Mark is looking around the room frantically to find his bag that went missing.. “I swear I left it here!” Mark says as he repeatedly opens the drawer expecting it to just reappear. Mark then notices Dasa just standing still looking away.

“Something has happened to Rick and Ana. They seem to be in critical condition” Dasa says, shocking Mark

“Why didn’t you say something sooner!“Mark grabs Dasa’s hand and runs out the room but ends up in a small box. Mark and Dasa seemed to have ended up in a confessional. Mark is understandably confused about what just happened while Dasa opens the door just to see a bathroom on the other side instead of the room they just left. “It seems as if the whole church itself is against us.” Dasa says.

Mark smacks his face in disappointment as now he has no idea if they’ll find Rick and Ana. “Then should we just break the wall down to make it easier.” Mark says. Dasa nods but before she could knock the wall down a voice on the other side speaks to them.

A distorted voice with a faint hint of the nun. “Don’t be hasty now.”

“Are you the other soul in the nun?” Mark asks

“Why yes. It is indeed us. Lucky guess” The distorted nun says with a sly tone.

Dasa asks him about the church rooms shifting around but the distorted nun ignores her. “Let’s play a little game.“” the distorted nun says.

“We refuse.” Dasa says.

“I wasn’t talking to the lifeless doll.” the distorted nun say which annoyed Dasa. “Plus this game can only be played by people with souls” When they said that the door opens and slimy tendril resembling an octopus comes out quickly taking Dasa out of the room. Mark attempts to follow but the door is slammed in front of his face. He then tries to force it open with no success.

“Come sit down, adventurer. Play my game and if you win your doll will be set free.” the distorted nun says.

Mark just says he can smash the wall down between them but the distorted nun had to remind Mark where he stands.“Do anything too bold and I’ll use your friend’s head to cook stew. Maybe a human eye soup with some of those Mushrooms you had.” the distorted nun’s sly voice says with a venomous tone. Mark begrudgingly sits down on the stool ready to play whatever challenge he has. “The way this game works is that you’ll have to confront your inner self. The part that you deny from existence. You will have to face it and if unable to accept them with all your heart then your soul is mine but if you are able to then I will hold the end of my bargain.”

When the distorted nun finishes talking, a cold sticky slime begins to drip on Mark’s head before a slimy tendril reaches down grabbing him by his head. Lifting up from the stool as Mark begins kicking. “Have fun with your darkest self. Only a few mortals have been able to accept their darker side, shattering that heroic persona they made.” The distorted nun said as Mark’s body went limp.

“.... Is something supposed to happen?” Marks says muffled by the tendril.

“What’s going on? You’re supposed to have entered your own mind?”

“Uhm... I don’t want to be rude and all but how does this thing work?” Mark says muffled by the tendril. The distorted nun is confused about what’s going on and soon releases Mark. This isn’t something he has seen before as everyone he has met has a darker side to them. No matter though as there’s always another challenge that never fails him.

“It seems we are unable to play that game but there’s always another!” The distorted nun says before sending a tendril into Mark’s heart. “A test of your heart! Any amount of evil and it’ll be crushed under the weight of darkness!” Mark looks down to his chest as nothing happens. Mark then slowly takes out the tendril. The feeling as cold as death, with a slimy squish.

The distorted nun cannot believe what happened. There exists someone pure of heart. Everyone has an evil part no matter how good they are.. “That’s two challenges passed! Now release Dasa!” Mark shouts defiantly towards the voice. The voice begrudgingly opens the door to where Dasa was kept.

Mark goes through the door into the catacombs. Dasa being held down in the wall. She was soon released but before any happy reunion can happen the distorted nun comes out of the corner. Her body leaking out dark slime as tendrils appear from her body. “I agreed to let her go but that doesn’t mean I can’t recapture her and you” it shouts.

“Wait! I completed two games so you owe me” Mark says standing defiantly.

“Fine. You may ask one question.” The distorted nun begrudgingly says.

“Where’s my bag?” Mark asks. The distorted nun turns to the wall. The stone wall pops out a mouth telling the distorted nun where it is.

