Lord of Mysteries: Goddess of Origin

"Leaving so soon?"

The same familiar voice have echoed once more, the one that have pestered her life for the past half years, the one responsible for the demise of her beloved mother, father and her townspeople.

Selina froze in her spot, frustrated. Unable to resist or escape, she's like a caged bird once again, that feeling of powerless and incapable that have persisted from Selina's memories gradually crept in.

Won't you just let me be!? Selina's emotions erupted in anguish and hatred. The feeling false liberation surfacing from within her.

Deimsfel's face squirmed involuntarily, eyes glowing bright red as he gaze at Selina's trembling body.

"You must be thinking... Why can't I just let you go?" Deimsfel's smile broadened, mocking Selina's futile escape, he added, "It's because you're too important."

Important!? Selina gritted her teeth in frustration and fear. If she was retrieved by him, the nightmare would return, rendering her past struggles in vain.

"Now, why don't you just walk here? Resistance is futile." Deimsfel's eyes closed from his wide smile, extending his hand towards Selina.

Selina remained rooted, hidden in a composed facade. She withdrew her hand to her case.

She would die by their hands either way, so why not defy them once more?

After a second, dusk light began to seep from the dispersing gray clouds.

Filtering through the translucent veiled windows, bathing the living room in the descending glow of the sun.

"Let's go..." Deimsfel offered once again, maintaining his sinister smile at Selina.

At that moment, Deimsfel felt an intense intuition from his astral being.

In an instant, he felt his joint becoming sluggish and worn, his lids drooping from his eyes, and his body gradually being tugged by an invisible string.

His body relentlessly retracting and compressing with squirming translucent flesh tendrils.

The artifact's aftereffect!

Deimsfel's blood run cold, almost immediately, his hand rose onto his face, the strange mask began to reform once more.

Without a thought, his body dehumanized himself into another pile of translucent flesh tendrils, writhing and wilting before melting into the wind.

Seeing the horrifying individual disappeared without a trace.

Selina, her hand tightly grasped the brass revolver from her suitcase, ready to draw at any notice, felt her knees weakened and collapsed onto the stoned floor, the manor eerily silent.

H-He's gone... her thoughts stammered in disbelief, relief surged her, as her heart gasping from the constant urgence and fear.

In the manor now devoid of people, eerie silence course the empty corridors.

Selina, her sharp breathe echoed throughout the living room's interior, sweat flows down from her delicate face, thoughts spiraling into resolution.

I'm free...

I won't be a pawn nor a vessel for them anymore...

I'll finally fulfill your dream of coming to a city... 

Minutes later, she heard a familiar high pitched of a feline, resounding from behind her.

Meow~

Falacy? Selina turned her head to her side, there she saw the black cat accompanying her once more.

Fingers clenching the suitcase's handle, heaving a sigh of relief, she said in a soft voice, "I'm going to leave this town, this place... and... I probably won't be coming back."

The cat didn't respond, only gazing at Selina momentarily, before striding off towards the grand double door.

I was hoping to bring you along with me... after awhile of frayed nerves and lost, she managed to settle herself internally.

After she stood up from the cold floor, her hand tidied the crease of her blouse and dress, breathing deeply to her lungs, she began to make her way outside of the manor.

The closing light of dusk bathes the court yard in golden hue.

The neatly trimmed hedges framed a clear path that stretched from the road to the central fountain, puddles of water reflects the clearing skies above, the outcome of the raid that had occurred.

Selina walked in a steady pace, passing the vibrant trees and plains of the road, the manor gradually vanished from her hindsight.

After ten minutes of walking, she saw that the town was a few miles left. With a sigh or resignation, she thought to herself, I really ran a few miles huh...

Arriving at the boundary of Milo. She relied on her knowledge of the town's layout, unhurriedly cross the wrecked road and ruined buildings.

As each buildings slid pass her periphery one by one, cherished memories of the former Selina rush into her, like a cascading river. 

The roofed house where Selina met her feline companion, Falacy.

The restaurant her and her parents frequented from when she's a child.

The paved court where she bonds with the elders and children.

And the memories of her parents, and her growth in this once lovely town...

Each are a reminisced of her memories, a reflection of the body's true owner. She deliberately slowed her pace in deference for the former Selina.

Soon, she saw the entrance of the town, built in an arched structure, wide enough for transports to pass by, ahead is the road extending onto the horizon. Green pastures covers each sides, rolling into the dense shadowy forest.

After a few distance, Selina half-turned her body, her head facing the collapsed town once more.

