Luz jolted up, gasping for air. She was confused as she looked around. Her memory was a bit fuzzy which just added to her concern. She was in a small room made of yellow brick, laying on a makeshift bedroll, under a tattered blanket. As she took in her surroundings, she noticed she was alone. However, there was stuff set up around the room. Her bag was laying open a few feet away, there was a fire, a cooking setup, and even a broken teacup that had hot water in it, a small trail of steam coming from it.
She heard footsteps coming from the other side of the room door and laid back down, trying to look like she was still asleep. The door opened, the footsteps came through, closed and locked the door, walked to the fire, paused, then moved over to Luz. She tensed up as she tried to remember what Hunter had taught her about self defense in situations like these, apparently he had experience attacking people that tried to attack him in his sleep, and got ready to attack whoever it was. The footsteps stopped and Luz could almost sense as the person knelt down and reached for their neck. Just before the attacker could touch her, she grabbed the person's arm in two places that would give her the best grip, flipped them over, and pinned them to the ground. She stayed on top of them for a few seconds, taking deep breaths as she stared at the shocked face looking back at her. Slowly, the gears in her head started to turn and she realized who it was.
The faded brown hair, the scar on his nose, the sharp features. All of it was familiar. Their ears were round and the curse was gone which was new, not to mention the much improved sense of style, but it was him.
"Philip." Luz gasped in relief.
She dropped her grip and got off him, moving back to her sleep setup and kneeling on it. Philip got up, hesitated for a second, then pulled Luz into a hug and started crying. He was holding her tight, as if the moment he let go she'd disappear.
"My Little Light. Oh I'm so glad you're okay. You're...you're awake. You're moving and strong and I-I...it is so amazing for you to be better." Philip softly cried.
"Better?" Luz chuckled, "What do you..."
Luz trailed off as she remembered all that happened before she woke up. Tarak returning, burning Amity, leaving Philip, the interrogation, Philip in her head, talking to Hunter, fighting Hunter, killing him, him attacking her, him stabbing her, leaving, Philip coming with her as she ran, and teleporting away to somewhere before...
"I died. Didn't I?" Luz asked in a hushed tone.
Philip released her from the hug and nodded slightly, looking at the ground. He looked back up, gave a small smile, and cupped Luz's cheek in his hand.
"But you're okay now. I brought you back." Philip said, more tears welling up in his eyes.
"How? How am I alive? How are you human again? Where even are we?" Luz asked.
Philip dropped his hand from Luz's face and stood up. He extended a hand to help her up, and they found she couldn't walk. Apparently Philip had prepared for this and grabbed a pair of crutches he had made. They tried again, found Luz just needed one for support, and Philip walked Luz to the door.
"I think it'd be easier if I just showed you." Philip said as he unlocked the door.
As Luz emerged from the room, she instantly recognized where she was. There was gold everywhere, simple yet elegant designs, tattered and burned banners of the coven heads and the emperor everywhere, shattered stained glass windows, paintings of the emperor's successes, and every hall was marked with the symbol of the emperor's coven.
Luz was in the castle.
"Man, this place looks different." Luz awkwardly chuckled.
"I was shocked too, but it makes sense. Looters and the Collector would be likely to target this place."
As they walked through, they walked past a massive mirror. Luz didn't pay any mind to it at first, but did a double take when she saw her reflection. She stopped and stepped closer, examining her reflection, which looked less like her and more like a strange alternate version of her.
The thing she noticed first was her ears. They were pointed instead of round. But unlike Philip's ears after he carved them, they looked natural. The next most jarring thing was the green streak going vertically down the side of her face, coming from her scar on her eyebrow. There were also a few relatively smaller details like her hair had grown a few inches and looked slightly paler. There were even some gray hairs Luz noticed upon closer inspection. Not to mention her eye bags were prominent and her cheekbones more obvious.
Philip came over and stood beside and slightly behind her. It was strange for both of them to see their reflections together. They were still themselves, but off. Slight differences like they were looking at themselves as though someone was told how they looked and went off that without actually seeing them.
"I brought you back to life using Titan's blood." Philip explained.
"You found some?"
"No. I used some from the vial in your bag. I had to be me again to help you so I used some on myself to get back to this form. Then, I used most of it to bring you back to life. There is still some left but...I couldn't just leave you like that."
"And because it's such a potent form of magic and I already had a bile sack, it turned me into a witch?"
