Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ The End of a Fairytale ( Chapter 99 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

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Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell/Revamp

Chapter 99: The End of a Fairytale

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"He did it...He killed Azmy," Tsurugi stared on with disbelief and shock. A shinigami's job was to take the life away from someone who was supposed to die and defied death. Could he really just reclaim Azmy's life after what had happened?

The sky around everyone turned a brilliant orange, as if there was a blazing sunset that took up the sky. Everyone's forms were bathed in a brilliant orange then black clouds mixed with the vibrant color, creating a harsh contrast. All around them, anything that held a semblance of life began to deteriorate, wither, crumbled and die. Pieces of the stage, pillars and building blocks crashed to the ground or splintered. Decay was so thick it could be heard and even felt with the dropping temperature.

"What's happening?" Keiji's head shot from side-to-side quickly.

"Domina is dying," Fife informed him of that little piece of news.

"What do you mean it's dying?" The green-haired drummer's head shot to the vampire.

"Everything living in this world is dying," Fife then turned his sights to Zell and King Charles, "and they are the source of the destruction." After all, it should have been obvious. The two of them were the harbringers of death; they were the only shinigami besides Kizoku who were present in Domina.

"What do we do? Are we stuck in here?" Zangetsu felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. They had lost their only communication with Vespa and now they were trapped in a dying world with no method of escape. It was a suicide mission to come to Domina.

"I thought that after the black side won, they'd rule Domina. Were we wrong doing this? Was Soel really the good guy in this country?" Ko wondered about all of their endeavors. Could the tables had truly turned on them this time? It was as if her mission as she had known it completely crumbled and her motives were skewed. How did she know that Vespa's side was the right side? In truth, she didn't know anything about the Red Witch of Zameln, just that she sent them to do various tasks and provided them with clothes, weapons and other methods to achiever her goals as they traveled from world to world.

But...

Was it right?

Was it the right thing to do?

Were they really just sheep set up for the slaughter? Was this Vespa's way of telling them that they had long since lived out their purpose?

"Damn it!" Hiroshima cursed, bearing his clenched teeth. He turned to the two shinigami, who stood beside of each other. "What's going on? You never said this would happen!" He was so pissed that they were taken advantage of. They were used for some concocted plot between the shinigami.

"Well, the answer to your question is very easy. We were sent here by Vespa to destroy Domina," Zell waved in dismissal, as if they should have known that from the start, and to be honest, they were hired by Vespa to go dimension hopping so they would have had prior knowledge of the incidents she had going on with other people. Surely they would have known of their mission. He thought they were sent to help the two of them accomplish that mission.

"Everything dies, even worlds. Everything has a set amount of time to exist; even entire universes themselves ultimately reach an end," Charles explained the concept of death to them. It wasn't foreign. It was something that existed since the beginning of time. What they were doing wasn't wrong.

"Who exactly are you?" Hiroshima was skeptical. There was more to them than what met the eye, and it was no coincidence that they were there together.

"I am King Charles Grey, the ruler of the shinigami world. I have the special task of overseeing what the shinigami do and who and what they destroy. I can also destroy things myself, which is what I have done here." That was right. Charles was the one who initiated the destruction of Domina. It was all his doing.

Tsurugi was a little caught off guard by him, "but you look just like a human."

"I used to be. I am the only human who was ever granted shinigami powers." That was why he was so different from Zell. It was true that Zell resembled a human, but he had strange features: pointed teeth and eyes that were almost cat-like. However, Charles himself just looked like a human with an eye patch.

Eve's eyes widened and she gasped, causing everyone's attention to be turned to her. "Wait! In order to do that, you would have to-"

Charles finished her sentence, "kill an angel with I was human? Yes, I did."

"That's nearly impossible!" Horror ran through the blonde angel's body as shock ran across his face. Tsurugi visibly shook. He was in the presence of someone who had killed one of his kind, someone who had every capability of killing him, and it was in that moment that he felt intimidated. Tsurugi thought that he had an advantage over humans, that he was truly untouchable unless they were facing off against a foreign entity, but now that wall had come tumbling down.

"That is why I'm the only human to be granted that power, and my blind left eye proves that I contain many powers. They are sealed inside of my eye, but don't worry, none of them are going to be used on any of you. We're allies after all," Charles didn't want anyone wasting too much time fearing him. He hoped that the two tense-looking angels would drop their guard a little upon hearing that.

