The body of the Deepest lay amidst dust and rock fragments, yet it was already stirring. Then it finally rose as if nothing had happened, smiling its taunting smile.

  That was the moment Lera knew they would not make it. There was only one thing left for her to do.

  I have already given him the sigil… Now there is truly no choice.

  “Kelwin. You go back to Exorcist Immesh. Report what has happened. Two Deepest in such a short time, the Clerics need to know. The Shields need to be strengthened. The High Exorcists need to be informed… Run as fast as you can. Use the Light. Do everything in your power to reach Immesh quickly. I know that you are still learning and never...” She cut herself off. “It doesn’t matter. Run!”

  She spoke as calmly as she could, keeping her eyes fixed on the Guilt.

  “Exorcist, I can help you…,” Kelwin stammered, shocked.

  This fool. He has no idea. And how could he? He has never seen Nightmares before we set out from Gilt. He was the candidate with the greatest Lucidity and the fewest mental scars, yet also full of laziness and naivety, with the least experience… Did I make the wrong choice? No. I have to trust at least some part of myself while everything is breaking. He will make it. I can keep this shit at bay long enough. So at least one can make it out.

  Lera’s thoughts raced. He still did not move, only stared at her with that dumb expression.

  “GO! ASPIRANT! That’s an order! You wouldn’t stand a chance! Run and REPORT!” she thundered, still keeping her eyes on the grinning Deepest, which now took another step toward her.

  Yes, you wouldn’t stand a chance… And neither will I…, she added quietly in her thoughts.

  Still, she would try.

  When they had set out to see whether there truly was a Seed, a way to end all these horrors in her homelands, she had known there would be other dangerous beings out here. She had known they might not make it. It was her duty as an Exorcist to protect those beneath the Holy Shields…

  Out of the corner of her eye, Lera saw Kelwin hesitate one last time, gripping the sigil in his fist. Then he rushed off, far faster than would have been possible without using the Light and scaled the stone wall with two giant leaps before disappearing from sight.

  Maybe he was the right choice after all…, Lera thought, breathing a little easier.

  At least she had saved him.

  At least for now.

  At least another Aspirant under her command would not awaken…

  How the rest of her unit would fare was uncertain, yet she had to prepare for the worst. Beside her still stood the possessed woman she had dragged along, staring at the Guilt and sobbing. Lera could not bear her presence any longer and had to force herself with each breath not to wake her.

  She banished the hatred to her innermost being and stepped away from the corrupted woman. Lera hoped the Guilt would start a territorial fight with her so she might somehow melt a way out for her hunters…

  “Ah… Nia… you brought friends this time…,” the Guilt cooed.

  That was all. Its path still led toward her unit.

  So this is it. May Sisona guide us.

  “Attack formation two! Get up, get up, you shits, or do you want to wake here in this filthy dump?” Lera ordered her Nightmare Hunters.

  Somehow, there was still strength left in her. Somehow, she could still stand tall even though her legs were shaking.

  I have to support them. I have to rip them from this monster’s grasp!

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  Focusing some of her attention inward, careful not to lose herself, she searched for the colorful lights she had once woven into the Sky Stone in Eskia before the Possessed had shattered it. Their sparkling shine drew memories of Cal into her mind, forcing their way into her focus. The way he had sent his Lucidity into the Lighthouse so casually, never stressed, never worried…

  You were always the better Vicar. The way you handled your special talents was unmatched. I never could use the guiding lights like you, and now I never will. Perhaps I should have stayed inside the Shields, tended to another Lighthouse… Never ventured out. Yet I cannot let more Hunters die. Especially not mine… I have to help them.

  Even though pain bloomed in her head as she wove the colors of guidance into her whip, she also felt pride. She was using her Lucidity to inspire once more.

  Like back when…

  Lera forced herself fully back into the present. Almost all her soldiers reacted immediately, rushing to their positions and scattering, making it far harder to strike them all at once. They were still deeply shaken, their minds strained under the pressure of the Guilt, yet their spirits hardened again as Lera’s whip began to resemble a twitching rainbow, heavy with red.