"I believe so. It also was able to purify me of the curse."
Philip rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and showed his forearm where the glyph combo that caused his curse was. Instead of being active, it was a faded scar. He even pressed it to show that it wouldn't activate. Luz was amazed. He was finally human again.
As they looked in their reflections, Philip began to chuckle slightly.
"What is it?" Luz asked.
"Just with how we're posistoned, it looks almost like a royal portrait."
"Well you are the emperor. However, I don't think my mom would be interested." Luz chuckled.
"Are you sure? I've been told that I'm very charismatic."
"That must be why everyone listened to you. Seriously though, after dad died I haven't seen mom interested in...anyone, really. I've asked her about it and she's just said nobody could ever be as great as dad was. And as long as she isn't lonely, I'm perfectly fine with that."
As Luz thought about what she just said, her happy expression slowly fell and she began to tear up. Her breath hitched and her legs felt too weak to hold her up. She fell, Philip catching her quickly and helping her sit, and sobbed into his chest as he held her close.
"I-I left mom. I left her again a-and now...would she even recognize me? Do I even recognize me? She has Vee, sure, but I-I'm supposed to be there for her. I'm all she has left of dad. I'm so selfish. I'm so stupid. I'm...I'm sorry Philip. I'm sorry mom and Eda and Hunter and Amity and Boscha and everyone else. I just wanted to help. I just wanted to help."
Luz clutched onto Philip's shirt tightly as she just cried. And Philip just let her.
He didn't try to calm her down, or refute her claims, or even agree with her. He didn't wipe away her tears and tell her everything was going to be okay or tell her she shouldn't cry. He didn't make a fuss when his shirt became wetter and wetter with tears or when Luz's nose started running all over his shirt. He simply held her close and let her cry.
He wasn't active in her head anymore, but he did know what she needed.
To just sit and be close to someone, anyone, as she sobbed.
Eventually, Luz ran out of tears to shed. Her heart slowed and her breaths calmed, though she still held Belos tight. She scooted closer so she was sitting sideways in his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist. He had his arm laid over her shoulders and stroked her hair, relaxing her more.
"Do you hate me now that I'm a witch?" Luz weakly asked, just above a whisper.
"What? No. No, no, no, no, no. I would never hate you, Little Light. Human, witch, demon. Who cares? You're still the same you. And I'll always care about and do everything in my power to keep you safe."
"But you're fully human again. You don't have the curse anymore." Luz said, lifting up her head and loosening her grip.
"That doesn't mean I won't protect you from harm. And Luz..." Belos looked into the distance for a few seconds, before sighing, "You're the closest thing I've had to a daughter. And I know that's not great considering everything I've done-"
"What do you mean?"
"Hunter was right when he said I was manipulating you. From the very beginning my goal was to take you, the one most likely to not hand me over right away, and get you to do things that'd lead to me being brought back while keeping you none the wiser. I said things in your head, pushing you to act in ways that'd isolate you from your friends and get them to push you away so you'd just have me. I said things out loud that contradicted what I said in your head so you'd see me as reasonable, not catch on to me being in your head, and be more likely to listen to what I said in your head. I looked through all your memories to see what'd get you to listen to me. Be closer to me. I called you Little Light knowing that was unique to your mother and father.
"Every thought and memory you had was available for me to see and use against you. It's just like I said when we were back from the scouting mission. You should not trust me. Back then I was trying to use reverse psychology, but I'm not anymore. I'm done with the lying and manipulating and half truths. I care about you so much, Luz. As much as I cared about my own brother. Before you died I called you family and I meant it. You changed me, Luz. I'm a better person because of you. So who cares if you're a witch? Who gives a fuck if you have a curse? I did this to you. I lied to you for over a month. And so I'm going to do whatever it takes to help you. But only if you want me to."
Luz paused, looked at the ground, back at Philip, smiled and hugged him again.
"You taught me magic, helped me with the curse, and brought me back to life. Not everything was a lie. I still trust you, Philip. And none of your past mistakes will change that. Even if it's the recent past."
Philip hugged her back for a few seconds before releasing her again. When Luz looked at his face again, she saw a single tear running down his face. Philip noticed too and wiped it away with a chuckle.
"Thank you, Little Light."
"You're welcome, Philip. And by the way, I'm fine with you seeing me as a daughter. And I'd love having you as a dad. Well, more like a found-dad. Already have most of the found family roles filled, but that one is open."
