My eyes fluttered open.

I stared blankly up at the ceiling of my room, the familiar contours of wood up above my head. Squinted really, as the light from my window made my eyes begin to tear up.

They weren't the only part of me that hurt. My head felt someone had driven an axe into it. My limbs ached. No one spot had the pain of a cut or bruise, just the general malaise you associated with a mild cold or flu. Only I doubted I'd caught that. Even if I had, I could cure it. More than most who would get it this year could say.

I got out of my bed, unsteady hooves settling on my floorboards. In concession to the pain my eyes felt whenever they opened, I kept them half-closed. Nearly falling as I stood up, I made it over to the door, only then realizing I was clad in nothing but a simple white shift.

Please let Melissa or Tagashin have changed me into this, and not anyone else. Especially not Alice.

I should probably get dressed. I should also make sure that people knew I was up before I started fumbling around my dresser with half-closed eyes.

I made it to the door, opening it, and immediately closed my eyes again. Ahead in the empty hallway of my house, light from the windows along one side shunting brightly inside.

"Gregory? Doctor Dawes?" I asked, eyes carefully shut, my voice echoing around the empty hallway, to no response. "Melissa? Alice? Tolman? Carther?"

Nothing. Not even the sound of movement, or breathing.

Had they deserted my shop entirely? Were they insane? If for no other reason than to secure the ritual cir-oh. They'd probably just taken them and left me here hadn't they?

Of course they had, hadn't they? I thought bitterly. Some things took priority. Hells, if I'd been able to stay awake instead of passing out, the first thing I'd insist on was moving those damn circles to a safer place. Forget traps, the enemy not only knew where they were, but had been preparing for at least a while.

I thought about that while I slowly opened my eyes a little bit at a time. The devil of sloth had been preparing potentially before the Circle had even been flung in my house. When had I first noticed the insects?

After the circle had been tossed, but not by long. When had it been summoned? Something to interrogate Melissa on. Assuming I could find her.

I still couldn't hear any reply to my cries, and frowned. Okay, had they actually left me alone? At least there was someone I knew who couldn't leave.

Unfortunately.

"Imp?" I asked.

Nothing. Probably upset by my decision not to swallow the devil and reject the diabolism I absorbed. Maybe the wrong decision, but I'd made it. Now I had to live with it. And with the Imp being angry. Hopefully, the devil no longer being around to try and sleep me meant it couldn't try that risky method of 'help' anymore.

I needed to meet with Vesper over defanging it as much as consultation on those ritual circles.

Outside of musing on that, this was mildly concerning. Sure, I'd been eager to embrace the idea of being abandoned, but I was forced to concede to the reality that it wasn't very likely. There should be at least someone here. If for no other reason, to put me down if I'd woken up a devil.

I was able to keep my eyes open now without them watering, just some irritation, so cautiously I crept out into my hallway.

Light shone in from the two windows along it, bright sunlight, something I'd gotten used to by now as I started down the hallway. Then immediately stopped.

I trembled, seeing my reflection in the mirror down the hall. Motionless for a moment, then running, hooves hammering against the floor. I grabbed the edges of the table it was on, stopping myself from ramming into it.

Hells, it had gotten worse in every conceivable way. And new ways too, as if to torment me even more. And it…

The pain in my eyes was gone, deep, violet eyes wide open as they took in every detail. My horns had grown, but only in length, and now were a mixture of white and black in coloration, both swirling about as they covered the horns.

My hair was back to its normal length, which warmed my heart a little. What warmed it less is that the streak of silver had multiplied. Now my hair alternated evenly, black to silver to black to silver, and continuing all the way around.

My eyes stared at my skin. I could feel the scales, but most of them were tiny, small enough that I wouldn't have ever spotted them if I couldn't feel them. Larger ones further down, soft and pliable, more like a fish than a lizard.

More than one color as well, and at least I was still mostly blue, even with swirling bits of silver and black running across my skin. And my fins.

I stared at those in incredulous disbelief, feeling them with my fingers. Those had longer silver nails now, more like claws than anything else, but I still had normal fingers underneath to feel with. Somewhat normal. Unlike the fins.

Those extended outwards, fluttering in the slight breeze going through the house, rippling as I moved myself around. They flowed like fabric as I spun around. The first set extended along my arms, from my shoulder along the back of my elbow to my wrists, the smallest of them compared to the two that extended from my back. Black with silver on the edges, they moved gracefully through the air, which would be nice if they weren't so attention-drawing.

With a thought, most of them flattened, collapsing in on themselves till they were all flat against my skin.

Except my tail, which I brought up in front of my face. Thicker, longer, larger than before, a massive fin extended from it, as thin as diaphonous as the others, til with another thought, it hardened, becoming straight and stiff. Huh.

I examined the patterns working their way across my skin. I mostly remained the same blue I'd been since the day I was born, only now black and silver had worked their ways in more than just my fins. Elegant swirls traveled up my legs and arms from my hooves and hands. Some thicker blotches made it past my limbs to the parts of me covered by my shift.

I lost myself in them for a bit. They looked..nice. Pretty, perhaps. I couldn't bring myself to hate them, or even the fins, or anything else. Obtrusive, not very useful for stealth, obviously, but did I perhaps like this?

