Scarlett PoV

7th day of January 0 A.E. ~ Grand Opening

Nick Hollow, the little spirit boy, sits as if he’s in a chair while floating in the air. All around Nick, myself, and my glass-cane is nothing but a gray void. Earl, that girl with the lantern, tells me that I’m only capable of seeing spiritual things, like Nick. Everything that isn’t spiritual is as invisible to me as the air is to ordinary people. It’s like I’m in some sort of bizarro world where living people are invisible, and the ghosts are the visible ones…

I flinch when a blue screen appears in the void.

+1 Perception

36 Stat Points Remaining

It vanishes. ‘These Cosmic System screens are like a jump scare. I wonder if anyone will ever die of a heart attack due to one of these things. They’ve been placing themselves slower since I got so many from the spider. Well, everyone is telling me they place faster in dangerous situations. I guess I’ll figure out if that’s true soon.’ My eyes move about the room, hoping I can find something new I can see. ‘...Still can’t see anything, but Earl told me I might be able to see normal stuff again one day. Fairy said it would be without color, but black and whites are better than not at all.’

I look toward Nick. He looks a little sharper than before like someone turned up the contrast on an image.

Nick frowns. “They’ve been gone a long time. Did they leave?” he asks.

With a click of my tongue and a smile, I shake my head at Nick. “No, your parents didn’t leave. They’re next door and needed a minute to relax their heads. We’ve been talking for a while now, and it’s still really early in the morning.”

“Yeah, it has been a long time. I wish they could see me. Maybe we can tell them about me, the ghosty me, someday,” Nick says, kicking his feet. “...Oh! And you’re the best for talking to my parents. I didn’t want them to be sad when they met Fairy for the first time.”

“I know. You wanted them to be smiling when they met her, and that’s why I agreed to be the one to tell them about you.”

Grinning, Nick nods.

I hear two sets of footsteps walk out of an adjacent tent and into the one where Nick and I are. “Sorry about that, Scarlett. We just needed a moment,” a woman, Ms. Charlotte Hollow, says with a sniff. “Thank you so much for giving us our Nick back, or, I guess, thank you and the Fairy.”

“You can take as much time as you need, and it was all the Fairy’s doing. I just… well, I just felt a connection to Nick’s story.”

A second voice, Mr. Nicholas Hallow, speaks in a low tone, “After hearing about everything that’s happened here in the park, we feel the same way about you. Because, like you, we were also attacked by the monsters we’ve since learned are called selquet.”

The atmosphere grows heavier. “O-oh. I see.” My eyes drift to Nick. “Is that… n-no, never mind.”

“It’s okay,” Ms. Hollow says. “We don’t mind telling you what happened, and in fact, it’s probably only right that we do.”

I hear Mr. Hollow sigh as he shuffles away from the tent’s chilly doorway. “Nick was very sick, and our son’s short time with us was quickly approaching a quiet end. We didn’t give up. Thirty-two states, forty-three different doctors, we did everything we could to find a way to save him. With it came forty-three grim prognoses. ...Then we saw the Fairy on the news. As a family, we decided to come here. We hoped to find a way to help Nick by awakening ourselves, or maybe even awakening Nick. I mean, we knew there had to be a way, with magic, levels, stats, or something, I-I don’t know.” He lets out a long sigh. “It was a hail merry, but… well, Nick really wanted to see the Fairy anyway. Like really wanted to.”

Ms. Hollow laughs. “He hadn’t had that much energy in months. I remember him jumping up and down in his bed, swinging a wiffleball bat like it was a sword. The boy was obsessed with her the moment he saw her. Said that blue and purple were his favorite colors, and her sword was the coolest.”

“Yeah.” Mr. Hollow chuckles. “Even if we completely failed, we hoped to at least let Nick meet the Fairy before… well, y’know.”

Ms. Hollow shuffles around, saying, “…N-Nick passed away in our arms before we made it to the park.” She swallows, taking a deep breath. “But he was smiling.”

“He knew we were…” I wipe away a tear from my cheek as Mr. Hollow clears his throat. “...c-close to the park.”

Ms. Hollow’s shaky voice says, “We lost his body right after…”

Nick purses his lips and looks at me. “I saw what I looked like when it was just me and E playing alone. I’m glad they lost me because, good gracious, I looked so gross! ”

With a sigh, Ms. Hollow continues, “We lost him when a selquet broke from a second-story specialty shop’s window.”