Philip laughed and Luz smiled. She moved off his lap so he could stand up again. He helped her up and gave her her crutch. They stood close together as they continued through the halls, Philip making sure to not go too fast for Luz. Every time Luz caught their reflections in something, she smiled. They both looked so out of place, but also so natural since they were together.
"I look metal as hell." Luz remarked as they passed a reflective decorative shield laying on the ground.
"Language." Philip said, tone more firm than most of their interactions.
"You literally just swore."
"Swearing is okay. But do not speak of the devil, his domain, or take the lord's name in vain."
"Can I take the Titan's name in vain?" Luz asked curiously.
"Well, I personally don't worship the Titan so go for it. Any other religion you want to take in vain I do not care. I wouldn't recommend taking in vain the name of whatever god you follow, but it's up to you."
"I can not tell if you're the most or least chill puritan I know of."
"I try to be in the middle." Philip shrugged, before pausing and smiling at Luz, "You do look very metal. Whatever that means. Is it like cool?"
Luz chuckled and nodded.
"Well I'm glad you think you look metal now. In all honesty," Philip sighed, "You didn't always look like this. When you first came back, you looked sickly and malnourished for days. I tried feeding you and giving you water, but nutrition wasn't the problem. It was the curse."
"And because I'm fully a witch with a complete bile sack it was able to feed off that for its magic, but since I need magic to live it was killing me?" Luz guessed.
"Exactly."
"Guess that's why I was so tired before. But why do I look fairly good now?"
"Let me show you." Philip said, coming to a stop.
Luz looked in front of her and realized they were in front of the door leading to the throne room.
"It's a little different than how it was when you spied through the lock, just for your information." Philip prefaced before pushing the doors open.
Luz didn't even have time to comment about how he knew she was spying all those months ago when Eda was captured before getting blown away by the room.
It was massive with pillars lining the walls, a blood red carpet leading to a golden throne, and a massive heart behind it. However, the room did differ from both memory of the fraction Luz had seen and what she assumed the room used to look like. Pillars were crumbling, graffiti marked the walls, banners were burnt, the throne had a massive chunk broken off from what was likely the demon realm equivalent of a sledgehammer, and the heart had a massive slice carved through it as it lay on the ground. Not to mention the bloodstains.
Luz just whistled in surprise as her and Philip walked down the red carpet. Philip looked slightly uncomfortable and Luz looked around the room, reading the graffiti on the walls.
HUMAN SCUM
HE LIVES! DEATH TO THE EMPEROR!
THE TITAN HAS LEFT US
FALSE PROPHET
Every message was either insulting Philip and the secrets that had apparently been exposed or about the Titan. The most impactful message for both Luz and Philip, even though it wasn't even that bad by comparison, was directly on the broken throne.
LIAR, KILLER, FAKE GOD
The two continued down the carpet, but when they reached the steps to the throne, Philip froze. Luz looked over at him, concerned, as she stood on the first step.
"Are you okay, Philip?" She asked.
"Yes it's just...as I've said, I don't regret what I did. However, it's still painful seeing this is how people saw me after I was supposedly killed. So much wrath."
"You did try to kill them all." Luz awkwardly pointed out.
"I suppose their response is fair. This room just unnerves me whenever I come in here nowadays." Philip sighed, beginning to go up the steps.
"How long was I out?" Luz asked, walking with him.
"17 days. I got a lot done, but most of my time was spent on doing things that keep you alive, near dead and once you woke up. As such, I was able to experiment what would work with you to help with the curse, because I'm guessing you don't want to eat palismen."
Luz chuckled and nodded as they both reached the top of the steps. Luz gestured to the throne for Philip to sit in, but he gave an uneasy look and shook his head. Instead he sat down on the broken chunk of the throne that lay on the floor next to it. Luz shrugged and sat on the throne, propping her crutch up against the side of it. She crossed her legs and relaxed on the golden throne, a stark contrast from Philip sitting properly on a broken piece of it.
"So since you know I don't want to eat palismen, how did you get me to not look dead, or actually die?" Luz asked, her head held up by her hand as she leaned on the hard armrest.
