Ali
*The base of the branches, is a peaceful place. The mind wanders freely here, after all. It was where most gods were created, only branches above... Yet Thana was an anomaly to this, she didn't fall from the branch... Didn't get time to explore, no. Instead. This wretched, pale-skinned humanoid was thrust into the world with a quick jolt. Her arrival is marked by the death of another, that vision of smeared snake guts still causes her to stifle sinister grins. There's no place like home, unfortunately. Thana didn't have that luxury. She didn't know her home, her mother... Her creation is shrouded in so much mystery.*

*A trail of bloody footprints smear the intricate patterns of the wood and soil that encompasses her. She walks, every step peels away the sole of her foot, ripping flesh... Staining the purest of soil with viscera. It isn't until further along this trail the true state of Thana can be found, an arm scattered into the field... A leg mangled and bone showing, she limps so pitifully... Yet that face still had a smile, there was no fear in the girl's eyes... It was instead, morbid enjoyment. She loved the injury, the satisfaction of the ripping flesh. The cracking bone... It was all a symphony to her corrupted ears.*

`"I miss the sun... It's just not the same here, it's too... Perfect. The uncanny doesn't sit with me."` *Her voice is a honeycomb of lures. Spoken like a siren, every syllable rolls off with an exuberant temptation... Every word is an invitation to step closer to the god. Yet, she wasn't alone and she knew it... A divine sense was powerful, the throbbing of others hearts... Their divine tunes, she heard them all like oceans from a shell. Adjusting her arm, she grabs the disfigured bone, pulling until the leg is back in position... Coagulated blood weeps from her eyes, regenerating the arm as she sighs. Her usual vampiric beauty restored, leaning against a root. She can only hum... Scraping the tooth of her scythe over those dainty fingers.*
Michael
It wasn't entirely clear how she was able to maintain her safety within the tree's base, assumedly she was somewhere in the space of the void and as such, was expecting an onslaught of biting cold and death to take her form before she could experience anything beyond the abrupt heartbreak that ensued after she was ripped away from her mother. Yet, the lone Demi-God remained present, somewhere along the World Tree and the cold was not where she wished it to be. It was not outside, granting her a graceful and quick death.

*No, it festered inside, forcing her to embrace the call of the Void she was born from.*

"W-where.." She questions, although it cuts off upon the trail of blood entering her peripheral. "What t-the..!?" 

The girl turned in its direction, bolting off to find the source of blood that seemed to only get more and more visceral the longer she followed. Her heart fell into her stomach, replacing the cold in her chest with something akin to fear. It was not fear for herself, however, but for some unknown entity that eluded her search. It would not be until the start of a field that the steps would end and grass would begin, obscuring the trail but revealing a prominent piece to her search; She would find her fear both misguided and seemingly unwarranted. Even still, she could not turn away from the deity, despite intrinsically knowing that it was not her place nor her concern.

‎ 
The lone Demi-God stood at the edge of the field with concern crevassing her face, unable to say anything to the being solely out of anxiety for the odd nature of their current predicament. She wanted to jump to their aide, yet couldn't move her legs from where they stood. The short, warmly dressed pale woman found herself taking a gentle step forward at the sound of their voice, warily watching for any sign of distress. The sound of her voice had somehow emboldened the Demi-God to act upon her desire to aid those who may need assistance, but something inside of her felt distantly related to the being only meters away. Like a virus attempting to draw itself toward another vessel. 

"A-Are y-you okay?" She inquired, as the being regenerated their body. It dawned on her that she was in the presence of a God. She tensed, unsure as to what she could do that was not already possible for a divine being.

It would dawn on Thana, that the Demi-God before her barely made noise. It was as if something primal was obscuring the law of sounds in the world, emerging from the bosom of the Demi-God's vessel. The *Thunk* Of footfalls on the wood, the crunching of grass.

*The beating of the heart.*

She stood as still as a statue, only able to nervously watch the entity ahead of her.
Ali
*There is... A drawn pause, as the girl approaches and asks her question. An eerie silence, the cold void of two beings just... Waiting for something to happen, then her head snaps. Cracking to the side Thana stares with bloodshot glowing eyes, warmly observing the demi-god that had found her. The questioning seemed to recluse Thana's strange obsession with harm and blood. It was a wake-up call, the pale woman shook her head and stood properly, allowing her long black cloak and dress to quaintly fall to her sides, Thana's hair was jet black, mixed with crimson highlights. Her complexion was pale, and small dotted freckles beautifully accentuated her facial features.*

`"Oh... Oh- Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay!"` *Her tone of voice isn't commanding or terrifying. It's rather casual and laid back, with no sense of superiority. As far as the woman was concerned they were equals and there was no quarrel with that. The bloody sight is quickly reduced to a presentable theme. The scythe vanishes as veins spread from her forearm and absorbs it as if they were tendrils. A polite smile forms over her pursed lips. The silent tone and softer atmosphere compared to her previous interaction with Nach would present itself as an enjoyable moment.*

`"Sorry- I uhm... I was rambling to myself there, what's your name?"` *She admires the demi-god, yet again. There isn't even a hint of superiority, in fact, there is a distinct admiration for their appearance. These were two people going about their experiences. Not gods or demigods in Thana's mind. A hand is outstretched for a shake, as the woman kindly reaches out. The rest of her form takes shape, long brooding devil-like wings and a barbed stinger for a tail... They could be seen as harmful, but the way her tail coiled and hid, whilst the wings peacefully flapped proposed the contrary.*
Michael
The Demi-God felt anxiety creep up her spine so badly that she contemplated running away, terrified of the presence that the woman seemed to unknowingly give off. Despite her better instincts, she stayed put and flinched visibly when Thana turned her head, uncomfortably gazing back at the Goddess and taking in her features as well. Just the same as the deity, the Demi-God was deathly pale. Contrastly, her hair was a gentle hue of pink, with her eyes a milky rose that complimented her pretty and clear face. Against the terror, she felt a little enamored by the being's choice of form.

But then the terror came back when she spoke, even though Thana's appearance had become less visibly gory and much gentler. Ezgi was confused both by the sight of the tendrils, and the sudden change of tone that Thana was presenting, worried that it was something sinister, or worse, something she shouldn't have seen. She felt like an intruder on a private scene. Despite that, she continued to shadow the routine she remembered in her previous life, ensuring health before her own safety.

‎ 
"A-Are you sure? Y-You looked l-like y-you were— um.." She pauses, struggling to find an appropriate term for the horrifying show of blood. The girl motions towards the floor, the bloody footsteps, and then Thana herself. 

"W-Well, I-I guess a __li-little__ out of s-sorts."

Ezgi was offered a hand in peaceful cooperation and the hesitation of anxiety had settled in again. The girl gazed at Thana as if she wanted it, but something was stopping her. Ezgi wore thick gloves that seemed uncomfortable and inconvenient, yet could not even shake the God's hand. She seemed ashamed, taking a step back. She holds herself as Thana can take a better look at her now, seeing as she was looking right at her.

