Soon enough, we were returning back to the temporary room allocated for our rest, intending to relocate to our hideout to discuss further actions. But a third party decided to intervene in our plans. Just as we entered the former office, Aloy followed us inside, sneaking behind us as soon as the door closed.
"Who are you, and how much of what you told is true?"
She stated, frowning, immediately upon the closing of the entrance doors.
"Ugh. I should've expected this…"
I sighed heavily once more, glancing at Weiss before deciding to satisfy the heroine's curiosity.
"Everything you heard today is true, from start to finish, though my account lacks certain technical details that might be difficult for your tribe members to understand."
"But, you aren't spirits,"
She stated, still frowning and sounding skeptical.
"You possess Focus like I did, and like Olin had and like those Carja!"
"Actually, Sean really is a spirit,"
Weiss responded coolly, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes faintly glowing again.
"Aloy, you probably don't remember, but Vala and I rescued you from that cliff when I was in my Spirit of the Forest form."
I immediately transformed into a large fox to demonstrate, making the room feel somewhat cramped.
"But I… I thought I was hallucinating in delirium! So the All-Mother and other spirits also exist then!"
"Well… Um…"
Returning to my near-human form I drawled meaningfully.
"To some extent, yes."
"What does you mean, 'to some extent'?!"
"Simply put, from your perspective and, hmm, level of advancement, they could be considered gods and spirits."
"But that isn't true, is it?"
Aloy questioned in a slightly disappointed tone.
"Aloy, how else could you describe a being possessing vast intellect and power to create a world anew, except as a god?"
Weiss responded by asking her.
"Gaia and others possess incredible abilities beyond your comprehension, yet they aren't humans and never were."
"Well, when you put it like that…"
Her inquisitive mind and developed intelligence struggled to find any other reasonable explanation, and apparently she didn't believe in local religion.
"Listen, Aloy, nothing I told you today is untrue. All of this actually happened. You truly are a copy and a sister of the First Alpha and heroine Elisabet Sobeck. And you truly are daughter of All-Mother Gaia. The first in many centuries."
"So, does that mean All-Mother is actually my mom?"
She responded enthusiastically.
"Indeed. And she genuinely needs your assistance to stop Hades, and then possibly to aid her awakening. But the latter isn't crucial right now compared to thwarting Hades' plans."
"Alright. You're right. I understand, thank you, Great Spirits."
The heroine bowed politely to Weiss and Me.
"You can call me Sean, that's my name, and this is my dear friend and companion, Weiss."
"Sean Connery and Weiss Schnee at your service," my friend introduced us both in full name.
"Are you two truly sent by the All-Mother?"
"Well, there we go… Wait, don't bother complaining. We haven't lied to you or anyone before. We were sent here, and that was done by the gods, which is true. But it wasn't the All-Mother who did it. She doesn't know about our presence either. Still, we genuinely came to assist."
"And if we hadn't come, all yesterday's candidates and your adoptive father would have perished, leaving you as the sole survivor."
"WHAT?! Just me?! But why?"
"I don't know, Aloy, I don't know. Maybe because a goddess' blessing lies upon you, or maybe you just got lucky. Nevertheless, you and others are alive now, and Rost is also alive."
"Thank you!"
Tears welled up in the eyes of the redheaded heroine.
"Thank you for this! You cannot imagine how important Rost is to me."
"Always my pleasure. Moreover, we will assist you further, but only as our strength allows and depending on our engagement elsewhere."
"Besides, we can always communicate through Focuses."
I responded, tapping my device with my finger.
"Ours are somewhat specific, but there shouldn't be any problems."
Through contact search, I found Aloy's Focus and sent her an add friend request.
"Oh!"
The heroine was surprised, but quickly oriented herself and accepted our requests, adding us to Contacts.
"Now we should be able to connect whenever needed," Weiss nodded. "By the way, Sean, I think you missed something in your tale."
"What?"
"You forgot to say that Far Zenith also already arrived to this world and try to conquer it, and if they learned about Aloy, they might try to harm her or abduct her for their goals."
My friend reminded us both.
"And the fact that they are very powerful and mighty, almost like Demons."
"I see, thank you, Weiss."
The heroine politely nodded.
"One more thing, Aloy."
I captured the redhead's attention.
"Yes, Great Spirit?"
"You have a sister. She is younger than you. Her name is Beta."
"Sister?!" The girl was startled. "I have a sister? Where is she?"
"Yes. When Far Zenith returned to this world and realized the depth of their mistake witnessing that humanity cannot withstand the New Devil, they too decided to capture Hephaestus for his machines, as well as other Spirits. For this, however, they needed the First Alpha, but she died many years ago. So they made a copy of the First Alpha and tricked her into serving them. She helped them obtain the first spirit before realizing her mistake. And now she remains enslaved and cannot escape."
"I need to save her!"
The heroine resolutely declared.
"I won't leave my sister in the hands of greedy monsters."