"Well...I didn't entirely avoid palismen. To explain it simply, the curse feeds on magic. In my view, there are four kinds of magic. Natural magic is magic within creatures. Anything with a functioning bile sack uses natural magic. Organic magic is magic from the world itself. This includes glyphs which command and use the magic around them, as well as things that use magical things from the world. Artificial magic is man-made magic that mimics natural and organic magic using a magical power source. My old staff and the staves I made the golden guards used artificial magic and are able to mimic any spell a real staff can do to an extent. You could probably tell this with almost all the spells Hunter and I did were very fleshy. The last kind is decayed magic. The only form of it, at least that I know of, is my curse. It's magic that has completely died but not broken down. It feeds off other magic to sustain itself."
"Like a parasitic fungus?" Luz suggested as a comparison.
"Exactly. The more potent the magic, the longer you can be sustained. Though as you get older you'll need more and more. Titan's blood is obviously the best, next is palisman souls, and third is palistrom wood. Other parts of the Titan are variable in their strength depending on what they are and their age. Most parts of the Titan are long gone and useless, but the heart was preserved."
Luz was confused for a second before she realized the heart in the room was the heart of the Titan.
"It's much smaller than it likely was when the Titan was alive. I was able to basically connect myself to it, thus the green color and why it reacted to my anger, but when I came back I found a much easier solution."
From behind the throne, Philip pulled out a wooden box containing dozens of what looked like handmade water pouches.
"These contain the liquid from inside the heart. It's not Titan's blood, though." Philip explained.
He pulled out one of the pouches, opened it, and poured a bit onto his hand. He closed the pouch and put it back in the box then cupped his hands together. He tilted his hands, showing Luz how the fluid moved.
"You probably know that Titans blood is 5 times more viscous than water. This on the other hand? Less than twice as viscous than water. This is plasma. The cells in it died a while ago but the plasma remains. While you were asleep, I began combining palistrom wood powder with this. A few grams in each pouch. The plasma should have a decent amount of magic in it and the palistrom wood gives it a boost."
Philip paused, looked at his hands, and extended them out to Luz.
"In retrospect I probably should have just held one of the pouches. Don't want to waste this."
Luz cupped her hands and let Philip pour the mixture into her hands and drank it. Instantly, she felt better. Any pain or tightness in her muscles from moving around for the first time after dying faded away. She touched her face and felt her cheekbones were much less prominent. Her happiness at knowing she'll be okay was instantly stopped in its tracks at the realization that palistrom wood is near extinct and there's certainly no trees anywhere close to the castle.
"Where's my palisman?" Luz asked, voice cold and worried, "You said you didn't entirely avoid palisman and there's wood in this. So where is my palisman?"
Philip sheepishly reached into his pocket and pulled out the egg and handed it to Luz. As she looked at it, she saw notches in the wood, marks that greatly contrasted from her fine carving.
"I don't know much about palismen." Philip began, "I should have paid more attention to my brother and his wife. However, I know how important your palisman is to you. I took only as much as I needed. Hopefully it won't be too damaging and your palisman will simply think you dropped it or messed up slightly. I sincerely hope it will be okay."
Luz saw how genuine he was acting and gave him a small smile and nodded.
"Thanks for being honest with me. Hopefully I can find some uncarved wood I can use for the future."
"And the wood isn't necessary!" Philip happily said, "It won't be as effective, but it'll still work. I did lots of calculations in the past 400 years and still have all my notes in my lab. Plus I'm just good at math. By my estimates, each pouch without wood powder covers a little less than a month. With powder they can handle 3 months. There are 27 pouches so you have a supply to cover 702 days to 2,430 days. So about 2 to 6 and a half years. The dose will need to be increased every 50 years, the amount increase rising exponentially. I have all of this written down, along with extra calculations taking variables into my new diary."
Luz listened carefully as Philip explained everything he had calculated, all for helping her deal with the curse. Apparently, ensuring her survival before and after waking up was his priority once he was human again. He made her bedding, figured out how to help her deal with the curse, made sure she'd be safe...
He genuinely cared about her. He wasn't kidding when he called her family and the daughter he never had.
"So what exactly are the pouches made out of?" Luz asked after Philip finished his explanation.
"Back in Gravesfield I had learned how to skin hides. Wasn't too hard to find demons that would have good insulation. And before you worry, they were completely cleaned and disinfected and the demons were unintelligent and incapable of speech. I also used every part of them so their death was not wasted. I sewed them myself! My brother taught me how to hand sew after our mother passed so I could take care of myself better. It's...been awhile since I had to sew."
