Beta read by: Secretlysilentevil

She remembered the last year of her previous life quite well. Arriving in Tatsumi Port Island and becoming embroiled in the nightly activities of SEES. She remembered the bonds she forged after meeting the strange caretaker of the velvet room. How slowly, as she built upon her relationships and grew more understanding, she began to change as well. Eventually, it was no longer about using the links she formed with others to strengthen herself and it was instead simply about helping the people around her.

She remembered facing down Nyx even as her team was incapacitated. She remembered fighting tooth and nail to resist and when her body could no longer hold out how she discarded it and left it an empty vessel using her soul to form a great seal to keep humanity's cry from reaching the goddess.

She remembered when those cries she held back became Erebus and her own torment as the monster did everything it could to break her seal. It clawed at her body, pulled at her frame, even tried to molest her in an attempt to weaken her resolve.

She was glad for the reprieve that came with the arrival of Aigis and her friends even if it was only temporary. She merely wished she could have reached out to them. To say anything to them at all.

After they left Elizabeth began to visit and she cherished those moments as well. Because Elizabeth would drive off Erebus, and even it knew it could not stand up to her after the first few times it tried and failed to best the velvet rooms attendant. The cycle used to be how she would keep track of time, after all, Elizabeth did say that it takes Erebus a year to reform after being killed.

She remembered the one sided conversations they would hold. Where Elizabeth would talk to her and respond to the answers that couldn't be vocalized as if the attendant could actually hear her thoughts. Then Elizabeth would stand up and promise once more, like she always did, to find a way to free her from the seal.

She cherished those moments they spent together. Those bittersweet memories of a time where her bond with the attendant shined brighter than all the others despite never having an arcana to symbolize it. Somehow, that made it even more precious.

But what she couldn't remember. Is how she ended up here.

She awoke huddled in the snow next to a bonfire that had burned down to its embers. Dressed in her old school uniform she felt out of place in the distinctly eastern style landmarks around her.

When she looked down at the nearby bridge she noted how it was old and even missing sections before turning towards the staircase leading higher and the bodies impaled on pikes lining the path up to the ruins. Never had she wished more for a weapon or her evoker than right then. Still, at the very least, she knew some hand to hand and even if she couldn't summon them to fight for her, she could still equip her persona's to strengthen herself.

Without much choice she began to climb only to quickly find herself beset by what she could only describe as zombies. Husk like corpses that had clearly at one point been human but most importantly to her at least, they had weapons. Old and broken things to be certain but still better than nothing in her mind so after killing the first and taking his blade she began to advance with a little more confidence.

It was shortly after that when she replaced her blade with a bow, looted from more of the zombie like things, then she came across ones even more foul. Corpses filled with toxic slime that bubbled and corroded the ground when they fell. However they, disgusting as they appeared, were not even the worst of the creatures she came across. Giant rotting dragons, creatures surrounding a statue weidling shields and throwing spears, skeletons gripping spiked wheels and a man in heavy looking armor.

At least the crow people didn't seem interested in bothering her and she managed to find a rapier in good shape along the way.

After fighting through the hostile creatures she eventually made her way to a platform where a large woman covered in fur stood holding a wicked scythe in one hand and gazing out over the world. At first the woman did not seem to notice the young girl who approached cautiously with her rapier held ready.

"Who art thou? If thou hast misstepped into this world, plunge down from the plank, and hurry home. If thou seekest I, thine desires shall be requited not."

The words were spoken by the giant woman and brought the cautious girl to a stop at the first being in this land to actually speak to her instead of just attacking or ignoring her. Her gaze moved to the plank of wood sticking out over the ledge of the tower but the girl made no motions toward leaving.

"Arisato Minako," she eventually said before wincing at how her throat protested the action of speech after spending so long in silence. The woman before her slowly turned around and approached with narrowed eyes before circling the red haired girl.

"Thou art dressed in a strange manner and dost not carry the mark of the undead. What hast brought thou to Anor Londo? Why come to the Painted World?"

The confusion that appeared on Minako's face was mirrored onto the woman's. "Anor Londo? Painted World? I don't know what you're talking about."

That response was met with incredulity and suspicion as the woman circled again. "How didst thou arrive in this realm? The only entrance to outsiders is through the painting."

"I… I just woke up here. Last thing I remember was-" Minako paused, she remembered being the seal, she remembered the seemingly endless time she spent in pain and degradation while Erebus attempted to break her down. She remembered all of it but had no idea for how long it had lasted for nor what exactly freed her from it.

She remembered Elizabeth giving her a sad smile and telling her one last time that the beautiful attendant loved her…

There was nothing after that. And though she had never been very expressive in the past regarding her own emotions the pain Minako felt in her chest at being unable to return those sentiments caused her to shift in her stance and bring her hand up to rub at the flesh over her heart as if the physical act could soothe the emotional ache.

It was difficult for her to push the ache aside and focus on what was in front of her, namely the giant of a woman who had finished circling her and was even then standing in front of her, scythe held in both hands. Minako could see the uncertainty in the woman's gaze and decided that conversation might be the best way to move forward, not particularly ecstatic on the woman deciding to attack her and giving up the only source of conversation she's had since arriving in this snowy place.

