You hear an incredible whooshing sound as the green aura from Tom's hand reaches out and impales the cloaked figure. The figure drops to his knees out of weakness as his Light is being taken from him and his hood drops from his head to reveal that it's just a man. The man grins creepily as his Light leaves his body and you notice that it looks as if the man has cut out his own eyes.
Mimi cowers behind your legs and starts to panic in fear, so you put your hand gently on her back to comfort her as she hides behind you. You don't like how this is scaring her and all you can think about is protecting her. You feel like your senses are heightened and you begin to see the Light that's within everything that's around you. The only thing that has no Light within it is Tom's body as his silhouette walks towards the man.
You can tell that Tom is holding off on siphoning all of the man's Light and instead Tom has only put the man into a weakened state. There is only a small amount of Light left within him and it's very dim as the man falls to the floor. Tom then retracts his aura and asks the man another question while grabbing him by the collar of his robe.
" What is your purpose here? "
The man spits blood between his teeth as he cackles and responds to Tom.
" This world will fail… Day by day his forces grow stronger… Doomed… No God can save us… We all belong to The None. "
Seeing that Mimi is terrified in the moment and there's no point in trying to interrogate the man, Tom's hands glow green once again as he takes the last of the man's Light from him to put an end to his charade. You can see the man's last remaining Light flow through his body and into Tom's hands, then the man's form of only darkness dissolves into dust right after.
Your vision returns to normal as Tom drops the empty black robe on the ground with a frustrated face and looks back at you and Mimi. Tom's gaze then drops to the book and his eyes light up in surprise. As you look down at the book, you see your hand that's holding the book is glowing green like Tom's hands were and you drop the book jumping in shock.
Tom smiles and holds his arm out towards the book. The book then flies up from the floor into his hands and Tom inspects the book as he walks back over to you. He makes a remark as he gives it back to you, and after you hold the book in your hands again, the book then locks on its own.
" You unlocked it. Looks like your powers have finally woken up for the first time in 100 billion years. Did any memories come back to you? "
" No. "
You tell Tom in an astonished tone.
" But I definitely felt and saw things differently when Mimi got scared and hid behind me. "
Tom then kneels down in front of Mimi and gently wipes the tears from her face. He speaks to her softly as he looks her up and down to make sure she's alright.
" There's no need to be scared. The Star Faller and I are always going to protect you when you need us to. Plus you still have Faerah's blessing, remember? Those ugly bad guys couldn't hurt you if they tried. "
Mimi nods her head and smiles softly as she looks back at Tom. Tom then stands up and says one last thing before the three of you head into the castle.
" Let's go talk to the King. "
You all walk inside the castle and the doors shut behind you. Suddenly you're all immediately surrounded by guards. There's got to be at least 30 of them and they're all pointing their spears at you. You react defensively but Tom puts his arm out in front of you and speaks to you in a calm tone.
" Relax. They're just normal people. "
You take a deep breath and calm down a bit as one of the guards yells.
" We've found the trespasser in the black robe and his accomplice! Take them to the King! Take the child as well so the King may decide what to do with her! "
The guards then grab you and Tom, put your wrists in shackles, and take the book from you. Tom looks at you with a nod of approval before the guards begin escorting you both out of the room. The guards hold Mimi by her shoulders and gently lead her behind the both of you until you all reach a grand chamber.
You see the King, looking no older than 40 years old, sitting up on his throne with a line of guards in front of him to protect him. You also notice a mysterious large knight standing next to the King keeping a close eye on you and Tom. You're both put right in front of the throne and Mimi is taken by the guards to stand off to the side of the room and watch the King address you. One of the guards speaks up as he bows before the King.
" The intruders, your majesty. We caught them in the entryway to the castle with the front guards nowhere to be found. "
The King looks at you and Tom carefully, then he looks at Mimi. The King then asks the guard a question in a skeptical tone.
" And the child? Where was she found? "
" She was following the intruders, your majesty. "
The guard replies humbly. The King sits there and thinks for a moment before asking the guard another question.