Luz looked at Philip's hands and saw red dots on his fingers, marks of places he poked his fingers with whatever he used as a needle. Her soft smile grew as this was just another sign of how much he cared for her.
"My stitching isn't perfect, but they won't leak. Or at least I hope. I hope you-"
Philip was cut off with Luz leaning over the throne and pulling him into a quick hug. When she released him, he gave her a thankful but confused look, which made Luz chuckle.
"Thank you, Philip. You've done so much for me."
"Well, there's actually one more thing I need to show you." Philip said, standing up.
Luz followed behind him, not needing the crutch anymore thanks to the plasma, as he led her down a hidden corridor to a strange, unassuming door. When Philip grabbed the handle, it glowed red slightly for a few seconds before unlocking with a click. They walked through and down a narrow staircase lined with torches that lit as they walked past. Eventually, they reached the bottom and emerged into a room that, once illuminated, revealed a massive room filled with almost every magical item Luz could think of. There was a place where an artificial sun helped plants grow, a towering bookshelf of tomes that were dated from a few years to centuries ago, equipment that master potion makers could only dream of owning, old versions of branding gloves were strewn about, and stacks of now empty cages leaned against the walls and hung from the ceiling, some of which were completely empty while others had skeletons of various demons.
And in the middle, a massive dirt pit with boxes of new clothing and a few bodies next to it as well as a few journals.
Luz shuddered slightly at the realization that this room she was standing in was none other than Philip's laboratory.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Philip said proudly, "All of my experiments were done here. Back there is even my own secret door to get to where the basilisks were held! And that pit, as you can probably tell, was the birthplace of all of my Grimwalkers. Fun fact, the door to this place can only be opened by a human. If the handle is so much as wiggled by a non-human it will cause extreme pain and burning and brand their hand, and magically alert me, or at least it could when I had magic. Makes it easy for me to catch anyone trying to snoop around. At least six grimwalker's betrayals were revealed to me that way now that I think about it..."
As he trailed off, Philip noticed out of the corner of his eye how uncomfortable not just the conversation, but the whole room made her.
"Little Light, I-"
"You used this room to hurt so many people." Luz whispered, "Grimwalkers were born and witches and demons were killed in this room."
"I won't sugarcoat my past, Luz," Philip sighed, "and you are right. But I'm past that. I'm only using this room anymore so I can help you. There are memories in this room that even I'd like to forget. The blood on my hands is not invisible to me. I forget sometimes how young you are and how old I am. I have become numb to so much that is new to you. The first time you saw a body you threw up. And now when I see one it hardly registers. I guess that's how I was able to be okay with the prospect of genocide. Can't really kill hundreds upon thousands of people with a weak stomach, am I right?"
Philip chuckled slightly, but his attempt at humor died when he saw that it wasn't helping. He cleared his throat and took Luz by the hand so she wouldn't have to take all of it in anymore as he led her to a long table with a blanket over it. As hoped, Luz stopped getting more and more horrified with the room and just looked at the blanket. He dramatically pulled the blanket off, revealing two metallic and mechanical looking rods, one silver and one gold. Luz gave him a confused look, making him just smile wider. He took the silver one and gestured for her to take the gold. She did and looked back at him, waiting for his next instruction. He gestured to a small button on the side of the rod. Luz pressed it down, and out from the rod extended an artificial staff. Philip did the same, revealing his staff.
Luz's was a bright gold with accents of blue, purple, and black. It looked similar to a regular staff, long with a small glowing buld at the top that looked similar to a plasma ball, but it also had a wing-like curved blade. Each of the feathers of the metal wing appeared to be able to move on their own. Upon closer inspection, she saw they could even be removed. The blades could also be split in half along the long side and flip out so that they fully encircled the orb. Luz was in complete awe with the design.
When she looked at Philip's, it was really close to how his old artificial staff looked, but more sleek and having a sharp point on the end. When Philip saw her noticing the pointed end, he leand over and tapped the side of his foot against a specific point on the bottom of the staff and a golden blade popped out. Luz rose her eyebrows at him in shock. She tried tapping the same spot and the blade retracted. Her jaw dropped and she looked back at Philip. He pressed the button on his staff and retracted it again, then slipped it in his pocket and stood next to Luz. He carefully moved the blades on top back together and, placing his hand on the edge that wasn't sharp at the end, pressed the blades down into a slot Luz hadn't noticed. She heard a click and the blades stayed in place. He pointed to a small button on the slot, indicating that she should press that if she wants the blades to pop out again.