"I-I um.. I don't think it's best to touch me. I w-was only making sure yo-you weren't in any l-life threatening d-danger," She admitted, shaking a little while she spoke. "M-My name is Ezgi. W-what's yours?
Ali
*Thana brushes her shoulders and neatens her clothing with her spare hand. Playing the casual part to its extreme, listening intently. Her beady eyes scan up and down the demigod. Taking note of every little intricacy. Every little reaction or twitch is a breadcrumb to uncovering the secret of the demigod's nature. A crimson glint shimmers as she leans back and stretches playfully. Feigning a sign of boredom, it quickly replaced by the curiosity rooted in Ezgi's words.*

`"Oh, that whole... Display? Oh no- That's just me darling... You get used to it! I'm not hurt, nor some sort of bad person... Are there even bad gods? I suppose... No? If everyone has a purpose, the only thing that can be bad is how we interpret them? Right? Oh- Uhm. I er... Yeah- Getting ahead of myself huh?"` *Her mumbling is followed by the retraction of her hand, keeping it firmly by her side at the request of not touching. Thana wouldn't probe just yet, better to let things come out in their own time. She rubs her left eye, a small weeping trail of blood dripping onto her finger. Staining those elongated nails, the blood sinks in... Creating a swirling pattern of red and black, a décor of viscera.*

*She pats down a root and slings herself onto it, swinging on the exposed vein of Gaia like a vine swing. There's a charismatic personality beaming through. It's alignment unknown, what was Thana... Evil? Chaotic? Or simply... Nothing, did she have a place in the world if she wasn't meant to be here. Her arrival was an accident after all.*

`"Thana. Goddess of bloodlust and memories... Certified accidental god killer and a bleeding mistake by this big ol tree. I'm not to be here you see... But don't go telling anyone else that. I don't want some god of law sanctioning me- I'm not into that stuff..."` *She smiles, her fangs on full display, an illustrious swirl of crimson flowing down her clothes like a wreath of flames. She can't help but giggle out loud at her theatrics.*
Michael
Further observation of Ezgi revealed little breadcrumbs indeed; The girl was the very definition of nervous, shaking like a leaf on the wind and frequently attempting to avoid eye contact despite the fact that they were in conversation. She knows this fact and subsequently keeps re-establishing their gazes to not come off as stand-offish. Her clothing was thick and heavy, even bordering on uncomfortable in certain spots like her hands and the multiple layers of clothing on her feet. Despite looking like the definition of nervous, she spoke rationally and her steps were bordering more on cautious rather than afraid. Yet what was it she was being cautious of?

"R-Right. If I m-might personally interject, I-I prefer seeing b-blood on the in-inside, but if it doesn't c-come as a d-detriment to y-you, then I g-guess i-it's okay..." The girl fidgets slightly with her padded fingers, gazing at the ground toward the blood on the floor. Despite her affirming words, she can't help but grimace at the sight. "I th-think there are some b-bad gods o-out there," She starts. 

"*My m-mother, for starters.*" She whispers quietly to herself.

‎
She quickly turned her gaze back up towards the Goddess, who had leaped onto a root and swung on it gracefully, although with an undertone of something she could not quite pinpoint. Her alignment was questionable, but as long as she was not hurting others, she was content with the current state of ignorance she had. 

"N-no, no! I w-wouldn't say you're a mistake, Miss Th-Thana! My o-opinion is inc-consequential," She moves towards the goddess, much less wary than before. "But I s-strongly believe that a-an accidental d-death m-means only t-that your circumstances were l-less than desirable. I-it's what you do a-after the accident t-that ultimately p-proves if someone's th-theory is correct..! G-Gods of Law i-included."

She halted her small advance at the sight of flames, drawing her hands back closely toward her body as if keeping an ember away from tinder.
Ali
*Thana listens patiently, there's never a moment where she feels irritated at the stutters. For such a violent appearance, this goddess seemed to have the utmost respect. Her past life tending to the dying or elderly did come with a level of understanding. Not even godhood would stop those kind intentions shining through. She relaxes her muscles, arms flopping to the side. Watching and waiting, she can only continue to smile with a caring grin. Occasionally blood weeps from a random orifice, single drops dripping to the ground. Absorbed by the tree or nature around the pair.*

`"Squeamish are we? No matter... I promise I won't explode into organs or paint the tree red. Though I can't help the occasional spot. It's in my assigned nature... Which is funny, I really got the bad end of the stick. I get to... Remember bloodlust? Or, savour it? Not sure. Don't care right now I have company."` *She hops down from the vine and lands gracefully like a cat, quickly bringing herself upright and brushing off her clothes once more, for a second. The world flickers red. Thanas face distorts into what looks like a wolf skull. It's a temporary anomaly, quickly remedied by the return to normal. Just what was that?*

`"Awh no it's okay you don't need to deny it! I know what I am, your opinion is very valid though. What good is a person that can't listen to those around them? You're as equal as me Ezgi- mortals, demi-gods. Gods. They're all the same, they can all form opinions and instructions."` *She takes note of their recluse nature. Slowly understanding the dynamic between the two. Thana for once, was the extrovert. Ezgi was the kind soul reaching out. But out of their element, it was hard to state what the two might of had in common.*

*The ambience of the world around them drifts in, quaintly settling the tension. The goddess continues to shrug off the world around them and eventually nestles herself in the grass, lying down and gazing up at the branches above them. Peering at one of the fruits.*

`"Imagine one of those things hitting you on the head, that'd hurt huh?"`
Michael
Ezgi takes note of how seemingly patient the woman is, although unsure if Thana is calculating or simply observing passively. It was a woefully cruel twist of nature that the gentle-hearted fruit might've been given the sharpest and deadliest-looking appearance, though if one was comfortable with hair-raising danger for long enough, it could allow them to look past it. It was the blood that kept Ezgi on edge, rather than the appearance. 

"U-Unfortunately, Ma'am.. I-It's the b-blood.. But I-I'll be okay. I-It's just, erm..." She hesitates. "No, n-nevermind."

The girl approaches a tad closer, a few moments before the Goddess jumps from the tree. Her eyes again gravitate towards the ground, as if something Thana said had resonated with her. She clutches her arms harder, denying something in her mind. 

"Hah.. I g-guess I-I'm not the o-only one." The girl scoffs quietly. "I-I got s-stuck w-with a c-chronic c-condition as a-a result of b-being born."

‎
Ezgi looked around rapidly when the world turned red for a moment, noticing how the air surrounding her had not changed color. Despite that, she glanced at Thana long enough to catch the skull, before everything returned to normal. She ponders asking if that was also a part of the Goddess' repertoire of spooky tricks, but she figured her question would be answered in time. Thana eventually sits on the grass, spouting platitudes about their mortality. For once, Ezgi actually scoffs as if she wasn't able to agree.

"I-I suppose we're at an i-impasse, then. I am n-not, and will never b-be equal t-to you. You are a-a god, where I'm only p-partly one. S-sure, we can form c-coherent and cohesive th-thoughts, but what g-good does that do f-for me? I-I have been s-shot in t-the knee since before I-I was born, a-and this life is o-only an extension. I h-have no power t-to change." 

She motions to the fruit of the world tree.

"Like t-this, for e-example. If t-the fruit hit me o-on the head, I will die. Y-Yet, it would o-only hurt for y-you. If I d-die, so long a-as my Goddess graces i-it, I can c-come back. I am u-ultimately expendable. Yet y-you.. You are t-the one and o-only. But.."

She sits down too, a little distant from Thana, although close enough to show she trusts her. 