"Where am I? You said this place is called the Painted World?" Minako asked lowering her rapier and awkwardly sliding it into her belt since she lacked any kind of proper sheathe for the blade.

The question made the woman purse her lips for a moment before she relaxed her grip on her weapon letting the butte of the scythe rest on the ground as she shifted her grip back to one holding it in only a single hand. "This is the Painted World of Ariamis. 'Twas created to be used by the gods as a home for things the gods fear or are otherwise best left forgotten by man. Things that ought to fade into myth and legend or from history altogether. If thou didst not enter through the painting in the chapel and indeed were placed here…" the woman trailed off for a long moment in contemplation before her expression hardened minutely. "This land is peaceful, its inhabitants kind. If thou seekest to harm the Devoted know I shall not allow thee to remain."

While the words she spoke brought a warm feeling to Minako, recalling the manner of speech Orpheus used upon being called forth, she could not help but look at the woman in front of her with incredulity. "Kind? I haven't hurt anything that didn't attack me first but the only things that have been peaceful since I woke up here were the crow people and they didn't exactly help when the other things attacked."

Something Minako said seemed to have an effect as the woman looked surprised by the statement. "The Devoted of Velka didst not assault thee? If thou speakest truly perchance thou does have a place amongst us…" the literal dragon-lady gave Minako's new rapier a long look before slowly lowering herself down, seating her form on the ground as she stared at Minako in a way that made her feel rather exposed. "Thou hast a soul the gods wouldst covet for replacing Gwen upon his pyre. Vast and deep as an ocean it seems, mayhap that is also a thing they fear. Power such as that twould be something they may not be capable of containing should it be set alight."

The fact that the woman in front of her was talking about her soul or, more importantly, the sea of souls she has access to likely would be something that would set a normal person on edge. But having already come across beings such as Igor, Nyx, and Pharos the idea that the woman before her could 'see' her soul was not something she found concerning in and of itself. More importantly the woman didn't seem to be on the verge of hostilities any longer and was currently Minako's only potential source of information regarding her current location.

"You mentioned gods? Is there any chance they could help me get back home?" Minako asked, but was left unsurprised when the woman shakes her head in response.

"I'm afraid that they wouldst see little point in aiding you and thus wouldst not bother doing so. More likely they wouldst be to see the blade on your person and seek thine elimination as a threat to themselves. Tis why they placed me here after all. I am, in the end, a bastard child and my life hunt ability is a threat to them. Likely it wouldst be that if not for my mother being who she is that they wouldst have simply killed me at birth." The woman explained and Minako was struck by something else she hadn't bothered to find out just yet.

"Who… Who are you?"

The question was simple and yet it had only just occurred to Minako that she hadn't bothered to ask and really she didn't want to be rude and continue thinking of the beautiful woman as the 'dragon-lady'.

"Oh, pardon me, tis not often I engage in conversation for any length of time and usually then only to instruct what undead doth manage to make it thus far how to leave the Painted World. I am Priscilla, bastard daughter of Seath the Scaleless and the goddess Gwynevere." The now named 'Priscilla' shifted and as she did so her tail slid across the ground to rest near Minako.

The redhead spared the limb a long look, noting the fur that covered it. It looked soft and warm and brought to mind just how cold it was upon the top of Priscilla's keep. She first considered simply using the Agi spell to create a small fire but, not wanting to give the relaxed woman in front of her any reason to tense, Minako instead merely changed the persona she had equipped letting Thanatos settle back into the sea of souls and choosing Parvati to take his place. The persona's inborn immunity to ice rendered the cold around Minako harmless.

If Priscilla noticed the change in the human's comfort she did not comment on it beyond a curious look, as Minako relaxed and allowed herself to also take a seat whereupon she once more noticed the tail, only it seemed to her slightly closer yet still out of reach. Minako gave it a long look before starting when Priscilla cleared her throat pointedly a knowing smile on her lips that the human girl could not help but find stunning. Throughout their entire conversation thus far the best she could describe Priscilla's facial expressions was 'neutral' but now the crossbreed seemed amused.

"I shall ne'er understand the fascination thine kind has with mine appendage. Tis a strange thing to focus on yet it seems humans inevitably do so. One bold undead even dared to attempt to stroke it like one would an animal. He, I did throw from the tower and out of the Painted World forcibly," Priscilla admitted and a small part of Minako sympathised with the undead man.

While Minako would never do something so rude as to touch Priscilla uninvited a small part of her did acknowledge that it was very tempting. That being a small part that she immediately ignored and pushed into a dark corner in the back of her mind. Still she didn't have anything to add to the conversation and without any way of returning to her home, her friends... Elizabeth.

Minako was left directionless.

It was both incredibly freeing and utterly terrifying to suddenly find herself without some goal she desperately needed to work towards or purpose to fulfill. Her mind began to turn over and over again as she forgot all about the conversation she was currently involved in until once more Priscilla began to speak.

