The dim yellow light flickered desperately behind the dirty window frame, darting through a narrow gap before finally stopping. The light pulsed, thickened, and solidified, transforming from pure energy into the physical form of Nu'al. She landed knees first, coughed, and immediately collapsed onto the dusty wooden floor.
An overwhelming exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave. She was sweating profusely, her fur coat felt heavy and damp, and her nose was relentlessly bleeding fresh blood. The dense Aura of Sin outside had completely drained her energy.
Nu'al:
"gah...hah....hah..."
She panted, each breath feeling like inhaling ash. She wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her trembling hand. Her vision blurred, the empty room spinning around her. She had to focus. Her wary eyes caught a small, mossy aquarium in the corner.
Without a second thought, she grabbed it and dumped its murky contents over her head.
FLOP-FLOP-FLOP, a small goldfish flopped frantically on the dry floor, dying.
The shock of the cold water helped a little. Nu'al brushed her wet white hair back, trying to calm her racing heart.
Nu'al:
"Damn... th-that Sin concentration was so strong... Like... like breathing underwater."
Suddenly—
KRASSSSHHHH!!
The window behind her exploded inward. Before Nu'al could even turn, a strong, rough hand wrapped around her neck from behind, lifting her off the floor and slamming her against the wall.
Nu'al:
"Ughek?!!"
Her air was cut off. The grip was like a steel vise. She struggled, her legs kicking at the air, but it was useless. Danica's face, unmasked, emerged from the darkness. Her eyes glowed with a cold calm.
Danica:
"A single tree can fall in one night, but not the forest..." she whispered, her voice hoarse and full of insane conviction. "Little trickster... save Father and his legacy from disaster with your blood—"
Nu'al's survival instinct took over. With a desperate, wild motion, she grabbed the largest glass shard from the shattered window frame. Without hesitation, she stabbed Danica's temple before dragging the shard straight down.
SKRRRIIITTT!
The glass tore through skin, flesh, and Danica's eyeball with a horrific, wet sound.
Danica:
"AGHH!!!"
The piercing shriek of pain echoed in the small room. Her grip loosened. Nu'al fell to the floor, coughing violently while clutching her bruised neck. With watery eyes, she glanced at Danica.
Danica pulled the glass shard from her ruined eye socket. Black blood poured out. Nu'al watched in horror, counting in her head. One. Two.
The bleeding stopped. The flesh pulsed and began to knit itself back together. The ruined eyeball swelled, forming a new, clear pupil. The wound sealed perfectly, as if it had never happened.
Before Nu'al could process the horror, thick, black, giant roots exploded from behind the window, tearing through the wood like paper. The roots shot out like tentacles, trying to grab Nu'al.
Nu'al screamed and crawled, dragging herself frantically toward the back door. The giant roots smashed into the wall behind her, ripping the entire wall in two directions, creating a massive, torn opening.
With slow, calm steps, Danica entered the house through the hole she had just created, beginning her hunt.
Meanwhile...
SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH.
The sound of heavy boots squelching through blood-mixed mud echoed in a dark alley. A figure in a long, wide white robe made of white goat skin and fur, wearing a goat head with straight horns as a helmet, approached another figure.
The man in the black robe—Eldrum—was slumped against the side of a house, his back against the rotting wood. He was chugging cheap booze straight from the bottle. His fists and hands were bloody, his skin torn as if he had just been punching a stone wall. A lit cigarette smoldered between his fingers.
White Goat Head/Caine:
"Have you found her, brother?"
Black Goat Head/Eldrum:
"Found what?" Eldrum snorted, not turning his head. "Tsk, you're noisy. Can't you see what I'm doing? Get lost."
Caine:
"I think, shouldn't we hurry? The girl escaped. Danica is already furious, we could be in huge trouble if we don't—"
Eldrum:
"Bah! 'Huge trouble'?" Eldrum laughed cynically. "That woman IS the huge trouble! She's been a hothead from the start, with a cracked window to insanity. Do you think we'll live to see another birthday if we keep following her? I'm getting out of this hell! And I won't leave before I rip that devil woman's mouth open and feed her her own eyes!"
Caine:
"B-But, we can't get out of the Dome. Everyone is protected... or trapped inside it. There's no way out."
Eldrum stood up angrily, his movement suddenly fast and powerful. He grabbed his brother by the collar. Caine, who was also large, tried to break his brother's grip.
Caine:
"???"
He didn't budge. Not even a little. Since when was his brother this strong?
Eldrum:
"You damn coward!" he barked, his face (behind the mask) so close Caine could smell the alcohol and fury. "I'm not looking for tips from you! I'm the one who's kept you alive all this time! You can't even make a decision! I'm the one who makes them all because you can't! Even when the Dome is about to collapse, you never act beyond your fear, pathetic!"
Caine:
"(The Dome?...About to collapse?...)"
Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed from the distance, piercing high through the night. "AGH!!!"
Caine:
"Was that?.. D-Danica?"
Eldrum, hearing the name, grew furious, his hatred stoked. With a growl, he threw Caine against the wall behind him with one hand.
Eldrum:
"Get over there! Find out what's happening! I'll be right behind you!"
Caine scrambled to his feet and hurried off, gripping his long-barreled shotgun tightly. His two gleaming twin axes hung on his back beneath his robe.
Eldrum then walked slowly, breathing heavily. He approached an empty wooden house before throwing his half-full bottle of booze against the wooden wall.
KRAASH!
Cheap alcohol soaked the wall. He then tossed his lit cigarette onto the puddle. Fire was born instantly, orange and greedy, crawling up the wall, sending black smoke billowing upwards, attracting the attention of the other cult members searching for Nu'al.
Cultist:
"H-Hey, over there! Fire!"
Cultist:
"Quick! It's going to spread!"
Eldrum turned and walked away in the opposite direction. The black mark on his neck, previously hidden beneath his robe, was now visible, pulsing and growing thicker. He loaded a slugshot into his own shotgun as he walked away. His black goat mask lay abandoned in the mud. He rejected this cult. He rejected Danica. Starting tonight, he was hunting for himself.