Anima, Ch.20: Revelation

[Anima, Ch.20: Revelation]
----------------------------
--01-- [Scene: Peaca Dungeon (because no Albey)] <BGM: Alone With My God>
(Morrighan)
You have my undivided attention, Mearaithe Dearg. What do you desire to know of yourself?
I will answer as best as I can, but much about you remains shrouded in a dark mystery.



--02-- <BGM: Alone With My God>
Now that I have the ear of a goddess...
I have so many questions, I'm...not sure what I should ask first...
"Well, umm... Uh, why do you call me that?"


--03-- <BGM: Alone With My God>
(Morrighan)
It is a name chosen for a lost and nameless soul, stained with crimson, that no longer knows itself.
Mariota bestowed upon you a diminutive form of this, because it was...'cuter.'



--04-- <BGM: Alone With My God>
(Morrighan)
Her lingering affections from her mortal life sometimes cloud her judgement...
But it is acceptable.
Because she recalls her life in Erinn, it deepens her devotion to protect it.


--05-- <BGM: Alone With My God>
"I remember Nao saying something like that. It's...the first thing I remember at all.
...wait, what do you mean, 'stained with crimson?'"



--06-- <BGM: Alone With My God>
(Morrighan)
...
Do you truly desire this knowledge, Mearaithe? It may pain you to hear it...



--07-- {SFX: failure}
"This...isn't the first time I've been told this. That ignorance was preferable..."
I clenched my fists, arms at my side.
"But not knowing is a torment in itself... Tell me. I want to know!"


--08-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
...
Your soul is stained red by an echo of evil...
It yet bears sins darker than night from your prior incarnation,
even though you have forgotten the deeds that burdened you with them...

--09-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
What...?!
"I was...evil?"
A chill spread from my gut, as if it had turned to ice.
A harrowing revelation, but an incomplete answer. I...I need more...
"Then what am I now...?"
--10-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
You are a Milletian. A soul from another world.
But not any sort of Milletian I'd ever anticipated...
Your soul had been adrift for a very long time, and it originated from a realm unknown to me.


--11-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
The form of a soul is constant, the undying will of a self-aware being.
Whence it was borne from matters not.
Mariota called out to you, not knowing your origins, seeing only a soul in distress.


--12-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
The chill in the pit of my stomach deepened.
I guess Morrighan doesn't know any more than I do about where I came from,
who and what I had been, or what exactly I had done.
But why am I here now?

--13-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
"If I was... If I'd done something so terrible, so horrible, that death wasn't punishment enough,
why was I saved? Why did I get a second chance to live?"



--14-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
Your nature is darkness...but a soul's nature can change...
You defeated Glas Ghaibhleann. You freed me.
It is within your grasp to walk in the light.
Regardless of outcome, your intentions are proof.

--15-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
You were saved to be offered redemption, a chance to cleanse your crimson anima.
It is upon you to accept it.
But know this; I will protect Erinn from all threats, regardless of their source.


--16-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
Creepy...
That's why I'm here? To be redeemed?
That leaves the most important question I need answered.
"I may be without sin now, but also without purpose. Is there a way I can get my memory back?"

--17-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
The loss of your memories has returned you to innocence.
The chains of your past lie broken.
Regain them, and you will forge those chains anew.
They will not be so easy to break a second time...

--18-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
There is a way. I will not speak of it, though.
The danger to you, and to all things I am charged to protect, is too great...
As to purpose, that is something you choose, not something that is given.


--19-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
The chill within me clawed at my heart.
Now she's being evasive. I think this is all I'm going to get...
At least I've learned something about myself, even if it's...unsettling to think about.


--20-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
Oh. One more thing. It's only the reason we came here!
"I have one last question... The animals in Erinn were going berserk when we left to come save you.
What's to be done about them?"


--21-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
The creatures were being driven to madness as a portent of the arrival of Glas Ghaibhleann.
Now that it has been destroyed, they will calm again in time...

Have you no more to ask of me?

--22-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
"...I think I'll have to find the rest...on my own. You have my thanks for suffering my curiosity."
I sighed. I...don't know how I feel about all this...
"I... I'm ready to leave now..."


--23-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
Then I will return you to your companions' side.
They will not be aware that I have...detained you.



--24-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
"You can do that? Well, I...I guess you did it before."




--25-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
A final warning, Mearaithe.
Do not seek power for its own sake. Do not pursue selfish ambition.
That way lies evil.
Tainted as you are by your former life, you may once again walk a bloody path...

--26-- <BGM: Tale Untold>
(Morrighan)
Stand in the light, and you shall ever have my favor.
Return to the darkness, and I will myself oppose you.
Either way, we shall meet again. Until that time, farewell...


--27-- [Scene: Tir Chonaill] <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
Dizziness overcame me for a moment, then everything around me was suddenly...different.
Where is this? It's...Tir Chonaill?
The normal Tir Chonaill? Not the evil, abandoned, overgrown Tir Chonaill?


--28-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
I'm in the inaccurately-named "square."
Devin and Vivian are here too, and also seem surprised to be here.
And a few curious onlookers, surprised that three people just appeared out of nowhere.


--29-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"We're back!" Vivian exclaimed. "We did it!"
She hugged her brother, who winced a bit as the Healing hadn't quite mended the worst of his injuries.
"Yeah. We did it, sis. We're home."


--30-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"Uh...I'm here too." I feebly raised a hand.
Devin chuckled. "And we couldn't have done it without you, Meara! Come here!"
They both reached out and put an arm around me, pulling me into a group hug.


--31-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"I'm so glad you're both safe," Devin said.
I sighed, and put an arm around each of them too, closing my eyes.
"Um...ah, thanks..."
The chill within me started to melt away in their friendly embrace.

--32-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10> {SFX: cheer}
A few onlookers whistled and cheered around us, not sure what they were cheering for, or why.
They just knew that three people in the square were celebrating something, so why not share in the joy?



--33-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
The three of us fell to our knees one by one, breaking up our little group hug.
Morrighan's 'blessing' had fully worn off.
I had never felt so...utterly spent, pushed so far beyond my limits.


--34-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"Oh, I'm starving. And exhausted," I groaned.
"I'm going to drag myself to Loch Lios, eat a half dozen cheesecakes, then sleep for a week."
Vivian laughed. "Sounds good. I'll join you!"


--35-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"I could go for a steak or five myself," Devin laughed. "Just as soon as I check in with Dilys
and get these half-healed cracked ribs taken care of... Ugh."
He clutched his side.


--36-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
"Don't ever do something that reckless again! I don't know what I'd do...if you ever..."
Vivian didn't finish her sentence.
I said nothing, but I had to admit to myself, I felt the same way...


--37-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
Together, the three of us clambered out of the square, helped each other stand, then walked north
along the road holding each other up.
The crowds parted around us, let us pass, and life went on.


--38-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
More than tired, though, I felt...proud. More confident.
Like I've endured a great trial and come through it stronger.
Despite our exuberance, a proverbial dark cloud still hangs over me...


--39-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
It seems I have much to atone for...

I still want my memories back, but the more I go looking for them, the more like it sounds
that something terrible will happen if I find them...

--40-- <BGM: Staff Roll/Scene 10>
For now, though, a feast with cherished friends, and some much-deserved downtime is in order.




[chapter end]