The Seer stood up.
And wept.
That made complete sense to him. How long had she been forced to watch whilst the Radiance tortured and murdered using her body? He could only guess, but the fact remained that her tears were expected - and more than justified.
But the Shade Lord’s reaction to her tears?
That made no sense to him at all.
“It’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay. She can’t get you any more.” The Seer was inconsolable, black tears trailing down her cheeks as the Lord of Shades wrapped her in a four armed embrace.
The scene was touching.
But it left him with another problem:
He had absolutely no idea what to do.
Should he say something? Do something? Their power is infinitely beyond him (and it shined far brighter with how close they were) and they know of his sins.
His sins which were blacker than even their endless black.
You coward. He thought, guilt adding onto the anxiety he was already feeling, you know exactly what you deserve; know with absolute certainty why you deserve damnation. Yet in the face of imminent judgement you can’t face it? Can’t face the punishment that you know to be just? What are yo-
“Father.”
One word. That is all it takes; all it takes to make his thoughts freeze in their tracks. That same damned word that just moments before he thought must’ve been a mistake or something he had misheard.
“Father.” The Shade Lord was looking at him now.
Looking at him in a way that sent his emotions into complete and utter disarray.
His voice is strangled and raw as he speaks. “W-what did you just call me?! Wh-ho are you?” Before, he was afraid that the Lord of Shades would enact a payment on him for intruding upon their domain. But now? Now he is afraid for an entirely different reason.
“Come to me. Please.”
His mind is a mess, but his body obeys of its own violation. Approaching the Shade Lord, everything is tight; tight with an extraordinary amount of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. “W--who are you?!” He asks, voice shaking.
Their next few words make his mind fall to pieces.
“I am your child. Look at me.” He does so.
They are climbing a pit.
“No cost too great.”
Their siblings are falling all around them.
“No mind to think.”
They stumble, nearly falling with them.
“No will to break.”
Their twin sibling is ahead of them.
“No voice to cry suffering.”
They need to get to them.
“Born of God and Void.”
They race up a few more platforms.
“You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams.”
With one final jump, they are holding onto the top platform.
“You are the Vessel.”
Their twin sibling is there! But they can’t get up! Their grip is too weak!
