AI's Got Me by the Balls: Rewritten [Part Three]

The flames from Colm's firebomb had started to spread and grow throughout the dilapidated inn. Turning for the door, the group hastily makes their exit. Just before Colm can get to the door, it is kicked open, as the inhabitants of this house, once terrified and huddled souls, have been transformed into bloodthirsty ghouls armed with rusty weapons.

"What the hell?" Neimi pouts at the stench and sight of the wicked monstrosities. One of them rushes forward to attack with a vile shriek. He is a huge scoundrel, easily taller and wider than Colm, with a twisted face like a hairless dog.

"I think these guys and that guy were friends," Colm quips before dashing forward in a swift dervish, severing its head from its shoulders. Another swings wildly at the rogue, clearly displeased about its fallen comrade.

Colm deflects the first shot and the hunchback's arm flies through the air, severed at the elbow. Colm sheathes his blade and steps forward to dig his shoulder into the stomach of his foe with swift force. It flies through the air before falling to the ground with a painful thud. The monster shrieks and pulls a rusty dagger from his belt and hurls it at Colm.

Colm catches it, and throws it back, sticking the blade through its owner's hand, pinning the hand to the wooden floor.

"You don't want to lose both arms in one day, do you?"

The hunchback roars intelligibly at Colm, his face twisted horribly, his eyes turning into a black void that sees, hears, and understands nothing. The belligerent beast runs its hand up the length of the dagger and peels it away from the wooden door. "What the hell?" Colm grimaces at the sight.

As his flesh is ripped away to reveal the blade, the hunchback screams incoherently.

The blade is bloody and sharp enough to cut through bone. Colm orders Yvette to deal with the other ghoul while he takes down this wild beast.

Colm grabs the hunchback's head in one hand and pulls it back, exposing his throat as Colm cleanly passes his dagger through the exposed neck. Colm turns around to see that Yvette has finished off the other, her movements as quick and methodical as Colm's. As two piles of dead men lie at her feet, she spews blood from her daggers.

The hunchback screams, his face twisted into a mask of agony, blood pouring from his throat. Colm watches the man choke on his blood and die almost in slow motion. His senseless howl and black eyes were reduced to a slight gurgle. "What was that nonsense? Some form of witchcraft?" Colm notices this, snatches the dagger from the hunchback's throat, and flicks the blade clean with an expert wrist motion before sheathing it.

Colm shakes his head as he looks at the hunchback's corpse. "Lately, things have really started getting weird around me; life used to be simple, no worries in the world."

As the flames crept into the floor and up the walls, Colm yells to his friends, "We need to go. Now!" The group quickly nods in agreement and escapes the ruined inn, leaving bodies and black magic behind.

"Why does life despise us?" Neimi groans.

Colm just patted Neimi's head and chuckled, "It's not all bad, as long as we're with each other, right?"

The chorus of nature has died out, leaving only light and shadow to dance along the way. When he comes to a crossroads, Colm sees a sign telling him that Holgard is north. They had come from the south and had read Fodlan's Retreat. West was mostly scratched away, Colm can make out the word "rest" and assumes it to be a forest.

"I guess we're going north," Colm sighs, continuing on his journey, the road becoming increasingly long and difficult to navigate.

Fortunately for Colm, Yvette is a local who knows the way.

The moon hangs high in the sky, nearly as large as the tiny sun.

Colm wondered to himself how it was that he'd come to get here. He had Neimi, a tiny Fae woman, and Yvette, a young human woman traveling with him. Both were stunningly beautiful in their own right, yet they chose to spend their time traveling with a lowly rogue like him. They had both taken liberties with Colm's genitals the night before, and it ended with Colm creaming like a holiday pie. Tonight has mostly consisted of walking, idle conversations, and a few scrapes with beggars and bandits.

So far, it's been a long but enjoyable journey. Everything comes to an end, however, when a large group of men on horses comes across Colm, Yvette, and Neimi, encircling them.

"Hands in the air!" exclaims a large man wielding a spear.

"Like we just don't care?" Colm quips, but he gets only scowls and glares in response, except Yvette who simply giggles. Neimi seems to just roll her eyes as if she's heard that joke one too many times.

Yvette asks, "I'm from Holgard, who are you?"

