[Chapter 228: Leaving the Inner World]
The System notification ringing in his mind made Daniel's pupils constrict sharply.
Nine Sacred Invocations!
To think he would be rewarded with this, this time.
He took a deep breath, holding back the urge to inspect it right away.
The dust settled.
The barbed wire surrounding the high platform began to recede like a tidal wave, shrinking back into the cracks in the ground.
Alessa stood quietly in the center of the clearing, her purple skirt fluttering gently in the breeze. The resentment she'd carried for thirty years seemed to find some peace with Christabella's demise.
Daniel sheathed the copper coin sword and glanced around at the crumbling walls peeling away.
He asked aloud, "Alessa, I've always wondered -- since you control this world, why haven't you been able to enter this church? The defenses here don't seem... especially sophisticated."
Alessa looked up, her eyes hidden beneath black hair, dark and deep as black holes.
"I don't fear that woman, nor those wandering souls," she said, her voice distant. "What I fear is the power she prays to. Samael... that fallen angel. He left his mark on every brick and tile here."
Daniel's heart skipped.
Samael.
In the setting of Silent Hill, the cultists aren't just madmen. Their faith centers on Samael.
In some myths, Samael is the Angel of Death, a fallen angel, sometimes even identified as Satan himself.
It was the residual energy of this divine power that formed a barrier of rules, keeping Alessa -- the 'God of the Inner World' -- outside, locked away for a full thirty years.
Daniel released his Spiritual Sense, carefully scanning the ruins.
Sure enough, deep within the broken stone and shattered altar, he faintly sensed a heavy, decaying pressure -- one that was fading fast.
If it hadn't been for his Celestial Thunder splitting the roof and shattering the church's structure, this power might have continued to linger.
Satan again?
Daniel couldn't help but frown.
Was he destined to be tied to this guy for life?
He looked at Alessa. "The revenge is done. Don't you want to leave? Take Sharon, and I can send you both out."
A desolate smile touched Alessa's pale face as she shook her head.
"Leave?" She looked at Sharon, who nestled in Rose's arms, eyes wide with pure innocence. "This is the end of my pain and the foundation of my existence. I belong here."
She paused, watching as the church walls gradually turned to ash. "Christabella is dead, and Samael's mark is gone. This world... will soon fade away because its purpose is lost. I will sink into the abyss with it."
Daniel frowned.
He knew that for spiritual entities existing between overlapping dimensions, once revenge is fulfilled and obsession fades, collapse often follows.
But he always felt someone of Alessa's level wouldn't disappear so easily.
Alessa slowly approached Sharon.
Sharon's eyes widened as she looked curiously at this girl who looked exactly like her but was wrapped in an icy coldness.
"Take good care of her."
Alessa didn't touch Sharon; instead, she turned to Daniel, her voice carrying a hint of trust.
In the next instant, she raised a pale hand, and a deep purple spark condensed at her fingertip.
With a flicker, the spark shot toward Daniel.
He instinctively wanted to dodge, but sensing no malice, he steadied himself.
A slight coolness spread over the back of his hand.
A dark red, seal-like rune flashed briefly, then vanished beneath his skin.
"If one day you face a danger you cannot overcome, and I am not yet completely gone..." Alessa looked at him steadily. "You can use this mark to enter this place again. I will... repay this debt."
As her voice faded, the entire church emitted a massive roar.
The blood-red walls burst into thick black smoke.
"It's time for you to leave!"
As Alessa finished speaking, Daniel and the others found themselves suddenly outside the church.
With another blink, the dense fog around them dissipated.
The buildings behind them seemed erased by an invisible hand, vanishing into the gray mist.
The ground beneath their feet turned back into familiar asphalt.
...
Daniel glanced down at the back of his left hand.
Though there was no visible mark, within his Spiritual Sense, a spot saturated with violence and pain was locked there.
The mark Alessa had left on him.
"We're... we're back!"
Megan, Rose, and Cybil all burst into joyous relief, their faces lighting up with excitement.
Only Sharon remained blank, staring at where the thick fog should have been, her gaze distant.
"My... my car is gone," Megan suddenly said.
Rose's eyes widened in alarm. "Mine's gone, too."
Cybil looked troubled. "My motorcycle belongs to the police. Looks like I'll be writing a lot of reports."
Daniel waved his hand and pulled the Cadillac out of the System space.
Seeing the car appear out of thin air stunned Rose and Cybil at first. But recalling Daniel's prowess in the Inner World, they quickly accepted the seemingly impossible.
"Mr. Cross," Cybil said with a complex expression, "you've opened my eyes to a new reality. Turns out the world we live in is much more dangerous than it looks on the surface."
Daniel smiled. "Don't overthink it. This kind of thing isn't something you see every day."
Cybil pondered this and nodded, her expression brightening.
Daniel had promised Alessa he would take care of Sharon.
He turned to Rose. "Where do you live? I'll drive you home."
Rose glanced up at the night sky; it was late.
Los Angeles was truly too dangerous. Without Daniel's protection, it would be ironic to escape the Inner World only to lose their lives here.
"Okay, thank you."
Then he looked to Cybil. "And you?"
"If you don't mind," she replied.
...
The Cadillac's bright headlights cut through the night.
He first dropped Cybil off at the police station, then took Rose and Sharon home.
"Sharon, take this."
Daniel pulled out a bracelet and handed it to Sharon.
She took it without expression.
"This will keep you safe at a critical moment," he said.
Megan nodded quickly. "Yes, I can attest to that."
Back in the Inner World, it was thanks to Daniel's bracelet that she'd survived. Otherwise, those monsters would have gotten her long ago. Of course, her enhanced physical condition from Daniel's Elixirs had been a huge help, too.
Rose smiled warmly. "Sharon, you should thank Mr. Cross."
Sharon obediently replied, "Thank you, Mr. Cross."
Daniel looked at Sharon; her eyes shone pure, like clear gemstones, free from any shadow of corruption.
She was the embodiment of Alessa's goodness.
Alessa had given all her virtues to her.
Daniel patted Sharon's head. "I'm off."
He said goodbye to Rose and Sharon, got into the car with Megan, and they sped away.
...
As soon as they returned to Daniel's villa, Megan threw herself into his arms.
"Let's wash up first."
Daniel kissed her gently as they walked toward the bathroom.
*****
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