As you and Mimi both walk home together, you can't shake the sense that you're being followed. You hold Mimi's hand and keep her close as you traverse the now quiet and dark roads of the village, still feeling eyes watching you but you can't tell from where as you discreetly look around.
" Star Faller? "
Mimi speaks up nervously, feeling the same ominous presence that you are.
" I'm scared… "
You begin to hear branches snapping from within the treeline on the roadside and you can hear a hoarse whisper beckoning you from within the shadows.
" me… give… "
You turn towards the trees and protectively pull Mimi behind you as you back away from where you heard the voice, and it speaks again.
" where… give… "
Your heart is racing as you evaluate the threat lurking within the woods. Thinking about every worst-case scenario in your imagination, your fight or flight senses kick in.
" Hurry Mimi, let me carry you. Let's get out of here. "
You say as you kneel down in front of Mimi, speaking in the calmest voice that you can muster.
" Okay.. "
Mimi says as she climbs onto your back. You pick her up and begin to head back to her house as fast as you can, eventually losing the voice as you navigate the roads that you remember from when Mimi showed you around the village.
Upon returning to Mimi's house, you see a white cat with deep amethyst eyes sitting up on a stone wall looking down at you as if it was waiting for you. As you look into the cat's pink eyes, you feel an unexplainable familiarity, then the cat speaks.
" ꒒ꂦꈤꁅ ꓄ꀤꂵꍟ ꈤꂦ ꌗꍟꍟ, ꂵꂦꋪ꓄ꍏ꒒. "
(( "Long time no see, mortal." ))
The cat says to you in a friendly feminine voice.
" Faerah! "
You exclaim in relief as the familiarity clicks in your head. She must have taken the form of a cat to come see you. You quickly speak up in a panic to tell her what's going on.
" We were being followed! We heard a voice- "
Faerah cuts you off.
" ꀤ'ꂵ ꃅꍟꋪꍟ ꌃꍟꉓꍏꀎꌗꍟ ꌩꂦꀎ'ꋪꍟ ꀤꈤ ꀸꍏꈤꁅꍟꋪ. "
(( "I'm here because you're in danger." ))
Mimi looks at the cat with bewilderment and asks you a question.
" Uhmm.. Star Faller? How is the kitty talking to you and why is the kitty named Faerah? "
Then it registers in her brain that a Goddess is sitting right in front of her. Her eyes widen in disbelief, feeling starstruck as she goes quiet.
" ꀤ ꃅꍏꃴꍟ ꉓꂦꂵꍟ ꓄ꂦ ꅏꍏꋪꈤ ꌩꂦꀎ ꍏꌃꂦꀎ꓄ ꅏꃅꍏ꓄ ꀤꌗ ꌃꍟꌩꂦꈤꀸ ꓄ꃅꍏ꓄ ꀸꂦꂦꋪ. "
(( "I have come to warn you about what is beyond that door." ))
Faerah says as she turns her head, looking at the front door to Mimi's house.
" ꂵꌩ ꌃꋪꂦ꓄ꃅꍟꋪ ꃅꍏꌗ ꀸꀤꌗꉣꍏ꓄ꉓꃅꍟꀸ ꃅꀤꌗ ꉓꀎ꒒꓄ꀤꌗ꓄ꌗ ꓄ꂦ ꋪꍟ꓄ꋪꀤꍟꃴꍟ ꂦꀎꋪ ꎇꍏ꓄ꃅꍟꋪ'ꌗ ꌃꂦꂦꀘ ꎇꋪꂦꂵ ꌩꂦꀎ. ꀤ ꉓꍏꂵꍟ ꃅꍟꋪꍟ ꓄ꂦ ꁅꀤꃴꍟ ꌩꂦꀎ ꂵꌩ ꌃ꒒ꍟꌗꌗꀤꈤꁅ ꀤꈤ ꂦꋪꀸꍟꋪ ꓄ꂦ ꀘꍟꍟꉣ ꌩꂦꀎ ꂦꀎ꓄ ꂦꎇ ꃅꍏꋪꂵ'ꌗ ꅏꍏꌩ, ꌃꀎ꓄ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꍟꂵꂦ꓄ꀤꂦꈤꌗ ꓄ꍟ꒒꒒ ꂵꍟ ꓄ꃅꍏ꓄ ꌩꂦꀎ ꉓꍏꋪꍟ ꎇꂦꋪ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꌗꍏꎇꍟ꓄ꌩ ꂦꎇ ꓄ꃅꀤꌗ ꉓꃅꀤ꒒ꀸ ꂵꂦꋪꍟ ꓄ꃅꍏꈤ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꂦꅏꈤ. "
(( "My brother has dispatched his cultists to retrieve our father's book from you. I came here to give you my blessing in order to keep you out of harm's way, but your emotions tell me that you care for the safety of this child more than your own." ))
As you stand there looking into the cat's eyes, Faerah feels your emotions just as you're feeling them right now. The cat then turns her amethyst gaze to Mimi while she continues speaking to you.
