Lian sat alone in the room that GAT provided for sanctuary, believing that Pops was just outside her room. Why wouldn’t he be? He may have withheld things from her, but Pops has never flat-out lied to her. Yet a gnawing feeling was making itself known in her gut.

  To distract herself she decided to turn on the TV and just flipped through the channels. She didn’t know what she was looking for or if she was looking for anything at all. Just surfed without purpose like she got stuck on a series of social media shorts, not knowing when to stop and go to sleep.

  She surfed and surfed until she got to a news channel that showed Pops standing outside city hall. He looked angry and when she saw that he was holding Regretz she became worried.

  To make sure it was really him she checked outside her door, and no one was there. At this realization, she began to hyperventilate as she struggled to get free.

  “GET OUT HERE YOU CORRUPT MAYOR!! BRING OUT YOUR SON SO I CAN KILL HIM!!” Pops shouted so loud that Lian thought she was about to go deaf.

  “Sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave.” A cop spoke and tried to get him to leave thinking he was just a distressed father. It was the last thought he would ever have since when Pops struck him with Regretz he turned into a blood mist that was absorbed by the hammer.

  When other cops saw this, they tried to detain Pops with lethal force. But the more that attacked him the more Regretz absorbed and with every kill it got bigger as it grew a fleshy exterior. The abomination of a hammer just kept growing until it was more accurate to call it a giant blob of flesh in the form of an oversized maul.

  When they got him surrounded the video cut just as Pops unleashed a wave of golden flames. Lian screamed at the TV for him to stop. To not use that hammer. She began to believe that his first lesson was either a lie or just hypocrisy.

  A forge hammer is for creating, not killing.

  If he would so openly break this rule, then what other lessons did he teach her should she call into question? This circle of doubt made her waver in the belief she had in Pops. Her father was her anchor through those times, and he didn’t realize what his actions were doing to Lian's fragile state.

  When the screen turned static, she sat there trying not to cry or become hysterical. She tried changing the channel but no one else was covering it. In the end, she left it on one of the news channels while she checked the news on her phone, but no one knew what was going on and people were talking about explosions and bright lights.

  Some were saying that WIZARD and Elysian’s army were there trying to subdue some rogue ranker. Lian ignored those since Pops was just a blacksmith. While she didn’t realize how powerful his fire skill was or how powerful Regretz was but there was no reason for WIZARD or Elysian to show up so quickly here.

  Meanwhile, Asmodeus watched it all from a distance. It was a trap from the beginning. For some reason Elysian wanted Pops. He could only assume they were after the hidden grandmaster. For now, he recorded the events thinking it would make for good motivation for Lian.

  Even if he can’t control her. He could perhaps aim her in the direction of his choice. Though these were plans in the far future.

  Meanwhile, Lian sat in silence. When the news hit the guild hall she was in they had someone check on her only to find her having fully shut down again as there was a picture of Pops, beaten within an inch of his life.

  They called him a terrorist.

  They claimed he was an agent of the Obsidian Dominion.

  Lian didn’t try to refute it to herself or scream that it was all lies. She just sat there in silence.

  The person they sent to check on her turned off the TV and tried to reassure her, but she could tell that Lian heard none of it. No one could tell what Lian was thinking, not even Lian herself.

  While the members of GAT were now rushing to get things in order for Lian to leave the planet and be moved somewhere safer until someone from the list of relatives came to get her, she was looking at her own options. More specifically the three objects in front of her.

  The talisman from Spiritus. It would contact Kon and if she was as powerful as Lian believed she could teleport to her using the talisman as a beacon. This would mean being adopted again and becoming a kitsune.

  “I wonder what it’s like to have a mother.”

  After considering it for a moment Lian decided to look at the next option. The stone amulet. She remembered Lugh’s offer. She remembered that the Unseelie are interested in her affinity.

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  “Learning to make growth weapons sounds fun, but doesn’t that make quality a bit meaningless in the long run?”

  Lastly was the box with what she called the cambion pill. Eating it will turn her into a demon, no questions asked. She was promised power and loyalty.

  “What’s the catch though?”

