Chapter 133: Little Lady

"PRIA!!"

The boys hugged her tightly, taking deep breaths after risking their life so much. Pria, somewhat wounded, would use her magic to heal the children, bringing back their energy, as well as returning them to a normal state so they would move easier. She simply sighed as she sees the children in fear, knowing their life was at risk, not wanting to stay in a location like this. "It's alright. It's alright....We're safe here..." She would murmur, before the three would hear one more voice.

A Sound of crying.

The children would get up and try to investigate the area, realizing that there was something hidden across the cavern, accompanied by a running pool of water poured from the sides of the entryway. It was like a large temple, a structured base of operations with the walls carved to perfection, a doorway that stared back at them, the glyphs looking like eyes within the dark. In a way, it was almost like an entrance for the silhouettes that wandered around in the house. An invitation. Deep holes would be seen on the sides of the walls, where if they inserted themselves in it, would feel a cooler breeze around them, a chilled temperature before them. It was a tunnel, a tunnel for the house to travel through. The sounds of crying were getting louder, being easier to hear whenever the children got close to the water, making them peer over to see its source. Pria would follow them, allowing all three to gaze into such fluids, finally providing a source of light. The light, however, only showed its shallow end, yet still deep enough to bask and contain an entire body. Within the reflections, however, the boys would be able to see someone: A Girl. One near identical to that of Pria, whimpering and crying to herself, her body laying down, her arms covering her face. "Oh dear god...Not again.....not like that again.....Please anything but that...I want to go home....I want to go home...Please, God.....get me out of here....." her voice was soft, in pain even. It was clear she was overwhelmed by the events that unfolded, with the children looking up at Pria for an answer. The Mage merely stared down her reflection, watching her mirror be in fear and despair.

"It seems she's still scared....It's saddening somewhat..." She would say, staring down at the reflection, watching it take notice that it was being watched, looking back at her more contained self, the sides not wanting to say another word, nor do another action. Just staring into each other, watching each others windows to the very soul, with her mirror's tears masking her own. Harvard and Zazel grew confused and turned towards Pria, before she would take a deep breath and provide an explanation. "Let's just say.... the villagers weren't the only one under influence. While others were more aggressive and violent....I became somehow dormant, reserved even.....a mere shell that hides something else." Her demonstration would be shown as she'd tap the water, creating a ripple in it, making Pria fearful and try to run away, assuming it would break her body apart. The children would pay attention to such an answer, though as more questions came to them, an answer was also arrived when she was forced to be reserved: She was influenced by the author, forced to follow such a role.

"So....you're still technically Pria, right?" Harvard would ask, being somewhat nervous if this was a separate personality entirely. His answer would be given in the form of a nod, confirming his suspicions, having them breathe a sigh of relief.

"To put it simply, there are now two versions of us.....Since I made sure to heal my body enough to bypass such an illness. The one you see is....well....I'll say my real self. The other is my Dormant self. The body I have tends to yield to me, though it does tend to hesitate because of my other. It's also why there was a large mess made on the Silo... That was my doing, where my other was being threatened by a Monster."

"A Monster?"

Another nod would confirm his response. "Small. Green. Dirty Nails. I'm pretty sure I beat it within an inch of its life...." Just as she said those words, she quickly realized what she spoke and hoped it didn't scare the kids. To her shock, they seem impressed rather than fearful, almost as if they have done an equal amount of such murder. "....But I'm getting off track. To put it in layman's terms: She is me....and I am her.....though, it is somewhat hard to really convince her to...-" As she spoke such words, expressing her concerns on her other's fear, Zazel would move to Pria's position, looking down at the cowardly mirrored self, and spoke up.

"HEY! You hear that, Other Pria!? Quit thinking like a child!!" Harvard and Pria would be taken aback by the Demon's bluntness and almost tried to reach over and scold him, yet Zazel continued. "We're all scared here! You're not the only one who's suffering! With all the icky bugs, the place being super dark, and the Shadow people, Everyone and their MOTHER would be just as panicky as you! However, that doesn't mean you should hide yourself! Harvard and I went through tooth and nail on every waking moment. Every Spider, every Snake, every Shadow thingy that's trying to kill us all, and yet we somehow made it to here. Pria here is willing to throw away her own life JUST so that we are safe, and all three of us are trying to find an exit to this nightmare. If you wanna keep sulking, then go ahead, but understand that THAT is the worst option you could do. If you want to go home, then you gotta get up, wipe those tears away, and PUNCH THEM IN THE JAW! MAKE THEM REALLY FEEL IT!! THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA KILL US, RIGHT!? THEN KILL THEM THE HECK BACK!! JUST BECAUSE WE'RE SCARED DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GONNA SIT AND PRAY FOR THE EXIT TO APPEAR BEFORE US!!"

"FEAR ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE THEY WANT IT! LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES CRYING AND SCREAMING AS WE BREAK THEM BONE BY BONE!"

Just as the Demon uttered such words, a sound can be heard from behind them. A Sound that everyone is familiar with. They did not need to look back, allowing the figure to stare down with its elongated eyes and its ear to ear grin, its long fingers constantly stretching itself, acting as claws, licking its lips as it sees its meal. It lunged itself forward, silent as a mouse, not wanting to be caught within such a moment. Even with such an advantage, the demon merely balled up his fist, grit his teeth, and turned himself around, having one of his legs planted down as he curved his punch. "LIKE THIS!!!" he'd scream, before successfully connecting its punch right at the beast's mouth, feeling the sound of bone breaking, its jaw beginning to snap, before being flung straight towards a wall, breaking it.

Fear is no longer within the Demon's heart. Instead, it was Determination.