Chapter 462 I hear voices in my head

Belladonna lifted her head in shock, whipping around to find a woman in white standing behind her.

She was dressed in an exact copy of the armour that Belladonna was wearing, except this version was pure white like she was some kind of Angelic warrior.

The woman’s eyes glowed a bright white, making it hard to look at her face and make out any defining features, but there was an incredibly eerie familiarity about her. Even without being able to see the details, Belladonna could recognise her own smirk on this strangers lips.

She glanced over her shoulder, checking if any of the others had noticed this newcomer, but none of them were reacting if that was the case. Figg was still trying to quell his fear about the Spider, and Revenant was glaring at her like she was crazy – which she definitely felt right now.

Raev was giving her a strange smile, but he obscured that with another puff of smoke that Belladonna immediately rolled her eyes out.

“So what, you’re a figment of my imagination?” Belladonna asked, speaking inside of her mind as a test, and just to make sure she didn’t look too insane.

‘Angel’, as she was calling this figment, let out a melodic laugh.

“Yes and No. I am part of your mind, a part of you that even you aren’t fully aware of. We have met before, although you don’t really remember that. I can only apologise for stealing control from you on that occasion. I was simply taken aback by seeing the Ritual, that I could not contain myself. Especially with it looking so… wrong.”

Angel clicked her tongue, shaking her head as her face twisted with disgust. She looked down, catching a look at her outfit, before shaking her head again.

With a wave of her hand, the armour melted to a pure white replica of the dress Belladonna wore when she had posed as the ‘Baroness of Blood’ before the Orcs. Angel gave that a nod that said ‘this is acceptable’ before clasping her hands and gliding over to Belladonna as she oozed a naturally regal air that Belladonna could only try to imitate.

“Now… Where was I?”

“You were telling me how I could fix this elf girl without elf magic.” Belladonna told her, giving the strange figment a suspicious glare, that Angel simply laughed off.

“Ah yes, of course. That is rather simple really, you are looking at the problem in the wrong way.”

“Really? How should I be looking at it?” Belladonna asked, crossing her arms and giving the figment an irritated look.

“My my, so untrusting, even of yourself. Am I really that horrible looking?” Angel tutted, looking over herself.

“No, but I’ve already met one bitch who can mess with minds and memories, plus I already have one voice screaming in my head about death and destruction. I’m just wondering what your deal is.”

Angel sighed, shaking her head in dismay, before holding out her hand. A soft light emanated from her palm, as a pure white journal appeared in her hand.

“The one you are talking about is your rage, your bloodlust. The monster inside of you. I, on the other hand, am the remnant of knowledge that has clung to your stolen bloodline. I barely have enough power to do what I am trying to tell you about, but as an offering of good faith, I gift this to you. It has already been manifesting slowly within your mental library, but I shall give it a little more power to complete the first volume early. Since you are impatient.”

Angel waved her hand, vanishing the book with a flash and sending it straight into Belladonna’s hands. It was weightless, because just like Angel it was just another figment of her imagination, but she could feel Aki inside of her looking over the same book.

‘Understanding Will: An Introduction for Dummies.’

The rather insulting title was written across the pure white cover with an elegant cursive hand in a beautiful, shimmering gold ink that looked like it was written in actual liquid gold.

Belladonna flipped open the imaginary cover and flicked through the non-existent pages, as her eyes widened in amazement. It actually was a real guide on how to use Will.

It was only the most basic of the beginner lessons, mainly an introduction on how to control, absorb and store it like one did with mana. But even that alone was worth its weight in gold.

“A-alright. I believe you.” Belladonna muttered, returning her trembling gaze to Angel as the imaginary book melted from her hands, although Aki was still hungrily devouring every letter of every page.

“Wonderful. Now, as I was saying. You are looking at the issue wrong. Yes, this is a result of the Elven magic, which is something I cannot help you with.” Angel admitted.

She quickly held up a hand, silencing Belladonna with a motherly glare before she could interrupt her with another idiotic comment.

“However,” She continued, “That does not mean the solution must come from Elven magic. What this young girl has become, is a Fell-Spawn. A rather unique one, I must say, but a Fell-Spawn nonetheless. Yet it is because of that uniqueness, that she can be helped. Just like you, she was born not from transformation, like every other Fell-Spawn, nor was she born of God-Defiling sin, like the originals. She is, dare I say, one of the first natural Fell-Spawn, if you don’t count Graceless like yourself. She is without family. Fell family, I mean. The Elven magic cannot be undone, but we can push her Fell-Spawn side even further. Introduce her to your family, make her like you, and she should change. Although what she will change into… not even I could say.”

“So you’re saying that it could make her worse?” Belladonna asked, to which Angel nodded and sighed solemnly.

Belladonna frowned, chewing on her lip as she considered the possibilities and the risks. However really, there was only one who could answer the question of what to do.

“Well…” Belladonna said, for real this time as she turned to the young White Widow.

“I might be able to help you… but just like what your mother did, it’s never been done before. There is a chance that it might change you into something less human… or less Elven, I guess.”

The Widow tilted her head, knitting her fingers together as her Chelicera wriggled, before she whispered softly.

“But… it could make me look pretty like you?”

Belladonna nodded, her face awash with anxiety, not even trying to hide her worry and fears of what might happen if things went wrong.

The Widow thought silently for a few seconds, before glancing at the Hollow Knight that stood to the side, before turning back to Belladonna and giving her another sweet yet creepy spidery smile.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”