Tournament Intermission (Part 4) The Strangest Sentient Weapon...

Sentient weapons were a strange set of artifacts. They each have personalities and some rarer ones have physical forms. No one knows how to create sentient weapons. The method was likely lost over time, but they all have separate morals that must align with the wearers.

Sentient weapons are known to reject users quite often. If you're rejected by a sentient weapon, there's nothing to be done. They're typically stronger than normal magical artifacts, but most people don't gamble on obtaining them due to the high chance of rejection. For most people, it's a matter of cost versus risk.

Lia had bought one out of curiosity...well, that and the strange feeling she felt when she saw it. There was something about the weapon that almost called to her. Luckily, she was able to obtain it for relatively cheap, at least in her eyes. If anyone else heard her call 42 gold pieces cheap, they would cough up blood and die by witnessing her rich girl privilege. Well, in retrospect, 42 gold was cheap for an artifact like this. They were a frequent area of study and highly sought after by governments and research teams.

.....

Silvana led Lia back to the hotel. It was almost morning, and they would set off for the next event when the sun rose. She entered her room and looked at the silver-colored card in her hand.

It was made of pure silver and had her mana signature on it. Her initials were engraved on the front in a fancy swirling font. She didn't have a middle name, most vampires didn't, so she put an "S" there to symbolize Saro's existence. She couldn't explain it, but it felt right. Lia could tell Silvana was curious about that, but she never asked anything.

After slipping the card into her pocket, she unstrapped her sword and placed it on the bed. Lia spoke with a hint of curiosity. "Let's see now..how does this work?"

She placed her hand on the sword, and her surroundings began to distort. The whole room began twisting as cracks formed in her vision. Her whole reality shattered like glass and she began falling.

When she felt herself stop, she was standing over a large black void. Beneath her, she could see stars scattered like jewels. Her head swiveled as someone spoke.

"Who are you?" The voice was listless, almost uncaring. It sounded like a small girl was speaking.

Lia turned to see a young girl standing next to her. Her hair lightly touched the ground as she stood unmoving next to Lia. The girl's hair was black and accented with purple highlights. It matched the color of the gorgeous space below her and accented the gorgeous hair color.

The girl was wearing a black gothic dress. She had a white scarf that covered her chin and mouth. She wasn't wearing any shoes and her skin was extremely pale. She pulled the scarf down and began speaking. She repeated the question in the same listless tone. "Who are you?"

Lia spoke in a firm but kind tone. "Lia Darkova."

The girl answered immediately. "I see." She just stood there, staring at Lia.

Lia smiled awkwardly. This was, by far, the weirdest interaction she ever had.

The girl interrupted her thoughts in the same listless tone. "I was sleeping."

Lia spoke, confusion written on her face. "I...I'm sorry?"

The girl shook her head lightly. "It's okay." She remained there, staring at Lia.

Lia met her eyes and realized they were a vibrant purple. She asked a question. "What's your name?"

The girl answered immediately. "Hysteria." The girl didn't say anything more, and she watched Lia silently.

After a few minutes of strange silence passed, Lia spoke. "I have things going on..."

The girl answered, but she seemed a little...sad? "Oh..."

Lia reached out and pat her head. "We can chat later."

After Lia's hand was removed, the girl put both of her hands atop her head and looked up at Lia with cute eyes. Did she seem...happy? "Okay..."

Lia's eyes snapped open in the room. She felt strange. Looking down at her right hand, she noticed a strange purple tattoo. She spoke out loud. "That was...strange.."

Saro's voice interrupted her thoughts. She was...talking with someone?

'Hey..girl what? what ar- Ack.'

Lia began speaking to her headmate. 'Saro?'

.....

Saro was lounging in her space when a random girl suddenly showed up. She had been relaxing to ease her mind of her previous dream. The girl was...strange. She immediately began to walk the whole space, stepping on Saro in the process.

"Hey. Girl, what ar- ack'

She quickly stood up and looked at her. The girl stared back.

After this exchange went on for a few seconds before the girl spoke in a listless tone. "I didn't see you"

Saro looked at her with a strange expression. She began speaking to Lia. 'Kova, a girl just appeared. She has black and purple hair. She looks like a child.'

Kova responded. 'Oh...that's the sentient weapon I bought. Her name is Hysteria.'

Saro's eyes widened. 'Oh...weird, usually they don't have forms until you've spent enough time with them...How did she get here though..?'

Lia responded. 'I...I have no idea. The whole interaction had been pretty strange overall.'

Hysteria spoke to Saro. Her tone was as listless as always. "Who are you?"

Saro responded with a firm: "Lia Sarovitch."

Hysteria answered immediately. "I see." She didn't say anything else, and instead just sat down and closed her eyes.

Saro spoke to Darkova again. 'Kova, this girl is very strange and I don't know how to interact with her.'

Lia was about to respond when the sword on the bed began to glow with an eerie black light. After a few moments, Hysteria's form was sitting on the bed.

Lia's jaw was wide open and Saro sounded panicked. 'She's gone. She...she just entered the real world..?' Her panicked response trailed off into confusion.

Lia stared at the girl sitting on the bed. Hysteria spoke only a few words to Lia. "Your friend is strange."

Lia just looked at her with a strange expression. Her tone had greatly shifted. She sounded like she had a modicum of emotions now. Regardless, it still held a hint of underlying apathy.

Lia spoke after a few seconds. "How did you..?"

Hysteria responded immediately, almost cutting her off mid-sentence. "I wished for it, and it happened."

Lia shook her head. This weapon was going to be a handful to deal with. "Well, since you're here, you'll have to be with me. We have things to do today."

The girl nodded as she hopped off the bed. She was short and barefoot. Lia looked at her and spoke in a caring tone. "Do you want shoes?"

The girl adamantly shook her head. "Too restrictive."

Lia shrugged. Minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Silvana spoke. "We're getting ready to head out. Let's go."

Hysteria hurriedly stood in front of Lia protectively. Her eyes were trained on the door as she spoke, her voice taking on a dangerous tone. "Foe?"

Lia shook her head. "Friend."

Hysteria relaxed as Lia walked forward. The little girl seemed attached to her hip like Lia was her mom. "We'll be down shortly, Silvana"