When they arrived at the fifth artifact, the sun was already starting to set. They had lost way too much time. Thomas scratched his head with an annoyed expression, he really hoped they could do it in a single day, but it seemed less and less likely. That’s when he felt a chilling gre on him, and his usual anxiety spiked up. He turned around and noticed not one but two figures waiting for them at the edge of the ke. There was Alexei, that much was obvious, but his face seemed to have changed quite a bit. He looked even more lovely, his skin fairer, his eyes bright, with revealing clothes of high quality, as if he had been taking care of his appearance, but this wasn’t a result someone could obtain in a few hours. It was obvious that the game’s storyline had been warped quite a bit.

  Next to him was another man, bigger and taller, even more than Bael, and he had a neutral expression letting nothing slip out. However, it was his gre that made Thomas’ hair stand on his arms. Even if he seemed uninterested, his eyes were studying the Shaman, looking through him with a hunger that was spine chilling. It was as if he could see underneath Thomas’ clothes, as if the slim man was only a piece of meat that the new familiar couldn’t wait to taste.

  Thomas didn’t let go of Simon’s hand, even after nding on the wet grass. The knight tilted his head.

  “What’s wong ?”

  “That guy. Who is he ?”

  It was obvious he was a familiar, they could both feel it, and logically they probably should have met him during their trip, but since they had speedrunned all of it in a single day, he had simply appeared next to the artifact since he was supposed to be here at this point in the story. There was no way either Thomas or Simon could know who he was, and the Shaman didn’t expect an answer, but the commander still spoke normally, as if nothing was wrong.

  “He’s Staniss, don’t you remember ? We met him on the way, he was herding sheeps. Are you having trouble with your memories ? Maybe you should take a break…”

  Thomas turned to him with his eyes widened. He pursed his lips for a while before asking :

  “Simon, how did we get here ?”

  The knight seemed to hesitate.

  “You wanted to speedrun the game so we flew… No, wait, we walked… Was it in a carriage ? Yes, the twins rented a carriage. No, that can’t be right, they stayed at the manor…”

  He seemed confused, unable to remember or even recognize that there was a problem with his memories. Thomas started to shake and turned to Bael.

  “I thought he would be alright since he was with me, what’s happening ?!”

  The king gently stroked the Shaman’s hair.

  “If it’s like in Hell, a god must be running all of it. You can’t fight a god.”

  “But I am ! I’m doing it, I’m not following the storyline !”

  “It doesn’t mean you’re alright.”

  Bael showed a sad smile and kissed Thomas’ forehead.

  “You’re going insane, honey. Look, I’m not even real.”

  “Yes, you are !”

  The Shaman tried to grab the king’s arm and appeared confused when he didn’t feel anything in his hand.

  “What’s going on ?”

  At this point, he was certain that something was wrong. He was probably suffering from psychosis, most likely because of all the trauma he had accumuted. Deciding that it was the obvious expnation, he quickly lit up another cigarette and inhaled rge amounts of smoke, but curiously things didn’t get better. Bael, who had been observing his frantic actions with eyes full of pity, started to change. His sad smile grew wider, forming a crescent moon from ear to ear. An expression Thomas knew very well. It was the same face as the student who had assaulted him and Mariane back in Hell.

  He tried to stop his shaking body but it was no use. His voice was now a pathetic cry.

  “Stop smiling like that, you’re scaring me…”

  The king’s face continued to get distorted, until he looked like a cursed beast, like Thomas himself in his Shaman form.

  Next to him, the hand crushed by his strong grip, Simon was trying to free himself.

  “Stop, you’re hurting me ! Thomas, what’s happening ?”

  He didn’t receive an answer. He could only watch as Thomas was lowering his head, curling on himself like a scared little boy, crying words that the knight couldn’t understand, speaking to beings that weren’t here. But suddenly there was a shift. The Shaman stopped shaking. In fact, he stopped everything. His face was completely rexed, not a single muscle was contracted. His eyes were hollow. Then he slowly straightened up, lifting his head.

