== > Be Coanan.

You head up to Iferna's flickering second gate and leap through it. You are exhausted, having been trekking for days. Every gate you pass through brings you no closer to your Kismesis, who remains annoyingly silent. You've even passed through lands multiple times. Something tells you UU is messing with you on perpose, re-wiring the gates just to foil you. You refuse to be foiled. Pulling out your cane and husktop, you settle down in a desert land with flames springing up every minute or so. Dark forms walk the hills. One looks... different. As you walk closer, you see a silhouette you recognize. But what the hell is Hestus doing here?

You saunter towards the hills, taking your time. Hestus hasn't seen you yet.

When you reach him, a shocking sight greets your eyes.

Hestus is burned, bloody, and pacing in a circle. His form is thin and his clothes are ripped everywhere. His eyes are mad and swirling, the burgundy in his veins spreading into the golden-orange of his eyes. When he opens his mouth, his voice is a dry rasp that hurts your throat just to listen to.

HESTUS: ~NICE OF YOU 1O VISI1~

He steps toward you slowly, looking for all the world like a rust-booded demon. He gets right up close to you staring into your cold eyes with his insane ones. You expect him to yell a rant, but all he says is

HESTUS: ~Wa1er.~

You pull out your bottle of water and hand it to him wordlessly. He drinks deeply, draining the last of your water supply.

HESTUS: ~Des1en did 1his.~

HESTUS: ~Af1er all I did for him.~

His entire body stiffens and his eyes grow icy.

HESTUS: ~He will pay.~

HESTUS: ~I will figure ou1 where he is and wha1 he does. 1hen, I will kill him.~

You are shocked to see him act so coldly sociapathic.

COANAN: H357U5?

HESTUS: ~Yes?~

COANAN: 1 C0ULDN'7 83 M0R3 PR0UD.

HESTUS: ~You are 1he world's shi11ies1 auspis1ice and should feel horrible.~

COANAN: 7H4NK Y0U FOR 7H47.

He is clearly unaccustomed to surviving in desert conditions. Being a rustblood, he's terribly unaccustomed to surviving in anything. So pitiful. So weak. However, while you do have some ashen empathy for him, you do not pity him personally.That doesn't exclude you from being a good neighbor. You direct him to Desten's first gate, about two miles away, and continue through the land of fire and demons on your own. You feel like this next gate will finally take you to the reclusive UU.

== > Be Ninfia again.

You haven't heard much about Canira's ancestor, but she seems the coolest by far. Rebel in the hills! Guarding hope wherever she goes!

CANIRA: D!d the Sorc!ere h@ve @ny !nter@ct!on w!th L@ M@r!po$@?

HEKATA: Yes... | kn•w she w∆s ∆ p|•neer f•r L•wBl••d equ∆l|ty.

You wonder why she enunciated that particular word. She seems to be trying to send a message or a warning to Canira... Cariel's eyes, too, are flicking back and forth, and you see a light in them as she suddenly makes the connection. Then something strikes you as well. Your ancestor wrote in passing about a LimeBlood rebel.

NINFIA: Canira?

CANIRA: Ye$?

NINFIA: Wasn't La Esperate a limebl(o)(o)d?

Canira stiffens, her face suddenly paleing. Her knuckles grasp the table, turning a sickish, greenish color beneath the gray. She abruptly stands and sprints out the door.

NINFIA: Canira!

PIXELSPRITE: you guesse'd' right, I guess.

CARIEL: +— I knew my ancesTor was seT afTer la Mariposa, but I ThoughT her lIneage DIeD ouT! so The MarIposa Is The esperaTe and she's Canira's ancesTor?

PERSUS: WoW

CIPHRE: x knew already

CARIEL: +— whaT!?

You get up to try to follow her.

PERSUS: GuyS, SheS ReallY UpseT. LetS GivE HeR HeR SpacE.

Watching the door swing back and forth behind, you feel shocked at the pain you've caused your friend.

NINFIA: I didn't kn(o)w she'd take it like that!

