My Qarin.

The Shaitan.

Ken was seeing it clearly in the spectral realm. Its fire spirit shone underneath its form.

The impish being seemed distressed.

Its exposed red skin was shiny, hairless, and riddled with crater-like gaps. Its tiny claws tipped its hands and feet. A pointy nose and ears, with bulging yellow eyes made up its face. Sharp teeth filled its mouth, and a forked tongue flickered out. Two small horns stuck out from its forehead.

It wore a loose black kurta-like cloak reaching its knees, along with black trousers.

The Qarin panicked when I spoke to it, Ken noted as it was spinning, and dashing left and right. Good, it can know the thoughts I want it to know. I wasn’t sure it would work, but seeing his reaction it must have.

The Shaitan moved with quick, jerky motions, scurrying about on limbs bending at odd angles. Small but surprisingly speedy, given its muscular frame.

Ken leaned down swiftly, smacking the Qarin's crimson-haired head as one would a misbehaving pet. He twisted its neck to force eye contact, but the creature's gaze darted aside nervously. Its face showed plain terror and confusion.

“Ya dear friend,” The Qarin said weakly in Ken’s mind, raising a placating hand. “Ya! Quite a close call back there we had with death, eh? Hehe...” Its tone aimed for casual but betrayed fear.

As expected, it can transmit its thoughts to me.

Ken just fixed it with a cold, maniacal stare.

“Thought we were done for,” It babbled on. “Oh! Also that swarm...horrible, dreadful bites! Hehe...”

Ken smacked it in the head. Then grabbed its head again.

“Ouch!” The Qarin howled.

“Oh, so you do feel pain!” Ken grinned viciously, tightening his grip on its head.

The Qarin recoiled, then quickly sucked up to Ken. “Lucky you got us out safe, smart guy!”

Ken casually released it, grinning in smug satisfaction at its obvious discomfort.

“I bet you wanna know my name,” The Qarin said eagerly. “Name's Yag! Paranoia's my trade, whispering's my craft.” He bowed with a flourish.

“I don't care,” Ken replied coldly, still squatting. “You've freeloaded long enough. Time to pay rent.”

“Uh, yes! Anything you need, dear friend, I'm your servant!” Yag stuttered.

Ken tilted his head. “I need food. What do you pests eat around here?”

“Eat? I don't eat, we spirits consume...something else,” Yag replied, confused.

“Is that so?” Ken raised an eyebrow.

“Ya, no need to eat in spirit form,” Yag suggested slyly. “You could never eat again if you want!” Yag unintentionally exposed, thinking that Ken became a spirit when he used SpiritShifter.

Idiot!

Well I can’t complain, it just exposed what I need.

Since it doesn’t know what power SpiritShifter grants me and what limitations it has, this means that it can’t read my thoughts entirely, only the ones I reveal to it.

“But how can you grow if you don’t eat?” Ken casually asked.

“Grow? But I'm tiny! Hehe…” Yag gestured at himself jokingly.

“Thought so,” Ken grinned, returning his hand to Yag’s head. It's lying - Granny said they're born with us and grow together with us. This crafty bastard figured out what I'm hinting at. But it doesn’t know what I am after yet.

“Then what do you consume!” Ken asked.

“See that!” Yag pointed to the sky, and Ken followed with his sight. Yag was pointing at Sawad. “Like Bayad, Sawad releases dust that you can’t see. And we absorb that dust instead of eating to sustain us.”

Looking back at Yag, Ken stared with a mischievous grin.

This sounds like self-sustainment to me.

Sensing Ken's intent, the Qarin panicked. “Wait! Taking that ability will kill me for sure!”

“I know,” Ken replied coldly.

“But if you die, I die! And if I die, you die too!” Yag pleaded desperately.

“I don’t believe you,” Ken scoffed. “Granny said your kind spreads deceit. I’ll live on just fine.”

The sole purpose of Qarin is to drive us to sin, and then relish our misery after. So how could I believe it over Granny!

Yag snapped in frustration. “You'd risk Hell over hunger? Are you stupid? This is madness!”

Well, I am hungry but…

Ken then smacked Yag’s head sharply. “Yes.”

“Wait, please, just wait, I'll do anything!” Yag begged.

There it is. That’s what I wanted to hear. Ken’s grin widened. It can't flee even at risk to its life - we're linked. Somehow tied.

Ken smacked Yag sharply once more. Then shifted to the physical realm to draw breath, then shifted back again.

Yag was not surprised by his act.

“I’ll make you a deal, dear friend!” Yag exclaimed. “There's a kin nearby. I can sense it. You can take it from him. So you can stay here without worrying about food all the time. And I’ll throw in good company as extra.”

Yag smiled anxiously. “Good bargain, yes?”

“So you’d stab your kin in the back that easily, eh,” Ken remarked. “And you want me to trust you!”

“To live another day,” Yag replied. “Ya, I would.” It added honestly.