"I-I'll keep h-helping others. I-I'll never ch-change that. I h-hope your kindness i-is the same.
Ali
*The goddess raises an eyebrow at Ezgis speech. The mention of a chronic condition seems to ignite a curiosity within her soul, whilst still lying. She takes in a deep breath as if the notion of what happened to this poor demi-god was a vile creation. Thana scrunches her face in scrutiny, trying to pick between the lines to find the right words to say. With a thunderous crack of her arm, she snaps the bone and contorts her hand so that it gently hangs from its socket, held only by a few thin strands of tissue and muscle. Her promise to not explode hadn't lasted long.*

`"Created with an illness? This world can solve anything with the wave of a hand. Yet the divine choose to inflict illness on their subjects? That's- That's horrible. I'm so sorry dear- Your creator must be a cold being..."` *Her smile shrivels, she would extend a hand but the two had already so many boundaries that she was better off not testing. Their debate spirals quickly, Thana absorbing the knowledge from Ezgi's points of view. Showing a god could very much still learn, or at least feign it. Well... Thana was different, lacking the same instilled knowledge at birth. Her powers were mostly a mystery, shrouded in the past just like her twisted background.*

`"You numb your own insecurities by helping others? That is... Very noble, Ezgi. As for my kindness, perhaps I should grant you a gift."` *With that, the mangled arm finally drops off from her body like a fruit from a tree. As it splatters onto the floor it coagulates into a mould of dried blood, then slowly reforms into an obsidian black tiara, decorated with a small crimson gemstone on the top. As a part of Thana, it still held its divine properties. Therefore, wielding it would be like wielding the arm of a divine. She gently slides the tiara over. Careful not to cross their personal space and boundaries.*

*Another flicker, a quick distortion. That dreaded skull returns, the world shrouded in a bloody haze... Barely enough time to comprehend it before it slinks away. Though yet again, Thana pays no heed. She's not even aware... Its as if two consciousnesses are acting, with one in the lead and the other attempting to crawl its way out.*

`"There, for you..."`
Michael
Ezgi crosses her arms around her legs like a child attempting to rock themselves in comfort, a pitiful display that would only become more pitiful as she flinches hard at the sudden loud cracking of a limb. The girl yelps in terror and falls backward, scraping her arm against a shard of broken bone from Thana's earlier little episode. She winces softly and attempts to hide it, removing one of her gloves to shove it under her sleeve where the scrape had torn a hole. The pitiful girl's hand was covered almost entirely in scars. Burns, cuts, bites, broken and bruised, but still alive and shaking. The girl had flinched at the sight of blood and sinew holding the body part together, unwilling to look at it. Instead, she focuses on the small wound she had herself, seemingly worried more than would normally be necessary. 

"U-Unfortunately, i-its a curse n-no matter w-where I am. I a-am r-reborn thousands u-upon thousands of times, i-in other w-worlds n-not unlike the w-world tree's realms, y-yet I am always a-afflicted with this s-same curse. I w-will l-live the s-same life, a-and I will d-die the same d-death. M-Mother's cursed t-to allow it to h-happen, even if s-she did care about me *Still*."

Ezgi seems to recoil at Thana's words about her mother. Her lip quivers harder than usual and her eyes, still glued to the floor to avoid looking at the gore, glazed over. Her voice shakes. It seems Thana had accidentally struck a nerve.

*"I-I miss when s-she used to b-be happy."*

‎ 
The girl clears her throat and successfully stifles her sob, turning to wipe her eyes off quickly and returning to hear the hollow thump of a limb hitting the floor. She tilts her head in curiosity, morbidly looking over to see an arm on the ground turn into a beautiful tiara, being slid toward her. The world around her again turns red and she alone remains untouched by the red haze, confused by the sudden switching's return. Ezgi sniffles softly and looks at the tiara, both intrigued and worried. 

"W-wait, I-I can't.. I'm n-not worthy o-of receiving a-any gifts, l-let alone with m-my condition.." She places her hands up, motioning that Thana should take it back.

While motioning, Thana would be able to see a small stream of black mist escaping Ezgi's torn clothing, freezing the cloth and the glove that hid it. A black splotch befouled the edges of its fingers, prompting a possible inquiry about the unusual substance for a half-mortal.

"B-Besides, I wouldn't even k-know what t-to do with it. I-I look t-terrible in T-Tiaras." Ezgi lies, although it's not quite clear about what part of her statement.
Ali
*As Thana recovers herself from the display, she goes to smile at Ezgi. Only to pause, her expression quickly changing to a frown as she realises the harm she's causing... Her eyes sank a little as if there was a heart somewhere in her fleshy vessel. It would be breaking for this creature, to see such pain and suffering was twisted. It reminded her of herself, those fateful days when her life was flipped twice over. Cursed in a past life, now haunted by the nagging influence of a dead god here... Thana couldn't escape her condition either, suddenly it became so clear. These two were similar, they were both running from something they simply could not outrun.*

`"I.. I know how you feel, I'm afflicted too. Not with the same infection, but an infection nonetheless... I understand that at least. To want to scream, be free of the manacles the world throws upon you... It keeps you down, they're like weights. No matter how much you shift it, eventually, you'll get tired. That's when it strikes..."` *She pats the grass and tries to sit close to Ezgi. Her arm quickly reformed to its original state. Thana moves her own hair softly to the side, opening up a smile once more. She had discomforted this creature, now she must at least attempt to soothe them. A small red mist forms in the air, clashing with the black of Ezgi. The mists swirl slightly, and Thanas is able to resist its cruel influence, barely.*

`"You are worthy, Ezgi. Don't let the thoughts that they pushed inside you decide that. For now, let me and you take the reigns huh? I know I'm a bit scared. Truth be told, I'm probably more nervous than you are. I'm not like the other deities, I'm just... Me. I don't know what to do with all this power."` *She picks up the tiara, then hovers it just above Ezgi's head. Waving her hand to gesture the girl to lower her head so she could put it on, it was a touching moment from an otherwise clueless creature. Thana knew nothing of her divine negating power. Ezgi was just a scared demigod to her. She didn't mind the substance or the mist. Because it didn't matter to her, they were people.*

*The red mist eventually retracts, coating the grass with a beautiful haze, it was soft and malleable, you could run a hand through it just like a cloud. It was a symbolism in a way, she was giving out a piece of herself to show she cared. She keeps her hands positioned, nodding softly once more with a polite grin.*

`"May I, Ezgi?"`
Michael
Ezgi hated the way Thana recoiled at the sight of her pitiful self. She felt anger writhe inside her core, negated by the loathing and depreciating mental fog that clouded any emotion beyond that former word. Pitiable, enough so that it caused Thana to give her a gift that she did not deserve. The ill woman was being pitied, made to receive a consolation prize for pulling on the right strings of a deity's heart. In the back of her mind, she wanted to slap away the tiara and run, but she knew that it would hurt Thana and doom the girl to a damaged relationship. Perhaps worse, if Thana was the aggressively-loving type. But she did not act on those intrusive thoughts, and thus the Goddess spoke, opening up to the Demi-God in kind for the introspective insight on mortality and life.

"But... I-In the end, I-I am b-born with these ch-chains and I-I wear th-them to my death. It's n-not why I w-wear them, b-but *How*, that t-truly matters. I c-can still feel, I c-can still move, and I c-can still *Love.* N-No curse w-will take that a-away from me, a-and as long as I can love, I-I will never be t-truly alone. T-That was the last message i-imparted to me by Any. N-Not the Goddess, n-not the *Traveller*, just Any."

