Further into the Cathedral of the First Saint…

Passing through spacious hallways bathed in fiery torchlight, we approach what appears to be a dining hall reminiscent of the Chantry of Eternal Light in a bygone era. It’s almost nostalgic, though I doubt we’ll find any beef stew waiting for us. Or anything edible, really.

Oh well. That said, the inscriptions on the walls are rather… fascinating! They’re written in divine Enochian – the language enshrining the Order of Selene’s prayers and librams. But these particular words are far more… complicated. Intricate. Archaic, even.

In the previous timeline, when Anna and I ventured into this Dungeon to face Saint Alyssa, I noticed these inscriptions while treading through these sacred halls, but they were beyond me, just as it had been as well for my fellows in the Order. But now, as the Healer I’ve become… these words demand my attention again.

They shimmer softly, like fireflies dancing in the night sky, as though finally ready to divulge their long-guarded secrets to me. A thought flickers through my mind – having survived Arcadia one timeline ago, have I become powerful enough to be worthy of what was once denied to me and so many others? As my fingers and eyes follow the intricate lines… a story begins to unfold…

“Arisa? Is something wrong?” Anna asks, noticing that I’ve stopped to stare at those glowing inscriptions. “Are those symbols… Enochian?”

“Yes,” I reply, my voice tinged with awe. “These runes… they’re spelling out something I’ve never seen before – not in the Codex or any librams or prayers.”

“What do they say?” Anna asks, her curiosity piqued. “I can’t make any sense of any of them.”

“Neither could I in the previous timeline. But not anymore! They speak of a time before Rinnah, before the Demon Lord. Huh. That’s odd. Okay, this one says…”

“There are twenty-five of them – a tribe of children. Humans and elves. They’ve made camp across the river, roughly two hours from my shop through the hidden path.”

“Shop?” Anna wonders out loud. “I don’t understand…”

“Me neither,” I answer, crossing my arms. “And these runes right next to them say…”

“They don’t show any signs of corruption. Who are they? I noticed a cluster of rickety boats beached on the shore – likely theirs. Where are their parents? Or guardians?

I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be alive after what happened. Anyone else who hasn’t become one of them, I mean.”

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Anna mutters, her brow furrowed in frustration, only to have her eyes suddenly light up. “Wait! What about the next set?”

“Let’s see…” I reply, leaning closer. “These say…”

“They don’t know I’m here; I’ve been observing them from a distance for about a week now. They forage for food during the day, and at night, the older ones sing songs to the little ones to help them sleep.

They seem to like the gifts I’ve left them – toys and storybooks, leftovers from what remains of my shop. That’s nice.”

With Anna quietly listening in awe as we stand before the runes, my gaze shifts along the wall to the next set. They read:

“One of the older children – a young Elf, no more than twelve – had broken her leg while climbing a tree to pick fruit. She had wandered too far from camp, her cries lost to the distance. I wanted to stay hidden, as I always have… but I couldn’t just stand by and watch! As I did the world… when it was… when I was…

It wasn’t anything beyond my abilities to tend to her wounds – there’s a surprising amount of practical knowledge you can pick up from old books. It’s one of the reasons why I’m still alive.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“There’s one last set of runes,” Anna says, her voice soft as she points to the far edge of the wall where our gazes have been tracing. “Right there.”

“Ah, good. It says…”

“Her name is Alyssa. She visits the shop three times a week, sometimes four. She’s polite, quiet, and doesn’t make a mess of things. I thought she was unconscious while I was mending her wounds... but as I turned to leave that fateful day, her eyes were open, quietly watching me. I guess I slipped up, after all these years.

She told me the others know about me – or rather, the idea of me, pieced together from the gifts I’ve left them over the years. To them, I’m a ‘Goddess’. Their Goddess. The toys, storybooks and many secret presents… have woven a myth around me.

I don’t mind it too much. As they’ve grown older, over the years, I’ve started leaving them more practical things – books with fragments of knowledge from the old world. I can only hope that, in time, these gifts will serve them well.

