The darkness refused to let go of the lands. the oozing on his body wouldn't stop. It had only worsened, and worse yet, the voice that had been plaguing him had only grown stronger and he was starting to lose himself. Elias' demons refused to let him go, and at this point, Ignis had no choice but to embrace them. He glanced up at the sky, noting the aurora that shone overhead, though it did little to soothe him. The darkness as of late was terrifying, and he had been unable to get any proper sleep for a few weeks now. He shook his head, glowing blue ooze splattering the ground in front of him as he headed back to his old den once again. This time, he was alone. His companions had gone scouting ahead to make sure all was as safe as could be. But Ignis was surrounded by fireflies and all he could hear in what should have been dead silence was whispering coming from all over. He lifted his lips in a growl that quickly increased to a snarl. Things were strange and ominous most of the winter, and it all seemed to worsen into spring. It took some time for him to reach his old haunts, but how much time had passed he couldn't tell. He swore it had taken forever to return here, but the aurora in the sky was as bright as ever and it couldn't have been more than an hour or so. The blisters on his body were sore from prior scratchings, some about ready to burst on his legs and back. Fireflies flickered in his view, and the ones that drew too close he couldn't help but snap at only for them to dissipate into thin air. Mushrooms and crystals alike glowed along the walls of the cave, on the ground, the ceiling, and just about everywhere else he looked. They were haunting him. Pressing down on him from all directions. But as he stood at the mouth of the cave, the familiar voice he'd been hearing for the past season had made itself known once again. "How good of you to return to the place where it all began...though if it weren't for the pack at the fire mountain, we'd truly be home, now, wouldn't we?" The voice hissed in his ear, and Ignis couldn't help but growl at the thought. The pack that had claimed the place he had been born in had stolen his birthright...the volcano that his father had used to sacrifice others. That was where everything had begun...and now? It was infested with strangers. Wolves he didn't know. Though perhaps someday he'd pay them a visit...but today wasn't going to be that day. His tail lashed as his imagination began to run wild. He turned, stepping out towards the edge of the Maw as he looked over the lands. The volcano loomed nearby, the dull glow of its innards stark against the darkness of the lands. Someday he'd get that back...but for now? He'd have to wait. He imagined a war. Blood and battle. Wolves sang their hungry songs as the battle brewed. He didn't know who led them, let alone the name of the pack, but the nameless fell beneath him as his fangs sunk into their throats as he fought to reclaim what was rightfully his. The surge of adrenaline coursed through him, the audible snap of fangs and the clash of armor and weapons rang in his ears. Fire lit up the lands, consuming everything in its path just as much as he felled his foes. Everything he imagined was vivid, straight down to the point where even he began to feel pain now. Ooze spilled from his maw, his eyes, his ears...further blinding him and fueling him with rage and a sense of insanity he couldn't quite control anymore. His jaws snapped, and within them, he felt the snap of bone but not before he himself had felt the pain of teeth on his own flesh. "Yes! Yes! Rip their flesh apart! The world will belong to us, and Apollyon will be pleased with the sacrifice!" A feral snarl ripped from Ignis' throat, and when he squeezed his eyes shut, he swore he felt panic grip him. The sting of claws tangling against his chest felt all too real, and as he shook his head with weight still in his jaws, he stumbled his way back to the cave, the scenery of what he'd been imagining fading from his mind. His body felt slow and heavy, though his jaws seemed to refuse to want to open so he could breathe. What the hell was happening to him? He wasn't sure how long he could endure this madness, but...at the same time, he felt at peace. His ancestral demons, after all, had full control while he sat back as if he were in a constant dreamlike state. Things happening around him were real, but also...not. This time, however, things were very real. His mind had made the scenes in his head appear incredibly vivid, and when he opened his eyes he realized he hadn't just been imagining it, but he had been actually in the midst of a fight. In his jaws, the neck of a stranger gasping for breath. The demon faded for a moment, but that's all it took for Ignis to gasp and release the male in his jaws as he backpedaled in panic. The stranger was bloodied. Limp. Struggling for air. Likewise, Ignis had fresh wounds but he couldn't tell what was blood, and what was ooze that he felt trickling from his body. How long has he been dreaming? How long had he been fighting? "I-I..." No words wanted to come out. He was having a hard time trying to comprehend what he'd just done. The strangers fading brown eyes looked at him for a moment while he was in his last throes of life. And before he knew it, the earthen male had stopped breathing. It was like a candle flame had been snuffed out...and it was by his own teeth. "Speech"

Art by Naiterion

Ignis

Your vision blurs for an hour and you are unable to see clearly.


You gain:

• Mushrooms (6x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

"What have I done..." He whispered to himself as he stepped back. Through blurry, ooze filled eyes, he shook his head to try and clear his mind, but he couldn't. He stared at the fallen wolf. He didn't recognize him at all, and was glad at least that it wasn't someone he knew...but still...he had never killed another wolf before. Had his madness driven him to it? Most likely. His vision began to blur even more, but he didn't know if it was caused by his sickness, or if it was something else. He stumbled out of his old den, the male having trouble seeing clearly and he frantically wiped at his face in an effort to clear off some of the ooze, but he only managed to burst a couple of the blisters that had been growing on his face. Ooze spilled form him in excess, and his legs shook with the pain. He had tried to find a place he could be alone, but an unfortunate traveler had seemingly crossed his path. The madness within him had tried to drive him to inexplicably seek out others. Perhaps to infect them, he couldn't tell...but he fought it and instead, had chosen to find solitude... And now here he was, alone and afraid and riddled with madness with blurry vision. Was this it? He didn't know if his vision would return to normal or not, but all he could do now was try to wait it out... "Speech"

Art by Naiterion