A chair creaks as Mr. Hollow sits. “The selquet chased and trapped us inside a Fazel’s Pizzeria. We barricaded ourselves inside one of their stockrooms, living off pizza sauce, pepperonis, garlic sauce, and parmesan for weeks. The selquet slept in the pizzeria’s dining room during the daytime, and at night they’d scratch at the stockroom’s door, trying to get in. Then one day, the selquet just stopped coming to the pizzeria altogether. After a day of waiting, we ran.”

“We went to see if we could find Nick’s body, and we obviously couldn’t; he was long gone, so we thought. So we spent the next few days gradually making our way to the park while dodging any selquet or other monsters we came across. It was a nightmare, but ” —Ms. Hollow raises her arms and then lets them drop to her side— “we’re still breathing, I guess.”

Nick hugs the air. “Well, I’m glad they’re still breathing!” he shouts. “Then I couldn’t hug them.”

There’s an explosion that rocks my body… it’s my heart exploding from critical levels of sweetness.

My glass cane taps against the church’s marble tile, echoing throughout the nave. [1] There’s a bang as my already bruised pinky toe stubs against what must be a wooden pew. Gritting my teeth, I suck in a breath of air as a small tear rolls down my cheek.

With a strained voice, I shout into the grayish void that envelops me, “Hello, is there a custos here? I can’t see the rushlights; I could use some help.” [2]

“Oh, Scarlett, what’s up? I didn’t hear anyone come in,” a boy’s voice says, shuffling along the marble floor. They stop somewhere in front of me, asking, “...Wow, what are you wearing?”

“Hey, Custos Jon.” I chuckle and look down. The parts of my body wearing clothes are simply missing. “I don’t know since I can’t see what I’m wearing.”

“...Oh, yeah, sorry. It looks really cool.” He laughs. “Or I guess I should say, crisp. Crisp is the new cool from what I’ve been overhearing.”

I smile and rub my sleeves. “Does it honestly look crisp? A woman named Summer Rosary has been helping me get around today, and she picked out my clothes. It’s a little heavy, honestly, but she told me it was some ultra-durable material that's waterproofed and stuff.”

“Rosary? That last name sounds familiar… But yeah, it looks very crisp.” He pauses for a moment and then asks, “Uhm, are you here to talk to Preacher Wainwright? He’s about to begin attending the Nescenecen chair right now. As you’d imagine, we’ve been extremely busy since last week.”

With a nod, I say, “Actually, the Nescenecen chair is why I’m here. I’d like to use it.”

“Ah? Well then, I’ll help you get to the Watchers’ Apsidal Penetralia. You’re a little early, but he probably won’t mind.” [3]

With Custos Jon’s patient guidance, I manage to make my way to the Apsidal Penetralia, a place to speak with the church’s preacher while illuminated in the Church’s Light. It’s said that in the church’s light, God’s angels can also observe—the Watchers as they’re known. In all honesty, it’s closer to speaking to a church anointed therapist than anything.

I hear a heavy door creak open, and my glass cane moves from marble tiles to hardwood planks.

“Thank you, Custos Jon. I can find my own way to the chair now that I’m here.”

“...If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

When I enter the Apsidal Penetralia, the door shuts behind me, and I hear footsteps moving away. The room smells of a faint smokiness. Knowing rooms like this well, it’s a very nostalgic smell. Apsidal Penetralias are standard in all Churches in Light and share a similar architecture. They’re domed, hexagonal, and at the exact center is a Nescenecen chair.

As my cane taps the ground, I say aloud, “A Nescenecen chair, named for the angel Nescence, is a simple chair woven from the rush plant. The top crest, arms, and stretcher are to be coated in beeswax to enhance the smell and experience of God’s people. Its feet shall be melted to the floor with tallow and then raked wide around the chair to represent the life burdens left by the many that have, and will, sit upon its rush seat. Then from the finials shaped as winged harps, bayberry wax is melted continuously until the back posts have fused with the raked tallow. Nescenecen chairs have been an important part of the Church in Light for going on four centuries.”

