I think back to the time he first taught me possession. 

♦

“Demon skeletons are the easiest to possess, so start with them.” 

“Dad… You’re not even looking!”

He seemed to be distracted by a demonic bird. 

“Don’t worry, just clear your mind and get in with no thought. Super easy.”

Easy for you maybe, there’s nothing that goes on in your head… O.k. I’ve got this. It’s just a skeleton. I closed my eyes and focused my energy into one part of me, 

“Wait!”

“What?!”

“I forgot to say, you also need to envision yourself as one being. Just shifting your energy doesn’t mean you’re moving your spirit. You need to breathe the same, and match their inner thoughts.”

“It’s a skeleton? Do they think? I don’t even think this man breathes!” I waved my hand at the skeleton’s face. 

“Exactly.”

“... What does that mean?!”

“Come on, do I have to spell it out for you, the answer is right in front of you!” 

He really sucks at explaining. It’s a skeleton. It’s dead! What’s there for it to think of? and he wants me to “breathe” the same with it? It’s dead.

“O.k… Let’s try this again.” I close my eyes, think like a skeleton… Think like a skeleton,

“Hold on!”

“What now?!”

“If it’s not breathing then hold your breath. Do I gotta do all the thinking for you?”

“Hold… My… Breath… That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Is it? Give it a shot.” 

O.k. I will, and when I do you’ll see that it makes no sense. Hold my breath? Wow, so innovating, father. I guess that also means, I should think about nothing. O.k, here I go. I took a deep breath in and could feel my spirit inside me shifting. It wasn’t energy at all. It was different. The skeleton hadn’t moved from its spot since we got here. I can thank my dad for that. His powers allowed him to subdue almost any creature living or dead. Which made this a whole lot easier for me. Easy. My eyes were slowly closing as the transference of my spirit to the skeleton commenced, I was about to become one with it, 

“Hang on!”

My teeth clenched, my blood boiled and the tone of my voice shifted into an annoyed yet frustrated cry,

“Oh. My. God. What?! What is so important?!”

I look to my dad only to see he himself is a skeleton. 

“I’m all skin and bones.”

My left eye twitched.

“Is that all?! A joke? That’s all you wanted to say? Is there anything else to say, dad?! Say it now. Say it.”

“If you keep getting distracted like that, it’ll be harder for you to possess anything, especially things that can see you and move out of the way. Well, I guess even the things that can’t see you. A moving target is always harder to get. You need to match everything so that nothing can notice your presence. Since by then, you’d already be a part of them in mind and not body. Not yet at least.”

“I see…”

“Try again.”

As my dad threw distractions my way, I slowly learned to tune them out. Even when he had grabbed the demonic bird and made it squawk like a madman, I was finally able to become the skeleton.

“I… Did it! I did it!”

“Good work. Now do it again.”

“Wh-what? Why?!”

“You need to master it and do it with ease. Doing it once does nothing in the long run. You need to get faster at it. You never know when you’ll need to do it all over again.”

“Is there any point to this?”

“Of course. As the next demon lord you’ll need a vessel as a ‘first wave’.”

“First wave…?”

“Let’s say you fight someone powerful, you don’t want to get your actual body damaged, so you control one of their friends and make them fight instead. It will not only demoralize them but it will also give you the advantage.”

“That’s… Messed up.”

“Is it? You’re a demon lord, you’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

“Are there any downsides to this?”

“Not for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The one you possess loses their soul the longer you’re inside of them. It’s like an endless sleep until one day, they’re just gone. Well, living creatures that is. Which is why skeletons are the best practice creatures to do this technique on.”

“Wait! What about my powers?”

“Oh it all stays intact. You are basically a buff for the creature you possess.”

“And their powers?”

“If you want to use anything lesser, I guess you have access to them.”

Right… He sees every creature living or dead to be beneath him.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“Demons from the old days would leave the underworld and enter the human world above. If they weren’t strong enough their bodies would get destroyed and be turned into spirits. That’s when they’d possess humans and populate the earth with their own kind to live among them to do whatever it is they do up there. Most demons have human in them which is why we have our forms that look like how we are now. We’re not that dissimilar to humans.”

He looked away for a moment there, then back to me,

“But you won’t have to worry about that kind of possession, because one day I’ll show you how to manifest your own body into the human world! Now. Possess more of these skeletons.”

“O.k!”

