"Peter, wake up!" Luz shouted in my face. "Wakey, Wakey, Pete!" "Huh?" I asked after Luz slapped me. I looked around to see tapestries of Belos around us. "What the hell is this place." "You two know exactly where we are." Hunter explains. "You got us trapped in the Emperor's mind!" Luz and I gasped.

Yup, that's us. You're probably wondering how Luz and I got stuck with this bastard in Belos's mind. Don't worry. You're about to find out.

"We're in the Emperor's mind?" Luz asked. "That's bananas!" "I don't know what those are, and I don't care to." Hunter said. "Remember what happened at the Night Market?"

Hunter's POV

I heard whispers of an attempt to invade the Emperor's mind with wild magic. I decided to take the villains out myself. But just as I was about to stop them. "Hold up! I remember now." Luz said.

Luz's POV

Eda took us to the Night Market to repair my witch's wool cape, but we ran into some trouble. "Hello? Prim? Did you get into the Night Juice again?" Eda asked. "Hello?" "Is this thing on?" King asked over a walkie talkie. "Demon King to Luzura and Pecate. You guys copy?" "Sure do." I replied. "Use the walkie." King said. "10-4, Demon King." Peter replied over the walkie. "Pecate and Luzura here with Echo Delta Alfa. What's your 20? Over." "¿Hable más lento, por favor?" King asked in Spanish. "Aw, you remembered your lesson." I smiled. "But that wasn't Spanish, buddy. We read you loud and clear. Over." "Hey, Prim!" Eda shouted. "Ah, there you are. I need more witch's wool. I got a kid with cold shoulders and a knack for getting into trouble." "This shop is closed, Eda." Prim explains. "I've decided to finally join a coven. Emperor Belos says wild witches celebrate destruction and pain." "I mean, I know I can be abrasive, but..." Eda replied. "He also says that the Titan punishes those who aid wild witches." Prim interrupted. "I can't have you here." "Well, what does that asshole know?!" Peter snapped. "Belos is a liar. He just wants power!" "And I bet dollars to doughnuts that he can't speak to the Titan!" I added. "Hey, I'll be fine. You're the ones that need to be careful." Eda said. "But people should know who Belos really is!" I exclaimed. "And who is he really?" Eda asked. "Listen, Belos has been Emperor for 50 years. Everyone is used to this. No one's gonna risk change unless you have proof that he is up to something. We'll figure something out. But first, let's see if there are any respectable criminals left in this city." As Eda left us alone, villagers glared at her suspiciously. "I hate seeing people look at my mom that way." Peter sighed. "But how can we prove he's actually evil?" I asked. "It feels so obvious, but no one believes us. No one answers my letters! I don't know what to do!" "Me either." Peter sighed. "No one wants to think they've wasted their life following the wrong person." King said. "You just gotta find something big to change their minds." "King's right. How can we find that something?" I wondered, just as I noticed Hunter running through an alley. "Perfect timing."

We followed Hunter to find a group of witches creating a spell. "Halt!" Hunter shouted. "For crimes against the Emperor, you are all under arrest." "Hunter!" I shouted, pinning Hunter to the ground. "Hi. Can we bug you with a few questions?" "Human? Owl Boy?" Hunter asked. The bard helped the group escape. "Do you realize what you've just done?!" He stepped on a potion vial, shattering the glass. "Uh, what the hell is that?" Peter asked as everything went black.

Peter's POV

"You want to prove that my uncle is evil? And you thought I would help?" Hunter laughed. "Says the asshole who tried to steal my girlfriend!" I argued. "You're lucky I won't beat your ass." "Well, now that we're in his mind, we can learn the truth for ourselves." Luz said. "Weird, though. We've been in Willow's mind once, and it had more, uh, trees." "Eh, makes sense." Hunter said. "Mindscapes reflect the individual. I've read a lot about this subject." "Yeah, I don't give a fuck." I rolled my eyes. "Ooh, look at this memory." Hunter gasped. "You know, unfettered wild magic wiped out our family. Everyone knew too much and got themselves hurt. That's why Belos took in the survivors and dedicated his life to creating the Coven System! It's why he's so well liked! Our sigils protect us from ourselves and made the Titan happy. Oh! And this is when I inherited my staff! You know, I'm the youngest scout to become Golden Guard. I never found out what happened to the previous one. Huh, why does Darius look so sad here?" Looking around, Luz and I noticed a painting of Eda's petrification ceremony. "It's Mom." I whispered. Luz put her hand over the Owl Beast as she heard someone crying. "Belos?" Luz and Hunter asked at the same time. "Emperor, you're here. We beg for your assistance to return to the physical world so that I may capture your enemies." Hunter begged the Inner Belos. "And so they can ruin someone else's day." All of a sudden, the Inner Belos was struggling to stand, as if something was wrong. "Hunter, watch out!" Luz warned, defending us with a fire glyph.