‎ 
She takes a deep breath, collects herself, and straightens herself up. Thana sits close to her, and she seems to scoot a little closer too. She opens her body towards the Goddess, a clear sign of trust and comfort towards the deity. The mist that surrounds them consistently seems to reel back when approaching Ezgi's to the point that a clear barrier of air separates the two, like a layer of oil above water. 

"Perhaps t-that's why I f-feel so much p-pain when I see t-the Goddess. B-Because I still l-love my mother s-so, so much. I w-wonder if s-she's s-still in there, t-trapped and i-in pain." She sniffles quietly.

The girl focuses on Thana now, listening intently to the girl's words of affirmation and validation. She smiles warmly, renewed with a reminder of her purpose in life. She was born hurt and wanted the world to never need to know that pain. It was in turmoil that true strength was found and forged stronger in the face of adversity.

"T-Thank you, Miss T-Thana. I-I suppose w-we can j-just keep doing what w-we can. D-Do our best, and be k-kind to one a-another. I-It's all I c-can do, anyway."

The girl initially hesitated to accept the motion to bow her head but ultimately decided to oblige. She looks into Thana's eyes with a mix of unease and anxious anticipation, before taking a deep breath and tilted herself forward. She didn't know what her A-C would do to the tiara, but she had faith it would be okay.

__**"It would be an honor."**__
Ali
`"You're hooked on tragedy darling~ let's get that mental wound patched up hey?"` *The crown slowly slides onto Ezgi's head, readjusting itself to fit nicely. The colours begin to change, matching the aesthetic she presents with... There is a small jolt of power, perhaps less than expected. Thana hadn't actually imbued this with anything more than the blood of her own body. It was more of a placebo test, she figured having a sense of importance may break the stupor of feeling alone... It was hard for a girl who was known in both this and a past life for murdering people on nothing more than an impulse. Even in her friendly movements, there was constant silent contemplation. One wrong step could end with this poor demigod being nothing more than a stain on the tree.*

`"I promise you, she's in there somewhere... I know that feeling all too well."` *There is another distortion in the world around them, crimson creeps up every corner. Vines of nerves and veins spread like wildlife as Thana reveals her actual form. A gargantuan looming skeletal structure, representing a wolf at its core. The bottom of her uneven body was held by an amalgam of reaching hands and compressed flesh. The sight was grounds for a nightmare, even if it was only for a second. But this... Creature, it still smiles back at her. Glowing pupils rattling and shimmering with constant vibrations. Her voice becomes far more booming and controlling of the situation, words flowing like the splashing of blood upon a warzone.*

`"This is the thing I keep at bay. My curse-"`

*The looming form tilts its head down and sinks back into the floor, the humanoid form of Thana quickly emerging from a puddle of viscera left on the floor. The strange visions may have made more sense now, those blips in perception were this monster clawing its way out for just a moment. Thana felt obligated to share her shackles with this demigod. To show she wasn't alone in suffering, there still wasn't something right. Why was such a friendly god able to become something so cataclysmically monstrous.*

`"Never stop fighting that battle, if I have to rip your mother from that deity I'll do it... It's okay to spill blood for a good cause... Right?"` *She pronounces this in a questioning tone, rhetorically. She doubts herself, every action and motion is a conflicted uphill advance. Had Thana just offered to launch an attack on a god just to appease one creature. Did friendship and relatability mean that much to this poor soul?*
Michael
Ezgi flinches ever so slightly upon feeling the small jolt of energy before it began to change colors. The crown would warble as if being disfigured and shifted by a force that the Goddess could not perceive fully, silently melding the crown and draining it of power until it became pale white, the same as Ezgi. It maintained its shape for the time being, although it would visibly disappoint the girl upon seeing that the crown was destabilizing. That brief disappointment was quickly overtaken by the sudden change in scenery once again.

This time, it was so much bigger. It scared her, seeing the flesh and the viscera, the sinew and the blood. Thana's voice was the only soothing part of the ordeal, but when it began to boom, it would only add to the panic. She felt as though she was reliving a moment of dread, something from her past life that she tried to shut away. A scab that was ripped and began to bleed. She covered her ears and balled herself up, her breathing jumping from slow and controlled to erratic and worryingly quick. But just as the world around her had briefly changed, she managed to compose herself just as quickly. She stilled her shaking body and distanced herself from her fear, forcing herself to hold the crown and remember that she was okay in the presence of Thana.

If she had wanted her dead, she'd have done it a long time ago. Instead, she allowed herself to shed her mask and reveal the whole, truthful self of her form to the Demi-God, a sign of trust and one that must never go unnoticed.

‎ 
"Y-You.. M-Miss Thana, I-I don't k-know what to say.. I just- I-I don't..." She struggles to properly stick her words together, both in a mix of brief panic and actual genuine confusion at the sight she is seeing.

She quickly looks down, but realizes something; those blips in the air were of her true form? What was it that she was hiding, and what was it that would escape every so often? She had to ask now both for her and Thana's safety.

"W-Wait, so those c-changes in the a-air, those were y-your true form? B-But it k-kept coming o-out, I-I thought you w-were aware of t-that!" She exclaims.

She pauses for a moment when Thana offers to attack her Patron God, but ultimately shakes her head. She smiles warmly and touches the white crown gently, content with the gift, even if it means nothing more than vanity. 

"I-I don't int-tend to stop. B-but spilling b-blood when i-it isn't required i-is not how I do t-things. I'll always t-take the gamble t-that love exists i-in our hearts, rather than l-living with the bl-blood on m-my hands that c-could've been prevented. B-but.. I-I know it's naïve, and m-maybe that'll b-be the end of m-me. I'm okay with that.
Ali
*Thana adjusts her posture, relaxing her muscles and soothing her breathing with controlled exhales. Her eyes look dry and cracked, bloodshot blotches spread across the white like an infection, she turns to the side and with a loud gargled heave, spits a fountain of blood onto the floor, clutching her stomach and groaning... She was okay, just unsure of the feeling that came with having her body overtaken by that... Thing. It was an out-of-body and otherworldly experience, even for a divine creature. To be so used to having total influence.*

`" I'm fighting a losing battle, all I can do is stall for time- "` *She coughs hoarsely, finally standing upright and wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her dark clothes. Finally paying attention to Ezgi once more, Thana's senses become on high alert. Her mind racing with prospects and possibilities, and that subtle pause in between the mention of attacking her god felt like centuries, amplified only by the eerie silence of the base of the tree. Her focus delves deeper, honing in on a bloodthirsty fantasy. With the sensual act of splitting a child from her mother, a cold and sadistic smile grows. Her eyes mirror that of the true form, tapping her foot to focus on anything other than the ecstasy of a kill. She counts beneath her breath, severing the improper thoughts.*

*With a deep, long sigh she slumps to the floor. Collapsing playfully into the softness of the grass, she wiggled her fingers in between the fresh blades of nature. She even yawns briefly, interrupted by a guttural noise from her being, the girl's hands move quickly to cover her mouth as she rolls her eyes and speaks out again, her tone much softer with a hint of pretentiousness. She had to put on the innocent mask just for a moment until those scrambled impulses settled.*

`" Do you know some creatures show love by executing their partners after they've made a family? I don't- sorry... I don't know why I said that- I should really... You know what. Forget I said that, please? "`
Michael
Ezgi watches the girl closely as she starts to heave and looks away again when she spouts blood from her mouth which admittedly, actually got her again. She trembles with discomfort at the sight, her features cringing at the sounds and the sight, once it was on the floor. The sheepish girl looked back down at the ground, her hands nervously scratching at each other while she fidgeted. Her scratching grew frightfully forceful when Thana spoke again, worried about something that seemed only apparent to Ezgi. 