"And you'll need to find a way to pacify Hephaestus, who's very angry right now. After they abducted other Spirit, he became enraged at all mankind, and there was no one else around to calm him down since the All-Mother sleep in Deep Slumber. In his fury, Hephaestus decided to imbue all of his machines with hatred towards humanity by initiating what has become known as the Derangement."
"So, it's all Far Zenith's fault. They birthed the New Devil, through their doing Hades betrayed the All-Mother and gravely wounded her, through their doing the Carja slaughtered many Nora and other people, and due to them Machines started attacking and killing humans, and through them Rost suffered too!"
Aloy growled in fury.
"Unfortunately, as always, human greed is to blame for everything."
I confirmed her suspicions.
"Then I swear I'll find them - Hades, Far Zenith, and all the cultists of the Carja, and I will avenge their victims! And I'll save my sister!"
"Revenge is noble, but don't let it cloud your judgment, for in blind rage, you'll harm not only them but also the innocent."
Weiss interrupted the heroine.
"Let cold anger simmer in your mind, but let there be room for warmth and friendship in your heart too. Even the First Alpha didn't fought alone, she found allies, other Alphas, and together they stopped the Metal Devils."
Weiss' words caused Aloy to pause momentarily in thought.
"Thank you, Weiss, you're right again. Anger and hatred will only burden me and hinder me."
Agreed Aloy.
"Then find good allies, unravel the secrets of the cultists, and you'll find a way to stop Hades."
"And besides, it's always better together with good friends anyway."
I supported the idea of Weiss, and she gratefully nodded in response.
"Good. Thanks once again!"
Aloy smiled gratefully.
"I'll contact you if anything important comes up."
"You can reach out to us if you have any questions or need assistance."
Smiled my friend.
"Okay. Then I won't bother you any more. I still wanted to check up on Rost."
Aloy approached the entrance door and pressed the panel to open it.
"Good luck, Aloy, and a speedy recovery to your adoptive father!"
I smiled as she exited the room, she smiled back at me and left. The door behind her closed.
"And so another important step has finally been completed, and now we can return to our personal matters."
I approached the inner non-working door, which opened as expected upon my touch, allowing both of us into our hideout. Weiss followed me, closing the door behind her and temporarily cutting us off from the world of Horizon Zero Dawn.
"So, Sean. I saw how you were staring at Aloy, and I hope this doesn't become a reason to change our plans?"
Weiss said unhappily, pursing her lips.
"We already lost a whole morning dedicating time for your tale.", she continued.
"Weiss, we agreed that we would go on an emergency mission immediately after talking to the heroine and matriarchs."
"Then let's take everything we can and activate the Emergency Door?"
"Alright."
We changed into our gear, and even donned additional armor plates, making us look more like pseudo-futuristic knights than Hunters. Weiss checked her ammo supply and supplemented her quiver with shock and freezing bolts. In addition to my cleaver, I also took my beloved chainsaw-axe.
"Weiss."
"Yes, Sean?"
The girl turned around finishing checking the throwing mechanism on her spear.
"When we return, we need to discuss what happened today."
"Are you referring to my strange behavior during the storytelling?"
She guessed.
"Weiss. That was magic! Real magic. I felt it perfectly. So, we really do need to talk about this."
"Alright. But I wasn't aware of what I was doing. But you're right. This is clearly something important."
"That's right. Magic is dangerous, Weiss!"
"I know, Sean."
She fell silent for a moment adjusting her weapon harness.
"Well, I'm ready. Let's go!"
"Well then. Let's roll!"
I opened the tab with new doors in the Hallway app and by pressing on 'Emergency Intervention Door' agreed to pay 20 points. And the lobby room seemed to melt for a second, distorting and then increasing in size becoming pentagonal, and a tall carved wooden door appeared on the new wall. I initially surprised, and then seeing the assignment in a new unknown world, I loudly cursed. However, there was no time left to express myself further, the timer relentlessly counted down, so kicking open the door almost forcefully, I and Weiss burst inside.
ACCEPTED MISSIONS (1)
Location: DxD (eadd1)
>A 20-Minute Adventure! (Accepted automatically)
Difficulty: Hard.
Time Left: (19 minute 57 seconds)
Description: Your adventures are getting more and more interesting. And you could use a Cleric in your party. Well, it's about time you got one. Save the healer from her imminent demise. Good luck! You will need it.
Tasks:
Find and save a nun (19 minute 57 seconds)
Kill five or more stray exorcist (optional)
Kill a Fallen Angel (optional)
Kill a Devil (optional)
Kill the Devil Master (optional)
Equipment provided:
None.
Penalty for failure:
Possible death, possible eternal enslavement, possible eternal torture.
Reward:
20 points for saving a nun, 2 points for each killed exorcist, 10 points for each killed Fallen Angel, 20 points for each killed Devil, 100 points for killing the Devil Master.