Strong winds blows from the north, her ankle-length skirt hovers through the wind as it attempts to swept the sunhat from her head.

Against the howling air, an aftermath of the cold storm. Selina quickly anchored her hat with her right hand before gazing silently at her hometown.

...

Reaching the train stop, Selina noticed another person, seated at the platform's only bench, he was heavily concealed with a round droopy leather hat, a scarf wrapped around his neck, wearing a piece of stained shirt with vest and a short trouser.

Selina couldn't make out the man's form, deciding to just dismiss it, she prepared for the traveling fare from her baggage by her left hand.

Soon the train arrived, and along with Selina, the man heavily concealed by garments followed her into boarding the steam-powered transport.

Selina felt wary of the man. Milo is a rural town, the majority of people living in this area can be presumably traced to the townspeople, and after the events that have transpired after the past half a year, she's certain that the man is a participant of those 'events'. 

Either he's a survivor, who managed to sustain himself until authorities arrived or a tailed member of the cult trying to monitor her.

The man didn't bother checking her, instead, he turned to the left of the cabin, opposite of where Selina is going.

Opting to dismiss him for now, Selina followed the attendee to a cabin adorned with increased numbers of windows.

Finding a vacant seat, she faced the town of Milo from across the grassy pastures.

After a few seconds, the train hissed and groaned as it pulled from the platform.

Selina glanced out the window. The town—her old home—sat shrouded in a dispersing storm mist, its steeples gradually regain its vibrance.

For a moment, it looked peaceful. And for a moment, she despised it.

...

In an opulent villa, situated in the Royal District, Capital of Loen, Backlund.

Seated at the sofa of a luxurious lounge.

Audrey skimmed through the Winter County's morning daily post, reports such as lack of raw materials causing riots, establishing the Grain Act, the increasing rate of poverty in each part of the continent.

After tasking a personnel to deliver the ghost shark blood to the place provided from the trade and another to report Mrs. Lover's case anonymously to the officials of Church of The Evernight. Audrey could only wait patiently for each personnel to return with a result.

Anxious, she figured it would be best to spend the remaining time of the day, informing herself with the daily news.

Three days have passed, and the situation of her only-female companion in the Tarot Club remains to elude her.

The cult, the insect people, and her description of the state of Milo managed to pierce Audrey's heart with horror accompanied with a sense of capability as the daughter of the noble Hall.

Settling on the final page of the newspaper, the headlines are as followed:

"The Rural Town of Milo, A Hive of Cult."

This was what she's expecting!

Audrey quickly scanned through its contents, taking note of several variables that have led to the officials taking action for impending ritual, yet it failed to precisely deliver the information she intends to know.

Finally arriving at the conclusion, a single name caught her attention:

"The Family of Ivory's only descendant have yet to be identified."

...

In the Amyris Leaf Bar, City of Generosity: Bayam, Roarsted Archipelago.

After confirming that the emblems were indeed the evidences Ms. Lovers provided. Alger managed to convinced Hafgard that an informant of his managed to track a cult activity which stems from the rural town of Milo.

After an intricate extrication of connected rhetoric claims for the dioceses of the Church of Storms.

The Church deployed its forces to immediately siege the rural town, which includes a joint operation of three Captains of the Mandated Punishers.

The Church are still wary of his excuse for obtaining such insidious information.

Nevertheless, his actions resulted in the ruination of an evil god's descent.

This practically earned him enough qualifications to apply for the Sequence 7: Seafarer. He intend consume it initially without the Church being aware and would apply for the potion once again to consume

 His plan was to advance early, but with an extra characteristics within him, he would have to find a spouse in order extract the additional characteristics of a Seafarer.

But since his merits can now qualify him to intake the Sequence 7 potion, he reevaluated his plan to Sequence 6.

Sitting idly by the corner of the bar. The lobby consists of crowded drunkards, mingling and wasting each other. Alger couldn't hide regret for being unable to be informed of the operation, deeming it to be confidential.

After a few minutes, a man entered from a the bar's gate. He have a disheveled short blue hair, wearing short-sleeve tunics, trouser tucked into his boots with a loose blueish black frock coat hanged over his shoulders.

The man made his way towards Alger, and sat across him from the table. With a papyrus paper over his hand, he slammed the letter over the table and asked, "How did you know that a cult invasion took place at Milo!?"

Alger didn't respond immediately, instead he leaned back over his chair. With a reserved deep tone he replied, "A friend of mine disclosed it."

Hafgard's eyes narrowed at Alger's response. His hunch tells him that the man in front of him is offering a partial cruise from the actual truth.