Next thing I know, we were falling around a dark area, until Luz saved us with a new glyph combo. We landed somewhere that reminded me of Willow's Forest of Memory. "Where are we now?" Hunter asked. "We must be in Belos's real mind." I replied. "What do you mean the Emperor's real mind?" Hunter asked. "That gallery..." "Was made of all the lies he tells." I interrupted. "He's not who you think he is." "We're probably being punished because you provoked his inner self." Hunter denied. "Well, his inner self had a thousand glowing eyeballs." Luz explains. "Oh, no, eyeballs!" Hunter exclaimed sarcastically. "You're so easy to scare." Hunter jumped as Eda spoke into the walkie-talkie. "I used to be easily scared of the most ridiculous things." I said. "Like female bears in topless mermaid outfits?" Luz asked as I grunted. "Luz, Peter, where are you?" Eda asked. "Oh, wait. Hey, blondie, your friend wants to talk to you." "Uh?" Hunter wondered as his palisman chirped. "Flapjack! Are you okay? Have they hurt you?" "You named your palisman Flapjack?" I asked, cracking up. "No!" Hunter snapped. "That's his name!" "Give me that!" Luz snapped, taking the walkie from Hunter. "So, Eda. We may kinda sorta be trapped in, uh... the Emperor's mind." "How in the world did you... No, we don't have time for that." Eda gasped. "Has the Inner Belos spotted you yet?" "Yes, but we were able to get away... with help." I replied. "Can there be two inner selves?" Luz asked. "No, but I have heard of strong emotions materializing." Eda explains. "Alright, just stay safe. If you're devoured in his mindscape..." "We'll be trapped." Hunter finished. "Dragged down into his subconscious forever. I told you I read about this stuff." "Well, we're gonna get you out!" King said. "We'll make a return spell as fast as we can." "Just don't lose the walkie-talkie." Eda added. "It's our only connection to you." "You got it, Owl Lady." Luz said. "Over and..." "Wait!" Hunter shouted, taking the walkie from Luz again. "I'll be home soon, Flapjack. Stay safe. I love you. Over and out." "Aww." Eda and King teased. He gave the walkie-talkie back to Luz, just as a kid version of Belos comes out of hiding. "It's you! Kid Belos!" Luz gasped. "What?" Hunter and I wondered. "Thank you for helping us before." Luz thanked. "You don't seem nearly as scary as your inner self." Inner Demon Belos growled as the child grasped onto Luz. "If strong emotions can take form, maybe he's the Emperor's, I don't know, sense of guilt?" I questioned. "What? Belos has never done anything worthy of feeling guilt." Hunter chuckled. "It's obviously his, uh, sense of innocence. His pure intentions." "Well, whichever it is, I think he can help us stay safe." Luz said. "And maybe you can show us who Belos really is." "What was that?" Hunter asked. "No time! Let's go! Go! Go!" I shouted as we followed Inner Belos into a memory. "Wait, you're just gonna invade his memories? That's sacrilege!" Hunter shouted as the inner demon was coming closer. "It's a way to survive!" Luz argued, pulling us into the memory with her.

Inside the memory, we followed the child to a flashback of the town. "He says he can talk to the Titan." I heard a villager say. "The Titan's dead. How is that possible?" Another villager asked. "Fellow citizens. We are born into chaos. Our lives anger the Titan." Belos lied. "My own family has been hurt by the darkness of wild magic. I have been shown the healing light. It shines in nine hues!" Everyone gasped in awe. "See? He's always been helping people." Hunter gloated as some explosives went off behind us. "The wild witches!" Belos gasped sarcastically. "They have found me. Run!"

