Deep Sea Embers

As the number of invaders began to swell beyond what Heidi had anticipated, a creeping unease settled in her heart. She had previously crossed paths with a cultist who, though under the influence of a dark demonic pact, was still very much human in nature. For all the power granted by his sinister affiliation with a shadow demon, he was fundamentally still bound by the vulnerabilities of humanity. Drawing from her specialized knowledge and skills, Heidi had found him relatively straightforward to counteract.

However, this fresh onslaught brought adversaries of an entirely different nature. Dressed in black, these entities bore little resemblance to mankind. These beings were the direct descendants of the Sun, emissaries birthed from that fearsome and enigmatic force hanging in the sky. In essence, they were the tainted incarnations of the Black Sun, representing the ancient deity’s expansive reach and power.

They did not think or reason as humans did. Their minds and motivations, alien and inscrutable, rendered much of Heidi’s expertise as a “mental therapist” ineffective. Faced with such an adversary, the familiarity of her tools and techniques felt suddenly insufficient.

Nonetheless, Heidi, often addressed as Miss Therapist, took a steadying breath, collecting her thoughts and tightening her grip on the shimmering golden spike she held. Interactions with the Sun’s progeny were notoriously treacherous. Known for their profound disdain for sentient life, their malice was both unwavering and all-encompassing. Diplomacy was not an option. And as if these challenges weren’t enough, the presence of a formidable “witch”, Ms. Lucretia, complicated matters. This mysterious witch bore some connection to the Sun entity. While Lucretia projected an aura of menace, Heidi secretly hoped she might intervene if things took a dire turn.

But before Heidi could further ponder this, her attention snapped to a fast-moving silhouette. A black-clad figure, barely distinguishable, lunged at her with blinding speed. In that fleeting moment of distraction, she felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen. Glancing down, a dark tendril was embedded deep within her, a lethal wound inflicted. The shadowy assailant only became slightly discernible at the tendril’s far end.

As Heidi’s form began its descent to the ground, her primary consciousness seamlessly shifted to an alternative persona standing nearby. This new manifestation didn’t hesitate and lunged at another incoming shadowy enemy with the golden spike. Concurrently, she swiftly positioned a revolver to her temple, squeezing the trigger without a second thought.

A fresh persona materialized, stepping in for the one she had momentarily relinquished.

Simultaneously, multiple figures clad in black converged on Lucretia. Their presence in this dreamlike forest was profound; these entities seemed to glide rather than walk as though they were spirits skirting between realms of light and shadow. Their very approach seemed to corrode the environment, with the air ripping apart and the ground fragmenting under their ominous aura. Each step was a testament to their destructive force, with every imprint on the ground symbolizing the erosion of reality itself.

But Lucretia, with a finesse that was nearly ethereal, seemed to dance around their every assault. With a predator’s grace, she closed the distance on one of her assailants from behind. Before this dark figure could even sense her proximity, she lightly tapped a finger on its shoulder.

A shrill scream erupted from the creature, piercing through the dreamy environment. Amidst this cacophonous outburst, a distorted voice seemed to resonate within the minds of both women: “You have witnessed him; your end is inevitable here!”

Lucretia responded with icy disdain, “Your grotesque ‘kin’ is of no interest to anyone. It’s time for you to bloom.”

Reacting to her words, the creature quickly conjured shadows under its cloak that began to take the shape of a menacing weapon. But Lucretia had already gracefully glided away. Where her finger had made contact, an unusual color began to stain the entity’s shoulder. This vibrant pigment began to spread rapidly, morphing into an array of luminescent flowers and aggressive vines. With a chilling symphony of rupturing flesh and the creature’s agonized screams, these plants consumed the being entirely, leaving no trace of the once-feared servant of the Black Sun.

However, the fall of one did little to deter the advancing horde. The ambient sounds of the forest were masked by the rustling of many cloaked entities closing in. Emerging from the illuminated patches in the forest, their tall, shadowy forms began to circle Lucretia and Heidi, their malevolent energy palpable.

A crease formed on Lucretia’s forehead as she tried to make sense of the sheer number of these attackers and their sudden manifestation within the dream. But her contemplation was cut short when several of the cloaked figures appeared right next to her.

Ready for them, Lucretia brandished what looked like a “conductor’s baton”, aiming it at the nearest foe. However, just as she was about to unleash some spell or curse, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her, momentarily disrupting her action.

A rush of wind, signaling an imminent attack, grazed past the witch. Fighting off her momentary weakness, Lucretia transmuted her form into a flurry of vibrantly colored paper fragments, scattering to safety. Reconstituting from this mixture of colors, her eyes sharply turned to a particular direction, sensing the source of her momentary vulnerability.

