He didn't know what was happening. One minute, he was asleep with the mate he had lost when he was young, and the next...he was here in a world that felt familiar but also...not. Crimson gaze looked around, taking in the sights of the darkened sky and the glowing flora and fauna around him. Mist clung heavily to the ground, swirling around his paws that appeared to be semi-transparent. Had he somehow managed to return to the living world? Or was this his own version of dreaming? A little blue light floated past his eyes, the old king watching it go and he felt the urge to follow it. Padding silently through the darkness with only the strange crystals and mushrooms and other plants to dimly light his path, he followed the little blue wisp until it vanished at the entrance to a small cave, and Acere cautiously investigated. Did he even have to be cautious though? He wasn't sure...better safe than sorry though, right? "Hello? Is anyone in there?" He cocked an ear forward but didn't quite hear anything. Figuring there was really nothing to the wisp bringing him this way, he turned to make his way back when he heard a soft cackling in the darkness of the cave. His fur stood on end as he both recognized the voice, but also...didn't. What had happened after he passed away? "Ignis...is that you?" Concern and curiosity crept into his voice, waiting to see if it actually was his nephew, or if he was just hearing things...

The darkness had descended upon the lands like someone had snuffed out the flame on a candle. Ever since the voices and wolven figure in the cave, he had become increasingly more paranoid and had begun to hear the demon in his head more frequently. It was as if the blood wolf had taken him over completely...but if he told anyone, they would think he was crazy, right? No...he couldn't tell anyone. He had to keep this secret to himself. With Casso having practically killed himself, there was nobody he could trust anymore. Perhaps Celosia...or Ifrit...maybe even Vulcan...Cinaed, perhaps? "No! He betrayed you and ran away like the coward you called uncle. You came back and he abandoned you, but he'll regret it...they all will...even your uncle..." Ignis growled, head swinging to the side as his jaws snapped, crimson gaze alight with fury and confusion blended together. "Acere is dead! I blinded him! He's buried in the East! He can't save me anymore!" He shouted in the darkness. Ah...the darkness...he couldn't escape it. No matter where he went it followed, and as his shouting voice echoed around him in the cave, he couldn't help but snarl at the noise. The creature in his head and the image and voices of the firefly-wolf burned in his memory, his uncle's bleeding form etched in his vision. He couldn't unsee what had been seen, and no doubt it was making him go crazy. The darkness. The voices. The choices he made in his past. They were all coming to haunt him. He stood in place, head swinging back and forth as he felt the warmth of the ooze drip down his face. He had noticed it days ago, and it was clear he had contracted something but what, he wasn't sure. It glowed like the color of lava and blood mixed together, molten tears spilled from his eyes, ears, and nose, and even his saliva had taken on the same color. Without realizing it, he had begun to cackle to himself. Quietly at first, but it slowly began to get louder and it echoed off the walls. "Ignis...is that you?" The crimson dire froze. His laughter abruptly stopped to be replaced by silence. That voice...it sounded familiar...was he dreaming? Or had his paranoia gotten the better of him? He licked his lips as he turned around, mist snaking around his paws with the movement. His teeth were bared, every hair on his spine lifted in apprehension and fear. He slowly stalked forward, steps muffled by the fog that swirled along the ground. There...he could see a silhouette at the mouth of the cave. The crimson eyes of his alabaster uncle...he could see the outline of his form against the clashing darkness of the cave and the outside world. As silent as a snake, Ignis lunged with snapping jaws at the figure he swore had died. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He waited outside in the lingering darkness with nothing but the glowing flora and crystals around him. He couldn't quite see into the cave since it was darker, nor was he able to hear if anything was coming with the mist coating the ground. The silence was deafening, and before he knew it, Ignis' crimson form had shot out of the cave like a bullet, jaws aiming for him. Out of reaction and years of skilled practice, the alabaster king had managed to avoid his nephew as he dropped to the ground, his head lowered between his shoulders as he then sought to spring up in an effort to tackle Ignis' from below while he was airborne. He was expecting contact...but instead, he had seemingly phased through Ignis' body with no harm done to either of them. Acere landed neatly on his feet, back turned to Ignis as he started to come to terms with this. He was sure Ignis was feeling something similar...but then again, it was likely that his nephew had been lost to the demons that plagued their blood. Sadness touched his heart, even with the confused snarling he heard behind him. "You can't hurt me, Ignis. Likewise, I can't hurt you. Though I don't wish to, even if you might deserve it." He said quietly, turning around to find Ignis struggling to understand. Speak