"Why do you think Domina needs to be destroyed? It seemed pointless to me. There were people here with real lives-" Ko didn't understand it. She wouldn't understand why the shinigami felt the need to just wipe out the populous of that world when there was nothing wrong with the world. People weren't dying in mass numbers, the environment wasn't horribly polluted and the end of the world didn't seem like it was upon it in any way. She needed an explanation.

"Domina was created by Soel and Azmy. Everyone and everything here was a product of their creation," Charles hoped that his explanation would help them understand just why that world needed to be destroyed.

"Yes, and the people here were merely her henchmen and loyal followers. We did you a favor," Zell added. It really was in their best interest.

"How long has Domina been around?" Hiroshima wanted to know just how long they had been setting this place up.

"For at least six years. We've been monitoring it as the leaders of the black side of the chess board. Vespa assigned us this task. We are destroyers of worlds and when anything involving mass genocide is the topic, we're the ones who take care of it," Zell informed them of their findings and elaborated on their jobs. The two of them were special shinigami of sorts.

"There's also the fact that Azmy was supposed to be dead,” Charles brought up that important little point. "Unless special circumstances apply, those who have died, stay dead." The shinigami's voice darkened and he cast a cold glare. Azmy was defying death and the natural order of things. She had to be taken back into the custody of the shinigami, even if they had to destroy the world for it to happen.

"It just makes us look bad," Zell frowned in disapproval and crossed his arms. "Besides, she was trying to find a way to gain immortality through this world. We can't have her doing that." To become immortal was a sin in the eyes of a shinigami. There was no way in hell they were going to let Azmy obtain that goal.

"If she managed to distort time and make portals, then she could find many ways to achieve that goal. Anyone who tries to achieve that goal will be stopped. It interrupts the natural balance of life," Charles wasn't going to sit by and let that happen.

Zell held up a finger matter of factly. "Not to mention, if one person can find it then many more will as well. Nothing lasts forever and as death gods we make sure that it can't." If an immortal potion were found, it would cause them to become obsolete, not to mention it would severely throw off the balance that nature had set for the universe and everyone in it.

"I might be able to override human standards and transcend to a god but not even I am immortal," Charles wasn't sure if that's what Azmy wanted to achieve, but he had his own theories. He wasn't about to let Azmy defy the very thing that he stood for as a shinigami.

"The reason that you couldn't use your stone was also because of that girl," Zell educated them on that infraction.

"What?" Keiji wanted to know how that was possible. What was so special about Azmy that negated the use of their jewel?

"I get it," it made sense to Fife, "because she distorts space and time, she can also distort magic and waves. Even if we tried to use the stone, we could never have reached Vespa and while we're here, she can't reach us." Azmy blurred the very lines on which they traveled. She kept them from reaching any destination and Domina itself was a distortion of reality. That made it impossible for anyone to leave who went there.

"You should be fine now. Since the girl is dead, her distortions are as well." They could all finally leave the crumbling hell before them. Charles' mission was over.

"What about the key holders? What did you do with them?" Ko was worried about her fellow captives. She didn't want any of them to die in the crumbling world.

"They were sent back to their own worlds," Charles assured her that they were alright.

"Yeah, unfortunately we aren't supposed to kill anything that isn't supposed to die." How boring. At least Zell would have fun wrecking everything else, but somehow it just didn't feel the same to go willy-nilly like a serial killer.

"That's why you could kill the people in this world so easily." It just hit Keiji. Everything was slowly pulling itself together and making sense. "You knew their fate."

"You got us there," Zell smiled and closed his eyes, holding both hands up.

"So, where is Soel? I know that she was here," Hiroshima was more worried about their current threat. There was no way that she was simply going to stay in Domina and allow herself to be destroyed.

"She probably escaped through a vortex," Charles placed a hand under his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Come to think of it, I didn't see her other two side-kicks either. After all, Domina was merely a distorted reality that Azmy created."

"How do we get out of here?" That was the question that needed to be answered, and to Keiji it was the most important one.

"Funny you asked, since Vespa told us to send you to the next destination," Zell smiled. Did they really think Vespa wouldn't have a plan B?