Neimi, who is irritated and exhausted at this point, supports her friend and shouts to the men, "Yeah! We're tired and busy! What the hell do you bastards want with us?"

"Shut it!" says the man, stepping forward and twisting Yvette's arm, "I'm Sergeant Rhys for the Ebony Claw Syndicate, and you're being held for treason."

"Treason? Ebony Claw is a mercenary cult, not a nation; there's no treason here," Colm says.

"How dare you!" exclaims Yvette, "I am the Jarl of Holgard's adopted daughter!"

Even Colm is taken aback by this, but it doesn't stop Sergeant Rhys from tightening his grip on Yvette's arm even more. Colm intended to make a move, but Yvette shakes her head. She prefers to handle this herself.

Yvette pulls her arm away from Rhys with a grunt and a curse. Rather than punching her, he grabs her throat and lifts her off the ground. Colm doesn't understand why she can't get free from his grip. Colm intended to assist, but she gives him a look that tells him to stay out of this. It seems she was being prideful, but Colm trusted her and bit his tongue.

"If you work for the Syndicate," Yvette advises, slightly choking from the grip on her throat, "tell your boss... that they should've sent someone less pathetic!

With that, she extends her leg as far as she can before ripping it forward through the air, kicking Rhys directly in the crotch and pulling away from him. Yvette could feel that this leader was smart enough to have a leather codpiece covering his valuables, but her kick was still even strong enough to cause Sergeant Rhys to lose his grip and fall to the ground, clutching his nuts.

"You fucking bitch!" he exclaims, barely able to get the words out. He then fires an arm bow bolt at her.

Yvette spins around and conjures a small magical barrier to deflect the bolt. The bolt is deflected by the shimmering barrier and hits the ground. "Big mistake," she threatens as she approaches him. Rhys' knights appear to want to intervene, but Colm has already blocked their way.

"Do with Rhys as you see fit, Yvette; I'll make sure you won't not interrupted," Colm muses, a cold stare shooting back at the soldier whose neck felt the cold steel of his dagger. "One wrong move could be your last," Colm told the man. "The Syndicate has done far worse to people than assassinate their messenger."

Colm observes Yvette raise her hand. Flaming bolts of arcing energy alight from her fingertips, turning this power against the man still clutching his aching balls, Yvette loosed the thunderous flames, igniting Rhys. As the fire engulfs his body, he screams in agony. Colm knows it's only a matter of time before he dies, but he also knows this isn't the time to be distracted.

Colm turned his attention to the three knights Rhys had brought with him, whose eyes widened as they saw Yvette incinerate her would-be captor. Yvette and her companions were gone by the time the soldiers had composed themselves from the harrowing death of their leader. Yvette skipped happily next to Colm and Neimi, who were both overjoyed to see Yvette in such good spirits.

As the night progresses, the three companions make their way along the road, briefly discussing Ebony Claw and Rhys before changing the subject. Neimi is eager to question Yvette about why she didn't kick Rhys in the balls more often.

"Hey, I'd love to have seen her do an encore on that stupid idiot's balls!" Neimi exclaims suddenly. "I wish I could fight with the two of you now and then, just to kick those mean bad guys in the balls! Yvette, will you do an encore for me?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing that," Colm says, wondering who the unlucky sap could be. After all, Rhys died in a horrifying electrical fire accident. "Yvette?" Colm inquired, sensing she wasn't with Colm and Neimi as she stared off into the distance.

"Huh?" Yvette asks, caught off guard.

"Aren't you listening, silly? We want you to kick some more balls for us!" Neimi asks, a devilish grin on her face.

Yvette's pupils dilate, a blush forming in her cheeks as she thinks about her kicking Colm in the balls. She bites her lips and gazes at Colm longingly, then her eyes trace down to his groin. "Oh... I'm not sure..."

Colm also appears surprised. "Wait a minute! I didn't mean me!"

Colm attempts to change the subject only to be reminded that Yvette claimed to be the Jarl's adopted daughter. "Yvette," he quickly blurts out, trying to keep the conversation on track. "You never told us you were the Jarl of Holgard's adopted daughter."

"Oh... I lied! Hehe!"

