We Know All, Thus We Lament All (Demon Pillar Quest)

[X] Offer aid to the Master. Exploiting the small opening you have made is, by some perspectives, premature. But you cannot render any meaningful aid without using it. The Oprichniki may have been temporarily pushed back but their are limitless. So long as there is magical energy more will be spawned. And that is to say nothing of the force that had defeated them and now moved to confront Chaldea. ...Something also bothers you about this new Servant.

It would be a mistake to neglect the reason for all of this. Chaldea was your first and highest priority, and its weakened state even an inconvenience could prove devastating. So you wormed your way further into the tree, your intrusion of magical energy diffuse as mist. Yet it was effective enough when combined with the sensors of the Shadow Border. So you saw as the harmless looking nun decimated the forces that came in response to the summoning. Some were dealt with pure magical energy, the brightness of enlightenment purging beasts and soldiers alike. But it seemed that much was not nearly enough to satisfy Kiara Sesshouin, even though by all indications she could maintain this ranged struggle with ease. Then came the pillars.

You would forgive The Master and The Servant for mistaking them as hands. The transition was nearly immediate, the black flesh and red eyes transmuting to a brilliant white as they emerged from the realm the Alter Ego called them from. They gently caressed. Monster and man alike caught in a loving embrace that shattered bone and crushed flesh to pulp. All around her, the white snow was stained red. Even those who made it beyond the reach of those pearly fingers found no safety in close quarters with her. It seemed she was an adequate martial combatant as well. And while the wounds she received in turn seemed to disprove that, the brief look of ecstasy on her features confirmed that she acted with full intention. What a shameless creature.

It almost felt as if your help was unwarranted. You had began to turn your attention back to your experimentation on the tree, but that was when the pack moved in fullest. The corpses shifted and drew away at a rapid speed, their weapons dissolving into retracting hair and nails. All of it, a performance put on by one flesh. In the moment it takes you to place it the Master's eyes had already lit up in recognition. "Grendel," she spoke. And so she named the monster, creature of darkness, descendant of Cain, accursed by God. He would have been a threat even before. A protean beast that could assume even the form of a dragon. But now he is nearly swollen with power.

He towers over the expeditionary group, flesh twitching and snapping at any errant threat. Scales and barbs and spikes shifting in and across a form that barely resembled a human body. It seems this strand of time, this pruned Lostbelt, has great compatibility with him. Devoid of the sun or joy, without a single hero, and filled to the brim with beasts. The Master's communications with Chaldea revealed when she had seen him once before. The summoning of Beowulf in the past had also called forth the monster that began his legend. But here stood Grendel, alone, and no Beowulf to be seen.

Still, he boasts of his strength. That he stands at the peak of this Lostbelt. This is patently false, but he was certainly potent enough to pose a problem. Especially with the Oprichniki arriving soon. He does not seem particularly pleased by the lack of reaction from the Master and her Servants. Perhaps he had expected fear? Or at least some sort of wary respect. But it was fruitless. There was no moral quandary for Chaldea to fuss about with. If it was merely another monster, they would cut him down.

The disregard seems to incense him, and you would gain nothing from allowing him to act. So you press your will against the Tree, carving deep into it like a knife. Enough for only a fraction of its Authority. Then, above the Master, a star blazed. Then a lance of blazing light blasted right through the monster from the skies, blasting him into the ground and flash boiling the ice around him. The howl of rage rather than pain was concerning, and you did not have the strength to a multitude of such attacks. A bluff, then. A dozen stars began to glow in the skies then. A fusillade to put the previous attack to shame, or so it seemed. That at least seemed to have the creature rethink his position. He bellows and roars, he puts on a facade of having greater prey to hunt, but he backs away all the same. It seems he will solve your Oprichniki problem as well, if his charge towards their ranks was any indication.

The momentary confusion on the Master's face was quickly put to rest as she rallied the others around her, retreating from sounds of conflict. All indications saw that their escape would be successful. Your own escape was more questionable. The meddling that you had done with the tree had not gone undetected, and you did not have the time to attempt to enhance your control over it now. Escape would be unlikely, but not impossible. Alternatively, it would be possible to leverage what resources you had invested into infiltrating the Tree to help mask your escape. You quickly dismissed the possibility. Such a thing would be a waste. No, there was another option. You sent a surge through the Tree.

A giant stirred.

The forces that had been moving towards you, at least one Servant, immediately doubled back to the palace as the earth shook with tremors. He neared waking, and even from here you could hear the Yaga howl in fear and sense some Oprichniki vanish like the nightmares they were. That would keep them busy for long enough, and if their reactions were any indication it would assure the Thunder Emperor's slumber. Even if he were to awaken, the situation would not be beyond saving. Chaldea had no connection to the outside world, true, but you were nothing if not specialized in working outside the constraints of the world. Generating a Pseudo Singularity would not be your preferred method to leave this place in the end, but it would suffice.

Although, as Tachi moved to leave, you found to your irritation that something had escaped your notice. Koyanskaya. You had not thought her so stealthy. Perhaps she had merely been hiding her abilities, moving within your vision to catch you off guard? It was too late to escape now, at any rate.