  The hunters formed a wide semicircle around the Deepest and lowered their lances, their tips glistening in the evening sunlight.

  “Guilt! You think you’ve won? We’ll destroy you here. We’ll slaughter you as you and your kind would slaughter us! Your raids through these lands end today. We will judge you in the Light, as you deserve. The future will be bright and radiant!” Lera barked, forcing the commanding smile onto her lips she had practiced so much.

  “The future will be bright and radiant!” her hunters echoed, drawing upon their devotion to the radiant circle through her Lucidity and pushing back the darkness infesting them.

  Lera brought her whip forward, letting the radiant halo flood her thoughts, burning red and full of wrath. She dug for the hatred that surged every time she saw a Nightmare. The hatred that flared when she looked at the Possessed she had dragged along for so long. The hatred that had burned when the Seductress dared rise against her… Hatred that strengthened the Light within her and forged it into a blazing weapon, the justice and will of the Goddess.

  She layered her whip with even more heat, letting the other colors fade, and shot forward.

  The Light embraced her, comforting her even as it fed her battle fury. The world slowed. Dust swirled and nearly stood still. The Guilt moved faster than the settling debris, though still not fast enough.

  She tackled it, slamming it into the wall.

  Lera sheathed her fist in a howl of searing radiation, melting the air around her fingers and driving the glowing force into its abyssal eyes. The flare faded quickly, and she leapt back. The Guilt slid to the ground again, its face half melted and reeking of burned flesh.

  “Ahh… so much rage… Yet it won’t protect you. You know I’m right… You killed them all… All the people who arrived here, pure and innocent. You placed your own sinful people above such poor souls…,” the Deepest gurgled through its distorted mouth.

  Lera remembered the newcomers she had tested. The fear in their eyes. Their hunched postures. The cold anger flickering beneath their skin.

  She had done that.

  “No!” Lera gasped.

  The Guilt savored the burning scent of sulfur as its face repaired itself.

  “You’re perfect prey for me, Exorcist. I will feast on your suffering,” the monster hissed and drove its knee into her stomach, far faster than she had anticipated.

  Lera focused, reinforcing her fortification, especially around her abdomen, yet the blow was brutal. Air tore from her lungs. Her stomach burned. She was launched upward, almost seeing over the high walls before crashing back down many paces away.

  With immense effort, she clung to the Holy Circle. It gave her just enough fortification to avoid smashing head-first into the ground, and she drove her feet into the mirror-smooth surface. Blood filled her mouth. She spat it contemptuously onto the floor, her rage surging anew.

  Suddenly, the Guilt shot toward her.

  The swirling, laughing face raced closer. Lera plunged her thoughts into the Light again. Her whip flared and struck, catching the Deepest just before it reached her. It wrapped around its torso, which began to steam under the heat, and she hurled it away from her people.

  It crashed through the blade-like rocks that still bore the remains of Immesh’s unit, shattering them and flooding the prison with dust and stench.

  Her whip extinguished. Lera sank to her knees.

  Her shattered insides had nearly regenerated, yet exhaustion crept in fast. She knew her power was among the most destructive of the Exorcists, and that she burned through her strength far quicker than most.

  Fuck, I need to end this quickly. It’s draining me, tearing down my fortification… Maybe I can stall it. Oh, Kelwin, I hope you are already far away and will reach Immesh… At least he survived, cruel as he is. Perhaps we need more truly vile people to stand against these monsters…

  Panting, she forced herself upright. Her ears rang. Her unit stared at her, still scattered. Their resolve wavered again as her guiding Light faded, eroding into a dim memory while the monster clawed back into their minds.

  Do they hate me? For what I... No. I don’t care. It was the right thing to do. This wretched Guilt will not defeat me… No!

  “The future will be bright and radiant!” she spat.

  Her healing finished. She marched forward, legs trembling, stomach warm, wind tearing at her clothes and freezing her all the same. Her bracers and armor were dented despite their Shaper fortification. The symbol on her chest was torn and broken, smeared with blood.

  Still, Lera advanced.