His jaw drops as it simply hangs there in genuine surprise at her. "Weren't we talking about an encore? Should I do a knee or kick? Hmm..." she jokes with a slight giggle, covering her mouth.

"Wait, what?" Colm exclaims, still stunned by what has just happened. Colm can hear Neimi laughing.

She approaches Colm before pausing.

"Actually... I do have another hidden talent. I can..." Yvette bites her lip and looks to the side, briefly looking down.

She then does something completely unexpected.

She throws herself into Colm's arms and hugs him tightly, returning the kiss Colm gave her the night before in the middle of this unexpected act.

Colm stands there in genuine shock for a moment as his arms instinctively hug her back, and the pair continue to kiss for a brief moment.

Colm then feels a sharp pain in his groin, as if a kick had struck him there.

"Neimi!" Colm exclaims, slipping out of Yvette's arms as his moment is ruined.

The pretty young girl snickers at Colm before rearing back and booting him in the balls as hard as she can. An assault from both sides, with Neimi kicking his balls from behind and Yvette firing piston knees at him from the front.

Colm feels the impact down to his stomach before collapsing to the ground. As Colm groans and curls into the fetal position, the two of them burst into fits of giggles and laughter.

"Encore! Encore! Encore!" Neimi chants, never satisfied with ballbusting.

"I'm... going... to... kill... you," Colm says through clenched teeth as he struggles to get up. Colm would never intentionally harm Neimi, but right now he wishes he could simply throw her into a pond. His entire body ached with pain and agony, and that's before Colm is kicked again.

"Kick him! Kick him!" Yvette exclaims as Colm struggles not to fall over again.

"Oh me?" Neimi innocently inquires, "I suppose I can do the honors!" Suddenly, more pain erupts from Colm's balls as Neimi floated behind Colm, having knelt on all fours in an attempt to stand, her perfectly shaped barefoot swinging up into his swollen balls. "Direct hit!" she exclaims.

Colm groans, unable to focus on anything but the incredible waves of pain pulsing through him. Colm can't think straight because his mind goes blank in the mentally blinding pain.

Colm does his best and manages to grab Yvette's outstretched arm as his legs give way. Yvette appears content to keep Colm upright while his knees are left open. This predicament rendered him incapable of defending against Neimi's double ballbusting from behind. Neimi has been doing this for years, and her practice has made her terrifyingly adept at inflicting pain on his precious orbs. She's also a tiny faerie whose entire foot is almost half the size of one of Colm's testicles, making it nearly impossible for her to miss her target, as he was constantly reminded.

Colm looks up at Yvette, who smiles down at him before nodding back to Neimi. Perfect swinging legs arc between Colm's legs like swaying pendulums, each clash of her toes against delicate nutmeat sending waves of unbridled agony through him. Neimi focused her efforts on Colm's left pain nugget, crashing into it while also stomping on it and grinding into it from behind. Colm's voice strained in a scream of pain lost in the soft, supple bosom of the woman at his front. Yvette, who is still supporting Colm from falling face first in the dirt, simply pets his head softly with a smile and a giggle.

"Ohhhh... Yvette..." Colm sighs ironically, his body quivering from pain, "Why did you have to choose me?"

Yvette then leaves Colm's question unanswered for a little longer as she tilts his face up to her own, kissing Colm's lips to distract him for a moment. Yvette's strong, shapely leg drags against the dirt, putting some distance between herself and her intended target. The pain wracking Colm's body at the moment is accompanied by a powerful throbbing between Colm's legs, which appears to grow stronger as Yvette's serene smile appears on her face.

"I'm sorry, but Neimi requested an encore, and... well, I kinda enjoy this," Yvette admits.

Chuckling himself, "That's nice... Neimi made a new friend but, he also created a monster," Colm responded.

Colm's world felt like serenity in this tiny moment. That is, before Yvette's leg uncoils from its position and fires forward at such speed that it might have landed even if Colm had tried to dodge it. The thunderous reverberation of Colm's balls colliding with her foot echoes into the night. Colm thinks he made a sound, but he can't tell. All Colm can think about is pain as he begins sliding forward, Yvette allowing Colm to finally curl to the ground as she and Neimi giggle and give each other high fives. Maybe Colm will get some sleep tonight, Colm thinks as he closes his eyes and feels the pain take hold. It consumes him, which almost provides an escape.

