Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Viper Actual]

Faelnir is here?

Seriphine was visibly surprised, shocked even, to learn this. "I don't suppose you know why he's here? Or if there's a way for me to reclaim my lost memories? This realm is the home of powerful magic, after all."

She glanced over at Gwen before continuing. "Do you by chance have any sort of news that might improve her mood?"

 

[Infab]

Xager shook her head. "Your memories will return in time, but as for why Faelnir is here...Murder born of Envy. You should be able to put together who he murdered." she said, looking back to Seriphine. "...I'm sorry."

"As for Gwen...the only solace I can provide right now for her is that more elves have reappeared in the mortal realm, as has the rest of her castle. And her father has returned to life." she said, looking in Gwen's direction.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Sure. What is it?"

Loque sighs and begins undressing her coat and her shirt, exposing the utterly wracked and torn state of her upper body to Vincent. "This place hasn't been very kind to me as you can see, but..." She points to one painful looking scar on her back, one that looked rather deep. "...I did not get all of these from Thorgran."

It looks... odd. The way the scar is formed looks too carefully deliberate with how it's curved and designed, as if someone took their sweet time carving it into Loque's skin. However, if Vincent took a closer look, he'd tell after a while that this wasn't just a scar: it was a brand mark. Someone branded Loque with a symbol that looks almost like an angelic marking, only that this one was twisted and corrupted into something more sinister.

"Make no mistake, Vincent... I had every reason to be afraid back there."

 

[KRIY]

Kaze continued to choke the living life out of Wesley, He gags from the surprising return of oxygen back into his body, feeling as if he was still a human man before Cassandra took it from him, He tries to break up Kaze's hold but could not do so, his grip is too strong for him. His vision was starting to get blurry as Kaze gripped harder onto Wesley's neck.

"Give it up.. You're just killing yourself, Wesley. You can't even beat Cassandra in a fair ounce fight, How about me?.. That was I've been trying to tell you. Wesley. Let go of yourself, You aren't Human. Breathe in the notion that you are the perfect killing machine, I made it clear when I was silting throats of wives and chocking the lives of insolent children under Lord Toru, This... Humanity of yours prevents you from perfection.. So what do you say Wesley? shall I continue until this pitiful soul of yours finally accepts that your a coward? or Shall you finally let go and be the Predator for once? What do you say?!" Kaze loosened his choke hold on Wesley's neck, allowing him to speak clearly about his decision, And Wesley took this opportunity to sneak one of his Kunais out of the belt and into his hand.

"I..." Wesley said softly as he try's to regain his breath.

"Say it Wesley. Finally be the one that's superior.." Kaze grins.

"I... DO NOT ACCEPT!" Wesley uses this opportunity to slash his kunai across the hooded face of Kaze, striking what seems to be hard flesh, Kaze grunts in pain and let's go of Wesley as he brings up both of his hands up to his face and distances himself from the Ninja, With so much pent up anger, Wesley charges at Kaze with a battlecry, spears him to the ground, and slips his hands onto the neck of this nightmarish figure. trying to choke the living hell out of him.

....

"Hey, ninja boy. Ya alright?"

As soon as Kassidy nudged him and said something. As if he was an animal, Wesley immediately went for the kill. Tackling her to the ground and putting his hands on the succubus's neck. Wesley seems to be out of it. He then chokes out a word while continuing to grip hard on Kassidy's neck, "..DAMN YOU KAZE, DAMN YOU!"

 

[Infab]

Kassidy never expected to be pounced as she was by Wesley. Nor did ahe expect for him to try and strangle her. But she'd settle this the only way she could think of at the moment. With a sharp inhale, as soon as she could pry his hands off her throat, she exhaled a pink mist into Wesley's face. "Relax, sugar. Everything's alright." she whispered, as the mist slipped into Wesley's nose and mouth. "Yer safe. Ain't no Kaze here. Its just you 'n me. Just climb off of me, and go sit on that crate you were on."

 

[KRIY]

"DIE DAMN-" Wesley was about to go through his belt and pull out a kunai before Kassidy's mist found its way to Wesley's nostrils and mouth, Wesley's eyes become entranced and The Ninja steadily calmed down, His grip started to loosen and breaths for unnecessary air seem to pass him as he gets off of Kassidy gently, He only muttered an "okay" and made his way back to crate that he was just sitting a while ago, only difference is that he's not looking at the Emblem anymore.

