[You find yourself deep within a secret underground passageway. A still-fresh wound of grief has been re-opened as you press on to find the truth. Not just for your sworn brother Roi and adoptive father Jörg, but now your dear friend Crick.
Crick, who at first admonished you for your cynical view of the world and the gods watching over it, had grown to become a trusted companion of yours. The two of you had made great strides in solving the mystery behind this string of murders together, and you both could sense that you were right on the precipice of an unbelievable discovery of heresy that would finally explain why Roi and the Pontiff, among many others, had to die. The truth behind whatever secret that the Sacred Guard was trying to hide was close at hand.
That newly anointed Sanctum Knight whom you had grown so fond of, whom you had come to entrust your life with, just became another victim of the culprits behind everything. The same person who tried to kill you just a day ago had gotten to him in turn, leaving him to bleed out alone in the frozen air of Stormhail while you slept.
How many people are going to have to die for this truth to come to light?
Though he had intended to inform you of it himself, Crick had made a discovery when the two of you parted ways last night: a secret passage within the Sacred Guard's Headquarters. Not wanting to let this parting gift go to waste, you make haste to find what he had stumbled upon in here. At last, you come to the end of the passage, revealing...a library?]
What is this place...?
[You murmur aloud, stepping forward to peruse the selection on the shelves. Much to your surprise, all of them are forbidden tomes- knowledge hidden away from the public eye. Why would the Sacred Guard be hiding something like this?
Before you can ponder this question for too long, a voice rings out behind you.]
I see the pontiff's hound knows how to follow a scent.
[A familiar figure comes into view: Deputy Cubaryi, a high-ranking member of the Sacred Guard whom you have butted heads with all along this journey. You had long-suspected her of hiding something, and her presence in this place confirms it.]
Crick knew too much. He was a fool to bring you into this. To continue his investigation. An investigation that led him to The Book of Night...and consequently, to his grave.
[She goes on to reveal to you that Crick was stricken out of the picture by none other than the head of the Sacred Guard herself, Captain Kaldena. Her desire to claim the Book of Night and summon the Shadow to avenge her people led to everything.
With the truth out in the open, Cubaryi begins to laugh with an edge of sick cruelty.]
You understand we must put an end to you. Just like we did to your little helper.
...
[You don't reply, for in this moment, the gravity of it all comes crashing down on you. At last, you know who's behind this. At last, you know who to blame for every loss that you have endured over these last five years.]
He wasn't an easy kill, I'll give him that. ... But he was a damn fool- as are you. Your perverse sense of justice leads you to defy the gods! And so you shall have your divine punishment.
[You no longer hear Cubaryi as she begins laughing maniacally before you. A ringing in your ears blocks out all sound. Your eyes burn with tranquil fury.]
Where is she?
[You demand in a low growl.]
Is that anger I see in your eyes? How unusual! [Cubaryi sneers, looking down on you with a wicked, cruel grin.] Heh... Does it hurt, knowing your little assistant's been killed?
...
[It takes a lot for words to dig under your skin, but with a gaping wound as fresh as yours, these ones burrow in deep. Crick... He'd become so invested in the search for truth that he had gone out on his own, and died. The guilt you bear is heavy, and Cubaryi is taking full advantage of it.]
The captain's gone. She has other matters to attend to. And that's all you need to know.
[You brandish your staff, barely containing the rage and grief in your voice.]
Fine, seal your lips, you so-called messenger of the divine.
[You barely remember the fierce fight that ensues. But once it's over, Cubaryi lies dead before you. Having refused to offer up any further information, it's up to you to discern where Kaldena has gone and bring an end to her wicked plot.
You know what you must do, yet... As you watch over Crick's funeral procession, you feel so cripplingly lost. After everything that has come to pass since you embarked on this journey, is the path you walk truly the righteous one?]
for Beelzebub | MASSIVE SPOILERS for Chapter 3 of Temenos's story
Crick, who at first admonished you for your cynical view of the world and the gods watching over it, had grown to become a trusted companion of yours. The two of you had made great strides in solving the mystery behind this string of murders together, and you both could sense that you were right on the precipice of an unbelievable discovery of heresy that would finally explain why Roi and the Pontiff, among many others, had to die. The truth behind whatever secret that the Sacred Guard was trying to hide was close at hand.
That newly anointed Sanctum Knight whom you had grown so fond of, whom you had come to entrust your life with, just became another victim of the culprits behind everything. The same person who tried to kill you just a day ago had gotten to him in turn, leaving him to bleed out alone in the frozen air of Stormhail while you slept.
How many people are going to have to die for this truth to come to light?
Though he had intended to inform you of it himself, Crick had made a discovery when the two of you parted ways last night: a secret passage within the Sacred Guard's Headquarters. Not wanting to let this parting gift go to waste, you make haste to find what he had stumbled upon in here. At last, you come to the end of the passage, revealing...a library?]
What is this place...?
[You murmur aloud, stepping forward to peruse the selection on the shelves. Much to your surprise, all of them are forbidden tomes- knowledge hidden away from the public eye. Why would the Sacred Guard be hiding something like this?
Before you can ponder this question for too long, a voice rings out behind you.]
I see the pontiff's hound knows how to follow a scent.
[A familiar figure comes into view: Deputy Cubaryi, a high-ranking member of the Sacred Guard whom you have butted heads with all along this journey. You had long-suspected her of hiding something, and her presence in this place confirms it.]
Crick knew too much. He was a fool to bring you into this. To continue his investigation. An investigation that led him to The Book of Night...and consequently, to his grave.
[She goes on to reveal to you that Crick was stricken out of the picture by none other than the head of the Sacred Guard herself, Captain Kaldena. Her desire to claim the Book of Night and summon the Shadow to avenge her people led to everything.
With the truth out in the open, Cubaryi begins to laugh with an edge of sick cruelty.]
You understand we must put an end to you. Just like we did to your little helper.
...
[You don't reply, for in this moment, the gravity of it all comes crashing down on you. At last, you know who's behind this. At last, you know who to blame for every loss that you have endured over these last five years.]
He wasn't an easy kill, I'll give him that. ... But he was a damn fool- as are you. Your perverse sense of justice leads you to defy the gods! And so you shall have your divine punishment.
[You no longer hear Cubaryi as she begins laughing maniacally before you. A ringing in your ears blocks out all sound. Your eyes burn with tranquil fury.]
Where is she?
[You demand in a low growl.]
Is that anger I see in your eyes? How unusual! [Cubaryi sneers, looking down on you with a wicked, cruel grin.] Heh... Does it hurt, knowing your little assistant's been killed?
...
[It takes a lot for words to dig under your skin, but with a gaping wound as fresh as yours, these ones burrow in deep. Crick... He'd become so invested in the search for truth that he had gone out on his own, and died. The guilt you bear is heavy, and Cubaryi is taking full advantage of it.]
The captain's gone. She has other matters to attend to. And that's all you need to know.
[You brandish your staff, barely containing the rage and grief in your voice.]
Fine, seal your lips, you so-called messenger of the divine.
[You barely remember the fierce fight that ensues. But once it's over, Cubaryi lies dead before you. Having refused to offer up any further information, it's up to you to discern where Kaldena has gone and bring an end to her wicked plot.
You know what you must do, yet... As you watch over Crick's funeral procession, you feel so cripplingly lost. After everything that has come to pass since you embarked on this journey, is the path you walk truly the righteous one?]