You hear a whooshing sound as an invisible telekinetic spear reaches out from Tom and impales the cloaked figure. The figure drops to his knees out of weakness from his wound as Tom takes the Light that makes up his existence from within him. The red hood then drops from the figure's head to reveal a man who's grinning creepily as the Light leaves his body, and you notice that the man is missing his eyes. You can see dried blood that appeared to be running down his face from his eye sockets, almost as if the man had cut out his own eyes.
Mimi cowers behind your legs with her eyes shut and starts to panic in fear, so you put your hand gently on her back to comfort her as she hides behind you. You don't like how this is scaring her and all you can think about now is protecting her. These emotions cause your senses to heighten and to your surprise, you can now see the Light that's within everything around you. The only thing that has no Light within it is Tom's body as his black silhouette walks towards the man.
You can see that Tom is holding off on siphoning all of the man's Light, putting the man into a weakened state as he clings onto the edge of existing. There is only a small amount of Light left within him and it's very dim as the man falls to the floor. Tom then retracts his telekinetic spear and asks the man another question while grabbing him by the collar of his robe.
" What is your purpose here? "
The man spits blood between his teeth as he cackles and responds to Tom.
" This world will fail… Day by day his forces grow stronger… Doomed… No God can save us… All will become None. "
Seeing that Mimi is terrified and there's no point in trying to interrogate the man, Tom's hands glow green once more as he siphons the rest of the man's Light to put an end to his charade. You can see the man's last remaining Light flow from his body and into Tom's hands, then the man's form of sole Darkness dissolves into dust right after.
Your vision returns back to normal as Tom drops the empty red robe on the ground with a frustrated expression, looking back at you and Mimi. Tom's gaze then drops down to the book in your hand and his eyes light up in surprise. As you look down at the book in your hand, you realize that your hand is glowing green like Tom's hands were and the book is unlocked, which causes you to drop it in shock.
Tom smiles and holds his arm out towards the book. The book then telekinetically flies up from the floor and into Tom's hand before he inspects the lock on the cover, walking back over to you. He makes a remark as he hands the book back to you, and after you hold the book again now that your hands aren't glowing anymore, the book locks itself.
" You unlocked it. Impressive. Looks like your powers have finally woken up for the first time in a hundred eons. Did any memories come back to you? "
" No. "
You tell Tom in an astonished tone.
" But I definitely felt and saw things differently when Mimi got scared and hid behind me. "
Tom then kneels down in front of Mimi and gently wipes the tears from her face. He speaks to her softly as he looks her up and down to make sure she's alright.
" There's no need to be scared. Star Faller and I are always going to protect you. Plus you still have Faerah's blessing, remember? Those ugly bad guys couldn't hurt you even if they tried. "
Mimi nods her head and smiles softly as she looks back at Tom. Tom then stands up and says one last thing before the three of you head into the castle.
" Let's go talk to the King. "
You all walk inside the castle and the doors immediately slam shut behind you. Suddenly, you're all surrounded by armored guards and there's got to be at least thirty of them pointing their spears at you. You react defensively but Tom puts his arm out in front of you, speaking to you in a calm tone.
" Relax. They're just normal people. "
You take a deep breath and calm down as one of the guards yells.
" We've found the robed trespasser and his accomplice! Take them to the King! Have the child accompany them as well so the King may decide what to do with her! "
The guards then grab you and Tom, put your wrists in shackles behind your backs, and take the book from you. Tom looks at you with a nod of approval before the guards begin escorting you both through the castle. Holding Mimi by her shoulders, the guards gently lead her behind the both of you until you all reach some kind of grand chamber.
You see the King, looking no older than forty years old, sitting up on his throne with a line of guards in front of him to protect him. You also notice a mysterious large knight wearing fancy ornate armor standing next to the King, keeping a close eye on you and Tom. You're both put right in front of the throne and Mimi is taken by the guards to stand off to the side of the room and watch the King address you. One of the guards speaks up as he bows before the King.
" The intruders, your majesty. We caught them in the entryway to the castle with the front guards nowhere to be found. "
The King looks at you and Tom carefully, then he looks at Mimi. The King then asks the guard a question in a skeptical tone.
" And the child? Where was she found? "
" She was following the intruders, your majesty. "
The guard replies humbly. The King sits there and thinks for a moment before asking the guard another question.
