Presumably that was stronger than a bonework demon.

What were the differences between devils and demons? Veraform would find out soon enough. He was power hungry, and not of the soundest of mind after his losses.

Veraform watched as the KP drained and Mechamputax changed. Mechamputax and his decoy drew close to each other, moving at the same time for the first time.

They moved together and the bones started intertwining in some twisted embrace. Some bones melded together, some smoothly and others slightly askew. Other bones snapped before adjusting and resetting. The end result was a much thicker and sturdier rib cage, two left arms, both long but one ending in a fine point, the other ending in a hand but having extra bones floating about the length of the arm, the right arm was thicker and shorter with a wide forearm. The legs were also much thicker and sturdier. The skull, having recently been two skulls, had a protrusion at the top and an additional eye socket centered above the others. He stood taller by virtue of not having a slouch anymore, and his chest had a bit of frost where a heart would be. The frostborn heart was buried deep in one bone or another now.

“Ahh haha. A fresh body and a more agile mind. To finally speak is liberating.” Mechamputax’s new voice was deeper and much less ragged and airy.

“My facsimile. I want to look at it.” He strode with heavy steps to the nearest sigil room, which was already beginning to develop a portal.

The creature that emerged was very similar to Mechamputax, save for a lack of glowing eyes, leaking blood, and the frost.

Mechamputax raised its larger arm and felt the skull of the decoy before swapping his spirit into it. With the swap the eyes of the decoy lit up and blood began leaking from the creature. Mechamputax paced around himself before swapping back and turning to face himself. These movements and explorations continued as Mechamputax spoke.

“I am obligated to thank you. This body will lend itself to a much easier time fighting, not to mention the fact that i can finally speak.” He emphasized the final word. “A voice means much when you aim to demoralize your foes.” Everytime the devil swapped bodies his voice lept. It lent itself to a very eerie sounding monologue.

Veraform was enjoying Mechamputax’s newfound eloquence. This was the most promising thing that had happened in a long moment.

“So many savory creatures have come and gone and I’ve lacked the power to properly enjoy them. But now,” the ‘now’ dropped into a low growl, “I can conquer them.”

“Mechamputax,” Veraform called experimentally.

“Yes, my master?”

That was a good sign. Veraform didn’t need another arrogant minion like Kedipaxi.

“Tell me, do you know anything about the sacrificial altar?” Veraform asked.

“My intuition tells me you simply make the sacrifices and hope that one day you’ve made enough to get a response from something stronger.” He didn’t stop his dance with himself as he replied.

“How much is enough?”

“You can’t know until it happens. My guess, if they’re anything like me, is too much.”

Veraform pondered the altar. He had six lesser souls, one slighter, two minor, and one common, not including Mechamputax’s.

Without Mechamputax’s warning Veraform might have tried sacrificing that common soul. He would wait for Kedipaxi before sacrificing anything now.

Veraform was in a good mood again. He didn’t need to indulge in his desire to reach for power without thought for now. He could wait. In the meantime he would summon the minions he slew. Not only that, but he would repay them. Zelphy would gain ‘improved spellcasting:glamour’, which Veraform gained when he mana infused her only a day ago, and Leo would become a greater imp. Veraform didn’t feel bad, so much as he felt good and wanted to share that feeling with his doubtlessly unenthused minions.

15 KP for zelphy’s upgrade and 20 KP for Leo’s, leaving 10. Foolish, perhaps but Veraform was confident he could recoup his losses.

When Veraform resummoned Zelphy she very slowly floated down the length of the fairy tree trunk before settling in a spot in the air about halfway down. There was a change and she shouted out a “BOO!” before giggling herself onto the floor. Veraform realized she had been invisible as she floated down and hoped to surprise him, though he could sense her anyway.

“Very intimidating Zelphy. I’m sure the adventurers will never expect you.”

Zelphy revelled in the praise as she pulled herself to the ichor the tree produced.

Veraform admired the creature for only a moment before moving on. Leo would need to be summoned. This time as a greater imp.

The now familiar portal opened in one of the dimly lit sigil rooms. A hand with taut skin, about the size of Leo’s clawed hand emerged from the portal. It pulled behind it a creature about two feet tall that resembled the imp before. This was different in that instead of looking unbalanced with oversized hands it looked like its skin was made for a slightly smaller creature. There were places where the skin was pulled so tight bone and tendons were visible under the flesh.

Leo unfurled crooked wings before taking flight and calling out in the familiar nasally voice. Veraform was a little surprised it hadn’t changed.

“Oh, of course the master had a plan for me when he slew me, oh what a wise and generous master!”

Veraform thought more and more that the praise was flattery everytime Leo spoke. It didn’t matter. Leo was loyal, by virtue of lacking a real choice.

Veraform took a look at his menu and realized he had two minions he had yet to test.

The dark pixie, and the whispering shadow.

The dark pixie, as it turned out, required a lesser soul. When summoned it descended from the fairy tree like a normal pixie, though it immediately made its way down to the third floor sigil room, where it could dip itself in a bowl of vile fluid. It clung to the small gold nugget that rested in the bowl. A small purple light submerged in a greenish gray fluid. Veraform called out to the pixie. He wasn’t sure what he wanted it to do, but he knew he wanted it to do something other than sit uselessly.

It took some prodding on Veraforms part but eventually the pixie floated out of the bowl before plummeting to the floor and vanishing.

Veraform was baffled. He couldn’t sense it. Before panic had time to set in a portal opened in a different sigil room and the tiny mote of light emerged.

That could be useful for distractions. Veraform would keep the creature around. That left him with five rats, possibly four depending on how useful this whispering shadow was going to be.

When Veraform began summoning the shadow however, he realized something. The whispering shadow didn’t use a lesser soul. The summoning process pulled loosely at his remaining common soul and Veraform excitedly surrendered it.

Without any fanfare a shadow darkened in Mechamputax’s room.

When Mechamputax turned to face it, the shadow shifted to another wall out of sight.

Veraform could hear it. So faint that it shouldn’t possibly be heard by anything other than Veraform. Whispers. Somehow Veraform knew he wouldn’t be the only one hearing it despite it’s nearly imperceptible volume. Veraform prodded at the creature and nothing changed.

“Shadow. Speak.”

“It cannot,” Mechamputax spoke. “The creature is meant to ramble incessantly. It won’t be able to show you what it can do until someone enters.” He had ceased his seemingly perpetual dance.

“We will have to wait and see then won’t we?” And he would.