𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

"Belos was lying!" Luz exclaimed, Hunter looked back at the portrait in slight disbelief. 

"Wild witches weren't attacking him!" She glared at the boy. "How could you help someone like that?"

"He didn't know," Georgia frowned at Luz, gently pushing the girl away before looking at Hunter with a raised brow. 

"...Right?"

Hunter shook his head shakily, Georgia nodding a little as Luz hummed suspiciously.

"That was... probably a special technique to get people to listen to his message," Hunter stormed off. "It's... It's for the greater good."

Luz glared at Hunter's denial, Georgia frowning at him slightly. The Latina began walking up to Hunter, about to talk some sense into him before Georgia spotted green-tentacle like objects nearing them, tapping on Luz's shoulder.

"Luz, we might want to start running!" She cried out, Luz screaming after as they followed the giggling purple child.

"AGH! He found us!"

The kid hopped into a different portrait, his feet landing in the soft snow on the other side as the group followed, running up a steep hill to where a group of people stood, Belos still the centre of attention.

The child spotted a long piece of rope lying across a witch's shoulder. He jumped up, grabbing the rope before running deeper into the crowd of nine people.

"What's the kid doing?" Hunter questioned while Luz hugged her arms close from the cold and shushed the boy as Georgia shivered a little.

Seeing this, Hunter lifted his arm slightly, Georgia noticing this as she sidled up to him, the boy placing his arm over her shoulder as his cape covered her slightly. 

"Look what wild magic has done to your city," Belos frowned, gesturing to the burning town, smoke arising from its remains. 

"Now imagine what it's doing to you!" He clenched his fist. "A city can rise from the ashes. But a soul..."

Belos shook his head, the people gasping as they looked at one another in worry.

"What does that mean?" The female witch gasped, questioning, looking at the others as they murmured in worry.

"Wait... what?" Another witch asked, frowning.

Luz frowned, Hunter's gaze trained on his uncle as Georgia looked at the people in concern.

"I can make your magic pure again, as the Titan intended!" Belos cheered.

He held his staff out, another Golden Guard placing a grey glove onto his hand, the golden tip on his pointer glowing as the nine townsfolk held their wrists out.

The Guard walked closer to the people, tapping his finger against their wrists as different sigils with different logos appeared on them. The townsfolk smiled at each other in relief, some holding their arms up in joy as Belos' voice continued to speak.

"Welcome to your new covens!"

The purple-skinned witch from before smiled, lowering her arm to look at her sigil before it began to glow a light lilac, the woman covering her eyes before they shut in pain. The sigil began glowing, purple lines streaking across her arm slowly as the woman looked at her arm in horror, eyes wide.

She let out noises of pain, wincing as the lines continued to streak upwards, onto her face. Her eyes were clamped shut, and as she opened them again, they were glowing, a purple glow surrounding her.

The three teenagers watched in horror as all of the other nine villagers were covered in similar streaky lines and their eyes were glowing, each glow being in nine different hues. Georgia's eyes widened in horror as she saw them collapse one by one, the air thick with a deadly silence.

The Golden Guard walked towards the oracle witch, placing a hand on her arm as he paused.

"They're..." He muttered. "Still alive."

"Then we still have some work to do," Belos responded, walking down the rock he used as a platform. "Gather the palismen."

The Golden Guard immediately got to work, grabbing all the staves he needed and saw, walking towards Belos. The older man effortlessly broke the top of a staff off, shaking it before walking off. The Golden Guard looked back at the woman one last time, her breathing painful as she wheezed, before walking off.

Luz grimaced at the sight, Georgia's pace in breathing picking up slightly as she felt an itch in her scars. Hunter continued to look down at the woman in pity and fear, Luz's gaze soon darting to the two other teens in concern. 

The wind began to howl as snow fell from the sky. The child giggled, jumping out of the portrait as Hunter soon followed with a glare present on his face, Luz helping Georgia out as she tried to resist scratching her scars.

"You can't deny it now! Belos is trying to hurt people!" Luz frowned, pointing a finger back at the portrait.

"He was just... perfecting sigil magic!" Hunter glared. "Besides, maybe he's remembering things wrong! Who knows how mindscapes work!"

Hunter glared, his eyes widening as he spotted the child hiding from behind a tree root, giggling.

"I thought you did!" Luz frowned. 

"Well," He whipped around, facing Luz. "Maybe I'm an idiot! You! Get back here!"

Hunter took off running after the kid, as Georgia called out his name, she and Luz soon ran after him. He began picking up speed as he spotted the child not too far from him.

Suddenly, the small boy came to a halt, Hunter soon followed the boy's actions as the purple kid turned around with the sack in his hands. A roar was heard from behind the group as they whipped around in slight fear.

