"Silvie! I'm done with work, so now we can play!" Rivi pushed open the sliding door to the room in the Silver Moon Tea House where I had been staying.
"Hmm? Silvie?" Something was wrong, it was too quiet. "She doesn't seem to be here…" She looked around the empty room. "But Flora said…"
Rivi's eyes widened. "Oh no, oh no, no, no." She opened up her magic sense as wide as it would go, and stared around the room, her eyes glowing golden. "NOOOOOOOEEEEEE!!!" She suddenly roared, staring at the roof. "YOU GIVE HER BACK!!! RIGHT NOW!!" Magic surged around her hands in ephemeral claws and she began tearing at the air of the room to little effect. "YOU STUPID BLOODY GODDESS!! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT!!!!"
She began sobbing as she collapsed down on the floor. "Give her back," she sobbed weakly. "She's not ready."
***
After picking Rufi up from the pet room, I decided to just head back to my room at the Tea House. The day's events had wrung me out dry, and I was looking forwards to just relaxing in my room with nothing to do for once.
"To the Silver Moon Tea House," I said, as I climbed aboard one of the skeleton-pulled hand-carts.
"Very well," it croaked, and I leaned back in the cart exhausted as it began walking.
The exhaustion seemed to seep into my bones, and in fact, as we made our way through the streets of the town I felt my skin starting to wither and dry out, like it had been left out in the sun for too long. I frowned, trying to focus my magic on it, only to feel it start to slip out of my grasp once more as the flesh melted from my bones and I turned into a skeleton.
"Oh, right…This doesn't last forever, does it…" I looked at my bony hands. Status. I called in my mind.
[Name: Silvie]
[Race: Night Skeleton]
[Sex: F] [Age: 17 (Current form: 1)]
[Lvl. 9]
[HP: 675/675] [MP: 450/450] [SP: 12/550]
[Skills: Dark Slash lvl. 7, Dark Vision lvl. 10, Spirit Sight lv. 4, Dark Magic lvl. 8, Improved Balance lvl. 10, Acrobatics lvl. 1, Improved Reactions lvl. 10, Improved Processing Speed lvl. 1, Corrupting Touch lvl. 10, Corruption Magic lvl. 3, Evernight Touch lvl. 3, Evernight Well lvl. 1, Summon Weapon lvl. 5, Living Form lvl. 8, Read Memories lvl. 3, Ice Magic lvl. 2, Drain Energy lvl. 1, Wind Magic lvl. 4, Mind Numbing lvl. 2, Cold Resistance lvl. 2, Mental Resistance lvl. 2, Pain Resistance lvl. 1]
[Titles: Undead, Blessed of Melphinoe, Dragon-Slayer, Infused Knowledge, Survivor of Arthuss, the Immortal Storm, Suppressed Crimson Wraith Blood Awakening, Contracted Familiar: Rufi, Last System Backup: Night Skeleton lvl. 9]
It had been so long since I looked at my status screen it was hard to tell what was different, though my overall stats were obviously just as stuck as ever. I wonder when I'm going to be able to break through…
But I didn't let my thoughts drift too much, refocusing on the thing that had prompted me to open the screen in the first place.
[Living Form lvl. 8: Allows the user to temporarily adopt the body and attributes of a living mortal. Current Max: 8 hours]
I guess, I'd reached the max limit, huh… I dismissed the screens, and looked out at the streets again in thought, though I didn't have long before we reached our destination.
"The Silver Moon Tea House." The skeleton rasped as it drew to a halt.
"Thank you," I replied absently as I made my way into the building.
"Ah, Mistress Silvie," her wolf-eared attendant Flora approached from the back. "Would you like to return to your room."
"Yes, please," I replied, too exhausted to be fussed by the level of hospitality I was receiving. "And if you could send some cold snacks or something up to my room, that'd be great. I'm not sure I'll be able to eat them at the moment, but…"
"I understand, we'll be right with you." She bowed.
"Thanks," I gave a polite smile, then retreated to the sanctity of my room.
"Ughh," I sighed, plopping down on my futon. "Too much has been happening, Rufi, too much!"
Rufi just yawned, and found a comfy spot on the floor to curl up. "Right?" I said watching her. "It just makes you want to curl up, *yawn* and go to sleep." I laid my head on my arm, annoyed that I was a skeleton again, and couldn't revert to my living form to go to sleep.
Was I still even a skeleton? I felt too many emotions and sensations to be sure of the fact. It must be…the blood awakening whatever…I yawned again. Could I really fall asleep as a skeleton?
A knock came at the door. "Mistress Silvie? Your snacks are ready?"
"Oh thanks, bring them in," I replied sleepily. Flora brought in a tray with an array of rice balls, before setting them down next to my futon.
"Thanks…Flora…" I felt like I could barely keep my eyes open.
"You're welcome, Mistress," Flora smiled, and the last thing I saw before darkness took me was her retreating out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"Hmm…? Where…Am I?" I slowly opened my eyes and rubbed my face. I seemed to be lying on a flat surface in some kind of…purple void? I looked around. "Hello? Is anyone there?" My voice seemed to echo strangely in the empty space. Am I…dreaming? I tried to rub my eyes to see if I could remember what I had just been doing. I was in the tea house…and then…I fell asleep, right? But this…I looked around and stood up, feeling more and more awake as the seconds dragged on.
"Do you not…remember this place?" A voice chimed like bells out of the void, its power spreading ripples through the place as it struck my being in folds of majesty, threatening to rip it apart with just a touch.
My eyes widened. "Goddess!" I got down on my knees, unsure of where she was in the space around me. "Wh-what brings you here t-to this unworthy one?" Her power awed every fiber of my being, bringing out reverence I didn't even know I was capable of.
"Stand up," her words were gentler even with a hint of amusement. "I have something to show you."