PIXELSPRITE: Wait a secon'd'. IN'D'Y!

INDYSPRITE: b@rk b@rk  -3-

INDYSPRITE: oh hey !t'$ l@d!e'$ n!ght

CIPHRE: hey!INDYSPRITE: @nybody got some eggnog?

HEKATA: |'ve g•t butterbeer...

INDYSPRITE: !'ll try t#@t t#en

== > Ten minutes later

INDYSPRITE: ac##### #ow $trong !$ t#@t stuff

HEKATA: N• |d|e∆

.HEKATA: T∆shtes g••d th•u|gh.

HEKATA: M∆yb∆by th|s w∆s ∆ b∆d |de∆...

INDYSPRITE: NOPE! %D I AM A TERIRIBIBBLE GUARDIAN.

== > Be Canira.

You just want to be alone. In your mind, you are safe. Free. You realize that the whole castle is empty, and now it's just you and the echo of laughter and butterbeer revelry.It reminds you of something, something precious.

== > The blue light. The memories. The smell of cinnamon.

You are now Canira Espero, feeling very exposed, and, as a good author often does, you are currently echoing the last words of your best book. The one you were most attached to. The one you could probably write again, even if it's up in smoke now.

Stupid meteors. As you walk through the empty halls of Hekata's castle, you repeat the dramatic reveal.The main character realizes there's someone in the shadows.The knife begins glowing.The door to the castle is hit by a fist three times.

== > Only Hunter can turn invisible.

A realization hits you. You know who it is. You feel your stomach turn. Joy or anger? Suprise?

Desten is back.The shape at the door breathes into the window.Guess who? No quirk.But you say it anyways.

== > "You're a murderer."

In the book, Hunter yells that he's a monster and can't control himself.

Irisen, at the door, simply nods.

IRISEN: ****** I will be soon.

He enters the room slowly, as if he's limping.

IRISEN: ******  I just wanted to be kind. And funny. To be loyal. Generous. Honest. I even tried doing magic, once. So now I'm here to be all six, tonight.

CANIRA: @re you... @re you b@ck for good?!

IRISEN: ****** I'm not back for them.

IRISEN: ****** I'm back for you, Canira.

He grabs you firmly by one arm, wrapping his other around your body and down by your backside. He holds you closer, stifling you, leaning in for a caliginous kiss.

CANIRA: LET ME GO!

You take your knife and slice his arm as hard as possibly, wedging it firmly in his arm as the cerulean blood trickles down. He laughs, whinnying like a horse with nostrils flared.

IRISEN: **&*$! You don't want a caliginous relationship, huh? Do your prefer flushed?! Do you prefer Ciphre, the way he uses you like an accessory? He doesn't even care about you. He just wants you there to keep his precious motherFUCKING little Maid under control. He wants your powers. I want you.

CANIRA: C!PHRE I$ TW!CE THE TROLL YOU'LL EVER BE!

IRISEN: #*!*%* Ciphre is a pathetic lowblooded little creep. He hides. He uses everyone around him. He pretends to be a friend, a confidant, while he keeps all your secrets and tucks them away. He has NEVER given a shit about anyone or anything. And he's nothing without his book. No, no, I'm here for you. I hate everything about you. Your sweetness. Your confidence. How easily you trust people. Your intrigue. What's under those veins? Is it really hot pink?

CANIRA: You w@nt to $ee my blood color?!

IRISEN: &*(**# I'd like to see a little more of you then that.

He pulls out the knife.

CANIRA: N-n-n-no!

IRISEN: #%*!@* COME A LITTLE CLOSER CANIRA! COME A LITTLE CLOSER, BITCH! MAKE MY HEART GALLOP WITH EXCITEMENT. FILL A DAMN BUCKET AND I LET YOU LIVE!

CANIRA: GET @W@Y FROM ME!