"Philip...this is incredible." Luz gasped, finally talking.
"And that's not all. The metal isn't just golden for athstetic. It's a special type of metal that is highly conductive. But it doesn't conduct electricity, it conducts magic. Until your palisman hatches, this can not only act as a temporary staff, but it is also designed to accommodate both you and the curse. It has two modes for how it is powered. You and other magic objects."
Philip reached over and flicked a small switch by the orb at the top. The orb opened up and, when Luz looked in, she saw the orb was connected to a smooth tube. Despite being open, the lower half of the orb was still glowing while the upper half had faded.
"Do not touch the inside of the orb. Unless you want to have the sensation of being simultaneously electrocuted, burned, and frozen to death, speaking from experience. The lining of the orb will instantly break down anything that touches it. When you want the staff to run on magical objects, useful if your curse is hampering your magic use, simply insert anything magical, so basically anything in this world, and it will use that as a power source. The more magical, the longer it will last." Philip clicked the orb close again, "And when you're doing just fine, the metal will use you as a power source. Now, this will not only be useful considering the curse, but if you want to conserve your magic too. You can switch between what mode it is in easily. Simply hold the center rod and the one above it and twist them outwards, basically the center clockwise and the one above counterclockwise, to switch to you and the opposite to switch to using objects. You can tell what mode it is on easily too. When it's using you as a power source, you can feel it in the metal. Try it."
Luz turned the segments as Philip instructed and, just like he said, she could feel a slight change in the metal, like there was a electrical vibration. She changed back and the sensation went away. She moved her hand on top down so both were on the center segment, pressed the button, and everything folded back into being a single rod. Just like Philip had done, she slipped it into her pocket. She looked at Philip, a massive smile on her face.
"All super easy to use, not to mention with magic you can press the button and flip the switches with a wave of your hand, so you don't have to worry about pressing buttons." Philip paused for a moment then, despite Luz's giddy expression, looked slightly nervous about thoughts, "So, you like it?"
"Obviously!" Luz laughed, "Philip these are incredible! How were you about to make these in just a couple weeks?"
"Well most of the tech was just a redesign of what my old staff used. Add that to the fact that I had over a month to theorize how it would be made before I became human again, it wasn't too hard. It is perfectly designed to be the ultimate weapon custom tailored to you. Heck, when the blades are surrounding the orb like you tried, it even looks somewhat like a sun! Every aspect was made with you in mind. As for mine, well, if it isn't broken there is no need to fix it."
"Is that your fancy 17th century British Puritan way of saying 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'?"
"Yes, yes it is, Little Light." Philip sighed with a chuckle as he rolled his eyes, "Sue me for wanting to be a bit more formal when giving you a gift."
Luz threw her arms over his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug, having to stand on the tips of her toes to do so. She released him after a few seconds, both of them wearing dorky smiles.
"You know ever since I came back to life, you've been different." Luz commented, "Why is that? What changed?"
"I guess I just don't want to betray your trust. Sure I'm human again, but I still want you to believe I've changed. You have changed me so much, and I don't want to let you down. Hell, I'd die before I'd be revealed to have betrayed or lied to you again. Pardon my language."
Philip looked at the ground awkwardly, face flushed slightly, embarrassed at being so open for the first time in a long time. Luz stood next to him and leaned her head against his arm.
"Philip, the fact that you're worried is evidence enough that you've changed."
Philip turned slightly so he could playfully rough up Luz's hair, making her chuckle.
"Now," Philip began, stepping in front of Luz and pulling out his new staff, "What do you say we test these out with some sparring."
Luz smirked and pulled out her staff, extending it holding it at the ready.
"I'll take that as a yes."
For hours, though it didn't feel nearly as long to either of them, Luz and Philip practiced using their new artificial staves. The both got in some good hits, which provided perfect practice for Luz's healing spells. They both had fun and it never got too competitive, though they both made snarky remarks to the other every so often. They enjoyed the chance to finally be able to practice with each other like that instead of Luz doing magic with Belos in his goop form perched on her ear. The staves worked perfectly and though they were enjoying themselves greatly, they did eventually get tired.
