#ffxivwrite24

The man seemed equally pleased by her response, judging by his wolfish grin, and he took the offered seat. He didn’t bother to flag down the bartender for a drink. Instead, his focus was fixed wholly upon the beautiful woman beside him. “What’s a gorgeous lady like you doing here all alone? Ya ain’t got somebody at home?” She shook her head, another sly smile playing on her face. “I have a husband at home, but it seems he has decided not to join me tonight.” “Oh yeah? Sounds like a real fuckin’ asshole.” A noise better described as a flirtatious giggle than a laugh escaped her, and she propped her chin upon her palm, gazing over at the charming stranger. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ve found far finer company tonight, haven’t I?” Her free hand crept toward him, daring to rest over his own. At her touch, his eyebrows lifted into a look of surprise more feigned than genuine. “That how this is? Bored, lonely noblewoman lookin’ to lower herself for a good time with some commoner for a night?” “It doesn’t have to be just one night,” she cooed, threading her fingers through his. “Why? Do you have any objections? I venture I wouldn’t be your first.” “Nah, ya wouldn’t be. And not at all, gorgeous. Some other prick might leave you all alone, but I ain’t dumbass enough what not to ‘ppreciate a beautiful woman’s attention when I have it.” “Good. It sounds like we’re on the same page.” She offered his hand a gentle squeeze, her opposite grabbing her glass of wine so she could down the last of its contents before setting it aside on the bar. “Should we get out of here and head somewhere quieter, then?” “If that’s what you want,” he obliged, helping her down from her barstool with their still joined hands. “Ya sure your husband ain’t gonna be pissed? He gonna come beat my ass?” “He can be rather possessive. I hear he’s quite formidable, too.” Only then did Faye dare to lean forward and steal a kiss from the man’s lips, the taste of wine still lingering fresh on her own. Her eyes met with his, a slitted pair of blue and gold. “But I’m sure he can make an exception, just this once.”

It was all she had known for so long that she had lost track of how long she had been trapped within the Void. Time had no meaning and no measure. Devour or be devoured was the only immutable law of the Thirteenth. Death was a fate she could accept–embrace, even–but to live on as a fragment trapped in another’s body as a conglomeration of forgotten souls was not. So the succubus disposed of the few Voidsent foolish enough to challenge her without prejudice, devouring their lives and growing more powerful with each one. So what if she lost a bit more of herself each time? What did it matter? Was that really such a bad thing? What use was sanity here? What good in being herself? At least it was a brief, hollow relief from the hunger. But the darkness, there was no relief from that. Not until, without warning, that fateful day came. Light, blinding and brilliant, burning and insufferable after so long in the pitch, a portal tearing itself through the blackness. Something unignorable called to her from beyond, beckoned and invited her to come through, tugged at her body and soul. Or maybe it was just the ravenous hunger within her, drawn to that world shining with aether on the other side, so instinctual it moved her body without her own volition. She couldn’t be certain. There was very little she could be certain of anymore. The only thing she did know–had decided–was that the portal was for her. Other creatures were drawn to the light like moths to a flame, starving and desperate, clambering for escape from their eternal Hell. But she fought them tooth and nail, and as always in the Void, the superior demon triumphed. She clawed her way out over their bodies, through the rift and into a dizzying, overstimulating world of light and life and sustenance. Where or when she was didn’t matter. No such thoughts occurred to her now. She only had one drive, one urge: Feed. Whoever had been foolish enough to open the Voidgate stood before her, brimming with aether like a beacon in the night. She pounced on him without hesitation and she was intent on making sure there would be no fighting back, her vicious claws swiping toward his face, rending flesh and leaving his visage a bloodied mess. The mage crumpled to the floor with her atop him, straddling him and siphoning the very lifeforce from his body to sate herself. So lost was she in the hedonistic decadence of a proper meal of aether at last, she was not prepared for what came next. But the mage, he had been prepared for her. He had managed to recover from his mauling just in time to spring his trap before his fate was sealed. She was so focused in her single-minded, feral pursuit of her prey that she had failed to notice the arcane circle and sigils carved into the floor beneath her. He triggered his spell, incorporeal bonds of aether winding around her limbs and ripping her off him, holding her in place. She struggled, thrashing and baring her sharp teeth like a wild animal, but she could not break free, and he wasn’t going to wait long enough to afford her the chance. He pushed himself to his feet, the lifeblood seeping from his face dripping to the floor and pooling into the ritual circle etched there, triggering the spell. The runes glowed to life with aether, and she instantly knew what was happening, but it was too late. The Voidsent was bound to her new master, their aether and destinies irrevocably interwoven. “You…” he began, voice dark and deep, one hand pressing to his wounds and covering half his face. “What is your name?” he commanded, and she was powerless to disobey his will.