IRISEN: $#(*%& I CAN MAKE YOU HATE ME! I AM MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANYONE ELSE. I CAN SEE EVERY BIT OF YOUR LIFE FORCE AND I CAN MAKE IT DRAIN INTO MY DAMN HANDS. I CAN SWAP YOUR BODY. I CAN BRING YOU INTO HELL AND BACK. YOU THOUGHT DESTEN WAS DANGEROUS?! HE'S NOTHING IN COMPARISON TO ME.

He grins, forcing you down to the floor with sheer ceruleanblooded strength. You hear footsteps. Someone heard you. Pale green tears are running down your cheeks as you scream for anyone to hear you. You close your eyes and hope for anyone, anything to save you.

IRISEN: ^$!@(& How did it go in your books? When they sacrifice the main character? First they cripple her paws. Then they slice her right over her cold heart. Then they take her head off.

He drags the knife lovingly over your hand, the back of your wrist. Your hand falls to the floor. For only a few seconds you look up into his eyes, which are full of lustful, vengeful passion.

That's when you black out.

== > you shouldn't have done that

You are Ciphre Opsida and deer gog please don't let it be too late.

CIPHRE: GET AWAY FROM HER YOU SXCK PERVERTED CREEP!CIPHRE: YOU CAN^T KXLL HER! SHE^S MXNE, DAMMXT, SHE^S THE BEST THXNG THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!

IRISEN: %#&$#*

IRISEN: #*(@%#

IRISEN: %*$#&(

IRISEN: %#*(*&

You look at her eyes. They're closed, and she's smiling ever so slightly.

You bend down next to her.

CIPHRE: canxra?

CIPHRE: canxra please be ok please be ok please be ok!

She doesn't answer. Blood, lime and flowing, pours from her wrist. You wrap your vest around her arm, trying to help with the wound.

CIPHRE: xrxsen HOW COULD YOU?

IRISEN: *&*)!* I've never been loved.

IRISEN: #**^(* Laughed at, yes.

IRISEN: *%*!#* I was always the childish one, who everyone knew could sometimes be twisted but never CARED.

IRISEN: **^&*$ Zenana was the only only good thing that happened to ME.

IRISEN: *&^*%* Everyone cares what YOU have to say.

IRISEN: #$*&*% What if I killed you, huh?

CIPHRE: what xf x kxlled you?

IRISEN: $*!(&# You couldn't. You know it.

IRISEN: *^!*#* And would it be a tragedy if I died?

IRISEN: !*(&*% No.

IRISEN: ***&** But Canira's special.

IRISEN: $***** So innocent and playful.

IRISEN: **%*** There's a way to save her if you can find it somewhere.

IRISEN: *****# So you do that.

IRISEN: ***^** And I'll get someone to kill me.

CIPHRE: godtxer

IRISEN: **!*** When she wakes up, tell her... I like her stories.

He opens the door and slams it against its hinges, blowing it backwards to where it shatters, only bits of wood hanging down from where a door was.

CIPHRE: YOU FUCKXNG BULGEWHXFF AT LEAST HAVE RESPECT FOR HEKATA^S DAMN FURNXSHXNG

You, shocked, watch him disappear, then lift up Canira. Gog, gog, gog, save her... oh yes. There is a way.

And you already have worked it out.Time slows around you. You wish you weren't so physically useless, but it seems that your flaws have been accounted for. Hestus (where the hell did he come from?) walks up to you. He looks more than a little deranged.He says nothing, just grins and waves. He looks like a highblood, even down the clothing, torn and splattered in blood. Your breath is silent as time almost stops around you, slowly trudging on as your muscles burn and Canira lies there. You keep going, trudging through the gate and into her world.You look upwards, her dead body in your hands, slowly bleeding away those last bits of lime green. There's a castle at the center of her world, towering over buildings growing over forest in a hellish city filled with fake idols. You know for a fact her quest bed is in there. You've seen it in visions. If only you had seen this coming.You're too weak to carry her any further.Kiss her, says a voice in your mind. Kiss her and she'll be back. Her dreamself will be here. Everything will be okay.No. You've seen the paths where you do and she doesn't GodTier. The whole team will fail. You can't give up hope. She wouldn't want you too.You are an awful friend. You are an awful troll. You are just as bad as Irisen.

