The Imp

Aria's eyes fluttered open, the soft light of dawn filtering through the curtains. She blinked, trying to clear the fog of sleep from her mind. Memories of the previous day flooded back – the battle with the goblins, Rikku's injuries, and the strange fusion with the symbiote. She sat up slowly, feeling a dull ache in her body but otherwise surprisingly well-rested.

As she swung her legs over the side of the bed, Aria noticed a small glass jar on the bedside table. Inside, the slug she had rescued from the brink of death was still clinging to life. She reached out a hand, gently touching the glass. The slug twitched slightly, a faint sign of life.

Rising from the bed, Aria dressed quickly, eager to check on Rikku. She made her way down the hall to the hospital ward where her friend was being treated. The nurse on duty greeted her with a warm smile but delivered the news that Rikku would need to stay longer for observation. Aria nodded, her heart heavy with concern for her friend.

Returning to her room, Aria hesitated before the glass jar. 

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I can't believe she almost left me here. Humans are selfish creatures.

Or maybe I was wrong...?

"Seriously, were you going to let me die in there?" I asked, forming a mouth to speak. She was shocked by the realization that I could communicate.

"How... how are you talking?" Aria asked, her eyes wide with astonishment, as I slowly slithered out of the jar. The cold table beneath my slug-like form seemed to irritate me, evident from my slight squirming.

"What happened to you?" Aria inquired, her concern evident in her voice.

"This is the result of exhaustion," I explained, my voice strained. "I am degrading."

Looking around the room for something to latch onto, my frustration was palpable. I cursed repeatedly as Aria captured me in the jar once more.

"What game are you playing, woman?" I accused, my tone filled with annoyance. Aria recoiled slightly at the accusation.

"You... you're a perverted, mind-controlling monster," Aria shot back, her voice trembling with anger. "I can't let you, or your kind, exist."

Angrily, I screamed back, but the effort seemed to exhaust me. "Oh, are you trying to blame last night on me? No, that's not how this works. Last night was all you playing the three-keyed piano."

Aria's cheeks turned bright red, and for the first time, I noticed how she truly looked. Her hair was a mix of purple and pink, cascading down in waves. She wore novice priestess robes that hid her overall build behind layers of clothing. Her face was round and chubby, with apple-shaped cheekbones that accentuated her smile. I noticed piercings of the Zodiac signs: scorpion, Draco, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, and four empty holes.

"I can't believe you!" Aria exclaimed, her face flushed with embarrassment. "You... you took advantage of me!"

I recoiled, hurt by her accusation. "No, that's not what happened," I protested. "I have witnessed another of my kind latch on to a human and they did not do the same. We don't have that kind of effect on humans. At best, we can give you some of our power. What happened last night was... unique."

Aria looked confused, her anger starting to wane. "Unique? What do you mean?" she asked, her voice softer now, tinged with curiosity.

"I mean, I've never experienced anything like it before," I explained. "The fusion we underwent was different. It was like our minds were one, but our bodies were separate. It was... intimate, but not in the way you think."

"Normally my kind are more parasitic in our ways, and when we possess a human, we leave them lightly... worn," I explained to Aria. "But I left you not like that."

Aria's expression turned skeptical. "So you're saying you did all this to... help me?" she asked, disbelief evident in her voice.

I nodded. "Yes. You were dying," I said bluntly, causing her to freeze up. "You had not even half your life aura remaining. I shared a great deal of my own absorbed essence to increase your battle level."

Aria appeared shocked. "Wait, you can do that? And you can see battle levels?" she asked, her voice filled with wonder.

I looked at her and saw a weak pink aura with shades of dark black radiating from her. I had to shift myself into an eye, rendering myself mute, to scan over her.

"I regret it," I admitted silently to myself. "She is now level 7, and I am going to die, all for a human."

Slowly, I closed my eyes, surrendering to the inevitable cycle of my existence. How long would it be this time? Would it take one year, or perhaps a hundred? As my consciousness began to fade, I pondered the form I would assume in my next life. Would I start as a humble bacterium or perhaps a more complex virus? The uncertainty gnawed at me, but it was a familiar sensation.

