Etho was frozen. His muscles just weren't cooperating. He was fully aware of his environment, however, especially the bit of it that was Keralis pacing in front of him holding a diamond sword. This, of course, made Etho incredibly nervous. Etho found himself wondering... Just how did he end up in this predicament?

–––

Etho had Keralis at his mercy. He was about to fulfil his role as the ultimate assassin, and take down his first target. This felt good. This felt familiar. Things were exactly as they should be, with Etho on top. The only thing stopping him was the threat of permadeath. X had messed with the code for Head Game, but what if something had gone wrong?

Etho shook those thoughts out of his head. He raised his sword, asking if Keralis had any last requests. To his surprise, Keralis nodded. It was a simple request, too:

"Look into my eyes, and nothing but my eyes."

And Etho obliged. But those eyes, wide open and staring him down, had taken him over. Mind control, or something. Any way, Etho was now enchanted and couldn't move. That was fun.

–––

"Let me go." He forced out, trying to move his sword.

"Don't you worry your sweet little face, Etho Slab. I will, as soon as I'm safe."

"And that is...?"

"When Tango gets here. He's good with a sword."

"Since when have you been able to do this."

"Since the beginning of time. I'm an eldritch monster who had his powers stolen and turned into a human."

If Etho could have recoiled, he would have.

"Joking!" Keralis assured him.

"Then answer me."

"I'm not telling you, ice boy."

"Never call me that again."

"I won't, but my past self will."

"I'm not gonna ask."

"You shouldn't.... Ice boy."

Etho really wanted to punch Keralis.

Apologies for the short chapter. I was working on something else but my phone restarted and deleted half of what I'd done. I'll finish that tomorrow.
Anyway, as an excuse, I'm starting a new series of chapters that are max. 350 words long, and are dialogue-heavy. I'm calling them Bite-Size Shorts. They'll often be sneaky little AU concepts or lore tidbits.
Anyways.
OdalRune, signing off from the past!