This world that you lived in was no stranger to the paranormal. Though, this was no fairy tale, for a dark plague had wiped off entire towns from the face of the Belobog kingdom. By the will of its leader, your mission was to investigate the strange disturbances that threatened ruin. 

The coven truly had it's grasp on you, with in-depth research and extensive discoveries into the truth behind their closed doors. Everything would come to a head, once you entered the frightened town of Rivet. 

The report given to you by your employer, the captain of the royal knights was descriptive in the effects experienced by the town. They claimed to suffer from frequent crop loss, drought, famine, and infertility. 

"This idiot thinks that all problems are created by witches?" You huffed, there was no sign of witchcraft in these symptoms alone. Though, Gepard had other thoughts, sending you off with a warning. 

"Deliver to me a witch, or I will have your head on display instead." he ordered, exacting the wishes of the ruler of Belobog. 

You huffed, knowing that this had to be done, or else it was your life on the line. Finally arriving at the town, you realized why Gepard might have been concerned for supernatural forces. An unnatural silence amidst a swarm of dead plants and a clear lack of life. The ground was a pitch black with rot, while the trees were grey in decay. 

When you passed by with a dark brown trench coat and large overhanging feathered cap, the locals mistook you for a mercenary. You realized that your presence in this place was not welcome. 

A single reverend stood upon a guillotine stage, screaming to all those before him, the injustice carried out by the blatant evil in the community. "Witches, are women who engage in the practice of evil! We must purge them from this community, so I ask of you- any and all who see a woman who reads, who writes, to report her directly to me!" The voices of the crowd mirrored his anger. Though, others were not as eager to go on a spree of accusing women of witchcraft. 

You decided to try your luck at a local tavern. 

"What can I do ya' for?" The local tavern man spat into a cup, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm looking for a witch." 

The crowd that sparsely cornered you looked around apprehensively. Unsure of whether to trust a random stranger or their local pastors, they eyed you intensely.

"There's no witches in this here town. You best skedaddle. Don't need another reverend in this place."  The tavern man warned, his one good eye widening in warning. 

That's when you noticed it. 

Just below the man's eye, a single dark mole. It would ordinarily mean nothing if the man didn't have an identical one on the other side of his eye. "Going a bit blind in that eye sir?" 

"How-"

"No worries, I'll take care of this." You snarled, with a slight irritation on your face as you aggressively wrestled the man's hair. Patting him like a stray before you walked off. 

Your assumptions could not be taken at face value without a bit of investigating. If you mistook the signs of another beast for witchcraft, you'd be making deals with an uncomfortable ally. The moles were indicative of magic, though the certainty of what type could only be determined with a bit of scrutiny. 

"Let's see. What do we have here?" You bent down, the coarse dirt was far too dry for a fairy ring. You fought the urge to taste it, just to be certain it wasn't some form of druid attack. 

Nothing. 

Every inch of this hollow town was covered in a dense fog that left the townsfolk scrambling for safety. The only indications of other humans within the fog served to be the torches they carried around, in hopes of burning the one responsible. 

Though the reverend was sure that there was a witch, you weren't entirely convinced. Checking in with the local clinic, you met a long grey-haired woman. She was far too young to have such greying hair, but the stress lines across her worried face told a different story. 

"Are you the local cleric?" 

"A- Yes!" She piped up, stepping away from her patient to approach you. You watched as the patient, who was dry heaving and sweating up a storm suddenly cooled off. As if by a miracle, they seemed to be in full autonomy over their body. 

Upon removing your cap, she nearly gasped, noticing the warped skin around your cheeks and the absence of flesh over your jaw. "Are you-?" She tried to reach out to you, holding herself back when she realized what she was about to do. The concern in her face was quickly washed away. 

"Fine, ma'am. I just have a few questions." You began, lowering your hat towards your chest in an act of sincerity. Noticing how she didn't flinch at the state of your healed injuries, you accredited it to her occupational experience.

"So, what would you like to know?" 

"Do any of your patients exude any odd symptoms?" 

She thought a moment before answering, "A few of them have large gaps in memory. They consider it to be a side effect of rat poisoning." 

