Demon Lord Shapeshifting System

When Harker woke up, he was laying in a hospital bed with Artea by his side. 

"How….. How long have I been out?" He croaked. 

"Not too long." Artea said. "Not even for a whole day. The doctors said it was a fast recovery considering what you experienced."

Harker nodded, and remembered what happened before he fell into a coma. Again.

He was honestly quite tired of losing consciousness, but those usually gave him the dreams that reveal the hidden truth.

"Look, Artea…. What you saw was—"

Artea shook her head. "No need. Roland already told me everything."

Harker wasn't surprised. "Right."

Cat's outta the bag now, so there's no reason to pretend in front of Artea Holmwood. Though he did feel a little guilty for breaking his promise about maintaining her innocence.

"Your father didn't want you to be involved in these things. It's really beyond the dangers you have known." Harker said. 

"I know. The things Roland said….. I only heard of them, but to know that they were real and out there is disconcerting. So I understand now why both of you would want to withhold that from me." She sighed. "Still, I think I have proven to be quite helpful even in slaying monsters, right?"

Harker grinned. "You were kinda awesome, not gonna lie."

He then sat up and asked. "Where's Roland? Was he here?"

"He was, but he went to buy us some drinks at the vending machine. It's honestly taking him a while." Artea checked her watch. "The nurses said that you started moving your fingers, so I had to come and see it for myself. I did have to pay them for some privacy though."

"Hah, wouldn't want some more random civilians getting traumatized by the existence of monsters and gods." Harker chuckled. 

Artea stood up from her chair. "I'll go look for Roland and let the nurses in to take care of you. You're still recovering after all."

She left, and Harker soon had the medical staff check up on him and his condition. He was given a glass of water to drink, though he was advised to take it slowly. As Harker was poked and prodded with needles for medication, he can't help but still feel a little lightheaded. Not from the injury, but just from how overwhelming everything had been so far. 

His mind was still reeling from that dream about the demon lords and their domains. He was able to identify now which domain the monsters and even marked people he encountered falls under. 

Though he does realize now that there could be more than one influence in a person. For example, there was no doubt that the Wendigos were the domain of Lord Shou, the Demon Lord of Beasts. And yet Legion had added an aspect to them that was of death, that focused on loss and grief from their former lives….. Especially with Blank and Ahanu.

That would be Lady Kun's domain. The Domain of Loss.

However, he couldn't help but wonder if Lord Shou had also perished over the years, and was then replaced by Xi Hua once she had acquired Yan. Because how then would he be the new Demon Lord of the West?

Unless it actually meant that he was taking the mantle of the Domain of Darkness, the domain of the former Demon Lord of the West, not the Domain of Beasts. His shapeshifting powers would seem like something a Lord of Beasts would have, but there was more to it. Something all encompassing that overlaps with all the other domains, the middle ground.

As the truth becomes unraveled like a blindfold over his eyes….

He wondered if he truly just became a Demon Lord out of mere coincidence…. Or had it always been his destiny? That he had somehow acquired the heart of Darkness, and was confined in a fate that he could never stop nor control?

Thinking about it just makes his head hurt even more. And the fact that Yan barely tells him anything just makes him even more suspicious. 

What he does know for now was that the Imposters were from the Domain of Lady Dui, the woman made of porcelain. They must be attempting a ritual, just like what the An Xin sect, followers of Darkness, were trying to do. A ritual that would put their master above all else. 

There's a possibility that other forces and even Demon Lords themselves would try and stop this. But Harker doesn't feel too keen on working with them either. From his dream, he could tell that though they liked to communicate with each other, they did not like working together and did so with great reluctance. Only forced by circumstances like the Omniscient One's death.

Arthur Holwood was marked by the Domain of Space, the one that holds power over the vast heavens, cosmos, and the weather. Back when he questioned him….

Harker was made to fall at terminal velocity right where he stood. It was an odd feeling, and gave him an intense vertigo that he never felt before. But Arthur Holmwood seemed to be accustomed to it, since he was also 'floating/falling' too. His hair high up as everything around them turned into that empty blue space. 

He remembered the address that the old man gave him, and took it out of his pocket. 

"I wonder which domain this guy goes under. Which of those bunch of freaks he serves." Harker thought. "Guess we'll just have to find out."

---------------------------

Harker had recovered so fast that he was dismissed from the hospital the following day. Artea wasn't able to find Roland, but he apparently gave her a phone call saying that he had some business to take care of. 

Harker thought it must be regarding the trial for Felix Garcia again. It wasn't easy to be a lawyer after all. 

Artea had to go to school and also explain her disappearance to her parents. His siblings had stayed over at the Tariqs again, and he apologized for all the trouble. Their family were basically taking in those kids, and Harker wished he could handle taking care of them at the same time. 

He potentially could with his ability to divide himself, but Hanker had made it difficult for him to trust that ability ever again. There were too many imposters already, he couldn't bear to make one more.

Mina had her classes as usual, and Harker kept her up to date. She was doing quite well, all things considered. He would rather spare her from this kind of situation with how well she's fitting in at school and actually finding purpose after her revenge.

As for Joan....

He couldn't contact her. She wasn't in school, and the number for the mental asylum she worked on said that she took a leave to go somewhere. They didn't really bother asking much about it because they only needed her for the medicine, not her actual presence. 

Harker was unsettled, but he did know that Joan was trying to investigate the antique shop and Pele. He just hoped she'd be careful enough around them.

She'd be interacting with two domains at once after all. And though Lady Li from his dream didn't seem that terrible…..

Her demeanor now had seemed to change, possibly had moved on from the death of the Omniscient One. She was now vicious and sadistic. He trusts Joan because he knew how level-headed she was so far, but he wished she didn't have to deal with any of this either.

They had been through enough. Harker found himself becoming more like his father and Arthur Holmwood, constantly worried about his loved ones welfare and wishing to keep them in the dark for as long as he was able.

With all this considered, Harker would be venturing out alone. Which he didn't really mind and actually preferred to have less casualties. 

The building that he reached after asking around for the address was dilapidated, but not empty like the ones near the Circus Cabaret. Still, there was an isolating feeling to it. The occupants of this 'Oppenheimer Complex' were very quiet and only regarded Harker with disinterest. 

Their eyes were all focused on their TV screens, and occasionally books. He passed by a teenage boy, possibly 15 years old, sitting on the doorstep reading a book titled 'The Orphan of Space'.

Harker went over to ask him. "Hello. Can I ask where Alan Robock is?"

The boy looked up at him with empty eyes. 

"He is dying."

Harker frowned. "Really? Did he have a disease or—"

"You are also dying. I am dying, as we speak. With every molecular change in our bodies, every cell that dies, every leaf that falls off a tree….. We are getting closer and closer to a never-ending winter, a world where we do not exist, a world where we cannot return to the way things had been. Only a lonely and empty space of what was once been, and never again."

Harker narrowed his eyes. "Kid, I'm just asking where the room Alan Robock was staying in. Just tell me where it is."

The kid sighs, and closes his book. He went up to room number 235, and then….

He took out a key from his pocket, opening it. 

"Have a seat, Demon Lord of the West. I'll go prepare some tea."