"Thou seemst to have been lost in thine own mind. Mayst thou tell what deeds thou hast done and from whence thine hails? I can scarcely recall much of anything of the outside world and wouldst not mind to hear your tale. Thou hast a place within the Painted World and thine presence is welcome companionship."

It was something to do and perhaps by doing so Minako could consider what she should do with her new chance at life.

"Minako, be wary in your travels beyond the tower, the undead grow in number as Gwen's fire doth continue to fade and Velka attempts once more to punish the gods for their sins with the prophecy she hast propagated in the outside world. She seeks to use the undead to hunt the gods by setting them upon Anor Londo whilst using the asylum to test them." Priscilla warned one day to her now ever present companion.

The young girl had at first considered using the plank and leaving the Painted World but it had only taken listening to Priscilla's own story and the realization of just how truely similar they were that the redhead to decided to stay. She knew what it was like standing watch alone, save for the occasional blood thirsty visitor or the sporadic at best one sided conversation. For her it had been Erebus returning each year to pull and tear at her seal and Elizabeth to provide conversation she could only listen to. For Priscilla, it was the occasional undead who managed to get into the Painted World and refused the offer of the plank instead taking up arms against the Crossbreed and what little conversation she could get out of the occasional Velka devotee who perched atop the tower.

At least Minako had been able to keep track of time by the yearly reforming of Erebus even if she had eventually lost count.

In short Minako felt a kindred spirit in the Crossbreed and was loathe to leave Priscilla to her loneliness. While neither ever commented on it, Minako felt assured that Priscilla appreciated her company. Especially at times like this where the Crossbreed showed a certain amount of concern over her well being.

It was cute really, especially when Minako knew that most undead tended to overlook the small human girl in favor of the Crossbreed, dismissing Minako and her rapier as a threat when compared to the towering dragon-lady and her intimidating scythe. Already Minako had witnessed three undead try to match blades against Priscilla in order to take her powerful soul. The second of which saw it as a kind of consolation prize after Priscilla turned away his more carnal advances.

They always seemed to have quite the strange look of surprise on their face when the redhead drove her rapier through their backs. Then they two would begin the arduous task of having to kill them again each time they returned to the keep until they inevitably went hollow.

That had brought to light something that still distressed Minako to consider. Priscilla was in fact immortal, immune to the ravages of time and while Minako herself had no real idea how long she had spent in the Painted World she still looked as she had prior to her confrontation with Nyx, albeit with longer hair now, this did not make either of them invulnerable. The last violent undead had proven the fact when he wised up to Priscilla's disappearing trick and stuck to the snow covered side of the tower. Upon Priscilla's approach he had wounded the Crossbreed with a powerful blow.

It was not enough for him to win but after he was dead Minako had nearly driven herself into a panic in her rush to heal the wound.

"Priscilla, I have an idea about dealing with the undead who make it this far in the future…" Minako started, it took her awhile to figure out how to broach this idea knowing that her dear companion would not like it much at all.

"Oh?"

Minako could hear Priscilla's curiosity in her tone and sighed knowing full well the Crossbreed would not like the idea. But, having begun to say it, Minako couldn't very well change her mind and pretend it was nothing, Priscilla would just bring it back up until she broke down about it anyway. "I was thinking that when the Undead make it this far I could start greeting them and sending them on their way instead."

"Absolutely not."

"Hey there friend, sorry to say it but you don't belong here." Minako stated with a smile her rapier in her right hand while her left held her right wrist behind her back. She was leaning slightly forward and bent at the waist as she stepped closer to the undead well aware that Priscilla was likely right next to the man and ready to attack should he prove himself to be a danger to Minako. "And scary as it might seem the only way out of here is by leaping off that plank there."

She watched as the man looked at the plank and back to her and she could only imagine what incredulous expression he must be wearing under his helm. "Look it's like this, You're trapped here until you make the jump. Worse case scenario is it kills you and you have to climb back up here to try and kill me for lying to you. Which would be well deserved in that case. On the other hand you could be saving yourself a lot of time and effort exploring this place for a way out only to inevitably have to come back up here just to try it when you fail to find one."

There is a tense moment when the man's hand plays over the hilt of his weapon as his head turns from Minako to the plank and back where she's almost certain he will do the stupid thing and try to attack her, unaware as he was that Priscilla was very likely drawing her scythe up for a swing even then.

In the end however he walked to the plank and leaned over it's side to stare down into the abyss below. With one look back he took another step and jumped right off the ledge.

"You know, I could make a joke right about now involving jumping off a bridge if someone told you to." Minako stated even as Priscilla reappeared next to her giving the human girl a quick once over despite how the undead hadn't even gotten close to her.

Minako watched as Priscilla's tail slid along the ground at her feet as if about to wrap around her only to stop short and once more move out of arm's reach. The sight of it causing a small smile to appear on her lips as she tilted to lean against Priscilla's leg. "So, how did I do?"

