Pieces of Sonder

“Aziza,” Freya said, her voice slightly wavering, “Before, could you see a box with words above people’s heads?” 

The child spirit nodded and enthusiastically proclaimed, “I used to, but I don’t no more!”

Aziza came closer. Freya numbly kneeled to her height. Of course, the idea had crossed her mind before. But Freya never expected a young child to experience the same thing she went through.

“Shaman Ghira said I was cursed, but I’m not!” Aziza said, crossing her arms. She peered behind Freya and shrank back a little bit.

Freya glanced back to the others. They must have heard her question and realized its implications. But besides Nightscythe, they could only hear Freya’s side of the conversation. 

“I don’t need treatments anymore,” the spirit said, clutching her dress. “I need to tell dad. I need to tell him I don’t see that stuff no more.”

Treatments? Freya questioned in her mind, then her blood turned icy. Of course, when I first picked up my Player Card I thought I was under some kind of enchantment. If I hadn’t talked to Infamous Biscuit I would have tried to exorcise the spell… 

She looked at the child spirit with renewed concern.

“It’s okay now. We’ll tell your dad you don’t need any more treatments.”

Aziza looked down and still clutched her dress in distress. In a weak cry, she repeated, “I need to tell him.”

Freya wanted to reach out and hug her, but she knew her arms would pass through and only panic the little girl even more.

“It’s okay-”

“I’m not cursed! I’m not bad!” The hysteria rose in her voice as Aziza cried, “I’m a good girl now. I’m sorry. I won’t ask brother to take me outside! I need to tell dad!”

Sobbing, Aziza’s body almost appeared solid as her cry intensified. Freya’s throat tightened at the spirit’s sorrow. 

Grrrrrr!!

Suddenly, Aziza vanished in a clap of white. Freya turned to the source of the growl. Out of the fog, three wolves appeared.

[Lesser Peninsula Wolf]

[Lvl 10] [300/300]

Given the amount of demonic energy Aziza had probably been emitting in her outburst, it wasn’t surprising they had attracted demons. Freya’s head still swam with many unresolved questions and emotions, but if she wanted them answered, they needed to get rid of these distractions first.

Running back towards the group, she scanned the area for any other demons.

“We should stick close together,” Infamous Biscuit instructed them. “Nightscythe, can you see any other wolves through the fog?”

Cupping his hands in front of his eyes, the rogue examined their surroundings.

“There’s two more coming from behind that building,” Nightscythe said, pointing to a storefront.

Huh, I guess there is a good use for that creepy skill, Freya thought to herself.

“Not too many then, this should be easy,” Heilong said, casting out some traps in the path the wolves were likely to take.

Following their standard protocol, K13 drew them into a taunt, and the rest began whittling down the demons HP. Freya found herself double-checking the wolves were still in a taunt whenever she saw Nightscythe fighting. The rogue said he had extra Life Shards, but she still didn’t like the idea of anyone dying.

Compared to the high orcs they had been fighting against in the last dungeon, these wolves were a pushover. They lost HP quickly with or without Meridian Manipulation-based skills. Also, for Freya, her hands suffered less punching their soft fur as opposed to metal armor.

By the time her Shockwave finished its first cooldown, the fight was already over.

As they picked up the dropped rewards, Heilong asked Freya, “What were you talking about to that ghost? Did they used to be a game player?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Freya repeated their conversation. Both Heilong and Nightscythe leaned forward, intrigued by the discovery, while Infamous Biscuit and K13 looked solemn.

“What ‘treatments’ do you think that shaman used?” Infamous Biscuit asked.

“They may have used harmless potions and talismans, but if they got desperate, they might have tried other methods, like bleeding or noxious potions to expel the enchantment. If they thought a demon possessed her, it could be even worse.”

Freya shifted uncomfortably. 

“What does that mean?” Nightscythe asked.

“Demonic possession can usually be broken by a potion. But if that doesn’t work, there is another method. I’ve only seen it done once,” Freya said, shuddering at the memory. “And I don’t know if I could ever justify doing it myself. The theory is that if a demon possesses a person, the demon and host’s lives are linked. If their host dies, the demon dies along with them. So, if the demon suspects their host will die, they might leave on their own accord.”

Freya flashed back to a cold, damp cellar she entered when she was fifteen. Master Linik had said it was good experience for her to see other shamans at work. That day, she was shadowing a shaman from a neighboring town. She had seen many horrific scenes due to demons, but that was the first time she had seen such cruelty from humans.

“The final method for ending demonic possession is to bring the person as close as possible to death so the demon leaves,” Freya said in a hollow voice. “It’s a ‘reasonable’ treatment since if it doesn’t work, at least the demon will die along with the patient.”