Author's Note: Hello, everyone! This story is my take on the canon ending of The Brigmore Witches DLC. As such, I would like to note that if you haven't played or completed the DLCs (both The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches), this story will contain massive spoilers for them. I would also like to note that this is a completely standalone story, and has no relation whatsoever to any of my other Dishonored projects. Thank you for taking the time to read this tale, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it! :)

I sat upon my painter's stool, with nothing more than the dull bluish-silver moonlight illuminating my studio. I was completing my masterpiece. The masterpiece that would achieve my ultimate dream. The masterpiece…A portrait of the soon-to-be-Empress, Emily Kaldwin the First.

How are you going to achieve this dream, Delilah? You know that it's only a matter of time, now. Daud is coming for you. He's already taken ship to get past the quarantine lines of the city. He's traveling up river. To your manor, no less. To Brigmore Manor.

The corners of my mouth twitched. "Yes…I know that Daud has his precious little ship. I know that he's onboard The Undine, that wench Lizzy Stride's ship."

And do you truly believe you'll be able to complete this ritual before he arrives? Do you truly believe that he'll find mercy for you in that shriveled heart of his? Oh, Delilah…You should know better…

With each brush stroke upon the canvas, my hand began to tremble. It was shaping up to be a very, very long night. But I needed to complete this painting, this masterpiece.

The fate of my dream depends on it.

Deep down, you're afraid of him, Delilah.

And you have every, single right to be.

"No, no, Delilah," I chided myself. "That old fool won't be able to stop you. Marked by the Outsider or no, Daud still has to get through your followers, the Grave Hounds, and the statues…Surely one of them will find him, before he finds you."

Stop fooling yourself, Delilah. That's impossible, and you know it. Daud is a legend for a reason. And what are you, my dear? You were a nobody then. You are a nobody still. First, you were a playmate to Jessamine Kaldwin, when you two were mere children. Then, you were a kitchen apprentice at Empress Jessamine's Court in Dunwall Tower. Afterwards, you were Anton Sokolov's apprentice, in his circle of painters. He recognized you for your obvious talent.

"But it was always my paintings that could reach the spirit, not his!"

That brings us to this coven. Your Brigmore Witches. Do you honestly think that they will be enough to stop Daud, the legendary Knife of Dunwall, and his gang of assassins, the Whalers? They, too, share in his power, just as your Witches share in yours…

"No!" I screamed, the paintbrush in my hand nearly snapping in two. "Daud will not take this away from me! I will be Empress! Me! Delilah Copperspoon! The Outsider has given me stronger gifts than Daud, and the Outsider takes more interest in me!"

Somewhere deep in the back of my head, I heard the Outsider laugh. "Believe what you will, Delilah," he said, nonchalantly. "I am rather enjoying this little conversation you are having with yourself. You poor, poor little girl…Does the Knife of Dunwall have you afraid?"

"I am not afraid of him!" I snarled.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Denial. Sweet, sweet denial. That, right there, is the telltale sign that you are afraid of him, Delilah.

"You can be certain that Daud isn't afraid of you," the Outsider chimed in. "I've never known Daud to be afraid of anything. Besides…If he was truly afraid of you, do you think he would have gone to such brutal lengths to find you?"

"No…" I muttered, tears threatening to escape my eyes. "I'm…I'm so close…I…I cannot fail. I cannot fail!"

"Perhaps you'll succeed. Perhaps you won't. Either way, I will be watching this spectacle with…unusual interest."

I sighed deeply. I wiped the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself. To steady my trembling hand. The painting was nearly complete. Soon, I will perform the ritual.

And soon…Soon, I, Delilah Copperspoon, will be Empress to the Empire of the Isles!

I laughed joyously. Oh, my dear, sweet little Emily Kaldwin…How I cannot wait to be looking out at the world through your beautiful brown eyes. How I cannot wait to be sitting in your skin, wearing your face as a mummer's mask. Those Loyalist fools…They think that they will be crowning you. But no, my dear, sweet little Emily. It won't be you they'll be crowning.

