[An unknown amount of time has passed]

As I slowly regained conciousness, I noticed that a black void surrounded me before a bright light flashed in front of my eyes.

As I reopened them, I found myself sitting in a chair but in a place I didn't recognize. Or rather, I found myself chained to a chair.

If that wasn't bad enough, an attractive demon girl (maybe in her low 20s) was sitting in front of me on a throne of some sort. And the scythe was floating next to her.

"Anguish. Transform," she said.

"As you wish, Princess Carnessa," Anguish said.

As the scythe transformed, it quickly became a bracelet on her wrist.

As I looked around, I wasn't sure where I was. However, I could tell that this wasn't Adrios. We seemed to be on a white platform in some sort of white void space. Giant cubes were slowly moving in different directions, which made me believe that we were on one of those cubes.

But before I could say anything to her, she asked me a question.

"Who are you?" Carnessa asked.

Naturally, I was nervous as hell.

"I'm uh....I'm...my name is Owen. Owen Woods," I said.

"Let's cut to the chase then, Owen. I need you to release me," Carnessa said.

"What? I'm not going to release you!" I said.

"Why? Because you're the Guardian Of Light? The hero of legend? Being a hero is, frankly, overrated. For a variety of reasons, actually," Carnessa said.

She began spinning the bracelet around her finger.

"How did you know I was the Guardian Of Light?" I said.

"Really? Don't you think that's a stupid question? I mean, I already tried to kill you 28...wait...29 times already," Carnessa said.

"Wait. Did you just try to...," I said.

"Yes. And as you can plainly see, you aren't reacting to any of my spells. That means they have chosen you as the Overseer Of The Seal," Carnessa said.

"They?" I said.

As I blinked, I noticed that Carnessa had disappeared...before appearing behind me half a second later. She placed her hand on my left shoulder as she ran it across my arm.

Her hand was warm.

"Do you see these markings? It's symbolic of the link we share. While we have been freed from the confines of the scythe, we are now sealed within...you," Carnessa said.

"I...I'm not sure I understand what you're saying," I said.

Suddenly, Carnessa stood in front of me before sitting on my lap. She turned her body to face me.

"I'm sealed within you, Owen. So is Anguish. That's the name of Scythe you've been holding onto. He's my prized sacred treasure. Although, you should be mindful of the two scenarios that can happen. The first is that you simply...release me into the world. Of course, if you let me go, I'll happily spare your life. After all, I'll have more important people to kill. I'll probably start with those adventurers who helped seal me. I think their names were...Ross and Jasmine? I'll also have to deal with father since he tried to sacrifice me to break Holy Hifus' barrier. But I'll probably have all my plans figured out by then! Alternatively, if someone kills you or weakens you badly enough, the seal should automatically be released. But it'll also corrupt your mind and soul to where you'll become an artificial demon," Carnessa said happily.

"Well,...Fuck," I said.

As the floating cubes began disappearing, the chains holding me to the chair were reduced to dust.

Carnessa happily got up from my lap as she walked back to her throne. It was time to go back.

"One more thing before you go!" Carnessa said.

"What?" I said.

"As long as I'm sealed within you, you'll be the only person able to see me in the real world. I'm currently reduced to a spirit form at the moment. But if you want to talk to me, you can do so telepathically!" Carnessa said happily.

"I'll...I'll think about it," I said.

As a bright light engulfed the void space, I realized that life as a Merchant would never have a dull moment.

For better or worse.