  This wasn’t just about joining a faction now. She wanted to take back control. To have the power not to be pushed around again. That was when a wicked thought occurred to her. As she recalled part of Lugh's advice. Words have power.

  Lian stored the cambion pill in the storage ring and put the amulet in her pocket while making sure she had her magisteel dagger by her side before putting some of her mana into the talisman.

  “I hope this works. If not, at least I won’t be alive to deal with the consequences.” She chuckled to herself as a tori gate appeared before her and Kon walked out looking disheveld.

  “Thank the ancestors.” Kon did everything she could to hold back her own tears but failed as she moved faster than Lian could perceive as she embraced Lian in a hug while sobbing apologies over and over.

  What stopped her was that Lian had begun to hyperventilate in her embrace. She did not know why but the physical contact was giving her a panic attack.

  Kon ended up letting go and restrained herself as Lian took some deep breaths to calm down.

  “I assume you’ve made up your mind.” Kon asked hoping for some good news.

  Lian didn’t answer right away. She thought she was prepared for this. Anything for power but some part of her still felt like going through with this was a betrayal to Pops. She had carefully thought about what to say but now her mind went blank and just said what came to mind.

  “I… I just want to take control back. I don’t want to be weak anymore.” Lian got her determination back as she looked Kon in the eyes, showing her that there was still a fire burning in her. “Please help me become strong.”

  Kon was happy to hear this. She vowed to take Lian under her wing and treat her like she was her own daughter from birth.

  “Then let's begin.” Kon said as she began the ritual. She drew a simplified form of the Kyubi emblem on Lian’s head in her own blood before beginning the ritual to turn Lian into a kitsune, but the moment Kon was lost in the trance Lian pulled out the amulet and began to talk into it as she grabbed her dagger with her other hand.

  “As an offering, I give my hair. If you turn me into a changeling now, I offer the name Lian Hughes.”

  As she said this, black smoke came from her shadow as it grabbed ahold of Lian. She began to panic, thinking something had gone wrong. Meanwhile, the guild hall intruder alert went off thinking that Lian’s summons were people who meant her harm.

  As the smoke began to force its way inside of Lian’s mouth and nose, altering her before Kons ritual was finished as her mana began to invade her body altering her genetics. These two very different changes would normally cause discomfort but both at once caused immense pain.

  Her bright autumn orange hair had turned silver and a matching tail sprouted. Her teeth sharpened into canines. Her ears vanished as a pair of fox ears sprouted on top of her head. Her eyes changed to match Kon’s yellow foxlike eyes. Her skin turned white giving her a more ethereal beauty.

  \\From now on her eyes will regularly change colors but there is a pattern to it.\\

  Lian cried out as she began to cry blood. Kon went into a panic, not understanding what was going on as she just came to.

  From the shadows, Mab, the queen of air and darkness, ruler of the Unseelie appeared. She couldn’t believe she was had by a human, yet at least she was offered Lian's name in exchange. At worst this would give her the power to bend Lian to her will.

  “What the hell are you doing?!” Kon yelled at Mab as she pulled her away from Lian.

  “Fulfilling a deal.” She replied with a sadistic smile.

  “Leave my daughter alone.” Kon growled at Mab as her nine tails began to aim different spiritual skills at the fae queen.

  “Let’s talk about this like civilized people. After I claim what is mine.” While Kon was focused on her Mab allowed her Fairy Deal to usurp the child of her name.

  “We are going to have to kindly ask you two to follow us.” A voice had interrupted the two. They turned to see that a GAT employee was talking to them. This was the first time they realized where they were.

  The fae were bound by the rules of hospitality so Mab agreed.

  Spiritus relied heavily on GAT to help acquire crafting materials at a fair price, so Kon begrudgingly agreed. But only after she saw how tired her daughter was and made sure she was comfy. Made sure that the blood was wiped from her face.

  When she was alone, she checked her attributes and laughed. Perhaps it was enough to take vengeance herself. After double-checking to confirm what she did worked, she slipped out of the guild hall without anyone noticing as they were busy with the ruckus. None of the guild members even recognized her now.