I walk over to the first silver framed painting.
"■■■■?"
It shows them in a forest looking up, shielding their face from the sun with their hand. Because of the pose there's a heavy shadow over their face. There's a sense of almost wonder on their face, their clearly younger, I've never seen since their second nightmare. I push my hands into it, there's more give but I'm able to go inside. Its a lush forest, so the dream realm. ■■■■ tries to get up, tries because they fail and almost fall. Scarlett catches them pulling them up and onto the flame of the divine and the small group gets to moving. I follow along listening to them.
"God this sucks. Big time"
Scarlett bods turning their head away slowly
"yes you almost threw up"
they slump a little
"yeah. I'm aware.... how long has it been?"
She waves them off in the same way they seemed to years ago
"a few hours"
we finally get to the edge of the forest, and the floating island, its the forgotten shores!
"Lucky me you can make us immune to the crushing"
Scarlett looks over at them, studying them
"yes I suppose it is. I mean it was quite painful before."
She turns her head in what's so close to curiosity
"you don't use your awakened aspect ability often, why is that?"
They slowly sit up, stretching their arms
"its just not as versatile. It tears things apart and thats all it does"
Scarlett floats around still studying them
"so its because you value how versatile your abilities are and snow storm simply isnt"
they wave Scarlett off, its the one when they think something is obvious but it isn't to anyone that isn't on their level of freak
"my sleeper ability is simply more useful"
again with a head tilt. This time it has a flash of someone in a dark prison chains wrapped him. He turns his head up and his eyes are mirror like. Its him, Mordret, younger and going to be free soon.
"so his ability is something you'd like"
do they think ■■■■ would want a power like his they say something, but there's no sound to it. There's a silence as Scarlett looks away and I'm thrown out landing quite well. Its almost disturbing, does Scarlett really think mordret aspect would work better for them? She isn't right, no their aspect is what works best for them, I'm sure of it. I start walking, and I finally get to the next painting. Its shows a woman, from valor I think. She has a look that looks angry at first, but more so disturbed and disgusted under it. I sigh and step inside.
Its dark, very dark. Torches line the walls but it doesn't make it bright enough to see properly. I turn my head at the sound of yelling, seeing ■■■■ biting the woman while on her back. There's a look of rage in their eyes.
"oh how feral of you my dear friend, and after I helped you in the sky below too"
she, no he im sure thats mordret, he reaches back but a chain from Scarlett stops him. Words appear in the air
"i must ask that you stop."
His eyes narrow, watching and studying her.
"you really are such a unique echo. I have to wonder how ■■■■ even found yo-"
■■■■ kicks him, almost causing him to fall. He gets a surprised then slightly amused look.
"Fucking run!"
They run towards.... nothing, just blackness in the shape of a human and cassia. The shape grabs cassia's hand and the group start running. Mordret stays with Scarlett. The two make eye contact and i find myself in her soul sea....? Its dark, and cold. Far too dark to be normal. I appear next to mordret, he seems so much younger, and his clothes are torn and tattered. He goes to speak but is cut off by chains rattling. I turn my head to identify the sound. Its Scarlett bound in countless chains, she's a complete mess. Mordret starts walking forward, he's injured, I'm not sure how I didn't notice. He rolls his arms
"well not the most ideal but maybe I can just go right through the barrier."
Scarlett.... no that isn't her. That isn't frozen singer, the look of insanity in her eyes couldn't be from her. Its the god of entropy. I take a few steps back, unknowingly mordret keeps going. She stands up, straining against the chains.
"Let... me... OUT"
she moves so fast I'm not able to see her, her skin and flesh rots away leaving her nothing but decaying bones, grabbing his arm and it starts to rot away as well, like a infection. He screams in pain, hitting her to get her off of him but it doesn't work. There's suddenly light and mordret falls on the ground. Standing in front of him this time is Scarlett. Mordret drags himself away
"get away from me."
She stares at him, there's no emotion in her eyes.
"You won't tell a soul of this. The more who know of her, the stronger she gets. You understand that, few would understand it more then you"
and I'm thrown out. I fall this time. I scramble away in fear. I saw her, I saw a god, I saw a god rot. I pull my clothes closer to myself and I drag myself up and to the next painting.
I find myself in a room and the door slams, looks to be the sanctuary of noctis. There's a few people, from what I'm aware of its kai, Athena, Cassia, as well as the blacked out figure from earlier. Scarlett sits peacefully drinking tea and eating biscuits. Words appear in the air, floating there.
"what do you all want to know?"
The blacked out figures slams their head down. There's a long silence. Like the first of the paintings there a brief flashback. It shows ■■■■, well it seems to be them made out of ice and with a different face. They lift up a floating drop of blood that shadows swirl around. Then I'm back, Scarlett takes a long drink
"Awakened Heat Seeker was unaware of what it did. So i asked for and and they gave it to me. From there I turn it into a chain and it fused with the one around my neck."
She shows the chain around her neck, now black. Kai goes to speak, I feel it. I can recognize a mind attack well. Mainly to due Asterion. This is directed at kai who seems to forget something.
"she's telling the truth.... or my flaw didn't go off"
there's a silence as the blacked out figure moves. Athena looks over to the figure with a sour look on her face, or well would be sour if she wasn't a child in this nightmare.
"how did you even get a drop of shadow gods blood!? And why would you give it to ■■■■!?"
I'm thrown out. What the hell, ■■■■ was given a drop of shadow gods blood! But they didn't get shadow gods lineage? Scarlett used a mind attack on kai, i don't know why, but she did. I don't know enough to tell why, but shadow gods blood was in some way dangerous I'm sure of that. Who's the figure? Who are they, or who where they? I go to the next painting quickly, its the last silver ones it shows, a dark sea, with a ship that had been ripped open. I clench my hand taking a deep breath and stepping inside.
Theres explosions and the beating of insect wings. A bullet goes through me, im just a spectator in this all. I was already quite sure of that so no shockers here. I turn my head seeing a metal wall. Falcon scott. I put my hands over my mouth in horror. What could Scarlett have done in this place? I turn my head at the sound of a roar. Its soul reaper finishing off a fallen tryant with Scarlett looking at her bloody hands, its the devouring swarm! That explains a lot. I feel a wave of a mind attack, its from a corrupted rank nightmare creature I'm sure of it. High class one too. While not as strong as the nightmarespawn, it seems to be more naturally aggressive. Scarlett claps her hands together getting soul reapers attention. Words appear in the air
"we must hurry. The terror of lo49 is attacking the shores with a army of puppets."
Soul reaper tilts her head
"how do you even...?"
Another mind attack from Scarlett. Does she do that every time she wants someone to do what she wants
"fine. Let's go"
Scarlett takes soul reapers hand and she flies them through the air as fast as a saint would move, I'm forced to run alongside them. Soul reaper cuts through the swarm on the way there. In the middle of the fight, my vision flashes to under the sea, a beautiful white flower. I turn my head seeing ■■■■ get wrapped up in one of its petals, no its silk. The feeling of a mind attack is strongest here. Its pushed back by another mind attack, one from Scarlett, unlike the others this one feels.... hateful. And I'm back with the two, for a moment I see a cold yet hateful look under Scarletts vail. Then I'm thrown out. I land on my feet pretty easily. It seems that Scarlett in some way has gotten worse, and worse and worse, being willing to use mind control to force everyone to do what she wants. I look to the next painting, its frame is iron, broken and rusted. Whatever is in those won't be good. Probably worse then even the one with mordret, i suspect their more recent, from the first domain war.