Mark of the Witch

1

^^ Onyx Obelisk (Solved) ^^

For a few moments, I was formless, a pained and itching glob of nothingness, seemingly in danger of dissipating like a cloud of fog, but slowly I pulled myself together, standing myself up tall and proud on a nonexistent floor. There was nothing to orientate myself with, so I chose a direction and stubbornly decided it was up; in response to this conviction, a curious grid appeared around me in all directions, hexagonal in shape, with my feet pressed firmly to one of the sides. My hands, when I held them up, glowed softly, but otherwise matched my hands when I'd been younger, with long and sharp harlot red nails, elegant henna tattoos decorating much of my visible and glowing pale-olive skin, my numerous shiny nicknack bracelets jangling on my wrists familiarly. My hair hung down my back in chaotic little waves and curls as it had so long ago, -before it'd all fallen out at the beginning of a stringent, taxing chemo treatment regimen,- though it was all a smoky white-grey gradient, despite my apparent rejuvenation. I'd preferred that color, the only thing about my aging body that I'd considered an improvement, and apparently it had adhered to my wishes there.

Seeing this, that it had done as I'd subconsciously preferred, I looked down at my bust, raising an eyebrow at the large and rather perky mounds which I hadn't seen for almost twenty years, given that they'd been removed to save my life. (Then again, they hadn't been that bouncy and pert for almost sixty years, but I wasn't going to complain.) As my eyebrow rose, I smiled at the sight of them shrinking slightly, reducing all the way down to a F-cup, which, given my rather robust form, was still more than generous. 'That should keep my back from hurting quite so badly...'

'Do you wish to make any further alterations to your Form, Ms. Tabitha Bambini?'

The sudden prompt of green text in front of me made me flinch, but I checked myself over carefully, then made myself a good bit taller, from my hobbit-like height of 5'2" to a towering 6' even, followed by a bit more volume to my hair, so it fluffed on its own luxuriously. "That should-!!!" My own voice surprised me, far smoother and peppier than it'd been in decades due to a rather unfortunate amount of cigarettes in my youth, but I quickly deepened it significantly, and then finalized it after a few small tests. "There, now that should do it!"

'Normally, one cannot alter their Avatar once it has been Finalized, but because you're a Special Case, you're actually in the 'Alpha Tester' Category, so you have Admin-Level Character Permissions, which means you may Alter your Avatar at will without consequences, Ms. Bambini. Anything you can think of, don't worry, we'll make it happen. Do you have any questions before we transfer you to your Permanent Residence?'

"Ooh, I get a house?"

'Yes, Ms. Bambini, Mrs. Bambini was quite specific, and we've done some of our finest work with the Digital Model of your Home and the surrounding properties, though you can alter it at will, of course, just like your Avatar. Would you like to see it?'

"Oh, that'd be just lovely, dear, it's been so long since I've been properly home!"

The hexagonal prism I'd made for myself shifted in the lightless expanse, almost instantly coming to rest on a cobbled stone road, looking up at a tall and thin white stone building, sandwiched between two others that looked nearly identical, but not quite; my grandfather had crafted the arches and wrought-iron railings of the balconies of each building differently, to differentiate between them. Ours had our family name, gorgeously designed with iron that'd been treated with salt to turn green instead of red, framed by the trumpet-toting cherubim that was the source of our family name. Three stories, two balconies, one rooftop greenhouse, all for one giant family.