Almost.

Colm doesn't quite sleep, but he does pass out for a short period, as he realizes when he starts to come to. Running water fills his auditory senses, his eyes blink open and he sees they are near a riverbank. The feeling of a soft, repetitive motion elicits a moan from Colm.

\*What was the source of that?\* Colm asks himself as another moan escapes his throat. The moon blinds his vision for a second, but Colm notices Neimi fluttering down near Colm's crotch and instinctively tries to flinch away from her. She flutters back slightly, startled by Colm's rigid cock now that he's moved, and Colm tries to make sense of the situation.

"He's awake!" she exclaims.

Colm pauses, trying to think, as he hears Yvette's voice from his right. Neimi brushes Colm's hand away as he reaches down to feel the shaft of his cock. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"I could say the same to you, Neimi."

Neimi blushes and tucks her arms beneath her ample breasts. "Hmph, it's not like I was trying to stroke you or anything, idiot!"

Colm lets out a chuckle. "Didn't you?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "God, even if I wanted to, I couldn't because you're like a fucking iron statue."

"I mean, I was out cold from you and Yvette all but breaking my balls," Colm says, turning to look at the woman to his right. "Yvette?"

She flushes once more. "I felt bad about kicking Colm in the balls, so I came over here to make sure you were okay."

Neimi, who was blushing as well, huffs. "Don't think that just because I was nice, means I'm not going to break your balls again! Do you hear me, Colm?"

Colm reaches down and ruffles the little faerie's hair. "I'll hold you to that, Neimi."

"I'll hold you both accountable," Yvette says. Her gaze shifts to Colm's erect cock. "Do you think we can continue this elsewhere?"

Colm can't stop himself from laughing.

"How are your... parts, Colm?" Neimi inquires.

"I can move if that's what you're asking."

"I'm glad you appear to be on the mend," Yvette says. "You were out cold after that last kick I gave you; it almost had me worried, but Neimi assured me she'd done it before and that you would be fine."

Colm takes a breather, then looks up at the cloudless sky. Perplexed as to how things have progressed to this point, Colm thinks about his situation; not only has a tiny faerie girl following him around who likes to kick him in the balls but now a young human woman who appears to enjoy the same thing. What could be the odds that he ended up with a Ballbusting Harem?

Colm believes that something or someone in the universe must be playing a cruel joke on him and his balls. Or perhaps, Colm is simply drawn to these types of women? Are they attracted to Colm? There are no answers to any of these questions. Colm has known Neimi long enough to understand her and knows he wouldn't want to live in a world without her. Yvette, on the other hand... Colm and she started as enemies, but she's grown on him. Furthermore, it's nice to see Neimi having such a good time, and Neimi appears to be having the best time with Yvette. In his opinion, that's a win.

All of this makes Colm think. Will Neimi stay with Colm if Yvette leaves the group? Will they all part ways once their mission is completed? Will Colm and Neimi be the only ones left? Or would Neimi prefer to remain with Yvette? Neimi hasn't left Colm's side since they were children, but there was also a lot of teasing and TONS of testicular pain between the two. One might wonder if Neimi only likes Colm for that reason.

Colm had thought about it a lot on his own, and in a quiet moment with just Neimi, he tried to ask her this question.

"Have you ever considered us siblings?" Colm inquires.

"What do you mean, brothers and sisters?" she wonders.

"Yeah. Do you... I mean, do you only like me because you're bored and I'm a handy punching bag? Or do you think of me as something more?"

Neimi takes a breather.

"No, I can't see you as my brother because... I had a brother a few years before you arrived in the village."

"Oh?" a hint of hurt in his chest that she seemed to be implying she didn't think of him as anything other than abuse fodder, but moreso he was curious about her real brother.

Neimi tells a brief story about how her brother was constantly getting into trouble, even breaking rules and criticizing the Emperor. During one of his many clashes with the guards, he insulted the Emperor, and according to the law, any person to insult the Emperor is executed. Naturally, her brother tried to fight as many guards as he could, but he was eventually overwhelmed and killed. She then turns away from Colm quietly.

