D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Lily some amount of time after chapter 1056

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Lily's transformation seemed to almost forcibly activate as she returned to her human form, face down on the ground in a cave. Every beat of her heart sent waves of pain through her body. Her mana wasn't rampaging around anymore, but apparently that didn't mean she would be completely fine. Apparently heavily damaging your internal spiritual organs was a dumb idea? Who knew?

*Why am I on the floor though? I didn't mean to transform, but what is Lian doing that she would just leave me on the ground? I swear of I'm actually in a cell Kat is going to be SO pissed with me.*

[Kat can hear you just fine thank you very much.]

*Oh.*

[Yeah, 'Oh' exactly. I didn't have any reason to close the connection after finding out you were safe and asleep so I just ignored it for the most part because I didn't want to experience your dreams. You should have SOME privacy after all. Now, what's this about being in a cell?]

*Um… nothing?* Lily could feel Kat's deadpan stair on her even through the connection. Kat was thoroughly unimpressed with her response to potential danger. Which meant she actually needed to try and figure out where they were. Lily cracked an eye open and found only darkness. Which was not a great sign.

Swapping her focus to her ears, Lily found she could hear one set of shallow breaths echoing off a number of walls. *Hmm… right ok. I think, and this is just a best guess because I can't actually see, but I THINK Lian passed out carrying me into these caves and that's why I'm on the floor.*

[Don't think I can't detect the undercurrent of pain coming from your part of the link. I know it ain't my pain because I'm sitting here sipping on pear juice squeezed from some rare plant in this cultivation world.]

*Is it any good?* Asked Lily in an attempt to distract Kat. It didn't really work, though Kat did answer.

[It's alright. Apparently 100 year magical pear juice is inferior to just dumping sugar and preservatives into a big vat and then trapping it in plastic to sell to the masses. It's not BAD exactly, but considering how rare this stuff is supposed to be? Doesn't seem worth the effort. I'm sure there's some cultivation benefit for people of this world, but as a demon it's just fairly average pear juice. Now. Pain?]

*Fine… I did something that was perhaps a bit stupid. See, it turns out, once you cast a spell  you're not meant to MOVE the spell circle it came with. It causes the mana in your body to go on a rampage and I might be feeling the after-effects of that.*

[Why would you even do that in the first place? And didn't your book tell you NOT to do that?]

*It seemed necessary at the time, and as for the second question… well I'm guessing that it's a universal thing across all schools of magic and that the book's owner assumed whoever was reading it would know enough basic knowledge about sigils to know moving them is a bad idea. My guess is there isn't a safe way to move them, you're supposed to make the movement part of the spell.*

[I suppose I'll reserve judgement until it's clear just how much you've hurt yourself with that stunt. Do you want me to leave you to working out what's going on with Lian? Or do you have questions for me?]

*Um… anything new I should know about after you talked to me in that dream? Or why is my dream so clear in my mind?*

[No idea for the second, perhaps my ability makes dreams easier to remember? Perhaps just you? Perhaps you can sort of see my memories of it that reinforce your own? No ideas just some guesses. As for anything new… well I talked to Sue and she seems to think that running is the best idea, and Creshe and Hromdir seem to agree with her.]

*How did you do that?*

[Sent KatE to check on them.]

*Was that… safe?*

[Sort of? So apparently summoning KatE fragments my soul a bit every time, however before you freak out, apparently it's very recoverable.]

*I was under the impression you couldn't just damage a soul like that?*

[I dunno? Maybe it's because I'm doing it to myself? Maybe it's not the important bits of the soul? Maybe it's because I'm a demon. I already asked D.E.M.O.N.S and apparently that's Rank 5+ restricted information.]

*Ugh fine. I guess I'll figure out what to do now.*

[Cool. I'll try not to intrude on your thoughts too much, though I'm not closing the link so I'll probably still here them.]

*No problem Kat.*

Lily transformed with remarkable ease. After the annoyance she'd gone through before, her transformation was being remarkably cooperative right now. A few flashes between forms to confirm that nothing was inhibiting it anymore, and a few winces from the pain, Lily padded over to what was almost certainly Lian's downed for as a Memphis.

As soon as she got close, it was clear it was the goth. Lian had a pretty distinct smell, perhaps from the curses, but it was a bit like wilting roses. Despite all the dirt and grime in the cave, the smell was quite easily identifiable. Hopping over to Lian's front, L:ily  put a whisker in front of Lian's nose.

*Hmm… breathing steady and not too weak. Perhaps she exhausted herself? She was not well and I had to carry her, then she had to figure out how to fly a paper plane while in her exhausted state and carry me into these caves. It's unclear how deep we are, so it may have taken some time. Damn I should have asked Kat how long it had been.*

Lily waited for Kat's response, assuming that her girlfriend was paying more attention then Kat would admit to… but there was no answer forthcoming. *Hmm… either she isn't listening… or a more likely guess is that she doesn't know. I'm pretty sure she's still stuck in the vault so without a way to tell the passage of time I doubt she could answer anyway.*

*Welp. I need Lian awake to know just how bad things are. Plus I can… start filling her in on all the Meng weirdness as well.* Lily started to squish her paws into Lian's cheeks. It was surprisingly effective, only a few squishes and Lian was already stirring. An arm reached blindly around near her position but Lily easily jumped over it. Lian managed to sit about against the cave wall and groan. "Ugh my head…"

Transforming, Lily added her own input, "Well at least it's not your everything. I feel like somebody decided it was a good idea to put needles in my bloodstream and they act up every time my heart beats,"

"That… cannot be good. How are you functioning right now?" asked Lian with some worry.

"Not sure… maybe it's not actually that bad? Maybe I'm pushing the pain down the link to Kat accidentally? Actually it's probably that second one and Kat has a stupid high pain tolerance so she probably just thinks it's normal bleed over. It is NOT fun, but I need to know what happened after we passed out," said Lily.

"Wait, is Bing ok?" asked Lian

"She's pretty fine?" offered Lily uncertainly.

"Well isn't that more important? You're connected to Kat right? How did the fight go?  What happened? Why are you seemingly uncertain as to the answer?" asked Lian rapid fire.

"Well Lian… it got complicated. At the moment, Bing is attuning to an artifact so she's probably fine, and fake Meng didn't sabotage Bing's selection, yes I'm in connection with Kat, no there was no fight, and I'm uncertain because it's fucking confusing. Turns out… the Fake Meng, is ALSO called Meng, and Bing's mother was replaced… a long time ago," explained Lily.

"What the fuck? Why was there no fight! It doesn't matter how long ago Meng was replaced by the Fake Meng, why would Kat not fight against someone who probably got Bing's mother killed!" hissed Lian.

"See… that's the thing Lian… as far as Kat can tell? Meng was replaced weeks if not days after Bing was born…" said Lily.

"No" whispered Lian in horror.

"I'm afraid it does really seem to be the case," said Lily with a sigh.

"Then… then… what… what does that mean?" asked Lian, voice quivering with emotion.

"It means a lot of things… but that's one of the reasons Kat was willing to forgo a fight. Meng really does care about Bing and Feng, she has been their mother basically their entire life and that love is not just a mask. It is however going to cause MASSIVE issues now, because the Mountain Shaker Sect already know she's a fake because we freaked out. And well… she IS a fake just… not in the ways that really matter to us as your friends," explained Lily with a wince.

"I… I need time…" whispered Lian.