It'll be me.

Because I will control you.

Your breath will be mine. Your fears will be mine…

All of this is pleasant and all…Exactly why are you choosing to waste your time with this? You are aware that you still have that pesky assassin and his thralls to deal with, right, Delilah?

I took another deep, steadying breath to focus on the painting. My representation of Lady Emily Kaldwin was looking extraordinary. And I needed it to be so, in order to use it in the ritual. I'd even found the perfect spot to perform the ritual…

Inside of the Void itself.

It had taken many attempts, of course, but I'd done it. I had painted a portal into the Void. And even more fortunately, the spot I'd located was gorgeous. Serene. It was the perfect place for me to remain undisturbed, as I make my walk into dead, sweet little Emily's flesh.

I scoffed. I had nothing to be afraid of. Daud is nothing more than an old, foolish man. His men aren't as loyal to him as he chooses to believe they are. After all, all I had to do was whisper false words into his lieutenant's ear. That was enough for Billie Lurk to betray Daud in my name.

Oh, how that plan had been perfect. But no. Overseer Hume had to be overly ambitious and attack early, without the others from the Abbey. If only that idiotic Overseer had followed my orders! If only everything had gone according to plan! Daud would be dead, his corpse rotting in the streets and being eaten by the rats; and Billie Lurk would be in full control of the Whalers. Then, everything would have been even simpler to achieve…

But no. Of course not.

Nothing is ever so simple to achieve.

Then again, I should have known better. I should have known that if you want something done properly, you can only trust yourself to do it…especially when relying on the cursed Overseers.

More fearful thinking, Delilah? Daud already learned these lessons a long, long time ago. Why else do you think he's coming after you directly? You angered the wrong man this time. Turning his apprentice against him…indirectly slaughtering his men in their home…You do realize that each and every one of his Whalers are like children to him? He goes to great lengths to protect them…

Perhaps you should start praying to a higher power for mercy, Delilah…

Because Daud won't show you any.

The light of the moon was fading fast. It would soon be daylight. But I'd finally done it.

The painting was finally complete.

And I knew that it'd be only a matter of time, now. Daud would be here soon.

I must complete the ritual. I must complete it, before he arrives and ruins everything I've worked so hard to achieve! Before he ruins everything I deserve!

I summoned one of my followers, a young girl named Evie, to me.

"My Lady Delilah," Evie bowed. "What do you require of me?"

I set my ornate paintbrush down on a nearby table and stood up to face her. I walked over to another, smaller table in the corner, picked up a lantern I had specially created to open my painting, my portal, into the Void, and presented it to Evie.

"It's time, my dearest sister, it's time," I smiled to her. "It's time for me to begin the ritual. To begin my walk into little Emily Kaldwin's flesh. I will need you to seal me into the Void, once I walk through the portal. I also want you to return the lantern to this room, once you are done. We cannot have that old fool finding it."

Evie took the lantern from me and bowed once more. "As you wish, my Lady Delilah. I must also commend you on the portrait of the young Empress. This is truly a masterpiece. The finest painting you've ever created."

I carefully removed the painting from the easel. Then, Evie and I teleported to the gallery room of Brigmore Manor, where I had spent countless hours over the past six months perfecting the markings across each and every possible surface. They did serve a purpose, of course. I needed these markings to power the portal into the Void. Everything had to be, and still has to be, so meticulously done…

One minor mistake, and it could spell disaster.

And no one wants that.

Evie held the lantern up to the seemingly blank canvas. It shone with magnificent purple light, and as the light danced across the surface of the canvas, the painting appeared. The painting was of a room. Flags, bearing the crest of a tree, were littered throughout the room, as well as blank canvases, furniture, and a large, swirling pool of marvelous blue energy in the center of the room's floor comprised the image.