We ran into another memory, but this one was Belos scolding at, Hunter? "You incompetent fool! You nearly took my head off with that blast!" Belos scolded. "I'm sorry, Lord Belos." He apologized. "I'm off to the next town." Belos said. "What about the rest of these?" The Golden Guard asked, revealing TNT underneath a sheet of cloth. "Put on a bigger show." Belos replied. Hunter looked very shocked as we left that memory.

Once we got out, Hunter couldn't believe what he saw. "Belos was lying!" Luz exclaimed. "Wild witches weren't attacking him." "How could you help an asshole like that?" I asked. "That was probably a special technique to get people to listen to his message." Hunter replied. "It's, it's for the greater good." "Ah, it found us!" Luz panicked as we followed the child into another memory.

In this memory, we found witches gathered in the snow. "What's the kid doing?" Hunter asked before Luz and I shushed him. "Look at what wild magic has done to your city. Now imagine what it is doing to you." Belos fibbed. "A city can rise from the ashes. But a soul..." Belos nods in disappointment, freaking the citizens out. "I can make your magic pure again, as the Titan intended." The Golden Guard gave random sigils to the citizens. "Welcome to your new covens!" The witches passed out after receiving the sigils. "They're still alive." The Golden Guard said, checking for a pulse. "Then we still have some work to do." Belos explains. "Gather the Palismen."

Leaving the memory, Hunter was still trying to deny what he saw. "You can't deny it, now." I explained. "Belos is trying to kill people!" "He was just perfecting sigil magic." Hunter denied. "Besides, maybe he's remembering things wrong. Who knows how mindscapes work?" "I thought you did?" Luz wondered. "Well, maybe I'm an idiot!" Hunter snapped. "You, get back here!" Hunter chases the child as the inner demon shrieks. Before Luz and I could escape, Hunter was second guessing himself. "Hunter." Luz said, reaching out her hand. Hunter grabbed her hand as we went inside.

This memory brought us to his castle. There was something that caught the eyes of me and Luz. "He's got the fucking portal?!" I shouted. "Did you know about this?" Luz asked. "Of course. I helped rebuild it." Hunter replied. "I can hear you." Belos said, almost as if he heard us. All of a sudden, we heard the laughter of a child, only he was like a shadow. "You caught me." He said. "To you who stray so far from home. To me who's trapped beneath these bones. We'll play forever, me and you, when you paint the land in nine bright hues!" "What can I do for you, Collector?" Belos asked. "I'm bored!" The Collector complained. "Is the Draining Spell ready yet? I wanna play and see everything go all..." The Collector squealed in horror. "You'll get your fun on the Day of Unity." Belos replied. "Betrayed, beguiled, alone, deceived!" The Collector chanted. "We'll have our revenge on... Ugh. Unity is so hard to rhyme." All of a sudden, the Hunter from the memory came into the room. "I know you didn't want me going to Eclipse Lake, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have found this." Hunter explains as the portal key was quickly snatched from him. "Some of the Titan's Blood did spill, but, if you just let me explain..." "Leave. Now." Belos snarled. After Hunter left, The Collector came out of hiding. "Ooh, you were mad!" The Collector taunted. "I thought you were gonna go all, ahhhh, on that kid." "Not as long as he stays on the right path." Belos explains. "I say, "The Titan has big plans for you," and he does what he's told. Unlike the previous attempts." "I'm starting to think you make those things just to destroy them." The Collector said. "You have fun with it. Admit it!" "Of course I don't, Collector." Belos replied. "It hurts every time he chooses to betray me."