When Thana gazed upon Ezgi with the eyes of her true form, Ezgi stared back with blank, tired eyes. Something was weighing heavy on her mind, and it was making her so very tired. Not the kind that came from physical exhaustion; it was the exhaustion of the mind, the windows into the soul revealed an unending battle of attrition between a depression so severe, that it threatened her life over and over, and the dimming light that was fighting that uphill battle. She didn't say anything to Thana initially, as if she couldn't think of anything kind, gentle, or anything.

The woman had laid beside her in the grass, messing with the blades between her fingers while Ezgi clawed nervously at her own. She stopped before her raw skin started to bleed, turning dark as if bruised. She places her hands atop one another politely as she tries to reel herself back in, but the sounds keep weighing on her. She couldn't maintain her composure when every sound Thana made would remind her of memories she tried so hard to keep under wraps. The gurgling, the sound of blood splashing, and congealed viscera smacking the floor with a disgusting slap. The scent. The backdrop was already appearing in her mind: the visions of needless bloodshed and brutal death, of torture no human mind should ever have to endure. The visions of what her Mother allowed her to do.

The *Visions of what her Mother allowed to happen.*

‎ 
~~Do you know some creatures show love by executing their partners after they've made a family?~~

~~Do~~ *You* **Know** ~~some~~ **Creatures** ~~show~~ *Love* ~~by~~ ***__executing their__*** ~~partners after they've made a~~ ***__family__***?

Ezgi looks dead into Thana's eyes, that dim light fading away and leaving an empty darkness that matches the dreadful, lonely black of the Void. Her despondent, pathetic excuse for a gaze breaks down, glazing over but the dam doesn't break just yet. The feeling of her heart beating so loud in her chest, fluttering alongside the anxiety in her stomach, the sensation of nausea she felt and the dizziness and haze of it all, it was too much.

"I-I.. *Hic*.. M-My *M-mother*.."

Ezgi's hands stuck together like glue; quite literally. The skin of her hands had frozen together from the moisture of sweat between the surfaces and her curse of an ability had frozen them together. Amid her breakdown, she tore her hands apart to hold herself, ripping the skin away and bleeding her dark liquid essence down her arms.

The dam had finally broken, and Ezgi sobbed, quietly at first, but grew louder with every attempt at a comforting rocking motion as she dripped her curse onto the ground. The air became frigid, and the plants would wither as they froze on contact with the black splotches she left on in the wake of panic.

*Just what has this girl seen, to be so broken?*
Ali
*Thana pays no heed at first glance. She doesn't even seem to notice. Desensitised to the fountains of gore and unpleasant performances that follow her every heavy step. Watching Ezgi begin to shake and the light fade from her eyes was the signal something was wrong... Very, very wrong. She stands up and tilts her head, her own glowing eyes staring into the abyssal pupils of the poor soul before them. She sighs, knowing that this might be the last point before it all goes wrong. Thanas own eyes dim, her form splits and tears. The split in the girl's torso reveals an enormous gaping mouth, cleaving her in two, pulsating and writhing, nothing more than an exposed jaw. Dripping flesh and gnashing teeth spark as it pulls itself from her body as a separate entity, expanding to such a large point it could devour her whole. The jaw looms over Ezgi.*

*She thinks... Kindness wasn't working, she wasn't made for it. There was nothing she could do without disturbing this poor girl, but... Perhaps... No- she shakes off her own disgusting thoughts, looking towards her own machinations. The jaw fully ready to clamp down on this demigod and put it out of its misery. Spitting blood onto the floor once more, her skin pales further... Thana reaches a hand into the open mouth and keeps the upper jaw held high. No longer just fighting Ezgis battle, but her own desire to devour this sorry excuse of divinity. The jaw had a unique serpentine shape, long drooping fangs and a forked tongue that writhes with animosity.*

`"Shit... Shit- God damn it Thana... Get your fucking head under control."` *She mutters to herself, watching the demigod continue to sob... She knew touching her might set something else off entirely, but what option did she have left? There is a frown as she reaches her free hand towards Ezgi, a spark of her own divinity radiating. Glowing crimson eyes appear from the darkness in the black splotches. Thana was attempting to override everything, manually hijacking Ezgis' mind if she had to. But she had to be let in...*

`"Ignore your mother... It's just me and you... You need to let me in- I can make it stop..."` *Then... A deafening silence, every noise is mute. No more splashes, no more gargling. Not even the surrounding ambience, just the complete tranquillity of nothingness. Perhaps a sensation that might have been more like her home. It was the demigods' choice to accept this silence, to cleanse her mind of everything for a moment. Thana was putting her full energy into this, clashing with her own alter ego just to stop an impending death. Her hand begins to slip under the strength of the jaw, lowering slightly towards the two.*

`"Come on... Come on... You said you'd help everyone, help yourself and help me..."` *The god's voice trembles, fear greater than what should be expected from a divine in this scenario. There was care behind her words, something that separated them from many other egotistical divine.*
Michael
Ezgi's panic attack left her virtually paralyzed to the floor as she was unable to understand anything in her surrounding wake. The black mist that escaped her hands seeped out into every part of the open air, creating a haze of darkness that would quickly surround the pair, even as the Goddess of Bloodlust revealed her undesirable colors. Her accursed blood froze a path from her sleeves down to the floor, dripping into distinct puddles on the ground that drained the color of everything except black, stealing life from everything by causing it to freeze. The only thing she could hear as she rocked back and forth was a loud, piercing ringing only interrupted by the deafening cacophony of her heart thrumming for its life in her ears, Her vision was blurry, distorted, and cold, as if she was being frozen from the inside and slowly losing her life as well.

Visions plagued her every waking moment, distorting her reality with confusing flashbacks to memories that were not from her current lifetime. Thana would attempt to hijack Ezgi's mind to prevent her from continuing to feel such pain, to sedate her and cease her haywire emotions, but would find that it would come short. Instead, a divine influence of its own would seep out from the haze that surrounded them and quickly overtook the radiating divinity.

Thana would be overtaken by a severe cold and simultaneously felt like she was no longer on the ground. The air now surrounded them in a bubble, encapsulating the two as all the light, the scent of blood, the air, it would fade. All that would be left was a grey-scaled frozen **Void.** A voice of the divine would boom within both of the beings' ears.

"**One day, the void will take all. Such is the nature of entropy, and the mission of the deep.**"

Thana's divine power would dwindle quickly within this bubble, any form of divine influence that she had would freeze, stopping in its tracks. Any other "Outside" Influences would cease to be as well, for as long as they remained inside the pocket of the void that Ezgi's bleeding hands continued to feed. Not all was well, however, as the cold was dangerous and threatened to kill the demi-god and possibly even Thana if they had no resistance to the lethal cold of the darkness.

Ezgi continued to rock herself quietly, the sound would be greatly muffled but she spoke loudly enough to make out her ramblings. 