 

[Doomevil]

After Seriphine was finished talking to Xager, Senya just wanted to inform her about the leadership in the group. She gave a respectful bow, “Vincent and I discussed our concerns about how morale is running in the group. I wanted to let you know he gave me permission to act as a co-leader of the sort. He seems like he has a lot on his plate already with several members leaving. Because if he dies, then the group dies.” She spoke with worry.

“I plan to announce this to everyone soon, I think it would be good to communicate more.”

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari was roused from her process of relaxation by some mildly incoherent screaming - Wesley. She glanced around in time to see the shinobi leap from his spot and crash into the succubus, pinning her to the ground with his hands around her neck as he started to strangle her. Inari was already a few steps away from the truck, one hand resting on the hilt of her katana, and the other still clutching her bottle when Kassidy did one of her little calming spells and charmed the vampire away in an instant. The kitsune watched closely for a moment and took a sip from her bottle before shrugging in a grand fashion, stalking right back towards the truck and leaning against it as she was.

"[Crazy kid,]" she muttered to herself.

 

[Damian0358]

Looking into the crates, Takato decided to concentrate on one that he didn't pay much attention to, to set his sights for something away from his norm - the supply crates for firearms use. Overlooking the weaponry and the ammo, it reaffirmed to him just how unfamiliar he was with these kinds of weapons; the martial art of the bird-beaked firearm had shifted so much, that he couldn't even call them bird-beaked anymore. Even within this group there existed a diversity in how these firearms looked like, a stark contrast to the days of the Sanchangchong (三長銃) matchlock arquebus. He was certain that flintlocks weren't yet brought over, and even those have been phased out at this point in favor of the systems he sees now used. If ever for a brief moment, it looked as though he spotted something resembling a Sanchangchong, but he waved it off, because why would that be there? Must be his outdated understanding of firearms. And what of that gun there? It looked to be bold action, yet it seemed to only take what those shotguns use. Was that a thing too? Probably.

To stop himself from thinking too much about this, he listened in on what was up with Xager, hearing at first the dialogue with Seri. It seemed her end was triggered by an envious rogue, a tragic end for someone of her nature. But soon spoke Senya, partially surprising Takato with what she told Xager. If there was anyone within this current party that could fill the role of co-leader, at this point, he personally viewed Senya as the best option. Loque clearly didn't want to be here, Henderson seemed not the sort to want to lead, Inari he wouldn't want to lead, Seriphine seemed capable but had her issues to overcome, Gwen similarly, Wesley seemed too inexperienced when it comes to leadership, Uloth seemed similar to Seriphine but wasn't as familiar with her, he himself (based on earlier logic) seemed more a follower than a leader, and Kassidy shouldn't be forced into such a position. Heck, if Vincent were to step down, Senya seemed the perfect fit for leader of this inquiry, from what he understood of her at least. But then he recalled what the gate had spoken: "Murder born of Envy", same as Seriphine's (apparent?) murderer.

Takato raised his head out of the crates, looking over towards Senya, Seriphine and Xager, but not exactly looking at either directly. Whilst he still believed in Senya's abilities, the fact of the matter was that they were all being challenged by their time here, tested at their weakest. And whilst some had already crumbled and restarted from the bottom, others had yet to face those same emotions openly. Things were going to get far worse before they would get better, it seemed.

But, as the pundits in Zhongjing would say, the future was unknowable, and our hands may be tied in many ways, time will always come around, the same opportunities, risks and dangers representing themselves when people are so much more wiser. The cycle of time ensured that times would get better, though the journey there may be distant. Vigilant, they all had to be.

Takato walked over to the three, making it apparent that, after Senya and Seriphine, he wished to speak with Xager next. His pupils still seemed slightly more dilated than usual.

 

[Viper Actual]

"Murder? Envy?" Seriphine excused herself just as Senya stepped forward. She barely registered whatever it was Xager had said in regards to Gwen and her father. Walking off to be on her own Seriphine felt a million thoughts race through her mind. Faelnir had murdered someone? Shrugging, it wasn't a surprise. Her trusted advisor was no stranger to combat. Even before being recruited for her warhost he had waged war against anyone foolish enough to trespass on the newly founded and fledgling Elven Realm in the days of old. Seriphine distinctly remembered his collection of scalps taken from bandits and raiders.