You didn't buy it, there was not enough moisture for any animals to survive in this environment unless they were practically immortal. All the roots and crops were dying out with the horrible soil quality. If these people had a rat problem, you'd be seeing the small critters running amuck around the town with every step. 

Noticing your hesitance, she furrowed her brows. Her magenta eyes staring into yours with great intensity. "What's your name?" 

"Y/N." 

"Ok, Y/N. Tell me, what do you think is the cause of these ailments?" She turned her head an uncomfortable degree to the side.

Leaning yourself further across the table you found yourself drawn to her peculiar eyes. realizing it immediately you subtly grabbed her hand and held them in yours. She struggled to rip her hands away, but you had put a nulling ointment on your gloves. "I think that you're the curse on this town." 

"Really!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet and gathering the attention of the clinic. This was her attempt to escape, the witch before you had been trying to hex you while forcing you to look towards her eyes. 

The clinic workers were none too thrilled about you hurting their leader, gathering around you in an unforgiving mob. 

"That's not me!" A voice from the back called out, pointing to the frame of a woman with a striking resemblance to the one you were currently holding. The only difference was her red eyes. 

Knowing that she had been caught, the witch within your grasp kicked you in the gut and forced you back into the wall. She was powerful, even without her spells. Chasing her once you had regained your footing you watched her jump out the window and rush out into the forest. 

"Argh, this might take a while. How big are those woods?" 

"A couple hundred acres of dead trees. There's nothing out there for her, people get lost in those woods." The real doctor said, clutching her head, still woozy from when the witch had incapacitated her. You thanked her with a bag of frankincense, burning it would relieve the headache she had. 

"I'm not one to dabble in the practice of witches."

"Fight fire with fire, ma'am. It doesn't make you a witch if you use it to heal- that's what people call a hero." You said, placing your hat back over your head and jumping out the window in pursuit of the runaway witch. 

Hours had passed and you were nowhere near seeing a new landscape within the dense set fog. Though, as you proceeded, something about it all felt wrong. The fact that this unnatural setting, and his relentless decay was so sudden and unreported to the capital. Taking out a dagger from your boot you stabbed it into the husk of the tree closest to your left. 

"I knew it." You exclaimed in a startling anxiety. 

Watching the dagger slowly fade back into view, this time on the tree closest to your right. You were walking in a loop. The same creaking branches, and the same wilted leaves. They had all fallen off the rotting wood, littering the ground in an infected heap of grime on the floor. 

Searching your surroundings you continued in the loop, searching for something that would signify even a slight change. With no luck you walked as far right, and as far left. Coming up empty, you even pondered just digging straight down. 

That's when you noticed it, the pond that you had glossed over. Peering into its dull waters revealed its hidden secret, it was a mirror. Only- this mirror, would only reflect the environment, completely dismissing you. 

"Here goes nothing." 

As you held your breath you swam deep into the cold waters. The freezing temperatures sending a wave of shock through your body that you had to push through. Each moment you continued to sink further into the pond, the worse your head felt. Losing sense of direction, you couldn't tell up from down. 

It wasn't easy holding your breath, with a large wound on the side of your face, letting all the water into your mouth. The bubbles that floated up from your lungs that soon began pouring with water, forced you to close your eyes. Your head a throbbing aching mess, you had no choice but give into the darkness. 

"Are you alright?" A dulcet voice, smoky and calm read from above you. "My name's Kafka." 

Once you had come to, you hurled up a wave of water. The woman with the sweet voice approached you slowly. She seemed so relaxed, like she hadn't just picked up a stranger in the woods. 

"I followed you into the woods, not knowing that you were going to try to go for a swim." She laughed. It was short but sweet, like honey. 

"I was caught in a loop." You admitted to her. 

"I assumed so. Lucky for you, I laid a bunch of string on the ground when I followed you in." 

Taking a blanket from her bed she placed her palm out for you. "Clothes." 

"There's no need, I have to-"

"Clothes." She repeated, in a stern commanding tone. Her forwardness made you blush a bit, but you agreed, taking off your coat and your boots, and handing it to her. She draped a blanket over your shoulders, taking your clothes to hang on a line. 

Upon her return into the house, you noted how she was living alone in the middle of nowhere. Your suspicions began to grow. how exactly had she been able to get out of the loop with string alone? To drag your body from the pond...

