She raises her weapon, aiming it at the attendees who are now nothing more than walking corpses.
The host of this feast clearly hasn't anticipated such a turn of events. He has no desire for his banquet to be disrupted by such discordant notes.
Do you no longer wish to protect them as the sheriff of this town?
You used to patrol through the fog every day, hoping only to keep them safe from the monsters' threats.
They placed all their hopes in you, praying day after day that the Siren would descend to protect them.
Now that you possess that power, you would turn against them?
At the sound of Roko's voice, those zombie-like attendees turn their heads in unison.
Their lifeless gray eyes fix their gaze on Veronica.
The baker, the florist, the bartender...
These were the people she knew better than anyone else. They are the very people she had fought so hard to keep safe from the Mist.
But now, those once-familiar faces have all become lifeless masks.
The Siren... has finally... arrived...
We... finally... have... a protector...
From their many rotting throats come only the faintest whispers.
These are no longer prayers from the living, but the voices of damned souls from hell.
It's us... it's us...
Won't you... protect... us anymore...?
Veronica closes her eyes and offers no response to the pleas of the lost souls.
...
You're not here anymore.
The people I swore to protect were the ones who lived here... not these walking corpses.
Sheriff... Siren...
Haha... Hahahaha...
The mad townsfolk laugh hysterically like broken clockwork toys stuck in an endless loop.
Amid the maniacal laughter, their leader begins to shake violently, as if mocking Veronica.
The fragile head sways back and forth before suddenly lolling to one side like overripe fruit falling from its branch, revealing the ashen, bloodless flesh beneath.
From within the plaster-pale, rotting flesh, countless rats come crawling out.
No living souls remain in this place. All that is left are the rotting husks driven by filthy rats.
Your bodies shouldn't be defiled by these vile creatures.
Let me... put you to rest.
Rest in peace...
She swings her lance in a wide arc, cutting through the zombie-like husks.
The lifeless bodies crumble under her assault, and countless rats come streaming out from the empty shells.
Along with them comes a flood of thick, writhing shadows.
The countless shadows surge and flow as if alive. Having lost their fragile vessels, they hunger for a new host, and all of them converge on "Roko".
But there isn't a trace of hesitation in Veronica's eyes now.
So? Ready to turn on an old "friend"?
You filthy rat don't get to speak to me!
"Roko" summons the shadows in his grasp and lunges toward Veronica, but his movements suddenly seize up, as if some unseen force is holding him back.
The shadows vanish from his hands, and the arrogant figure who once wielded their power reverts to an ordinary mortal all of a sudden.
He looks around frantically, seemingly pleading with some unseen, mighty force.
No... no, no, please don't take this power away from me...
I will serve them... Please let me continue to serve them...
I'll find them more test subjects...
But his desperate pleas are met with nothing but silence.
It's your turn!
The lance's razor-sharp gleam shows no hesitation as it cuts through the exploited and corrupted vessel.
More shadows pour from the withered husk that no longer resembles a human, surging through the cramped space as if condensed from countless fragments of despair and hatred.
Eventually, the homeless shadows find a new target, rushing to attack you at breakneck speed.
The ground beneath you crumbles apart under their assault, sending you plummeting downward.
You desperately claw at anything within reach, trying to halt your descent, but more shadows surge forward, intent on dragging you into the inescapable abyss.
Every voice within the shadows unleashes a frenzied shriek from within.
Their voices gradually fade into silence, until a singular voice of absolute authority takes command of it all.
The will to resist should not be a variable in this experiment.
Be gone, unnecessary variable.
The malevolent voice threatens to drown out all your sanity. Shadows swallow your vision whole, and darkness creeps across your sight.
Just as your strength begins to fail, you hear a familiar voice.
[player name]!
At the moment of your complete exhaustion, you feel a pair of warm hands catch and lift you up.
Darkness still surrounds you, but you can hear the sound of beating wings cutting through the wind.
You're safe now. Nothing will hurt you anymore.
You see a familiar face inches away from you.
Behind that figure, massive wings beat powerfully, carrying you both as you soar over what has just become nothing but rubble and ruins moments ago.
I'm glad you're awake...
The Siren holds you tightly against her chest as wings of shadow unfurl, stirring up massive gusts of wind as she flies away from the all-consuming darkness below.
Countless sins and anguished cries lie buried in the bottomless darkness.
As the smoke clears, it is no longer a mass grave that lies beneath, but a requiem for souls that can find no peace.
Veronica has never seen the town she has been protecting from this angle before.
The streets she walked through countless times now spread out like a maze.
She knows every road and alley by heart, but they all stand empty now, with only white fog drifting through them.
Veronica spreads her wings once more, gliding through the air above.
You can hear her barely audible sigh being carried away softly by the wind.
Underneath the strength and coldness she has always shown, you finally glimpse her true heart that has been buried beneath layers of steely resolve.
You told me not to bow down to destiny.
But I have a new perspective on destiny now.
The voice I kept hearing in my dreams was trying to weaken and corrupt me. They tried to make me abandon everything and become the wicked Siren.
But I won't back down anymore.
Evil, destiny... I willingly choose to become that darkness.
And you... are the light I choose to follow.
Hm?
Puzzled, Veronica looks down at you in her arms.
...
Veronica doesn't answer you directly, but you feel her arms tighten around you. Her firm embrace speaks louder than any words.
The last traces of the long night fade away as the first rays of dawn pierce through the clouds above.
Morning light bathes you both in gentle warmth, illuminating the landscape that was shrouded in the Mist.
Finally, she lands gently in the familiar town, still holding you close.
She has walked these streets countless times before, patrolling the town in the Mist, but it's time to say goodbye. Everything here has come to an end. There's no one left for her to protect.
Veronica and you stand side by side, gazing silently at the empty cemetery where countless souls have passed on without leaving behind a single proper grave.
No flowers. No ceremonies. Only silent goodbyes.
Aleksei, and the people of this town... You didn't deserve to go like that.
I've failed to protect you all this time.
Whether it was me as the Sheriff, or me as this "Bloodthirsty Siren"...
I spent so much time searching for the so-called "truth" before this.
I searched through the Mist endlessly, trying to find out who was behind those murders, and what took Aleksei's life.
Whether the "Bloodthirsty Siren" truly existed in the Mist, and whether those visions I kept seeing in my dreams would come to pass...
But now, the nature of this "truth" feels so ironic.
There was no "killer" to begin with.
All of it was just a trap for me, disguised as "destiny," so that I would become this "Bloodthirsty Siren".
She slowly turns around, gazing at the wings behind her.
What do you think of me now, [player name]?
...
She doesn't answer, only gazes silently at the cemetery before you. White mist swirls around you two, obscuring her expression from your view.
As if to mask her turbulent emotions, she turns to you after a long silence and asks a question that seems oddly out of place.
Tell me, [player name]. What lies within the Mist?
Is it the "divine" who set all these traps to drive me mad? Or is it something beyond my understanding?
That's quite an honest answer.
I'll offer you my own honesty in return, then.
No matter where you go, whatever evil you face, I'll stand by your side.
She smiles with relief, tilting her head back to let the faint morning light wash over her face.
No, I'm not.
There is no client anymore. From now on, there's only a "companion" who wants to explore the truth of the Mist with you.
Without the slightest hesitation, Veronica extends her hand toward you, waiting for your response.
No words are needed. The determination in her eyes already speaks to what's in her heart.
You extend your hand in return, accepting your new "companion."
