Two new chess pieces are added to the board.
A doctor, intelligent and logical, corrupted by unholy desire.
An experiment, secluded and bitter, consumed by religious zeal.
These radicalized wild cards are harbingers of even greater destruction for t...
Cthylla took in a gasping breath and immediately fell into a coughing fit, snapping the ropes that held her with ease and massaging her throat. "Blast it, Phineas!" she rasped, glaring at the man who had just revived her. "How long did you wait?!"
"Forgive me, my love," Ephaiagl apologized, slowly genuflecting before her. "I was... delayed by my work."
"Feh. Work." Cthylla rubbed her wrists, feverishly trying to return feeling to her hands. "The work of this faithless world is trivial," she grumbled. "You could've abandoned it."
"And reveal my true allegiance?" Ephaiagl looked up at her from the floor. "Then you'd never have been revived."
Cthylla sighed. "I suppose you're right." She reached out and gently raised Ephaiagl to his feet, staring into his eyes before kissing him tenderly. "Regardless of how long it took... it's good to be back," she crooned, running a hand through her lover's hair.
"It's good to have you back," Ephaiagl responded, smiling.
Cythlla pulled away from him and held out an arm as she walked toward one of the windows. Ephaiagl obediently shifted into owl form, perching on Cthylla's outstretched arm as the deity stared out into the world of Safe Haven. "So what are we dealing with, my darling?" she asked, scanning the city with narrowed eyes.
"Well, the Protectors, of course," Ephaiagl replied. "But they're no longer our only threat. The Saved have become more than a nuisance in recent years, and the rise of the Dark Celestials hasn't helped our case, either."
"Dark Celestials?" Cthylla mumbled, rubbing her chin with her free hand.
"Inverted versions of the mask-bearers," Ephaiagl clarified. "They've spread throughout the Havens and thus inhibit our searches with their actions worldwide."
"I know who they are, darling," Cthylla reminded him. "I can still see through my other host."
"Thenyou know that they're not for the Old Ones, and are therefore they are our enemies,"Ephaiagl replied.
"Of course." Cthylla turned to Ephaiagl, a disappointed expression on her face. "I'm assuming none of our factions have discovered the Necronomicon yet."
"If they had, we wouldn't be hiding in this disgusting place," Ephaiagl replied, wrinkling his beak.
"I'm aware of that. But do you have any leads?"
"Unfortunately, no. But we have theories." Ephaiagl rubbed his head against Cthylla's reassuringly. "Trust me, my love—the book will soon be found, and all will be made right."
"I have never doubted it, Phineas." Cthylla watched one of the Protectors—the Avatar of the Phoenix, Cameron Walden-Wallace—soar through the air, glaring at the woman's angelic silhouette. "This faithless world will burn," she hissed. "Burn with the fires of madness."
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