I had been in the skeleton fields for weeks. My dad had made sure it was all ingrained in my head. He made me do it until I had collapsed from exhaustion, then he would heal me and make me do it all over again. He was a perfectionist to the point that I thought it was an OCD. He made sure I was healed only in the body. I didn’t eat or drink anything during the time and I was at my limit mentally. Even though his healing made me not have the need to eat or drink, I missed the taste of food. He never was satisfied and kept making me do it until I decided that I was perfect. Only to dismiss it and say it wasn’t enough. He put it in my head that it was “perfection or nothing”. I couldn’t stand it. And yet… 

♦

Here I am, thinking back to the time I spent all those weeks mastering this skill to do it without a thought. I was so good at it I almost forgot the most basics of things. Becoming one with the mind of the one I want to possess. It isn’t just about my intentions, it’s theirs too. The beastman is my first hurdle to overcome. Regardless of how I go about it, his survival instinct will always act up instantly if I go after him, so I need to ignore wanting to possess him. The other two are too far for me to reach in time without the grotesque activating and signaling my movement. Not to mention the book man has his light spell on the ground and I have no idea what that is capable of in regards to my own movement. The nun has to be my focus. She’s the closest to me and my first choice. I just need to think like her and become a part of her so no one can detect me once I do get close enough. Malicious intent or not. What is she like? She cares for her friends, but also wants to protect humanity. Why else would she be here? She also seems to be calm, intuitive, and doesn’t have her own prejudices. I’ve come to that conclusion based on her interaction with the beastman. Which was unlike the man with the blade who judged him based on appearance and assumed he had no fear just because he was a creature. Right now, her goal is to exorcize me with divine magic. This nun is pure of heart… I can feel it. Her heart beating alongside mine. I can’t seem to feel the others. At this moment, she is the only one in this world with me. As she prays on her knees, and I stand at the forefront, that once pure nun no longer exists. We are one being of the same. I take a step closer. Her soul slowly moving out of her body, 

“Maria!” The beast man grabs her once again and pulls her back further, “This spirit is hostile towards you.” 

“There’s no other way to do this though…”

Damn it! How does he always get there before I can! This is so annoying!

Wait.

It just occurred to me. I’m only thinking of the nun— No, Maria. That’s the name the beastman shouted. I’m only thinking of Maria. I should be thinking of the beastman’s thoughts and desires as well. I should be able to trick his senses if I match his mindset, and since I already have an understanding of Maria, I can easily swap my thoughts just before his instinct starts up to move her away again. 

“We’re going to have to get closer.”

“Are you sure? Its starting to learn. I can tell.” 

“What do you mean?”

“My instincts barely caught on to have my body react in time to grab you.”

“That’s…”

“Scary. I know, I’m worried that something could go wrong. Maybe we should head back and—”

“We can’t. If we head back now, it’ll most likely follow and we’d fail at preventing a demon from entering the human world officially. I have to do this Bet.”

“But…”

“If it costs me my life, we have Connor’s light spell on the ground. Since you haven’t fought with him before,” she wiggles out of Bet’s arms and walks ahead, “You don’t know its effects. Come on, I still need you with me.”

“Y-yes!”

“His light spell not only reveals the location of a spirit, but it also keeps us counted.”

“Counted?”

“If there are two magic specialists in the area, it will keep track of that and begin to imitate any spell created.”

“But you had to restart your incantation every time I pulled you back?”

“That would have been true, but I accounted for that.” She smiles, “When I had to restart I did a different part of it each time. Just so that the light that surrounds us could use it should anything happen.”

“That’s why you aren’t worried…”

“Not in the slightest! I have the final prayer to add in, and then we can rely on Connor from there.”

They stop in front of me. 

“Why do you need to be close then?”

“Because, this spell’s radius is very short ranged. And since the light spell imitates, doing it too far would make it pointless.”

“Do you always think 10 steps ahead?!”

She snickers, “No, I just make it my duty to trust you all and understand your abilities. Just as you all trust me.”

“Maria…” 

“Can we cut the sentimentals already!” the man with the blade interrupts.

“Bernard! We were having a moment!” Bete snaps at him.