"Thou didst well enough. Thine words to the undead didst serve our purpose in sending them on their way without violence. However I must once more protest thine desire to endanger yourself needlessly." Priscilla replied with a deep frown marring her beautiful face. One Minako was having an increasingly difficult time looking away from whenever she gazed up upon the Crossbreed's visage of late.

It was a strange feeling to have someone try to protect her while she was fully capable of doing so herself. Not really an unpleasant feeling to be certain but one that was difficult for her to place. Not even the only two who were interested in her romantically from her previous time ascending Tartarus ever showed any urge to protect her by keeping her from fighting. Aigis had fought next to her the whole way up once she joined the group but never sought to keep Minako sidelined, and Elizabeth overtly encouraged Minako's progression through the tower and how doing so strengthened her.

It was only when she became the seal and Erebus began his initial assault that Aigis climbed the tower to protect her when she could not do so herself and it was Elizabeth who took up the job of wiping out the monster each year after.

"It keeps them from trying to kill you because of your appearance or for your soul. Sure, someone might attack me just because but they would have attacked us anyway. This way we get to fight less and you can be in position to punish anyone stupid enough to try anything right away." Minako reasoned with a shrug as she closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of the woman next to her. The fur she could feel against her arm was every bit as soft and smooth as she imagined and while it wasn't the first time she had gotten the opportunity to feel it she always marveled at how easy it seemed for Priscilla to maintain.

And if Minako's hand shifted to caress the soft fur covering the Crossbreed, Priscilla didn't seem to mind it as she never mentioned it nor made any effort to break the contact between them.

"There is a visitor to the Painted World who the Devoted are not bothering." Priscilla noted outloud one day drawing Minako's attention as she sat idly on the edge of the tower where she could overlook the ruins below.

"Yeah, I saw the ruckus he's causing down there. Why aren't they attacking though? Is he like me?" She asked curiously as the person's progress seemed to come to a stop near the fountain. There he seemed content to linger as things below once more settled into equilibrium. He'd been standing there for hours so far and Minako was beginning to wonder if she should go down for a closer look herself.

"No, he is an undead and otherwise unremarkable. He doth not have a place in this world. But the blade he wields does. The Devoted speak of the Makoto, the Chaos Blade. So long as he doth not seek to remove it from its place here they shall be content to ignore him it seems." Priscilla responded before turning her attention to Minako once more as if to dismiss the development in the Painted World as irrelevant.

"I don't get it. Velka creates a prophecy in order to get the chosen undead to come to Anor Londo and punish the gods and yet, whenever an undead makes it into here, a place where the gods hide away anything that could pose a threat to them, her Devoted attack them. I would think they would encourage the undead to take the weapons from this place." Minako commented in her confusion.

"Hast Velka not already aided them enough? A prophecy doth give them purpose and in doing so a method stave off their hollowing, her crows ferry them from the asylum and it is she who provides them the tools they will need by granting access to the Painted World. Wouldst thou place thine blessings in the hands of those unworthy or incapable? Let her Devoted test the mettle of the outsiders who wander here seeking weapons feared by gods." The Crossbreed replied and Minako did admit that it made a certain kind of sense.

If she had a handful of weapons that gods were afraid of, and a vendetta against said gods, she too would probably make sure the people who got the weapons at least had a chance of getting the job done. Otherwise she might just lose the weapons for nothing when it's wielder was inevitably killed.

"Are the gods really so terrible?" Minako asked before wincing as she realizes exactly how that might be taken by her companion. "I mean, yes they have done harm but surely they could be reasoned with?" She rationalizes with a frown. She knew something about gods and just how powerful and terrifying they could be. She had more than a few represented within her sea of souls and she would never forget the primal horror of Nyx.

"Thou dost not seem to understand the fickle nature of the gods. Why ever wouldst beings such as they pay any mind to the opinions of the pitiful race of man? The small creatures born of the Dark Soul, weak and numerous as they may be the gods see them as little more than pawns. Even Velka, goddess of Sin treats them as such." Priscilla stated with a small shrug to Minako's relief as the crossbreed seemed not to take any kind of offense. "Foolish as it may seem, There ist little that can be done to sway such as they. Dost that make them terrible? I can see how it may lead to deplorable acts born from lack of consideration for those beings they consider lesser than themselves. I do not know what great sin they have commited that gained Velka's ire so merely that they did so."

A somber mood fell over Minako at that as she shifted her attention to stare out at the land of things either unwanted or better left forgotten. A world made for the sole purpose of hiding away anything that could worry the gods of the world outside. And while Minako was still tempted to stand and take the walk from the plank and explore the world outside it was only an idle thought. One quickly forgotten as Priscilla joined her in looking out, the crossbreed silently lowering herself to sit upon the snow next to Minako radiating a warmth that Minako could feel as the taller woman's soft fur occasionally slid against the human's skin.

"Hmm, that one seems rather skilled. I don't think he'd give us to much trouble but he's progressing steadily." Minako comments more to herself as the Painted World's most recent arrival charged forth. Dressed in the armor of a knight with a shield in his left hand and a straight sword in his right the new comer did not look like much but he moved with purpose and while his style seemed simple it was unquestionably effective as he carved his way deeper into the keep.