Colm apologized for bringing up such a painful memory. Colm remembered years ago when Neimi told him that she didn't want to live in the forest anymore and she cried for half a night into his chest. At the time, he didn't know why but he would've done anything to make Neimi smile and stop crying. Colm cherishes this memory because it helps to alleviate his doubts that she would ever leave him. Besides, he adores her, and she adores Colm. She would have returned to the Fae Forest by now if she hadn't. He's confident that Neimi will stay once this mission was over. Yvette, on the other hand.

"Yvette, once we arrive in Holgard, what will you do next?"

Yvette nervously bites her lower lip.

"I'm not sure. I've never been away from Holgard for long, but... I'm not sure what will happen next, but I know I've been having fun traveling with you two."

Yvette then turns to face Colm.

Her gaze is fixed on Colm as if she expects him to say something. "I suppose you could join us for a while longer if you're interested?"

"I would, yes," she says, smiling.

Relieved, Colm is unsure how long this relationship will last, and he could use the extra assistance.

Colm smiles and kisses her on the cheek. "So, the question now becomes, where do you want to go?"

Her reaction is to jump up and down in excitement for a brief moment as if she has forgotten herself. "O-Oh!" she exclaims, her cheeks flushed. "We should go to Holgard first, then we can talk about what happens after that!" she says quickly, shuffling ahead of Colm.

Colm smirks and laughs as he and Neimi march after her.

"Hm. I suppose it would be prudent, though I'm not sure what comes next. I do enjoy your company, Yvette."

Yvette smiles as she looks over her shoulder at Colm.

"How about me?" Neimi interjects, almost insultingly.

"I guess I enjoy your company too, you devious little ballbuster," Colm teases her as he ruffles her pink hair with his palm.

She flutters forward, sticking out her tongue at Colm.

The group moves slowly because Colm still has a long way to go.

Colm, Neimi, and Yvette are walking through the night, the dirt ground beneath them crunching quietly as if to hush the night hours, when they come across a caravan that had been off the side of the road, with a wheel missing from the wagon.

As she approaches the broken wagon, Yvette remarks, "I guess those bandits got all the good wheels."

Colm sniffs the air as she approaches it. "Hmm, something feels off," Colm remarks.

Yvette raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side as she looks over the wagon. "Yeah, something feels strange about it all," she admits.

"I'll go investigate."

Colm told the other two to stay behind and slowly made his way around the wagon, inspecting it carefully and thoroughly.

Something in the darkness catches Colm's eye as he rummages through the wreckage. Colm slowly walks over and discovers a small ornate dagger.

"Huh," Colm says as he picks it up and examines it.

"What did you discover?"

"It appears to be some kind of dagger," Colm says.

Yvette approaches Colm slowly, crouching and looking at the knife. "Weird. It looks to be fancier than just some regular old dagger," she says, reaching out to touch it but is stopped by Colm.

"Be careful, this could be a trap to lure in bandits looking for treasure, or worse... it could be cursed," warns Colm.

"Really? I've never heard of a cursed knife before," she says, astonished.

"Wait, seriously?" Colm remarks.

"I didn't tell you this before, but you were my first mission. My first time being outside of Holgard."

You're surprised because Yvette was quite talented for someone so young, but the fact that she hadn't been in the field before that mission was truly a testament to her abilities. "Huh, interesting, so I was your first mark, eh?" Colm asks, winking and chuckling.

She blushes and lightly backhands Colm in the junk. "Shut up! It's bad enough that I'm a failure; You shouldn't be making fun of it!"

"Aw, come on. I didn't mean it like that..." Colm groans, his balls still aching from earlier.

"Hmph... Well, anyway... what are we going to do about this wagon and this dagger?" she muses as she fiddles with a strand of her silvery hair.

"Can you sense any kind of magic from this dagger, Neimi?" Colm asks, knowing Neimi hasn't been able to use her magic much since the incident seven months ago.

Fae magic is as old as any magic and as powerful as some of the most dangerous, though Neimi never completed her training after leaving the Forest to travel the world with Colm.

She closes her eyes and frowns. "I'm not sensing anything suspicious; do you believe it could be an illusion?"

Colm shakes his head.

"It would have to be one hell of an illusion to fool me," Colm says.

"I suppose there's no way to tell without taking it with us," Colm shrugs. "We could sell it and maybe get a good price for it."

