"Two Peccavis? What do you..."
Vastarael stared at the murals, his golden eyes flickering as the realization began to take shape.
His hand hovered over the last mural in the basement; the image of Peccavi, her veiled face turned toward the horizon as she stood on a cliff. The cursed souls swirled around her, their forms etched in shadow, but there was something different about her. Something... human.
"This… this is wrong," he whispered, his voice trembling.
[What do you mean?]
"The Peccavi in the murals down here…" His gaze shifted, his mind racing as he pieced it together. "She's not the same as the one that attacked us above."
Phaenora froze, her flickering form radiating unease.
[What are you saying?]
"There are really two of them. Two Peccavis. The one above, the one that attacked us, is from the first timeline. She's the version of herself who was completely consumed by the curse."
Phaenora's form flickered violently as she processed his words.
[But the Peccavi down here...]
"She didn't lose her humanity," Vastarael said, pointing to the mural on the wall. "Look at her! She's cursed, yes, but she's still... herself. This timeline is different. The second Peccavi resisted the curse somehow, or at least didn't succumb to it entirely."
Phaenora's eyes widened as the weight of the revelation sank in.
[Two timelines. Two versions of the same person. And they're both here. In the same cathedral.]
The enormity of the truth hit them both at once. Vastarael staggered back, his breath coming in short gasps as the pieces fell into place.
"The one above is a shadow, a hollow remnant of what she was, a monster born of despair. But the one down here…"
His voice trailed off as he stared at the mural of Peccavi standing on the cliff, her figure radiating both sorrow and resilience.
"She's different. She still has humanity. She might even regret what happened."
[That means... the Peccavi above isn't just trying to destroy us. She's trying to destroy her other self.]
"She's trying to erase the second timeline. To make sure this version of herself never existed."
The sapphire shard in Vastarael's hand dimmed as his grip slackened. He felt a cold sweat break out across his skin.
Two timelines. Two fates. And now, two versions of the same tormented soul locked in an eternal struggle. But how is this possible?
"If this is true, then the second Peccavi isn't just hiding. She's fighting. She's trying to keep her timeline alive. And we're caught in the middle of their war."
[If the first Peccavi succeeds, this entire cathedral, this timeline... it will all be erased.]
Vastarael clenched his fists, the faint glow of his eyes flaring brighter.
"Then we have to find her, the second Peccavi. Before the other one does—"
Vastarael stepped back instinctively as the murals began to shift before his eyes, the once-static images rippling as though alive.
The stone seemed to breathe, a low, rumbling hum resonating through the dark infinite chamber. The sapphire shard in his hand trembled, its light flickering erratically, casting the moving murals into a macabre dance of shadows and light.
"What's happening?"
[The murals... they're... changing.]
The image of Peccavi standing on the cliff melted away, her veiled figure unraveling like smoke.
In its place, new images formed. They were clearer, sharper, and more visceral.
The Xinoraci runes he had read earlier glowed with an otherworldly light, crawling across the walls as if alive, rearranging themselves to form an entirely new narrative.
Vastarael's heart pounded as he stared at the evolving scene. The ruined city came to life with chilling clarity, its streets filled with writhing shadows. At the center of it all stood Peccavi, her figure trembling as she fought against the chains of darkness that encircled her. Her voice, clear yet haunting, echoed in the chamber.
"I welcomed him into our home... I thought he was a savior... But he was a curse."
Vastarael froze, his golden eyes widening in disbelief.
"This... this isn't just a story. This is her. She's... talking to us..."
The runes pulsed and Peccavi's voice continued, growing more distorted, more anguished.
"I tried to save them. I gave everything... But all I did was destroy."
[The runes you read...] Phaenora's voice faltered, her sense of reason shattered. [They weren't just recounting her story. They were her. The second version of her.]
The mural before them twisted again, showing Peccavi standing amidst the ruins of her city.
Her face, once obscured, was now visibl. She was beautiful, but marred with sorrow and desperation. Her lips moved and her words emerged not from the mural, but from the very air around them.
"I couldn't let it end like this. I had to change it. I had to go back."
Vastarael staggered back, his mind racing.
"She regressed," he said, his voice trembling with the realization. "She went back in time... to stop it from happening."