"I wish you the best of luck, my Lady Delilah," Evie said. "We will stay ever-vigilant out here, in case Daud has the audacity to materialize himself."

I leapt through the painting, landing safely, and perfectly, on the floating stones of the Void. Thankfully, my masterpiece of Lady Emily was still intact.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Void is not black. This part in particular was rather beautiful, which is why I chose it. It shone shades of blue, both light and dark. There was even a large oak tree, which resided in the center of the plane, with pathways leading through the tree and down into the ritual site.

I walked down the pristine white stone steps of the staircase, into the ritual site. The site resembled that of an old ruin, also of pristine white stone. I had placed my statues all over the site, to act as a safeguard against any potential intruders. By infusing them with my will, and with them being in the Void, they are immensely more powerful here than they are in the mortal realm.

I placed the painting of Emily Kaldwin the First upon the easel I had set up, and went about the area to touch each and every statue I had placed, to activate them. I could feel their power pulsating, and I felt safe, knowing that they were my sentinels once again.

I felt myself smiling. Everything was falling into place with absolute perfection.

I walked over to the pristine white stone altar in the center of the ritual site, and began to make my final preparations. I placed fresh paints upon my palette, and took my second ornate brush from its protective covering. I had created two of these brushes, and they were ever-so-dear to me. The bristles were made from the hair of Emily's very scalp.

Oh, Jessamine…You should have never given that dressmaker in Drapers Ward a lock of your daughter's beautiful hair. You should have known that, one day, someone was going to use it against her.

After one final check of my paints, I went about the ritual site and lit dozens upon dozens of candles. I even made one additional check of the incantation for the ritual. I had to make sure I remembered everything. If I skipped a line, if I said something incorrectly…I could end up trapped in my own painting.

And I didn't want that.

With my preparations complete, I sighed contentedly.

It was finally time to begin the ritual.

I sauntered back over to the altar, picked up my palette and brush, and approached my masterpiece. There were a few touchups that needed to be done. It was all part of the ritual.

With each flick of my wrist, with each stroke of my brush, I called out to the Void, "Emily Kaldwin, daughter of Jessamine Kaldwin, heir to the Empire of the Isles. I call out to you, from the depths of the Void!"

Another flick of the wrist, another stroke of the brush. "I call you with ochre from Morley! I call you with carmine beetle shells! I call you with Serkonan Lazurite! I call you with Viridian bile!"

Yet another flick, yet another stroke. "I tempered the tones of your flesh with Pandyssian chalk. I created this canvas with the very same loom that spun the fabric of your dresses. I created my brushes with the hairs of your very scalp."

One more flick, one more stroke. "Emily! You cannot ignore me, dear child! My well of power is too deep. My reach is too long."

I could feel the cold embrace of the dark magic, as it began to swirl in the air. I put the palette down on a small table near the easel, and slowly prowled back towards the pristine altar. The magic within my paint trailed behind me with every step I took.

I gripped the magic tightly in my hands, and I swirled it through the air. The Void around me began to grow darker, and darker, and darker, as I manipulated the magic, the paint.

I cried out to the Void, "Brush touches paint! Brush touches canvas! Brush touches Void! I see you now, Emily Kaldwin! I am breathing your breath. I am feeling what you do. The bright mornings in the Hound Pits Pub, and the bite of the cold night air, in the ruin where you sleep. I can smell the stink of the river!"

I continued to swirl the magic, continued to manipulate the paint. "Image strikes the eye! Eye touches the mind! Mind touches the Void! I can feel your love for Corvo Attano, the one you call your father. I can feel your love for your lost mother, Jessamine Kaldwin. I can feel your love for your caretaker, Callista Curnow. I can feel your fear in the night. I can feel your hunger to learn. To become someone important! This is my hunger, too!"

