The Demons of Shadow Moon

Part 90.5 - Summoning the Truth (NEW)

After a creative awakening, I started thinking about how Galaxy found the skull of her old friend in the temple, but nothing happens with it. I wondered if I could stretch that detail into something more interesting? Would Galaxy want to take the skull home? Would she want to talk to Nuz again? Would she use the skull for her own selfish gains? .... Yes, yes and yes. Enjoy!

As everyone in Shadow Moon lay resting, recovering from the battle, Galaxy sat in the darkness of her chambers...

The room was enveloped in a solemn hush, broken only by the faint whisper of incantations as Galaxy performed some kind of ritual. A books beside her read 'Spells of the dead: Contacting Spirits'...?!!!

She cradled the skull of her old friend Nuz. Feeling its weight in her palms, she took a breath, beginning the incarnation. With each word spoken, the air seemed to thicken, charged with an otherworldly energy.

Suddenly, a bright light started to form above the symbol she had drawn out on the ground, surrounded by candles. Galaxy squinted her eyes from the brightness until a voice finally emerged...

"Uh, Galaxy? Is that you?" The voice of Nuz echoed through the room, tinged with confusion and disbelief.

"What am I doing here? Wait, are you dead too?" His spectral form materialised slowly, wavering in the dim light as if struggling to find solid ground.

"Not yet. I summoned you here with your remains!" Galaxy exclaimed, her eyes excitedly sparkling as she held up the skull.

"Uh... wow, is that me? Oof, I don't look so good, do I? Maybe I should see someone about that," he joked, tone laced with sarcasm.

"Well, you're seeing me!" Galaxy quipped back, a playful glint in her eye.

"You're no medical professional," Nuz chuckled softly, his translucent form shifting slightly in the candlelight.

"Hey, I was the one who managed to cast that spell for the bread when we were locked up together," Galaxy reminded him.

"Hmhm. True. I was so hungry, I thought I was gonna die before the next scheduled testings... can you still do stuff like that? Casting spells and stuff?" Nuz asked, curiosity colouring his words.

"... well, I have my ways..." Galaxy replied hesitantly, her gaze drifting to the seal on her chest.

"That's actually what I needed to talk to you about," Galaxy began, her tone solemn.

"I had the pleasure of visiting the old temple today... where they used to put us through those vile tests," Galaxy informed him.

"Uh. You went back there?! That must have been hard... I still remember watching as demons perished in those test rooms... to think they built all those horrible trials and traps just to see how much we could live through," Nuz shivered at the memory.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be even more horrified to know they're still operating! And the vampires are still developing that vile chemical... and its capability has become rather alarming," Galaxy revealed.

Nuz's ethereal gaze met hers, his expression one of regret and surprise.

"Wait, what? But I thought the lab burned down. Akira destroyed it a few months after your escape," he remarked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"So, that's how you got so far from the lab?" she inquired, curiosity flowing.

Nuz sighed as he answered...

"Yeah. I thought it was my lucky escape... but during the wreckage, some stacks of potions crashed into me. I fled, making it all the way to light... to freedom... but the chemicals burnt through my skin and drowned my body in unbearable pain... I wanted to claw it out. Next thing I knew, everything was over," he recounted, his voice filled with the echoes of agony.