She watched as he parried a hollow before driving his blade deep into its chest. It left him open but the way he threw his whole body into a roll avoiding the attack that came from his left displayed a practiced ease. Minako wondered how many times he had died prior to his arrival in the painted world. Were his reflexes honed by a patient teacher or were they beaten him with each new death.

He progressed further in similar fashion, he didn't rush, he merely walked patiently forward battering down anything that leapt at him from the rats that bred unendingly to the servants of Velka. The only time Minako saw him truly stop was when he arrived in the courtyard there the wielder of the Makoto had taken up residence.

She watched as the mad katana wielder stood and charged forward into combat with an insane eagerness. The knight met the initial onslaught with his shield only to roll away when his strength began to falter.

Minako wished for a moment that she could be closer so as to make out more of the details of the fight going on but she knew from experience that it was dangerous to go anywhere near the holder of the Chaos Blade. And even if she ran the fight would likely be long over before she could get anywhere near enough to see clearly.

When the fight moved out of her sight Minako let out a sigh. While she did not mind the silence of the keep and she was never lonely with Priscilla for company, the Painted World was… dull. The only excitement within it is what the undead brought with them when they found their way inside. And there was something about the knight that seemed different. He stood tall and pushed forward relentlessly. He didn't trudge slowly with resignation or rush with fearful recklessness like most undead did when confronted by the idea of becoming hollow.

And Minako felt herself slightly relieved when he reemerged in her sight holding the katana of his opponent.

There was a long moment where Minako was sure the man was staring at the blade thoughtfully before the knight moved to a corner of the courtyard and began digging in the snow. There he laid down the katana and pushed the snow over it once more before taking up his straight sword again and continuing his progress towards the keep.

A curious knight indeed and Minako couldn't help but watch attentively as he continued his steady progress. Such was her attention that it drew Priscilla's interest and together they observed from the top of their keep as the knight discovered the path beneath the slumbering undead dragon and fought his way past the heavily armored man Minako herself and most others chose to evade.

The armored man would return of course. He always did in the end and Minako idly wondered if he was truly hollow or if he was merely on the verge of becoming so. Staving off his final progress by immersing himself in a familiar task. Perhaps the heavily armored man at the base of the keep had been a guard of some kind before he was cursed?

Of course, with the knight having entered the tower Priscilla and Minako moved to take familiar positions. The Crossbreed hiding herself with her magic as Minako drew her rapier and moved to the center of the landing, between the entrance and the plank leading out. And just like that first time and every time since she moved the arm holding her sword behind her back, her left hand gripping the wrist of her right to keep herself appearing as harmless as possible.

It didn't take long for the knight to reach them. He stepped onto the landing with the metallic clink of his armored boots on stone. Much like the first undead Minako encountered he said not a word as he came to a stop. His stance at ease for the moment but still he had his sword in hand and that was enough to show his caution.

"Greetings Chosen Undead. You've fought well to make it this far within the Painted World. And I know the truth of that statement. After all I witnessed your arrival and watched your progression. Still, you have no place here, friend, and I'm sure you have no desire to spend the rest of your days trapped here, correct?" Minako asked with a tilt of her head.

For a moment the knight said nothing merely following her movements with his head as she moved to the side. Eventually however he nodded in response and Minako beamed. "Alright then, well, fortunately for you, I'm here to tell you how to get out. Now, I know it sounds suspicious and dangerous but the only way out of the Painted World is to leap from the plank." Minako said waving at the plank revealed when she moved aside.

When the knight didn't look away from her Minako frowned. Up until this point the encounter had gone almost exactly like the first time she had pointed an undead towards the exit but this knight hadn't so much as glanced away from her that she could tell and the stoic silence was beginning to feel uneasy. She felt like she was being sized up and it made her muscles tense in preparation. "Look, there are only four possibilities here. The first is that you take the leap of faith and it takes you out of here. The second is that it kills you and you get to either come back up here to kill me for lying to you or just go on about your way when you revive. Possibility three is that you, for whatever reason, decide to attack me and I have to keep killing you until you go hollow and stop trying." Minako stated with a shudder before moving onto the final option. "And the last possibility is that you manage to kill me and end up wandering endlessly until you decide to try the plank regardless."

The silence was deafening and Minako had to wonder how long it would go on before Priscilla decided the knight was dangerous and attacked him first. So the red head could be forgiven for giving a small jump and falling into a combat stance when the knight suddenly moved. He sheathed his sword slowly before reaching into a bag at his waist. His gauntleted hand digging around for a moment before producing a small stone carving. He looked at it for a moment before dropping it on the ground where it shattered upon meeting the stone and a deep voice intoned a simple 'Thank you.'

After that, the peculiar knight made his way towards the plank and Minako barely managed to get out the words 'you're welcome' before he dived off.

"What a very strange undead." Minako said staring at where the knight had been for a moment as Priscilla became visible once more.

"Thou hast no room to make such statements. All of thine kind are peculiar to me." The Crossbreed stated with certainty.

