'There are some things that must be told, and I realize that there won't be an easy way for me to do this... I'm really not sure as to where I should begin, or if I should even tell it. Mani, I know you care deeply for me, but I cannot allow my pain to become your own.'

'I'm sure that you'll no doubt remember you and your friends' assault on Paradox's stronghold right before your untimely departure -you were ready to set things right, and I knew you had taken it as a personal insult when Phantom kidnapped me and brought me there. I'm not saying that I wish you had left me, but I'm sure that your hastiness in action were probably influenced heavily by my predicament. What I'm trying to say is that events took occurred in that horrid place that could very well effect both of our futures.'

'I really and truly do not know where all of this began, but I will go back and tell you as much as I know. While, albeit, is not much, should help you to understand not only what did, but what will inevitably take place.'

* * * * * * *
[Second Realm]
[Paradox's Keep: The Halls of the Damned]

"Wake up, you little bitch."

Lily had, in fact been wide awake for the few minutes she was aware of Phantom staring at her in the cell. "What do you want?," she coldly replied, not even bothering to turn around. Her body ached, and the throbbing of her head seemed to echo within the damp, dark-stoned prison that had become her home for the time being.

Phantom was apparently stunned at the remark, because she was silent for a moment. It wouldn't last for too long, as Lily soon discovered. "How's your arm?," came her sneering voice after the pause. "I think it's pretty funny how your boyfriend actually had to cut you...," she added with a smirk.

Sitting up in her bed, Lily casually cast a glance at her shoulder. Mani's cloth belt was still wrapped tightly around her upper arm, near the shoulder where she had been cut. "I don't fault him for it," she remarked. She paused for a moment to stretch. "If I was being attacked by some possessed figure in a cloak, I would have cut it too," she made known. Lily vaguely remembered the event -from what she could gather, she was somehow beating the crap out of the nine-inch-taller-and-55-pounds-heavier Mani before he actually cut her and brought her out of the trance.

Possession. She had to have been possessed by something.

"Is there any particular reason why I'm still here?," Lily wondered. "Not that you're going to be nice and let me go for asking..."

Phantom half grinned at Lily before turning towards the end of the corridor. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. "I do hope you enjoy your stay here, Ms. Albrook."

"You go to hell."

Lily could only glare as she watched Phantom walk down the darkened corridor, sickened by the sound of her laughing to herself. Whatever was going to happen here wasn't going to be good, she reasoned. It didn't matter if Paradox had plans for her; Phantom always had her own agenda. She hadn't had the displeasure of knowing Phantom for very long, but her limited experiences had earned her a devout dislike for her. Phantom was a psychopath, and Lily was at her mercy.

And truthfully, that scared her more than anything.

* * * * * * *

'I felt sick to my stomach as I wondered what Phantom had in store for me. Paradox had no reason to cause me any harm as of yet, so I had to wonder if he knew exactly what was going on. I knew there were two other hostages within the stronghold -Phantom was never one to shut up -and I couldn't help but wonder at the time if they were also victims of Phantom's ominous tauntings. I later found that both Kierianne and Father Sardax were neither bothered, much less paid attention to, by our mutual tormentor. I didn't want to believe that I was being singled out for whatever reason. I had never given Phantom a reason to dislike me, even before she crossed over. She just seemed not to like me, for whatever reason. The only other person I felt she hated more than me was you, another anomaly I have yet to understand. You were always her friend, and in fact risked your life for her on a number of occasions, only to have her stab you in the back. To be at the mercy of such a woman scared me.'

'It was like that for over a week. I always tried to keep my head up, despite realizing that very few knew Paradox's stronghold even existed. I knew that we had not been abandoned, but I also knew that I was gradually breaking down emotionally. Phantom would never have the pleasure of witnessing it, but there were a number of nights where I cried myself to sleep, praying and wondering why this had to happen. My concerns not only included the well being of those locked within the stronghold with myself, but to those that I knew would eventually come and save us. You and your friends were placed in a terrible position -not only were you facing one from the house of Asmodeus, but you had to concern yourselves with not only finding, but protecting us. I was quite relieved to find that you had not gotten yourself killed in the process.'

