The mist spirit lunged towards Maya with its sword. Maya moved out of the way in response, after which she condensed the mist near her hands to manifest a sword of her own from the surrounding mist.

As the mist spirit attacked again, Maya parried it with her mist-blade. The clash made a sound like wind passing through leaves.

Maya eventually managed to push back the mist spirit with a forceful swipe, causing it to flail back uncontrollably. Then, the Shapestealer curled her left hand into a fist and rushed towards the disoriented mist spirit. As she closed in, she manifested spikes at the edge of her knuckles.

Once her punch connected with the spirit's stomach, she expanded the spikes embedded in the opposing mist spirit to tear its body apart. The spirit soon dissipated into a cloud of mist that quickly thinned and vanished.

With the spirit defeated, Maya looked around for Maple. Her heart sank as she realized she couldn't find the fox anywhere in the mist.

But as she turned around: she saw two more Mist Spirits coming towards her, each one wielding mist-swords. Maya condensed mist in her hands again and prepared to fight back.

However, as she readied herself, she glanced to her right and left. More mist spirits were emerging from the mist and converging on her position.

Seeing this, Maya turned around and hovered away. She used her Mist Spirit form to phase through trees, making her escape faster.

As she moved, the Shapestealer noticed how easy it was for her to see through the mist now that she was transformed. She navigated the forest with ease, ensuring to evade any mist spirits that appeared even remotely within the periphery of her vision.

Maya kept moving until she stumbled upon the entrance of a cave. Its mouth was wide and leaked mist: the same kind that seemed to permeate the forest.

She glanced around cautiously to ensure no mist spirits had followed her. Seeing none, Maya took a deep breath and reverted back to her human form.

Just as she prepared to call out for Maple, she stopped short as she felt something wet and familiar licking her cheeks. Maya glanced to her right and saw that the fox was still hiding inside her hood: safe and sound.
Maya gently rubbed the bottom part of Maple's muzzle with a finger and asked, "So, can you just disappear when I transform?"

Maple responded with a wag of her tail and closed her eyes for a bit before barking softly and giving Maya's cheek an affectionate lick.

Maya chuckled at the response, the tension from before easing slightly. "I'll take that as a yes."

As she turned her attention to the mouth of the cave, Maya pointed towards it and said to Maple, "Hey, can you tell if Sophia is in there? Bark once if she's in there, bark twice if she's not."

Maple barked twice.

"Alright, what about Valor?" Maya asked again.

Again, Maple barked twice.

Upon hearing this, Maya took a deep breath. "Got it, now, could you hide inside my hood again?"

Maple obliged, swiftly running back inside Maya's hood with her head peeking out slightly. The Shapestealer then began walking towards the cave. The mist felt a lot colder as she drew closer to the entrance: so much so that goosebumps broke out all over parts of her skin.

But before she stepped inside the cave. Maya paused and turned around to make sure nothing was following her. Afterwards, she checked her [Transformation List] to see what had changed.

Tier 1: Mist Spirit (requirement: transform within mist or fog; subsume spell available)

Tier 2: Ironhead Bicorn (requirement: anger; subsumed spell: Metal Coat)

Tier 3: Nightbringer (requirement: kill a humanoid creature or a large monster; subsumed spell: Acid Spray)

Thankfully for Maya, transforming into her Mist Spirit form wouldn't be very difficult given the current circumstances. She used her

[Subsume Tier 1 Spell] and received [Conjure Mist] before finally transforming back into a Mist Spirit.
Once her ethereal form had returned to her: Maya hovered into the cave.

***

As Maya went deeper into the cave, the air grew colder. The mist that clung to her ethereal form felt like a protective shroud. And yet, it did little to shake off the unsettling feeling that crept over her.

The cave's walls were filled with strange symbols and glowing runes. The significance of these symbols was far from clear to Maya, but their presence certainly didn't help to make her feel at ease.

Hovering deeper into the cave's belly, Maya's attention was suddenly caught by humanoid figures in the distance. She quickly hid herself behind a particularly large rock formation: barely disturbing the dust as she moved.

Peering out from her hiding spot, Maya observed the figures as they walked. They were all wearing white hooded cloaks that gave them an almost spectral appearance.

Each wore a white mask that covered their faces that were marred with runes similar to those etched on the cave's walls. They seemed to be able to navigate through the mist just fine, though Maya wasn't quite sure how the small eye-slits on their mask was helping them to do that.

The Shapestealer thought about maybe trying to use [Copycat] on one of the white cloaked figures to blend in deeper. But after some more consideration, she wasn't quite ready to lose her Mist Spirit form just yet. It seemed rather useful to have for now, and with all the mist in the area: it would make infiltration just as easy.

Instead, Maya tried to phase through the cavern wall to avoid the white-cloaked figures, but as she tried to do so: she just kept hitting the wall and was unable to pass through. She soon figured that her ability to phase was limited to what the mist itself could pass through.

Undeterred, she turned her attention back to the cave and watched as the figures headed into various tunnels carved into the rock. Maya spotted a tunnel that had a lot less people going inside of it and set it as her target.