I shook my head, trying to dispel those thoughts. Why would I like this? Infernal magic had warped my body, and apparently, my brain too, if I was concerned about looking nice.

I turned my attention to the final touch of the magic. I ran my fingers down my neck, keeping my claw tips away from the soft ridges of my gills. Sensation bloomed as my finger moved from one to the other. I shivered, then yanked one up. Sticking a finger up there seemed unwise, but it would just be confirmation. In my muddled state getting out of bed, I'd just thought my senses were skewed from the fight. I could feel these gills, feel the way to operate them, the same way I knew how to breathe naturally. For a half-second, I switched over to them, letting air flow through my gills instead of my mouth or nose. It felt…strange, but not in an off-putting way.

That was everything. Correction, that was everything I'd noticed so far, and much like last time, it had followed a very similar pattern. Envy, and related to envy, is a fish.

"Why a fish?" I groaned. "I don't swim! Where am I going to swim? The Nover?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I'd already had the extreme displeasure of tasting the Nover on multiple occasions. Like hells was I ever going to breathe that river of industrial sludge and garbage!

Okay. Okay, enough feeling sorry for myself. I could deal with this. Hiding…wasn't really an option anymore. Some of these changes might react well to Biosculpting like the gills had before. Some of them might not, like the hair. But trying to hide all of it ran the same risk I had just being Katheryn Falara, except that had required much less extensive Biosculpting, and I didn't have the money for that.

I let th-, no, my fins open again, extending outwards, and spun around again. Maybe this wasn't the worst? It was flashy, but not in an ugly way, elegant patterns traced along skin and fin that blended as they went into motion through the air-

Okay. Enough thinking. Let me just open up a window and let the chill of the winter air take my mind off this.

I frowned slightly as I moved towards the nearest one. It was very bright out for a day that had been snowing. I moved to it, then froze as I saw what was outside. My hands flew to it, claws getting in the way as I forced it open. An unfamiliar, sharp, tangy scent filled my nostrils as I stuck my head outside, looking down.

Below me was a vast expanse of open, calm waters, the edges of which lightly lapped at the wooden hull of the ship beneath me. I stared, took a few more sniffs of that scent I had never smelled before.

I…the ocean? What?

"I shouldn't be surprised," I muttered to myself. "Why would things ever be simple? Of course, I'm on the open ocean. In my room. That's also on a ship. Infernals aren't allowed in ships unless they are in Her Majesty's Military, so why in the hells am I on one?"

I pulled my head back inside. Okay. Magic. Magic was the easiest explanation. I'd been teleported onboard a ship. Along with my room. And my hallway.

Very powerful teleportation magic, more impressive in that it hadn't woken me up. Then again, with what I'd been through, I could have slept through an earthquake and not noticed.

I took another look out the window, sticking my head out into the warm rays of the sun. I'd never been allowed on a ship legally, but I'd seen plenty. Boarded a few to rob them overnight. One deck was below me before the lapping waves. Looking around, the deck was just overhead, but there was no sign of any crew. There was wind, and open sails to catch it, but no one in the rigging on any of the three masts, and not a sound of barked orders or movement upstairs.

So, I was on a ship without any crew on board? Or any crew capable of making noise. Magic. Had to be. I pulled my head back inside, moving down to the end of the hall. At the end should be my kitchen, but as I got closer, I could hear voices. Muffled, but still audible, which was even stranger. I should be able to make out every word in the next room. Or at least what their voices sounded like.

More suggestions of magic. Same for my door, lacking the gap at the bottom I'd painstakingly cut out when I'd bought my shop for an occasion like this. Nothing to try and look into the next room with.

Fine. I put my hand on the door, opening it up.

I stared down into a near mirror of my shop's first floor, a few differences but nothing as startling as the two people currently there.

I froze, looking down at the two strangers. Infernals, their skin a mixture of blue, black, and silver. Hair and horns are silver and black. Fins. Tails. Hooves. More minute details, such as the very familiar facial and body structure, barely contributed to what stared me in the face.

There was no other way of putting it. There were two other me's down there in that facsimile of my shop, and one at the table, and the second leaning against my countertop.

The first one smiled as I cautiously crept down the stairs. She was dressed like an Xang, wearing a Chang'ao in red and blue, tending to a teapot on a table between my shelves. Her hair was done up in a bun held together by a pair of hairpins.

The second one was barely paying any attention, lounging on top of my countertop in a fitted jacket and trousers perfectly fitted, ragged but looking like they'd been tailored for her. Her hair was cut down to chin-length.

"Hey, the sleeping beauty awakes!" The second yelled cheerily, waving a bottle of something from over by my countertop.

No, not my countertop, my countertop didn't have racks of booze behind it! I ran an alchemist's shop, not some strange hybrid of tea parlor and bar!

"It is good of you to wake," the Xang-looking one said with polite warmth. "We have some tea if you want something to clear your head."

"Or something stronger if you want it even more fogged up," the ragged one added.

My eyes flicked from one to the other, my hand reaching for a knife that wasn't there. What was this?