So Tachi bows her head as the pink haired woman arrives. You exchange pleasantries, empty words that maintain your facades. Koyanskaya is dangerous, but she is not especially dangerous to you. She is a creature of a different ecological niche. Every part of her is meant to inflict misery onto [humans]. Objectively, she is powerful. But there is no particular advantage she has over you. "My cute little understudy can do me one favor, can't you? You never did pay me for keeping your secret from Chaldea after all~."

What a loathsome being. Tachi agreed with her request, of course. You had no desire to enter full hostilities with her now, and the moment she departed you made your leave as quickly as possible. But what in the world could that woman want with a piece of the Thunder Emperor?

---

When Tachi manages to catch up with Chaldea, she finds them in a Yaga village. You do not entirely understand the decision. Shelter is one thing, but the Master is openly fraternizing with the inhabitants. Does she not understand that they will all perish? That if this lynchpin is removed, and it must be if the Earth is to have a hope of returning, they would vanish like mist. An illusion given form for a mere moment, a mistake returned to the trash heap. But she persisted. The Servant and Kiara even seemed to indulge in these fantasies. You spend a few days with the group lying low, waiting until the gaze of the Oprichniki moved to another region. In the meanwhile, the Master helps retrieve additional food for the camp. You also find Kiara providing... comfort to the hybrids. The bliss she brings them with her words and behind closed doors seem like nothing that they have ever experienced. Without a single doubt, you knew to keep your distance from her. That Servant was undoubtedly a monster. If Koyanskaya predated on humans, Kiara Sesshouin was a predator that consumed [intelligent life]. Even if you were to confront her in full, you feared that it would not be enough.

There was recognition in her eyes when she saw you, an open delight as she curled her pinkie. What had the other Pillars done? Whichever of them was fool enough to conjure this creature deserved their fate, but they had only made your life so much more difficult. No matter how curious you were of the endless Pillars she herself seemed to summon, you were not reckless enough to her confront her on the subject. No, Tachi kept her distance.

You were concerned for the Master, for a time, but it seems again you underestimated her. For once, you were uncertain if you understood her at all. While you thought she approached Kiara out of ignorance, her actions implied a greater understanding of the woman than you had achieved. The Master teases the Alter Ego, although never too much. She spends her time with the older woman and even hugs her at times, but she never allows Kiara to offer a private chat between the two of them. She presses her head into the lion's mouth long enough for it to taste, yet she is always quick enough to pull back before the jaws snap shut. You cannot understand it. Yet, at the very least, it seems to delight Kiara. For a being of desire she seems remarkably restrained.

Only once do you see Kiara off balance. Once, when the Master asks Kiara to stay with her alone, to tell her a story. One that the Master confesses not to remember, but one she wishes to hear. Nothing occurs in the privacy of that room than what was asked for, and you listen to the tale of the maiden who dissolves into sea foam. Love unrewarded. You wonder, what meaning such a thing could possibly have.

However, not all of your time is spent in wary observation and confusion. At the very least, it is satisfying than watching the Servant wring her hands night after night. It is disappointing, in a sense. The flawless white kingdom that had warded off the light bands could not be found in her, now. Its walls were riddled with cracks, overflowing with decay. Her resolve had withered, ever since you arrived in this Lostbelt. It could be that she understood the situation more than the Master. But surely, that was no excuse? Those hands had crushed a dream 3000 years in the making. What was this place but a whisper of failure over 500 years? But while you relished in her misery, it was a liability. If confrontation became unavoidable you would need her arm to be steady to attain victory.

There were less enjoyable things to deal with, as well. The debriefing with the crew of the Shadow Border was inevitable. Weaving a lie would be too difficult under so many perceptive eyes, so you merely parceled out the truth carefully. You had investigated the massive tree and done your best to understand its functions. You had determined that it was key to maintaining this world and it would eventually overwrite the existing earth. You had used its power to help Chaldea and escape pursuit. Even then, you loathed the bright look that Holmes had in his eyes. It was as if you had given him another piece of the puzzle. At least the thankfulness of the Master was a pleasing result of your intervention. You deliberate for a while yet on what next to do with the rest of Chaldea, and eventually they decide that at the very least the Tree must be dealt with.

But that is Chaldea's plan. You have your own objectives to tend to while you are here.

[ ] Confront the Servant. This flaw in your defense cannot be allowed to persist. You will swallow your distaste and... converse with Mashu Kyrielight. The light that stood against the King of Magic will be essential in the time to come.
[ ] Explain the situation to the Master. Her continued ignorance cannot be allowed. It could lead to a catastrophic failure in resolve if she begins the final battle here unaware of the consequences.
[ ] Bring up the topic of Kiara Sesshouin. You will not face her in a group, but perhaps alongside the Master or even the Servant if need be you can come to a better understanding of her nature. The Pillars that she calls forth are empty and nameless, but that does not make them useless. There is an opportunity there, if you are willing to risk it.