Shrike's Heart (#4)

[idolpro]

The woman before you is beautiful—fair of features, with lovely golden skin and luxurious long black hair, petite. You have the immediate and distinct impression that she's just let go of your hand, and she steps back, and smiles.

It's not quite a happy smile.

"I'm sorry," she says. "There's just nothing I can do, as things are. But the way is there; it just needs to be lit."

You open your mouth—maybe to say something, or to express confusion—but you have to cough, and taste something metallic, spattering black blood onto the ground in front of you. Then you realize—blood seeps from opening wounds in your arms, your chest, your stomach, your face. It rims your eyes and trails from your nose and you feel like you're dissolving—

—and you fall through the ground like it's the surface of a lake, and go down, down, down.

> Wake Up

Comments

[gigadevilbreaker]

[Blinks,]

Huh. Whadya know, it worked.

[deicider]

Do you mind if I...? [Gesture with their sword to Griffin's arm.]

[gigadevilbreaker]

Go wild.

[He rolls up a sleeve and holds it out for them. We're all M here]

[deicider]

[They score him lightly with the tip of their blade.]

[handpuppets]

[ You look at the blood—the deep red welling up from their skin and dripping down your knife. The whispers rise in your ears, and the voices sound... pleased. Every drop of blood spilled, an advance for their cause.

You gain +1 WILLPOWER. Don't you feel great? ]

[deicider]

[Screw you NEVERBORN, they do.]

Good. I'm going to move on. You ready?

[gigadevilbreaker]

There's a dying guy out in the grass I was gettin' supplies for.

You don't mind if I take your death shrine booze, do you?

[deicider]

Nah, I already took my own death shrine booze. There was a copy of this same room.

Alright, catch up quick.

[gigadevilbreaker]

Roger that.

[Gives a little mock salute and goes.

Griffin's gonna head back out to the reeds - but not before stopping to lay an amaranth flower on a villager's dead body outside and bowing his head in quick remembrance, R.I.P.]

[handpuppets]

[ +1 WILLPOWER. A nice gesture. ]