Chapter Text
Even if the players are different, the story they're fated to tell remains the same...
---
"Finally...! I've been searching for so long!"
A man holds up a book in triumph.
"Now my wish will be granted...!"
He flips through the pages. Each page is covered with an unfamiliar runic script. The man finds what he's looking for and starts reciting an incantation.
"I'm so sorry, my dear sister. I won't keep you waiting any longer".
There is a blinding flash of light.
"The three keys will be mine!"
---
I've been waiting for you. Now then, allow me to continue this story.
"-lia, wake up, plip!"
Killia yawned and rolled over. "Five more minutes..."
Someone shook him. "Killia! It's urgent, plip!"
He heard the sound of horses whinnying and people arguing.
"You piece of shit! Get out of my way before I run you over!"
That voice sounded familiar...
"KILLIA!" With a final shove he was pushed off the bed and fell onto the floor. Killia opened his eyes and sat up.
"Urgh...Usalia, why...?" The rabbit-eared girl was frowning at him.
"We're here, plip!"
"...where is here?" Killia took in his surroundings. He was sitting in a small wooden room crammed with all sorts of paraphanalia. There were books, small puppets, a glowing cauldron shoved underneath a table, and mysterious vials. It looked like a witch's workshop but somehow he knew he was inside a caravan.
Usalia patted him on the head. "Did you hit your head too hard, plip? Usalia is sorry. I'll go get an ice pack, plip!"
Killia stood up and stretched his arms. "I'm fine, Usalia. But...where are we?" He peeked out through one of the caravan's windows and saw a large stone wall. A gentle brook ran along the length and he could see the roofs of a modest town on the other side. A dirty man with a shepherd's crock staggered off, swaying back-and-forth so much it was a wonder he didn't fall over.
The door opened and a girl with purple pigtails stormed in. "This is why I hate people! Zombies are much better, they don't talk back. They just do what they're told".
"...Majorita? What are you doing here?"
The necromancer rolled her eyes. "Did you idiots forget already? We're here in Refrain because the Great Baba Yaga was invited by the governor". She thumped her chest as she spoke. "That's me, of course. Don't forget, or I'll have to poison you both".
"And where is Refrain? Where's everyone else?" Killia rose to his feet and assumed a fighting stance. "Why have you brought us here, Majorita?"
"Don't you remember? I paid you to escort me. You wouldn't let a little girl like me wander around the wilderness by her lonesome, would you?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
What kind of game was she playing? This was the former demon general, the Corpse Master Overlord who'd killed Usalia's parents and commanded the Lost Army to enslave countless Netherworlds. Everyone thought she'd died during the rebel army's assault on Dark Demise, and then she'd turned up a few months ago-
-Her name was Majorita and she was an apprentice witch from Ruler Academy. She'd been saved from bandits by Killia and Usalia, and they'd decided to travel together to the town of Refrain, impersonating Baba Yaga-
-No, that wasn't right! He was Killia, leader of the rebel army and former overlord of Cryo Blood-
-He was an adventurer, taking on odd jobs to support himself and Usalia-
Killia groaned and clutched at his head. What was going on?!
---
Usalia led the horses into town while Killia tried to get his bearings. She seemed to know where they were going and stopped in the middle of the square next to a stone rotunda. "Majorita", he began.
Majorita was examining a small red book. "I told you, while we're in Refrain my name is Baba Yaga. The governor is awaiting a Great Witch, not a mere apprentice".
"Majorita, what did you do? Where's everyone else, and why aren't we in the Pocket Netherworld?"
"I don't know!" She screamed and threw the book to the ground. "Do you think I want to be stuck in some god-forsaken piece of shit human world? With two of the people I hate most in the entire universe?!"
"So you're not responsible for this?" Killia picked up the book she dropped. Tractatus de Monstrum was printed on the spine. He flipped it open, but all the pages were blank.
"Of course I'm not responsible!"
Usalia stepped back into the caravan. "Majorita, stop screaming, plip!"
Majorita seethed at Usalia but was powerless to resist the order. "Stupid curse, stupid rabbit", she mumbled.
"Usalia, do you know why we're here?"
Usalia tilted her head. "Majorita stole a letter from someone and is pretending to be a Great Witch, right?"
That matched up with Killia's memories. "I think so".
"And there's a mysterious labyrinth underneath this town, plip, and the governor of the town wants a witch to explore it".
"But...why are we here instead of in Seraphina's Pocket Netherworld?" Killia pressed.
"Usalia doesn't know, plip".
Killia leaned against the wall and sighed. "That makes three of us". He had vague memories of growing up in this world, Tanis, but he couldn't clearly remember any names or faces. He didn't know who raised him, where he'd grown up, or how he'd met Usalia.
But he could remember being a demon, clear as crystal. He remembered the rebel army. If one set of memories were fake, it had to be the vague unspecific ones.
"Maybe this is a dream..." he muttered as he idly leafed through the Tractatus de Monstrum. This seemingly useless book was allegedly written by someone who'd previously explored the labyrinth under Refrain. Wars had been fought over this volume. It wasn't even a long book, he only counted 57 pages.
"Aah! K-killia!" Usalia gasped. "The book...it has a face!"