The Wheel of Fortune

When John’s consciousness finally untangled from Lorelei’s, the orgy was finally settling down. Girls had collapsed on the floor, their bellies full and bodies splattered with spunk. John’s echo had just finished depositing a final load into Emelia before slumping onto the bed sheets, ****.

The spectral John felt a little nauseous, but any dramatic influence from his echo seemed to have been calmed for now. “Are you alright, Lorelei?” He turned his attention to the seer next to him.

“I...” The seer was radiating embarrassment. “Uhm… I’m so sorry about my… ah, behaviour before...” Her form squirmed and shifted as she bashfully looked away. It was strange to see the seer so unsettled; John had only known her to be calm and composed until now. “I just lost control and-”

“I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened,” John cut her off. “But would you care to confirm?”

“I… yes, of course.” The seer nodded meekly. “As you know, taking you to this plane required us to maintain a very close connection, and I, uhm… in that moment lost all inhibitions, and… well… **** my soul into yours through that connection. In that moment, the sum of everything we are: our thoughts, our memories, the experience written into our very souls, was tangled... even now that we are ourselves again, I feel a piece of you left in me, and it will be much the same for you.” The seer’s gaze was downcast. “I’m so sorry, I never intended to invade your privacy on such a deeply personal level.”

“...Don’t worry,” John sighed as he swiped the achievement aside. “We may have both… overshared a little, but I can’t say I blame you; I don’t think anyone could have controlled themselves under those circumstances.”

“While I’m relieved to hear you say so, I fear I am drowning in guilt nonetheless. It is regrettable it happened at all.” The seer’s soul blushed.

“Yeah…” John agreed, before curiosity got the better of him and he began to root around in the game UI, looking for anything that might indicate what piece of Lorelei was left in him. “Then again… there may be some unforeseen benefits…” He whistled.

Achievement Unlocked: Who Could’ve Seen That Cumming?
Take Lorelei Varnik’s virginity. Well, sure, if you want to get technical, you didn’t actually shag the seer, but hey, you were beyond balls deep inside her. It sure made for one hell of a climax.
+1 Wisdom
+1 Libido

John would gladly take stat points, but that one achievement wasn’t what had really piqued his interest.

Arcana Parameters met:
The individual Lorelei Varnik is a powerful ally. Though the means were unusual, a transaction has occurred between you, forging a powerful bond.

John read the notification twice before closing it. As he did, a spark of light from above caught his attention. What looked to be a thin card slowly fell into the palm of John’s hand. It glimmered and shifted ambiguously, its two faces blank, before another sudden burst revealed its meaning to him.

‘Neat,’ John thought to himself as he clicked on Third Eye, hoping to learn more.

Third Eye (Passive)
Detect sources of magic and items of interest within a ten metre radius of your person. Magic traces appear as a blue, gaseous substance, while magic items are outlined in blue. This ability can penetrate most materials, but only up to a certain thickness, for example a metre of dirt or wood, 30 centimetres of stone, three centimetres of most metals, or a thin sheet of lead.

‘A useful ability to be sure,’ John hummed. “I didn’t quite grasp until now just how powerful you really are; to unlock an Arcana… well, so far it's only been possible through gods like Gaia, or someone like Moira.”

“While your words are gratifying to hear, I must disagree profusely,” the seer shook her head. “I am not quite so extraordinary as to stand on the level of godhood, nor am I a champion like yourself or Lady Brighton.”

“Even so, you’re powerful enough to be a benefactor of mine,” John replied. “That’s a big fucking deal for both of us.”

Lorelei tilted her head slightly. “How so?”

“Well, I get to tap into a portion of your powers,” John explained. “And in return, you earn a portion of my EXP, one percent, for now.”

“And ‘EXP’ is how you generally get stronger?” Lorelei checked.

“That’s right,” John affirmed.

“How curious.” Lorelei nodded. “Well, in any case, it would seem this is by the Lady’s design. If she has deemed me to be a worthy bond for your powers, then it is not my place to question it.”

