When the Slime-Glow Fades

I Accidentally Became the Guild's Therapist

Chapter 16: When the Slime-Glow Fades

Livia Marcelline Quinn, Mental Supporter Lv. 5 and unwitting vessel of the Slime Collective, was counting down the final moments. Her Therapist's Log, now a relic of a fleeting phase, had been abandoned for a blur of emotions not her own: Bron: Overly existential. Nyx: Still blushing. Phina: Slime-obsessed, even more so. Alaric: Betting on cosmic dust. The Bloodbath & Beyond guild's base camp, once a chaotic symphony, now felt... different. Phina was composing real sonnets in her mind, Bron was pondering the aerodynamics of his Livia plushie, and Nyx, surprisingly, was meticulously organizing his Hello Kitty flashlight collection. Livia, for her part, felt like a tourist in her own body, witnessing their issues through a filter of gooey, collective empathy. "Three days," she'd muttered earlier, or rather, the Collective had resonated through her, "and I'm pretty sure I've absorbed enough feels to last a lifetime."

The camp still buzzed with its usual madness—players raged about "unbeatable boss mechanics," NPCs droned glitchy lines like "Error: Emotion Filter Corrupted," and a rogue somehow managed to trip over thin air, blaming a "dimensional shift." Livia's introverted soul still yearned for quiet, but the sheer absurdity of being "Slivia" had overridden most of her internal protests. I'm their shrink, their meme queen, and now their temporary spiritual conduit, she thought, a faint, sticky humor coating her thoughts. Flunked psych, memed across realities, and now I'm literally infused with a sentient gelatinous mass.

A notification pinged, its usual cheer slightly distorted: [Achievement Unlocked: Temporary Transcendence. +15 Goo-Goodness Points (Fleeting)]

"Fleeting is right," Livia mumbled, or rather, thought, as her voice was currently occupied by the Slime Collective. Her progress bar read Mental Supporter Lv. 5: 1800/5000 EXP. The temporary fusion had amplified her Empathic Insight to absurd levels, letting her feel the very fabric of the guild's emotional tapestry. She'd understood Bron's desperate need for meaning, Nyx's longing for connection beneath his fear, Phina's yearning for unconditional love, and Alaric's desperate search for control. Even Miles's hidden trust issues had seemed clearer, almost tangible, a raw wound beneath his sarcastic smirk.

But now, the luminous goo that pulsed beneath her skin was beginning to recede. The world's colors, which had been vibrant with the hues of emotion, started to dull. The chaotic symphony of the camp began to sound merely like… noise. Her enhanced empathy, once an overwhelming torrent, was ebbing, leaving her feeling strangely hollow.

The final hour began. The Slime Collective, which had been a constant, comforting murmur in her mind, began to fade. It felt like a warm blanket being slowly pulled away.

"It is time, Livia," a chorus of tiny, echoing voices whispered within her, the collective sentiment of a thousand soothed souls. "Our temporal union concludes. Remember the wisdom we shared."

Livia felt a pang of something akin to sadness. She hadn't wanted this power, but she'd used it, and through it, had seen the guild in a way she never could before. She saw their vulnerability, their desperate need for connection, and a surprising innocence beneath all their overpowered madness. A fleeting thought of Miles's buried pain, so clear just moments ago, brought a fresh wave of concern.

Then, with a gentle, shimmering pop, the last of the glowing goo receded from her skin. The world snapped back into sharp, sometimes overwhelming, focus. Her gray robe was back to its slightly-less-itchy normal, devoid of any violet runes. Her HUD, no longer radiating a temporary golden aura, displayed the familiar green glow. She was Livia again. Just Livia.

A notification blared, louder than anything before: [Warning: Temporary Fusion Deactivated. Significant Neural Recalibration Required. Passive Skill Deactivated: Empathic Insight Lv. 1. Skill Deactivated: Reverse Psychology Lv. 1.]

Livia blinked, her vision momentarily blurring. "What...?" she managed to croak, her own voice, weak and raspy. Her progress bar read Mental Supporter Lv. 5: 1800/5000 EXP. Stagnant. And her key skills, the ones that had allowed her to truly "see" and "break" her patients, were gone. She tried to access her Therapist's Log, but her hands trembled. She felt... blind. Emotionally blind.

Just then, Alaric, the paladin, stumbled towards her, flask in hand. "Buffer!" he slurred, reeking of ale. "Just had the craziest vision! I saw my inner child playing poker with a goblin! You did that, right? You're a miracle worker!" He swayed, his holy aura flickering.

Livia stared at him, her mind blank. Her Empathic Insight was gone. She couldn't sense his emotional state, couldn't see the fleeting flicker of hope or his underlying insecurity. She tried to recall his previous session, tried to remember why he was gambling. But it was just... gone. Like a file deleted from her brain.

Alaric frowned, his slurred smile fading. "Buffer? You... you look different. You okay?" He leaned closer, his brow furrowed in confusion, then a strange flicker crossed his eyes. He looked at her... but it was a blank stare, devoid of the recognition that had usually accompanied his chaos.

"Who are you again?" Alaric slurred, his eyes wide and vacant, as if truly seeing her for the first time—or not seeing her at all.

Before Livia could react, Nyx Shadowmint, the Ghost Rogue, slunk from behind a nearby tent, his Hello Kitty flashlight flickering. He usually sought Livia out, drawn by her presence. Now, he simply hesitated, his head tilted slightly, as if trying to decipher something. Livia's new lack of insight couldn't tell her why, but she felt a strange distance, a subtle shift in his usual awkward aura. He didn't approach, merely observing from the shadows, his usual desperate need for her replaced by a cautious, almost unfamiliar silence.

Across the camp, Miles Vexley, the Psychoblade Commander, paused mid-conversation with Bron. His smirk, usually so fixed, faltered as his gaze swept over Livia. Her lost Empathic Insight couldn't read him, but she saw his head tilt, his eyes narrow, and a subtle tension ripple through his shoulders. He didn't come forward, but his intense stare lingered, unreadable and unnerving. Bron, oblivious, continued to flex with his Livia plushie, seemingly unaffected.

Livia felt a cold dread settle in her stomach. It wasn't just Alaric. The connection was gone. Her ability to "see" them, to truly understand, had vanished. The unique bond she'd forged, the very essence of her bizarre job, felt severed. She was just an NPC again. A background noise. And the thought, after glimpsing their profound needs, was more terrifying than any boss battle.

A final notification pulsed ominously on her HUD:

[Warning: Your bond with Alaric has been severed. Target's Memory of 'Livia the Therapist' corrupted. System Recommends: Re-establish Rapport.]

Livia closed her notepad, pressing her forehead against its cover, a silent scream trapped in her throat. "Maybe this is what healing is," she whispered, her voice barely audible, even to herself. "Hurting quietly while everyone else moves on. While they forget who you were." The guild's distant chaos, once her burden, now felt alien, a world she was no longer a true part of.