Adventures in the Boiling Isles

Hollow Mind

"Peter, wake up!" Luz shouted in my face. "Wakey, Wakey, Pete!" "Huh?" I asked after Luz slapped me. I looked around to see tapestries of Belos around us. "What the hell is this place." "You two know exactly where we are." Hunter explains. "You got us trapped in the Emperor's mind!" Luz and I gasped.

Yup, that's us. You're probably wondering how Luz and I got stuck with this bastard in Belos's mind. Don't worry. You're about to find out.

"We're in the Emperor's mind?" Luz asked. "That's bananas!" "I don't know what those are, and I don't care to." Hunter said. "Remember what happened at the Night Market?"

Hunter's POV

I heard whispers of an attempt to invade the Emperor's mind with wild magic. I decided to take the villains out myself. But just as I was about to stop them. "Hold up! I remember now." Luz said.

Luz's POV

Eda took us to the Night Market to repair my witch's wool cape, but we ran into some trouble. "Hello? Prim? Did you get into the Night Juice again?" Eda asked. "Hello?" "Is this thing on?" King asked over a walkie talkie. "Demon King to Luzura and Pecate. You guys copy?" "Sure do." I replied. "Use the walkie." King said. "10-4, Demon King." Peter replied over the walkie. "Pecate and Luzura here with Echo Delta Alfa. What's your 20? Over." "¿Hable más lento, por favor?" King asked in Spanish. "Aw, you remembered your lesson." I smiled. "But that wasn't Spanish, buddy. We read you loud and clear. Over." "Hey, Prim!" Eda shouted. "Ah, there you are. I need more witch's wool. I got a kid with cold shoulders and a knack for getting into trouble." "This shop is closed, Eda." Prim explains. "I've decided to finally join a coven. Emperor Belos says wild witches celebrate destruction and pain." "I mean, I know I can be abrasive, but..." Eda replied. "He also says that the Titan punishes those who aid wild witches." Prim interrupted. "I can't have you here." "Well, what does that asshole know?!" Peter snapped. "Belos is a liar. He just wants power!" "And I bet dollars to doughnuts that he can't speak to the Titan!" I added. "Hey, I'll be fine. You're the ones that need to be careful." Eda said. "But people should know who Belos really is!" I exclaimed. "And who is he really?" Eda asked. "Listen, Belos has been Emperor for 50 years. Everyone is used to this. No one's gonna risk change unless you have proof that he is up to something. We'll figure something out. But first, let's see if there are any respectable criminals left in this city." As Eda left us alone, villagers glared at her suspiciously. "I hate seeing people look at my mom that way." Peter sighed. "But how can we prove he's actually evil?" I asked. "It feels so obvious, but no one believes us. No one answers my letters! I don't know what to do!" "Me either." Peter sighed. "No one wants to think they've wasted their life following the wrong person." King said. "You just gotta find something big to change their minds." "King's right. How can we find that something?" I wondered, just as I noticed Hunter running through an alley. "Perfect timing."

We followed Hunter to find a group of witches creating a spell. "Halt!" Hunter shouted. "For crimes against the Emperor, you are all under arrest." "Hunter!" I shouted, pinning Hunter to the ground. "Hi. Can we bug you with a few questions?" "Human? Owl Boy?" Hunter asked. The bard helped the group escape. "Do you realize what you've just done?!" He stepped on a potion vial, shattering the glass. "Uh, what the hell is that?" Peter asked as everything went black.

Peter's POV

"You want to prove that my uncle is evil? And you thought I would help?" Hunter laughed. "Says the asshole who tried to steal my girlfriend!" I argued. "You're lucky I won't beat your ass." "Well, now that we're in his mind, we can learn the truth for ourselves." Luz said. "Weird, though. We've been in Willow's mind once, and it had more, uh, trees." "Eh, makes sense." Hunter said. "Mindscapes reflect the individual. I've read a lot about this subject." "Yeah, I don't give a fuck." I rolled my eyes. "Ooh, look at this memory." Hunter gasped. "You know, unfettered wild magic wiped out our family. Everyone knew too much and got themselves hurt. That's why Belos took in the survivors and dedicated his life to creating the Coven System! It's why he's so well liked! Our sigils protect us from ourselves and made the Titan happy. Oh! And this is when I inherited my staff! You know, I'm the youngest scout to become Golden Guard. I never found out what happened to the previous one. Huh, why does Darius look so sad here?" Looking around, Luz and I noticed a painting of Eda's petrification ceremony. "It's Mom." I whispered. Luz put her hand over the Owl Beast as she heard someone crying. "Belos?" Luz and Hunter asked at the same time. "Emperor, you're here. We beg for your assistance to return to the physical world so that I may capture your enemies." Hunter begged the Inner Belos. "And so they can ruin someone else's day." All of a sudden, the Inner Belos was struggling to stand, as if something was wrong. "Hunter, watch out!" Luz warned, defending us with a fire glyph.