"Would you like some hot water?" 

"Yes please. And- thank you. For saving me." Giving you a half-lidded smile in response she handed you the teacup. The brew was smoky, as if she had infused a tea bag into it. Deciding not to drink it, her eyes began to glow a menacing magenta. 

"You-!" Reaching for your sword- 

She lunged at you, a pitiful desperation in her eyes as she tried to pin you down. A ball of purple energy gathering in her hand as she attempted to blow your face up. Narrowly dodging it you jumped back from her, grabbing a butterknife from the table. 

She screamed at you, "Why can't you just leave me alone?" 

"Because you're killing this town!" 

She gathered a wave of magic within her palm and shot it towards you. There was a calm in the storm of her iris, a brutal whirlpool that threatened to sink you. "They did this to themselves. I was only protecting my home!" 

Just as she harnessed another bout of magic you threw the butterknife, stabbing her in the hand. She felt the impact in her palm and crouched over her hand, a bitter rage swirled around her, but it stopped as soon as it began. Instead, a frightening calm was present, as if you were caught in the eye of her storm. You tried to throw the numbing powder at her, but she redirected the wind back to you. Stunning you as your body began to slump over the floor. 

"Those people are the real monsters. They ripped my mother out of my arms and tied a stone to her ankles." She recanted bitterly. 

"If she survived, she was a witch, and if she died, she was innocent. Either way she was going to die!" kafka let her emotions swarm around her in the form of magenta flames. "For a child, with no mother- they called me a spawn of the devil. They killed my mother and now they want you to kill me too."

She relayed it to you with a stoic anger, walking over to you as her power manifested in dark clouds that tore at the sky with a thunderous virulence. 

"You're going to help me here, Witch hunter." She commanded, staring into your pupils as they dilated rapidly. She bent down to your fallen form, unable to move under the strength of her power, you tried to squirm out of her grasp. With no hesitation she amassed a horde of spiders in her hand, crushing them, their souls began to glow, while she pushed them into your chest. 

Your mind was dark, a new prison for you to sit in as she walked around under your skin. Feeling her presence, illuminated by a soft pink glow, you could only watch as she walked towards the town. A fearful quiet lingered as neither of you spoke over the tense atmosphere, a weight formed over your chest as you found it hard to even utter a word.

A strange sympathy began to brew within you. Imagining how a scared child would find ways to defend themselves, witch or not, it wasn't fair.

There it was a rally in the middle of the town square. Pitchforks and torches at the ready with a horde of vicious townsfolk ready to commence a witch hunt. 

"We gather tonight, to purge this town of evil! A witch has lived in the woods for far too long, cursing us all." The reverend amassed his supporters in a virulent cheer. He walked across a wooden platform, with different 'techniques' for witch hunting. Though, in truth, these practices were just a method of execution, with no method of escape. 

"As we had executed that witch once before, her body lies at the bottom of that pond! Today we hunt down her offspring, the child of the devil." The reverend called. 

"They deserve the justice that God has offered me to bring upon them!" 

With his words your body tensed, Kafka tensed. The mere mention of the woman at the bottom of the pond seemed to rattle her immensely. As you managed to gather strength to get to your feet you tried to console her, placing a gentle hand on her back. She jumped, unsure as to how you could move under her control. 

"You can't stop me. They have tormented my family long enough." She grits her teeth, seething with rage. 

"Why wait until now?" 

"Patience. For when my spiders finally emerged." She muttered, the aura around her growing more luminous as her emotions festered. 

Once the townsfolk headed into the woods, they swarmed the pond, awaiting the arrival of their prized witch. Their dark eyes riddled with fear and complacent anger, burning inside them as they attempted to hide behind the masses. 

Kafka had you stand in the back, your body pressed against a tree, watching all the townsfolk swarm the pond before you. 

"Show yourself! Witch!" 

"Sure~" She cooed; a whisper escaped her lips as the townsfolk tried to burn down the woods. Bringing their torches to the trees, who's rotting corpses began to emit a horrible smoke. The fire travelled from the trees and the leaves upon the floor unto the pond. The water erupted into a volcano of fire, flinging its rage into the dark sky, terrifying the townsfolk with its vibrance.

"She's here!"  

