A long silence filled the tiny wooden hut. The dark space around us somehow suddenly felt a lot more claustrophobic and oppressive. I wanted to get out.

I somehow managed to stop myself at the door because I didn’t really know what I was feeling. I don’t know if I was sad for her, angry at those who wronged her, or just frustrated in general.

It was a confusing mess of emotions I wasn’t familiar with. I simply paced around the room, trying to process the information I had just been given.

I mean, honestly speaking, she could just be lying too…

But the fact that there was indeed a grave next to the house made it difficult to not believe her. What point would there be in putting so much effort into a lie like this anyway?

No. It wasn’t really even a matter of if I believed her or not.

I didn’t want to believe such a miserable story. I thought the golden-girl was just your average shallow bimbo, who was a bit too full of herself.

Judging by everything Amelia told me, Claire was nothing short of a monster. How does a person grow to be so entitled, that they think it’s okay to kill an innocent child for the sake of their sexual desires?

I did read very morbid stories online in my past life from time to time too… But they always felt somehow distant because they were detached from who I was…

This one was a bit too close for comfort.

I slumped on a worn-out chair. One of the last few that hadn’t been sacrificed to the fire.

Trying to think of what to say, I really only had one thought remaining. It was so permeating and overwhelming, no matter what alternates I tried to think of, the words simply slipped out of my mouth.

            “Do you… wish for revenge?”

Another long silence followed. At some point, I started doubting if I even said it out loud.

“Of course, I do…” Amelia’s voice was like the hiss of a snake. It felt like she wanted to whisper in order to hide her words of truth from something.

“…” I remained silent.

“… But what in the world am I to do!? S-somehow, they all believe her… unquestionably… It’s like they’re under a spell!”

I had to think over my words for a moment again. Was I really going to suggest going on a mad revenge-trip with this person I had just met? Why? Why would I ever suggest something like that? I had just gotten my life back. I was free.

Sure, I lost an arm, but I still had the other one left! I had both my legs too. I had much more to lose from going on a lunatic venture, than to win.

And yet somehow… I couldn’t stop myself from speaking.

            “I could help…”

“What the hell can YOU do!? Forgive my shortsighted judgement, but you don’t seem to be doing particularly well for yourself either!” Amelia seemed annoyed by my offer.

Her comment was an obvious jab at my missing arm. But it wasn’t without merit. It’s not like I was qualified to offer myself. I did cast a spell to kill a single monster, but I also lost an arm in the process. I was by no means an expert in combat.

I had also spent the entirety of my life in bed so far, so calling myself some sort of cunning mastermind was a shameless overstatement. The only thing I had, was a personal, narcissistic desire for revenge. And yet, I kept talking.

            “I know how to cast magic.”

My words got a reaction out of the knight. She turned to look at me with a weird look on her face. As she glanced higher and properly analyzed me in more detail, her eyes widened in what almost looked like horror.

            “You’re… a Nightwalker…!” She suddenly gasped.

“A-a what now??” I retorted awkwardly as the knight began shuffling clumsily for her sword.

“No wonder I sensed a strange air as soon as you entered! Fiend… You must be here to feast on my soul!!” I… honestly had no idea what Amelia was on about. She weakly shook her sword around, but not with enough force to actually hurt anyone.

“W-wait! What’s a Nightwalker?! Please! Stop swinging that thing! I did get exiled for apparently being a witch, yes! But I genuinely don’t know anything about this place! Like I said! My memories…”

“Lies! You smelled the blood! Didn’t you?! I can’t believe I exposed my heart to a monster of all things!!” Amelia’s voice was shaky, but it still commanded an air of eminence.

“Mmmghhh….” I sighed and looked at the knight weakly brandishing her sword at me. 

How could I play this out… I knew nothing about this world. The only thing I had confirmed so far, was that witches don’t have hearts… and that they can cast magic.

I had no idea what this whole deal about eating souls was about. I didn’t know what witches even were to Amelia, and she kept calling me a ‘Nightwalker’ for some reason… I also had a VERY strong feeling, that the paladin before me wouldn’t simply believe me, no matter what I’d try to do to confirm my innocence. 

I took a deep breath and thought about it.

Maybe I could try to play along with her narrative? I was probably suspicious because of how nice I was acting. In Amelia’s mind, witches seemed to be pure evil monsters or something along those lines.

Monsters, that apparently eat souls.

If she were to suddenly be approached by one acting all nice, it’s quite understandable she’d find it suspicious. 

I took a deep breath. Acting like a monster was not a foolproof plan either because she could totally lock down due to it.

Wait…

Why was I putting so much effort into convincing her anyway!? I barely knew this person…

It made no sense.

Maybe because they were the first person in this world who opened up to me, or perhaps because I felt empathy for Amelia who had everything taken from her.

I don’t know what exactly it was, but something compelled me to try.

            “Fair. I admit. I did smell the blood.” I began, raising my hand up a bit.

            “You fiend…!” The knight hissed.