"M-Mother, I-I'm sorry- I-I'm s-so sorry, I-I'll be b-better, please d-don't throw me a-away, I- I can s-still be useful, I-I'm not u-useless, p-please.. Please... *P-please..* I-I c-can... *-hic-*"
Ali
*Memories... Lost... Trust betrayed, visions sundered... Thana saw it all in the moment of weakness. A fragile demigod, puppeteer'd by something more. As the increase in power began to emanate from Ezgis body and another voice took hold, the bloodlust goddess knew what she was getting into. An attempt at meeting the creature behind these games. Surrounded and plunged into darkness, the icy cold that crept over her. A familiar feeling, as she sank that day... Then re-emerged in the cold blood of that damn serpent. Though this was far worse, freezing over. She could feel her fingers grow number by the second, sighing she calls out to Ezgi... An apology for the events that would follow.*

`" I'm sorry... I should've just stayed silent. "` *A defeated murmur. She closes her eyes and finally embraces the thing that had been holding her for so long, if this god spoke so keenly of their conquering. Thana would have to propose a challenge to keep that at bay, an ultimatum. What better creature to fight the void than the one that eclipsed it? The originator of all this, the monstrous creature responsible for those divine screams... The world quaked on that day, but now... The only thing that came crashing down was herself.*

*An insatiable hunger only equalised the nullification of her divine power infesting her pale body. She hisses, grabbing at her own head and sinking her nails deep into the fragile flesh, straight into the skull. Piercing it like putting a finger in a pie. Blood flows like a waterfall, soaking her own form in a majestic blessing of crimson. Bones pop from their sockets, splitting the skin and pushing outwards as she fully submits to that god forsaken curse. Seconds pass and the creature is already there. Ruining the calm appearance and transforming any peace that remained into nothing more than horror. Luckily for Ezgi, this beast did not have its fiery eyes on her... Rather, it was firmly entranced by the booming voice.* 

`"No."` *Thanas own growling voice responds, the words gargle on the delight of her own misery. She chokes on the ecstasty of agony. Rearing up the gigantic wolf's skull that adorns her towering figure, it snarls and opens. Revealing rows upon rows of sharpened teeth, honed like blades. A toothy grin follows a guttural howl that pierces the surrounding void. Chattering and whispers fill the air. Threats and demands for blood stir the bleakness, creating sound and activity to disrupt the very concept of nothing.*

`" The void will take nothing. You... Will see nothing. Your mission is destined to fail. Fate has foretold it... I await you, Deity... A million arms crave to embrace you, while a thousand teeth long for your flesh. A hundred eyes covet your pain and my pleasure. My jaw remains open. Not for the morsel beside me... She has earned her peace, but for you... False darkness. When I am free, when you are running. I will chase. Your footsteps will be mute. You have broken limbs, and your ego is shattered. That is the truth of the void, uphold your actual mission deity... Allow me to feast, allow your memories to become naught, to truly become nothing... We will forget you, the world will not cry... It will not even notice. The silence will be your ultimate joy and your ruination. But that is okay... "`

*A pause... The tension rises, the boiling blood of an unchained divine surges through the darkness. The chattering voices shift, reassuring... Hopeful, they talk to Ezgi.*

`" It is okay... You are safe... For I will guard you with every drop of blood at my disposal..."`

*Then, the voice turns its attention back to the deity.*

`"It is okay to be forgotten... For that is the mission of the deep, is it not? Remember this. Remember my name, remember who will fall at my feet and be buried in a beautiful feast... Remember..."`

 ~~Edon~~ Thana "

*Then... Silence once more, as if it never happened. Thana stands idle... Unphased, unconcerned. Just... Blankly...*
Michael
Memories flashed frequently between rapid spikes of panic and anxiety-fueled black-outs, visions of happier times, with her family. The kind, gentle mother she once knew and looked up to, her sister who had not shared the same blood as she, yet treated her like the family she hadn't ever experienced before, deserved wholeheartedly. It was because of her loving mother that she took to bear the vile cross that marked her as the Kin of the Void, it was because of the debt of love that she could never hope to pay back, that she chose to bear this monstrous husk of a mother's treatment, hoping that she would be able to return to an era that had them both happily sitting upon their space-station, drinking their exotic drinks and sharing the days they had. The adventures they had. The love they shared, when there was no blood relation between the two.

So why? Why did she allow herself to succumb so easily to the frightful anxiety attacks that plagued her when she tried to ration out her thinking? Why did she let herself slip in the face of someone who needed help, who was so much like her that she could almost see her very own visage in her face? Pulling herself out of her stupor and shaking like a leaf on the wind, she focused on the good that could come from Thana, from the Void, from the World that she knew now.

She'd done this a thousand times, and she would do it a thousand more. For the family she will always have, and for the family that could be. 

*For Thana, who very well may have been her sister, if the circumstances were just a little different.*

‎ 
And yet, for as long as the circumstances were not set in stone, she could always be the feather on the scale that breaks the balance. *She breathes, counting the grass.* Ezgi could fight, for as long as she had her limbs, for as long as she could move her body, she could rage against the dark of the night. *She holds up her bleeding hands, smearing her blackened blood against her white cheeks as she wipes away the frozen tears.* She would not ever stand to watch and see as they succumb to curses that were beyond them ever again. If she had to die to free her mother, her sister, herself, and Thana, from their shackles, then what was one life pitted against all of theirs? *She stands, no longer shaking.*

"Thana.. Pl-Please, don't.. I-I chose this, I-I can't let—" She is cut off by the booming of another voice, one that didn't feel like the one she knew.

She feels like she's pushed back by the sudden change of Thana's appearance yet again, watching the gore unfold and that dreadful wolf skull resurface itself. She hates the way that she can feel the struggle between Thana and whatever force is inside of her. Ezgi gazed into the void bleeding out of her hands, unsure of what she could do. So she did what she could do. She tried to call to her loved one, in hopes that they would see the light where the void had shunned it.

*An eye for an eye, and they will all go blind.*

"Th-Thana, stop... Please... M-My mother.. She isn't herself, she isn't this monster... Look at me, please- This isn't you, either! You're kind, you're a wonderful God with a passion that can't be rivaled, if you are a Goddess of Bloodlust, let it be a bloodlust for justice, for our righteous and level-headed goals... For the happiness that we deserve, and not the vengeance that poisons our bloodlines..."

‎ 
She grows weak and cold, as her human body begins to fail her amid this brutal chill. There was no response from her Mother, who seemed to have left a long time ago, disinterested in the platitudes of a God who had fallen and was forgotten by those who still lived.

"When you gazed into the Void and saw nothing, what did you do, Thana? Will you give in to the cold, the despair, and the bleakness?"

"O-Or w-will you b-bear the c-cold, the l-lonely curse, t-the darkness, and c-continue to try a-and find the l-light?"

Ezgi feels her body failing her, she knows she will die if she remains in this cold, but her legs are already giving way. She finds herself on the floor, bleeding from her palms excessively as she crawls toward Thana, attempting to dissuade her from the violence and hatred, from the anger of their unjust and unfair circumstances. For the first time in a long time, she feels like she is attempting to save someone from themselves rather than it being the other way around. There was no 'my' curse, it was now 'our' curse. The curse of the blood, the hatred, the sadness, the 'what ifs' and 'if only's'.. 

She called out to her one last time before even her throat would lose its fight against the cold.