“You’re dying friends have it.” the distorted nun says. Mark nods and the chase begins with the distorted nun chasing after them and the catacombs halls begin to shake.

The distorted nun is shooting its tendrils towards them while everything shakes. It feels as if they’ve been running in circles in this stone maze they’re stuck in barely being able to dodge the tendril while keeping their footing. One tendril nearly reached the mark, almost grabbing his poncho but Dasa reacted quickly to slice it’s tip.

Dasa soon realizes something. The distorted nun talking to the wall and the wall forming a mouth must mean there is someone in the wall controlling everything. A mini satellite dish comes out of her ear allowing her to hear the movement in the wall. She then Punches right through the stone floor crushing whatever it was controlling the wall instantly. The hallway finally returned to normal, ending the circles they were going in..

“Mark, I have an idea on how we’ll get out of this quickly.“” Dasa says but Mark didn’t seem to listen, focusing on running and dodging. She decides to just do her plan, grabbing Mark by the belt of his pants and tossing him through the ceiling to reach the base floor. Dasa soon follows, extending her legs up to reach the top.

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Mark groans on the floor for a quick second before getting up quickly remembering they need to find Ana and Rick still.. Dasa rips off the bathroom dividers stacking it above the hole before they run out the bathroom. “Couldn’t you have warned me first.” Mark groans.

“I tried but you weren’t listening. It was just the most logical action I could take at that moment.” Dasa says as they reach the nave. They then see Ana and Rick walk into the Nave from the hall on the other side.

Both Rick and Ana are breathing heavily but still alive. Ana’s shoulder injury having been stitched. Mark quickly runs to them overjoyed, giving them a group hug. “I was worried you guys were gonna die.” Mark says with tears streaming down his face.

“It was pretty close but Rick was able to stitch me up and I was able to seal his wounds.” Ana says handing Mark his bag but before the celebration of survival can truly start they still have one more thing to deal with. “I’ve got you all grouped together now” The distorted nun says entering through the door besides the altar. Her body being taken over completely with the tendrils coming out of every part of the body. They touch the massive bronze statue bringing it to life with the one command to kill them.

The giant statue swings its fist down. It’s slow but strong, destroying the floor of the Nave. They all jumped on the way besides Rick who needed to be carried by Dasa. “Have you figured out how to beat this thing!” Mark shouts to Ana. “Yes. We need the sister’s soul to get stronger to allow you to enter it.” She responds while jumping over a right straight punch from the bronze statue. “Then you must break whatever deal she made with the demon” She begins running up its arm.

Dasa sets Rick in the hallway away from the nave where the action is taking place. Mark pulls out Ana’s staff, tossing it to her before taking out his sledge hammer. The bronze statue swings his left hand down once more but this time Dasa catches it. Holding it up with her hand. Ana then jumps off its shoulder and uses her fire magic softening the left arm for Mark to follow up by slamming down on it, making it bend upwards.

Dasa extends her legs to the sky, reaching the forearm. Ana then softens the bent arm more allowing Dasa to twist it off. Mark goes behind the statue smashing its head and knocking it down sending it into the catacombs. Before it could get back up, Ana focused her fire magic on a single point on its back where Dasa uses the statue’s own hand to piece through destroying it.

The corrupted nun stands above them now infuriated.. “Alright Mark it’s now or never. We have to wake up her soul.” She hands Mark an old book with all the nuns painted in it. Mark nods and charges forward towards the corrupted nun that looks more like a living void. It begins to shoot its tendrils out from all over. Ana and Dasa work to shield Mark from getting grabbed but when Mark tries to show the picture of her old self it doesn’t react.

Rick stands on the base floor taking off his backpack. He takes out a syringe that’s connected to the backpack and connects to his arm. He then places Ana’s spell book inside creating steam that shoots out before morphing the backpack into a cannon. Since Rick has no control of his mana he designed it to take it from him by force instead. The canon then condenses the mana together. Even if Rick’s mana is low a small concentration would be able to pierce through just slight but enough.