My hand rubs the wax-covered arms of the Nescenecen chair. “You taught me that.” I look up and stare toward where I know a tiny balcony overlooks the apsidal. It’s where the attending Preacher stands to listen to the one in the Nescenecen chair. “You remember, don’t you, Preacher Wainwright?”

There’s a short pause before a low voice reverberates in the apsidal, “Of course I do,” Preacher Wainwright says. “You were only a young girl then, but you were fascinated by the church’s relics and practices.”

“I was curious.”

“Oh?” He chuckles. “When I asked you why you were so interested in the church’s relics and practices, do you remember what you told me?”

I laugh. “That Rushlight Eve was my favorite holiday, and I thought if I took enough interest in the church, the Ember-Mites might reward me with more presents. Dad was so embarrassed I said that.”

“Ember-Mites. Embers that stray from the Church’s Flame only to come to life, spend a day playing in the Church’s Illuminated Passages, and then deliver the children of the world presents on Rushlight Eve before vanishing. Sometimes I miss having a child’s imagination.”

“Everyone believes in the Ember-Mites when they’re young…” The Nescenecen chair creaks as I sit down. Bits of the waxes break off and thump the ground. It’ll be Custos Jon’s duty to melt and reapply the wax at the end of the day. I place the cane next to me and then lay my hands in my lap. “I shouldn’t take up much more of your time since you’re attending the chair alone.”

“You got here at a good time. I just sat down, and it’s another ten minutes until official attending times. I’ll now recite the Watchers’ invocation.” He clears his throat, announcing, “Rest traveler in Their light and speak. Say what you wish, whether it be the rambles of your mind or the pangs of your heart. They watch you now.”

I sit in silence, gathering my thoughts. With a sigh, I say, “Everything is a blackish gray. Almost everything anyway. I’ve been told my eyes will never see the same. ...I am now, and forever, blind to God’s light.”

“There is no one that’s blind to God’s light,” the Preacher says.

I nod and steer my thoughts elsewhere. “The doctors tell me that they suspect one of my eardrums burst after being dragged into the Lake’s abyss. Yet they weren’t able to touch my skin, so they couldn’t look and confirm if that was true or not. ...Which is another thing. Whenever someone tries to touch me, they suffer painful burns and bruises.” With a scoff, I raise my finger to the blackness. “I tried to eat a campfire chicken nugget that Ayameko made me the other day, but my fingernail pricked the chicken nugget. When I went to take a bite of the nugget, it was rubbery, leathery, and gritty. I’m not sure what I did, but the thing was so shriveled that Ayameko tells me it sprang back up like a bouncy ball when I threw it to the ground.”

I sigh. “I could see how freaked out she was by it...”

“See?” the Preacher inquires.

“Oh. That’s right. I’m able to see Ayameko plus a few other people and things too. Like, those two guys, Nyle and Ethan. Though they all had a strange tint, or maybe glimmer is a better word. Like Ayameko seems redder, Nyle darker, and Ethan violet. Almost like someone took a picture and put a filter over them. Other than that, I can see the Fairy, the Mistress’s glass, my cane, and a handful of things I’m unable to fully comprehend right now. But the most breathtaking thing is the Mistress’s glass and the Tower.”

I look at my cane that glimmers in colors I didn’t even know existed before now. “It’s harder to describe that, but I guess describing it as... ‘rainbow water’ is as close as I’ll be able to get.”

With a sigh, I lean against the cold chair. “Which leads me to the next thing, I’ve never felt so… ambivalent and apathetic? I’m not even sure if those are the right emotions exactly. Ever since the incident, it’s all been so confusing.” I adjust my seating. “...S-speaking of which, Preacher, can I ask if you’re still mad at me for what I did with the spider?”

“I’ll admit I’m still confused, Scarlett, but I was mad. You’ve been like my own flesh-and-blood since you were fourteen, and over these past five years, I’ve watched you blossom into an intelligent and sensible woman. It did hurt me that you didn’t feel comfortable confiding in me before doing something so rash. ...But you’ve been through a lot, and I love you like my own, so I’m not mad; rather, I was scared.”

“I love you too, Uncle Sullivan.”

He chuckles. “Anywho, this isn’t the time nor the place for such a conversation. I’m not even supposed to be talking except to guide your mind. We’re in the Watchers’ eyes here, after all. Please continue.”

With a slow nod, I say, “...Uhm, well, this is the part you won’t like. Which is why I was sorta trying to figure out if you were still mad.”