"W-We can choose t-to be better... W-We are n-not what t-they make us... W-we can choose to t-turn the other cheek.. And d-do better... F-for... Th-those we... Love..."
Ali
*In complete sensory deprivation, could the prospect of purity snap her from the hungry trance... Her body convulses and writhes back into its terrifying form again, lost in instability and overwhelmed by the sensation of malice.*

*Teeth gnashing, hunger pangs. A constant hunger, a parasitic leech, controls her body like a puppet on bloody strings. The glow of where her eyes once were continued to dim expressionlessly, making it hard to tell which side was losing. The surrounding sight was just as beautiful as it was unsettling, both sides of the conflict wish for inverted outcomes. Thana can only try to focus, feeling the cold envelop them further... A whisper from the grave, she feels the pull of Ezgis' words. The heart-wrenching pleas for something more than bloodshed. Resolution. That was what this was all about, to resolve... Ezgi was kind, potentially too kind... Throwing herself in harm's way for the sake of purity. The snake and wolf silently judge, their ragged breaths causing every bone to twitch and spasm with the passage of time.*

*The wolf sees hope, a poor soul that needed nothing more than a company in this misery... Blood could be spilt later. She needed to get it back inside this demigod, and fast. A cruel transfusion. Is it cruel to give part of herself, a beating heart, to the void's child? Would it anger the mother to see her daughter no longer pure and riddled with plain entropy?*

*The snake sees desolation, a ruined individual that could be desecrated to an unholy pulp of what it once was. The joyous thought of sinking its venomous fangs into this already wounded piece of essence, would she scream? Beg? Or simply accept this tainted gift. He could not decide. He did not want to. Such was the joy of an endless mentality, looped in rumours and weaving between the fabric of possibility and madness.*

*The choice was befitting for the divine, the two clash... An immortal rivalry, but that was just it... They weren't immortal. Thana was weaker than the rest. Splintered from the labour of their collective mother. If she perished, they could both rest... The scythe re-emerges, dangling just atop the branch above Thanas' monstrous visage, ready to drop like a guillotine at a moments notice. It twinges with expectation, almost sentient. Then drops...*

*The cold is pushed out, a warm sensation... Ezgi may feel as though they were wrapped in the embrace of a boiling liquid, even if none was present. Thana had presented an ultimatum to her inner conflict. Now it was time to see if he would back down... The scythe continues falling, ready to strike down Thana and the curse in the process... Closer, closer...*

*Gone... In not even the blink of an eye, a pale hand reaches to cup the scythes hilt as though it had drifted peacefully down. She looks down at the wounded demigod... Pushing out the cold as best she could for the pair. Looking at the drained Tiara that rested upon Ezgis' head.*

`" I-It looks nice on you... "` *She responds, almost completely randomly. Words flow stiffly, every syllable a struggling tremble... She comes to terms with what had happened so quickly. She had beaten it back. Just this once... Perhaps the company of a kind soul, had Ezgi just bought herself... No- The world? Some more time... Before it returns, before change runs amok and the cycle starts a new...*

`" Y-you helped me... Why exactly? Why can you help a divine, but a divine can't help you? Did I fail as a deity? No- N-no, I can make this right... I can do it, the tiara didn't work, but this will... T-this... It has to. "`

*She turns away this side, acknowledging Ezgis unease for gore for the first time. Reaching into her very own flesh and pulling out a beating heart... Quickly masking using her influence to appear as... A harp? An instrument of her time... Heart strings and harp strings were the same, they were both pulled and could both be torn...*

`"C-can I try again? Please..."` *Sorrowful words, her broken eyes weep...*
Michael
Ezgi's cold and freezing body feels as though it is forced to fly through pots of boiling water, the heat searing for a moment before the cold in her veins cooled it down and repeated the process. The girl held herself in agony as it slowly equalized into a tender, safe warmth and she could bear to open her eyes again. She felt like this same feeling had properly summarized their whole experience; trading the temporarily uncomfortable for the long-winded comfort, slowly becoming more comfortable with that which haunted and scared her.

She opened her eyes to see Thana, with a guillotine of a scythe falling upon her head. She wanted to cry out, to try and do something to stop it, but before she could even think to reach her hand out, the blade had vanished from her sight, suddenly held by Thana's hands. Still, on the ground, she had been damaged by the cold and left unable to do more than watch the Goddess slowly weave shaken words together, her first sentence bringing a wave of warmth and relief beyond that of the heat that radiated from Thana, causing her shaking arms to give and drop her, sending her falling back into the dirt. 

She manages to pull herself up despite a great struggle, resting on her knees and allowing her bleeding hands to rest limply at her sides. Ezgi pants as if exhausted, watching the Goddess' eyes wearily. She wants to speak, to say thank you, but finds a lump in her throat that she can't swallow. Her eyes sink to the ground and only prick up slightly when she speaks again. Her eyes shoot up when she hears the shaking of her voice, asking if she did her divine duty. The lump is replaced by a warmth that burrows down into her stomach, allowing her tongue to work once more.

‎ 
"N-No.. No- Th-Thana.. You d-didn't fail anything..! D-don't say that.. T-The Tiara d-didn't fail, I-It helped me... I-it helped me t-truly know w-what kind of p-person you are, Thana. It helped m-me help you. You h-helped me, t-to help you..." She comforts the Goddess.

The girl watches as she turns away and although she can't hear it, she can hear the sounds of the viscera and blood spill. She swallows a shaky and heavy urge to reel back, slowly coming to terms that it was the nature of the Goddess, and it would not bring back the horrid memories of the past. She was safe, and Thana would surely spill her blood for a good cause, she trusted her in that respect. She'd turn back to Ezgi and reveal the heart harp, prompting the girl to lazily tilt her head, swaying back and forth like a flag in the wind. She was tired but remained at attention.

"Y-You don't have to ask me f-for anything T-Thana. I-I'll... I-I'll happily accept a-any gift you g-give me. I-If I could, I'd r-return them j-just same, b-but..." The girl's tone was solemn but earnest. She shakes her head and looks at her bloodied hands once more. She wipes them off, although she kept bleeding. It seemed she couldn't heal herself.
Ali
*The cold and warm clash. Thana wipes sweat from herself, not necessarily exhausted; rather, processing the fear of death. The idea that she had nearly taken her own life on a split second decision... Her hands quickly bury themselves in pockets as she continues to recover from the endeavour, listening patiently to Ezgis words. Amidst the chaos, they have found a brief respite in each other's presence. If the deity had the words, she would've thanked a thousand times. Yet no verbal compliment could match the guilt she felt dumping such a tide of emotion upon this demigod.*

*Her eyes skim over the still bleeding hands and the lack of regeneration Thana could offer to recover the wounds, but knew the process wouldn't be pleasant. Ezgi hated the violent nature of how the goddess acted and using such crude and vile manifestations to heal them may only lead to insecurities or impurity about their nature. So she can only watch the grievous injury in silent contemplation, knowing her own doing was part of the reason for all of this devastation. She places her stained fingers upon the strings of the harp and plays a simple melody, a small chiming encore... Ambience seemed to seep back in, natural noises returning as the blowing of leaves from the tree and the delicate breeze of the wind envelop the two. One of the rare times she had expressed her secondary domain of memories, this was a song from her past life. A tune she used to hum to along the waterside...*

`" What kind of person am I? Reckless? Dangerous? I do something nice, then offset it with horrors beyond mortal comprehension. I'm in despair. Every time I try to do something good, this is what happens. "` *Her response is still shaken, stuck in a perpetual loop of self reflection, enslaved to the memories of a better time. Searching her memories, for just once instance without bloodshed... But there wasn't the tune by the river.. She hummed to forget the gargled squeals of the person she drowned. Those happy times of singing to dying patients, they were wounded by her hand...*

`" You... You're fighting to help people with something you can't help yourself fix. I-is that it... Why can't I fix you Ezgi... Why? Why- Why WHY."` *Her voice rises for a moment, then simmers with a deep exhale, controlling her temper.*
Michael
Ezgi felt a strange mixture of unease and dizzyingly powerful relief wash over her, causing ensuing nausea to nearly send her back onto the ground to puke out whatever she'd eaten before this encounter. While holding back her gag, she managed to hear something that she'd not realized was blasting in her body this whole time; her heart was thrumming so loudly, so hard, that she could feel the beat inside of her hands. She was alive. Thana was alive, and they were both living lives that could continue to change, so long as their hearts continued to beat.

