Author's note: Hi, this is my first time writing in this plot line. I received an invitation from Chronoseth to write for this story for a few weeks ago and it took me a while to study this story and all that's happened in it so far. I've been mainly following this branch so I haven't seen every other branch connected to this. I might take this story in different directions, but I'm hoping others will still be able to build off of it.
As they continued searching, Isaac couldn't help but wonder about what all Dark Isaac said. Was he really not putting enough effort into deciding a particular path? Granted, circumstances haven't given him much of an opportunity to really think over his actions. But if he was to be a dark paladin, he should be more proactive, trying to think of a way to free all the souls trapped in his body.
"You could spend less time pondering your existence and help me keep looking," said Mary.
Isaac gave an annoyed look and said, "You know, it's rude to read someone else's thoughts without their permission."
"How would you know?" challenged Mary.
"I'm fairly certain it's the same principle as eavesdropping," said Isaac, "And it's not fair that you read my thoughts and don't let me read yours."
"If you've absorbed Ilivar without telling me, how can I trust you with my own secrets?" asked Mary.
"I didn't have a choice," snapped Isaac, "Ilivar was overcome by a lust demon. I had to absorb him again to save him and trap the demon."
Mary paused. "Absorb him again?" she asked, "How could you have absorbed him before?"
Isaac briefly explained how he met Ilivar, how he had absorbed the werewolf corruption from him before Ilivar was swallowed by a granite golem. Isaac absorbed that golem and was able to recreate Ilivar's body as his spawn.
"So, if you were able to...spawn Ilivar before, why not do it again?" asked Mary.
"I don't think it's quite that easy," said Isaac, "Anyways, Ilivar made it very clear he didn't want to be a spawn again. He wanted his own independent body."
"You know, there is a simple way to free those souls inside you, including Ilivar," said Mary.
"How?" asked Isaac, wondering how he could have missed such an obvious solution.
"Well, if you absorb enough female creatures, you'll eventually gain a womb to birth them with," said Mary.
"Absolutely not, out of the question," said Isaac sharply.
Mary gave him an annoyed look and said, "And why not?"
"I have to maintain my maleness," said Isaac, "I cannot allow myself to give in to more corruption."
"Oh, so you're saying women are more open to corruption than men?" asked Mary, very annoyed now.
Isaac opened his mouth to retort before it occurred to him that he made an error. He could hear Dark Isaac laughing in his head. "Oh, she's got you cornered. The real reason you don't want to become part female is that you want to remain dominant. You can't stand the thought of submitting to anyone else."
"So women are always submissive, is that right?" snapped Mary.
"Stop reading my thoughts!" snapped Isaac, leaning down to glare at Mary more directly in the face, "You have no idea what it's like in here!"
"Then maybe you should show me!" snapped Mary, reaching up to grab the halo above Isaac's head.
==========
Suddenly, Mary found herself in a very strange place. It looked like she was standing on a very high tower. All around her were dark, roiling clouds, except for a circle directly above her in which the clear sky and sun shown through. Looking around, she could see it was more like she was standing on an uprooted well. There was a wide ring-shaped path for her to walk on, but in the center was a dark pit. Looking down it, she could see many shapes squirming in the darkness.
"How did you get here?" Mary jumped and turned to see who had spoken. What she saw looked like a cloud person, but a lot more solidly built and wearing armor.
"Isaac?" asked Mary, "Is that you?"
"Well, yes, my inner self at least," said Isaac, looking at himself, "This is what I looked like before I became twisted by the corruption. I'm glad it still exists here."
"And where is here?" asked Mary, noticing Isaac was rather handsome for being so solid.
"Where else could it be?" asked another voice. They turned to see a dark twin of Isaac, wearing black armor and with darker hair. But he didn't seem to be particularly evil or even malevolent.
"So you're Dark Isaac?" asked Mary.
Dark Isaac bowed and said, "That I am. And I welcome you to Isaac's messed-up mindscape."
"How is this my mind?" asked Isaac.
"It's a basic construction that was formed for our guest's comprehension," said Dark Isaac. He gestured to the circular path they walked on. "This represents the Ring of Purity, where all your uncorrupted thoughts and higher thinking still resides." He pointed down the dark pit where creatures squirmed out of sight. "Down there is your body and all the filth you've picked up, including the many souls you've absorbed."
Isaac looked down at the pit with nervousness. "Ilivar isn't down there, is he?" asked Isaac.
