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Being under the Collector’s control was like a strange but harmless dream. Raine was vaguely aware of standing in a colorful hallway, floating into place when the Collector wanted to play, their body following orders without thinking. Everything was hazy and nothing really mattered. They thought they saw Eda sometimes, but she had gotten away, hadn’t she? Raine’s mind resisted thinking about it, slipping away into pleasant numbness instead.
And then in one moment, it was broken. A wave of green sludge rushed at them, into them, and they were suddenly aware that this was wrong. Their body was literally a puppet, visible joints and rigid material and their mouth opening on a hinge. They wanted to throw up, but did they even have the internal organs for that? The bile in their throat wasn’t natural; it was the sludge that now vied for control with the Collector’s seal on their forehead. It snapped Raine’s head back when it entered their body, then the internal battle thrust them forward again, slumping like a marionette with its strings cut. Raine couldn’t move, could only let these forces toss their body around as they fought for power over Raine.
Then the green sludge forced Raine’s head up, and they knew. It had won, and it was somehow Emperor Belos.
—
Raine was helpless to stop Belos from manipulating the Collector. The same kind of lies that had controlled the Isles for years now spilled from Raine’s mouth in their own voice. The Collector was a god, but also just a kid— falling for Belos’s charms the same way Lilith and Hunter and generations of kids had fallen for them. Raine hadn’t been able to stop Belos’s abuse then; in fact, they’d been complicit in it. Now they felt sickeningly complicit again.
Raine’s puppet body resisted being piloted by Belos, if only to be controlled by the Collector instead. Wooden muscles strained in opposite directions, like Raine’s body was pulling itself apart. Each lurching, painful step down the hallway pulled a groan from their mouth.
Raine’s body spasmed and the Collector’s hold over them finally broke. Their body reverted back to flesh. A moment of relief— but Belos was still there, the green sludge still inside them, leaking from their eyes as Raine squeezed them shut. “Let— me— go!”
Though the voice was Raine’s own, their body punctuated each word by flinging them around. They slammed against a wall and something cracked. Raine screamed. They were thrown to the ground and flung out their arms just in time to land on their hands and knees. Make it stop make it stop— they were still a puppet— why won’t it stop? Green sludge dripped from their mouth. They wanted to cough it all out but their ribs ached with even the motion of their heaving breaths. They wanted to cry but only sludge would come from their eyes.
—
Belos took total control of Raine’s body and stole one of the Collector’s flying stars, steering toward the old palace. The night wind stung Raine’s face as they flew, but even the ability to feel that sensation was a luxury.
It would only take a moment of overcoming Belos’s control to throw themself off the edge of the star. They could probably do it. It would end all of this.
Except Belos would probably crawl from Raine’s broken body to a new host.
Raine had always justified their cowardice as caution. They were only a little ashamed to discover that this time was no different.
—
By the time they reached the palace, the sludge had grown like a tumor, a mass on Raine’s shoulders and back half as big as them. It weighed them down and glowed with shiny blue structures that might have been eyes.
Raine tumbled off the flying star as it crash-landed outside the palace. The impact jarred their aching body and the pain broke Belos’s control for a moment. Raine seized their chance. “I said, get out!” They whistled a shrill note, a banishing spell.
The sludge flew from Raine, the spell wrenching it out of their veins, out of their head. Raine trembled and fell to their knees. They breathed heavily. They were battered and exhausted, but for the first time in months, they had complete control of their own body and mind. They were free.
And then with a sinking heart, Raine saw that the sludge had reformed into a skeletal torso with horns and glowing blue eyes. This wasn’t over. Belos was still here, clawing his way into the palace and muttering to himself that “there’s only one vessel big enough to do what I need.”
No. Belos was going to possess the Titan itself.
—
The palace halls had always inspired unease with their high ceilings and opulent murals of Belos subjugating wild witches, but now the banners were torn, the walls graffitied, anything valuable stolen. Belos’s surprisingly fast new form left a trail of green sludge that Raine followed. It wasn’t needed— they knew the way to the throne room like the strings of their violin.