Colm reaches into the wreck of the wagon and grasps the dagger's handle. As he does, he notices that the air inside is much colder than the air outside. Colm's arm becomes enveloped in a purple glow as his finger wraps around the finely carved handle.

Colm raises his brows at Yvette and Neimi, pulling his hand out of the wagon with the dagger firmly in his grip. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, it's not painful or anything, but I don't know what's up with this purple aura," Colm says.

"We are the shadow," a wispy, whispering voice says into Colm's ear, "and the dagger is our home. We emit a barrier of us, sort of like energy, to protect our home."

"It's talking to me," Colm declares to Neimi and Yvette.

"Oh," says Yvette.

"Shh!" hisses the dagger, "Silence! Only the holder should be aware of our true nature."

Colm informs the dagger's voice that Neimi and Yvette are friends who can be trusted.

"They are unaware of the shadow, and you must not bring us into the light," the dagger's voice says quietly. Colm examines the knife and notices a faint purple haze emanating from it."Hm, seems it doesn't trust me," Colm says.

"You are correct," the dagger hisses, "but we can adapt and learn; all you need to do is give us time."

"Are you cursed? The answer is a simple yes or no."

"Nothing concerning us is so simple. The dagger is cursed, and we are its curse." The purple energy haze that surrounds the knife begins to vibrate rapidly.

"What is the curse?" asks Colm.

"The curse is a set of magical instructions that guide the dagger to its best use; right now, in terms of the curse, you have great potential that must be fulfilled."

"And what is that potential?"

"To become a true master of the shadows, you must kill us to break the curse."

Colm examines the knife, his grip tightening around the handle, and he notices for the first time that it is made of bone.

"Do you want to die? Do you want me to break the curse?" Colm inquired of the dagger shadow.

"We want to live, but if you are serious about becoming Shadow, we will assist you in realizing your full potential; such things must be earned, however. You may be the next chosen, but that does not grant you a free pass to understanding."

"Why must you die for me to become shadow?" Colm remarks.

"Do you want to know why we have to die before you may become a shadow? Only a shadow can truly understand the shadows, and only the shadows know their need is greater than yours."

He is taken aback by this, but Colm smiles. "How could I refuse if you believe in me so much that he's willing to die?"

"You must kill us to break the curse, and then we will teach you how to use your powers. The dagger is simply a conduit through which to harness your latent, dormant energy," the dagger shadow explains as the haze that had been pouring from the dagger begins to envelop Colm in a globe of blackness. Outside the haze, Yvette and Neimi flee, calling out to Colm before it's too late. The black and purple haze has consumed you.

Colm's eyes blink in the inky blankness surrounding him, a small purplish-black flame pulsing like a heartbeat before him. As the flame condenses and morphs, Colm is surprised when it explodes and the shape of a woman is formed in the center.

Colm examines the shadowy figure's face, which appears to feminine. As purple flames appear in Colm's palms, the woman smiles warmly at him as if pleased. Colm begins to expand the flames towards the figure, the purple flames grow larger and larger. They mingle with the flames around her and soon the flames leave his palm and are absorbed by her own.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Colm asks the shadowy woman, who smiles warmly.

"My name is Helena. I'm glad you're here."

"Are you the cursed one? Am I supposed to kill you to free the shadows and myself from this place?" Colm remarks.

"I'm the vessel that holds the curse, the one who spreads it is Aversa of the Black River. We are the Bane of Shadows."

"The Bane of Shadows?" Colm asks, a puzzled expression on his face.

"The first Shadow Master was given the title of Bane of Shadows, and we have been waiting for someone like you for centuries."

"I'm not sure that I understand..." Colm says as he begins to hear a loud buzzing noise coming from all directions.

"The Shadow Master is a powerful being who has control over the shadows; we're trying to figure out how to create more shadows like you so that we can complete our mission."

"What is your mission?" Colm inquires.

"To banish the infernal realm of Mortos from this realm, the realm of earth and man. The infernal realm has grown powerful enough to tear a hole into the realm of Mortos and bring hell on earth."

Colm's brow furrows "Huh, that seems pretty bad. Makes my current mission seem a bit, tame, by comparison."

