Darkness' Touch

Chapter 18: Visits

"You should eat properly. You're paler than the last time I saw you."

Avy and Ares were getting ready to leave the cave after spending time with the small child and making sure that he has all the necessities to survive. It was already noon when they decided to go back to town just after Kill performed another spell casting on the Lady to form a new connection with her.

"Yes, Mama." Kill answered with a nod.

Seeing how he looked up to her and cared about her well-being, Avy felt the need to return the favor. She wanted to do more for the child, therefore an idea entered her mind.

"Hey." she walked towards Ares who was busy getting his hands on the books he found.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to take his eyes off the pages.

"Is there a way for me to also know about his state even when I'm away?" her question made her curse servant stop on what he was doing. He closed the book and stared at her for a few seconds, looked at the child a few meters away from them, and then back at her before answering.

"This may not be a good thing for the kid. But recalling Prosperine's memories, she used to put marks on her enemies so that she could monitor their magical state and find a perfect opportunity to strike. It only requires having contact with the target for more than five seconds or so, but she wouldn't be able to hurt them. That's because they were already adults, but I cannot say the same if it was a child. And one more thing, she used those on the people who betrayed her. Do you know why?" he paused for a while with a malevolent grin plastered on his face.

"Her power allows her to use other people as a substitute if ever her life was in danger. That's the reason why she was known as the Immortal Witch. She can get hurt whenever she wants but if things get nasty and she reaches her limits, the one who dies wasn't her but her scapegoats. It requires the consent of both parties to activate the spell, so she forces those who have pointed their weapons at her in exchange for not taking their lives. But that mentally ill woman liked experimenting with magic, and she doesn't trust other people with it, so she uses herself as a lab rat since she won't die anyway. Those traitors just drop dead without knowing that they have been murdered by her." he narrated in detail as if he was there when it all happened.

Avy eyes him with suspicion "How do you know all that?" she asked.

"Did I not tell you? All of Prosperine's memories were passed down onto me the moment she died, including the ones she had already buried and never wanted to remember again. I am the hatred she had in her heart, it was so immense that she was able to turn it into a curse that would live forever." he replied, his tone of voice made it too obvious that she despises the first holder.

"So, how do you do the second one? And what are the benefits I can get from it?" Avy asked once again, coming back to their previous topic.

"Pledges. The one you will mark should first agree before you could perform the spell. Like the first one, you can monitor how much mana the other party has. If it's stable or not. But it also basically gives you complete control over their lives, like a spare puppet that would die for you the before your body reaches the limit of pain it can take."

Avy did not spare a second to think before going back to where Kill was standing and it seemed like she had already made a decision. Ares just watched her from a distance. He has no plans to stop her on whatever she would do, may it be something that can harm other people as long as she doesn't put her life on the line. He's seen worse, a simple act of sacrifice won't make him budge.

Avy kneeled in front of the small boy and spoke. "You have put a spell on me, correct?" he nodded his head in response.

"I will put one on you as well, and it is not as simple as the one you did. This is also my first time, I'm just giving it a try." she said before taking a deep breath "I want you to think of my life as yours, will that be alright?"