On an unknown isnd in the middle of the ocean, Tisha stands on the beach, staring out into the sea. She holds out her hand, sensing the connection between the pieces. The connection feels weaker than normal and sporadic. She feels the flow of mana between the pieces, but no matter where she points, she cannot sense the King Piece anywhere.

  “Damn it.” She whispers to herself.

  “Still looking for your little lord?” Qui asks, standing behind her.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s a shame. I’ve been tracking Morgan’s group since they took out my lord and, well, they very rarely are known for letting their prey get away.”

  “But you got away. And the fact the Piece exists within me at all proves Glyn has to be out there.”

  “But in what state? He might be alive, but is he still himself, or is he being held captive?”

  “Still himself?”

  Qui turns away. “Anyway, you’re in no condition for a big fight anyway, so it's best you and the Orc rest up for now.”

  “You have a point there,” Tisha says, following her off the beach.

  The pair retreat to a small cabin hidden on the side of a rge rocky hill. Zanrit sits outside, covered in burns and wounds as he changes his bandages.

  “Hey, big guy, you’re moving around pretty well.”

  “I’m pretty robust,” Zanrit says. “Besides, I feel restless just sitting around.”

  “You and Tisha, huh? I get it after how I found you. But like I told her, rushing into battle right now would be asking for death.”

  “I’m aware. Sadly, the only thing I can do for my allies now is recovered.”

  “Good.”

  “Anyway, Qui, you never told me why you’re here. Or where here even is,” Tisha says.

  “Oh, this pce doesn’t have a name. I found this random isnd a few weeks back and decided to make it my base camp while I’m still here.” Qui looks to the distance. “I needed a pce to hide until I finish my work.”

  “And that’s the poison you’re working on.”

  “Yup. Those bastards are resistant to the usual stuff, so I need a special concoction to deal any damage to them. But sadly, progress is slow going.”

  “How do you even know this stuff is going to work?”

  “Right, I didn’t show you yet.” She pauses. “Well, I guess it should be fine. Come with me. I’ll show you what I have. My test subject.”

  “Test subject?”

  Qui leads the duo around the hill to a hidden cave at the bottom of the isnd. The three go underground with Qui using a small fire to light the way as they arrive inside a rge cavern. Qui spreads the fmes, illuminating the darkness and revealing a man chained up against the wall. He lies there on the floor, his limbs chained down with his clothes in tatters as Qui approaches him.

  As Qui approaches, he stammers. “Who’s there? Please let me go. Please….”

  “Save your breath, monster. No one’s helping you.”

  “I’m not a monster. I’m…”

  “Qui this is…”

  “I know what this looks like. But don’t look at your eyes. You both should be able to sense what this ‘thing’ really is.”

  Tisha stares at the man. As she stares at him, she senses an odd energy coming from the man. A thick cloud of miasma surrounds him as she steps back and raises her hand to cover her mouth.

  “What is this?”

  “This guy is a Demon. One of Morgan’s crew.”

  “A Demon?”

  “Why is it wearing that man?”

  “They're an infectious breed of Demons. They get inside someone, then they eat you out from the inside and wear your body like a skin suit.” Qui expins.

  Tisha stares at the creature before her. “How did you catch this thing?”

  “When my people were being attacked, this one tried to take me over. I wouldn’t allow that, so I kept my mouth shut, and we plunged into the sea. This thing couldn’t swim so I was able to catch it easily from there. Sadly, when I emerged, my group was already defeated and my lord was dead.”

  “You worm. Do you think you can stand up to the power of the Great One!?” He ughs as he eyes Tisha and Zanrit. “I can feel it even here. The Great One is awakening soon. The final sacrifice is being prepared. Soon we’ll return to the rightful state of the world and you worthless beings will return to your role as our pythings!”

  Qui takes out a vial and shoves it into the creature’s mouth. “That’s enough of that.

  The creature drinks the contents of the vial and Qui pulls her arm back. The creature screams out in pain before vomiting a pink-colored liquid. Everyone stares at the creature as it goes unresponsive. Qui approaches it with a finger pointed out only for the monster to sh out at her, trying to bite off her finger. She pulls it back before the Demon can bite into her as she stares down at it.

  “That’s another failure.”

  “How many tests have you done on this thing?” Zanrit asks.

  “Dozens if not hundreds. I’ve been running as many tests as I can ever since I dragged this thing here and locked it up. I need to use everything I can to defeat these Demons if only I had access to the old books in the archive, then I could’ve made this stuff sooner.”

  Tisha stares at the being before her.

  “Worried about Glyn and the others?” Zanrit asks.

  She nods. “Yes. Probably more worried than ever. Demons running amok and other craziness happening around these isnds. It makes me worried.”

  “I am too. But I know we can count on our allies.”

  “Right. One way or another, we’ll get back in this battle. We have to.” Tisha stares at the creature as it wiggles around inside of its man-shaped skin suit. “If not, I’m scared to think about what’ll happen if we let these things go free for too much longer.”