CIPHRE: sometxmes x wxsh x was a hxghblood

CIPHRE: x wxsh x was strong enough to save you

There's a flash of white light. Your eyes are blinded by it- and then you see two trolls riding long, serpentine... nope. Those are sprites.The angels have arrived for you. This isn't a doomed timeline after all.

DIALOGLOG

INDYSPRITE: ren@ no!

INDYSPRITE: C@N!R@ H@NG !N T#ERE!

She shifts slightly. Movement... movement is good. Unless its death throes, of course.

PIXELSPRITE: hol'd' on canira! Ninfia and the rest of them are coming!

Hestus speeds up time for them so quickly they're at your side before you can blink. Ninfia and Hekata both grab one of Canira's legs (while Persus takes her other shoulder) and help you carry her. Iferna has enough of this shit and shifts into a large dragon, picking her up (along with the rest of you) and depositing her right on top of her Quest Bed.

CIPHRE: hestus can you slow xt just a bxt more

He strains, his hands reaching toward the sky. Everything stills. Time is silent. Canira is silent. Is it too late?

== > Ascend.

A blinding flash of light that fades to a blue glow, then shifting to a lime glow, soon replaced by hot pink. Her body rises off the bed, hovering two feet in the air. Consorts gather as the light around her gets brighter and brighter. You feel your heart swelling with hope.

CIPHRE: she^s goxng to lxve!

Bright lime wings extend from either side, similar to those of a butterfly's. Her clothes shift as she does - bright golden robes covering her, billowing with her new wings.

HESTUS: ~1his gives Des1en's fake chicken wings a run for 1heir boonbucks.~PERSUS: NO SchisT

CANIRA: Do ! look ok@y? ! me@n... !'m a l!meblood, ! shouldn't ex!st, @nd...

You hold a finger over her lips, quieting her.

CIPHRE: you look beautxful. and thxs xs what x should've done earlxer.

You lean in. Should you go for it?

Yes.

No.

She leans in, eyes understanding and bright. Before you can object, she kisses you, leaning inwards as she holds your arms in a powerful, tender embrace. Her lips are soft, her skin glowing and warm and real.

Yes.

CARIEL: +— blech

Indysprite wipes a lime tear from his eye.

CANIRA: !fern@ @nd C!phre, you s@ved me

CANIRA: T#e re$t of you @ll too

NINFIA, HEKATA: ∆nytime, C∆nir∆.

They look at each other in shock and hold each others gazes for almost a full second before beginning to glare.

CARIEL: +— we've sTIll goT The Issue of IrIsen, everyboDy.

HEKATA: M•re •f us sh•uld f•ll•w C∆n|r∆'s le∆d ∆nd G•dT|er.

HEKATA: W|th fully re∆l|zed p•wers, we c•uld trump m∆ny m•re •bst∆cles th∆t prev|•usly flumm•xed us. L|ke N•|r, remember? He's st|ll •ut there, b|d|ng h|s t|me

.CANIRA: We $#ould prob@bly try l!$ten!ng to our ex!le$, too. M!ne'$ vo!ce h@$ become much more cle@r $!nce Godt!er!ng. R!ght now, $he'$ tell!ng me to... pl@nt veget@ble$?

CANIRA: #u#.

NINFIA: Truly, this is g(o)(o)d advice. Let's g(o) plant vegetables.

PERSUS: WhO ArE OuR ExileS AnywaY?

CARIEL: +— a gooD quesTIon. and was ThaT sarcasM, nInfIa?

NINFIA: mebbe

CARIEL: +— I'M so prouD

CIPHRE: uh, try wrxtxng messages to them on the ground

HEKATA: ∆CC|• CH∆LK!

Three boxes of chalk zoom through the air, leaving little clouds of colored dust.

Hekata picks up a fuschia one and places it on the ground.