A smile spread across my lips. "You are becoming mine, dear child! We are nearly finished! Close your eyes, Emily! Close your eyes and sleep forever! Feel the Void open beneath you! Make room for me, and give in to me! Give in to me, now, Emily!"

That was when I screamed in agony, as something struck my arm. I felt my magic slip away from me, and I screamed in frustration. That was when I noticed there was blood, my blood, dripping down my right arm, my blade arm, and onto the soft, green grass. There was a black steel crossbow bolt lodged perfectly in my arm, protruding through front and back.

"Daud!" I yelled. "I know you are here, you coward!"

No response.

"I'm not afraid of you, Mouse of Dunwall! I demand that you show yourself! Now!"

The Knife of Dunwall himself, Daud, and two of his assassins suddenly manifested onto the ritual grounds. They all had their elegantly simple blades drawn, poised to strike. My arm was shaking. I was shaking with rage. The ritual was almost complete! How did he get through the portal!?

My eyes drifted over to his thralls. Their odd industrial uniforms were covered head-to-toe in wet, sticky, and still drying blood. It was as though they had bathed in it.

Of course…It stood to reason that they would cut a bloody swath through my followers. Such a pity, that…

Some of them would have been very useful to me, when I become Empress.

Daud twirled his blade. "Mouse of Dunwall, is it?" he contemplated that. "Delilah, I would have expected a far better insult, coming from you."

I tried pulling the crossbow…no, wristbow, bolt out of my arm. It only resulted in me eliciting a cry of pain. "I'm…surprised at you, Daud. I thought for certain that I would see the former Lord Protector pop up at the last possible minute. But no…Instead, I have to deal with you, and your mindless louts."

Daud smiled wryly. "You know, I've been told we have a tendency to do that."

"Didn't your mother warn you to never make an enemy of a witch? You can't possibly be doing this for Emily! Because of you, her mother is dead and decaying in the dirt. Because of you, she was sold to a bunch of murderous crooks," I paused momentarily. "After what you've put that little girl through, do you honestly think that she's fit to be Empress!?"

"You're not exactly fit for the throne, either, Delilah," Daud retorted coldly. "Did you think that trying to kill my Whalers in their only safe haven was a good idea? Did you think that I would forgive you for turning Lurk against me? No…you didn't. But I do owe you for it."

"Do you, now? Well, I…Everything had been going according to plan. The zealots ruined everything the first time. But I am certain of one thing, this time around…And that's that Emily Kaldwin the First will have the mind of Delilah Copperspoon the First, a girl who did not inherit everything she got…but came to power through the sheer force of her own will. Her own genius!"

Daud laughed. "Your will and genius couldn't keep us from reaching you, Delilah. And it won't save you, now."

Daud rushed forward, slashing at me with his razor-sharp blade. I barely teleported myself out of the way in time. I drew my own blade, cringing at the effort. The wristbow bolt was buried in deeply, and it dreadfully burned. I was lucky to even be holding my blade. I took a deep breath to gather mana, and with my free hand, I summoned a vine out of the grasses of the Void, attempting to ensnare Daud and his Whalers.

While they were struggling against its pull, I animated my statues. You damned worthless statues! Why didn't you warn me that I had intruders!?

"What's the matter, Daud?" I taunted him. "Can't fight off a measly little vine!?"

"And what of you, Delilah?" he retorted with a laugh. "Are you afraid to fight the so-called Mouse of Dunwall?"

It seems that I had greatly underestimated the skill of his two assassins. One of them had managed to score the killing blow on the vine. Naturally, they turned their attention to the mass of my clones…

And me, of course.

"Lurk told me all about your self-doubt, Daud!" I called back. "Your complete lack of conviction! Poor, poor Daud! As it turned out, his shriveled, blackened heart was made of glass, and all it took was a dead Empress to crack him apart, like a walnut!"

