Chapter 235: Amusingly Eldritch
Slowly, bit by bit, the ruler of Allure settled down.
Mercury kept his eyes closed, not looking at them. He left the world the same as it was, familiar and safe. He just sat there, and listened for any change.
It was about maintaining safety for Allure. They were so terrified of change, but yet so scared of who they were. He breathed. How troublesome. Keeping a small sigh inside, Mercury simply placed his head on his paws, and waited.
Minutes ticked by, slowly trickling into hours. That was fine. Mercury had a whole world inside him to practice his magic. He just needed to be present for now, and he was, so that was fine.
Eventually, it was Allure that spoke first. "You're still here, right?" they asked.
"Yeah," Mercury said.
There was a long pause. "That's… good," Allure eventually managed. "I… don't think I deserve your help."
"Okay," Mercury said.
"If I asked you to go away, would you?" they asked.
"That's a difficult question," Mercury said. "Hmmm. It's your decision, and I don't want to take that right away from you. At the same time, it doesn't seem like you're in a state to make that decision with all your heart. And then, there's the fact that if you break, it'll cause harm to so many more people… But yeah. I'd leave. I'd clean up the aftermath, and do my best, but I cannot justify changing you against your will. Even if that means you die."
Being able to choose mattered. He hated taking away that choice. Even what he had done to Oberon still made him feel disgusting, necessary as it was. But with a court like this one? He couldn't justify doing that kinda thing.
Allure had to choose it. Otherwise, he would go away, sticking to the borders of the breaking realm, saving any fae who wanted to be saved to the best of his ability. Stopping the realm from breaking, until the ruler self-destructed and he cleaned up the rubble.
Only if it was necessary though.
"I see," Allure replied slowly. Their form shifted on the cracked throne. "May I run a hand through your fur?"
"No." Mercury shook his head. Allure flinched slightly. "I'll remain firm on this. We mortals have a concept called 'boundaries'. It is important to help others in whatever capacity one is able, but boundaries are what we need to keep ourselves safe while doing so," he explained. "Letting you touch me might make you feel better. But it would make me feel worse. It's more than I'm comfortable with. So, no. You may not. Because my happiness is important to me, too."
There was another long pause. "Right," Allure said with a sigh. "Right. I- It was stupid, just forget about it."
Mercury shook his head a little. "Don't overthink it. You asked, I said no, that's that. No harm done. Nothing to hate yourself for."
Allure gave a long pained groan. "I shalt try."
"Awesome," Mercury said.
More time passed, the thoughts in Allure's head luckily not getting a chance to spiral. Mercury hadn't considered that use of
He wondered, for a bit, if he could also use
"I'm scared," Allure eventually said.
"That's okay. Nothing wrong with being scared. You'll see that once you make a decision, it's not so bad. I think that often, the decision we make matters a lot less than just making one in the first place," Mercury told them.
There was a faint huff of amusement from Allure. "You sure are giving a lot of advice for someone thousands of years younger than me."
He shrugged. "If I'm right, I'm right."
Allure sighed. "Yeah."
Time passed. Never too much, only a few minutes. "Can you take the fear away?"
"Sure," Mercury said. "I'm pretty sure some, if not most of it, will fade."
"I think I'd like that."
Mercury smiled. "Okay. Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit. I will have to look at you, though. Is that okay? If you'd like, I can see about putting you to sleep."
"It's… okay. I want to be there," they said.
"Alright. I'll open my eyes now, is that okay?"
"Yeah."
With that affirmation, Mercury did just as he promised. He opened his eyes.
They were beautiful and abominable. Mercury's eyes held some of his Skills after all. Looking at them was like staring at the reflective surface of a perfectly still pond. It was like standing in the middle of a storm. It was like walking through the horrid maze of Truth and like seeing the edge of the world open up to the Void.
Stardust gathered and dispersed, rainclouds fell, and as Allure looked into them, they felt themselves unravel.
It was such a strange feeling. Knowing that someone else was finding your secrets, taking apart who you are at the very core. Looking past all the lies and falsehoods, picking it all apart.
Allure felt as though they were turned into spaghetti. As if they were a tapestry or carpet, and Mercury was picking each string out. Slowly but surely, they dissolved, going from a fully woven piece of art to a mess of tangled strings, laid bare.
Each written secret, so intricately hidden in a greater pattern, was now laid bare. Each red stain, each hopeless bit of horror, each grain of self hatred. Allure felt terrified, that they would be like this forever, that they would never be able to change, that Mercury would hate them or find them disgusting and discard them right there.
But he didn't.
