Corrupted Timelines

Cards on the Table

"AO-chan, take this and keep it safe," Ina asked, staring down at the puddle of Pure Flow. A tentacle sprouted from behind her and sucked it all up.

"You think that disabled the barrier?" Amelia asked Kiara.

"Probably, I don't know what else that light show could've done," she replied.

"Alright, then let's-" A sudden, loud thud caught Ina's attention.

The floating purple book next to her had suddenly dropped to the ground. Ina was confused and looked down at it. Its normal purple glow was absent now. She crouched down next to it and reached over to pick it up.

But just as her hand touched the book's cover, it burst into a viscous purple liquid. Ina jerked her hand away and rapidly backed away. She frantically wiped the liquid off of her hand, but it adhered to her like glue.

That was when she felt the cold liquid brush against her feet.

The book had never stopped spewing the liquid. It was now covering the entire ground, slowly rising upwards.

Ina looked around frantically for her friends, but they weren't there anymore. The catacomb she had been in was replaced by an infinite black expanse.

Ina tried to pick her foot up out of the liquid, but it was completely stuck. The liquid had the consistency of tar and prevented her from escaping. It had risen to her ankle now.

There was something else off about this place. It took a few moments for Ina to realize it, but it was very quiet. Not just in the normal way of nothing existing here besides her, but her mind was also quiet.

During her memories from before she became a Priestess, her mind had been this quiet. She never thought she would experience this again. All of the whispering in the back of her mind was gone, allowing her to think clearly. The temporary relief she felt quickly turned into anxiety.

If the Ancient Ones weren't in her head anymore, where were they?

The question swirled around in her head, as the liquid crept to just below her knee. It was steadily rising with no sign of stopping. Ina truly began to panic.

"Priestess!" the familiar voices of the Ancient Ones called out to her. They sounded like they were everywhere around her besides below. Ina felt her heart rate slow back down, knowing that they were still somewhere in here.

"I-I'm here, AO-chan!" Ina called back. She could almost feel the relief from the Ancient Ones when she responded.

"We will make this explanation quick," they said, "Your mind is being invaded by the other set of Ancient Ones we brought back. We left a vulnerability in your mind as we prepared to integrate them later on. They exploited this and are trying to overload your mind in order to take control. You might be able to contain one of us, but you can not contain two and remain sane."

Ina took in this explanation, as the liquid passed her knee. So this place was her mind and the liquid was the other set of Ancient Ones trying to invade. Her time was limited, so she needed a way out.

"What are our options?" she asked. The Ancient Ones went quiet, compiling a list of possibilities.

"There are two main options: First, we can try to fight them out, but that risks them winning. They also could escape the book and cause havoc once again; Second, we can try to integrate them faster they can invade, but this risks your mind becoming overloaded."

"Are there any other options that don't risk me losing control of my body?" Ina asked. The liquid was half way up her thighs. The Ancient Ones went silent again.