In a dark place they didn’t know, a number of people were held captive for ab amount of time they couldn’t really keep track of. They were told nothing as to why they were there, and could do nothing but wait in dread, until the time came when they were all taken out of their cells and told their captivity was coming to an end.

Alas, their fear was not misplaced. One by one, they were walked up some sort of altar, where the only source of light came from the ground, people in elaborate robes recited words most wouldn’t understand. And one by one, each prisoner died. They were told they were being granted the honor of proving themselves, and they would either prove capable of the role they had for them, or become a meal for their master.

Eventually came one girl’s turn. Droning of the robed people began anew, and soon she felt a sharp pain in her chest. After she cried out, as she panted and attempted to recover, however, there was suddenly silence. Then murmurs. Then an uproar of excited and celebrating voices.

 

But it wasn’t long before one spoke up above others ordering they proceed.

 

Once they did, the girl could feel the change in the air. Then something, a presence, as if pushing at her mind, big, eager, grasping, oppressive, suffocating, terrifying

And then, another. Subtler, calm, reaching. This one spoke to her. In a way. It wasn’t so much words as impressions, images, feelings, things which her mind had trouble translating into meaning at first, though it got increasingly easier.

 

This second entity assured it had no wish to eat her or bring her harm. While it could see what had happened to her fellow prisoners, it was also certain she was not going to die. Not from this, anyway. The fate that did await her, however, wasn’t particularly comforting. Lucky for her, it was willing to offer an alternative.

 

In essence, the two of them would hijack this fancy ritual. It would cross over instead of this cult’s “Master”, gain physical form, get rid of all these people, and set her free. Why? Because it didn’t want the other one out in her realm, and the she called to it the same way she did this other being.

 

Despite many reasons to hesitate, in the end it was the only choice that seemed less terrible than the others. Rather, it was actually the only choice she could make, save leave her fate to these lunatics instead. So she made it.

 

Next thing she knew, she was waking up, unaware of where but definitely far from the dark place of before, her new friend watching curiously, now not an “it” but definitely a “he”.