He had lunged at his uncle, teeth snapping as he sought to grab him. But in the blink of an eye, his uncle had disappeared. Shit! He should've expected as much! His uncle was a seasoned fighter, and no doubt his uncle's loss against him last he saw him had been a fluke...he knew Acere hadn't wanted to hurt him that day, and even now...he felt a cold shiver run through his body before he landed on stumbling paws. The crimson male continued to snarl, though it was tinged with confusion as it slowly died to a near quiet rumble. What the hell was going on...? Was he dreaming? "You can't hurt me, Ignis. Likewise, I can't hurt you. Though I don't wish to, even if you might deserve it." His ear made the smallest of movements to catch Acere's voice. Brows drew together as he tried to make sense of this. But did anything make sense anymore? "He lies! Don't listen to h-" "Shut up!" He yelled, head shaking to try and make the voice go away. He didn't want to turn and face his uncle. He knew that Acere knew he'd been overtaken by their ancestral demons by now...He tried to swallow, but his mouth felt dry. He took a deep breath to try and steady himself, and finally, he turned. He wasn't really sure if what he was seeing was real. Standing before him clear as day...the alabaster and shadow form of his uncle. His eyes were clear and bright, undamaged. Confusion hit him like a ton of bricks, head shaking again. "Wh-how...how is this possible...I...I killed you!" "Speech"

"Shut up!" Acere watched calmly as Ignis shouted into the darkness. Ah...so it had finally happened then? It appeared he had finally succumbed to Elias' demons. He waited to see if his nephew would turn to face him, and when he did, he made no movement as Ignis spoke his disbelief. "Wh-how...how is this possible...I...I killed you!" Had Ignis fallen so deep into the well of darkness that he believed himself to be the one to have killed him? "No, Ignis. You may have taken half my sight and stolen the pack, but you did not kill me. I died of old age, and Winter was the one that buried me." He shifted a bit in place, crimson gaze steady as he watched his nephew. "I see you've succumbed to your demon, finally. How does it feel? You enjoy the power and the fearlessness it gives, don't you?" Acere knew all too well how that felt before he had managed to escape their grip all those years ago. He stalked forward, never breaking his gaze from him. "Don't forget. They're not on your side. They may claim to be...they may sweet talk you into believing them, but trust me when I say they aren't worth it." He growled before finally stopping nearly nose to nose with Ignis. "Name yourself. What do you want with him?" "Speech"

Ears flicked as he kept his gaze on his ghost of an uncle. He didn't appear to be physical...no...he was just a shell of his former self. Even though he looked whole save for the scars he always wore in life, Ignis had a feeling he wasn't really here, but as his uncle spoke, he was beginning to doubt that. His words tore into him, causing him to force himself to stand in place even as he approached. Yes...he did quite like the power that he felt whenever the demon took over. He felt invincible! Though he had yet to test the demon's strength against anything, the time was soon to come.

He froze in place, forcing himself to remain rooted where he was as Acere approached him, bringing them nearly nose to nose with one another. Ignis growled the closer Acere got to him, but he didn't attempt to attack this time. "Name yourself. What do you want with him?" His lip drew up in a sneer, pupils seemingly dancing as they shifted between pinholes and back. A low laugh began to rumble in his throat..."Blödhgarm." He said. And judging by the smallest shift in his uncle's gaze, he knew that his uncle knew the demon had come out to play. "You know what I want. What we all want. You are all no more than shells to do with as we please before you're returned to Apollyon. And this boy here will suffer the same fate. After all, red coat and crimson eyes...he's the closest to us, is he not? Surely even you would have seen this coming. It is...inevitable. This worthless shell of a man will bring us what we desire, and it's already too late to save him."