" ꍏꌗ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꁅꂦꀸꀸꍟꌗꌗ ꂦꎇ ꒒ꂦꃴꍟ ꍏꈤꀸ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꍟꌗꌗꍟꈤꉓꍟ ꂦꎇ ꍟꂵꉣꍏ꓄ꃅꌩ, ꀤ ꍏꀸꂵꀤꋪꍟ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꌗꍟ꒒ꎇ꒒ꍟꌗꌗꈤꍟꌗꌗ. ꌩꂦꀎ ꍏꋪꍟ ꅏꀤ꒒꒒ꀤꈤꁅ ꓄ꂦ ꉣꀎ꓄ ꌩꂦꀎꋪꌗꍟ꒒ꎇ ꀤꈤ ꃅꍏꋪꂵ'ꌗ ꅏꍏꌩ ꀤꎇ ꀤ꓄ ꂵꍟꍏꈤꌗ ꉣꋪꂦ꓄ꍟꉓ꓄ꀤꈤꁅ ꃅꍟꋪ, ꍏꈤꀸ ꓄ꃅꍏ꓄ ꌗꉣꍟꍏꀘꌗ ꃴꂦ꒒ꀎꂵꍟꌗ ꍏꌃꂦꀎ꓄ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꃅꍟꍏꋪ꓄. ꂦꈤ ꍏꈤ ꂦꂵꈤꀤꃴꍟꋪꌗꍏ꒒ ꌗꉓꍏ꒒ꍟ ꌩꂦꀎ ꍏꋪꍟ ꀤꈤꎇꀤꈤꀤ꓄ꍟ꒒ꌩ ꂵꂦꋪꍟ ꃴꍏ꒒ꀎꍏꌃ꒒ꍟ ꓄ꃅꍏꈤ ꌗꃅꍟ ꀤꌗ, ꌃꀎ꓄ ꀤꎇ ꌩꂦꀎ ꅏꀤꌗꃅ ꎇꂦꋪ ꂵꍟ ꓄ꂦ ꁅꀤꃴꍟ ꓄ꃅꀤꌗ ꁅꀤꋪ꒒ ꂵꌩ ꌃ꒒ꍟꌗꌗꀤꈤꁅ ꀤꈤ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꉣ꒒ꍏꉓꍟ, ꀤ ꅏꀤ꒒꒒ ꀸꂦ ꌗꂦ. ꍏ꒒꒒ ꌗꃅꍟ ꈤꍟꍟꀸꌗ ꓄ꂦ ꀸꂦ ꀤꌗ ꉣ꒒ꍏꉓꍟ ꃅꍟꋪ ꃅꍏꈤꀸ ꂦꈤ ꂵꌩ ꃅꍟꍏꀸ. "
(( "As the Goddess of Love and the essence of empathy, I admire your selflessness. You are willing to put yourself in harm's way if it means protecting her, and that speaks volumes about your heart. On an Omniversal scale you are infinitely more valuable than she is, but if you wish for me to give this girl my blessing in your place, I will do so. All she needs to do is place her hand on my head." ))
Faerah stands up from where she was sitting on the wall and hops down, standing next to you and Mimi. You let Mimi down off your back and kneel down to her eye level.