" And you believe that these two gentlemen brought a little girl into my castle with the intention to do harm to the castle's occupants? "
The room goes awkwardly silent and you can feel the King's judgment on the guard before Tom speaks up and breaks the silence.
" Your majesty, these guards are simply doing their duty. By some coincidence, my attire was similar to the attire of the man who we encountered out front, who I also assume was the man that your guards were looking for. Your guards aim to protect you, and I believe that they are only doing their duty to the best of their ability. "
" That's surprising to hear coming from the one who they have locked up in shackles. What is your name and why are you here? "
" I am Tom Atus of the Otherlands, and I have come- "
" The OTHERLANDS, you say!? "
The King cuts off Tom and yells with intrigue.
" I've never had the privilege of meeting someone from outside of our verse before!! "
The large knight standing next to the King finally speaks as he stares suspiciously at Tom.
" Surely he's lying. He's probably some petty commoner who wishes to waste your time with squabbles that are below you, your majesty. We should have him prove it. "
The King nods his head in agreement.
" Yes, yes. Surely you can prove that you're actually from the Otherlands, Mister- uh- Tom- Atus-? "
After the King says this, Tom smirks for a moment before his hands glow a bright green. In the blink of an eye, the shackles that are binding you and Tom completely disappear as Tom takes the Light from within them. Then all of the guards' weapons and armor completely vanish, leaving them completely bare in their undergarments. You can hear Mimi burst out laughing hysterically as the guards all freak out and try to cover themselves with their arms. The guard who happens to be holding The Holy Omniverse Transcript then drops it to the ground and Mimi's eyes light up as she sees it. Mimi then quickly takes this opportunity to pick it up before running up between you and Tom.
Seeing that the King has lost the majority of his protection, the knight standing beside him quickly reacts by stepping forward and standing between Tom and the King, defensively pointing his sword at the three of you. The King speaks to the knight in a dismissive tone.
" Stand down, Sir Gerard. If this man from the Otherlands wished to do us harm, he would've already done so. There is nothing that you or I can do to stop him. Perhaps we should treat him with respect and politely ask him why he has come here… An apology for your insult might also be in order. "
" No. It is quite alright, your majesty. There's no apology necessary. "
Tom replies in a humble tone.
" I have come to Moriarch to tell you of a great evil that approaches. An evil that has already been the undoing of Aatu. "
" Aatu? Like the God, Aatu? "
The King asks Tom with a look of disbelief.
" Yes, your majesty. Aatu was killed by an unbeing from the Otherlands. It also intended to kill Izael, Nahzgor, and the Star Faller of Ishville standing here next to me; but I intervened in the nick of time and it scurried off to avoid being separated from its host. I believe that this unbeing plans to kill the rest of your Gods, along with the Star Faller of Ishville and myself before an apocalyptic cataclysm wipes out your world and the very universe that your world resides in. "
A grave look of focus washes over the King's face as he processes what Tom has just told him. The King thinks for a moment, then speaks in a serious tone.
" Then you have come here to ask me to strengthen our Gods by increasing our praise and worship to them so that they may not suffer the same fate as Aatu… "
Tom nods his head in affirmation as the King continues to speak.
" …and I'm sure your next destination is the city of Voldoor to tell their Czar the same thing, if you haven't already. "
" Yes. "
Tom says to the King as he bows his head.
" If your world hopes to survive, then Moriarch and Voldoor must put their differences aside and work together towards a common goal. I ask for Moriarch's support in praying to the six Gods that remain. If the entire world of Aria prays to all six of the Gods collectively, then the Gods will have a better chance in saving your world and the universe that it belongs to. "
Tom looks back up at the King and the King's face is ripe with disgust. The King's mannerism towards Tom completely changes from friendly to hostile as he pauses for a moment in silent judgment, then he responds to Tom's request.
" You ask me to have my good people pray to those disgusting abominations that Voldoor worships? The Dark Ones are not our Gods. Billions of my people have died in the war to stop the praise of Enslavement, Nightmare and Sin; yet you expect them to do that very thing in the blind hope for their Salvation? "
The King stares at Tom menacingly as he continues to speak with conviction in his voice.
" If our world is destroyed because Moriarch's people stood for their values until the very end, then so be it. Consider yourself lucky. If you were only a mere man of this world, then you'd be dead for making such a blasphemous request of me. "