Your heart sinks into your stomach as the memories of the Valghul resurface. Your mind immediately becomes overwhelmed with post-traumatic stress and you feel like you can still smell the blood from what happened to Aatu. You attempt to repress the images of what happened right in front of you, but the grin on Aatu's corpse that cut his face open from ear to ear while he was impaled on the Valghul's arm is burned into your mind. A hallucination of the Valghul's laughter can be heard echoing as you think about Aatu's gruesome demise.
Mimi looks up at you and sees that you're petrified in fear, so she holds your hand gently and asks you a question.
" Uhm.. Star Faller? You look sorta pale… like you just saw a ghost or a monster or something. That lightning was a bad sign, wasn't it? I've never seen that kind of lightning before… "
You do your best to answer Mimi as the feeling of panic and direness of the current situation sets in.
" Yes, Mimi. That lightning was a very bad sign… I'm afraid that something worse than a monster just arrived here in Moriarch. "
Tom sharply turns his gaze to you and looks at you with a grave stare while he speaks to you.
" It's probably here for us. We need to handle it right now. Let's go find it and make sure we protect the people of this kingdom. You don't mind if I use the book, do you? "
" Not at all. "
You reply to Tom.
" Last time you had it, you sent it running for the hills. Do what you need to do to stop it. I'll help in any way that I can. "
Tom smiles and nods at you in appreciation, then the King speaks up before you and Tom can set off to find the Valghul.
" Star Faller. I was looking forward to getting to know you properly, but that can wait until this dilemma is resolved. I've never seen black lightning before but judging by the look on your faces, it is obviously a bad omen. I'd like to ask that you do whatever you must to protect my people while you resolve this. Buildings can be rebuilt, but my people are irreplaceable. "
Tom replies quickly in a respectful manner.
" Of course, your majesty. I'll telepathically tell your guards to evacuate the area around the strike and to stand down. An altercation with what just arrived in your kingdom is a guaranteed death sentence. "
" What about Mimi? You don't expect her to go with you, do you? "
The King responds, concerned. Tom quickly answers the King again as he turns around towards the open window that you saw the lightning strike through.
" Since the Star Faller and I are Otherlanders, Mimi is safest with us. She also has Faerah's Blessing, but I'm not sure if it will be able to protect her against what just arrived here. If she does come with us, she'll be staying with the only two people who have a chance of fighting that thing. Leaving her here would only be putting her in a place where nobody can protect her. "
" Very well. "
The King says as he nods his head in agreement.
" Good luck, Otherlanders. May the Light AND the Dark Ones watch over you. "
" Thank you, your majesty. "
Tom says as he begins to float in the air. Then Tom lifts you and Mimi into the air as well and you're startled by it. Seeing that she's floating right now, Mimi giggles in excitement as she shouts in wonder.
" WOAH!! WE'RE FLYING, STAR FALLER!! WE CAN FLY!! "
You look at Tom nervously, so he speaks to you telepathically in an assured tone.
" This is the fastest way to get to the area of the strike. Don't worry, I'll keep you both close and make sure you're behind me as we fly to the location. "
You nod your head at Tom to show him that you trust him, then the three of you take off out of the large open window on the side of the castle. You hold the book to your chest so as to not drop it, and it feels like you're simultaneously on a cloud and a rollercoaster at the same time. Your stomach turns a bit as you're zooming through the air, and while you're uneasy about the flight, Mimi appears to be having the time of her life as she giggles hysterically. The fact that Mimi is happy and having fun puts your nerves at ease as Tom brings you both with him, holding you both with his powers.
The three of you eventually reach the location of the strike, and as you peer through the cold misty atmosphere, you can barely see that the building that got hit by the strike is completely destroyed and on fire. You can hear crying and screaming as people are trapped under the rubble and the uninjured people are trying to get them out. Tom then holds his hands out and takes the Light from the crumbled building, causing it to completely disappear. The injured people who were at an elevated height within the building begin to fall and Tom catches them with his telekinetic powers to let them down gently. The people all look up at you guys and begin to cheer as Tom scans the environment to see if he can spot the Valghul amongst the people.
The thought of this demon blending in with these good hearted and helpless people scares you as you begin to look through the crowd along with Tom. Tom speaks to you telepathically as he searches for a clue of the direction that the Valghul went.
