A Fantasy Mage in a Cthulhu World

Chapter 4: The Truth is Revealed

Countdown: 02:09:11

The three of them ran toward the Little Dumas Restaurant. The boy, running out of stamina, had to be carried on Big Vic's back to keep up.

By the time they arrived, it was past midnight, but they could see from a distance that the restaurant's lights were still on. They left the boy at a corner to act as a lookout while Jonathan and Big Vic approached the building.

Pushing open the door, they stepped inside. Jonathan noticed the decor was strikingly similar to The Great Vic Restaurant, with large street-facing windows, tables with checkered tablecloths, and a semi-open kitchen.

They immediately saw Little Dumas sitting in the center of the empty restaurant, arms crossed. The man was far from "little." His round, chubby face sported a large beard, and his stout body seemed to have no neck. Most striking was his massive belly, which looked like he was ten months pregnant.

Jonathan's attention, however, was on the thick snake-wood cane resting next to Little Dumas's hand. A man built like that with a handy weapon meant this was going to be a tough fight.

Just as they spotted him, Little Dumas saw them. The sight of Big Vic sent him into a rage. He leaped to his feet, roaring, "Look who it is! The owner of The Great Vic Restaurant! The man who ruined my business! The third party in my marriage! How dare you set foot in my restaurant, you disgusting, skinny skeleton!".

Big Vic was furious as well, shocked that Little Dumas would dare to make the first accusation. "My God, what a wicked man! It was you who ruined my business and drove away my customers! You sent Salia to my restaurant to steal my recipes, and now you have the gall to slander me!".

"That's right! My wife, Salia, applied for a job at your restaurant to steal your recipes! You know nothing about running a business besides cooking! My skills aren't as good as yours, so my wife, my love, my business partner, my soulmate, volunteered to go to your restaurant to uncover your secrets".

"Ah, how foolish I was! Why did I agree? It was her idea, but then she fell in love with you! She wouldn't tell me your recipes, she wouldn't let me into her apartment, and now she's told you everything and you've brought your thug to deal with her husband!" Little Dumas grew more furious with each word, finally launching himself at Big Vic and tackling him to the ground.

Despite being short and thin, Big Vic's strength was not much less than the tall and stout Little Dumas. The two of them wrestled and rolled on the floor. Jonathan didn't immediately help Big Vic. While the two were occupied, he circled around them, went to Little Dumas's table, and picked up the heavy cane. Then, he stood back and watched the fight.

The exchange between them had raised many questions in Jonathan's mind. The fact that Little Dumas, even in his rage, had attacked with his bare hands instead of grabbing his weapon also sparked a new theory.

"Little Dumas, Salia is just outside. Stop fighting, and I'll ask her to come in," Jonathan said, trying to deceive him. Hearing Salia's name, Little Dumas, who had gained the upper hand by using his weight to pin Big Vic, obediently got up.

"Salia? Salia? Why is she standing outside? This is her home! My God, let her in. I need to ask her to her face if she doesn't love me anymore." Little Dumas stood there listlessly, like a dog with a broken back.

"We came from Salia's apartment. Remember the ritual the little boy taught you? You performed it, and Salia has been harmed by it." Jonathan carefully studied Little Dumas's expression: anger, confusion, sorrow. If this downtrodden look was an act, the man deserved an award for his performance.

"Harmed? What do you mean, harmed? What ritual? That boy's nonsense blessing ritual? I didn't take it seriously at all. I told Salia about it as a joke, but she actually believed it! Look, look!" Little Dumas walked back to his table.

On it were three simple drawings: one of Big Vic, one of Little Dumas, and one of the boy. "See? Salia took the ritual seriously. She really did a blessing... for three men! My God, I'm no longer Salia's most beloved man!".

Jonathan looked closely. Each drawing had strange patterns on it that resembled words but weren't. The truth was revealed. Everything finally made sense.

Little Dumas and his wife, Salia, conspired to steal the recipes from The Great Vic Restaurant. Salia got a job there, but in the process, she fell for Big Vic. She stopped letting Little Dumas into her apartment and used the "blessing" ritual she learned from him (which he got from the boy) to perform a blessing for the three men in her life.

Salia was the caster of the ritual, and the targets were Big Vic, Little Dumas, and the boy. The ritual summoned a Formless Spawn, but the summoning was incomplete. The creature was flawed and could only attach itself to Salia, demanding she satisfy its appetite. The reason Big Vic's restaurant had no customers was that the Formless Spawn was devouring their desire to eat.

Ultimately, Salia couldn't satisfy it and was consumed. The Formless Spawn had twice plunged Jonathan into an imperceptible hunger—once from the strange sketch, and once from the ritual's incantation. Looking at these three simple drawings, Jonathan realized what the creature truly wanted to consume were the three people in the pictures. This wasn't a blessing ritual; it was a sacrifice.

A flash of insight struck Jonathan's mind, as if some formless knowledge from the void had passed through his brain.

Countdown: 01:40:21

At that moment, the boy who was supposed to be keeping watch ran into the restaurant. His patience had run out, and being left in the dark for so long made him rush inside.

"Get out!" Jonathan was horrified to see the boy. His intuition told him that the final condition for the ritual was for him, the new host of the Formless Spawn, to take Salia's place. When the three sacrifices—the boy, Big Vic, and Little Dumas—were in the same room, the final sacrificial ritual would begin.

But it was too late. The boy, Big Vic, and Little Dumas watched in horror as Jonathan bent over and began to vomit a black, mud-like substance. The foul-smelling sludge, which glistened like obsidian, flowed onto the floor and formed a huge, amorphous mass.

Its lower body sprouted several short legs, and its head was sickle-shaped like a snake's. A huge mouth appeared at the top, filled with stake-like teeth. All over its body, glowing eyes opened one by one. Black liquid dripped from its sludge-like form.

The monster that appeared in the center of the restaurant was even taller than Jonathan. It was impossible to imagine how it had been a parasite inside him. Now, the final sacrificial ritual had begun.