Charles held out his hand as the air warped and turned in on itself, swirling around. A rip of color appeared, creating a vacuum around it as it glowed in blacks and purples. "This is where we say our farewells. Goodbye, and good luck on your journey."

"Good luck to you as well, King Charles," Fife held up a hand as the pull from the vortex toyed with his long, blue locks.

"Thank you...for everything," Ko smiled at the two shinigami.

"We appreciate it," Hiroshima turned to the vortex.

"Anything for you. After all, we'll be seeing each other soon," Charles smiled at the angel. It was only destiny that they eventually cross paths. Everything ends with death.

"Come on! Everyone get through the portal!" Fife instructed as Zangetsu grabbed a hold of Chichiri and leapt into the swirling colors, disappearing into them as pieces of the checkered land flew up around them. Soon, everyone had made their way through the vortex. Charles watched it disappear as Domina continued to fall around them.

"Farewell, indeed," he said as it faded from his sights.

"Let's finish what we started, my beautiful king," Zell leveled the other shinigami with a confident smile.

Charles blushed faintly, "but of course, my knight."

Before the two of them could do anything further, a swirl of familiar flames shot up from the ground, winding in circles before the red-haired witch appeared, adorned in her Japanese clothing of red and white, smoking her long pipe with a cigarette at the end. Bright red lips formed into a pleasant smile.

Zell pouted upon seeing her there. "You're ruining my fun."

"Relax, I only appeared to thank you for working with me," Vespa would let them have their fun. She just wanted to deliver a few last messages before she was on her way.

"It was our honor to be employed under someone as great as you. We know that if Soel wins, it will affect the balance," Charles was after her just as much as the group that traveled with the legend. Soel was a prime offender of natural law, and he desperately wanted her to fall from grace and realize that what she was doing would destroy the order of all things living and dead.

"Not to mention that this literally is a matter of heaven and hell," Zell pointed out that what Soel was doing would even affect the afterlife. It wasn't just a matter of the mortal plane anymore; the spiritual planes were effected as well.

"Precisely, if Soel accomplishes her goal, we're all in trouble and returning those keys to me prevented her from doing so for now." Thanks to the two shinigami, a horrible event was averted, but how much longer would it take until she came close to achieving it once more? Vespa was unsure, but whenever that time came, she was going to be there to stop her again.

"They keys could open dimensional gateways and keep someone immortal but they couldn't open the one gateway that she wanted," Soel could have kept Azmy around and allowed her to continue to create worlds, but Zell knew that was only a side goal compared to what she truly wanted.

"The unfortunate thing about all of this was that, even after all of this, she doesn't seem weakened by it, merely apathetic on the matter." Nothing they did could ever make that stone cold woman budge an inch. Her power and unmatchable. It was as if she was just a large, impregnable wall.

"Her trump card is still in play," Vespa's visage hardened. "Don't forget that."

"I just hope that they find out before anything happens that they might forget," Charles could only rely on luck from here on out. It was in the hands of those in that group to make sure that Soel's big plans don't come to pass.

"I think it will benefit Soel's trump card," Vespa noted.

"What do you mean?" Zell was curious as to what the Red Witch was referring to.

"The trump card never expected to fall in love. With love comes the guilt of betraying that love." It was something that not even Vespa had seen coming. She wondered how Soel was going to deal with this change of pace.

"Are you saying that the trump card has changed motives?" Charles looked to the witch in question.

"I think they're trying their best to get out from under Soel's grasp. Right now, the card is greatly affected under Soel's by its circumstances. Things are changing and it's having a hard time dealing with them. Whether or not it can effectively deal with the changes will determine whether or not it stays on track or goes astray." That would be the true determining factor from this point on out. Vespa could only hope that the trump card would be flipped in her favor.

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They all stood before what looked like a massive Greek-styled building. The white stones were faded with age. It was some type of temple of some sort, with tall, towering pillars of strength and elaborate wall reliefs that displayed horses and intricate designs. All around it, the area was grassy with sparse trees. The land was green and full of foliage. Gentle winds blew, toying with their hair, clothes and feathers as they looked up at the monstrous monument. Chichiri was on the floor, lying down and Ko sat with his head in her lap as conversation filled the air.

