His consciousness slowly returned, the ebb and flow of memories realigning to a more understandable and organized state. Mind completing its reallocation of memories, Isaac slowly roused from the depths of unconsciousness.
Now conscious and aware, the titan experimentally attempted to move his body, finally being able to control it after having to exhaustively wrestle for control. Each attempt made it clear that he was still out of tune with it, each twitch causing his vines to slightly shift out of place, the motion displacing the newly acquired black blood. The slippery composition of the vile goo only succeeded in weakening the vine’s hold over the granite core of his body.
Maw parting with a sigh, Isaac's eyes fluttered open after waiting for a few precious moments. Through blurry vision, he could faintly distinguish a wooden ceiling, pattern rather familiar. Craning his head to the side, the paladin's eyes came upon a glass window, glimpsing through to come upon the familiar sight of the cloud world. Pausing, remembrance overcame him.
”Ah… Alicia’s Mansion…”
Blinking and sighing in relief, the titan's gaze resumed staring up at the wooden ceiling. Body relaxing, he patiently waited for his body to comfortably reaffirm to his control. The thick soft fabric he laid upon had barely crossed his mind until just now, the warmth from the bedding calming his nerves. An unfelt serenity wormed its way into him, the titan unable to recall the last time he had actually slept in a bed so comfortable. His tail wagged contently as the cloth of the bed conformed to the valleys on the back of his monstrous form.
His mind drifted as he relaxed, orbs of sight glazing as he began to daydream. The safety of Alicia’s mansion gave a feeling of security he was grateful to have been granted, even for this short moment.
Peaceful daydreaming and the air of serenity evaporated within a flash as memories not his own found themselves burned to the forefront of his mind. The sudden intrusion of thought caused Isaac's eyes to snap open, large form quickly sitting up from its prone position. The first set of arms cupped his head in pain, while the second set helped support his current pose.
The memory was fleeting, yet it was clear the contents were obviously not his own. The voice was warbled and demented, a property that only recently became his own. Isaac couldn’t recall any of the actual content, but he held no doubt they belonged to the Tome Demon.
“Argh… what was that?” Isaac groaned, his mind trying to rationalize with the memories jamming into his subconscious, the collision causing his ears to ring and vision to blur. Slowing his breathing and closing his eyes, the paladin forced himself to calm down, driving the voice and memories out of his mind. Seconds seemed to become minutes, but the wait proved to be successful as the surge slowly faded, although the ring in his ears refused to fade.
“You’re awake.”
Turning to the source of the voice, Isaac's eyes met the form of a cloud folk female, the face that greeted him to be quite blurry. Blinking rapidly, his gaze refocuses, the facsimile of eyes reorienting to see the woman's face in greater detail.
"Mary?" Isaac whispered in a half-whimper, maw parting as the woman appeared to have the face of his companion.
“Yes...” She walked towards Isaac, her form coming into focus. “Alicia had cured me of the substance-induced ailment.”
“She already did?” He turned his body to face her, forced to squint as the ringing in his ears refused to recede. “How long was I unconscious?”
Mary sat on the floor near him, although at a noticeably safe distance from the titan. “It’s sundown now.”
“That lon-” Isaac covered his mouth with his biggest set of hands, a sickening feeling burbling up his throat. Even as his hands lay clasped around his mouth, a waterfall of black goop escaped from his maw and slipped between his fingers, trickling down his neck and arms and staining the sheets of the makeshift bed he sits on.
No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop the flow, a sickening feeling he so desperately craved to purge. All attempts were rendered futile, the liquid simply replenishing after his vomiting fit.
Mary clearly had her reasons for keeping a safe distance.
“You’ve been doing that for quite a while now Isaac,” Mary commented in pity, watching the pool of black goo shrink as it evaporated into wisps of black smoke, burnt away by the protection spell of the mansion. “On the bright side, it has been happening less frequently.”
“That was disgusting.” The titan gurgled. Even though the bitter taste had faded from his taste buds, the sight of his claws drenched in black goo was utterly repulsive. “Have I been regurgitating the entire time I've slept?”
“Yes. You were writhing and clawing yourself.” Mary laughed a bit in reminiscence. “If you were not a titan, you would have most likely ripped yourself apart.”
"Wait." The titan's eyes scanned the room, a certain gunslinger missing. “Where’s Slar?... And Nat too.” Isaac suddenly asked, a hint of worry in his voice. While he could care less if Slar died, he definitely didn't want to worry Nat too.
“He already left... We discussed what he wanted and he left for his bandit group,” Mary averted her gaze from Isaac, wishing that it wouldn’t be brought up. Isaac’s sigh relieved her of her worries. "Nat is fine. She's waiting for me for her 'sleepover'."
“Are you feeling better, young Isaac?”
The pair's gaze quickly shifted to the source of a third voice, the familiar shape of Alicia standing in the doorway, a gentle smile one would see on their grandmother spread across her face. Such a smile almost caused tears to fall from Isaac's eyes, but he remained steadfast.
“I’ll be fine.” Isaac lied through a face of stone, yet as he made eye contact with the elder woman, the expression on her face revealed that she knew the truth.
“Rest for now, Isaac. I’ll be tending to the thief. Nat is completely healed as well so you do not have to worry.” Alicia smiled before she left his sight, the gentle light of a lantern receding with her departure.
“Goodnight, Isaac.” Mary wished him, rising from the floor and walking towards the door to leave. Reaching the doorframe, she turned to look at him one more time; her cloud form fluctuating, wispy, and heavy, like clouds threatening to rain.
Isaac stayed silent, Mary understanding his wish to be left alone. Turning away, her steps faded as she walked away, closing the door as she left the titan to rest. All sounds fading as he closed his eyes, the ringing in his ears quietly followed until all that could be heard were his labored breaths.
"Isaac."
In an instant, the titan found himself inside the halo once more, the ring beneath his feet as vibrant as ever. Turning around and blinking, the familiar shapes of Ilvir and Dark Isaac met his vision, the latter quietly standing in the background, his form ghost-like.
“Ilvir,” Isaac muttered tiredly. He had been looking forward to a moment where he could return to Morpheus’ realm. “What is it?”
“Forgotten already? You absorbed a tome demon.” Ilvir's body turned, extending an arm and pointing to a large bubbling mess down inside the circle where melted forms of various souls seemed to simultaneously form and deform. As Isaac peered into the pit, he could see multiple holes embedded into the walls of the abyss, black goop pouring out straight into the writhing mass down below, the messy sight a far cry from its prior appearance.
While the vile goo didn’t seem to fill up the pit, residue stained its interior. From experience alone, Isaac knew the walls would be far more slippery to a point that climbing is impossible.
“That’s... interesting.” Isaac commented, observing as the pit interior became stained with the black substance, never filling up even as the holes continued to leak.
“The more interesting thing is you, Isaac.” Dark Isaac suddenly spoke, the voice that resounded from his maw warbly and distorted. Flinching at the voice of his counterpart, Isaac could do no more but focus on him, quickly regretting the action. The titan could see the changes that had occurred to his darker counterpart, eyes a beady black like the tome demon’s, veins of black liquid visible akin to cracks across his form.
“Inspect yourself.” Dark Isaac ordered.
Confusion and curiosity overwhelming him, Isaac heeded the request of his other self.
But upon witnessing his mental representation, it took no more than a moment for Isaac to panic, eyes rapidly widening and bulging from their sockets as his maw fell agape in a silent scream.
The clouds darkened and swirled around them as black rain began to fall.
And the loudest thunder roared as his mind whited out in fear.