Slowly, gently, Allure could feel him interact with the strings. Some were cleaned, in a rainstorm. Pieces of their personality washed off. Some were turned, put back in a slightly different place. Some were picked apart further, into fibres, and remade entirely.
It was a process that was both intimate and yet distant. Allure didn't feel pain, and after some time, the fear turned from acute panic to a dull ache, instead. It wasn't gone, not taken from them. Just softened.
Bit by tiny bit, that endless storm washed over Allure, picking off stains, washing out too-bright colours, adding little touches when needed. It was artful, and terrifying, and fulfilling all at once. A strange mix of feelings that came from the wholescale reweaving of who they were as a person.
And then, it was done. The storm receded.
Instead of the rain, the thing that had once been Allure felt themselves being pulled at. A million strings, slowly being reassembled into a similar yet different portrait. For a moment they wondered whether they were the same person.
Was this a rebirth? A change? Was it the same as, say, taking drugs, and having a filter removed, or were the alterations so substantial that they were truly different now?
A new name.
They wanted a new name. It was… a change. Did their personhood carry over? Had this thing ever been a person? Things felt more solid now, more stable, grounded.
Before, those kinds of existential thoughts might have made their thoughts take a dark path, but now… they seemed so soft. Not pointless, but also not particularly important. They were just descriptors. There was no absolute truth there, just decisions they got to make.
Were they still the same person? Sure. To some degree, and enough of one where they could accept it. Were they also different? Very.
Bit by bit, this new ruler came together, and eventually, it was done. Things locked into place, each thread secured by a hundred others. It would change and wear with time, but it would not fall apart easily.
Mercury yawned, tiredly, at this new ruler. The thing that had once been allure looked at him. They traced their fingers on the blanket, the thing that seemed to make the entire world softer, slower. "Benefactor," they declared, and the world rumbled in acceptance.
"Again?" Mercury asked with a gentle rolling of his eyes. "Well, I suppose it's fine. Do you want a name?"
"Yes." The world left their mouth - they had a mouth - before they even realized it. But they wanted one.
"Sure. Then your name will be Miryum. Miryum of Affection."
It was such a lovely name. Miryum felt a tear roll down their cheek - they had cheeks! And eyes! - and they took a shaky breath. Despite millenia of practice, Miyum thought now was the time. "Thank you," they said.
This was the very first time those words had ever left their lips. Centuries spent without any true expressions of gratitude. The world trembled ever so faintly.
Mercury smiled. "No prob," he said, and the debt was dismissed.
Miryum didn't even have the metal space to be surprised anymore. "Can I keep the blanket?"
"Of course," Mercury said with a smile. Then, he yawned again. With a small sigh, he closed his eyes, and a long few seconds passed before he opened them again. They were less deep now. Just eyes. Almost bland, really.
He smiled. It was so strangely human, all that depth washing away like it had never been there. "I'm hungry," he said. "Got anything to eat around?"
"... Yeah," Miryum said. "Come on, Sera. Let's get our guests a meal."
The ancient one listened without complaint. Their eyes were fixed on Mercury for a long moment. "Fine then," they said, then turned around with a haughty "hmpf!" and walked off into the distance.
Mercury found himself pleased with this. A meal… lovely. He didn't really need a bed. Two of his zeyjn were already asleep, resting within his dream garden.
Around him, the air had changed since he turned Allure into Affection. It was a subtle change, really, because there wasn't much wrong with the idea of Allure per se. The fact that it was unreciprocated, and treated as a trap, was far more troublesome.
Nothing wrong with being liked. There is something wrong with using that to exploit others, so Mercury shaved down that aspect. It hadn't taken too much effort, really. Despite the cracks, it was a relatively routine change.
There was one difference, though. Fae were creatures of perception, so usually, what others thought of them could heavily impact that way they interfaced with the world. With
Stories might bounce off a bit more. It wasn't even that they were tethered to him as an anchor, but just that they were more solid in and of themselves. A small change in their natures, but a rather noticeable one for sure.
Shaking off the thought, Mercury just enjoyed the landscape. Affection had changed faintly. Previously, there had been traps covered with illusions, and now, those traps had faded. It was looking a little more empty, but still rather lovely.
Pink grass covered the cobbled roads in patches. None of them were razor sharp anymore, having dulled. The alteration had, amusingly, brought a lot of Honesty to Affection. Seifes wore a faint smile of sunlight on their veil as they followed, Alice and Orin shortly behind. Miryum led the way with Sera, still unsure on their legs.