Keiji peered into the stone as he held it in his hand. "Well, our stone works in this world."

"Where are we?" Zangetsu asked as he scanned over their surroundings.

"It looks like an old Greek town," Fife noted.

"This is the town of Lamagra, the blood god," Hiroshima educated them on their location.

"Blood...God?" Ko swallowed a bit in between those words. She was sure that she didn't like this idea whatsoever. A blood god? That was just horrifying to her.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about Lamagra, that he can manipulate blood and even drain it out of your body." What Fife just said didn't make her feel any better.

"Why are we here? Is this another stupid quest?" Hiroshima was sick of all of these missions that did nothing but waste time. Why couldn't they ever just get straight to the point instead of wasting time in different worlds where most of the time, they ended up nearly getting killed?

"Not entirely," a familiar sultry voice caused the group to turn, "there is something here that you desire as well."

"Vespa!" Keiji announced the arrival of the Red Witch.

"So, you decide to show your face, Red Witch," Hiroshima crossed his arms.

"I wasn't able to reach you in Domina. I've been meaning to ask you if you've found anything during your time there," the witch knew that Soel had resided in the world, and with her were the magical items that she had stolen from Zameln.

"I didn't learn anything that we all didn't figure out from King Charles and Zell. What about you guys?" Ko glanced to her teams mates, wondering if they had gotten any leads. Unlike her, they got to roam Domina while she was captured.

"Well, I did learn that Soel has an angel working for her. He calls himself Zangief and he's quite powerful," Tsurugi informed everyone of one of their new foes. The fact that he was an angel made him a formidable opponent.

"So, we still have to deal with two more of them before we get to Vespa. Who knows where they are now." If they escaped through a vortex, Keiji was certain they could be anywhere. If they were in other worlds then they were gathering magical items as they spoke.

"They haven't made it here yet, so to accomplish what you desire you must hurry," Vespa instructed them.

"What is it that we desire from this place?" Zangetsu wondered aloud.

"Undine," Vespa's visage turned serious.

"What? You mean Undine is here!" Ko nearly shot up from her sitting position. If she hadn't remembered Chichiri's head was in her lap she would have jumped straight up. She hadn't seen Undine since she disappeared.

"Is she still alive?" Zangetsu wanted to check and see if they were recovering a living person or a body.

"Yes, but she's in a dormant state of suspended animation. She's being guarded by the blood god." That was why Vespa sent them directly to the blood god's temple. She wanted them to easily grab the girl after they defeated the god.

"Oh great, so we have to fight another god. We didn't even win against Flora, what makes you think we can do this?" Who was she trying to kid? Hiroshima was convinced that this was some kind of divine punishment. It made no sense to send them out to fight another god, especially when they nearly lost to the last one.

"You've all grown considerably stronger since then. You've been together on this journey for two years, while the time may be short; you've gained a lot of experience," Vespa noted. They shouldn't have sold themselves short on what they thought they could achieve. They had the power to stand up against Lamagra. She would not have sent them on this mission if she didn't believe in their abilities.

"Two years? It has been a while, hasn't it?" In all honesty, Fife had lost track of the time. He hadn't quite realized that so much time had passed.

"We don't have time to reminisce. We have to save Undine." Now was their chance. Keiji wanted to take it. They could recall old memories later. Their prime objective was to capture the girl and bring her to their side.

"Of course," the vampire agreed.

"If you need me, seek me out with the gem. There's nothing for me to gain here. You're here purely for your own goal. I'll be watching over you," Vespa wished them luck as she disappeared behind two plumes of snake like smoke just as two women ran up to the group of travelers. They were both adorned in white robes, like the ancient Greek race. They also wore golden cuffs on their ankles, wrists and biceps. One of them had a short, bob cut in a bright sky blue. The other hand long, curly orange hair. They held looks of innocence with large, doe eyes.

"Huh?" Ko cocked her head. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sadoma," the short-haired girl placed a hand to her bosom and introduced herself.

The orange-haired girl did the same, "and I am Mizuho. We keep up the grounds at this temple and we make sure that nothing is stolen from Lamagra." In a sense, the two of them were guardians of Lamagra's temple and helped to fend off thieves and those who wanted to hurt or exploit the god for their own personal reasons.