One of the assassins had their back turned to me. I snuck up behind him, attempting to stab him in the back, yet he transversed out of the way. I ended up having to teleport myself backwards, to keep my momentum from betraying me. That same assassin appeared behind one of my clones, slicing it clean in half. It disintegrated into a pile of darkened ash upon the once beautiful green grass.

"You're the leader of the Brigmore Witches, the most powerful coven of witches Dunwall has ever known, and you can't come up with a better insult to throw at my Master?" that same assassin said. Once more, he transversed out of the way of an attack, went behind the attacking clone, and stabbed it fatally. He did not kill it. "You're pathetic, Delilah."

He finished off the clone with a shot from his wristbow.

"Oh, am I? And just how loyal are you to this Master of yours, hmm? Your loyalty to him is weak, just like his grasp and knowledge of the power he's been given is weak!"

The assassin laughed spitefully. "If I wasn't loyal to my Master, I wouldn't be here, fighting at his side in order to destroy you! Every single one of us knew that Lurk was weak. It was our own fault. We should have killed her sooner."

"It wouldn't have helped you then, and it won't save you, now! You will not take this away from me! You cannot possibly know what I have paid for this!"

I was running out of clones. Running out of time.

No!

I will not let him kill me!

I will not!

I summoned three vines, teleported myself onto the staircase above my painting, and used my casting hand, my left hand, to shoot thorns out of my fingertips. My arm was in utter agony, and I was getting weaker…

I will not be defeated…

I will not be defeated…

I will not be defeated!

"Alright, Delilah," Daud said mockingly. "I have a question for you."

"And what might that be, exactly?"

"Are all artists narcissists, like you?"

I snarled at him, and shot more thorns out of my hand. They missed their marks entirely. I teleported myself back into the fight, immediately going after Daud.

"Don't you dare insult my talent!"

"You insulted mine," he retorted. "I think it was a fair exchange."

The assassins focused on taking down the vines, as well as my remaining clone. I came into direct contact with Daud. Yet, his blade locked against mine in a battle of strength. The agony in my arm became unbearable. Daud saw it, knew it, and exploited it. He pushed me down to the ground and attempted to run me through. He missed, as I had teleported out of the way and back onto my feet.

Once again, the vines were destroyed. My final clone had been slaughtered. The assassins came rushing towards me, intent on taking me down.

"Stand down!" Daud commanded them. "This is my fight!"

They hesitated for a brief moment, but transversed out of the way. One of them was lucky. I was just about to run him through.

"Calling off your dogs, are you?" I growled. "You cannot defeat me!"

Daud and I clashed once more, our blades locking together yet again. We began to dance a grand little dance.

"I'll give this one to you, Delilah. You're persistent. But how long can you keep up this dance?"

"As long as it takes me to kill you!"

I found an opening in Daud's defense, and I exploited it. I had managed to kick his feet out from under him. He fell, rolled, and recovered with practiced ease.

And only then did I realize my mistake.

It was an intentional opening…He'd known I'd fall for it.

He rushed towards me, pushing me down to the ground. He pinned me down with one knee, and I squirmed desperately underneath him. I was too weak to teleport away…I couldn't…I couldn't…

My eyes widened in horror, as I suddenly realized the grave mistake I had made.

There was a reason why Daud had only ever fired one bolt from his wristbow the entire time, instead choosing to let his assassins utilize theirs. He'd also known to run me around in circles, to tire me out…

"Sleep tight, Delilah," he said, and fired the sleep dart into my chest.

I could have sworn I heard myself scream, but I could not tell. The sleep dart had worked instantly, and I had fallen completely unconscious.

I groaned, opening my eyes. The pain in my arm was still insufferable. Yet, someone had removed the wristbow bolt from it. Delilah, that's the only mercy you're going to be getting out of him.

Remember how I said you should start praying to a higher power?

Now is the time that you should really do that.

Dark realization washed over me instantly, as I began to hyperventilate in utter fear. I was lying upon the pristine white stone altar, and when I looked over at my painting…

"No!" I screamed, struggling to try and stand. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't.