As darkness enveloped me, the rhythmic sound of dripping water echoed in the void: Drip... Drip..... Drip. Gradually, I became aware of my surroundings once more. I found myself in a dimly lit chamber, the only source of light emanating from a single point above a well. There, standing over the well, was a half-naked woman, her form illuminated by the soft glow.

"This is new," I repeated over and over, my voice echoing in the darkness. As hunger gnawed at me, I consumed what lay before me, my mind returning to clarity as I noticed I was being fed a slime by the human female. I was shocked by the revelation.

Consuming the slime, its essence fueled me as I grew in size. If I were in my right mind, I would have made it my vessel for a few hours. Aria apologized, explaining how her memory of what happened was blurry. She described how she felt stronger, but she didn't forgive me for the fact that I had made her aroused so much that hours and hours of masturbation were needed to sate it.

"Thank you for that," I began, shaping myself into a small snowball-sized ball with eyes, ears, and a mouth. I was gelatinous and black. "And I am sorry. I did not mean to afflict you. I have never fused with a human-like that before, ever. In all my life, I cannot remember such an experience."

Aria looked at me, her expression curious. "What do you mean, 'in all your lives'?"

I explained, "Our kind is unique. When we die, we can come back. We simply come back as something else."

As Aria and I continued our conversation, I noticed a look of shock and disbelief on her face. She was struggling to process the information I had just shared with her. Before we could delve deeper into the topic, however, the door to the room swung open, and I quickly retreated to my hiding place in her pocket.

I couldn't hear much from inside the pocket, but I could feel the motion as Aria hurriedly made her way somewhere. The urgency in her movements suggested that wherever she was going, it was important.

Eventually, we arrived at the village temple. The atmosphere was tense, and I could sense a palpable fear among the people. It was then that I overheard snippets of conversation—there was an imp loose in the village, causing men and women to fall prey to various afflictions. All priests and priestesses were being called to receive a blessing for protection against basic corruption spells.

On our way back from the temple, I slithered through a hole in the pocket of Aria's clothes and spoke with her. "I barely heard any of that. What's going on?" I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

Aria looked embarrassed and ashamed. "It turns out I may have accused you falsely," she admitted, her voice filled with regret. "I'm sorry. I intended to feed you to keep you alive, to re-trap you for the temple, but..." She paused, closing her eyes as if bracing herself for my reaction. "Please forgive me," she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.

I felt annoyed by the situation, but Aria genuinely seemed sorry for what had happened. "I will need food and a new vessel, woman..." I started, but Aria quickly corrected me. "My name is Aria, and I am not giving you my body," she stated firmly.

I shook my head, trying to clarify. "Your body is not what I desire. I did not have control over whatever that was, but that is not what is important right now. What is important is that I can find a new goblin vessel."

Aria shuddered at the thought of a goblin vessel, clearly afraid. I couldn't blame her; goblins were not known for their pleasant demeanor. "No," she said firmly, her voice tinged with fear.

As we walked, Aria couldn't help but voice her curiosity. "If you keep living and coming back, shouldn't you be more powerful?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine confusion.

I shook my head, trying to explain. "No, when we die, we die. We simply also live again. Our kind is few, but we have lived lifetimes. More than I can remember," I replied, my tone somber as memories of past lives flickered through my mind.

"I can't believe this, honestly," Aria muttered, clearly struggling to wrap her head around the concept.

Eventually, we arrived at an inn where Aria explained that she wasn't taking me to her home outside the village. Instead, she would buy me a room and bring me there later. As we entered the inn, however, we were met with an uproar. Guests were angry, and men and women alike were caught in compromising positions or accused of cheating. None truly remembered how it happened, but everyone was yelling and angry.

"The Imp seems to have struck," I remarked to Aria, who nodded in agreement. It seemed that our suspicions had been confirmed.

For the next three hours, we worked tirelessly, interviewing people and trying to gather information. Aria spoke with the priestesses, her essence and experience evident in the way she carried herself. It was fascinating to watch her interact with them, each one unique in their way.

But as we spoke with them, I couldn't help but notice something strange. Despite the chaos and the emotional turmoil surrounding us, Aria didn't seem to be getting stronger from their essence. It was as if something was preventing her from absorbing their energy, and I couldn't help but wonder why.