They retracted their staves and left the room. They went back through the long corridors of the castle and got settled in the room Philip had set up. Luz sat down on her bedding with a yawn as Philip started a fire to boil some water and grabbed some smoked meat he had made a while ago. Luz got comfortable and ate her meat, and eventually drank some tea Philip had made once it was done. They sat together, telling jokes and stories, learning about the versions of the human realm the other grew up in, and overall having a peaceful time.
By the time the fire began to die down, Philip got up to get some more fire wood and retrieve the plasma pouches from the throne room. Luz offered to join him, but he politely refused and just told her to wait there. Only a few minutes had passed after Philip left for Luz to get bored. She decided she might as well check out the room she was in. She found the vial of Titan's blood in her bag, it had some left but not a lot, as well as her other belongings in her bag. As she continued to look around, she found a journal buried under piles of clothes Luz recognized as Philip's old clothing. She opened it up, despite a little voice in her head telling her not to, and began reading the first page.
I do not know what day it is. All I know is that I, Philip Wittebane, am human again. Using the Titan's blood in my daughter companion ward fellow human Luz's bag, I was able to clear myself of my wretched, though self-inflicted, curse and become a human again, leaving behind my slug-like form. Not only that, but I was able to return Luz to life. She's asleep, but still alive. However, the Titan's blood did have strange effects on her.
Her ears are now pointed like a witch. When checking her pulse, it is completely stable, differing from how it was before, signifying her chest can now hold a bile sack and her heart. She's even missing a few bone and muscle structures witches don't have but humans do! I have many theories, but for now I must focus on protecting her. She is now in possession of my curse. It is my duty to do everything I can to ensure she remains by my side.
Luz was touched by Philips' kind words. Still curious, she flipped to a random page.
Nobody ever tells you the price of brilliance. Faith, empathy, even sanity can fade over time so long as you believe in your cause and have enough justification to prove to yourself you are on the right path. I have fallen astray from the road to righteousness in my pursuit of power, control, and protecting humanity. Not even humanity anymore. Just Luz. My Luz. My Little Light.
For 400 years I strayed further and further from the path that was designed for me. And on this day I have decided to stop seeking return to it.
Everything I do now is for Luz.
Call me a sociopath. Call me inconsistent. Call me obsessed. Call me a man oblivious to the path of an incredible young girl, who will only disrupt her own journey in the name of fulfilling my own.
Luz has a brilliant mind and I will ensure it is not tarnished or wasted on the likes of the plague to this world, the unfaithful and flighty and deceitful and unworthy. Witches are not a problem, but those who will only destroy this organized and established way of living are. The Owl Lady toes the line, though I'd never tell that to Luz, and everyone in the self proclaimed "bad girl coven" has the potential to pull Luz from the light at the end of her journey, again I'd never tell Luz that I view them in this way.
Regardless of her "found family" as she words it, Luz has so much potential. She is the light of my life, my Little Light, and I will protect her. My daughter, my Luz.
Luz felt tears welling up in her eyes at Philip's words. She began flipping through faster, only skimming and catching mere sentences written.
I figured out the formula!
I thought she was waking up today.
I just felt agonizing pain while making the staves, but at least I know they're working.
What other ways could the pure Titan's blood in her system affect her and her magic?
The words became blurs as she flipped faster and faster. She hardly noticed as drops of water hit the pages. Everything in the journal was just about her. Everything Philip wrote was related to her. Helping her. Healing her.
Soon, she flipped to the last page before pages started to go blank. As soon as she saw the first sentence, she knew she had to read it.
I'm dying.
There's no way to sugarcoat it.
There is no curse or disease at fault, just my own actions catching up to me. I'm over 400 years old. I've been living on borrowed time for a while now. And now that I'm fully human again, it's only a matter of time.
A target is branded on my back, courtesy of the Collector. They will find me. I can only pray my death will be quick.
I have lost sight of the Lord in my quest for greatness. My faith is shattered and the teachings of my childhood have been not forgotten, but ignored. My hubris has failed me and in my pursuit of damning those I saw as worthy of it to hell, I only damned myself.
Proverbs 8:13 "So that he that doth not hate evil feareth not God, as pride and arrogancy, and the evil way: and a mouth that speaketh lewd things I do hate."