" And you believe that these two gentlemen brought a little girl into my castle with the intention to do harm to the castle's occupants? "
The room goes awkwardly silent and you can feel the King's judgment on the guard before Tom speaks up and breaks the silence.
" Your majesty, these guards were simply doing their duty. By some coincidence, my attire matched the attire of the man who we encountered out front, who I also assume was the man that your guards were looking for. Your guards endeavored to protect you, and I believe that they did their duty to the best of their ability. "
" That's surprising to hear coming from the one who they have locked up in shackles. What is your name and why are you here? "
" I am Tomatus of the Otherlands and I have come- "
" The OTHERLANDS, you say!? "
The King cuts off Tom and yells with intrigue.
" I've never met someone from outside of our verse before!! "
The large knight standing next to the King finally speaks as he stares suspiciously at Tom.
" Surely he's lying. He's probably some petty commoner who wishes to waste your time with squabbles that are below you, your majesty. We should have him prove it. "
The King nods his head in agreement.
" Yes, yes. Can you prove that you're from the Otherlands, Mister- uh- Tomatus? "
After the King says this, Tom smirks for a moment before his hands glow a bright green. In the blink of an eye, the shackles that are binding you and Tom completely disappear as Tom takes the Light from within them. Then all of the guards' weapons and armor completely vanish, leaving them completely bare in their underwear. You can hear Mimi giggle hysterically as the guards all freak out and try to cover themselves with their arms. The knight who's holding the book drops it to the ground and Mimi picks it up before running up between you and Tom.
Seeing that the King has lost the majority of his protection, the knight quickly reacts by standing between Tom and the King defensively and points his sword at the 3 of you. The King speaks to the knight in a dismissive tone.
" Stand down, Sir Gerard. If this man from the Otherlands wished to do us harm, he would've already done so. There is nothing that you or I can do to stop him. Perhaps we should treat him with respect and ask him why he has come here politely. An apology for your insult might also be in order. "
" No. It's quite alright, your majesty. There's no apology necessary. "
Tom replies with a serious look.
" I've come to Moriarch to tell you of a great evil that approaches. An evil that has already been the undoing of Aatu. "
" Aatu? Like the God Aatu? "
The King asks Tom with a look of disbelief.
" Yes, your majesty. Aatu was killed by another being from the Otherlands. It also intended to kill Izael, Nahzgor, and the Star Faller of Ishville standing here next to me; but I intervened in the nick of time and the entity scurried off to avoid being separated from its host. I believe that this entity plans on attempting to kill the rest of your Gods, along with the Star Faller of Ishville and myself before an apocalyptic cataclysm wipes out your world and the very universe that your world resides in. "
A grave look of focus washes over the King's face as he processes what Tom has just told him. The King thinks for a moment, then speaks in a serious tone.
" Then you have come here to ask me to strengthen our Gods by increasing our praise and worship to them so that they may not suffer the same fate as Aatu… "
Tom nods his head as the King continues to speak.
" …and I'm sure your next destination is the Capital of Voldoor to tell their Czar the same thing if you haven't already. "
" Yes. "
Tom says to the King as he bows his head.
" If your world hopes to survive, then both nations of this world are going to need to put their differences aside and work together towards a common goal. I ask for Moriarch's support in praying to the 6 Gods that remain. If the entire world of Aria prays to all 6 of the Gods, then the Gods will have a better chance at helping us save your world and the universe that it belongs to. "
Tom looks back up at the King and the King's face is ripe with disgust. The King's mannerism towards Tom completely changes from friendly to hostile as he pauses for a moment, then responds to Tom's request.
" You ask me to have my people pray to those disgusting abominations that Voldoor worships? The Dark Ones are not our Gods. Millions of my people died in the war to stop the praise of Enslavement, Nightmare and Sin; yet you expect them to do that very thing in the blind hope for their Salvation? "
The King stares menacingly at Tom as he continues to speak with conviction in his voice.
" If our world is destroyed because Moriarch's people stood for their values until the very end, then so be it. Consider yourself lucky. If you were just a mere man of this world, then you'd be dead for making such a blasphemous request of me. "