"No, I think he's sulking around somewhere up here," said Dark Isaac, "I ought to go find him."
"How could we not see him?" asked Mary, "There aren't exactly that many places to hide." She gestured towards the relatively-confined path and the open air around them.
"This is a mental landscape. Perception isn't always true here," said Dark Isaac.
Mary looked down into the pit and asked, "How many souls are down there?"
"I have a journal that shows my, er, progress on this quest," said Isaac.
Just then, there was a keening wail coming from the pit. Dark Isaac looked down it and raised an eyebrow. "This is interesting. Apparently there are a pair of souls who want to speak with us," he said.
"There are?" asked Isaac, looking down with both dread and curiosity.
A large pulley-operated crane appeared at the edge of the path with a long rope reaching down into the pit. Dark Isaac walked over and started operating the pulley, bringing the rope up. "Again, this is the mindscape," he said, "This is more for visual aid than to be taken literally."
Eventually, the end of the rope was brought up into view and it was tied to the top of a cage. Inside the cage were two women, or woman-like creatures. Isaac recognized them immediately. They were Rieletta the succubus and Sera the tainted witch, two of the first souls he has absorbed after venturing into the crypt.
"It's about time," said Rieletta, "I thought we'd never be out of there."
"I was starting to think we've been forgotten," said Sera.
"I haven't forgotten you," said Isaac darkly, "I remember what you did to me."
"We didn't get to do to you," said Rieletta, "You absorbed us before Landreust and Xadrion even finished with you. That was pretty inconsiderate."
"Inconsiderate? You were going to rape me!" snapped Isaac.
"I suppose you prefer your partners being boys then," said Rieletta with a sneer.
Isaac's face went quite red at that. "I...I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"Oh drop the act," said Sera, "Ever since you've started absorbing others, you've been going after males exclusively. And I suppose you'd blame the corruption or wanting to keep your dominance rather than admit you're gay."
"Well, he can't be completely gay," said Rieletta, "He's definitely feeling some lust towards Mary, even if she is just a cloud."
Isaac felt like his embarrassment was going to make him sink through the floor and he didn't dare look at Mary. "Is there a reason you called or did you just want to embarrass me in front of my traveling companion?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Actually, we didn't call for you, we called for her," said Sera, pointing at Mary.
"Me?" asked Mary.
"You see, child, we're pretty much the only women down there," said Sera, pointing at the pit, "There are far too many males down there. It's a real sausage fest."
"Granted, it was pretty enjoyable at first, but even a succubus can feel stifled from so much masculinity," said Rieletta.
"And what do you expect me do about it?" asked Mary.
"It's quite simple. You're wearing the Red Cuffs, otherwise you wouldn't be here," said Sera, gesturing at the mental landscape.
"What do you know about the Red Cuffs?" asked Mary.
"I am a witch, I know about magical artifacts, especially the more notable ones," said Sera, "The point is that the Red Cuffs allow transfers between the people bound by them. Of pretty much anything, really."
"What we're saying is that we want to jump ships. Trade over. Join your side," said Rieletta.
"They can't do that. Can they?" asked Isaac.
Dark Isaac shrugged. "I don't know more about the Red Cuffs than you do. It could work. It would be two less souls to carry around and less corruption to deal with," he said.
"And shove them onto Mary? I can't ask her to do that," said Isaac.
"And why would I want to have them?" asked Mary.
Rieletta gave a seductive grin and said, "Because it would give you power. With me enhancing your body, you'll have power over men. They'll find it very hard to resist your charms. The Cloud King's soldiers won't be able stand in your way."
"And with me enhancing your mind, you'll be able to tap into magic," said Sera, "You think your friend is the only one capable? You can learn more and do more than she's able to gain in a year."
"Anyways, don't you want to help your paladin lighten his load?" asked Rieletta, "Surely you can bear two souls compared to his several ones."
"It wouldn't even drain his strength," said Sera, "He doesn't even use our power. It will benefit everyone."
"Mary, I don't think it's a good idea," said Isaac, "They were planning to do...very wicked things with me when their male companions were done. I don't think it would be good for you to let them into you."
Mary thought it over. She wasn't sure if she could trust the succubus and the witch, but they made rather convincing arguments. If they were going to stop the Cloud King, she couldn't just rely on Isaac being their only powerhouse. She wasn't particularly helpful at the moment, bound to Isaac like she was. But was it worth opening herself to corruption?