'Once again I find myself straying from the purpose of this letter, so allow me to continue. Phantom's tauntings became a day to day event, so I wasn't bothered by it as much as I had been in the past. Paradox himself even came down on a few occasions, if nothing else to see if I were still alive. Our conversations were often short, and he never spoke of the what plans were in store for me. He never even hinted that something was amiss, a stark contrast to his General. He always ended our meetings with the words 'This will be over soon enough', which always left me with a horde of questions. Was I to be released? Killed? I did not know. On about the tenth day of captivity, I finally began to get some answers. If I had known then what I knew now, I would have been content in my own ignorance.'

* * * * * * *

The sound of the rusty cell door being roughly thrown open was enough to wake even the soundest of sleepers, much less a light one like Lily. She quickly spun around in her bed in time to see two of Lord Paradox's Minion Knights approaching rapidly before yanking her to her feet. She screamed as they dragged her half-dressed form out of the cell and past Phantom, standing smugly some distance away. She said not a word as she followed the trio, Lily still screaming and struggling between the two guards.

"Don't worry, Lily," she heard Phantom remark from behind. "This will all be over soon enough..."

"I HATE YOU!," Lily screamed back, spinning around as far as she could between the guards. Tears of rage spilled down her dirty cheeks as she continued being dragged along by the guards. She didn't know how far she had been brought, but she soon found herself in another darkened chamber, not unlike the one her cell was located. A pungent stench stung her nostrils as she was brought closer to a large metal table in the center of the room, a number of straps dangling from the sides. As the guards attempted to strap her down, she used their momentary lapse in grip to try and run. She didn't get very far before one of them caught her by the back of her shirt, who promptly slung her back harshly -the demon knight's slight stature did not do the creature's strength justice. There was a loud rip from the fabric as Lily found herself suddenly thrown on top of the table, her hands and feet strapped to it. What remained of her shirt heaved up and down upon her chest as she struggled to catch her breath, all while trying to take in her surroundings. She didn't get much time to look before Phantom's face became quite apparent above her.

"Comfy?," she wondered. Lily would have spit if she thought it would have actually accomplished something. "I figure that I owe you an explanation as to what's going to happen to you," Phantom began, stepping away from the table for a moment. "But I doubt your feeble, peasant-girl mentality can even comprehend what I'm going to tell you."

Would the insults ever stop? "At this point in time, I really could not care less if you asked me to," Lily slowly remarked. "Just get it over with."

More laughter from Phantom, which was to be expected. "But I have to tell you!," she responded, sounding almost giddy. "You really can't get the full effect unless you know exactly what's going to happen to you!"

Lily sighed deeply and leaned her head back as far as the table would allow, which wasn't much, and waited.

"What we did to you earlier was an experiment in possession," Phantom began, pacing about the room as she spoke. "Since you're not exactly the most willing of vessels, we couldn't actually take your soul without you dying. Which sounds damned fine idea to me, but Lord Paradox feels that you're more significant alive. I figured that since you wouldn't help us on your own, a little internal influence was in order, and hence, I began my little experiment." Phantom's face suddenly appeared above Lily again. "Alhazalria," she said.

"What?"

"AL-HA-ZAL-RI-A," Phantom repeated, emphasizing each syllable like she was speaking to an idiot. "The lesser demon that temporarily possessed you," she clarified. "I figured you should at least know her name, seeing as you two are about to become awful close."

Lily suddenly felt sick. "Wha... what are you talking about...?"

Phantom sighed in agitation as her face disappeared from above again. "I told you that your simple mind wouldn't be able to comprehend all of this," she grumbled, half to herself, but loud enough to be heard. Her voice echoed in the chamber as she stepped away from the table. "Alhazaria can only inhabit you in spirit as of right now, and only temporarily," she explained. "But the rules, my dear, are about to be manipulated." She appeared from the darkness once again, but this time at Lily's side, and holding a long, thin silver object with a dangerously sharp looking blade at the end. "I've done some research. While I'm not quite certain, I've developed a theory, and you're going to help me test it." Lily saw her step away once again, catching a glimpse of her twirling the blade slowly between her fingers. "From my understanding," she slowly began, "...the place where most of the demons we see on this realm are from is not very pleasant, even by their standards. Mortals are among their favorite playthings, and as such, the demons are prone to utilizing any loophole in the rules they can find in order to occupy themselves with their affairs. Possession is perhaps the most common way of them getting a foothold in our realm, but that's only temporary. In order for them to stick around until further notice, they'll need a body on this realm."