" Mimi. You need to pet her. Her blessing will protect you while you go and hide. I'll go inside to make sure your mother is okay. "
" But Star Faller, I don't want you to get hurt either… "
" Listen, Mimi. You gotta do this, okay? You saved me, and now it's my turn to save you. Alright? "
" Okay… "
Mimi says before hesitantly putting her hand on the cat's head. You can see the area of contact between Mimi's hand and the cat's head glow a bright pink as Mimi receives Faerah's blessing.
" Now go and hide. Don't come out unless you hear me call for you, okay? "
You say to Mimi before she nods nervously and runs to a nearby shed that's tucked in an alleyway.
After Mimi is hidden in the shed, Faerah speaks to you.
" ꌃꍟꎇꂦꋪꍟ ꌩꂦꀎ ꁅꂦ ꀤꈤꌗꀤꀸꍟ, ꌩꂦꀎ ꂵꀎꌗ꓄ ꉣꋪꍟꉣꍏꋪꍟ ꌩꂦꀎꋪꌗꍟ꒒ꎇ ꎇꂦꋪ ꅏꃅꍏ꓄ ꌩꂦꀎ'ꋪꍟ ꍏꌃꂦꀎ꓄ ꓄ꂦ ꌗꍟꍟ. ꀤ ꉓꍏꈤꈤꂦ꓄ ꀭꂦꀤꈤ ꌩꂦꀎ ꌃꍟꉓꍏꀎꌗꍟ ꂵꌩ ꉣꃅꌩꌗꀤꉓꍏ꒒ ꎇꂦꋪꂵ ꅏꀤ꒒꒒ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꒒ꍏꌗ꓄ ꂵꀎꉓꃅ ꒒ꂦꈤꁅꍟꋪ. ꂵꂦꋪ꓄ꍏ꒒ ꃴꍟꌗꌗꍟ꒒ꌗ ꍏꋪꍟ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꂵꍟꍏꈤ꓄ ꓄ꂦ ꃅꍏꈤꀸ꒒ꍟ ꁅꀤꃴꀤꈤꁅ ꀸꀤꃴꀤꈤꍟ ꌃ꒒ꍟꌗꌗꀤꈤꁅꌗ, ꌃꀎ꓄ ꌗ꓄ꀤ꒒꒒, ꌩꂦꀎ ꅏꂦꈤ'꓄ ꌃꍟ ꍏ꒒ꂦꈤꍟ. ꍏ꒒꓄ꃅꂦꀎꁅꃅ ꌩꂦꀎ ꂵꍏꌩ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꌃꍟ ꍏꌃ꒒ꍟ ꓄ꂦ ꌗꍟꍟ ꓄ꃅꍟꂵ, ꂵꌩ ꎇꍏꍟꋪꀤꍟꌗ ꅏꀤ꒒꒒ ꌃꍟ ꅏꀤ꓄ꃅ ꌩꂦꀎ. ꁅꂦꂦꀸ ꒒ꀎꉓꀘ, ꂵꂦꋪ꓄ꍏ꒒… "
(( " Before you go inside, you must prepare yourself for what you're about to see. I cannot join you because my physical form will not last much longer. Mortal vessels are not meant to handle giving divine blessings, but still, you won't be alone. Although you may not be able to see them, my faeries will be with you. Good luck, mortal…" ))
Her physical form then immediately withers into dust and the street falls silent as you stand at the front door to the house. You take a second to get your head in the right place, then you slowly open the door and quietly walk inside.
It's almost completely pitch dark, and as you creep through the house it's eerily silent. As you turn down into a hallway, you can see light coming from the kitchen. You decide to quietly sneak through the hallway towards the kitchen, and as you pass the room that you woke up in, you hear a shuddering voice of a woman call out to you from inside the doorway.
" MiMi.. Is tHaT yOu?? "
You turn to your right, looking through the open doorway to see the horrific sight of Veronica who's mutilated and tied up with a golden chain. Upon seeing it, you instantly recognize the golden chain from when you were with The One in space…
What you're looking at is the chain of Nahzgor.