Rick fires it, hitting the Void in the eye which reveals a small part of the nun’s face which was enough and her eye. She looks towards Mark as Mark tries to show her the page about her but accidentally shows one of someone else. Yet it still worked with the nun’s soul rejuvenating back for a split second but enough for Mark to make contact. He clenches his cheek, turns his body, keeps his hand close to his chin. Using the momentum to do a powerful straight right into the nun and entering her soul.

Mark stands outside of the Monastery but it’s different. The Marble wall is clean like a swan’s feather and the ruby stain glass shines from the bright sun. The Courtyard filled with the smell of freshly planted flowers and the dull gray trees back to its lively color.

The whole monastery is much more lively with many nuns outside cleaning what seems to be little kid clothing. Even kids out running in the field having fun. Mark then hears someone crying coming from the forest. It’s the nun that was corrupted crying in front of a pond.

“What’s wrong with me?” She says holding her legs. “Why do I feel this way?” She seemingly is speaking to the two swans. “Why can’t I be happy like you two? Why do I always get this strange feeling this way around sister Arina?” A snake then slithers down a tree with its sly sizzling voice offering her a way to forget her feelings if they could be given a body. Offering to shake hands using his tail.

“You’re really relying on a snake to take care of your emotions.” Mark grabs the snake by the neck “Heart is what’s needed and do you think this guy has any in him” he tosses it to the two cobs. He then sits beside her offering a hug. She cries before accepting his warm embrace. “It’s my fault they’re all dead.” she says. “I took the deal yet the strange feelings never disappeared.”

“That strange feeling of butterflies tickling your stomach is what I call love.” Mark says to her and she breaks down even more. Mark then appears back into the church but everything is back to normal and repaired. The light of the sun shining through the stained glass gives them a comfortable warmth.

“The church always tells us that this type of love is forbidden.” The nun says laying on the floor. Her body withering as she reaches her true age. “The church doesn’t recognize that type of love”

“It doesn’t matter what a church thinks. It only matters what the heart thinks.”

She gives a weak smile. “Can.. Can I have your name.”

“Mark. Mark Travels, sister.” Mark says sitting beside her. “Can I say you would’ve looked nice with sister Arina.” Mark says with a big smile. One that gives comfort to her as she passes on.

“Maybe I can see her again. Thank you, Mark” Her body finally giving up as she gives her last breath to the world.

Mark leaves her with the book flipped to the page with Arina. As Mark opens the door towards the fresh air, a man wearing Iron armor flies right past him. The chest plate dented to the shape of Dasa’s fist. Rick and Ana are laying beside a tree while Dasa fights off knights. “What’re you doing to my crew!?” He catches the attention of the knights..The knight that has a goatee puts his hand up stopping the fight with Dasa. The leader of these merry men it seems.“Are you the leader of the adventurer?” the guard with a goatee asked.

“What’re you trying to do to my crew?”

“You and your merry crew have entered Mushram territory illegally. We are just trying to uphold the law here.” he approaches Mark.

Mark bows to him “I apologize for breaking the law but I also must decline getting arrested .”

“Sure. You definitely out muscle us. You could easily run away but what about those two friends of yours. Their injuries seem quite severe, especially the boy.”

He puts his hand over Mark’s shoulder. “You guys seem like a capable crew but it’s clear as day that none of you are doctors. From the badly sealed wound and the amateur stitching.” He squats down to Mark’s eye level. Everything he’s saying is true and Marks even knows it. They’ve been lucky to even have gotten this far without a doctor in the team.

“Listen boy. I do have an offer for you. We’ll take those two to a doctor and give them the best care they can have. If you help us deal with a problem.”

Mark sighs in defeat. “What’s the problem?”

“A vampire has been leaving our livestock as empty husks. We tried to deal with it ourselves but everyone came back half dead but you seem capable. After all, you beat the wretched witch that lived here.”

Mark reluctantly agrees and lets the knights take Rick and Ana away. He sits behind the goatee knight with Dasa in his bag.