My efforts were in vain.

Daud's two assassins, his goons, were holding me down to the altar with their strange tethering magic.

Daud himself was standing over me.

"No!" I bellowed. "Daud! You cannot do this to me! She…Emily took…my life!"

My painting had been changed.

And I knew, then, what Daud had planned to do to me.

"Please, Daud! Please!" I tried to plead. "I'll do anything! I…I won't…I won't seek the throne anymore! Please don't do this, Daud! Please don't do this to me!"

He ignored my pleas.

No! This can't be happening!

This cannot be happening!

"Paint flows. Blood flows. Life goes." Daud called out to the darkened Void. "Out with the old, and in with the new. You've lived in these bones long enough!"

The painting suddenly opened. It became a vast, swirling portal of bright light. The assassins stopped tethering me to the altar. They instead chose to cling for dear life to the pillars they were standing behind.

The painting created a void that was beginning to pull me into it. I screamed in fear and fury in equal measure, grabbing onto the altar. Trying to cling desperately for dear, sweet, and beautiful life…

"You cannot…do this to me, Daud!" I screeched, grabbing onto his arm and trying to pull him into the painting with me. "If I have to go down, I'm taking you with me!"

Daud clung onto the altar with a lot more ease than I, and he used his free hand to punch my arm. I bellowed in sheer pain and rage. I refused to let go of him. He punched my arm again, a lot harder this time, and I couldn't bear it…

I accidently let go of him.

And I was pulled into the dark void of the painting.

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing around me.

"No!" I screamed at the emptiness of the black void around me. "No! This was not supposed to happen! Outsider, you promised me this wouldn't happen!"

I was trapped in the Void…in every sense of that meaning.

The Outsider appeared before me, dressed in his nobleman's finery. His enigmatic smile was so pleased at my torment. Those black eyes of his stared down at me, and his smile widened even further.

And then he laughed at me. "I never said such a thing, Delilah. I gave you my Mark, and told you how you use your newfound power falls to you, as it had to the others before you. With my gift, you chose to create your coven of Brigmore Witches. To try and turn Emily Kaldwin into your living puppet. I must say…I am simply…Oh; fascination doesn't even cover how pleased I am with this outcome. You made an enemy of the wrong man."

I glared at the Outsider, uncertain how to respond.

"The great Delilah Copperspoon, the little girl from Dunwall Tower, the painter's apprentice, the leader of the coven of the Brigmore Witches…And you were defeated by Daud, the legendary Knife of Dunwall, leader of the mercenary gang of assassins known as the Whalers. No…Daud didn't defeat you. Not entirely. He trapped you inside of your own painting, which you should have known enough to hide better. His Whalers found the painting to replace the one you created of Emily. You must be seething right now, are you not, Delilah? This ending is so…poetic."

"I demand that you release me from here!" I screamed at the Outsider. "You cannot do this to me!"

The Outsider laughed again. "Can I not? I give my Mark sparingly, and I don't play favorites. I do nothing but watch, and see what you mortals do with the power I bestow upon you. It always proves so amusing to me, each and every time. This time, I can only say that you brought your fate upon yourself…And I will remember this moment, for all eternity."

"Get me out of here!" I cried in desperation, falling to my knees. "Please! I don't want to stay trapped here!"

"You're a clever girl, Delilah. You'll find a way out…After all, how can you die in the Void? You'll have all eternity to find a way to get out of your own painting."

The Outsider vanished before my very eyes.

No! No!

I was so close…

How could this have happened?

How could this have happened to me!?

"When I get out of here," I snarled aloud, "I will find you, Daud. And then I will do worse to you than what you did to me. I swear it!"

After a few, long moments, I finally began to sob uncontrollably.

Who am I fooling, now?

I'll never escape from this Void…

There is no way out of here…

And now…

Now, I will never become Empress…