" Look for gray skin and dark attire that looks more modern amongst the medieval clothing of these people. "
Tom then lets the three of you down onto the ground to walk as he continues talking, but this time it's out loud.
" We're an open target when we're in the air. I'm reading the minds of the people around here to see if they saw where the Valghul went. "
You feel incredibly uneasy as the crowd steps out of your way, forming a circle around the three of you while you walk. Tom continues scanning the area, then Tom abruptly changes his direction and you continue to follow. You hold Mimi's hand while you follow him as he navigates the streets by reading the thoughts of all of the people who saw the Valghul.
As you follow Tom, you find it extremely suspicious how there's not any death or chaos happening around you.
Why hasn't the Valghul killed anyone? I saw how violent and evil it was when it murdered Aatu, so why hasn't it gone rampant killing these civilians? You'd think that it would go on a murderous rampage until it accomplished what it set out to do, but it hasn't. Why here? Why now? There's a high chance that it probably saw us when we were flying, but it seems like it's gone somewhere else instead of seeking us out… This feels like a trap.
Suddenly, Tom stops at the entrance to a cafe and you walk up beside him. There are people all peeking through the windows and huddled around the door trying to look in from the outside. Everyone has a look of awe on their faces as they all try to get a look and stare. Suddenly, you hear a whistle blow as some guards come from down the street and order everyone around the cafe to evacuate the area. It looks like the guards finally showed up to evacuate everyone. The people reluctantly disperse as the guards approach the door, open it, and tell everyone inside the cafe to leave. You notice that the chilled mist looks even more dense inside the cafe, and as the people exit the cafe, Tom turns to you and motions his head towards the entrance signaling for you to follow him.
The three of you carefully approach the doors and you can feel your heart pounding violently as your mind goes crazy with terrible thoughts of what could await you inside. Nervous about the suspense of what's inside, you feel Mimi squeeze your hand tighter and get closer to you as you approach. Once you're at the entrance, the guards standing inside the doorway take a defensive posture. Then, as if they suddenly changed their minds, they open the doors for you guys instead.
Tom must've told them something telepathically so they'd allow us to pass. This is it. The Valghul must be waiting for us through these doors… What's going on here? All of this makes no sense. The thing that brutally murdered Aatu and bit the face off of his decapitated head is just hanging out inside of a cafe?
There's a hundred red flags going off in your head at once as the three of you step inside, and the first thing you see is a man-like figure sitting at a booth by himself drinking a cup of coffee.
You stare at the figure with horror as you inspect it very carefully. Each thing that you notice about it causes your spine to chill more and more. Gray skin, the same clothes as before, same face and everything. The atmosphere is cold and your entire body is paralyzed in terror as the figure turns its gaze of death upon you and its dead eyes meet yours.
There's no doubt in your mind that you're making direct eye contact with the Valghul.
The ring that Aatu gave you begins to feel warm on your finger and you look down to see that it's glowing just like the first time that you held it in your hands. The Valghul takes note of your ring, smiles slightly, then takes another sip of its coffee without turning his gaze away from you.
Could the ring be tempting it? Does the Valghul know that Aatu's power is in the ring? What if it tries to take the ring from me? The ring shines out the Darkness of anyone that succumbs to the temptation of its power, but the Valghul is an unbeing so would that even work? Is there any Light and Darkness still left within the host of a Valghul after they get possessed?
The fear of the unknown adds to the Valghul's terrifying aura as it stares directly at you. Tom can surely protect you and Mimi if things go south, but he hasn't reached for the book yet, so maybe this won't be a traumatic bloodbath like the last time. Mimi must surely be terrified though, looking at this demon.
Worried about Mimi, you look down beside you to check on her. However, to your surprise, you see that she's not scared at all.
Does she not know how dangerous this demon is in front of her? Can she not feel the cold and dead atmosphere inside the cafe?
Mimi sounds confused as she speaks up unexpectedly. Your head begins to spin and your breath is taken away after she speaks up to the Valghul that's sitting at the booth.
" Papa? "
With a heartbroken look in his eyes, Tom answers Mimi sorrowfully.
" No, Mimi. That's not your father anymore. "