Morrigan bit her lower lip once more, deeply conflicted by all the information that was just dumped on her. Not only did she just become the leader of a strange religious cult, but someone else, someone just like her, existed.

“Tell me, One,” Morrigan hissed, her expression firm and collected, “who is this “organizer” you speak of?”

One smiled and finally let go of Morrigan, a playful expression on her face as she cocked her head to the side. “My my, I can’t quite tell you that dearest.”

“Aren’t I your God?”

“May you read my mind then?” One teased before swiveling on her heels and turning back toward the group. “Morrigan, you know I’m telling you the truth. I even know the way through this base here.”

One clicked her tongue and pointed behind her nonchalantly, playing with her long pink curls as if she couldn’t possibly be more bored by the situation at hand. “Would you like to touch my hand to check? Of course, I wouldn’t mind if you just wanted to hold my hand, either.”

“Zip it, One!” Elizabeth shouted, storming forward just before One and peering up into her green eyes. “Stop fucking around,” she snarled, her voice deep and serious.

Despite the sudden, harsh movement, One didn’t seem the least bit startled. She continued the odd swaying of her lanky limbs before laughing and pouting at the sight of Elizabeth.

“You’re quite cute! You’re like an angry puppy beside my God. I can see why she keeps you around.” Her teasing expression never once faltered, and she let out a bright cheery laugh.

However, in the dark confines of the surrounding forest, the remaining Apostles remained dead silent—not a single one dared to break the dark stillness that weighed upon them like a vast sea.

The appearance of the Apostles had deeply thrown off the trio; Victor seemed endlessly trapped under the mention of his invention as he began to dissect the potential scenarios.

“The woman on the moon,” Victor began, “do you all know about the woman on the moon?”

One clicked her tongue in a condescending manner. “Do not go thinking about silly inventions once more, Victor Meyer. You’ve done your duty by bringing back our Morrigan.”

“Stop teasing us, One,” Morrigan replied firmly, her ice blue eyes cold and hollow. “Your God commands it.”

To Elizabeth and Victor’s surprise, One fully stopped her comments and bowed down deeply before Morrigan, kneeling onto the ground—the knees on her pants were stained in the process and left with dark brown smudges from the soil.

“I’ve made up my mind. One, you will enter as a guide for Elizabeth, Victor and I. The rest of the apostles may prove themselves to me by attacking all points of entry in the rest of this facility.

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“I’ll enter first using a disguise to better scope out the area. Make one misstep, One, and don’t believe I won’t kill you. I wouldn’t hesitate to. To me, you’re no more than another dirty Leith. You’re a black stain in your God’s vision.”

At the sound of such vicious, violent words, Victor felt chills travel through his entire body, and his shoulders jerked at the sensation. His entire life, he’s questioned his identity—he was a genius, but he was never a Leith. He spited himself for it, he spite Josephine for it, but now, he heard words that decreed the exact opposite.

And, for some odd reason, although he’d been dying to hear those words uttered since he was a child, they struck fear through him like a shattered cord.

Were these even the words a young woman could say with such cruelty? Morrigan had accepted so quickly the title of a God, and yet she so easily hardened herself to the world. She had manufactured an unbreakable wall around her, one that she herself was trapped in. Yet, she would keep stacking the wall higher brick by brick until she’d forget where and who she once was, and she’d become no more than whispers among people who’d encounter her.

And for some, she’d be a monster. She’d be the Potentate of life and death. And to others, she was simply Morrigan.

When Victor finally snapped out of his thoughts, he found himself staring straight at Morrigan’s wide, orange eyes.

Orange?

She was standing just before him, long and perfectly black hair draping over her shoulders. Her head was tilted at an unnerving angle and her eyes were amber, but just through their harrowing depth, he could immediately recognize her as the woman he feared.

“I said, ‘Will you be alright?’”

“Y-yes,” Victor stammered, struggling to collect his scrambled thoughts. He created this creature. Even though she hadn’t done anything evil in comparison to the world she was born into, he had become a destroyer of worlds by allowing her to live. He saw it now. She was the woman on the moon.

“Let me go with you,” Victor blurted out, not even able to process what he had said.

Morrigan’s gaze faltered for a moment, surprise inking through. “You want to survey with me?”

“To get a better understanding of the layout.”

After hesitating for a moment, Morrigan gave a small nod. If there was anyone who could astutely observe and understand the layout in a moment, it was Victor. He was just as much at risk as she was, and Victor wanted nothing more than to ask his sister that one damning question.

“Alright. But Elizabeth, you stay here.”

Elizabeth’s face immediately contorted, and she angrily brought a hand to her chest. “I could help you just as much as he can!”

“Stay here,” Morrigan repeated, enunciating each word. She quickly jerked her head as a signal for Victor to follow suit. “I just need you to watch over the Apostles. I’ll be back soon.”

Victor and Morrigan headed back down and circled along the front of the facility. Every once in a while, Morrigan would brush her fingertips against the ground or a tree to check for any living guards or people in her surroundings.

Suddenly, she froze, bringing a finger against her pink lips.

“Victor, come to where I go in fifteen minutes. Pretend you don't know me, understand?”

“Could you not speak in riddles?”

“It’s Juro,” Morrigan said, her voice straining a bit now, finally showing a hint of emotion. “He’s here.”