Still, the way Xager had chosen her words. That implied that Faelnir had killed her. Could it be true? Why can't I remember any of this?

Looking up, her eyes darted between her companions but eventually stopped at Takato. The monk. Perhaps he can help...

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth listens to Inari speak between sips of her own bottle of liquor, she shrugs and notices Wesley going psycho on Kassidy. She stands there and watches it unfold and shrugs again as Kassidy seemed to put the cap on that little spat pretty quickly. She takes one last big gulp of the rum before capping the remainder and setting it back on the truck for someone else to indulge in should they ask Inari permission. She shifts over and sits down against the side of the truck and tries to rest a little bit more, it doesn't take long for her to nod off to sleep again and sure enough she's out like a light.

 

[Breadman]

"Bloody runt." Henderson complained after observing Wesley losing his mind seemingly and almost killing the succubus. Lucky for him, she can take care of herself and wasn't nearly as useless as the ones they had slaughtered earlier. He placed the crate next to the truck and opened it. "Oh, she even got the right type. Nice of her to do so." He exclaimed. It took him a minute to get it right, but by the end of the whole process, the giant brute was with a relaxed look while smoking with a pipe.

As some of the guards from the church had noted before, he did look rather odd smoking tobacco. What with being a giant 3 meter tall mass of muscle and what looked like a comically over sized pipe. Adding to the fact that he would go through 4 or 5 times the amount of tobacco a normal person would at the very least when he smoked, Henderson would have to agree that it was rather odd, no rather ridiculous even. The image wasn't the reason he didn't smoke often however, it was the sheer volume needed to keep it up. And the fact that his cell tended to get rather clouded if he did it for too long. Loque having her own supply of cigarettes was likely what gave him the urge to light something up again. He guessed that he should thank her for it. The tobacco was an expensive Darstenian kind. Favored among factory owners and industry leaders. With good reason as the taste was unmatched so far, but Escarian nobles were trying to catch up. So far, not much luck.

Henderson observed how the rest interacted among each other, while a small pillar of smoke formed next to his head.

 

[Infab]

Kassidy stood up, brushing herself off. "Crazy ass vampire." she muttered, glancing towards where Wesley was sitting. Who the hell was Kaze? Some old enemy? Once she was up, she eventually snapped her finger. Disabling the charm on Wesley. "Do that again, ninja, an' I'm knockin' yer ass out." she stated.

Xager nodded in response to Senya. "These are trying times, in a trying place. Its understandable." she stated, glancing to Vincent. "Hopefully you will be a far better secondary leader than Hudson has proven to be." She then looked to Takato, whom seemed to want to ask her something. "Is there something you need, Oni?"

Vincent eyed the brand, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. An angelic rune, branded into her skin. Yet the rune looked corrupted. A fallen angel's brand. "...I'm sorry, Loque. If I had known...I would have asked Xager to take you with her while we went through with killing Thelyra...I didn't mean to force you through that ordeal." he said. He paused for a few moments, before speaking again. "...You're not in this alone, Loque. We're all here with you, and we'll help."

 

[Damian0358]

With his turn up, Takato approached Xager and spoke in a rather candid tone.

"...if I may ask regarding the Abyssal Gate," he began, "...to what degree did one need to have, ehm... sinned, to have been allowed through that gate?" he asked. It was visible from his eyes, still slightly dilated, and his somewhat worried tone that he was going through some heavy contemplation at the moment.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"...You're not in this alone, Loque. We're all here with you, and we'll help."

She certainly felt alone despite his words. To the benefit of the others however, some of them did try to cheer her up to varying degrees of success, but it rarely ever stuck as something else drained it all away such as the absolute mess that happened with Hudson. Nothing's going to cheer her up completely until she finally passes through that door back into the mortal realm, and finally back home. There is something else that can, but that's out of the question as she's actively trying to avoid for as long as possible until she finally catches up with her. So long as she's in this realm with her, she's not safe. She just hopes she's not been coordinating with the shadow demons to track her down, otherwise she'll be meeting Irin face to face sooner than she thinks.

