Maribel had told me that acquiring faith skills was based on actions and intentions. Well, she just threw her body over helpless children as a shield... almost died from her actions and intentions... and there's no golden pillar of light coming down from the sky.
A status window appears in my vision.
[Oath of Pacifism has leveled up. Choose a skill to level up.]
[Protect 0->1] [Heal 0->1] [Peace 0->1]
I wish I understood what the levels would do. It's ironic. Fifteen minutes ago, maybe a level in Protect or Peace could have actually done something to help. But no. With my luck, the level up comes *after* the battle... after everyone has died.
Maybe I should give up. If I can't even protect little children, maybe Dungeon Quest isn't the right game for me. It feels too real. My gut right now is torn to pieces. I don't care that she's an. NPC... I'm probably going to have nightmares seeing Zaza's face as she's stabbed in the back for the rest of my life. If I do stay here in Dungeon Quest, getting a heal spell that doesn't make me feel like my insides are being torn apart might be nice though.
I click [Heal 0->1].
[Heal is now level 1. Pacifist Heal is now 10% more efficient. Choose a new attribute.]
It gives me three boxes to choose from, each with a different option.
1: Pacifist Heal has a chance to reattach detached body parts. Function of attached part depends on time spent detached and skill level.
(Unlocked by fully healing an entity with severe injuries)
2: Pacifist Heal has a chance of granting HP to a target below 1 HP. Chance decreases over time. Such grants are permanent and incur significant additional costs regardless of success.
(Unlocked by attempting to heal multiple consecutive entities with less than 1 HP)
3: Pacifist Heal may be automatically applied to targets of "Protect" or "Peace."
(Unlocked by having less than 50% original Max HP at level up, due to pacifist skill costs only; and both "Protect" and "Peace" have been used recently.)
I read until I see the top line of choice 2. And then, without even reading the rest, I click it. Immediately. All I saw are "has a chance of granting HP to a target below 1 HP... chance decreases over time."
[Pacifist Heal now has a chance to grant HP to a target under 1 HP. Chance decreases over time. Such grants are permanent and incur significant additional costs regardless of success.]
I close the window without reading it. It's not like me. I usually read all the instructions. But I have no idea how much of a chance this skill has... but I would guess that any time makes a difference. Seconds are passing, which means whatever chance I have is also passing. I open the skill menu and click Pacifist Heal.
[Touch the recipient of HP]
I touch Zaza.
[Recipient has <1 HP. After making selection, please place both hands near the heart of the recipient. Attempt to transfer HP to return to 1 HP? (Unknown success rate) {Yes} {No}]
I click {Yes} and place both hands on Zaza's stomach.
I am stunned in place by an electric shock that begins in my heart and travels down my arms. My arms go completely rigid and the pain feels like molten lava is erupting from my chest and filling every corner of my body. When I'm finally free from the petrification, I collapse, writing on the ground. Everything itches. Everything burns. Everything is electrocuted. I can't breathe. I am being crushed, and stabbed, and ripped to pieces.
[Success]
The pain subsides, but not completely. I still feel burned, and torn, and stabbed, like someone left a needle in my skin after giving an injection... and I'm sunburned... and I have a paper cut... all over my body. My vision is slightly blurry. I touch Zaza again.
[Transfer 1 HP? {Yes} {No}]
I check my HP. It's 17/25.
That means it took... more than 1 HP to give Zaza one. I can't remember how much HP I had before. The pain was so bad that I forgot everything. Zaza's still in critical condition though... she could die at any moment.
I gasp for breath and speak.
Gabe: "Sister Maribel! I'm going to do something. Heal Zaza right now. Then heal me. Then heal each child after I touch them."
Maribel: "Zaza and the children are dead, Gabe."
I'm gasping for breath as I speak.
Gabe: "Zaza is alive!
Maribel opens the status screen for Zaza and her eyes go wide. She looks at me in disbelief, then immediately chants a healing spell that wraps Zaza in green light. I open my own status screen and flip it toward her.
Gabe: "I may... die here... for good... I don't know... what my skill does... Heal me, then heal anyone I touch... If I disappear... I'll come back... someday..."