  “I have to go back.”

  With this single sentence, he deployed his wings and flew again, jumping over the ke until they reached a small isnd where a temple was built. He didn’t put a magic barrier around Simon to help him fly, and the commander was wincing in pain as he was dragged by his arm, held above the ground like a ragdoll.

  “Wait, Thomas, stop !”

  But the Shaman didn’t seem to be able to hear him. Once they were back on the ground, in front of the building, he didn’t give Simon enough time to stand on his feet, and pulled on his arm again to bring him inside the temple. At this point, the knight was screaming in pain.

  “Please, stop, it hurts !”

  Once inside, Thomas pushed Simon on the altar, but the commander decided that it was already too much.

  “I told you to fucking stop !”

  In a cloud of blue light, the Shaman was projected at the other end of the room, into a stone wall.

  “Get back to your senses or I’ll do it again !”

  The knight had changed. His face was covered in scales and fur, with big pointy teeth behind his lips. He stood on the altar, ready to use his magic again, looking at Thomas who was slowly standing up. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the Shaman’s eyes were filled with pink light.

  “You’re right. I’m bad, I’m terrible, but I need to go back.”

  Without stopping, transforming into a beast too, Thomas walked to the altar.

  “I need to go back and you said you would help me.”

  Simon felt a pain in his heart, his conscience pricked. It was true that he had promised, but was it really right to let himself be treated that way ? He bit his lip and shook his head.

  “Not like that. I don’t want to help you if you hurt me.”

  “So, you are a liar then.”

  Thomas was now standing in front of the altar, looking up at Simon who was standing on it. His cold eyes, full of contempt, were too much for the knight to handle.

  “I’m not a liar. But if you are violent with me, you are no better than the people who hurt you.”

  “Then I’m no better. But I need you to go back, so I’ll stop. Climb down, I’ll be gentle.”

  Simon hesitated. He didn’t know if he could believe Thomas anymore, not in this state. If he was honest, the commander knew that the Shaman had never shown any kindness to him, any love or affection, every interaction had been full of stress and pain, and Simon was always the one to make the first step. But everytime he was about to stop hoping, small things happened. Like the time Thomas had patted his head while calling him a good boy, or when he had said that he trusted him. Even today, when he didn’t let go of Simon’s hand and told that he didn’t mind that much having sex with him, all of that was like a bandage in his heart hiding all the bruises. And once again, this expressionless face saying that he needed him and that he would be gentle, it was another thing he couldn’t resist.

  Knowing very well he could regret it, Simon climbed down the altar, bent over, and lowered his pants.

  “I trust you, okay ? Be gentle.”

  “I will.”

  Thomas kept his word. Even in his beast form, with bright pink eyes, he didn’t get forceful or violent. It didn’t mean he was nice either. They simply had sex, with no feeling or words. He didn’t cry, wasn’t stressed out, wasn’t aroused by his Shamanic nature, nothing. Just silence. Somehow it made Simon feel even worse, as if he was only used like a sexdoll. But, maybe it was because he was a familiar, his body couldn’t reject Thomas. All the touches, the feeling of the Shaman’s penis inside him, it made him feel so good and liberated, as if it was what he was meant to do. Thomas’ breathing on his neck felt like a burning fme that consumed him. When he came, as usual, he felt his energy drained to fill the artifact, but if usually it was quite subtle, this time the knight had nothing left. After repairing three artifacts while recuperating from a near death experience, he was empty.

  Thomas started to walk away, but stopped, looked at Simon for a while, and ultimately shrugged.

  “I’ll need someone else for the sixth.”

  Without a word of concern, he took the limp body of the fainted knight and threw it on his shoulder, walking away with Simon’s pants still lowered. The artifact was shining brightly, but Thomas’ face was somber.