Your heart sinks into your stomach as the memories of the Valghul resurface. Your stomach turns and you feel like you can still smell the blood from what happened as you think about what you saw happen to Aatu. You try to repress the traumatic images, 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. You feel as if you can still hear the Valghul's laughter as you think about Aatu's death.
Mimi looks up at you and sees that you're terrified, 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 direness in 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 that the people of Moriarch aren't put in any danger. 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… Your name is indeed a familiar one. I was looking forward to getting to know you properly, but that can wait until this issue is resolved. I've never seen black lightning before but judging by the look on your faces, it's obviously a bad omen. I'd like to ask that you do your very best to protect my people while you resolve this. Please prevent as much death and destruction as possible. "
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 the entity that just arrived in your kingdom is nothing less than a 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's able to protect her against what's to come. If she does come with us, she'll be staying with the only two people who have a chance of fending off that thing. I want to keep my eyes on her and make sure she's protected. 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. Suddenly, you and Mimi begin floating as well and you're startled by it. Seeing that she's in the air right now, Mimi giggles in excitement as she shouts happily.
" WOAH!! WE'RE FLYING, STAR FALLER!! WE CAN FLY!! "
You look at Tom nervously, so he speaks to you in an assured tone.
" This is the fastest way to get to where the strike was. 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 window. 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, but 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.
Eventually the three of you reach the location of the strike and through the mist you can barely see that the buildings in the area are 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 all of the buildings causing them to completely disappear. The injured people who were at an elevated height within the buildings begin to fall and Tom catches them with his powers and lets them down gently. The people all look up at you guys and begin to cheer as Tom scans the area 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 with him. Tom speaks to you in your mind as he looks for a clue as to the direction that the Valghul is in.
" If you can't see the Light and Darkness within the crowd, look for gray skin. "
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 thoughts of the people around here to see if they saw where the Valghul went. "
You feel incredibly uneasy as the crowd forms a circle around the three of you. Tom scans the area, then suddenly Tom takes off walking into the crowd. You grab Mimi's hand and you follow him as he navigates the streets by reading the thoughts of all of the people that 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? You 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? You're sure that it had to at least see you when you were flying, but it seems like it's gone somewhere else instead of seeking you out. This feels like a trap.
Suddenly, Tom stops at 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 mist looks even more intense inside the cafe. As the people exit the cafe, Tom turns to you and motions his head towards the cafe signaling for you to follow him.
The three of you carefully approach the cafe and you can feel your heart pounding violently as your mind goes wild with awful thoughts about 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 all reach the cafe, the guards standing inside the doorway take a defensive stance. 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 you to pass. This is it. The Valghul must be waiting for you 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 as the three of you walk inside, and the first thing you see is a man sitting at a booth by himself drinking a cup of coffee.
You stare at the man with horror as you inspect him very carefully. Each thing that you notice about him causes your spine to chill more and more. You've seen this man before. Gray skin, the same clothes as before, same face and everything. The atmosphere is cold and your entire body is paralyzed in fear as he turns his gaze of death upon you and his dead eyes meet yours. There's no doubt in your mind that you're looking directly at 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 his coffee without breaking eye contact with you.
Could the ring be tempting him? Does the Valghul know that Aatu's power is in the ring? What if he tries to take it 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? Can it shine out the darkness of its host? Is there any Light and Darkness still left within the host after they got possessed?
The fear of the unknown adds to the Valghul's terrifying aura as he gazes at you. Tom can surely protect you and Mimi if things go south. He hasn't reached for the book yet, so maybe this won't be a traumatic bloodbath like the last time. Mimi must be terrified looking at this demon.
Worried about Mimi, you look down to check on her. But to your surprise, you see that she's not scared at all. Does she not know how dangerous this man is in front of her? Can she not feel the cold and dead atmosphere in the cafe?
Mimi sounds confused as she speaks up unexpectedly. Your head begins to spin and your heart begins to sink after she speaks to the Valghul that's sitting at the booth.
" Papa? "
Tom has a heartbroken look in his eyes as he answers Mimi sorrowfully.
" No, Mimi. That's not your father anymore. "