“...Yeah?” he mumbles in a low voice.

I reach into my pocket, pulling out what looks like a circular red light to me, yet most everyone else will know what it is at a glance. “The Fairy gave me this greater token.” My fingers knead the token as my foot bounces on the floor. “A-and Uncle, I intend to use it. ...Aaand by ‘I intend to use it,’ I mean I’m leaving in a few hours. I’m entering the Tower with a bunch of others.”

On the balcony above, I hear the shuffling of feet. “Custos Jon, please tell everyone that the apsidal is going to be closed until later this afternoon.”

“Uhm, okay, Preacher? There are fifteen people here already, though, are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure. Someone has a lot of explaining to do.”

...Time passes.

I hear the monotone British accent of the Fairy’s tablet. “With the unsealing of this gate, the mum bell knells. Our rebirth is nigh.”

A pair of double doors creak open, allowing rousing applause from within the ballroom to leak into the hallway in which Summer and I stand. The warm air of the crowded ballroom blows across my face, bringing with it a film of violet mist—a mist that I can see!

The mist spreads within the ballroom. Everything it washes over reveals itself to me, making the world go from a void to one evocative of art painted with watercolors. All around me are the colorful silhouettes of people, and behind them, I see the glimmering stage filled with statues of smiling people, flowers, and butterflies. Further back is a shimmering gate of light, leading into a realm saturated in fog. It’s a gorgeous scene.

‘It’s like Earl told me. The mist carries with it some... spirit something or another that lets me see in places where it’s thick.’

“Come on,” I hear Summer’s voice say. A woman’s silhouette takes my palm with a gloved hand and drags me away. “Follow us around the room’s exterior wall.”

Around me, the sounds of clapping fade away. I can see numerous colorful silhouettes watching, talking, or moving toward the double doors as we hurry toward the stage.

“Stairs,” Summer says.

I nod, move up the stairs, and find her, Fairy. Through her facemask, I can see what I’m not sure I’m supposed to, her face. It’s a swirling maelstrom of bright blues, purples, reds, and blacks, all in the shape of a woman. My favorite thing about her appearance is her eyes—two fluttering butterflies that move wherever she looks. Their eyes I couldn’t imagine anything other than a fairy having. Earl told me that these are things that only someone looking with my eyes could see. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m not sure what most of what’s happening means, so whatever.

Fairy looks at me and nods. I see her hand move as the tablet says, “Good noon, Scarlett. I am glad thee art here. Did thy business fair well?”

Raising my hand, I wave, saying, “Yeah, I met Nick’s parents. They were very nice people, but they had gotten trapped inside a Fazel’s Pizzeria by…” I pause, take a breath, and sigh. “Well, it was those monsters again, selquet; there’s a group somewhere south of us. ...They think the infected spider colossus might have scared the selquet off, and they took the chance to sneak toward the park.”

My body shivers as I open my eyes to find Fairy resting a hand on my shoulder. She nods as her tablet says, “Thou art brave for telling his parents. We were not certain if they knew about his passing, so being willing to do such a thing, takes a strong person.”

With a smile, all I can think to say is, “T-thank you.”

“Hey, Scarlett…” Ayameko waves. Her straight black hair flutters in a breeze from within the gate. “Fairy told us you were coming in with us. Are you sure about that? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I’ll get to hang out with you, but...”

I nod. “I’ll be fine. I can see enough, and I need to increase my Perception if I hope to see closer to normal in the future.”

Ayameko’s eyes glance at my fingernails. “Y’know, it’s really not fair. You essentially get lifetime nail extensions.”

Tilting my head, I ask, “They don’t… freak you out?” I glance at their sharpened points. “...They’re not really like nail extensions.”

“I think they’re crisp,” Ayameko says with a shrug.

Nyle steps over to us with his eyes furrowed. “You really intend to come in? You can’t even...” Pausing, he glances at Ethan and then rolls his eyes. “Whatever.” Turning away, he steps toward the gate. “If Ethan is somehow still alive, then a blind girl will probably survive too.”

Ethan watches him with contempt. “You know what, I don’t even care what he says,” he murmurs to himself, following behind Nyle. “He’s just intimidated by me.”

