As the "banquet" begins, the townsfolk with their vacant stares start moving with shambling, unsteady steps.
Approaching Veronica, they seemingly try to escort her to partake of the so-called "sacrifice."
In their addled minds, they are escorting the "Bloodthirsty Siren", who does not fear the Mist and will grant them protection.
As long as the Siren accepts their worship and devours the blood offering, they will be granted eternal peace in return.
Siren... protects... us...
We... have waited... for the Siren... for far too long...
Only an uncanny glow remains in their eyes.
They no longer hold the reverence they once held for their sheriff, but the madness of yearning for the Siren's arrival.
Go save her, [player name]!
As you rush toward the unconscious Eileena, Veronica throws herself between you and the maddened townsfolk, shielding you with her own body.
...
Countless shadow creatures emerge from all directions, surging like a tide toward the sleeping girl. Just as they are about to reach her, you throw yourself forward, shielding her beneath your body.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all watches with cold, unfeeling eyes.
The sinner who dares interrupt our feast...
...Shall die here.
Get her out of here! I'll handle this!
She smashes through the banquet hall's towering windows and shoves Eileena and you through the opening.
The sheriff of yore charges alone into this twisted feast.
No matter how much she refuses to accept it, she knows full well that those bodies no longer hold any trace of the human mind.
And now, it is time for her to end this nightmare with her own hands.
A young man steps forward from the crowd, walking straight toward Veronica.
They simply wish to show you their loyalty, Sheriff Veronica.
No... I should call you... "Bloodthirsty Siren".
A familiar voice calls out... one that belongs to someone who should no longer exist in this world.
She sees the face of her former deputy staring back at her.
But now, that face is devoid of any spark of life, stiff as cold, rigid plaster.
Aleksei...!!
Accept their devotion.
Because this is your destiny... Bloodthirsty Siren.
After a moment of silence, she raises the lance in her hands determinedly, pointing it at Aleksei.
No, you're not him.
My Aleksei is dead.
Stop wearing his face!
The pale-faced young man pays no heed to her words and takes another step forward.
Stop... right there!
She grits her teeth, grips her lance tight, and strikes down at that face so familiar yet so alien.
The lance's blade pierces through the air, tearing the young man's plaster-pale limbs, but he continues forward with mechanical steps.
...
With each step he takes, the cracks at his wounds grow wider, his pale muscle twitching grotesquely as if some force within is pushing outward.
But what pours from the body is not blood, but rat after rat.
...!!!
More and more rats surge from the young man's body, quickly piling up on the ground in a writhing, twisted mass.
Aleksei's life ended long ago, but those rats now serve as his muscles and veins, driving this decaying, hollow shell.
The vessel that once housed vibrant life has become a playground for the filthy.
You...
But an eerie smile still lingers on that lifeless face.
He opens his mouth and lets out fragmented, broken ravings.
Let them... offer you... blood...
So you may become... the true... Bloodthirsty Siren...
His voice grows fainter and fainter, until it finally fades away completely.
Meanwhile, more and more rats flee from his body until only pale skin and flesh remain.
As the last rat escapes, the final trace of "life" that briefly lingered in his body vanishes.
His body begins to dissolve, his pale and bloodless limbs melting like wax and transforming into sinister shadows.
As if seeking their true vessel, the shadows wriggle and thrash as they approach Veronica like living tentacles.
The lance's strikes fail to weaken the shadows' advance, and they coil around the weapon before quickly spreading across Veronica's body.
...!!
As the shadows seep into her skin, a sharp pain pierces through her mind.
▆▁▂▄▁... You must... become... ▂▄▁... Siren...
Accept... ▆▁▆▁▂... ▃▅▆▁... Siren... ▂▄▁... fate...