Loque bows her heads silently as she holds her shirt and coat in her hands. "It's... crazy, isn't it?" she mumbles, looking back at him. "My people, we're... just as awful to each other... It's crazy..."

 

[Doomevil]

Senya appreciated the comment, it’s a first step but she’s going to have to prove herself in these following missions. She parted away and gave a thumbs up to Loque from a far as Vincent talked to her.

 

[Viper Actual]

With Takato firing away questions like no tomorrow, which itself was highly unsurprising, Seriphine decided that she'd speak with someone else.

Having approached Kass seemingly out of nowhere, Seriphine cleared her throat. She gestured outwards, away from the group. "Kassidy. Mind if I speak with you?"

"Before someone tries to kill you again through sheer stupidity I'd like your help with something," said the Elf while glancing at Wesley.

 

[Infab]

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Humans and Demons aren't so different, honestly...I imagine Angels are the same, since there are Fallen Angels..." he replied, glancing down to the ground.

---​

Kassidy glanced over to Seriphine, as she appeared next to her. "Sure. What'cha need?" she said, turning and strolling away from the group till they were out of earshot. When she stopped, she faced the elf and put her hands on her hips. "Need advice fer dealin' with Vincent?" she said, raising an eyebrow. She smiled afterwards. "Just pickin' at ya."

---​

Xager folded her arms behind her back as she typically did. "Usually you have to have committed a sin worthy of placing you in the Abyss upon death. Murder, Rape, and so on. You, however, were able to pass through due to your blood. The oni having descended from the countless demons that appeared in Redonia throughout years past." She glanced back to the others. "I'll be happy to answer more questions afterwards. First, I should update you all on a few things here in the Abyss. I think its time that you all know that what you're doing here actually means something."

Xager called for everyone (whom wasn't busy talking to one another) close. "First, allow me to update you on a few things regarding the mortal realm. The Goddess Velin has had a change of heart, after an encounter in the town of Red Gorge. Thanks to some convincing from Undite, whom as returned to the public eye, Velin has shed her hostile ways and attitude towards the supernatural. She intends to gather the leaders of the various nations of Adonia together, and write up a treaty granting supernatural peoples equal rights to humans. Surprising, I know." she explained, looking to each of them as she spoke. "Now, to Abyssal matters...Ethrael's war in the southern part of Azgon's territory is progressing. His men are gaining ground, thanks to your actions as well as the actions of Sazak's rebellious son Azathor. You will likely meet him eventually. He despises his father, and wishes the same that you do upon Sazak. A proper death."

"The death of the priest has effectively cut the continuous line of fresh troops to join Taranoch's forces here in the Abyss, which means less troops to join Azgon's war effort against Ethrael. The destruction of Azgon's prized weapons development factories has resulted in a shortage of new firearms. Now, they have to deal with weapons malfunctions and lack of replacement parts. Their men have resorted to using melee weapons in battle, and though us Wrath demons are exceptional in close quarters, basic grunt demons are not. As you know."

"Since you slaughtered Thelyra, Sekath's taskmaster, the flow of succubi and incubi being sent to gather life force and provide medical support to the forces fighting against Ethrael and Azathor has effectively stopped. Sekath has yet to return home to her realm, which means that currently the realm of Lust is in chaos without a leader. Sekath's palace has been burned extensively, but it still stands. The other high succubi and incubi are attempting to regain control over the realm, but are doing poorly as we continue to take them out with our guerilla strikes."

"...What you're doing here is actually helping. Believe me. Should we weaken the Icons and their hold over their realms, we effectively disrupt the Abyss. And then we can launch a full scale rebellion and reclaim the Abyss from demons like Taranoch." she said. She then glanced about once more. "...As for your mission here, we have continued to search for the location of Valeria. She was spotted in the realm of Lust, but disappeared shortly after you reached Sekath's capital. We believe that she might have been moved again. Potentially back to the land of Sazak. If she's being held there, then your allies in Hudson's group could potentially rescue her. If they survive. Meanwhile, the artifacts are being held inside Taranoch's palace in Dis. We need to draw Taranoch and his forces out of Dis before we can send you to retrieve them. That will take more destabilization of the realms, and Ethrael gaining more ground in Azgon's territory."