The mural shifted once more, now depicting two versions of Peccavi. The first, twisted and monstrous, loomed over the city, her form a grotesque amalgamation of souls and shadows.
The second, still human, stood on the cliff, her hands outstretched as if trying to hold back the darkness.
"She's the one showing us the runes. The second Peccavi is still alive. She's the one who left the story behind... the one who's been guiding us."
The air grew colder and the flickering sapphire light dimmed further. The walls trembled and Peccavi's voice, now filled with despair and rage, echoed one final time.
"I tried to save them. I tried to save me. But now... I am hunted by my own shadow."
[Two timelines... two versions of her... but they're at war. She's been trying to fix it, but every step she takes only pulls her closer to the other Peccavi. To the cursed one.]
The mural solidified into its final image: the human Peccavi standing alone on the cliff, her eyes filled with unending sorrow, staring directly at Vastarael. Her lips moved silently, but he could hear her words in his mind.
"SAVE ME."
The mural's haunting image of Peccavi solidified, her sorrowful gaze boring into Vastarael's very soul.
The plea in her eyes was unmistakable, but it was her silent words echoing in his mind that sent chills down his spine.
Suddenly, black chains erupted from the walls and floor, slithering and coiling like serpents. Their movements were erratic and frantic, each tendril reaching for something unseen.
The Veil of The Ingenious Prince, still cloaking Vastarael in invisibility, rendered their attempts futile, causing the chains to lash out in frustration.
[She knows we're here. But she can't see us... yet.]
Vastarael stepped back, his good hand instinctively clutching the remains of the shattered sapphire shard. His golden eyes darted around the chamber, watching as the chains writhed and twisted.
The mural began to shift again but this time, it wasn't an image forming. It was the second Peccavi herself. Her voice echoed through the chamber, no longer soft or sorrowful, but desperate, unhinged, and rising in intensity.
"WHERE ARE YOU! WHY ARE YOU HIDING?!"
Her tone was frantic, oscillating between desperation and rage. The mural's stone figure flickered, coming alive momentarily as if trying to break free from the wall. The black chains surged toward her image but recoiled violently, as though bound by some unseen force.
"I TRIED TO SAVE THEM! I TRIED TO SAVE YOU!" Her voice cracked, the words filled with obsession and madness. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME FIX IT?!"
Vastarael's heart pounded as he crouched lower, his mind racing for a way out.
"She's losing control but... this obsession, it's destroying her."
[We need a plan. Now. If she keeps going like this, she'll tear this place apart.]
Vastarael's gaze flickered to the chains again, their wild movements creating cracks along the basement walls and ceiling.
"We can't fight her directly. Not in her state. But there has to be a way to reach her..."
The chains lashed out again, striking dangerously close to his hiding spot. The mural's figure twisted, its once-sorrowful expression now contorted with fury.
"SHOW YOURSELF! I'LL SAVE YOU, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"
Her voice boomed, shaking the ground beneath him. Vastarael gritted his teeth, his golden eyes narrowing.
"She's not talking about me," he muttered. "She's still trying to save someone else... but who?"
[Whoever it is, it's not here. But she doesn't see that. She's trapped in her own cycle, repeating the same mistakes over and over. If we don't stop her, this will never end.]
The mural's figure moved again, the black chains converging around it. Peccavi's voice grew more desperate, the words coming faster, more erratic.
"I CAN FIX THIS! I HAVE TO! DON'T YOU SEE? I CAN BRING THEM BACK!"
"Bring who back?" Vastarael shouted, his voice cutting through her frantic cries. "Who are you trying to save?!"
The room fell eerily silent for a moment, the chains pausing midair as if stunned by his question. Then, her voice returned, softer this time, yet laced with an unsettling determination.
"Everyone. Everyone I failed."
[But you can't rewrite the past without losing yourself. She's proof of that.]
"Wait a second. If she was given power by a powerful Krepsuna, then how did she regress?"
"A violex. A violex made made me regress."
Vastarael's eyes widened the second he head those words.
"The Orchestral Vialex... it's here. Peccavi, where is the violex?"
The voice was silent.
"Outside... the cathedral..."