She maneuvered slowly around the cave, using the mist that clung to her, the walls, and the large stalagmites as cover. Eventually Maya reached the entrance of the chosen tunnel and slipped inside, keeping close to the walls to make herself less visible.

Following one of the white-cloaked figures through the tunnel, Maya was relieved to find that her presence went completely unnoticed. It was in times like this when she was most grateful that her current form could hover so that she could move without making a sound.

As the figure entered a large chamber, Maya lowered herself behind another rock to observe. The chamber had been converted into what looked like a dining area of sorts.

The place had several wooden tables that were lit up by the oil lamps placed on top of them. Dozens of the white-cloaked figures were gathered there as they seemed to be holding a communal meal or feast.

But as Maya focused her vision, she noticed how the skin of these figures was pale as snow beneath their masks. And what they were consuming were: limbs and other organs, all raw.

It all reminded her of the earlier floors of the tower: when she saw those kids eat from a corpse. If there was ever a time for Maya to suspect some Old God shenanigans going, it was now.

Despite how disgusted she was seeing the hooded figures gorging themselves on questionable flesh; she didn't really want to blow her cover anytime soon.

Maya waited for a moment when she felt the white-cloaked figures were all distracted before she activated [Conjure Mist]. The mist already present in the room began to thicken rapidly for a brief moment: an opportunity Maya used to slip past the dining area and into another tunnel.

After she glanced back briefly, she did spot some of the figures reacting to the sudden change in the mist. But none of them suspected her or saw her, and some still ate their meals like nothing had happened at all.

But as she hovered through the tunnel, Maya suddenly found herself slamming against an invisible wall.

She moved back and tried to pass through again, only to find herself unable to. When she looked down, Maya saw four ritual circles etched into the ground beneath her.

The circles were decorated with symbols that pulsed faintly with a strange pale energy. But before Maya could try to figure out what the circles were for: she felt someone approaching from behind. She quickly hid behind a small opening in the cavern walls and began to wait.

From her hiding spot, she watched as one of the hooded figures approached the ritual circles and knelt down. The figure touched each of the circles in what seemed like a deliberate order.

As each circle was touched, it glowed briefly before dimming down after a second. Once all four circles had been activated: they all glowed in unison before fading once again.

The figure then stood and walked through the area where Maya remembered the invisible walls to be and passed through as if nothing was there at all. Once she made sure nobody was nearby, Maya hovered out of her hiding space and lowered herself to the ground.

She remembered the order in which the hooded figure touched the circles. It was top-left, bottom-left, bottom-left, top-right, bottom-right, and top-left again.

Once Maya finished, she hovered higher as the ritual circles all glowed at once. And this time, she could finally move past the invisible barrier without any issues.

Maya proceeded through the tunnel with her gaze fixed on the white-cloaked figure ahead of her. As she maintained a safe distance, the figure suddenly stopped, causing Maya to stop as well.

She quickly hid behind a protruding part of the cavern wall and waited as the figure turned back briefly. After a moment, the figure resumed their walk: still oblivious to Maya's presence.

The Shapestealer slowly peeked out her head and continued to tail the figure as they approached a door. She watched intently as the figure pulled out a set of keys from their robe and used them to unlock it.

After the figure had entered and shut the door behind them, Maya waited for a bit until she felt that she was safe. Once enough time had passed, she carefully phased halfway through the door: allowing only her head to peek inside.

The room itself seemed to be dedicated to some kind of research. There were plenty of wooden desks scattered throughout: each one filled with journals, papers, and vials containing substances Maya couldn't recognize.

Runes were etched everywhere with chalk, covering the walls and floors in a dizzying array of symbols. And of course, mist covered much of the area as well.

Maya saw the figure she had been tailing as they sat down in front of a desk deeply engrossed in writing something. She took a moment to scan the room and confirmed that they were alone.

With caution, Maya phased the rest of her body through the door: materializing fully inside the room. She gradually moved towards the figure, making sure not to make a single sound.

As she advanced, Maya condensed the mist in the room to form a sword that materialized in her hand. Once she was directly behind the figure, Maya plunged the mist-formed sword into their back.

The figure coughed and let out a startled gasp as they struggled briefly. However, their strength quickly faded, and they grew limp. With their head eventually slamming onto the desk in front of them.

Maya grasped the figure's head and gently lifted it to remove their mask. However, as she did so, her attention was immediately drawn to the blood that coated the inside of the mask: it was pale white, unlike any blood she had seen before.

She placed the mask back on the desk and took a moment to closely examine the figure. Whoever this person was had elongated ears similar to an elf, except their eyes were snake-like, with slitted pupils.

Feeling a bit grossed out by her own actions, Maya placed the figure's head back on the desk. She then turned her attention to the research area and started to search through it.

She started by looking through the various documents and journals lying around. Most of the texts she couldn't understand completely or were filled with complex diagrams and equations that made little sense to her.

Despite this, a few terms caught her eye. She saw references to "creating artificial life using magic," "homunculus," and, most curiously, the name "Atris."