"Speech"

Acere

You are allowed to temporarily exist again, that in itself should be enough for you...

Firefly Shoppe- Ignis

The sickness deepens... Your face feels numb, but not tingly, your tongue dry and thick. It feels as if you're drunk for several minutes, but not in a fun way. Eventually it subsides.

Your attention blurs and refocuses. It feels as if you are in a dream as you find yourself alone in the mist. Fireflies gather and light the way to a table with a figure waiting behind it. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose w̶̢̧͉̥̻̟͈͙̽̉̆̿̈͒͋̓̇̍͌̇̎͠͝ì̵̢̝̄͐́͆̓̚ṣ̶̛͙̟͎̤̞̤͎̹̙̭̪͔̓̐̾̂͆̄͆͌̈̈́̏̚͜͝͠ȩ̴͔̱̗̜̾̉̀̓̀͆͛̊̂̍̕̚̚̚ͅl̵̢̦̲̼̠̖̜̺̮̜̺͋̈́y̴̧̨̧̪̗̥̘͇̾͑͗͜͠, and only choose o̷͕̭̊̃̌̊̏̀ņ̸̼͚͉͔̒͐̊e̵̮̯͛̔̀̑͜," the figure says, looming over the table as his eyes seem to peer into your soul. Are they... moving? "If you can afford it, that is. Beware, however, for there are many d̷̡̯͉̎̊̈́͐͠á̴̬̪̣̝̞̅̀̈́̄ṉ̸̢̠̤̹̥̙̜͋͆̚g̷̛͍̹̣̬̙͖̝̘̃̈e̷͓͕̖͓̝̤̿͐͐͜͠ŗ̵̤͚͔̟̹̳̽̒͝ş̸̛͓͔̩̥̦͛̊̈̾̐̒̓ ̴̺͔̃̇̆ahead." He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


I̵̜̖͎͓͒̑̕n̸͓̗̘̫͉̗̻͐̔̿̊͆̋͝v̵̦̹̠͉̖̼̮̎̌͆ȩ̸͕̦͔̳̩̈́͜n̶͍̝̙̯̣̹̫̩͋t̶̟͈̟̲̜̙̣̋̿̓̆̅͊͝͝ŏ̶̼͊r̶̖͎̙͔̥͎͙͈̊̍͝͠y̴̧͔̭͒͆̉̕͝:

• Opaque Sack of Mushrooms/Crystals- 1 /
  Running out of event currency and not sure what else to spend it on? Gamble on this mysterious pouch and potentially find more mushrooms/crystals within it! Or perhaps something else!
  
• Xtra Grow Potion- 2 /
  It comes in an extra large bottle. There’s way more than one drop!
  
• Xtra Grow Potion- 2 /
  It comes in an extra large bottle. There’s way more than one drop!
  

He suddenly felt like his face was going numb, but not the tingly kind of numb. His tongue felt dry and thick, and what he was feeling felt sort of familiar...it was as if he were drunk, but not the fun kind of drunk. Was this an effect the demon was having on him? Or was he just imagining things? He vision blurred and refocused several times and he collapsed to the ground. When he refocused, he felt like he was in a dream and Acere was gone. In his stead, fireflies gathered around a table and he saw a cloaked figure behind it. It spoke to him, and Ignis looked at the table. He didn't know what the items were, but the extra large bottles caught his interest. He took one off the table, and replaced it with a couple of mushrooms. "I'll take this, thanks." He wasn't sure what to make of the beings warning, but the crimson male shrugged it off...for now.

*bought Xtra grow potion

Firefly Shoppe- Ignis

The red wolf buys a bottle, and the figure lets him, bowing into the mists ominously as he is thanked.


You gain:

• Xtra grow potion- It comes in an extra large bottle. There’s way more than one drop!
  

You lose:

• Currency (x2)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...