As for Alyssa... she wants to learn from me, to do for her people what I did for her. And she’s persistent – relentless, even. She won’t take no for an answer. Part of me wants to say yes, to take her in as my own… but am I truly ready to have a child in my life again? Every time I look into her eyes, I can’t help but think of you, Selene...”

“These runes are from Rinnah’s perspective, aren’t they?” Anna muses, her fingers lightly tapping her chin. “According to the Libram of the First Saint, she trained Miss Alcadeias…”

“Maybe,” I reply, my brow furrowing. “But the story cuts off here. Then again, knowing what’s in that Libram and the Trial of the First Saint… the rest is history, eh?”

“I suppose…”

“This is rather weird, though,” I add, my voice thoughtful. “Rinnah was a shopkeeper? And she’s surviving on an island after some kinda… apocalypse? None of this is in the Codex…”

“Mom never mentioned it either…”

“Hmm…”

Memories of demonic inscriptions scattered across in Arcadia surface in my mind – cryptic symbols that defied interpretation in the previous timeline. They weren’t exactly in Enochian – it was something similar, yet tainted by something very… evil. And if the Demon Lord’s haunting words about us being ‘as one’ hold any weight, I can’t help but wonder…

“Arisa?”

“The answers we’re looking for… they might be in Arcadia,” I suggest with a slight frown. “There were more runes like these in there, back in the previous timeline.”

Anna frowns at the mention of that accursed place. “That doesn’t sound good…”

“It’s fine,” I assure her with a warm smile, shaking off the lingering questions within me. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let’s focus on the Trial.”

“Alright. Promise you’ll tell me when you learn more?”

“You’ll be the first to know. Hell, maybe you’ll be strong enough to decipher them alongside me!” I say, offering a grin. “Now, let’s get going.”

With Anna leading the way, we press forward. The next chamber is a grand dining hall, its long tables adorned with gleaming plates and glasses. Everything is pristine, as though awaiting a feast that will never come. Still, I can’t help but marvel at how immaculate it all is. Who – or what – keeps it this clean?

But my musings are short-lived. I know what’s coming next – Lightspawn. Swarms of them, each about the size of an angry puppy or Giant Rat, are meant to overwhelm intruders. They’ll surge from every corner of the room, knocking aside the cutlery in their relentless charge.

The strategy is straightforward for first-timers. Take up a defensive position as they close in, have the Paladin cast and maintain Sanctuary for protection. At the same time, the Healer focuses on keeping them both alive while they carve through the horde together. That’s how Anna and I handled it in the last timeline. But this time… something feels different.

Once again, right on cue, the Lightspawn emerge, their glowing forms a massive horde of gnashing teeth. But instead of charging us, they stop and gather. Their movements are eerily synchronised as they coalesce… their radiant bodies dissolving into wisps of golden light.

“Arisa!” Anna cries, unsheathing Ascalon. “The Lightspawn, they’re…”

“Merging…”

The light intensifies with each Lightspawn joining its glow, their combined radiance swelling to a critical mass like a miniature sun. And as that light expands…

“Shit. Get behind me, Anna!”

I throw up a Spell Ward just as the luminous orb of light bursts into a supernova of holy energy. The sheer intensity of it makes my head spin, even with my protective barrier taking the worst of it. And when the blinding radiance finally fades… a new threat stands before us.

“YOU DIE TODAY...” it bellows, its voice a deep, guttural symphony of a hundred beasts growling in unison. “TAINTED ONE...”

The fused Lightspawn now form a towering monstrosity, its many glowing eyes fixed on us with terrifying intent. With a single, massive arm... it sweeps aside the dining tables, clearing the space between us.

“Arisa, what is that!?” Anna shouts, her grip on Ascalon tightening as she stares up at the colossal figure now dominating the room. “I’ve never seen a Monster of such size…”

“It’s a Radiant Colossus…” I reply as I ready Elizabeth for battle. “Fucking hell.”

Anna swallows hard but doesn’t falter. “What do we do?”

“We fight like we’ve never fought before,” I say, steeling myself. “Let’s do this!”