When the end of my days arrives, I will be cast, not out of this realm, nor out of this mortal plane, but down to the house of the devil that has corrupted my soul. I know this to be inevitable and do not fear it. All I can do is not relegate my Little Light to the same fate. So let her worship who she pleases. The Lord, the Titan, or the pantheons of ages past. Just let her not, I pray, fall prey to wrath, pride, and hate as I have. Let her find her place in this or any realm and maintain it.
And let those who oppose her know their mistake as her truly powerful magic is forever burned into their minds.
Luz was in shock. Philip had accepted the fact that he was going to die and didn't care. He only cared about Luz, despite it all.
Desperate for more, Luz flipped through the blank pages, but found nothing. Eventually, she hit the last page, and all she saw was a short poem. However, before she could begin reading it beyond recognizing what it was, she heard footsteps behind her.
Apparently in her focus, she didn't notice Philip coming back in and seeing her read his journal.
Luz gasped and dropped the journal on the floor. She turned around and quickly stood up, panicking. She expected Philip to look furious, but instead he looked completely neutral.
"Philip, I'm so sorry. You were gone and I was bored and I was looking around so I found the journal and I knew I shouldn't have but after I saw the first page was about me I just kept reading and reading and then I hit the part where you said you know you're going to die and-"
Luz was cut off by Philip pulling her into a hug. It wasn't forced or awkward or feeling scripted like all the other hugs. It was a strong, caring embrace.
"Little Light," Philip whispered, "I'm not mad. It's okay."
"But...why? Why are you so sure you'll die soon? Why are you so okay with it?" Luz desperately asked, holding him tightly as if that would change his thoughts on his fate.
"Luz, I'm old. And I don't know how long it'll be before my actions catch up to me. Call it fate, destiny, comeuppance, karma, or the will of the Titan." Philip got out of Luz's hold and took a step back, "I'm going to die soon. And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure your life is long and you don't make the mistakes I did. I've already influenced you into following my footsteps, which was a mistake."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm the reason you're cursed, like I was. I'm the reason you lied to those close to you, like I did. I'm the reason you stabbed Hunter, like I did to my brother. That last parallel is the clearest!"
"Philip, I don't blame you for anything. I still chose to listen to you. You didn't force me into anything I didn't want. Sure you went inside my head, but you had your reasons. I fault you for nothing!"
"But you should!"
Luz was taken aback by Philip yelling at her and Philip immediately realized he shouldn't have raised his tone. He sighed, rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, and knelt down to pick up the journal. He flipped to the back, sighed again, then looked up at Luz.
"Sit down." He commanded.
"What?"
"I said sit down. Get comfortable. You wanted to learn more about me, right? You love learning everything about everyone?"
"Are you going to read me your poetry?" Luz asked curiously, backing up to sit down and get under her bedding.
"It's not poetry. They're...lyrics. I was in the Sunday school choir, but my voice is rusty. Nevertheless, I figured I should sing this song to you when you're, well, awake. I sang it frequently to you as you slept, but you should hear it for real."
"Is it a lullaby?"
"I suppose it is. Now, are you comfortable?"
"As comfy as I can be." Luz shrugged with a smile, wiggling slightly to get as tucked as she could.
"Thank you. Ahem..."
"My Light, oh my light
You needn't change
You know being perfect
For me is something strange
The moon will set on my time
And everything will be alright
The sun will rise on your time
My light, oh my little light
My Light, oh my light
You needn't change
You are already perfect
Your future isn't arranged
And may the sun shine
Forever more for you, oh you
Just promise to think of me
When you see the golden moon
My light, oh my light
Please don't change like me
You are my perfect star
Can't you see..."
"Philip?" Luz interrupted, speaking in a whisper.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry"
"For what?"
"Not trusting you sooner."
"It's okay, little light."
"Oh Luz
You aren't me."
A tear fell down Philip's cheek and he watched as Luz's breathing slowed as she drifted closer to being asleep. The song did feel familiar to her, though it was probably just her hearing it when she was sleeping. Her eyelids became too heavy and she finally drifted off.
"Good night, dad." She mumbled just before falling asleep.
Philip wiped away the tear, closed the journal, and walked over to Luz. He tucked Luz in fully and went to the door.
"Good night, Luz."
He shut the door as quietly as he could behind him and went off to his room next door. Proud, but guilty. She had read his journal. He had no more secrets she should know. And yet, there was always the feeling she should know more. Regardless of what he thought, those were thoughts to have the next day.