The golden liquid did not just burn Elara it seeped into her skin like lead making her feel heavy and trapped. She thought the Abyss inside her would scream and fight against the Cathedrals "Grace". There was only a scary empty silence.
[Warning: Integrity at 5%.]
[Detection: Holy Inversion in Progress.]
[Class Transformation: The Saint of the Abyss.]
Elara still had her hand on the First Alpha's Heart. The big black heart was not cold anymore it was burning hot and beating in time with her weak heartbeat. The silver chains that held it broke one by one the metal melting away.
As the heart dissolved into her chest Elara felt her broken ribs mend, but not with bone with a see-through gold material that hummed with power. Her skin did not turn back to its dark color it became a pale, glowing white with lines of purple shadow.
She stood up in the pool. The Liquid Grace that should have hurt her was now swirling around her ankles like a pet.
"What is happening to me?" Elara whispered. Her voice was no longer rough or loud it was a scary sound that echoed off the pillars of the vault.
The High Oracle did not attack. She dropped her staff the diamond skull falling onto the floor. She got down on her knees her gold blindfold moving as she bowed her head.
"The prophecy was wrong " the Oracle said, her voice shaking. "They said the Ghost-Wolf would bring darkness.. You... You have brought the Blind Noon."
[New Passive Skill: Grace-Eater.]
[Current Power Level: 5,500 (Ascending).]
Elara looked at her hands. She could feel every person in the Cathedral the people in the infirmary the proud Templars at the gates and Mina waiting outside. But she did not just feel their life force she felt their deeds. The lies, the betrayals, the blood on their hands it was all clear to her.
The First Alpha was not a person Elara said, her eyes turning a solid glowing gold with purple centers. "He was the Healer. He just realized that you can't cure a sickness without becoming the sickness yourself."
She stepped out of the pool. With every step the white marble of the Cathedral turned black the "holiness" of the stone being sucked into her body.
"Elara!"
The heavy doors at the top of the vault burst open. Mina and Lucian ran in the Sentinel Wolf leaving a trail of silver fire behind them. Mina stopped at the edge of the pit her eyes wide with shock.
"Elara, your hair... Your eyes..." Mina gasped.
Elara's hair was no longer silver or black it was a moving, gold that flowed behind her like a river of light. She looked like a goddess. The feeling she gave off made even Lucian take a step back.
"Lucian " Elara said, looking at the Devil. "You knew what would happen if I touched the Heart."
Lucian leaned on his cane his eyes narrowing. For the time he did not look like he was in control. "I knew it was possible. A Saint of the Abyss? That is unheard of. You are a paradox Elara you can stand in both light and darkness at the time."
[Warning: The Crusaders have entered the Inner Sanctum!]
[Enemies: 500 Gold-Rank Templars.]
[Objective: Cleanse the Cathedral.]
The sound of hundreds of boots echoed from the stairs. The "Purification" was no longer a ceremony it was an execution.
"Mina, stay behind me " Elara commanded.
". Elara you are not even wearing armor!" Mina cried.
Elara did not need armor. She raised her hand toward the ceiling. The golden light of the dome turned a purple color.
"I spent my life trying to save people who hated me " Elara said, her voice rising until the Cathedral shook. "I died for a King who did not know my name.. Today... I am not saving anyone."
[Skill Activated: Sin-Harvest.]
The Templars ran into the room their golden swords raised.. Before they could take a step their own shadows grabbed them by the throats. The "Grace" in their armor turned to lead crushing them.
It was not a battle it was an extraction.
Elara did not even move. She just stood there her gold-and-violet eyes cold as she pulled the life force out of every "warrior in the room. The power did not go to the Abyss it flowed into her.
"Stop it!" the Oracle screamed. "You are taking their souls! There will be nothing left for the afterlife!"
"Good " Elara said. "They do not deserve an afterlife."
As the last Templar fell a shadow appeared behind Mina, a small pale man with a silver dagger his face hidden by a mask of bone.
[Warning: Stealth Assassin Detected!]
[Target: The Sentinel Mina!]
The assassin did not go for Elara he knew he could not touch the Saint. He went for Mina's throat his blade coated in a poison that could kill a Ghost-Wolf.
Elara's heart skipped a beat. The gold light around her flickered.
"No!"
She moved faster than light. As she reached for the assassin she felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked down.
The Oracle had stopped praying she was standing next to Elara her hand buried in Elara's side holding a shard of the diamond staff.
"You are the Key Elara " the Oracle whispered, her blindfold falling off to reveal white sockets. ". The only way to lock the Abyss... Is to break the Key."
The diamond shard began to glow with a white light and Elara felt the First Alpha's Heart stutter. The gold light, around her began to crack.
Why did the Oracle smile as she turned into salt and what did she mean when she whispered, "The Twin is the sacrifice"?