Nothing quite gets you motivated like certain death, and knowing I was actively calling certain death my way as well? Well, all the more reason to make that I’m not where I was and the get to where I’m going all the faster. The only problem I had since I was already doing the whole ‘running away’ portion of that plan was that I didn’t know where exactly I was going, so I didn’t know when I was going to stop. Since I had some time on my hands before the doom and despair that was chasing after me caught up, between making sure I didn’t stumble over the newly formed land of death and making sure the Abyss still chases after me by releasing Divinity, I had a moment to think. Sot I hadn’t had any moments prior to this to think, but with how close the Abyss was then, thinking outside of my immediate surroundings was least of what I was able to do.

Using the in time crunching of the ground beneath our feet and our slightly offset breaths, I began to distract myself with thoughts. Why was that thing back there so fixated on the particular Divinity I released? Why not focus as hard on the others who had divinity as well? Why me and not them? And why so… vicious about it? It’s almost like it wanted something from me. Just… I had no idea what that one thing was, let alone why the Abyss wanted it so badly. And given the limited time I had spent with this thing, something tells me that I wouldn’t be able to figure it out why either.

Everything running through my head centered around the word “why”. Of all the why’s I thought to myself about as we ran towards the forest, the only one I had an inkling of an answer to was why this was all happening to begin with, and that information was given to me the night I fell. Something caused a disturbance in the Stream the stems from the Gods known as divinity, but not even the Gods themselves know what caused it, at least the three I met so far had no idea, or didn’t tell me if they did know. Well, Gaia was cryptic about it anyway, Sol more had a discussion with Luna when I met him, and Luna still seems to be in the process of accepting the fact that I am not what she wanted. She hasn’t complained much since the first night, but something tells me that she really doesn’t know quite what to do with me. I’m an outsider to her and her religion after all. I do show her reverence as one should, but on my end it feels more like I initially showed her reverence for reverence’s sake, rather than because I truly believed it initially. Almost like I met a leader of another religious group, I know for a fact that they deserve respect for their position and I will give it to them, but they will never get the same respect from me that I give when I meet Tesoro. I guess it’s the different levels of familiarity?

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Knowing that one is due respect but not knowing why and giving it anyway is simply an acknowledgment of the position rather than the person.

All that to say, what in the many Hells did the Abyss have against Luna? This thing wasn’t simply attacking me, it had ignored me entirely up to the point I used divinity to peer at the Abyss’s true form. The moment I did that, it felt to me like I was the only thing the Abyss saw. Not that I expect this question to be answered, but it would certainly be nice if it did.

With these thoughts bouncing back and forth in my mind, I didn’t notice when Suamalie and myself crossed the threshold that was the border of the Gaian Forest and the now desolated field. If not for the fact that I stumbled over a root, I would have run face first into a tree branch. Finally stepping out of my head and back into my shoes, I got a look at the twisted and warped trees that now consumed my vision.

Unlike the forest I saw when I first entered within the domain of Gaia where its trees were bigger around than most of the houses within the Conclave with root systems so large that they could have easily been houses in and of themselves, or at least storage areas; the trees that consumed my vision now were more twisted and menacing in stature somehow. Where I thought my ankle would hurt from where I slipped on a root previously it didn’t, rather I was slightly more out of breath than I was expecting.

“So now… do you… happen… to have… any idea… what to… do next… Sua… Ssss… next?”

Being this out of breath with this relatively small amount of running? That was not a good sign, especially considering that my stamina was one of the few things I know I had going for me. But I wonder what was draining my energy? I hadn’t been touched by

After a few moments, Suamalie finally responded, and just as out of breath as I was. “A… plan? Kind huh-of? I… whew… I thought… that… run… till… abyss….” Before she could finish her thoughts, she had to stop speaking to regain her rapidly decreasing breath. After several very audible breaths, she continued. “This… thing… wants us… wants… you. But… it’s not… angry. Lets find… the… direct… dir… way… that it… really… doesn’t… want us… to… run in.”

“As much… as I… want… to… complain… I have… no… better… idea. By… all means… ladies first…”

A hefty chuckle mixed with a heavy breath and a shake of her head was all I received to my response. Keeping a steady pace, the one in which we entered this forest with, I gathered some divinity within the palm of my hand. Smaller this time than those which I was throwing out the windows of the fort, and tossed it over my shoulder. A few moments passed and the surrounding forest was illuminated with a light the reminded me of Sol’s embrace. The light passed us by, followed shortly by the distorted growl and howls of the Abyss as it continued to chase us.

Now, you abomination of shadows. Tell us which way you do not want us to go.