Following the child out of the memory, we were shocked. "Sounds like he wants to wipe out all life in the Demon Realm." I said. "And the sigils help him do that." "Listen, Hunter. You don't need to return to the castle." Luz explains. "You can stay at the Owl House if you want. I'm sure Eda would be cool with it once we tell her what we heard." Hunter stared at a collection of memories with broken Golden Guard masks. "Holy shit." I whispered. All of a sudden, the child threw one of the masks into a fire. "Hey! Stop that!" Luz shouted as Hunter put out the fire. "Why would he do that?" I asked. That's when the inner beast was summoned from a collection of potions. "Get away from him! Danger! Danger! Run!" We heard. "Are those Palismen?" Luz asked in a shaky tone. "We weren't running from the Inner Belos." Hunter whispered. "He was with us the whole time." I gasped. The child trapped the monster with a rope, and became his true form. "Hello, Hunter. Hello, Luz. Hello, Peter." Inner Belos greeted. "I was finally able to catch it. This thing's been a thorn in my side for years. All these weepy Palismen souls. Their voices constantly nagging me. Vile. But without them, I wouldn't be able to do this." He takes the Palismen souls and restores his arm. "I'm feeling better already." Belos sighed. "Thank you for distracting it." "What did you do to the other guards?" Hunter asked, frightened. "To our family? It wasn't wild magic, was it?" "What a shame." Belos replied. "Out of all the Grimwalkers, you looked the most like him." "What?" Hunter asked as he was sinking into the ground. "Hunter!" Luz and I shouted. I summoned a vine for him to grab onto. "No. No. No! You're gonna be okay!" I exclaimed. He continued sinking, almost taking me with him. Luz wrapped Eda's jacket around my waist and pulls. "You're gonna be okay. Just hang on!" Luz shouted. The vine I created snapped as Hunter sinks into the ground. "I was really expecting him to last longer than the others." Belos said. "We're going to tell everyone about the Day of Unity, that you've been lying about the Titan for years!" Luz shouted. "And also how much of a dick you are!" I added. "Yes, this has gone on longer than I'd have liked. But no one ever said being a witch hunter was easy." Belos said. "Witch hunter?" Luz asked. "So, all this time, people have been mindlessly helping a witch hunter?" "How could they be tricked so easily?" I wondered. "I wouldn't be so judgmental if I were you." Inner Belos pulled up a memory of the demons that we met when we went back in time with Lilith. Philip is Belos. Belos is Philip. I called him a dick before I was born. "No! No! No!" Luz cried. "You're Belos. You're just Belos!" "Stop messing with our heads, you bitch!" I yelled. "Please, do me a kindness and call me by my real name." Belos said. "We can't!" Luz strained. "Never." I grunted.

Luz and I were almost paralyzed with fear. "It does feel good to hear another human say that name, two is much better." Belos said. "I had to change it when Philip was ran out of too many towns. I told you once before, Luzura and Pecate. Perhaps we were destined to meet." "And what about Hunter?" Luz asked. "What is a Grimwalker?" "He's a better version of an old friend." He replied. "But, thanks to you, I'll have to make another one." Caleb. Maybe that's who it was. Hunter was a clone of Caleb. "But why? Why go through all this?" I asked. "I'll do anything to save humanity from evil." He replied, glaring at me. "No." Luz said. "Witches aren't evil, and neither is Peter! You're evil!" "Can't reason with crazy." Belos sighed, turning his arm into a blade. But before Belos could make a cut, a wall of vines protected us. I knew it wasn't me or Luz. She had her glyphs in Eda's jacket. Then, we looked up to see Hunter with her jacket and glyphs. We both used fire glyphs to bust through the vines. Eda's voice was heard doing a countdown over the walkie-talkie. Luz, Hunter, and I ran towards the walkie before Inner Belos could kill us. "Eda! Now, please, now!" Luz and I screamed.

Luz, Hunter, and I found ourselves back in the living room. "Don't crowd them!" Eda snapped at King, Hooty, and Flapjack. "Are you three okay?" Flapjack flies over to Hunter, nudging him. That's when Hunter starts having a panic attack. "He knows. He knows we were in there!" Hunter panicked, breathing very heavy. "I can't... I can't go back!" "Oh, shit! He's having a panic attack!" I gasped. "Hunter, look at me, breathe in and out slowly. Take your time. You're gonna be okay." "Kid, breathe." Eda said, trying to calm him down. Hunter didn't know what to believe anymore. He continued hyperventilating. He removed his cape as if he was being choked and ran outside with Flapjack not far behind. Luz and I tried running after him, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Hunter!" Luz shouted. "What the heck happened in there?" King asked. "Kids." Eda said. "What did you see?" Luz and I were both speechless, silenced with fear.