Its existence was an enigma. The brilliant, glassy surface of the biface’s blade seemed to enclose the cosmos, glittering even in the absence of light. The rough, cloudy base fit so snugly in Doctor Grau’s palm that it felt as though it had been carved for her hand alone. As soon as she touched it, she could sense the odious magic contained within its impossible edge. The intentions of its creator had long since been forgotten, but there was no mistaking it—this curious tool would easily cut through the bindings of her imperfect vessel.
What brought her to those crumbling ruins? Somewhere within her addled brains, she felt the pull of a distant memory; it beckoned her from the shadows of a thousand ancient lifetimes. She had never set foot there, and yet she knew the location intuitively. The worn stones of its crypt had a peculiar familiarity that drew her deeper, as if welcoming her back from a long absence. Unable to discern her own experiences from those bestowed by her benefactor, Doctor Grau allowed herself to be led.
As the shadow inside her took the reins, she felt a pitch black calm envelop her mind, folding it into a darkness devoid of the chaos and noise that gnawed at her thoughts for so many years. In that moment, suddenly alone in the vast silence, she found herself filled with relief. There was fear, as well, knowing that this seduction would soon conclude with the complete surrender of her body, but it was tempered with the knowledge that these earthly concerns were only temporary.
The Doctor’s finest operation was the excision of her soul. Removing it with the ficron and encasing it in a phylactery of her own creation, Hildegard Grau ceased to exist. Something else now resided within her corporeal form: A wet, writhing mass that possessed all of her memories and knowledge, but none of her mortal weaknesses. As it devoured the remains of her fractured mind, it made a nest within her hollowed skull, extending its tentacles throughout every inch of her body. Its burning ichor filled her, changing her, and they became one.
It decided to be reborn as Grizelda, knowing its patience would be rewarded.