For just the briefest of moments, Lily could have sworn that her heart stopped beating. She closed her eyes and swallowed, trying her hardest to keep from crying.

"I've been in contact with Ms. Alhazalria for quite some time now, and she is quite interested in taking a small realmwalking venture to Second Realm, providing I can prepare a vessel for her." Phantom's footsteps suddenly stopped, causing Lily to open her eyes to take in the darkness once more. "She's taken quite a liking to you, Ms. Albrook. In fact, she would like for you to show her around when she's finally able to make that journey. Granted, her presence won't be felt for a little while, but once she's ready, I can assure you that you'll be the first to know." Lily felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she felt Phantom's lips inch closer to her ear.

"You can either accept her." Her hissing voice grated against Lily's fragile nerves. "Or she can kill you. It's your choice."

Lily didn't have time to even respond before Phantom quickly brought the blade to the neck of her shirt, and slit it open in one motion. Lily shuddered as she felt the cold, dank air against her naked skin. Phantom parted the sides of the ruined shirt, exposing most of her chest. Lily almost broke down in tears as she felt the cold blade pressed against her skin, less than an inch beneath her breasts. She swallowed slowly as the words began to sink in. What had happened earlier was just a trial. Alhazalria was just trying her out, getting a feel for her as if she was nothing but an article of clothing.

"Why are you doing this? What have I ever..."

Lily's words were instantly replaced by screaming as she felt the blade cut into her flesh. It wasn't a stab, as she feared would happen, but it felt as if Phantom was writing something on her chest with the blade. Tears of pain and rage rolled down her cheeks as Phantom continued to slice her flesh. Her wrists and ankles burned as she tried in vain to break free of the bindings holding her down. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly pulled the blade away -Lily could not only see her blood on the tip, but could feel the warm trickle as several drops ran down her chest and towards her stomach. As Lily struggled to regain the ability to even speak, Phantom reached for a white cloth on a small table beside the two. Dipping it in some sort of salve, she pressed it to the cuts on Lily's chest. The wound suddenly began to sting, forcing Lily to lurch and writhe in the clasps that held her. "We wouldn't want that to get infected, now would we?," Phantom casually remarked, pulling away the bloody cloth.

For a moment Lily forgot about the clasps that held her down. Had they not been there, she was certain she would have clawed out both of Phantom's eyes. The painful sensation around her wrists and ankles reminded her of her place.

* * * * * * *

'I don't know how else to describe the entire ordeal other than traumatizing, both in body and in spirit. Afterwards, Phantom said something to me that frightened me more than anything I've ever been frightened of in my entire life. "Congratulations," she told me, sounding almost proud. "You've just been blood-bonded to a lesser demon..."'

'Phantom made it quite clear as to what could happen to me, and there does not seem to be any other options than the ones that were presented before me. The first is to do nothing, and let this creature manifest inside of me, like a mother nurturing the darkest of seeds. That seems to be the simplest of options, but when this thing is born, I would serve as a host body as this creature Alhazalria uses me as a living puppet. With a clear conscience, I could never allow this. Having chosen to reject, rather than to nurture, I've been stricken with a parasite of the worst possible form. This is why I seemed so ill during the brief moment we were reunited. I haven't truly come to terms with what it is I am doing. I do not know what will become of this situation, but I have come to expect the worst. Mani, the last thing I would want to do is to place an unnecessary burden upon you... you deserve better than that, but you also deserve to know the truth. And the truth of the matter is that I believe that I may be dying.'

'Alhazalria will destroy me one way or another, unless a way is found circumvent this situation. I have thought long and hard about what is going on, and what may happen. My very soul is nurturing this creature to health, and it will soon be borne and be the cause untold misery and pain. If the parasite cannot be removed, then another way must be found to keep it from being nurtured. I see no other way.'

'I have made my decision. And for this, I am truly sorry. This is a sacrifice I must make for all of our sakes.'

'My choice has been made, though I do not know when I will go through with it. There is much that I still want to do before then. For the time we have been together, we have never doubted the love that we hold for each other. I've given you my mind and my soul -all that is left is my body. I have longed for the moment where I can present you with this, the most intimate of my possessions. If only my last moments are spent in your arms, I would truly know peace when it is my Time. I will not take that journey until I have told you good-bye.'

'I love you with all of my heart, my mind, and my soul. Eternally yours, Lily Albrook.'

--A letter delivered to Mani, from Lily