“But, hear me out a bit. The story about being exiled from the kingdom is also true.” I continued, causing Amelia’s eyes to widen a bit. “I only recently came to understand I am a witch. My missing arm should be proof enough. I tried casting a spell in an attempt to fend off a monster, only to end up like this.”

“…” Amelia stayed silent.

“Back in the kingdom… I didn’t get accused of actually doing something terrible. It was stuff along the lines of spilling water on the princess and other petty garbage like that. I have no memory of ever doing anything particularly bad to people.” I sat down in front of Amelia, still out of sword-swinging range.

“B-but…” The knight’s hand shook.

“Being accused of being a witch only came later… at a convenient time, when otherwise the accusations would have been nothing but shallow love-drama.” I continued. Amelia’s sword clattered as it fell on the ground.

“N-no…” She muttered.

“Yes, to them, being a witch was secondary. Being a witch was just a convenient excuse, and the real reason I got exiled, was because I apparently bullied the girl by spilling water on her” I took a deep breath. “Sounds pretty familiar, right?”

Amelia was gritting her teeth. She seemed utterly consumed by her own hatred. I think what I was implying was good enough to convince her that I was in a somewhat similar situation to her.

“Allowing a monster inside the kingdom is a lesser offense than intruding the golden-lunatic’s harem… Sounds familiar indeed.” Amelia sighed, sounding almost defeated.

“I might be a monster, but even I can tell there was something wrong with that place.”

“What the hell did she turn my beloved kingdom to…!” Amelia curled up a bit, hiding her face.

“I honestly don’t really care about the golden girl that much myself. I was treated like trash, but I have my freedom to go anywhere I want, which is a luxury I haven’t enjoyed in a long time…” I spoke. “But… After hearing your story, I’m convinced there is something bigger afoot… which might eventually harm the uh… life of peace and freedom I wish for.”

“…” Amelia remained silent.

“If you wish for revenge… let’s work together.” I got up and walked up to Amelia. This time within sword swiping distance.

“…” The silence continued.

I reached out with my remaining right arm, offering Amelia my hand.

“In my youth… I heard stories of demons and witches appearing before people at their weakest moments to take advantage of them…” Amelia mumbled quietly from behind her arms.

“Mmh… I’ve heard of stories like that too.” I admitted.

“A witch, that listens to stories…” She chuckled a bit.

“Hey… A good story is worth listening to, monster or not.” I smiled at her awkwardly, seeing my own face reflected off of the remaining luster of her armor.

“I really hope this’ll be a story worth listening to…” With that, Amelia’s hand grasped mine. Her grip was firm, but I could still feel a hint of anxiety to it, like she wanted to let go the moment she put some force behind her hold.

I responded in kind and took a good hold of her hand properly. I realized I had been incredibly tense the whole time I spoke to her. My entire body seemed to relax as Amelia seemed to have finally lowered her guard around me.

“Uh…! Amelia.” I started. “How did you figure I was a… Night… walker? Or a witch?” I pondered simply out of curiosity.

“Your eyes…” Amelia pointed at her own. “Legends say monsters always have eyes in the hues of fire, to represent how close to the cinders of hell they are.” She continued. I reached a bit for my own eyes in turn. “Your eyes are a burning orange, and your pupils are thin and cat-like.”

“R-really!?” I leaned in to look at my reflection more properly against her armor. “HOLY HELL! THAT’S COOL!!” I sparkled in place due to my witch-fetish.

“Mm… Fh…?” Amelia let out a perplexed chuckle in response. “Hahah… hahaha…” She laughed a bit weakly.

“H-hey! Don’t laugh! I’ve never seen stuff like this before!” I mumbled grumpily.

“An amnesiac witch, huh…” She kept chuckling. “Being amazed of being a witch…” She shook her head. “What in the world am I getting myself into…”

“W-well!! Life sometimes works in strange ways!” I tried acting philosophical. Quite ironic considering my extremely lacking life-experience.

“Do you have a name…? Calling you a witch might raise some eyebrows…” Amelia smiled a bit weakly.

            “Ah…!” I jumped. I realized I never introduced myself.

I stopped myself right before blurting out my old name because something about saying it felt like a piece was stuck in my throat. Honestly, I didn’t want to be that person anymore, and I didn’t want to be reminded of living in a bed for the entirety of my life.

I was a witch now. Why should I cling onto my miserable past for no reason? A monster needs a name fitting one, and there was a name that popped into my head as soon as I thought about it.

The witches in the game I mentioned earlier were generally enemies you’d encounter randomly when exploring certain areas.

They most often had no names, but there were a few named witches too. They were special boss encounters the players would need to overcome during the story.

One among them was optional. Optional bosses in video games are most often known for being considerably more challenging than the story bosses, and their purpose is to push the players' passion towards the game to its absolute limit.

There was one secret optional boss in the game, who was a witch. A horrifyingly difficult secret boss one could randomly encounter in the most dangerous areas of the game.

I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me borrowing her name… We’re fellow witches, after all, right?

            “Yverna.” I stated with strange confidence.

“HM… Quite an unusual name.” Amelia nodded. “As expected of a witch. Does it have its origin in the word ‘Wyvern’?”