The hue warped from its orange glow to a menacing magenta. From its depths a horde of spiders began to climb from the bottom of the pond. they chased the townspeople back to the stage where they gathered, standing and attempting to burn the spiders as they approached. 

Kafka used your body to stand within the horde of spiders. You shivered as their tiny legs crawled over you and towards the reverend. 

"They'll never stop chasing you if you do this." 

"They'll be chasing you for this. Not me." She laughs, taking your crossbow from your waist and bringing it towards the reverend. 

Standing across from him, your eyes began to glow a vibrant magenta. The catatonic terror that embodied his soul made him stumble before Kafka pulled the trigger. His body slumping over the ground. Her tirade was ended by the captain of the royal knights arriving in the town with a large array of soldiers at his stead. 

"Charge the hunter!" He ordered. His blonde hair moving in the wind as he commanded his men to rally behind him. 

Kafka was drained, using everything in her to ward off endless hordes of soldiers with the spider's she'd been harvesting within the pool. Though, their numbers were quickly draining. 

"You're not getting out of this Kafka." 

"Hah! That's fine." She smiled; a half-lidded expression laid bitterly over her. "The reverend is gone; my mother can finally rest." Lowering her arms, you forced her out of your mind, just before a soldier could cut you down. 

She fell to your side as your blade cut the man's throat. "Why?!" 

"This is still my body. You can fight with me or die here alone." You yelled over the sound of clashing iron. 

"Follow me." She whispered, the two of you running into the loop of the woods. Once they had neared the pool, she set a wall of fire between them and the both of you. 

"Nice- Kafka?!" 

She fell over, completely out of magic to keep herself awake any longer. "Hold on!" You carried her in your arms and ran through the woods, their illusion of endless trees slowly wearing off. You knew that it was only a matter of time before the guards caught up to you both.

You rushed behind a tree, sinking low by the large roots and holding Kafka's slumped form close to your chest. She could feel your erratic heartrate, as your heaving chest rose and fell. She placed a single hand over your forehead and quieted you, calming your nervous body with a simple spell. 

"This is not a spell...I know what you're thinking- It's just a tactic my mother used to do."

"Thanks." 

"Don't...I did it for me. Because you're- saving me.." She huffed, unwillingly sinking further into your arms. She had completely knocked out by the time you were ready to run, so you stayed there, holding her with your sword drawn as the sounds of knights clamoring faded into the background. 

You stayed there like that for hours, holding Kafka fearlessly defending the both of you under the certainty of death. Once she awoke, she was surprised to see your weary eyes still keeping guard even after the threat had returned to the town. More so, she was impressed to see how you continued to stand beside her even if you would die. 

"You're still here." 

"My legs were too weak to run." You countered, using the tree to get back to your legs. Just before you could stumble forward, she put your arm around her shoulder, carrying you around her while you both walked along the trail. 

"Now what?" 

"We head to the next town. You can settle down there." You offered, placing your sword back in your scabbard. 

"And, if I don't want to be alone anymore?" She asked, turning away from your gaze. You watched her bitter expression lighten slightly. 

"If you follow me, we'll be hunted to the ends of the planet." 

She seemed to take to that idea more than the solitude she had lived before. "It'll be interesting, witch hunter." She smirked, a peace finally washing over her, one that allowed her to smile freely. 

Unable to tell if it was the influence of her control, or the instability of your own emotions, you felt your heart beat a bit faster. Hearing the thuds in your mind as she held your arm over her shoulders. From that point on, you were her blade, the sword that could stab into her chest or defend her at a moment's notice. 

Neither of you were certain of the other, but it would be interesting enough to find out. 

---X---

A/N: Do you think that Kafka's trying to make you fall in love with her? Neither of you want the other to end your life, but that kind of constant suspicion will always lead to tension!

It was more common for witch hunts to be done in the form of 'tests'. Being burned at the stake was not as common as women being tossed from a bridge, with a rock tied to their ankles. If they sank, they were human, and if they floated back to the surface and survived, they were a witch. In that case, if they survived, they would be executed for witchcraft. (Like, damn. they really just wanted to kill people at that point.)

Salem Massachusetts is most infamous for its history of witch hunts.

Thank you for reading this chapter!!