*Absorbs the wizard's magic into himself*
Alright let me tell you what happens.
Alphonse isn't a wizard; he is a Creatura Lumena. His magic is formed in a place called the Incept, a wild and chaotic mess of ever-shifting magic. Even a brief encounter with it can drive you mad. Alphonse is unaware of this because his connection to magic flows right through him and into the Animus of everything. While he can manipulate the magic to his needs or wants, he never attempts to siphon it, knowing the dire consequences for those who do. Chief among these is a horrifying moldy infection caused by Baba Yaga, the Guardian of the Incept.
The symptoms are immediate and terrifying. You begin to sweat profusely; your skin becomes slimy as mold starts to crawl over it. It tickles at first, then itches, and finally burns as the infection worsens. Suddenly, you notice feathers or scales on your skin. You cough, feeling something making its way up your throat: first blood, then thick vines—no, tendrils. You claw at your throat as they writhe out of your mouth, some shadow-black, others multicolored light. You want to die, but instead, you find yourself siphoning power from the person you thought controlled it.
You realize that Alphonse has a connection to a river of magic that is currently drowning you but not killing you. As above, so below. Coagula Solve. You start to lose parts of yourself—first your mind, then your body—but you still live, and it hurts. You become the infection as mushrooms begin to grow and die on you. Your identity dissolves, leaving you intricately woven into the fabric of mycelia, living a thoughtless existence in a cycle of mold.
Meanwhile, Alphonse notices a fairy ring in his garden and wonders where it came from.