"Which brings me to your next objective here in the land of Envy. Sagath, Sekath's sister and Icon of Envy, owns three islands to the north. Upon the central island resides a cult of demons known as the Worshipers of Zalmakul. They dedicate their lives to worshiping Sagath's gigantic pet, obviously named Zalmakul. Should you kill them and her pet, Sagath will likely drive herself mad with grief, thus weakening her hold on her own realm. After slaying the creature, I'll reappear and direct you to another train terminal so that you can get some rest on the way to the next realm."

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth awakens when Xager gathers up the party for the little rundown of what's going on. She listens carefully, she already knows who Azathor is having worked under him in her absence from the party's ranks. She offers no real input to the affairs of the party, but she does have a question, "Ah, jus' how big is tha' pet? I dunnae if we can handle it if'n i's too large, unless ya got sommat to help level tha' field."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Humans and Demons aren't so different, honestly...I imagine Angels are the same, since there are Fallen Angels..."

"... We really aren't, are we." says Loque, quite somberly. She stays quite for a moment before taking another look at Vincent. "Hey." An idea pops in her head from what happened with Takato earlier. She embraces him in a hug just as Takato did with her earlier, although hopefully much less awkwardly. "It's alright, Vincent. And, I-I'm sorry for almost letting you down earlier... But please, don't make me do something like this again, ok?" She lets him go on hearing Xager call the others and puts her shirt and coat back on. Time to get back to business, it seems.

---​

So, it seems what they're doing really is having an affect on the rest of the Abyss after all. Hearing Xager explain in detail the effects of what their activities of sabotage and assassination came as nothing less than an absolute relief to Loque's ears. Hearing it took a massive burden off her mind now that she knows she and the others are actually helping. It isn't that she didn't trust Tariun, she trusted her completely as one of Kaizen's chosen, but constantly wondered what the point of their activities were since it all seemed so arbitrary and out of the way. Listening carefully as to how they've effectively cut off Taranoch's recruitment line, devastatingly crippled the weapons supply of his soldiers, and killed off any chance of them getting any sort of medical aid surprised her, but not as much as hearing what Xager had said before that.

Velin stopped her purges.

That must've taken one hell of an effort to accomplish. Loque never cared at all for vampires or werewolves or whatever bizarre subgroup of cursed and afflicted humans that were being targeted by her, but she can't imagine what must've really occurred in the mortal realm to make the bloodthirsty goddess actually stop, even for just a day. It had to have been something more than just a stern talking to from Undite and some uppity locals. Whatever happened, she'll find out when she gets back to the mortal realm... if she gets back.

Should you kill them and her pet, Sagath will likely drive herself mad with grief, thus weakening her hold on her own realm.

"You want us to kill it?" asks Loque. "I was hoping to feed Thorgran to it. That fat bastard would keep it fed for centuries."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato 's dilated pupils stared down Xager as she stated what was to the group common knowledge at this point, and common knowledge to him. What it didn't answer was what he was effectively looking for - the event horizon, the point after which you had been deemed worthy of the Abyss following death. Did failing oneself or their faith count? Did justifiable homicide or even manslaughter count? What of involuntary authority? And what of hermitism?! At what point was one culpable enough that the Abyss was their fate? Sure, what he was asking was something of a philosophical question, but in another way, it was a question of law too, for what governed whom departed to this damned realm, to be punished? Was it decided in a view akin to those Modelists (墨家), or Standardists (法家) or even Ruologists?

Before he could ask further, however, Xager wished to update them on current happenings, so with a morose look, Takato nodded and stood a bit aside, so that everyone not occupied could huddle up. Takato was glad to hear of Velin's change of heart, and the progress made by the one in the south-east. After listening to the causes of their actions so far, he nodded further. He needn't the reminder that their actions meant something, but looking around, it seemed others needed it, Loque especially.

Hearing what their upcoming mission will be, it seemed they were about to ruin a cult's day, and ruin another Icon's mood. Whether they'll meet Valeria seemed to be up in the air, and it even appeared that the artifacts were within the home of the one Great Demon Emperor. The thought brought shivers. But his mind still seemed square on getting a proper answer from Xager, and she could probably tell as much by his looking straight at her, in a fashion akin to how she stares down others. So, for the time, he allowed the others to asks questions, nodding as Uloth asked a very good question.