"I will pass," I said, taking a few cautious steps down the stairs. "I generally don't drink what I haven't prepared."

It felt bizarre to walk from the steps into the middle of my shop floor instead of behind the corner. Just less bizarre than walking down to meet two people who looked like me.

Okay. What was this? Revenge by some remnant shapeshifters for the events of last month? Some biosculptors employed to…what, drive me insane? Better to just slit my throat in my sleep if they could demonstrate this much control over me and my surroundings.

"Apologies if I seem a little flustered," I said, walking down the stairs and cautiously moving over to the countertop. "It's been a most unusual day. Only getting more so. I don't believe I have your names?"

"Hello," the first one said with a warm smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lily Xang."

"And I'm Malvia Harrow!" The ragged one said, taking another pull from her bottle while simultaneously thrusting a gloved hand my way, just as intentionally torn as the rest of her clothing. "Nice to finally meet you, put 'er there!"

I stared down at the proffered hand. High-quality leathers, holes torn in the end for claw-like nails to protrude, obviously well-maintained and cared for. Signs of wear and tear, but they bore the marks of being inflicted carefully on the glove without affecting any function of it. Much like the rest of this one's appearance, hiding competence under the assumptions of those from the Quarter's streets.

Studying it also helped keep my mind off what the two of them had said. I couldn't ignore it forever, though.

"I've finally gone insane," I said absentmindedly. "All that Diabolism tainted by the dead souls going inside me, it screwed with my head and now I'm hallucinating."

The ragged 'Malvia Harrow' finally finished her pull of the drink. "Eh, you're partially right."

"You did absorb much of that foul magic," 'Lily Xang' agreed. "But you have not been driven insane, and you are not hallucinating. Not more than most people do."

"I'd say you two pretty well count as hallucinations," I snapped. "Unless you're a pair of shapeshifters, getting revenge by driving my mind to madness? If so, you've done a good job so far."

"We could be biosculptors," the first one said, putting down her teacup. "Or other magical shapeshifters. The main distinction between your opponents a couple of months ago and other magical shapeshifters was speed, not so much the ability. We could be other opponents of yours who set up an elaborate trap involving kidnapping you and putting you out to sea, couldn't we?"

I was being mocked, which didn't stop my brain from trying to plot out how they could have done such a thing.

The second one let out an exasperated sigh. "Could you not? Things are probably going to be bad enough without feeding her paranoia. She's probably thinking about how to slip a knife into our eyes or between our ribs before we do anything else."

Well, that wasn't wrong. Unfortunately, I had not a single blade on me, and most of my hidden weapons were on the shelves. The ones that weren't here. There was a gun under the countertop. Which the Ragged one was currently grinning at me from behind while she took another swig of her drink.

"Come on," she said, suddenly thrusting the tankard under my nose. "It's mead with that sulfur flavoring you love so much."

To my annoyance, my mouth began to salivate some. It had been a while since I'd enjoyed a cup, ever since Edwards had banned me from the Hells' Own for a second time. I was not taking a drink, though.

"I'm dealing with this after I get changed," I snapped. "What was I thinking, coming down here in a-"

My eyes flickered down, and I found my train of thought derailed once again. I wasn't in my shift anymore, but instead dressed in the clothes from before the fight with the devil broke out. I hurriedly backed away, glancing around for something, anything to use as a weapon.

"It's okay," the Xang said. "There is no one here who means to hurt you. You are safe."

"You're safe for now," the Ragged one corrected. "Later might be different."

"In what way?" I asked probingly, still keeping a wary distance from both of them. Mind control? Mental manipulation would be the best way to describe all of this, they were putting me other to do things like…put me into perfectly tailored clothes. The comfort from not having to just stick your tail through an imperfectly cut hole that was…very nice.

"And you were scolding me for making her too paranoid," The Xang said to the Ragged one. "You don't have to worry about danger now, Malvia. Later perhaps, but not for now."

I looked between the two of them, then down at the clothes again.

"I'm going to take a guess," I said. "I passed out after defeating the devil, I remember that. Did I wake up?"

"Nope," The Ragged One said.

"Of course I'm in a dream," I muttered. "Why does it always have to be a dream?"

"At least it is a more pleasant one than diving into your memories," The Xang said.

"Take a look outside," the Ragged One suggested.

I glanced at the front of my shop. The window was wide open, shattered bits of glass still in its twisted and broken frame. Of course.

I moved to it, looking down at the lapping waters brushing up against the bottom of the frame, then looked out. Nothing but a blank sky and a sun hanging lazily in it. Somehow, I could look right at it without feeling my eyes water or in pain. More evidence of this being a dream.

The sun changed in front of me, and the sky behind it, forming the impression of a face that winked at me cheekily. I had a second to gape at it before it snapped back into place, the shining sun somehow not even making my eyes hurt.

I knew that face.

I stared at where it had been, taking in a deep breath. The pieces had already been falling into place, but now I knew who was responsible.

"Come on," the raggedly dressed one said excitedly, having come up behind me. "You know you want to."

I was stuck in a dream. And based on everything else, I had a good guess who constructed it. They'd just winked at me.

"Tagashin!"

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