I hold out my hands, panting for breath. Maribel looks at my status screen, sighs, and casts a healing spell that wraps me in cool green light. The full-body pain is still there.
I open Pacifist Heal. HP is 25/25.
[Touch the recipient of HP]
I touch Igor.
[Recipient has <1 HP. After making selection, please place both hands near the heart of the recipient. Attempt to transfer HP to return to 1 HP? (Unknown success rate) {Yes} {No}]
I click {Yes} and put both hands over Igor's heart.
The rushing volcano of pain hits me again. If I could fall on the ground, I would. But I'm held in place by an electric current that is simultaneously burning the insides of my arms and the insides of my eyes. My vision goes white and I my when the pain subsides I am even worse than I was before. I can breathe, but struggle.
[Success]
[Transfer 1 HP? {Yes} {No}]
{No}.
I look to Maribel and open my status screen again.
HP is 19/19.
This is a miracle.
But there are still 4 more kids. I don't know how much more I can handle. And... I don't know if I have enough HP.
I touch the next one.
Volcanoes of pain erupt inside my brain, my heart, my stomach. My feet and hands and body parts feel as if they are ripped off, my skin peeled back. I scream in pain but nothing comes out. I can't move. I can't breathe. I pass out.
Moments later I wake up again.
[Success]
HP is 13/13.
I drag myself to the next child, click yes, and place my hands above their heart.
The pain is familiar. A volcano of heat that begins in my chest, electric current that runs through my body and holds me in place as it scorches my arms and burns every piece of me. I can't breathe and my face is covered in sweat and tears. I slump to the ground and pant in exhaustion.
[Failure] [{Try Again}]
HP is 8/8.
I begin sobbing again from the emotional pain. I'm not going to make it. It's not going to be enough. Maribel's hand is on my shoulder, and green light flows through my body. But it does nothing for the pain.
I lift myself up and try again. The pain wracks my body and I momentarily faint from exhaustion.
[Success]
HP is 2/2.
There are still two kids. I try touching both at the same time.
[Pacifist Heal may only be used on one target. Please touch the recipient of HP]
No no no no no no I can't choose! I have to bring them both back... I touch both children again.
[Pacifist Heal may only be used on one target. Please touch the recipient of HP]
I touch one.
[WARNING: GOING UNDER 1 HP DUE TO OATH OF PACIFISM WILL CAUSE YOU TO DIE WITHIN 5 SECONDS AND WILL CAUSE PERMANENT STATUS EFFECTS.]
5 seconds. I don't know how long the pain lasts. I don't know when I lose the HP - at the beginning of the pain or at the end. But maybe... if I use it twice... I can do it. Either way, that means that 5 seconds is all I have.
And permanent effects is ok. I had already decided I was ok with the worst case scenario - losing my character completely. I mean... part of me, the part that just watched those men murder six orphaned children, wants to quit Dungeon Quest forever.
Gabe (turning to Maribel): "Please... Move my hands... here (I indicate over the heart)... after I touch him. Take... care... of them."
I look up at her through blurred eyes.
Maribel is still sobbing but nods her head.
I click {Yes} and place my hands over the first child.
The pain is far more intense this time than it ever has been. Every cell in my body is being split into pieces, my soul is being drained away, my skin boiled in lava, my bones crushed and poisoned and burned and stabbed into me over and over and over again. I feel my strength draining, my sight dimming, my body losing its shape.
Maribel pulls on my hands as soon as they are placed. At first she's unable to move them, but then she moves them to the last child.
The status screen appears in front of me, but I can't move. I can't breathe. I can only see it shining in front of me, taunting me. A second passes. Another. I need this. I have to press yes. This is what I want.
Something presses the screen.
Enormous pain rolls through my body, burning me alive. The edges of my vision cloud with red, and the pain is so intense that I can't think or feel or process anything at all.
And then I die.
I wake up laying in my bed, soaked in sweat, my face covered in tears. The burning pain is gone, but everything still hurts. My head hurts. My joints hurt. I itch all over. My heart feels like it was finally released from a crushing weight, and it hurts from the freedom...
And my soul hurts.
I just... I...
I just hope that they're all ok.
I pass out from exhaustion, and fall into a dreamless sleep.