"Your job is to stop us, which is a simple task for someone as incredible as you."

"Why do you keep saying that? Why am I so great?" Colm asks as Helena laughs.

Helena takes Colm's hand in hers and brings it to her lips. "You are the world's savior, my love, my champion."

As Helena does this, a burning sensation runs up Colm's arm.

You're taken aback by her laughter, but even more so by her subsequent actions. Colm grits his teeth against the pain as the buzzing noises intensify and the burning in his arm begin to feel like icy needles.

"You're the savior of this world!" Helena says, before leaning in and kissing Colm on the lips.

The world begins to spin, as the feeling in Colm's mouth goes from fire to numbness.

Colm resists the urge to kiss her back; her large shadowy breasts pressing against his chest causing his heart to skip a beat, but Colm knows he must fight. He must use all of his strength to pull away from her, growling with intensity as the shadow's tendrils snap against his resistance. Colm's shirt has turned to ash where Helena touched him, his skin numb as he stumbles to his feet when he finally pulls himself away from the last of the tendrils.

The shadow tendrils that had wrapped around Colm disintegrate as they return to Helena's dark figure. Colm pants as he continues to question her, "Why do you think I'm some kind of hero? What makes you think I'm the right person to be the Bane of Shadows?"

"You're a hero. It's your destiny. The Shadows are not wrong, you have a power within you. Deep and dormant."

"I'm not some grand knight or Hero in some twisted fable; I'm just a thief."

Helena approaches Colm. "Do you not think a hero would be willing to do anything to save his loved ones?"

"Tch, anyone that's not a monster would do that! What is it you're not telling me?" Colm shouts back at her, fed up with being kept in the dark.

"Your two lovely female companions."

"What about them?" Colm inquires, trying to remain alert as she describes them.

She points to Neimi, whom Colm sees through a small haze that allows him to see beyond the darkness. Neimi appears to be crying, sobbing into Yvette's chest, which he assumes is due to his disappearance.

"She is a Faerie. Most fae do not trust humans. And yet, her people took you in when you were both very young. The two of you became quick friends and now, you're a human who has been welcomed by the fae." Colm looks back at Helena, wondering how in the hell she knows that. "She loves you, you know? Of all the people in the world, she chose you. You are very special."

"We're just friends, and-"

"Exactly," Helena says, nodding. "Neimi is your friend. I know you would do anything to help her. Save her. Colm, we don't know how much time we have. I have a very important question for you."

Colm's gaze is drawn to the burning shadows of Helena's form. "What is it?"

"Do you love her?"

"Of course," Colm says automatically, pausing.

Colm had never given it much thought before because he thought of Neimi as his best friend, maybe even his little sister, but... Colm loves her. He truly does. Was he perhaps, \*in love\* with her?

"Now her," Helena says, pointing to Yvette with her arm. "The woman who came to recruit you and kidnapped Neimi to save Holgard."

"We got past that, Yvette is now one of us," Colm says.

"She's also fallen in love with you."

"Bullshit," Colm responds, though he's not sure if he believes it. Colm, on the other hand, is not convinced.

"She quivers in delight at your presence. She's falling ever more in love. We noticed it the moment we arrived. It's why she came to get you herself. Colm was her obsession, her driving force. She told you about her admiration for you, correct? The world has heard of you. Despite what you make believe, a blue-haired rogue who can move faster than the blink of an eye starts to garner attention. You're growing quite the legend, despite keeping a low profile."

"Tch. What do you know? You're trapped in an ornament!"

"She aspires to be a hero, not just for herself, but for all of existence; we want to save her because she is very important to us. Her soul is much like your own."

"What do you mean like me? Are you implying she, too, could be a Bane of Shadows?"

"Exactly. Unfortunately, she isn't quite ready for the ritual yet, but if you were to become the Bane of Shadows, you could protect the world and usher in a new era. An era where the Shadows once again protect the balance of the realms. There must be a Shadow Master or else the realms are in grave danger."

"And what makes you think I'd be the one?" Colm questions.

"We know you," Helena simply says.

"I've never even seen, you. Heard of you. Let alone know, you," Colm retorts.

"Perhaps we'll be the ones to change that," she says, smiling.

"Are you seriously implying...?"

Helena's grin broadens. "Do you agree to bear the burden?"