Raine probably had a broken rib, they were lightheaded, their veins and eyes still burned from the sludge that had been inside then ripped out. They pushed the pain down and ran as fast as they could. Up a flight of stairs— they had to pause on the landing to gasp for breath, leaning against the cold stone wall and curling around their aching rib— to the throne room door.
Raine used to find the steady beating of the Titan’s heart reassuring, but in the dark and cavernous throne room, it was anything but. They drew a spell circle in the air to summon their violin and bow. They hadn’t touched the familiar instrument in months, and just holding it was comforting. Raine couldn’t dwell on the thoughts it brought back, though.
There was no sign of Belos other than a few puddles of sludge. Then a voice spoke from the shadows. “You know what this is, don’t you? It’s the last of many, but it still beats.”
Raine whirled, their violin poised to play a spell. Nothing there. They felt a touch on their back and the sludge burst into a skeletal form looming over Raine. It seized their arms, forcing their bow away from the violin strings. Raine strained against it.
Belos shouted something about the Titan’s heart and sank his teeth into Raine’s arm.
Raine screamed. Something crunched; it could have been the skeleton’s brittle teeth or the bones of Raine’s forearm. The violin fell to the ground with a discordant twang, the bow snapped.
Raine wasn’t helpless yet. They took a breath and raised a hand to their mouth to whistle. Before they could, the sludge covered their mouth and nose.
They couldn’t breathe. The sludge weighed them down, they tore at it but collapsed to the floor. They crawled towards their violin. Without a bow, they couldn’t cast much. But a simple shielding spell was only one note. It might not be enough, but it was all they could do.
Raine grasped the neck of their violin, even though the movement strained their injured arm. Grieving for their instrument— and for the Isles, the Titan, for everything they’d known— Raine slammed the violin into the ground.
A note rang out, magnified by the magical intent behind it. Golden light spread across the floor and walls. It reached the Titan’s heart just as Belos threw himself at it.
Sludge splattered against the golden shield. Raine let out a breath. Had it worked?
Then the sludge sharpened into claws, surging towards Raine, and they knew they were about to face the consequences of fighting back.
—
If Raine’s ribs and arm hadn’t already been broken, they definitely were now. The sludge had spread through the room and strung them up against a wall, arms spread, every part of them covered in the sludge except for their face. Maybe Belos liked hearing them scream. He seemed preoccupied with spreading his rot through the entire body of the Titan, but even being left alone in this position was painful for Raine. They breathed heavily and tried not to cry.
They’d failed. Their whole rebellion was all for nothing, and Belos was going to kill everyone on the Isles. Tears finally welled in Raine’s eyes and dripped down their face. Where the water met the remaining sludge, it burned, leaving marks in the shape of tear tracks. Even now, when everything was already lost, the pain and fear and control wouldn’t stop. Raine was almost looking forward to it all ending.
And yet it didn’t end, and Raine was left to think about their mistakes. They should have put their rebellion into motion before the Day of Unity. They should have never wasted years trying to change the system from the inside. They should have worked with Eda instead of avoiding her in a misguided attempt to keep her safe. Eda never played things safe. It was one of the things they loved about her.
They whistled the song they’d written for Eda all those years ago, to pass the time. It was a bit of a melancholy one when performed solo. Fitting.
The ground shook. Something plummeted from the sky into a shaft of light. Without their glasses, Raine could only see a blurry figure with wings. “Who’s there?”
The figure approached. Raine was breathing fast, heart thundering; they couldn’t deal with yet another attempt to hurt or control them. They struggled against the bonds holding them in place. “Stay away!”
The backlit figure reached toward Raine’s face… and gently placed their glasses back on. They blinked. Eda.
“It’s okay, Raine.” She pulled away the strands of sludge and let Raine collapse into her arms. “I gotcha.” Eda’s embrace had never been so welcome. Their head on her shoulder and her arms around them felt like home.
Raine breathed in. For this moment, they were finally safe.