The Fox, Red

089 - Reality

This church brings me an odd sense of comfort and uneasiness at the same second. I know it's a safe space for me to be as they revere me as a god. There are a few people still here but it's not as populated as the other places I got to visit. I just head straight for the office where Phinnis is.

Stepping in, he looks extremely happy to see me. "Welcome back! I hope your journey was fruitful." He has a smile until he reads my face. "Or it seems that you've come up empty. Come have a seat." He offers the chair at his desk. He stands to give it to me. Typically, I would let him keep it but I think I could use it.

I take his seat while he takes the one across the desk, "Tell me young one, what happened?"

To spare him the nitty-gritty details but give him the overall story of how some crazy zealots kidnapped me and some friends of mine, and that led to where I am now after rescuing them. He didn't seem phased by any of this. He nodded and kept up as I spilled the information to him. Once I collapsed back into the chair he spoke once again, "While I cannot read all of these journals, there are pieces that I can glean from them. As you've learned and probably have been told time and time again, you will be faced with challenges that no other can tackle only because you are the only one you can take them on."

That sounds to be in the same vain that Madam Odette has told me time and time again. She worked to prepare me for events like this. It seems to have paid off so far. Phinnis handed me the box of writings that I had seen before. "While it may not provide the exact answer, your past selves may have advice for you going forward. I will leave you to them."

He left with a nod ensuring that no one would bother me. There are so many different writings here. I don't know how long it would take to go through all of these or what kind of information they could provide. I grab what looks to be a charred book from the pile. The pages are illegible from all the damage that it's taken over the years. I can't even tell if there's any evidence that this is from a past nine-tailed fox.

I look at the book sitting on the desk and finally ask, "What is your story?" The room around me seems to fade away in a familiar fashion. I find myself sitting in a library looking down at the book I was attempting to read. It's new. It's undamaged but the location of where I am looks old itself. From the stonework, it may be a castle. I wonder how far back this took me. The voice I hear is from the writer.

"I hope that whoever finds this is one who holds the power that I have. This is to serve as a warning. You will be lonely in life as there is no one you can trust. Those who say they want to help you are the ones who will be the end of you. I wish I could share what I have seen beyond this medium. There is a record out there of the repeating tragedy of the nine-tailed fox. I have seen it but it is there for a reason. Anyone who is cursed with this power should see it but I worry that there are many who will not. There is no way to break this cycle but there is a way to fight it."

I try to look around the area where they are sitting but there's tunnel vision. The others I have seen allowed me to see the world around them. This is very different. The writer is solely focused on this message. It leaves many questions that I would like to be answered. There isn't anything more here. They continue to preach a warning about the world. I can't tell what happened. They never poured any of that information into this. It was just a warning before the vision goes hazy before going black.

I find myself leaning back in Phinnis's chair, back in the office he left me in. That was different. The others told me the story of the life they had. They shared experiences but this was just a letter to warn future holders of this power. It seemed as though it was a strong warning as well.

Phinnis returns to his office after a time. He seems in good spirits but notices that I am not, "Discovered something have you?"

"Yes but no. Nothing that tells me anything."