"I'm not undead though."

"I was referring to humans in general." An aloof appearance graced the taller woman's features that held for several seconds under Minako's smile before Priscilla's mask cracked and a small smile took its place to match that of her smaller companion.

Minako did not know where Priscilla had acquired it and the Crossbreed was not telling but what was important was that there in the humans hands was an instrument made of wood, it's strings taut and, after Minako turned a few knobs, tuned. It wasn't just any instrument however, it was a lyre and Minako had never expected to see one again outside of when she cast her mind into the sea of her soul.

She had only mentioned it in passing, and idle thought that she wished she had a lyre or piano she could play. She remembered Priscilla's questioning look when the Crossbreed had asked her if she knew how and how Minako merely stated that she could learn it quickly. The human never expected that several weeks later after she had nearly forgotten the idle conversation that one would be in her grasp.

The human took a small glance at her companion who looked like she was trying very hard to cast her attention elsewhere and yet no matter where the Crossbreed moved to on the landing she always turned so that Minako was in her range of vision. Her expression a shade away from furtive.

With a warm smile on Minako's lips she trailed her fingers along the cords and the smile widened as they rang in the quiet of their home. "Thank you for this Priscilla, it's a lovely gift." Minako said finally and only then did Priscilla look away, her back turned to Minako as she replied with a quiet 'you're welcome'. The human thought there were more words after that but she missed them and did not push for the Crossbreed to repeat herself.

Instead Minako closed her eyes and delved within calling forth a being from within her sea of souls. She felt the chill on her skin a bit as the presence began to fill her and take the place of Parvati. "Orpheus Telos…" Minako muttered softly. The new persona having only a resistance to ice instead of the previous persona's immunity. However Orpheus made up for it by being amongst Minako's strongest persona.

That wasn't why she had changed however, no. What she wanted was the musician's skill with the chosen instrument and almost as if she was being guided Minako lifted her hand to the strings. Gently plucking at them to produce a simple melody. It was a song that resonated with Minako deeply and one she was intensely familiar with. The lyre alone could not voice the song in its entirety, however, because it was not alive. While beautiful, it was lacking something fundamental that was required for this particular melody.

For what Minako produced was not a song that could be played on an instrument alone. No, it was an aria, beautiful and sombre, bright and sad, filled with hope and despair all at once. A song that attempted to envelope all the emotions that could be felt within a person and express them fully. And thus it was no wonder the lyre, while capable of setting the melody, was woefully inadequate to capture the essence of the song entirely.

And so, Minako began to hum. Ignorant of the eyes of her companion as the Crossbreed turned to observe the redhead playing. When humming proved not to be enough Minako's lips parted and a song lacking words poured from her lips as tears rolled down Priscilla's cheeks.

With her voice carrying the soul of the piece, bearing openly the the roiling sea beneath Minako's facade, the lyre began to dictate the tone. It wasn't a long Aria, only lasting for maybe three minutes before repeating again.

And repeat it did, Minako did not know how long she spent pouring out her soul into the open air but she did not stop until her fingers began to feel numb plucking the cords in the frigid air. Orpheus Telos had resistance to ice, not immunity. Still she forced herself to finish the repetition before trailing off into the simple notes that began it.

With a soft exhalation of air, her breath trailing from her lips in a visible fog, she gently lowered the instrument. Then she gave a small jump in surprise when Priscilla spoke up from behind her. The Crossbreed having seated herself on the landing bringing herself closer to Minako's height. "Twas a most beautiful song Minako. Didst thou not tell me you wished to learn the instrument? Thou art hardly an amatuer."

The praise made a blush rise on Minako's cheeks causing the skin there to tingle as warm blood spread through cool flesh. "Ah, I am not even that. This talent is… borrowed. Really this is my first time even touching a lyre. I wish I could show them to you but I don't have my evoker. Think of Orpheus as a part of me, a being born from within my soul."

"Orpheus… Thou said that before thou began thine song." Priscilla mentioned curiously before she noticed the soft shivering of her companion. Without a thought to her actions the Crossbreed drew her mortal companion into her lap her arms wrapping the human within the warmth of the half dragon's fur.

"Oh I uh… um…" Minako stuttered for a moment as she shifts within Priscilla's grasp for comfort before responding. "Thank you… and yes. Orpheus Telos, he's a persona. Uhhh… how do I explain… a persona is essentially the reflection of a person's soul. Usually they take the form of a being from mythology. Orpheus for instance was a musician who entered the underworld to save his wife. The only way he would be able to do it however is if he managed to lead her out without looking behind him."

Realizing she was getting off track Minako sighed and tried again. "Normally people only have a single persona that can change as they come to understand themselves. I… I'm a Wild Card. I'm a person with uhhh… limitless potential and thus my soul is more of a vast sea and contains many personas. With an evoker I could summon him forth physically for a time but… right now all I can do is change which one is uh… equipped." She finished lamely.