“Well,” Ken began.

Yag was about to add something, but Ken cut him off. “Not enough to cover rent,” He grinned wickedly. “Here's the deal - you help improve my stealth mastery, teach me about people, and extract info by contacting targets' Qarin for me when I need you to. In exchange, I'll let you stalk me.”

“Deal! Thank you for your magnanimity, dear friend!” Yag exclaimed instantly. “Follow me,” He said, scurrying eagerly into the woods.

Ken stood and followed three paces behind.

The key to possession is understanding.

“Oi pest,” Ken called.

“Ya!”

“Are you built like us?” Ken asked. I can see a fiery soul underneath Yag’s form. It’s a bit different yet it seems plausible. “Do you have souls residing in your bodies?”

“Ya, we do, we exist in the astral realm as a soul filling form,” Yag replied with a tone filled with confusion. “Because our form is made of fire mixed with astral matter instead of physical flesh, we can’t slip through to your world. We can only observe it and influence minds with some tricks.”

Thought as much. Ken took note, realizing that in the astral realm, these beings had an ethereal existence residing within an ethereal one. A soul fills astral flesh! There was more complexity to them than it seemed.

“I’m sure you could absorb the dust too, you know!” Yag causally slipped as he looked back, and was then walking ahead backward.

Ken's grin vanished, replaced by a glare. “Can you read all my thoughts?”

“No, no, no!” Yag insisted, waving his hands. “But I know you as well as you know yourself.”

After a moment Ken's glare lessened. “What do you know about this place?”

“The Underground,” Yag said as it then turned to look forward. “Not much.”

“Stop lying,”

“No, no, no! No lie” Yag insisted. “I only see and hear what you do - no more, no less,” Yag explained nervously.

“Another lie, eh!” Ken said bluntly. “You can hear and see what I couldn’t. Talking to other Qarin while I couldn’t. How are we equally informed?”

Yag froze, terrified by Ken's sharp perception.

“And I bet your friends tipped you off about their schemes back then,” Ken added accusatorily as he walked past the frozen Yag.

While I, the fool, didn’t even doubt it.

“Ya, perhaps I know a bit more, just a bit more,” Yag admitted as he strode ahead again. “But this is my first time in here too! I'm clueless about this place like you.”

Qarin can't be trusted, Ken knew. But Yag couldn't harm him since it still feared death. He could exploit that.

As they walked, a massive figure suddenly phased into existence ten feet to their left. Clad head to toe in obsidian armor that drank what dim light there was, the hulking form held a shield and a sword as it took two earthshaking steps before vanishing as abruptly.

Ken and Yag froze, terror transfixing them at the bizarre apparition. Had it noticed their presence? Was it lurking still, cloaked by some artifice of this plane? They spun, searching wildly for any clue, finding only emptiness stretching endlessly into the shadows.

Heartbeats passed before either could speak. “Bloody hell, what was that?!” Ken gasped finally, nerves still jangling. Yag shook his head mutely, equally shaken. No answers were forthcoming in this bewildering space of unexplained phenomena.

As the last tremors of fear receded, wonder took their place. What sorts of entities inhabited this covert realm outside mundane perception? What powers of existence, manifestation, and dis-corporation were possible outside restrictions of the known world? Each new thought only deepened the mysteries they sought to pierce, for good or ill.

Cautiously they continued, the unnerving intrusion was gone but its implications lingered. Still, no further uninvited presences disrupted their fragile calm as they marched ahead.

As they walked some more. Ken occasionally shifted in and out to breathe.

“Heard of Djinn?” Ken suddenly asked.

Yag glanced back, still walking. “Ya, we're like cousins - same family, different branch, hehe.” He chuckled.

“What about the angels?” Ken pointed to his shoulders. “Why can’t I see them?!”

Yag tapped his chin with his claws. “Stiff fellas. If they don't want to be seen, nothing you can do.”

“They hate me anyway,” He added.

“I bet they do,” Ken said. “As do I. You’re repugnant.” He bluntly stated with a disgusted look.

“I'll change that,” Yag said, shifting into a SpiritShifter no bigger than a shepherd dog. He approached Ken's leg, seeming to want to caress it affectionately.

Ken shoved him back angrily with that leg. Yag was sullying the proud wolf's memory. Knowing his true hideous form, Ken couldn’t be deceived by that charming disguise.

“Meant no offense!” Yag gasped in pain. “Forgive me, dear friend. What form would please you instead? Hehe,” He struggled to chuckle.

He was not surprised by Yag shapeshifting. Astral flesh can morph. It’s logical. Ken's anger swiftly faded. Why not. “Keep it. Tis the only form that appeases your repugnancy,” He stated coldly.

Yag continued ahead, silent, Ken behind.

They marched on through the perpetual gloom until a hulking shape lumbered into view up ahead. Yag gestured sharply for silence and stillness as the shadow took form.