Using her unique power of “focus,” a nebulous, swirling mass of smoke and dust manifested in the air. The smoke pulsated, taking on the semblance of a jellyfish with an uncanny and grotesque appearance. From this amorphous form, a dark chain extended downwards, solidifying into a link with a young man materializing from the air around them.

As this was happening, one of Heidi’s humanoid avatars experienced a tremendous force of impact. This invisible force propelled her backwards, inflicting such damage that it appeared to cleave her in half. With her remaining energy, this manifestation summoned the will to raise her hand, firing three quick shots directed at the mysterious smoke jellyfish.

“Miss Lucretia! That’s the intruder I warned you about!”

With her customary cold demeanor, Lucretia responded, “You could choose a less grisly way to relay information.” She noted the fading form of Heidi’s projection, its lifeless eyes staring into the void, before raising her “conductor’s baton” just in time to parry an oncoming sharp tendril. She met the gaze of the newly emerged figure, the Annihilator, and questioned, “Are the deranged followers of the Nether Lord and the Black Sun now allies?”

The Annihilator, adorned in a blue uniform typically worn by medical staff, had a visage that seemed eerily different. With a smug smirk, he said, “I hadn’t intended on revealing myself, but it seems our ‘temporary allies’ is in need of support.” His eyes darted to Heidi’s projection’s futile attack on the smoke entity, unscathed by the bullets. He surveyed the scene – Lucretia and Heidi, both appearing worn from the relentless assault by the “remnants”. He then cast a glance upwards, nodding subtly towards the fearsome celestial entity above.

“I trust you’ll hold up your end of the bargain; we’ll continue to ‘excavate’ further.”

The “sun” overhead remained stoically silent, yet the radiance illuminating the forest below grew more intense, seemingly in acknowledgment.

Keep the promise? Excavate further?

These phrases uttered by the Annihilator caught Lucretia’s attention, but before she could ruminate on their implications, another assailant dressed in black materialized beside her. From the shadows, the creature’s arm transformed, revealing numerous blade-like limbs aiming straight for Lucretia.

In an instinctual response, Lucretia blurred into a spectrum of colors, reemerging meters away. As she did, she held out her conductor’s baton, pointing it threateningly at the approaching enemy. But in a fleeting moment of illusion, the perceived enemy morphed into a familiar figure.

Standing there was Tyrian, his face a mix of astonishment and concern. “Lucy, you’ve attracted quite a mess…”

The conductor’s baton that Lucretia clutched transformed not into an ordinary weapon but a dramatically designed, wicked-looking death scythe, its blade gleaming menacingly. Without a second’s delay, she swung it with a fierce determination straight towards the head of the figure resembling “Tyrian”.

A mocking smirk crossed her face as the foe split cleanly in two, blood splattering across her visage. She looked defiantly towards the Annihilator, who was watching from a distance, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Is this the best you can do? Have you grown so accustomed to preying on the vulnerable minds of ordinary folks?”

The Annihilator remained silent, but the smoke jellyfish beside him pulsated in response. Almost immediately, a swift sound whizzed by Lucretia’s ear. As she pivoted to the sound, her heart skipped a beat – standing there was her beloved clockwork puppet, “Luni”, its usually emotionless face now twisted in shock and fear.

Without missing a beat, her scythe danced upwards and descended in a swift arc, turning Luni into a cascade of metallic gears and ceramic fragments. Yet, before these shards could crash to the ground, they morphed gruesomely into gory flesh and blood.

As one illusory figure after another materialized, seemingly to torment her, Lucretia remained resolute. Taran El emerged as a shadowy replacement for one of the “black-clothed remnants”. With determination, Lucretia struck him down. Then the whimsical form of Rabbi the rabbit appeared, only to be met with the same fate. Even when Sara Mel, the esteemed governor of Wind Harbor, confronted her, she retaliated without hesitation.

Every step she took brought her closer to the Annihilator, whose demeanor now began to display a hint of desperation. However, her momentum slowed momentarily when a familiar and deeply personal figure materialized before her – her own father. Memories and emotions swirled within the witch, causing her to hesitate for the first time. But in an act of sheer willpower, she forced the flood of sentiments aside, raising her scythe to strike yet again, declaring, “Your psychological warfare has indeed advanced, but you still have a long way to go!”

But as the blade descended, something unexpected occurred. Lucretia failed to notice the fleeting expression of confusion on the Annihilator’s face, followed closely by the scythe she wielded suddenly erupting in eerie green flames.

Rather than meeting the blade with fear or resistance, the illusory figure of her father reached out and grasped it, a look of astonishment in his eyes. “Lucy, are you so disoriented that you can’t even distinguish real from dream?”

Frozen in place, realization dawned on Lucretia.

“This one… is real…”