"I believe I understand thine words." Priscilla stated as she began to feel Minako's shivering die down. The weight of the small human in her lap slowly growing warm in her embrace. It wasn't uncomfortable for Priscilla, the chill of the air didn't bother her in the slightest and Minako weighed less than Priscilla's scythe. "And doing so gives thou access to their abilities? And yet they are part of thou are they not? How then can they have skill that thou dost not possess?"

"Well… I mean… I have no idea. The first line they always said to me was 'I am thou, and thou art I. From the sea of thine soul, I come…'" Minako stated and for a moment all was still.

"Well, at least they know how to speak properly."

Minako couldn't remember a time where she had laughed so hard.

An undead was in the keep, that much was obvious from the noise. The clanging sound of metal meant that Priscilla was meeting with resistance to her insistence that the undead leave the Painted World. No surprise there, they encountered plenty of undead who seemed all too eager to wage combat. Especially when the undead caught sight of Priscilla. A Crossbreed like her, an entirely unique existence, was certain to have a powerful soul an undead lacking in morals could certainly put to use if they could manage to best her.

That the undead arrived without Minako noticing was surprising. The undead managed to slip into the tower while Minako herself had been wandering the area outside of the keep and when Minako noticed the first flash of lightning she broke into a sprint, rushing past every obstacle with practiced ease as she bolted for the tower. The sounds of combat grew louder with each step and Minako found herself skidding to a stop at the landing.

A woman stood in the middle of the side, covered in snow, gripping a spear made of bright, crackling lightning as her eyes gazed downwards, watching the snow. The soft crunch of Priscilla's foot compacting the fluffy frozen water drew the undead woman's attention to the spot and her hand flung the spear forward. The miracle hit the Crossbreed and Minako watched in horror as the half dragon fell to a knee, her body pockmarked in black singed holes and scored with slashes that bled sluggishly.

Priscilla's scythe lay in the ground, bloodied, and judging by the slashes in the women's robes, she had taken more than one slice from the deadly life hunting weapon, but managed to heal her wounds before the blood could spread too far. But the way it dragged against the ground, Priscilla's loose grip on it, the slight tug she gave it… Priscilla couldn't lift it anymore, she didn't have the strength.

Minako noticed it, and so did the woman who threw the lightning spear. The woman's face broke into a wicked grin as a terrible gleam entered her eye. Slowly she drew a beautiful silver straight sword and began approaching Priscilla. Panic drove a spike deep through Minako's heart as she sprang into motion, her mind reaching out for the first persona she could reach. It was the most powerful, the last one to join her sea before her battle with Nyx.

It joined with her immediately, it's power suffusing her frame as her legs pumped to cross the distance.

"Time to die. An abomination like you should never have existed," the woman's voice declared.

Minako couldn't push Priscilla out of the way, she was too big and Minako didn't have the time to set her feet enough to perform the task even with her persona's strength enforcing her own. And so she didn't try. She didn't waste time pulling her sword, she didn't have enough to spare for the action. She only had one option and she didn't like it. But it was the only one left available to her.

If Arisato Minako was willing to spend eternity bound to an unmoving seal, being ravaged and sullied by a monster born of humanity's selfish cries to save those very same people from themselves, she was more than willing to use her body to shield a woman she had come to care for so intensely.

Perhaps that self sacrificing nature is what made this persona match to her so well and so easily. After all, it's name said everything you needed to know about Minako herself… "Messiah."

The blade was sharp, it was obvious in the way it so easily slid into the flesh of her chest, sliding into her skin like a it was hardly there. The silver metal already stained with Priscilla's blood drank in a fresh coating of human. Minako had barely gotten the word out when she felt her chest explode in pain as her mind registered that it was receiving signals from the left lung and parts of the heart that could be interpreted as 'very not good.'

It was the coughing of blood that told Minako her lung was punctured and she felt light headed with every weak pump of her heart. The blade didn't hurt as much leaving her body as it had going in. That had to be shock. Oh, there were arms wrapped around her now, large ones covered in fur that drew her into a warm embrace, distantly her mind protested at the thought of leaving her blood all over the soft comfy fur surrounding her but clearly the beautiful woman staring down at her didn't mind so why should she?

"Did you just try and save it? Why? It's clearly a monster not fit for the world. The gods were right to abandon her here," the woman stated with a voice full of scorn. She was wrong, Minako knew she was wrong but when she opened her mouth to make the denial nothing came but blood and spittal.

Priscilla was beautiful, a lonely woman who disliked battle and understood the danger she posed to most people. She accepted the cage they placed her within for that very reason. She was calm and compassionate, cold to strangers out of necessity and habit. The only monster Minako could see on the landing was the undead in front of her. The one who would try and kill simply because something didn't fit with what she thought of as 'normal'.

Minako felt the last of her strength fade from her body as gradually her heart ceased to beat.

And then her body lurched like a shot of adrenalin hit her. The eyes that closed moments before opened and she pushed up with new strength filling her frame. This was one of Messiah's learned abilities.

"Enduring Soul." The words left her lips as she gently pushed away the arms holding her so tightly despite however much she would rather just remain within them there was an undead that was very likely not going to just go away.

