Faithful - Ignis Scientia x Abused!Reader

Chapter 1 - In need

"We're here."
Your gaze shifted over to Wiz, who was pointing in the direction of the mountainside. A cave entrance peeked through a few rocks, leaving your curiosity quite intrigued. "There's no sight of the mother, unfortunately. But there's a good chance the egg is still safe n' sound inside the cave," he said, expressing concern for the black chocobo he had seen a few days back.

"This area is crawling with predators, I doubt she's still alive," you said gloomily, giving your own chocobo a pat on its neck from your saddle. A smile formed on your lips, chocobos had a big place in your heart. Except for the smell, that was.

"Could you be so kind and go and look for it? My back ain't as good as it used to be, n' someone needs to watch these mischievous ones. If something goes wrong, call me immediately, Y/N." Wiz knew he was putting you in danger, but he also knew that you were a smart girl. Getting out of difficult situations was your forte.

"Sure, grandpa," you teased, giving him a smile before sliding off your chocobo. Wiz sighed, but you knew he didn't mind because the two of you were really comfortable around each other. He was like a father to you after all. You slid off your chocobo and handed its reins to Wiz. "Don't worry about me, I'll be quick," you ensured with certainty, smiling again. "Ah, yer smile could brighten anyone's day," Wiz said proudly, making you shy and shaking your head in denial.

Walking towards the cave entrance, you immediately noticed how small it was. It certainly made you nervous, but venturing forth would be worth it if the chick inside the egg was still alive, black chocobos were an endangered species after all.
As you walked, the sounds from your boots walking in wet soil were loud, and the humidity in the cave was annoyingly high.

When the light from the sun couldn't reach anymore, you grabbed a flashlight hanging from your belt. 'Click' it said, and so the cave was easy to navigate through. "Talk about a horror movie setting..." you mumbled, keeping your eyes open wide. After walking for a while, it felt like the space became smaller. But it wasn't easy to tell if you were getting tired of walking or if the walls really came closer to you as you furthered into the cave. Things were starting to feel suspicious, though. Every now and then you would hear some weird sounds, as if a presence was there with you, maybe even plotting to kill you. Shivers went up your spine at the thought, causing you to shake your head. You were just scaring yourself with thoughts like that. So you reverted back to your original mindset.

"No sign of the egg... Maybe it's not in here after all?" you thought hopelessly, and sighed. Chocobos rarely even laid eggs inside caves, so something must have spooked the chocobo into the cave, to look for cover. But that wasn't very likely, either. Suddenly something caught your attention; there was a big and open room, just ahead of you. Too curious to retreat back to Wiz, you walked towards the empty space, forgetting the eerie feeling you just had.

All of a sudden you heard a voice speak to you: "Your soul... give me space..."

Instantly you looked behind you to see slime dripping from the ceiling. Your eyes darted upwards and met eight sinister eyes looking down at you. Above you was a bat-like daemon with so many eyes and a gaping mouth seeping with saliva. You screamed before darting off in the opposite direction of the daemon, but your knees could only carry you so far before you felt a force grab hold of your body. Your flashlight slowly fell out of your hands as you had no control over your own body. The huge monster plunged towards the ground and landed before you. In your defense, you yelled: "Get away from me!" Little did you know it would respond.

"No! You are the perfect host!" it screamed at you with its high-pitched voice, so loud and piercing that your ears physically hurt. Your flashlight that was now stuck in the mud happened to perfectly capture the creature's features; its purple-tinted skin looked burnt and old, and inside its gaping mouth were not only one but two sets of needle-sharp teeth. Cold sweat drenched your back as you prepared for your very death. Slowly you felt yourself becoming drowsy like it was entering your mind and there was no space left for you. Breathing became difficult and you could no longer think.  A weak gasp left your throat before you faded completely into darkness.