They all seem close. But this is good. I have learned their names. The one with the blade is Bernard. He seems to be the snarky type, but by his stature I can tell he’s no slouch. His attitude is a reflection of his strength. Just with one look at him, he could probably take on an army on his own. And that blade of his is made out of dragon scales. That just means magic won’t affect it, and the sturdiness of it means it won’t snap easily either. If he has a dragon sword, he might be a dragon slayer himself. Then there’s that Connor guy, the man with the book. He may be scrawny but he is slightly taller than Bernard. I’m assuming they have worked together a lot before based on their interactions with each other. They seem to be best friends, and Connor seems to be the type to guard Bernard’s back while Bernard himself protects the front. From all this though, I can tell this man is observant, cool-headed, and collective. He had not once let his eyes leave the entrance to the underworld and has been ready with the open book in his hand since. A page in the other ready to turn to a spell he may need. Then there’s the beastman, Bet. I’ve already captured his mindset and who he is, but because he’s a beastman… My main concern is what will happen when I do possess Maria. This group of protectors are quite the troublesome bunch. I wonder if there are others like these people in the human world. I wonder how many people I can help and meet up with to make a solid team like theirs! I can’t wait to start my journey as Maria. Maria the ultimate healer of the world! She’s going to be so well-known,

“Imagine how many followers I would get at my side praising me and I’d hafta tell them, ‘wait your turn please!’”. My eyes widened, “Ah! Maybe I’ll keep my name instead. Maria is nice and all, but I still like my own—” I stop gushing for a moment and wail, “I can’t use my own name! My dad will find me! Ugh, I hate this! It’s o.k I’ll use it in secret. People can praise ‘Apura’ in secret.” 

I notice Maria’s spell starting to take effect.

“It’s complete. Now I will have to start from the beginning.”

“Why?” Bet’s reaction is the same as mine.

“As I told you earlier, I had done it in parts for Connor’s light spell. It’s a precaution.”

“Magic is… Too smart for me…” 

“Oh Bet, don’t be silly. We all can use it, it’s just how we do it. There are those who don’t need to cast with books or use prayers. They simply are.”

“Can we stop talking already! I feel like we’ve been here for days!”

“Bernard is right, I should finish this up so we all can go back and enjoy a hot meal for our hard work. You’ll be eating with us this time, won’t you?”

“Of course.” Bet let’s out a smile of trust and security, “I’ll make sure we won’t need to rely on Connor’s magic!”

Maria smiles back and looks directly at “me”. I know she can’t see me but, there was a weird chill there for a moment. As if she knew that this was the deciding moment. It’s too bad… I’m sure we would have gotten along, if I wasn’t a demon. I can feel Bet’s intentions to swipe Maria as soon as he feels my presence. I can feel Maria giving it her all to ensure the safety of their world. But I have my own intentions. I will not go back to my father, and these humans won’t stop me. The aid of a beastman makes no difference to me. I match Bet’s stance, his breathing and his mindset. He only has one thing in mind, “Protect Maria no matter what.” I begin to walk like him as I step forward. Hunched over, arms wide and opened, with long steps taken. I get close to him, but not enough to touch him. My movement shifts and becomes more human-like, I stand between him and Maria. As my body stretches out into a straightened posture, I notice Bet’s ears twitch. He’s going to notice me again. I quickly think back to how he is, then face Maria from behind. I can see the back of her head, I kneel over behind her and just as I am about to become her, 

“It’s back!” Bet grabs Maria and pulls her away. “This is getting frustrating!” 

Maria is silent. 

“Hey, are you alright?” 

There is no answer.

“Bernard! Connor! Something’s wrong with Maria!”

“That’s not possible, the light spell would have activated.”

Bet turns Maria over to get a look at her, 

“She’s still breathing?”

I can’t tell what her eyes are like, but if I remember correctly, my dad once said, “If you possess a living creature their eyes temporarily become lifeless as your body assimilates within them.” I’ve gained control. Bet was too late. None of them know what has happened. But I do. It’s time to get rid of them one by one. I can’t just pretend to be her, this is my life now. Sorry “friends”. But I am a demon first. I touch Bet’s face, 

“Bet…”

In an instant he drops me, the staff in Maria’s hand falls to the ground as I let go of it. 

“That’s not Maria.” he growls.

“What do you mean?”

“Her scent is different all of a sudden!”

“Could she have been possessed?!”

“Connor, what do you mean?” Bernard seems to be confused, “Doesn’t your light spell protect against that?”

“Normally it would but… If Bet is correct… It didn’t just possess her, it became her.”

“But she’s still in there right?!” Bet snarls. 

“I would assume so… That’s usually the case with possession.”

“Then we have to free her from this!”

“We’ll do what we do best. Fight.”