The new ruler of Affection was taller than that of Allure, and more substantial. They had long legs, clad in dark boots. Their body was covered in soft, pinkish fur, and they sported two slender arms, long gloves stretching from their palms up to halfway on their upper arms. Their head was something between a cat and a fox, wearing a wide brimmed straw hat.
They walked, until they arrived at the house of Affection. Sera's full body was a bit different, stretching wide, countless little maws spread all over the place. They were somewhat predatory by nature, in a way that many of the other ancients weren't - but that was fine, really. Mercury thought that they seemed the type to let prey go.
By comparison, the palace of Affection was rather meagre. There was no grand entry hall like for Shadow, no endless rooms and vast tunnels like for Chill. Instead, it was an unassuming cottage, wreathed from vines. In fact…
"Is that gingerbread?" Mercury asked. "And… fondant?"
Sera grinned, brimming with pride. "Amazing, isn't it? Mortals can't resist sugar. Not much in this world can," they said.
"Did you make it yourself?" Mercury asked.
"I did!" Sera nodded. "When you have eternity to spend, you need to find interests. The fae are so dreadfully boring. Always the same schemes and backstabbing. There is no drama in that, no playfulness. No, no, I find mortals far more fun. Have you ever watched human children eat cookies? Their joy… I find myself envious, you know!"
They turned, spreading their arms wide. "So, I steal some of that joy for myself! I lure them in, let them smile for as long as they want, sleep, and then send them back. It's amazing how willing they are to give away a bit of happiness."
Mercury laughed. "Truly," he said. "Your machinations are sinister."
Sera brightened even more. "The most! You'll hardly find someone as evil as me," they said, striking a pose.
"Do you ever kill them?" Alice asked.
"What?!" Sera cried in indignation. "No! Oh, goodness, no. If I did that, how would I lure them in again?"
Alice blinked. "... Right," she said. She glanced at Mercury, wearing a faint smile, and he just nodded back. It seemed he'd been right. Sera really was rather… harmless. They behaved more like a grandparent crossed with a thief than anyone truly evil.
"Fear is fine and good," they said. "But I've been with this court for as long as I can imagine. It is my job to be alluring, to draw in. I can hardly do that if people are terrified by stories of me! No, no. No terror! That's all wrong."
Sera vehemently shook their head as they opened the door to the cottage. "See! It's nice and bright, warm and comfortable. Come in. Smile. Laugh. Celebrate. Live a little."
Mercury shook his head faintly, then stepped through the doorway. It was, in fact, a trap that could snap shut. But he'd get out for a cheap price. All he needed to do was smile, and he didn't much mind the idea of that at all.
Worst case, he could always tear a hole in the world and escape through the void.
Not that he thought that would be necessary.
The table in the middle was made from what looked like solid wood. Until it unravelled into a tangled mess of vines and teeth. Dozens of ivy appendages grabbed plates and dishes from inside the horrid maw. Then it closed back up into the table, now decked with food.
Mercury almost laughed. How silly. How… human. Well, in some ways, at least. To use eldritch powers to feed people tasty food surely was the most normal way to use them.
And what about him? He had the power to entirely unmake people into their component parts, and he used it for… therapy. At that, he did finally chuckle, hopping onto one of the chairs. It could unravel to ensnare and digest him… but who cared, at this point? Sera clearly wouldn't do so. And if they did, they'd pay. Simple as.
"Soup? You seem like a soup guy, Mercury. This is pumpkin stew - well "pumpkin". Hah! It tastes the same, even if technically I made it from vines," Sera said, and a tendril of green pushed a wooden bowl towards him.
"Do you have a spoon?" Mercury asked.
"Ah, yes! Spoons. Yes, yes, certainly," they said, quickly rummaging through one of the cupboards and handing him one. It, too, was made from wood, though it was so thin and strong it looked more like metal.
Mercury smiled at the ancient one's silly antics. It was fun, seeing them mimic what humans needed. "You're silly, Sera."
"What!" they yelped. "Nay. Never. Me? Silly? How dare you. I curse you and your family lineage for seventeen generations."
No curse settled on him, and he laughed again. "Come," Miryum said. They sat down on a chair, too, sitting a bit further from the table. They and Seifes had both had to duck under the door. "Eat," they said.
Seifes, for their part, was using multiple hands to hold onto dishes, and a few more to stuff themselves. Cutlery passed through the rippling surface of their mask without trouble, and when it left, the food was gone.
Orin simply stuffed themselves, and Alice ate like the most human out of them. It was funny to watch, and Mercury smiled. And ate.
He was happy with how this court had turned out.