“Alright then.” John shrugged and glanced around at their aethereal surroundings. John’s echo and the girls around him were fast asleep now; the scene was quiet save for the occasional shift in someone’s position and a soft snore that seemed to originate from Sam. “So what now?”

“We must wait,” the seer explained. “This girl’s soul is yet to be taken; hopefully, we shall soon see by whom.”

“Okay,” John agreed and settled himself in for a stakeout.

Time seemed to pass slowly in the Astral Plane. Logically, John knew they wouldn’t have to wait for more than a few hours, but that was a long time when you were trapped in a room and had nothing to do. John’s gaze had long since turned outward, to the wispy sea of stars that seemed to expand endlessly in all directions. It was far better than looking inside. John wasn’t exactly comfortable with the mess he’d made, and peering at a bunch of naked teens while they slept made him feel like a dirty old man. Lorelei was just as embarrassed staying in the room, though it seemed she couldn’t help but peek with disgusted fascination every now and then.

Many more minutes passed before John felt something was amiss. There was a slight but sudden chill to the air that caused the sleeping teens to let out a collective shiver. Soon after, a mist began to seep into the room. It crept over the windowsill and floated lazily to down before stretching to cover the floor. Gradually, it thickened, and John began to see a shape creeping through the mist. The shape steadily grew in size, rising from the fog in a pseudo-human form at waist height. Its torso was hollow, and its limbs were thin and bonelike, covered barely in a cloak formed by the mist. Its head had been severed from the body at the neck, leaving a hollow stump which seemed to be the source of the mist. A dozen black jewels hung from the ghostly entity’s neck, some gleamed with uncanny vigor, while others were dull and lifeless. They had an apparent physical presence, where the rest of the creature’s body and attire seemed closer to apparition.

“That creature…” Lorelei frowned. “It’s an astral geist, creatures which reside between the Material and Astral Planes. They feed off weak or untethered souls…”

“Like Emelia’s,” John grimaced. “And her friends’.”

“I’m afraid so,” the seer agreed, watching the geist intently.

The apparition leered over the bodies of the **** victims. Scissor-like hands cupped a girl by the chin, gently raising her head and inspecting her, before softly lowering her back and moving on. It paused by another curled up in the corner, repeating the same action, before letting out a jarring croon that made John and Lorelei flinch from where they watched. The geist unclipped one of the dull black gems from its necklace, holding it to the moonlight with one skeletal hand, before plunging the other into the girl’s mouth. Lorelei gagged in time with the girl as her eyes flew wide open. She thrashed and screamed, or tried to, but found she had no voice to spare, as if the geist’s shadowy hand swallowed all sound. John felt nauseated as the geist pushed further; its bony wrist was now entirely inside her mouth. Yet it pushed still. John could see a bulge travel down her throat and into her chest. The girl’s body still bucked and clawed at her assaulter, even as the apparition pushed up to its elbow inside of her.

Then, all life seemed to blink out of her at once, her body collapsing in a limp heap. The geist’s arm quickly retreated in an almost snakelike movement until John could see its hand again. In its fist, it clutched a gleaming blue light, akin to the stars lighting the sea outside. It was the girl’s soul. The light it emitted was rapidly losing its luster, the longer the geist held it. At the same time, the once dull black stone was beginning to gleam, seemingly absorbing the light lost.

Satisfied, the geist clipped the soul gem back onto its necklace, before moving onto another victim. The process was repeated twice more before it made its way to the bed, where Emelia slept by John’s side. John’s teeth clenched as the apparition plunged its arm down Emelia’s throat. Hatred and self-loathing burned through John’s spirit as the girl thrashed and struggled for life, even while his echo lay soundly by her. He had failed to protect even one who sleeping right beside him.

Having reaped what it came for, the geist gave one more passing glance around the room, before returning to the mist.

“Now, we follow,” Lorelei said as the mist began to rise and retreat back out the window.