Through Potions and Books it's still, you isn't it?

Chapter twenty-two

"I can give you anything."

A cold shiver ran down his back as he looked at the red giant abomination they called the Egg. The entire room was filled with red vines, tiny scarlet particles floating through the air. It was hard to breathe, the room was too hot and the fact that they were underground made the man swallow. If things were to go terribly wrong he'd be stuck here. Stuck with the Egg, stuck with him.

"Anything?" His voice was small, barely a whisper.

The voice inside his head purred. "Anything your heart desires and more. You just have to stop fighting it and allow me to show you the true extent of my power."

And the voice, the Egg, was so convincing, he did. He stopped fighting and the sudden wave of what could only be described as magic brought him to his knees as a thousand different voices flooded his mind, screeching of betrayal and his moral code, but soon they got overpowered by static buzzing, leaving only the Egg's unnatural deep voice.

"Good, now tell me, little one, what is it your heart desires the most?"

He swallowed, taking a rasping breath as blood-red vines crawled up his arms and towards his head, filling his entire vision. Focus, the man told himself, you won't be able to do anything if you let this thing control you. (It already does.)

"I want my sister back."

How foolish of him, to believe he could truly fight the power of a being higher than him.

.

Wind rushed through his hair, cold enough to bite at his skin. It had snowed, painting the now barren trees in a soft and fluffy white layer, coating the grass of the back garden completely. It was nearly silent, the rustling of the trees in the wind and the occasional cawing of a crow being the only things to truly produce sound. The sun had just risen, the rays not yet strong enough to offer warmth which had him pulling the brown trench coat closer around his arms.

Tommy didn't know for how long he had been sitting on the roof, watching, listening. He hadn't been able to sleep, anxiety nagging in the back of his mind, thoughts circling and creating mental images he'd rather not see. It's been a couple days now that he had spent with SBI at their house, they had given him his own room on the second story, right next to Wilbur's room and opposite to Phil and Techno's. Initially, the winged hero had been against it, the instincts begging him to keep his fledgling in the nest, but after some arguing with Techno (the piglin having to bring both Phil and Wilbur to his senses, "I know the both of you'd prefer him in the nest, my instincts would also prefer him to be somewhere safe, but think about his privacy") they had shown him the spare guest bedroom.

Climbing the stairs had proven itself to be a difficult task, despite the crutches the three had gotten from...somewhere. He wasn't sure.

It took forever, having to take many breaks in between, but eventually, he had gotten upstairs. The room was, to put it lightly, boring. Cream walls and grey carpet, a simple four-poster bed in the corner of the room and a couple dressers. A large window sat on the opposite side of the door, leading to the canopy of the second-story balcony, the exact place where he was sitting.

"You guys do know I have a flat, right?" Tommy reminded him as Phil spoke about decorations and moving in with them.

"Oh, we're more than aware of that, but given the current situation and your overall condition you're not going back there anytime soon." Wilbur had shrugged. "Especially now that these blood vines were spotted at Logstedshire's border."

"It's only temporary," Phil had assured him, "if you choose to leave once all of this is handled you're free to do so. We won't stop you."

"Just making sure." the teen shrugged, "I'll have to get back there at some point during the next week, though. Rent is due."