Chapter 1.3

Arrival: The Blessed

Standing—rather than being carted around or slumped on a bed—in a brightly lit hall, Olivia sighed with exhilaration. Others were screaming and crying out in panic, but Olivia ignored the negativity. With the feel of the marble floor beneath her feet, the sounds of people full of life all around her, and the sheer lack of head pain, how could she not be exuberant?

Suddenly, a pulse of grey swept through the great hall she stood in, the room stilling into an abrupt silence at its passing. Olivia stared in wonder as the energy swirled around her, brushing against her face and hair as if demanding to be let in. She giggled at the strange entity's antics, poking it with her finger in admonishment.

“Bad thingy.”

The energy seemed to pause at her words, almost in shock—perhaps affronted—before resuming its movements with thrice its previous zeal. Despite the bolstered enthusiasm, it felt like a dog barking behind a fence, its efforts just as futile as before. Olivia continued to giggle, poke, and prod, teasing the being for its persistence.

After a few moments, it began to tire, gradually slowing down until the grey energy started to wither away. Olivia frowned as it vanished, but then she realized it wasn't dissipating—it was transforming. The tightly knit and concentrated grey morphed into an ambient collage of colors, wisping about like flowing gas.

Olivia raked her fingers through the vibrant colors, feeling them glide over her skin. The energy wasn’t idle—it reacted to her touch, breaking off into curious strands that prodded her back. Olivia giggled as one strand ventured to tap her face, recoiling immediately.

“It’s okay, mister tentacle. I don’t bite,” she cooed, peeling her lips back and lightly clacking her teeth in playful chomps, despite her words. The strand cautiously returned to her face, slithering around her features with curiosity, though it kept a safe distance from her mouth. Olivia smiled as it positioned itself in front of her eyes, staying nearly still as if staring at her. She stared back in wonder, fascinated by its ever-changing blue and white hues, which sometimes shifted to green, red, or purple in seemingly random spots along its length.

After a few moments of intrigued gazing, Olivia tilted her head, and amazingly, the strand mimicked her. Her smile widened, and she did it again, and so did it. She repeated the motion, her hair whipping about her shoulders as she resembled a flicked bobblehead. After a few seconds of this playful nonsense, the strand stopped to poke her in the forehead, curling up like a spring in warning that it would do it again.

“Aww, I’m sorry, mister tentacle. Did I make you dizzy?” Olivia asked sympathetically, bringing a hand up to pet the agitated strand. Under her caresses, it curled around her fingers like a satisfied cat before suddenly darting back to its original tangle. Olivia stuck her tongue out at the little rascal, prompting a tentacle to poke out threateningly in response. Seeing the strand was done with her for now, she turned her attention to the other hues of energy floating about.

As Olivia continued to poke and stroke the wisps drifting around her, delighting in the ethereal energy, more and more of them seemed to coalesce around her. She felt like the eye of a tornado, her world transforming into swirling colors and inquisitive prods as she basked in the attention.

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“ero? Great Hero? Can you hear me?” a voice suddenly interrupted, cutting through her entranced dance. Olivia looked towards the source and saw an adorable figure in a nun-priest-thingamajig outfit, her face scrunched up in nervousness as she fidgeted with her hands.

“Hello! Who are you?” Olivia cheerily asked, staring at the girl with curiosity. Around her, the wisps of energy behaved differently. They weren’t chaotic and multicolored; instead, they flowed smoothly, concentrating around her hands and near the religious symbol on her chest. Her energy was a soft mint green, and Olivia watched with interest as it rippled and its hues changed in tandem with her anxious twitches.

"I-I am Sercado Emily, G-Great Hero," the girl meekly replied, before firming up her resolve and standing as straight and confidently as she could. "And I would guide you to your chambers, should it please you." Emily's facade nearly cracked when the Hero continued to avoid meeting her eyes, instead letting her gaze rove over Emily's form with an intensity she could not hope to match. Perhaps the Hero was inspecting her outfit, unfamiliar in her world. It was that, or—Emily's face heated at the thought—perhaps she was a lecher whom Emily would have no choice but to obey, forced to choose between her duty and her principles, ultimately succumbing to…

"...Sure!" Olivia easily agreed, watching in wonder as the girl's energy became tinted with a rosy red hue and lost its smooth flow, becoming frantic and jumbled. At her words, however, the girl’s energy suddenly spiked with pink and nearly halted entirely in its movements, yet the girl herself showed no reaction.

“Thank you, Great Hero. Please, follow me,” Emily replied, her voice level and polite. If Olivia hadn’t seen her energy, she wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the subtle, barely noticeable shaking in her voice.

The two walked out of the grand room and into the halls of the castle. Olivia flitted about in wonder, oohing and aahing at the various sights, her attention primarily stolen by that which Emily could not see. Olivia’s favorite attraction was the people they encountered, each distinguished by something greater than mere appearance. Each had their own unique pattern of energy around them; some weak, some strong, but all beautiful in their differences.

Olivia was practically skipping with joy at all the spectacles she was lucky enough to witness and experience. Alongside her, the energy nearby buzzed in excitement, amplifying her glee.

But eventually, their journey ended as they arrived at a door with a “7” carved above it.

“Are these my chambers? I’ve never had chambers before. Unless a room counts, but that doesn’t sound as cool. Do you have chambers?” Olivia rapidly fired off, bobbing her head around the door, inspecting it for anything special. But besides the earthy brown energy leaking out of it, the door was completely ordinary—though it was rather high quality.

“…Yes, these are your chambers, Great Hero. And yes, I have chambers of my own,” Emily answered after a few moments of deciphering.

“Awesome! Now come on, show me!” Olivia urged.

Though she didn’t know why she was so excited, Emily complied. “Of course,” she stated, pulling a large, metal key out of her robes.

After unlocking the door, the two stepped inside, Olivia taking in the room with the awe of a child.

“Ohhh…two moons,” she breathed out, face pressed against the glass. “So cooool…”

“Does your world not have moons?” Emily asked, puzzled.

“No, no; only one,” Olivia replied offhandedly. “Oh, and look at this bed,” she exclaimed, jumping face-first onto the gargantuan thing. “So fluffy,” she sighed, her head smothered in the blankets as she sank into the soft mattress. Flipping over, she spread her arms and legs out, unable to reach the sides. “This cannot be made for a single person, Emily,” she said with a laugh, but when she looked at the girl, her energy had been tinted pink and red once again.

“I-If that is what the Great Hero wants, then I shall j-join you,” Emily muttered, her face colored like a tomato.

“Huh? Oh, no thanks. I’m going to sleep now. Bye bye!” Olivia proclaimed with a wave, wrapping herself in the blankets and turning away.

“...Oh,” Emily said after a few moments, finding herself frowning. Why did she feel disappointed?