"Lamagra?" Ko still wasn't sure of who exactly Lamagra was. Besides being a blood god, what else was there to him?

"Yes, Lamagra is the god of blood, and the very thing that keeps us alive," Sadoma said, placing her hands to her chest as she closed her eyes and smiled. "His essence runs through our bodies, and because of him we can live from day to day. We're grateful for a god like him." He was the source of life, what made humans and many other animals operational and alive. Sadoma had a lot to be thankful and praise his name for.

Mizuho glanced down at the blonde laying on the ground. A look of worry crossed her face. "He's hurt! We must take care of him!" The girl hurried to his side and knelt down, peering into his unconscious face.

"He was acting really weird back there, wasn't he?" Fife noted Chichiri's change in mood. It was something that bothered him. However, he decided to keep it to himself in order to avoid any unnecessary drama on the matter. Chichiri could wake up and be completely fine now that he was out of Domina. Only time would tell.

Ko glanced to Hiroshima. "Didn't you say that he saw Soel?" If that was true then what did Soel do to him?

"Yeah, she probably put some kind of spell on him." That's what Hiroshima had thought from the beginning. Chichiri encountered Soel alone. That had 'something bad happened' written all over it. There was no way that he left unscathed.

"Is he poisoned? If he is, we can go to Lamagra and have him cleanse his blood," Mizuho knew how to get rid of toxins in the body. If Lamagra replaced all of his poisoned blood with clean blood then he would be relieved of whatever illness he had and whatever poisons ran through his blood.

"I doubt it," that was too easy of a problem to get rid of. Hiroshima knew that Soel worked in deeper ways than that.

"Could Lamagra heal him in any way?" Lamagra was a god. Surely Zangetsu thought that he would have been able to do something about it.

"Well, he usually only works with blood but he can always try." If there was anything that could be done at all, Lamagra might have known. That's what Sadoma thought, anyway. Her god possessed the wisdom of millions of years, surely he could at least offer some input on what happened to Chichiri.

"Then I think we should do it. We don't have anything to lose," Zangetsu reasoned. 'Plus, they'll lead us to Undine.' If nothing else, this got them to their goal immediately.

Tsurugi looked thoughtful for a moment, and then a thought hit him. 'Oh, I see what he's trying to do. Hey, Hiro-kun, let's play along, shall we?' His sight shifted to the other angel.

'That will lead us straight into a fight with Lamagra. I hope they're ready for this.' Hiroshima wasn't one for sitting on his hands, but at the same time, he didn't want to rush in and get killed, either. That was exactly what these kids were doing. They'd better be ready for the repercussions of their actions.

'Well, we know one of them is, anyway.' Tsurugi smiled a little.

'I'm worried about Chichiri. Soel did something to him. I just don't know what.' The others should have been worried about him as well. Hiroshima knew something fishy was up. He just didn't know what, or what to do about it. He didn't want a second Azmy ordeal to happen.

Tsurugi glanced over towards the blonde, who was held in Mizuho's arms. She stared down at him in worry as he slowly began to stir awake.

"Huh?" He murmured as the haze of sleep slowly faded from his vision. His eyes felt fuzzy and his head pounded. His vision slowly clarified as he looked up to see a girl with orange, curly hair staring down at him in concern. "Ko...wait...When did you dye your hair orange?" Just how long had he been out? What happened?

"That's not me. I'm right here," Ko looked irritated before her tone morphed into worry. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, you were acting weird," Zangetsu was worried as well.

"I saw Soel. She did something to me..." Chichiri slowly sat up. "I keep seeing these visions...everyone is..." He got up and tried to walk, but stumbled back and screamed, clutching his head. Visions assaulted him of his friends being murdered violently. Blood sprayed through the air and screamed echoed in his mind as they all dropped dead one by one.

'As long as you choose to stay in this group, you'll bear this burden. It will eventually end up in your demise. Tell me, Chichiri, what means more to you?' Soel's voice resonated in his thoughts, persuading him to make the right choice.

"Get out of my head!" Chichiri screamed in a frenzy as he stumbled backwards into Hiroshima, who put his hands ont he wild-eyed boy's shoulders.

"Everyone will go but Chichiri. He's obviously not able to fight," he didn't want the boy getting needlessly killed.

