Intermission - Spirit to Spirit.

It wouldn’t have happened if either of them hadn’t agreed to it, at least not with their power and their skills. Frey could tell. This Spirit of Envy was, at a minimum, not stronger than she was.

The two shadowy figures, one resembling a sexy, curvy woman and the other a tall, lanky and bald man, floated in a white space facing each other. Frey had her arms crossed, glaring at the spirit before her. On the opposite side, the Spirit of Envy struggled to keep his trembling from being noticed. Frey stopped herself from smiling.

“Let me guess. You didn’t know who you were messing with, right?” Frey asked.

“It’s my rotten luck, it truly is…” Envy lamented with a shaky, tired chuckle. “I should’ve noticed something was wrong. A man walking around and claiming to have five girlfriends like it’s normal… You’re quite the enchantress, aren’t you?”

“Drop the flattery. You’re done. We know what you’re up to now, we know what your host wants. You’re not taking anything from me.”

Envy laughed defensively. “Okay, so I screwed up this time. Your host is going to beat the living crap out of mine. You think that’ll make us give up? My guy will be even angrier and will want his ****. You’re not Ishtar, girl. You can’t stop me.”

Lady Ishtar. One of, if not the strongest Spirit of Lust. No, Frey couldn’t begin to compare. She didn’t need to, though.

“Your bluffs are as weak as you are.” Frey spoke confidently, with poise. “You’re weak from the illusions you casted. You banked it all on your host getting what he wanted, but you both fucked up. You have nothing now. Are you sure you want to try something against me?”

Frey’s shadowy silhouette began to ooze a thick, purple aura. Seeing it made Envy flinch, his dark, flowing face contorting into something like a grimace.

“I’m not Lady Ishtar, but neither are you Leviathan.” Envy was taken aback by the uttering of that name.

There was a whole world of magic out there that Oliver wasn’t aware of, one she would rather the boy had no part in. Underground dealings, combat magic, power struggles, ancient history… Her boy wasn’t cut out for it. He had enough on his plate working to be the person he wanted to be. It was an unilateral decision, but she was going to keep him away from all that as much as she could. Both because the boy deserved a simple, happy life and because… Well, Frey had found herself enjoying said simple life. She hadn’t expected that seeing her host grow as a person would be as fulfilling as the energy from an orgy with five women.

There was a time when Frey wanted to be stronger for the sake of someone, for the sake of Lady Ishtar. But her lady was already surrounded by strong, trustworthy allies. There was no place for a weakling like Frey. She left in search of strength, yet found a life she could feel happy living. After making her mind and deciding to live with Oliver, she would not let anyone get in her way. Thankfully, there were other ways to protect oneself aside from raw magical power.

“Leviathan, king of all doppelgangers. Oh, I’m sorry. You prefer mirrorkin, don’t you?” Envy’s vague face now contorted in horror. “Does it surprise you that I know your history?”

Frey knew things of ancient history that most didn’t. In the same way that Spirits of Lust were once incubi and succubi, Spirits of Envy were always born from mirrorkin, the most prolific shapeshifters.

“I’m surprised you’d come out of hiding. I guess I’m in luck. The amount of money people will pay for information on you would probably have us set for the next couple of years.”

“NO!” Envy shouted. He dropped all bluffs, all pretenses. His entire form exuded fear. “P-Please, don’t! I’ll… I’ll never target you again, I never should’ve done it to begin with! P-Please, just keep quiet about me!”

“I won’t,” Frey said coldly. “I will tell everyone that wants to know. I’m not risking keeping you around. They will take care of you for me, use you for whatever ends they deem profitable and reward my host in the process. I wonder if you will have time to plot your **** against me while you try to run away again.”

Mirrorkin, pursued for generations due to their unique talents and magic, now in hiding. Frey was aware that information on them was in high demand.

“I’ll leave!” Envy said. “I’ll leave this host and never come back again!”

“You better go far away, then, because people will be looking for you. In the meantime, I will continue gathering energy, becoming stronger, strengthening my defenses to protect what is mine from you or anyone else. And if no one else takes care of you, I’ll do it myself.”

Frey knew her intimidation tactics and her own bluffs worked because Envy knew the fear of being pursued. She was taking advantage of it without hesitation. Why? Because if it did come to some sort of fight, she wasn’t sure she could win without putting Oliver in danger. Frey wasn’t strong, and neither was she a fighter. She currently had an energy advantage, but that was it. She wasn’t going to risk it.

Later, she would focus on their defenses. She would create enchantments that protected Oliver’s loved ones, strengthen their links so that they’d be able to see through those illusions, protect them from mental interference, stuff like that. She would use every bit of energy she had if she needed to.

“...I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again,” said the Spirit of Envy. It sounded defeated. It had completely surrendered.

Slowly, the white world around them began to crumble. It was nothing more than a visual representation of the temporal, telepathic connection they formed to communicate. As they both severed said connection, their surroundings, too, started to fade.

It was a good thing it all ended the way it did. Frey didn’t actually have anyone to tell of this spirit’s existence, so it would’ve been troublesome if he had decided to stick around.

Thankfully, he never did bother them again.

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