"Huh?" Luz raised an eyebrow as they spotted the beast, his smoking arms raised as he roared.

The three teenagers screamed, running as the thing chased after them, a downhill slope soon leading to a new, almost completely different atmosphere. 

The tree before them had an eclipse moon-like face engraved in it as it smiled eerily down at the group. Embedded in its trunk was a tapestry of Eda's portal door within it, the child hopping through with Luz and Georgia following not far behind.

Hunter hesitated, looking at the last memory before looking back at the creature which slowly walked towards the boy, smoke lifting off of it, growling.

Hunter's eyes were wide with horror, mouth agape as Luz called out his name, the Latina's head sticking out while Georgia was halfway in. He looked back at her in hesitation before Georgia called his name once more.

"Hunter, please," She begged, Luz, holding her arm out as well before he placed his hands in theirs, the two females pulling him in.

Hunter landed on his knees with a groan, Georgia and Luz catching him as the child watched them, the beast nearing.

It stuck its snout through the painting, letting out heavy breaths as it sniffed, Georgia clutching onto Hunter and Luz tight. Her eyes were screwed shut, holding her breath in as Hunter and Luz watched the creature in fear.

Soon, it pulled itself away from the painting, its snout disappeared and all three started to relax, all of them gasping for air as they panted. They sat down for a while, Georgia resting her head on Hunter's shoulder as Luz's arm was around the child.

The small boy pulled her arm off of him, grunting before running off, Luz's eyes widening in horror once she realised where they were, gasping.

"He's got the portal?!" Luz hissed, the child running around the workplace as he collected small items, placing them in the sack.

"Did you know about this?!" Luz glared at Hunter, pointing a finger at the door as the child giggled with glee.

"Of course," Hunter placed his hand on a nearby pipe. "I helped him rebuild it."

Luz continued to glare as Georgia looked around the place with a slight gulp, uneasy as her ears perked up at the sound of Belos' voice.

"I can hear you," Belos' voice spoke up, almost sing-song like.

Georgia gasped, Luz's eyes widened in shock and Hunter's own eyes were surprised as well. Belos walked up towards where the door was fixated. He looked behind him, Georgia's eyes widening in horror, her breathing picking up as a set of giggles interrupted the tension. 

The group looked behind them to where they thought the source of the noise was. Two sets of glowing eyes appeared from a set of tree branches, a smiling eclipse-themed silhouette appeared from the shadows.

"You caught me!" He cheered, gliding across the walls in glee. 

He brushed past Luz's feet to the pipe where Hunter's hand lay. The Guard pulled his hand away in surprise, Georgia calming herself as the shadow continued to travel elsewhere.

"To you who stray so far from home. To me who's trapped beneath these bones!" Their shape morphed into a fist before changing into a group of witches, bowing in fear.

"We'll play forever, me and you! When you paint the land in nine bright hues!" Their shadow morphed into one which roughly looked like the Day of Unity, the skull roaring.

The little figures bowing to the Titan shrieked in fear as they were blown away, the shadowed figure smiled to himself, the skull shrinking as he held it.

He giggled sinisterly, placing themself above the portal door as Belos smiled at the shadowy figure.

"What can I do for you, Collector?" Belos questioned.

"I'm bored!" The Collector exclaimed, gliding across the wall before throwing themself into the arms of a statue, laying themself across it.

"Is the Draining Spell ready yet?" He smiled. "I wanna play and see everything go all..."

He shrieked with a smile, using the statue he lay across as a template before slowly vanishing, speaking of petrification. Or disintegration.

Georgia couldn't tell which one.

"You'll have your fun on the Day of Unity," Belos smiled, walking down the stairs. 

Collector through themself against the portal door, acting across it.

"Betrayed, beguiled, alone, deceived!" They placed a hand across their forehead. "We'll have our revenge on... Ugh! 'Unity' is so hard to rhyme."

Luz looked over to Hunter, getting over her initial shock. The boy shrugged, not sure how to answer Luz's glare as he himself didn't know about this shadowy figure.

At that moment, someone ran through him, Hunter's eyes widening in horror, Luz's eyes wide in surprise as Georgia carefully looked at Hunter. He gripped his body, making sure that he was still alive as Georgia placed a hand on his back soothingly and in worry.

"I-I know you didn't want me going to Eclipse Lake," Belos' memory of Hunter stuttered. "But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to find this and the Hathaway!"

Hunter pulled a key out, and a scout behind him appeared with Georgia's unconscious body lying in their arms.

Georgia's breath hitched, her eyes wide in fear as Belos whipped around, grabbing the key from the boy, the memory Hunter's eyes were wide in the surprise of the man's actions.

What he didn't notice was the Emperor's needy gaze at the blood that leaked down, a wicked blue tinge to his eyes.