Loque's response to Xager, however, appeared to have somewhat answered it.

"...to be able to keep someone fed for that long, Zalmakul must be as gigantic as the word suggests, no?"

 

[Doomevil]

Senya listened to Xager's announcement that Velin has finally started to ease up. If the world is gathering every leader from Adonia this is a huge implication altogether. Senya knew their efforts would have some impact so the news when it came to Thelyra or the Priest never surprised her. Now their next target was a creature named Zalmakul. They needed to get Sagath out of the way as soon as possible then. She waited as people asked questions so she can announce something.

 

[Breadman]

Henderson smoked while listening. He didn't doubt that he was right to keep with the group, but the news about Hudson's band of idiots surviving was good too. More distraction for the demons to worry about for now. Now for their part.

"You said A cult. Meaning there would be others. Our actions are likely drawing attention and would eventually lead to a confrontation head on. I suggest we delay it. Kill the beast, slaughter the cult, but also leave marking that belong to a rival cult to throw off their scent from us and cause some infighting if we're lucky. This is the land of envy, surely there's at least one."

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine both widened her eyes and blushed slightly in response to Kass' comment. Quickly, she forced herself to regain her composure and nodded. "I appreciate the offer." She glanced past Kassidy at the others before continuing; "I need the help from someone like you. A demon."

"It has not gone unnoticed to me that some of your kind possess unique abilities and while I still view these things as unnatural I am not foolish enough to ignore how useful such abilities may be in the right situation."

"Ever since I returned to life I've struggled with the loss of memories. I have not thought much of it until just now after Xager made a certain...insinuation," she said with a sigh followed by a faint frown on her lips.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you could aid me with reclaiming at least some of my memories. At this point I don't remember the final time before my passing. I do not know if I've lost days, weeks, months or entire years. Some things I remember barely or extremely vaguely, like shadows in my mind. Battles I've fought. Cities I've seen."

Seriphine paused and glanced once more. This time at Vincent.

"I don't remember the name of my sons and daughters. In fact, I barely remember any of the children I conceived at all."

 

[Infab]

"Ah, jus' how big is tha' pet? I dunnae if we can handle it if'n i's too large, unless ya got sommat to help level tha' field."

"...to be able to keep someone fed for that long, Zalmakul must be as gigantic as the word suggests, no?"

Xager, surprisingly, smiled. "Its massive. Easily larger than the grand cathedral in Eternis in the mortal realm. Which means I will bring you a rather large weapon, which I am quite fond of, to slay it. A field gun."

She then looked to Henderson when he asked his question. "...Interesting proposal. But, I could do you one better." She glanced back to the others. "We frame Keggoth, Icon of Greed. Keggoth is a very jealous type of demon, being a greed demon. She has a irrational hatred of those with one of a kind secrets, objects, and pets. She despises Thorgran, as he never shares his recipies with her. She also happens to loathe Sagath due to having the only large creature of its kind here in the Abyss as her pet. You frame Keggoth, and make it look like her minions killed the creature in a sort of 'if I can't have it, no one will' manner, and the infighting among the two Icons will commence."

---

Kassidy nodded at Seriphine. "Amnesia's a helluva thing...lucky for you, ya got me ta help." she replied, with a warm smile. She then rubbed her hands together. "Right, I wanna warn ya. This may be a lil weird...ya might feel a tinglin' sensation in yer head. That'll pass. Just remember ta breathe in and out calm like. Got it?"

She then slowly startes to move her hands around in circles before her, as if she were forming a ball. Instead of pink mist forming, a purplish mist began to form. Soon, it changed from a sort of mist to more smoke like. And then, Kassidy inhaled it. She then reached up, took Seriphine by the head with both hands, and slowly blew the purple smoke into her face.

The smoke seeped into her mouth and nose, all of it flowing inward till there was no smoke left around her. And there it was, the tingling sensation she spoke of...as well as a cloudy feeling deep within her mind. "Calm breathin', sugar. I want ya to think back...find those memories...shouldn' be hard for a smart girl like you, right? Take it slow, nice and calm..." spoke Kassidy, gazing into Seriphine's eyes as she whispered.