"I can stay here with him," Mizuho offered her assistance.

"No, we'll need you to guide us through Lamagra's temple." Ice blue eyes shot over towards the drummer. "Keiji, I want you to watch Chichiri. Try to talk some sense into him." Above everyone else, it was important that this task go to him.

"Why me?" Keiji wondered aloud. It was strange that Hiroshima wanted him to have such a job. He wasn't special, nor did he have patience or good reasoning skills.

"You're the only one who doesn't use magic," Hiroshima added. Since they were fighting a blood god, there was nothing Keiji could essentially do but physically attack Lamagra. The angel knew that wasn't going to cut it.

"Right..." Keiji replied, looking down in guilt. He damned himself for being a physical fighter at this point. He would have rather been fighting Lamagra, but he also knew that Chichiri needed his help, and he was going to be there for him.

"I'd have Fife stay here but we'll need him," Hiroshima hoped that he'd understand.

"It's fine, I'll do it," the green-haired boy nodded.

"I'll stay here with you, if you want," Sadoma offered her assistance. If something happened while the two of them were alone, they might need a third person.

"If Hiroshima needs you, then you should go," Keiji insisted.

"She can stay. You might need her in case you need to go into the temple," Hiroshima advised and Keiji nodded in agreement. He didn't mind letting the girl stay by his side.

"Fife, can you handle things without Keiji?" Ko knew that the vampire relied on his blood source for power, being without him might hinder him a bit.

"I should be alright. I don't feel weak, and fighting all of those cronies of Soel's wasn't much of a workout." It took more than that to drain him of the blood he needed. Fife was amazingly resilient for someone who looked so frail.

"You can brag now, but it's going to be a lot harder to beat Lamagra," Zangetsu didn't think they should be acting like they can just beat the god as if he were nothing,

"How do you know that we'll even have to fight Lamagra?" Fife asked with a smile. Who knew? Maybe Lamagra would give the girl to them? It seemed illogical but not impossible.

"Why would he keep Undine?" Zangetsu asked.

"Undine?" Mizuho was confused as to who or what Undine was. She heard them mention her, but who exactly was this girl? What was she? Why did they need her? Why did Lamagra have her?

"That's right," Tsurugi pointed a finger into the air, "Undine controls the water. She's a sorceress who was part of our group but Soel, another sorceress abducted her. We've come to bring her back and we heard that she was here, in Lamagra's Temple." That was a basic summary of what was going on, anyway.

"Come to think of it, I did see a strange woman with long, pale blue hair come into here," Mizuho looked thoughtful for a moment as a flash of the diminutive female shot through her head.

"Was she short? Like a girl?" Ko knew that Undine was fairly unique looking. She had the body of a small girl, the voice of a teenager and the demeanor of a wise man. Undine was silent and held a big presence despite being so small.

"No, she was tall, even taller than I was." That was saying something, since Mizuho was a good five foot five.

"That's her! That's Soel!" Chichiri shouted and pointed towards the orange-haired girl. He knew very well what Soel looked like. She looked like an older, more seductive version of Undine. There was no mistaking her, or her elaborate outfits.

"So, Soel was here?" This was a new development. Zangetsu's eyes shifted back to the blonde.

"She probably hid Undine in here." What better to do than to hide Undine in the presence of a god? If he was going to hide her, Hiroshima would have hid her behind a god that controlled blood, something that he could easily extract from the human body and render them dead.

"Well, there's no time like the present, right?" Fife looked towards the temple.

Zangetsu nodded. "Let's get to the bottom of this. Even if we don't get her back, she'll at least know that we're looking for her." Maybe that would help the girl have a shred of hope that someone cares, that someone was coming to save her. One way or another, they were going to get Undine back.

"I'll stay here and take care of Chichiri," Keiji instructed.

"I'll help you," Sadoma smiled.

Chichiri clung to either side of his head, digging his fingers into his long, blond locks as he hunched over, stepping a few feet away from Hiroshima. He looked at his team mates with shrunken, small pupils. 'This isn't good. I can't even help my friends, and those images...Pretty soon, I won't be able to function. Is this really worth my sanity? How much longer can I even hold out? Be careful everyone...Please don't run into Soel in there. If you do...you might end up like me.'

...To Be Continued