"Some... of the Titan blood did spill, but if you let me explain–"

"Leave," Belos hissed. "Now. And put that girl in a cell."

"But you promised that she won't be hurt," Hunter's eyes widened. "She'll be okay, right?" 

"She will be just fine unless you choose not to leave," Belos glared, Hunter's eyes widening before he gave in, the scout walking away.

Footsteps became softer as a door was soon shut, Collector's voice echoing through the room. 

"Ooooh, you were mad. I thought you were gonna go all," Collector grinned, morphing into a beast while flailing tendrils around. 

"RAAAAGH! On that kid."

"Not as long as he stays on the right path," Belos hummed, turning around. "I say, 'The Titan has big plans for you,' and he does what he's told. Unlike the previous attempts."

Belos shrugged, Collector soon flying to Belos' side.

"I'm starting to think you make those things just to destroy them," He grinned before chuckling. "You have fun with it. Admit it!"

"Of course, I don't, Collector," Belos responded. "It hurts every time he chooses to betray me. And now, I have to be more careful than ever, because it seems that... something's causing him to go astray..."

"...What?" Georgia muttered, looking over to Hunter, noticing Luz's worried gaze on him.

They soon reappeared out of the memory, the child gripping onto the sack tight as he ran out eagerly. Luz then pulled Georgia out of the memory, the brunette witch soon pulling Hunter out of the memory, reaching a hand out to him in concern.

"Sounds like he wants to wipe out all life on the demon realm," Luz began. "And the sigils help him do that."

None of them seemed to notice the kid running in a circle, placing objects on the ground behind him.

"Luz..." Georgia frowned at the Latina, shaking her head slightly as Luz sighed.

"Hunter, um, listen," Luz began. "You don't need to return to the castle. You can stay at the Owl House if you want. I'm sure Eda would be cool with it once we tell her what we heard."

Both the girls instantly dropped their smiles, seeing what the boy was looking at.

It wasn't a pretty sight to see.

Cracked masks lay all along with the floors of the hallway, roots growing through them as portraits were splayed across the walls, presenting their demise.

Georgia gasped, covering her mouth with one hand as she placed her other hand on his shoulder, Luz frowning with wide eyes in horror.

"Hunter... I'm... I'm so sorry," Georgia mumbled, the boy saying nothing as he rested his head on the tree trunk.

The silence was interrupted by a loud crack coming from behind them, Luz and Georgia looked behind to spot the child holding a broken Golden Guard mask, breaking it in half as red sparked from it. He tossed it into the crimson blaze before him, Luz glaring as she ran towards the fire.

"Hey! Stop that!" She glared, pulling the child away, Georgia standing in front of the kid as the fire blazed, Hunter sweeping his cape over the fire to make it die down before stomping all over the flames.

"Why would he do that?" Luz raised an eyebrow, the child running off as Georgia shrugged.

Hunter stepped back, wind picking up as a small wisp of black goo soon gathered, entering a rope circle that had been set up. Vials of golden potions lay near the rope, a few arrows aimed near the centre before the goo gathered together, forming the creature that they had been running from all along.

It screeched, mouth glowing blue as it landed in front of the three. Strangely, little voices filled their ears, screaming warnings to them.

"Get away from him!" A voice screamed. "Danger! Danger! Run!"

"Are those... Palismen?" Luz asked in horror, Georgia looking back in slight fear, scars starting to glow.

"We weren't running from the inner Belos," Hunter mumbled with horrified eyes in realisation. "He was with us... the whole time."

The child behind them started sobbing as they watched him in fear, his sobbing soon turning into maniacal laughter as he pulled his wooden sword out. He raised it above his head, sticking the rope as it lit up with red electricity. 

The ropes sparked the vials as they landed on the palismen souls, the trio watching the thing try to fight back, stumbling around the rope came to life again, wrapping around the thing as it collapsed. 

It screeched in pain, smoke soon appearing from its skin as Luz and Hunter turned to face the child. Luz glared as Hunter's eyes bore fear. Georgia looked at the souls in pity as she neared them, horror embedded in her eyes as red flames began to eat away at them.

She reached a hand to the creature, but just as it was about to touch the palismen, a claw-like hand appeared, grabbing her wrist and dragging her down as she cried out.

"Georgia!" Hunter's eyes widened in horror as the boy began to shift form.

His small features morphed into elongated arms, his height increasing as vines wrapped themselves around the girl, holding her back from casting another spell.

Georgia cried out in pain as she winced, the grip of the vines on her too tight for comfort as Hunter looked at his Uncle, who now stood before them with a sinister glare, smiling.

"Hello, Hunter. Hello, Luz."

–––

there might be a blood/gore warning next chapter : )

- sam