S∆lut∆t|•ns.

S•f|st|c∆ted V∆gr∆nt?

You take olive chalk and write

who are you exactly mxster prophecy

Soon, the ground is covered with chalk in all colors of the HemoSpectrum. Persus, oddly, chooses a bright, non-blood-color green.

a scout eh/// why///

+— I'M sarcasTIc Too! +— a warMonger? really? anD huntIng anImals In the foresTs?

I AlsO LovE WateR. YoU GreW UP IN IT ToO?

Pl@nt$ do prov!de food, ! know.

Y(o)u think I sh(o)uld? Really?~

I can'1 die again, no1 again, no1 af1er I almos1 jus1 did!~

Hestus spins away from the crowd, clutching his head, eyes whirling about.He speeds up time for only himself and vanishes into the distance.

DIALOGLOG

PERSUS: IM NoT ReallY GettinG WordS. JusT ImageS AnD FeelingS OF WhaT HE WantS ME TO DO.

CARIEL: +— saMe.

NINFIA: And me, as well.

CIPHRE: x thxnk godtxers and knowledge-based txtles have clearer conversatxons.

HEKATA: Th∆t w•uld be me, ∆ Her• •f L|ght, ∆nd the Seers ∆nd M∆ges?

CIPHRE: exactly

> persus knows, kid.

CIPHRE: persus?

PERSUS: YeS?

CIPHRE: x passed your land on the way to hekata^s. you had thxrteen gxant xdols with descrxptxons on plaques scattered by your hxve. was one of then a god of prophecy?

PERSUS: YeS, ApollO! HE OfteN AppearS YounG AnD CarefreE AnD HiS DomainS ArE ProphecY AnD MusiC AnD MorE.

IFERNA: mines a scout/// a sortof mesanger///

PERSUS: ThaT IS LikE HermeS.

PIXELSPRITE: who now?

PERSUS: HeS ThE GoD OF (TakE A DeeP BreatH) CommercE, LanguageS, ThieverY, CheeseburgerS, TrickerY, EloquenT SpeakinG, FeastS, CheeseburgerS, HospitalitY, GuarD DogS, BirdS OF OmeN, GymnasticS, AthletiC CompetitionS, CheeseburgerS,MoobeasT PattieS, AnD TellinG FortuneS WitH DicE.

PERSUS: OkaY, I JusT TosseD IN ThE MoobeasT PattieS TO SeE IF YoU WerE PayinG AttentioN. AlsO, IM HungrY.

CARIEL: +— hah

PIXELSPRITE: X'D'

IFERNA: ...///IFERNA: im going after hestus efuryone/// bye///

She abruptly shifts into a meowbeast and dashes away after her matesprit.

CANIRA: @nyw@y, $#ould we @ll st@rt Godt!er!ng?

NINFIA: Sure. I traveled thr(o)ugh this land thr(o)ugh my sec(o)nd gate (o)ver there.

You all troop through Canira's lively land, through the fallen cities under double rainbows in the sky.

PIXELSPRITE: your lan'd' is lovely but a little bit strange. Sort of young, in a way I can't 'd'escribe.

NINFIA: Y(o)u're right.

CANIRA: The $@me th!ng$ $truck me.

She runs her hand along a vine-ridden stone wall.

CANIRA: $ometh!ng tell$ me the$e w@ll$ @re gonn@ come down.

You reach the gate Ninfia says is the one she came through, on top of a large iceberg floating by the shore. One by one, you all file through it, but emerging, you find you aren't in Ninfia's land at all. You're standing in a beautiful, cleverly landscaped world with lush greenery, colorful winds, and shimmering, silver lakes. Palaces dot the many hills, and the every living thing pulses with song.NINFIA: This is Zenana's land!

CARIEL: +— you're sure thIs Is The gaTe you caMe Through?

NINFIA: Abs(o)lutely p(o)sitive.

CIPHRE: somethxng^s wrong wxth the gates...

It's then that you notice Hekata is no longer with the rest of you.