The young girl's body quivered violently, her eyes rolling in her head in every direction. Her sister, Azalea, tried to restrain her because she was looking like she was about to herself. Rose's delicate limbs were about to break apart as they began to bend unnaturally in the wrong direction, her bones making weird cracking noises.
"Rose! No! What's going on?!" Azalea was at her end wits. She didn't even know why they had to go through such a painful experience, one after another, as if everything they endured until then were no more than the tip of the iceberg.
"Get away from her! Get away!" Seeing what was happening, Neige immediately connected the dots. She knew that this situation was somehow related to Fineas' ability. It might have been some kind of infection but that thick liquid was not something that should be touched.
Amelia took a step back, but Azalea couldn't leave her sister to die. "No! We need to help her… Please, please…" She looked at Neige with pleading eyes.
The thick black liquid continued to gush out from Rose's mouth, and at some point from her nose, her ears, and even her eyes. Her face was now covered with this disgusting liquid.
Neige didn't know what to do about her. She didn't have any idea about what could be the reason for the sudden violent convulsion. The thought of leaving the two girls behind crossed her mind, but considering the situation, she didn't know if Amelia was also infected. Was it even an infection to begin with?
"Get away!" Rose had forcefully shoved Azalea away, seeing that the black-shaped hand extended out from within Rose's body and tried to latch onto Azalea's face.
Realizing what was happening, Azalea tried to stand up and return to her sister's side despite Neige's warning. "I can't leave her like this… I…"
The two sisters were always together since their childhood, and they were close to each other, leaving no place for anything else standing between them.
The hand that extended from Rose's mouth moved abnormally, then another one came out, and then another one. Rose had already passed out due to the pain when the second hand came out. The sight of her sister in such a condition broke Azalea's heart apart.
Rose's body was now suspended limply above ground, using the four hands as support. Then, finally, a head appeared in the middle of the four hands.
"You are still na?ve," The entity said. It was just shaped like a human head, but it was all black, and with no eyes. Only a bizarrely big mouth.
Neige frowned while Azalea continued to take one step ahead as if she had already lost her mind. No matter how hard she tried to appear tough, the reality that she was facing wasn't something she could easily accept.
"Hey," Neige grabbed Azalea's shoulder but there was no reaction. Her eyes were staring blankly at what had become of Rose's body.
'This is not good,' Neige thought. It was as if Fineas was just playing with them. 'Unless I figured somehow out how did this thing manage to invade her body, it may be problematic.'
Moreover, now that she looked behind her, at Amelia, she noticed that she was also acting weird. "No, no, no… I don't want to… No! Stay away! Get out of my head!' She was mumbling something under her breath while grating her face with her nail, to the point that it started to bleed.
"Hey, calm down!" Neige said, trying to stop Amelia from hurting herself any further. This was a situation that she didn't expect. She knew that it wouldn't be easy, going against her father and all, but for some reason, the feeling of uneasiness that she felt was not based on anything she was seeing at that moment. It was more like an intuition. That would mean that the worst had yet to come.
What happened to Rose might have been the beginning of something far more terrifying.
"Soon, we will be reunited again," the entity said, looking like it read what Neige was thinking. And as if implying that her intuition was spot on. The worst happened.
Black liquids overflowed out of Rose's body and then formed a single sphere, before leaving her body and falling to the ground.
With a thump, Rose's lifeless body hit the ground flatly. Azalea rushed at her but then, her body stiffened while she was still midway. Everything that happened to Rose was happening to her too. The difference was that there was no presence of the entity and only black liquids.
Neige's eyes were wide open. She was confused, and frustrated, and felt like she was completely overwhelmed by the situation. She didn't understand what was happening. 'Na?ve,' was how the entity described her current self. She didn't see anything coming…
Rose and Azalea were now lying beside each other, unmoving, no longer breathing. Their eyes were hollow—The two holes on their face apparent. Their jaw was forcefully torn open. But there was nothing that Neige could do.
She noticed that her breathing quickened, and her hands were slightly trembling. She thought that she no longer felt fear, no longer felt sadness… Only a strong desire to kill her monster of a father.
She had indeed thought about leaving the sisters behind at some point, but now that she realized that everything she had done until then might have been for nothing, she had somehow regretted thinking about such a thing.
Nonetheless, she couldn't turn back now. She couldn't give up. She needed to move forward, because of him, yes him… He was her last hope. Maybe, this was just her running away from reality—Feigning ignorance. After all, no matter how strong she had become, she was always powerless against her father. She couldn't change anything— In the end, she continued to make other people suffer under her father's order. She could have refused to listen to him, but unknowingly, she was scared of what would have happened if she did. That was why she erased this option from her mind and persuaded herself that she only chose to follow his order because she didn't have the choice.
"Tch… This is not the time for hesitation," Neige cried, pinching her cheek. "Let's go." Grabbing Amelia's hand, forcefully, she continued to move forward.
*****
A few moments before the meeting between Neige and Fineas. In a room, somewhere deep under the grandiose tower of the Holy Church, a woman was kneeling in front of a majestic throne beautifully carved from a single boulder.
She was wearing a white cleric robe, along with accessories made of gold. A diadem on her head. A necklace displaying the symbol of the Holy one hung around her neck. And bracelets proving her vow to servitude on her wrists. Her face was covered by a white veil, but her almost translucent platinum-colored hair fell beautifully like waves on her back. She was the one known as the Holy Mother.
"Your presence is as unsettling as always, woman." Walking inside the room, and approaching the Holy Mother from behind was a man, who also had an imposing presence, different than the Holy Mother—the Emperor.
"How long are you going to continue your pointless game? I can only tolerate such absurdity because you are producing results befitting your reward to this point. If the vessel were to become unusable, your punishment shall be capital," said the Holy Mother, with a tone, unbefitting her image of a saint.
"Now, now," the Emperor rebuked. "Those are important experiences, for me to understand human nature." Looking like he didn't take the Holy Mother's words seriously, he proceeded to sit on the throne.
"…" The Holy Mother immediately stood up. "You seek an audience with the Holy One, yet this is how you behave in his presence. Your wish was indeed granted, but the Holy One will certainly consider your crimes."
At the Holy Mother's words, the Emperor showed a fearless smile. "I hope it's worth the trouble. All of these years, I have waited for this moment. The final phase. Though you don't look like you are happy."
"The Holy One is the only one who fills me with joy," The Holy Mother replied, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Sorry for interrupting your heated exchange but I want to begin if you don't mind," said a third person, entering the room with an unconcerned gait despite being in presence of two of the most imposing character in the Empire. His name was Drakel.
"Has Adam received his gift yet?" The Emperor asked with a grin on his face, looking at Drakel as if he didn't find his presence an inconvenience.
"Yeah, should be there soon. But you owe me one in exchange for using my future wife," Drakel replied in a concerned tone.
"I look forward to seeing what kind of human he is," the Emperor said. "Well, let's begin."
All of the elements needed for their ultimate plan were now gathered. It was time to put it into execution.
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