Fairy takes her bag and tablet. With those in her arms, she turns toward Galtry and stares into her eyes for a long time. Finally, Fairy’s butterfly eyes narrow as if she’s smiling, and she turns away to follow Ethan. Galtry’s eyes follow Fairy as she walks away.

Ayameko and I glance at one another with furrowed brows. With the Fairy leaving, the Pilgrims follow behind her. One by one, I watch their silhouettes enter the gate.

“Take Summer with you, Scarlett,” I hear Galtry’s voice say.

My breath gets caught in my throat as I turn toward Galtry’s somehow intimidating silhouette. In her hands is a glowing silver tome that’s as apparent to me as even the Mistress’s glass. I try not to look at it since Galtry has a reputation of being incredibly protective of her tome. Though that’s normal for all of the Hex Church.

“A-are you sure, Miss Galtry?” I ask, glancing at Summer’s silhouette. “We’ll be gone for a week.”

“I’m sure.” Galtry hugs her tome close and walks away without another word.

I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “She’s just like they said in the magazines,” Ayameko whispers to herself with a squeak in her voice. “I hope we didn’t offend her or anything.”

“I wanted to go away,” Summer says, adjusting a long rifle in her arms. “Everything so far has just been work-related, so this is my first opportunity to try and level in a few weeks.”

“H-hey,” Ayameko says to Summer. “Aren’t rifles banned?”

“Yeah, all but this one. You two little girls ready?”

“...You’re only like four or five years older than us.”

Summer scoffs. “That doesn’t matter. I’m a woman, not because of age, but because…” Walking toward the gate, she laughs and says, “...just never mind, they aren’t things I’m proud of or really want to think about.”

We watch Summer walk through the gate. “...Screw that! I’m a woman too!” Ayameko says, chasing after her. Raising her arms, she shouts, “Now hear me roar! Grrrr!”

With a laugh, I stand there, staring at the overcast gate of swirling watercolors. I was meant to be here with many of the people who lost their lives to the selquet and the spider weeks ago now. My life has been a blur since then, a whirling depression of funerals and isolation. Reaching into my pocket, I remove the greater token and massage it against my palm. ‘I still remember what we said when we first decided to take up the Fairy’s quest. “...We will shield others as if a wall.” In hindsight, it was a naive thought that cost us everything.’

My canes tap against the floor as I move closer to the gate.

‘It takes a special sort of person to do that. To suffer the endless mental traumas that come with it. Something our silly minds couldn’t possibly comprehend while we were whacking giant roaches that were crawling from the sewer. So, I’ve got a new plan. I will work the wall, not as a brick, but as a brace, and if that wall wobbles and falls like it did with the selquet...’

The world shimmers as I walk through the glistening gate. Fresh and humid air, mist, and humidity wash over me.

‘...Then it’ll have to bury me with it. To do my part, I’ll need strength.’

My eyes hurt as they adjust to the vivid colors. A blue screen pops into view.

+1 Perception

35 Stat Points Remaining

It vanishes.

All around me is a forest that reminds me of the Jurassic period. Trees as tall as buildings, ferns with fronds as giant as a person, and flowers as big as my hand. Of course, to me, everything looks saturated and painted in watercolor. But that makes it even more stunning.

High in the clouds above, I notice something. An immense shadow of brilliant watery colors.

“Scarlett, are you seeing this?” Ayameko asks with her mouth half-open.

I glance down to see her pointing at some sort of creature with large steer-like horns. With a shake of my head, I point up. “There’s something above us.”

“Dost thou see anything?” I hear Fairy’s tablets say.

As Fairy joins Ayameko and me, the mist above us splits. With a whale-like hum, a mammoth-sized butterfly floats over our heads, gliding atop the misty purple winds. Its wings shine with a deep glow, a geometrical body resembling a lantern, and atop its heads is a pair of horns alongside club-like antennas.

Ayameko gasps. “It’s like an enormous flying stingray.”

Fairy’s palm hits her forehead as everyone runs over, watching the alien-looking butterfly with fixed eyes. The butterfly glides back into the cloud and drifts toward a brilliant purple star, and it’s like peering into the Milky Way galaxy like God might see it.

My heart flutters. This place speaks to me in a way that is impossible to describe. A smirk spreads across my face. ‘I can feel it…’ I laugh to myself. ‘This place will be where I find the strength to live another day.’