The hexagram pendant reappeared in Magic Miss's hand. Its blue glow drove back the strange shadows at her feet, but they only retreated, not vanished.
The forest floor had turned pitch-black, a dense mass of shadows squirming as they closed in, held at bay only by their fear of her power.
She glanced up again at the partially eclipsed sun, then down at the restless shadows, and an expression of utter disbelief crossed her face.
"Are those madwon really so bold? Are they actually trying to drag those terrible shadows into this world?"
She took several sharp breaths, her right hand diving into her pocket. A mont later, she pulled out a small slip of paper. If Jenkins had been there, he would have recognized it as one of Mr. Prankster's Transit Tickets, an item of which more than one existed.
"Gods! There's a way out!"
She devoutly traced a sacred sigil over her chest before tearing the ticket to shreds. In a daze, her body seed to fly from the ground as all five of her senses were assaulted by bizarre sensations.
Amidst a kaleidoscope of colors, a colossal, bizarre creature opened its eyes before her. The sheer scale of its form and an appearance utterly alien to human sensibilities instantly tore a choked scream from her throat.
Even though it was only for a fleeting mont, the glimpse of the monster lurking in the spatial rift was enough to nearly shatter Howard's sanity.
She lay sprawled on a soft patch of grass, trickles of blood running from her eyes and ears. Every fiber of her being rejoiced at having escaped that creature.
Her mind was still reeling in chaos, so much so that when a strange man's face appeared in her line of sight, her first instinct wasn't even to feel threatened.
"Need so help?"
The man asked with an easy familiarity. He didn't even wait for her to object before grabbing her broken left arm and setting it back in place.
Miss Howard had no strength left to resist; the terror from that fleeting glimpse was still seared into her very being. When the man helped her up and propped her against a tree, she could only muster the energy to turn her head slightly.
Her vision filled with a lush, green forest. A colossal, ancient tree grew directly in front of them, its gnarled roots jutting from the earth. The man had an ordinary face and wore plain clothes. A small white kitten crouched beside him.
"Mr. Candle?"
"Yes."
Jenkins nodded. Just a mont ago, he'd been standing there watching the eclipse when the woman suddenly materialized nearby. After a few seconds of consideration, he'd summoned his black robe. After all, a follower of so god of rituals was hardly going to check with the Orthodox Church to confirm who was standing before her.
"Are we still in Nolan?"
The woman found it hard to believe. Could the gods truly be watching over her?
"The outskirts of Nolan... which I suppose still counts as Nolan."
Jenkins shrugged, then issued a warning. "I don't know what you were up to, but spatial transference is an extrely dangerous business. I imagine you must have seen or felt sothing just now, didn't you?"
"Please, don't ntion it again."
Magic Miss said, her voice laced with pain. The mont she recalled the indescribable creature, the feeling of her head about to explode returned.
"Where is this place?"
"It used to be called the Ponton Winery. As for what it's called now... perhaps you should ask one of the Orthodox Church's Enchanters in the area."
He was attempting a joke, but it wasn't particularly funny.
"I understand. It's a bit of a hassle, but this is likely the best possible outco."
Having regained so strength, she steadied herself against the tree trunk and tried to stand. Miraculously, her left arm felt no discomfort at all; in fact, it felt like the most vigorous part of her body.
She stole a glance at her strange acquaintance, but the man simply t her gaze, unconcerned.
"I want to know what, exactly, is going on."
Although phrased as a request, the man's tone left no room for refusal.
"The plague in the city is the work of the followers of the Lord of Immortality. The Orthodox Church discovered they were hiding nearby."
"I'm aware of that."
He stated calmly. His detached attitude stirred a naless anger within Miss Howard, making her want to strike him.
But she knew it was just a sign that her mind was still affected. Normally, her emotions would never fluctuate so wildly.
"The followers of the Lord of Immortality were hiding in the nearby mineshafts. While expanding their territory, they accidentally ran into the Gearsmiths' Guild, which was even deeper underground. For reasons I can't fathom, they started fighting. There were other cultists on the surface, too. I was running... and I accidentally stumbled upon them performing a ritual."
"And the eclipse?"
He gestured toward the sky.
"The Church of Sun and Justice is hunting down followers of the Witch's House, and there are several high-level knights stationed in the city. By sheer coincidence, they were also fighting nearby. The eclipse is the prelude to the 'Hanging Mother Goddess's Shadow' arriving in the material world. They're complete madn. That high-level entity might be powerful, but it's not like the local churches are without strength."
Jenkins was speechless. He was imnsely relieved that those cults weren't after his divinity, but the impending arrival of the Hanging Mother's Shadow gave him no cause for celebration.
"You're not joking?"
"Of course not."
Seeing the mysterious gentleman's panicked expression was genuinely amusing to Magic Miss. "In the areas closer to the ritual site," she added, "the Shadow Realm and the material world have already begun to overlap. All the shadows have gone mad."
As she spoke, they both looked up, peering at the sky through gaps in the giant tree's canopy. Only a final third of the sun remained visible, and dark clouds shrouded the heavens. Behind the clouds, a massive silhouette was faintly discernible.
"Don't worry," she murmured, offering what little comfort she could. "I think a Saint will descend this ti."
"Which one?"
"I don't know, but there are traces of a divine descent ritual in the area... How did you get here, anyway? This must be ground zero."
"I'm looking for sothing."
Jenkins answered evasively. "And you? You're certainly well-inford."
At the ntion of this, a flash of anger crossed the woman's lovely face.
"I was just minding my own business at ho when those cultists found ! I was trying to escape and ended up here without realizing it. Everything I ntioned—I ran right into all of it. Can you believe it, Mr. Candle? I've seen more cultists today than I have in the last year combined."
He struggled to suppress a smile. It would ruin their shallow friendship. This, he mused, was likely the price of the wishing tree finally coming due. But at least she was still alive.
"The cultists ca after because..."
"Because of the ashes of an unsanctioned immortal."
Jenkins finished for her. Seeing her astonished expression, he smiled and pulled two test tubes from inside his coat.
"I have so as well. And believe , my understanding of these matters is far greater than yours."
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