Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Chapter 5: Scheduled Exorcism

Lady Myrine sighed.

"You were born with a curse. One that could only be cured by reaching a certain level either in the Martial or the Arcane Path.

Your life depended on your talent as a practitioner but you lacked talent. Something was broken inside you that made it impossible for you to choose either path."

Lady Myrine raised her hand and placed it on Evian's cheek, stroking it fondly. As she spoke, the memory of that difficult moment came to the forefront of her mind.

"I would have been happy to watch you live a battle-free life.

I was ready to support you all through your mortal years until the very end but those short mortal years were cut even shorter by the curse.

You were plagued with all sorts of diseases since your birth and finally, today, it got critical."

'So it was a curse. Well, that rules out Adrian as a suspect, I guess. A curse should be an act of God, right? Or maybe, an act of the devil?'

The atmosphere at the table got somber but that was cleared up when Lord Stygian let out a peel of laughter.

"Haha, but all is well that ends well. You beat the curse, my son- You beat death!

And now, the Stygians can add another Knight to their ranks.

Cheers," he said loudly while raising a goblet of wine.

"Here, here!" chorused the other Stygians at the table with wide, happy smiles. Well, everyone except Adrian.

Lady Myrine did not join in the cheers either. She kept staring into Evian's face and kept stroking his cheek.

"Tomorrow," she said suddenly.

"What was that, My Lady?" Lord Stygian asked.

"Tomorrow. We must schedule the Exorcism with the Witch for tomorrow" Lady Myrine said while staring deep into Evian's cold grey eyes.

"I thought you wanted to wait," Lord Stygian said as he dropped his goblet on the table.

Lady Myrine shook her head.

"We have waited long enough. I almost lost him to a curse. I won't lose him to some stupid residual death aura."

***

Evian didn't know much about Exorcisms but he saw firsthand how talking about one could be a mood killer. The atmosphere of the feast went down the toilet after the topic was brought up by Lady Myrine and it didn't take long for everyone to disperse.

Evian had not spoken to any of them so he didn't care that they left right after stuffing their faces, however, the topic of an Exorcism kept ringing in his mind all through his walk back to his room.

"You have nothing to worry about, dear. Daria will come over in the morning and clear up all that aura and leave you free to live life to the fullest" Lady Myrine told him while hugging him.

Once she let him go, Lord Stygian gave him heavy pats on the shoulder.

"Once we've put this omen behind us, we can start getting you up to speed on the ways of a Knight. You are at least fifteen years behind after all" he said in his deep voice.

Evian's lips just twitched with nothing to say. He didn't even notice the fact that Adrian was giving him a hateful glare but then again, that was becoming expected at this point.

Filled with delicious food from the feast, Evian fell asleep almost as soon as his back hit the soft foam of his bed.

He was awakened by the first light of dawn and was instantly bogged down by worry.

'Hey, Voice in my head'

[Yes?]

'Do I have anything to be worried about in an Exorcism? I can't just shake this feeling I have'

[You have every reason to be worried]

'Wow, you're not even going to try and sugarcoat it, are you?' Evian thought with a shake of his head which wasn't that easy as the foam of his pillow enveloped him in a cushy comfortable way that sought to keep his head perfectly stable.

[Wraiths are detestable creatures occasionally hunted down by Religious sects. You should be careful how showy you are with your Eldritch energy.

If during the Exorcism, the Witch detects what you really are, she might try to purify the body which could get rid of you]

'By 'Get rid of me' you mean, she'll pull my soul out of this body and I'll have to search for another body to possess right?'

[Wrong.

You consumed the soul of Evian Stygian and merged with his body. You leave this body and you die.

As a Wraith, you will also have no taste of any sort of afterlife so your soul will disperse completely.]

'Damn'

[Damn indeed.]

'...'

[You should consider running away.]

Evian gave it a few seconds of thought and then he had a lightbulb moment.

'Hang on, you told me I was denied the satisfaction of starting from the bottom'

[Indeed, I did]

'So I'm not completely powerless then'

...

[Maybe not]

Evian's brows furrowed at how the voice seemed almost reluctant to tell him that but he pushed that aside.

'The Witch- Could you tell me where she scales in the Arcane Path'

[She used a Third Circle spell to examine you so I assume that's her scale]

'Assume? Can't you be more precise?'

[That's as precise as I can be]

'Alright then. As a Wraith, you told me my Eldritch energy could contend with a Third Circle Arcanist'

[Indeed I did]

'Well- Can you see what I'm getting at?' Evian was starting to get excited.

[If you are considering taking on a Third Circle Arcanist who is obviously experienced when you don't even yet know how to harness your Eldritch energy, then I, as your Decadent Assistant must advise you strongly against such a foolish plan]

'It can work' Evian thought with a grin, 'Especially since she won't be expecting it'

[Again, you don't yet know how to wield your Eldrirch energy. You can't even draw it out on your own yet]

'But I don't need to know how to draw it out. She will draw it out for me just as she did when she was Examining me yesterday' Evian explained with his excitement growing.

[...]

The voice had no response and rapt knocks on the room door drew Evian's attention away from it.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Young Master Evian, the Witch is here," said the guard standing post outside the door.

"Already? it's the crack of dawn" Evian mumbled.

"I am letting her in," the guard said and the door opened before Daria walked in.

Daria was dressed just as she had been dressed yesterday. In a black gown that clung tightly to her body and emphasized her sexy figure. However, rather than the silver lines that had adorned her yesterday gown, sprinkled silver stars adorned the gown she was wearing this time.

"I apologize if I woke you, Evian, but the morning is an auspicious time for an Exorcism," Daria said.

Evian's brows furrowed.

'No, I'm pretty sure Exorcisms generally happen at night.' he thought but didn't say out loud.

Daria walked over to his bed and her eyes moved over his clothes. Evian was still wearing the purple robes he had worn to the feast. It was only the shoes he had managed to take off before falling asleep.

"Take off your clothes," Daria said.

"Why?"

"They are disruptive. Take them off" she said with a serious expression.

Evian shrugged.

"Okay"

There was no underwear so taking off his clothes meant taking it all off. His organ was out of display and he didn't bother trying to place a hand over it. It might help him with the crazy plan now forming in his head.

Contending against Daria's spell with his Eldritch energy was only the first part of Evian's crazy plan.

'What's that saying? 'It's so crazy, it just might work''

Daria directed him to lie down on his bed face up.

The moment Evian's back hit the bed, Daria the Witch closed her eyes and lifted her hands, and started to chant rapidly under her breath.

Evian didn't understand her chants but he did note that they were similar to the ones he had heard her chant yesterday when she was examining him.

Sure enough, the three familiar mystical circles appeared on top of Evian's body. They spun for a while before Daria spoke.

"Let yourself be calm, Evian. There is nothing to worry about. You are safe in my hands."

Evian's eyes widened slightly because just as Daria finished speaking, smaller rings appeared and bound his hands and legs to the bed. He twisted a few times but remained immobilized.

'Relax, all will be well' Evian thought to himself without bothering to struggle too hard against his bounds.

Daria took a deep breath with a serious expression on her face.

"Just a few more minutes and you will be free of the terrible Omen of death"

The temperature in the room dropped many degrees as Eldritch energy started to ooze out of Evian's body and as it did, Evian adopted a serious expression.

'Alright, it's now or never'