As you look at the state of this woman who once took care of you, you're horrified as you quietly go to get a closer look and attempt to help her. While you try to figure out a way to undo the chain that's binding her, the smell of her blood fills your nose. As you inspect her beaten and defiled body, you can see that she's been completely stripped of any clothes and her skin is cracking and flaking off to reveal some sort of golden flesh underneath. You notice that the chain has a metal hook that's stabbed into the roof of her mouth and it's strung all the way up to the ceiling, holding her upright on her knees. The chain is also wrapped around her neck to where it tightens with any attempt to sit down and she also has her hands and ankles tied together behind her back as the chain wraps all around her body. She looks at you with eyes that are gone from any sanity and her tears mix with blood as they run down her face. She sobs with an open mouth as you try your best to take off the chains without hurting her.
" StAr… sTaR… "
She murmurs as you realize that there's no way to break or undo the chains that bind her. Utterly upset from what's happening, you punch the ground repeatedly with tears running down your face. You're powerless. There's nothing you can do to save her.
Utterly upset from what's happening, you close your eyes… but as soon as your eyes are shut, you begin to hear a sparkling sound. You then look up through your teary eyes and see 3 tiny faeries flying up to where the chain connects to the ceiling. The faeries use their magic to break the top link of the chain and Veronica immediately falls, finally relieved from the pressure of her bindings. As her body thuds against the ground, she goes limp on the floor and the faeries give you a look of grief before disappearing again.
Suddenly, you hear the sound of glass breaking coming from the hallway. The sound is distant enough that you think it probably came from the kitchen.
You pick up Veronica in your lap and gently move her hair out of her face as you look into her empty eyes, attempting to find any sign of life in them.
" Veronica… "
You sob as her blood coats your arms.
" I'll come back for you, Veronica... "
You tell her as you barely hold yourself together.
Taking a moment to hold her and you maintain your composure, you notice that her body is getting increasingly heavier as it slowly turns into gold underneath her skin. Then, after a deep breath, you wipe your eyes before laying her back down and quietly moving to the door. You peek discreetly before entering back into the hallway, and as you approach the entryway to the kitchen, you hear a hoarse voice.
" where… give… "
You slowly turn the corner and peer into the kitchen to see a cloaked monstrosity wearing a golden chain standing before you. You look at this thing in horror as it immediately notices you, raising its large solid gold arms into the air and letting out a half-human roar. Its skinless face looks directly at you and you're horrified by the sight of this blood-covered creature. With four legs and two arms made out of solid gold, the beast comes running straight towards you, swinging its arm down onto you but you barely evade the strike. The arm misses you but it crushes a marble countertop in the kitchen like it's made of glass.
The beast then turns towards you again and swings a golden chain down to lash you but you dive out of the way at the last second as the chain absolutely destroys the ground, causing the tile and wood to explode upon impact. You're dazed as if you've been given a concussion and the monster gurgles a growl at you as it slowly walks towards you, backing you into a corner.
This is it. I'm done. I probably would've been fine if I accepted Faerah's blessing but I gave it to Mimi instead.
You then smile gently as you remember your time with Mimi in your final moments, accepting your fate. With Faerah's blessing, she should be just fine.
The creature towers over you now. Its shadow looming over your feeble human body. The creature reaches its golden arm outwards to you and picks you up by your throat and begins to squeeze. Its golden tendrils slither around your neck and into your mouth as your legs kick in the air. The creature rattles a whisper to you as your face turns blue.
" me… give… "
Then suddenly out of nowhere, a flash of blue light explodes like a big bang right behind the creature, illuminating the kitchen. Before you can lose consciousness, you see a magnificent angel wearing blue armor coming down on top of the creature from behind and slashing it with her sword while shouting.
" DIE, YOU VILE CREATURE!! "
Her glimmering blade cuts through the creature's golden flesh like it's water and the creature explodes into an eruption of blood.
You fall onto the ground and you're too weak to move as you lay on your back in the rubble, staring in awe at this angel as she breathes heavily standing before you. Her holy armor and sword are dripping with the creature's blood as she looks down at you, speaking to you in a righteous demeanor.
" You are coming with me. Izael requires your audience. "