Sure enough, upon standing Minako had to duck under the straight sword that sought to cleave her head from her shoulders. "How are you alive, that stab pierced your heart, There's no way you can still be standing!" The woman shouted but now Minako had her blade in her hand to match and pushed forward, her thin rapier darting quickly in before retreating to parry.

"One handed sword mastery," Minako muttered drawing forth skill that Messiah might not have contained had Minako not ensured that the skill was inherited from Thanatos. It wasn't the only one either.

The woman stepped back rapidly looking for distance before drawing her arm up over her head. Fingers wrapping around one of the large lightning spears she used against the Crossbreed. She released it and, perhaps foolishly Minako didn't try to dodge out of the way. Instead she pushed forward, wincing as the spell slammed into her chest. It scorched her clothes and burned her flesh but failed to penetrate as Messiah's resistance to the four elements paid off.

"God's Hand," Minako intoned, blocking the straight sword with her rapier as her off hand clenched into a fist and barrelled into the right shoulder of the woman, the same arm she used to grasp her lightning. Minako felt the bone pulverize in it's socket as her opponent howled in pain, dodging back to make even more room. Before pulling out some kind of fluid held within a softly glowing flask.

If there was one thing Minako knew about combat, it was to never let an opponent do something they wanted to do if you didn't know what effect it might have, especially if they did so after taking a serious blow. If it were herself, this would be where Minako would be searching for an opening to heal herself in.

Minako couldn't stop the woman from drinking from the flask, but she could punish the act itself. No sooner had the woman's attention shifted to tip the flask when Minako was on her. The rapier in her grip glowing and the redhead felt her body weakening as her persona pulled strength from her to empower her attack. "Brave Blade."

The attack was blocked, but Minako was stronger than she looked, combined with the strength of her persona backing her and the weapon of the goddess Velka in her grasp, there was no chance the woman could actually stop the swing. And was forced to let go of her sword or risk breaking the arm holding it. She chose to let it go, and it was barely a moment later that the rapier was pressing it's tip to her throat.

Then Minako saw it, the glint in the woman's eye that screamed of fear. It was small, and would be buried before long. But it was there, and before she could reign it in Minako acted.

"Ghastly Wail."

If ever there was something that unsettled people about Thanatos it had been the coffin dressed, sword wielding persona's horrifying scream. It drove a primal terror into all who heard it and it wasn't until Minako fused the ultimate form of the Death arcana that she fully understood why that was. The scream of Thanatos was one that sought to kill all enemies that heard it.

And Minako made sure that it, along with the persona's sword mastery and Brave Blade skills were inherited by Messiah.

The Redhead's mouth opened wide as the fingers in her off hand curled. A scream stemmed forth that had the undead before her quaking. There would be no chance for her to bury her fear, no hope for her to rise and best them. For how does one best an opponent that can kill you with only the sound of her voice? It ripped at the undead and her body collapsed as her soul unhinged, her body falling and turning to dust upon the ground as it returned to the bonfire at the bridge.

Slowly Minako relaxed and turned to face her astonished companion. A small, shy smile on her lips as a blush crept over the human's cheeks. "Sorry I was late."

"Thou arrived at precisely the right moment, however foolish thou might have been in thine actions to shield me with thine own body." Priscilla commented after a pause before her tone turned more concerned as she tried to stand only to hiss in pain at a patch of charred flesh that still marred her leg. "Art thou alright? I saw the blow that felled thee and the undead twas not mistaken. It twas indeed a mortal blow she struck."

Minako was touched by the concern. And perhaps it was the adrenaline of the fight that lead into her next bold action as she approached. A pool of light forming from somewhere above that began to shine down around her as she drew in close to the Crossbreed. The human's constant companion since her arrival in this world. Someone she never wanted to be apart from. "I am just fine Priscilla, and I plan to continue to be so for the rest of our days. I'll always be here to grant you 'Salvation'"

The last word was stated oddly and the light falling over them grew in its intensity. Priscilla could barely believe it when her wounds began to knit themselves closed, the charred circles of burned skin. She was distracted however from her sudden wellness when she felt the small hand of her dear human press against her cheek. A strength behind it belied the human's slender figure, not that Priscilla minded complying with the gentle and silent reques-

Suddenly Priscilla wasn't thinking anymore. As she felt a small pair of lips press against her own. The size difference might have made it awkward but that could be ignored in favor of the intent behind the action. It was strange though that Priscilla didn't feel any grand revelation or sudden shift in dynamic. She didn't feel any pressure to be anymore for Minako than she always had been. And so it was much to the redhead's surprise that after the Crossbreed pulled her back into her warm embrace and reciprocated that the first words out of the half dragon's lips were.

"Twas a terrible jest, thine humor leaves much to be desired."

Minako gawped for a long moment, she had just kissed her and then… she only… and that was the first thing she decided to say?! But there was mirth in Priscilla's gaze and after the moment of initial incredulity wore off Minako began to giggle softly. One that was rapidly joined by her beloved companion.

AN: Please, sombody send help. I can't stop writing fluff.