"One single flower, taints the rest in it's bad blood"
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Ever since the outbreak in the catacombs had started, no one in the group could tell how much time had passed.
But at some point in his fight against the second dead soul, Kahal realized that he'd lost sight of what was going on in Hell's second circle through Aaliyah's eyes.
Once he had left the group behind as he took some cautious steps inside the crimson doorway, he was met with the sight of a dark grey sky covered in smoke.
The once vibrant land of flowers was now desolate, covered in black blossoms, releasing tiny red spores into the air.
And in the far distance, a tall burning tree stood on its lonesome.
Kahal released a slow breath, and thought to himself in an almost tired voice.
'This is where my Hivemind connection to Aaliyah had been cut'
Just as Kahal had this thought, he also remembered the last thing he saw before his Hivemind connection to Aaliyah was severed. In that moment, he could tell by her expression that Aphira's temptations were getting to her.
And the number of flowers sprouting along her hair had grown. Not to mention the red sun which suddenly rose into the sky of Hell's second circle.
'Could the assimilation have already been complete? No, there's still traces of her spirit energy, though only faint'
Kahal's eyes then narrowed. Just as he finished his reassuring thought, he suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his head.
'Shit!'
In his crimson eyes, his vision blurred. Then all that he suddenly began to see were faint projections of what he could almost make out to be a woman whose body was concealed in flowers.
'Aaliyah'
After a few seconds, the pain in his head finally subsided. He let out a few heavy breaths, before he made his way to the burning tree.
***
As Kahal walked across the stretched field of black flowers, he found himself having rather interesting thoughts about the properties of the seven circles. For one, his curiosity in how the red sun could rise inside the circles after descending from the night sky on hell's main layer outweighed his secondary thoughts.
During the time he'd spent in his expedition through Hell's grounds, he learned many things of Hell's inner workings. Though the only thing he could learn of the red sun was its unfathomable power to assimilate the souls of sorcerers and transmute them into mindless monsters.
As he remembered this fact, he suddenly took into consideration that invited an uneasy feeling in his heart.
As he already knew, the red sun could make its presence known inside the seven circles, but what if it could both amplify the effects of the seven circles, and transfer the human biology of it's captives to the hell lord governing that circle?
The fact in his comparison of the hell lords being biologically similar to newborn beasts made this thought more likely.
Kahal gritted his teeth. His eyes narrowed as he thought to himself about the moment before his confrontation with Cain a day ago.
Maybe preserving Aaliyah's physical body inside of the cocoon was a bad idea…
'I shouldn't have done that… damn, I made a mistake'
At first, Kahal was confident in Aaliyah's ability to overcome the trial for the second circle, or at least he was confident in her ability to handle things long enough for the rest of the group to arrive and kill Aphira.
And his decision in preserving her body inside of the cocoon would trap her in a suspended death state. One that would reverse the effects of the second circle, and awaken her soul's true essence.
And now, after the day's progression of the assimilation… he wasn't so sure.
After what felt like a long time he spend walking among the field of flowers, he reached the burning tree.
Beneath the tree, he was met with the sight of a large crimson cocoon Which hung from a weak branch shooting out from the tree.
Kahal released a long breath as he reached out toward the cocoon. Inside, a faint but also familiar presence stirred almost in response to his touch.
Once Kahal's fingertips traced the smooth surface of the cocoon, a loud sound of spores sizzling out of the cursed flowers was all that filled the silence.
At the same time, Kahal suddenly felt a growing discomfort spread across his body. Almost as if he had been caught ablaze by the burning tree, but he hadn't come in contact with any of the flames.
Shooting a passing glance above himself, toward the red sun, Kahal suddenly had a thought that he immediately found to be some form of crazy to even think.
'Could the red sun also be reacting to me since I'm Aaliyah's father?'
Of course Kahal's thought wasn't baseless. After all, from his own understanding of the way the red sun works, it was some sort of object with some sort of unimaginable power to not only sap spirit energy from it's captive, but maybe even adapt to their souls.
The more thoughts that ran through his mind, the more his head throbbed.
Kahal pressed a hand against his temple, and suddenly tensed his muscles as the faint sound of flowers crumpling drew closer toward him.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a woman standing among the black blossoms.
Her body was wrapped in layers of dark crimson flowers that clung to her skin. Trails of petals formed a long skirt which dragged across the ground with each step she took.
For a moment Kahal's eyes met hers. His own crimson eyes narrowed slightly as though he was looking at something that made the word evil seem like the wrong way to describe the sight.
"Aaliyah…"
No words came to mind.
It was impossible to ignore the change in appearance Aaliyah had took on.
Her face, compared to how it was earlier, looked almost doll like. More pale and elegant, though an unnatural smile had been carved across it.
Before he could fully turn to face her, she spoke. Her voice calm and alluring as though she didn't notice the world that surrounded her.
"Come here, papa."
Aaliyah slowly raised her arms toward him. Her breathing slowly grew uneven as the burning tree's ashes filled her lungs.
For a brief moment, their eyes met and All he could see was a familiar softness in her shaken gaze. A softness that kept him frozen in place as though he lost control of his own legs.
The silence in the stretched moment which was only replaced by the sizzling burning tree, and Aaliyah's uneven breathing made Kahal feel as though any sudden movement could be fatal.
His eyes flickered between the cocoon hanging on the weak branch of the burning tree, and back to Aaliyah.
After a moment, Kahal spoke.
"Where is that harlot? She was here earlier… but I don't see her."
Aaliyah's smile wavered slightly, before tightening once more. While lowering her arms, Kahal's eyes widened as he suddenly felt a sharp pain pounding against his skull.
Dropping down to his knees, he pressed his hands against his temples and groaned while his vision turned into a series of static, like he was seeing through someone else's eyes.
***
The sudden perspective showed Aphira sitting next to whoever Kahal was seeing through.
Immediately, he realized that at the moment he was seeing through the eyes of Aaliyah moments after his connection through his Hivemind had been severed.
He could even feel everything as though he was Aaliyah in that moment.
"Aaliyah… teach me, exactly what love is."
Aaliyah fell silent. Her shaken pupils stared directly into the eyes of the demoness who suddenly began inching closer toward her.
"I'm sorry but… I can't."
Aphira's eyes went dark. With a deep sigh, she cupped Aaliyah's cheeks, and brushed her thumb over her lips as she whispered:
"Oh, but you can."
Before she could raise her own arms, Aaliyah felt thin roots tug at her feet. Pulling her toward the giant tree as she desperately grabbed at the roots, but they stubbornly latched onto her until she hung from a branch.
In the next second, a crimson silk swirled around her until she was completely preserved inside a cocoon.
While this happened, Aphira's body lost all its weight as she fell to the ground. Her face became a blur, and began to mutate.
***
Sweat fell from Kahal's face, His eyes wide as his breaths quickly came and went. Slowly looking up at the woman who stood before him, one thing became clear.
She was not his daughter.
Trying to stand on trembling legs, he spoke in a raspy voice.
"Get out of my daughter's body. You crazy harlot."
The earlier look of a carved smile was now replaced by a slowly forming frown. The woman took a few steps back, and said:
"Papa. Stop it, right now."
Kahal tensed every muscle in his body. Taking one more glance at the red sun, and the crimson cocoon behind him, his spirit energy flared.
And flowers sprouted from one side of his face.
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Continued in chapter 117: Assimilation
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