Colm paused for a moment.

This is a massive decision that will impact the world and all of its existence, even if Colm didn't realize it yet. His decision here would lead the world toward a brighter path or an extinct one.

"Fine," Colm says, "come and let me kill you. I'll break the curse and become a Shadow Master."

"Excellent!" Helena exclaims, swaying her hips as she walks towards Colm.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Colm inquires, drawing his dagger. "Are you not supposed to be fighting me?"

"Oh no, I don't think you'll be needing that," Helena chuckles before casting a spell.

Colm's dagger clatters against the ground as his arm appears to give way. Colm tries to move his arm but it has gone numb and wouldn't budge. "What the hell is this?"

"A Shadow Magic spell. Very useful indeed. You'll find that you're unable to cast magic of any kind while you're under its effects. Something you'll be able to use if you're successful in killing me."

Colm frowned and attempted to move his arm by sheer willpower alone, but it appeared that he was unable to do so.

Colm responds, "Fine if that's how you want to be." Colm decides that if Helena wants to use magic, then he'll just have to use his superior speed to take her down before she can cast any more magic.

Colm leapt up and arced a leg through the air toward Helena's neck as he attempted to knock her out in a single strike, a flying kick flashed forward at an incredible rate of speed.

Colm is struck by yet another wave of shadow magic, capturing him mid-flight. Finding himself unable to move in any way, Colm struggles with slight panic. "What the hell is this?!" She steps around his motionless body, appearing indifferent as she glares at him with a malicious gleam in her eyes. Colm is powerless to even defend himself.

Helena mocks Colm as she takes up his fallen dagger and advances towards him while looking at him with a gleeful expression of ill will.

She yells at him, "Not that way, you idiot," while brandishing the knife in Colm's general direction.

Helena ambles over to Colm, places the useless blade she had been playing with betwixt her fingers back into its sheath attached to Colm's belt. Helena licks her lips and playfully smacks him on the cheek. "I guess I forgot to tell you earlier. Colm, the thing that makes you so special is how powerful you truly are when you hold nothing back. Colm spends so much time and effort trying to be a nobody, that Colm forgets how to tear down those barriers. What you don't know, is that you do allow yourself to let those barriers down when You're vulnerable. I doubt you've noticed it but," her voice trails off a bit as she brings a dark, Colm is certain that he can see Helena smirking at him despite the black and purple haze that makes up the entirety of Helena. "Have you ever wondered why your balls never break? Even after repeated trauma and torture? It's because you indirectly unleash yourself when you're being abused."

Colm's pants appear to burn away into shadowy ash as Helena clutches them, displaying Colm's precious goods. His balls were rather swollen from the constant abuse he'd been enduring lately, his cock drooped between the oranges; laying atop his smooth sac like a dragon atop its hoard. Even flaccid his cock larger than the average man's, hanging at a solid six inches soft. Before Helena's fingers could wrap around Colm's bulging ballbag, he let out a stifled groan of anger and rage as the haze began to take on an eerie purple tint.

"What do you think you're doing to me?" Colm's dick is engulfed in the haze, which then gives way to some kind of black and shadowy tentacle that begins to squeeze the shaft with cruel strength. Colm let out a grunt as his body tries to squirm under the strain that Colm feels, but Helena's magic is powerful and prevented his movement with ease.

"I want you to kill me, Colm. But I need you to stop holding back. You're always so pent-up, so dedicated to protecting these delicious eggs that you can't allow yourself to focus on anything else. Please, Colm... unshackle your latent power. Otherwise, you won't be strong enough to finish the job. Besides, this should be fun for you, right?"

As the dark tendrils continue to squeeze Colm's dick, making it rather difficult for him to even breathe, Helena's face contorts into a smile, and Colm finds himself wanting to give in to complete release.

The nutmeat is compacted by the pressure of Helena's fingers as they are pressed into Colm's sac. She then performs the same action on Colm's second testicle while he lets out a pained sound that is similar to a pained yelp. The shadow serpent constricting his cock slithers up and plunges itself into his tip like some kind of cork, while the length of the tendril stroked his member with fervor. His cock grew as it became more and more erect, lengthening a few inches further than when it had been soft.

"Now, kill me."