Her hands ached, her head hurt, her wounds burned and her skin felt like ice, but she still breathed. She was going to live. She was going to *Live*. Something about this interaction had helped Ezgi open her eyes to something she'd closed them on before; to help others, one must help themselves first. Rescue workers made peace with the fact that they could die at any moment should they slip up, why has Ezgi grown the fear of death once more? Why was she afraid of the things that *Could've* Killed her, when she has died to worse things? She was given the luxury of dying a worthy death, and to return anew, to throw herself in the service of others to help them heal. She could heal Thana, she could heal her Mother. She could forgive herself for the failures and misgivings that caused so much grief and suffering. Maybe she could help the others do the same. 
‎

She sways a little too hard and falls back, landing on her back before she quickly readjusts it to a cross-legged seat. She felt woozy, probably from the blood loss. Despite the loopiness, she hears the girl's song just fine and digests it slowly, able to notice the way she seems to spite herself as the tune gently plays. She combats it by slowly singing a lyric from a song she remembered in a past life. 

"I-I know it's hard t-to see me like this b-but... I'm glad y-you're here..."

She pauses and looks at her hands one last time, before moving closer to the girl, slowly scooting herself forward along the grass in a silly motion.

"H-Hopefully I'll wake u-up tomorrow a-and I'll be th-thinking clear." 

She smiles, despite being covered in blood. She thinks about how this reminded her of an early childhood memory, of her and her sister... The way they laughed with each other despite having nosebleeds and scrapes, cuts and bruises.

"Y-You shouldn't focus on f-fixing anything r-right now, methinks. I think y-you should take s-some time to just... Be more comfortable. More cozy with t-the tender side of yourself, the s-side that finds j-joy in the little things. T-The little scrapes and b-bruises of climbing rocks, the nosebleed f-from the drying of y-your nose.. If b-blood is shed, let it be f-for fun." She smiles warmly, her own nose starting to bleed a little.
Ali
*Thana takes a brief reprieve to just breathe, feeling the cool air wash over her. The stillness of tranquillity found in a moment of self care deeply contrasts the maniacal frenzy only moments ago. The blood throbs from her eyes as they softly twitch in confusion, unlike the chilling cold void Ezgi felt encapsulated within. Thana only felt the blistering heat of a thinking mind. The clarity of just being allowed a moment, where her thoughts finally belonged to themselves. She didn't need it right now... The chains of carved weapons they no longer held her down. Respite developed a momentary pause, a fresh perspective opening behind those sunken weeping eyes.*

*Lyrics... Lyrics she didn't know the source of, but ones she felt on a close level. Solace in a world of moral eigengrau. Thana was glad both of them were still alive... Not necessarily thriving, but still pushing forward, the subtle movement of grass underneath the pair only served to bring them closer. Ezgis' little scooting was met with a warm smile. She was... Clean. Thanas skin finally not drenched in viscera, wounds closed... A look of purity and a glance filled with nothing but appreciation for this moment.*

`" If I could still fall over in a park somewhere and grit my teeth in pain... I'd fall over a hundred times just to experience it again. I've forgotten what the pain feels like. There is so much suffering but I'm accustomed to it. Does that make me traumatised or brave? "`

*She scoots closer herself, laying a hand on her own lap, as if she were offering a prayer to something. Perhaps old habits never truly die. What good was a deity praying for forgiveness when she was one? Sometimes, her mind slipped. A lapse of judgement that often was when she felt happiest, the remnants of her stress were evaporated in these times. She felt best when pretending she was just a normal girl, living a life she wanted to live... Exploring the world, travelling like she never could back then...*
Michael
Ezgi watched the Goddess closely, unsure whether to engage her in more attempted comforting or simply allow her to digest and comprehend the all-encapsulating mess of emotions that the girl was more than likely experiencing on a cosmic level. Ezgi frankly did not envy the duties of the Gods, but she still found herself empathizing with them, even the cruelest of them all. Many were born from the tree without their say-so, forced to take a role by the dreadfully unknown will of the large tree within the center of the universe, to puppeteer a role or become the puppet themselves... A role that she understood too well. 

In the life before her last, she had done many cruel things, many horrid things, many sins committed, and later on, many crimes she had been adjudicated for. She was to absolve for her sins by giving her life away. It was when she was reborn, that the crimes would catch up to her. It was not her choice to burden such sins, but the slate was never washed away. She looked at Thana with a silent, contemplative gaze, hoping that one day, Thana would see the path that is set for you would not always be the one you take in the end. The nature of Entropy enjoys throwing variables around and watching them interact, after all...

She snorts, realizing she is more akin to her mother than she realized.

Their moment of respite had allowed Ezgi to make so many new revelations, that she didn't quite know what to do from here. The only place from rock bottom was to climb upwards, however. Thana asked her a question. She had to respond.

‎ 
"Wh-Who suffers, Thana? W-When a man g-goes to war for h-his family, for his c-country, and returns b-broken and irreparable, f-forced to see his f-fellow man die i-in his arms, made t-to carry their m-memories in their heads r-rather than sh-sharing a drink a-after a game.. I w-would say he i-is traumatized, never t-to return to the field a-again.."

She changes her posture slightly. She stops slouching and her expression changes from soft and pained to solemn and focused.

"But a man with a-a heart, w-who suffers the pains o-of w-war and death, t-to see his family again, to t-take all the suffering h-he can hold for t-the sake of others, s-so others may never have t-to witness what he has t-to see... H-He is brave. Th-the bravest of them all."

Her expression softens again.

"I t-think it's all a matter o-of perspective. But the t-two are not m-mutually exclusive. I think y-you're the bravest o-of them all, Thana."

Ezgi watches Thana quietly, unaware of what her motions mean, although respectful of them nonetheless. It allotted the injured woman some time to dress and bandage her wounds, applying salve and fighting subtle tears that surfaced and glazed her eyes. It was a good reminder that she was still alive and that there was always more to do.
Ali
*Shuffling slightly on the spot, the girl finishes her prayers and remains on her knees... Staring upwards at the sky and the inter-tangling mess of the tree so close to them, to think she could scale it whenever she pleased... As a young girl, she'd always wanted to touch a cloud, but this... This was another experience entirely. Listening closely to the words, she soaks in the implications and is reminded of the horrors of war, to see so many charge away only for so few to come back... To see a pure heart stained with the blood of another, steel on steel.*

*She had tainted her steel oh so long ago... And those stains would never be wiped clean, no matter how hard she tried to forget. But there was time for adaptation and a time for change. Something she was so averse to, even when it pulled the strings behind every action. She ran from the curse in her heart even if it was fated to claw back into reality. These thoughts are rationalised and pushed aside from a blank body, the only expression changing was the heaviest of sighs upon being called brave. She didn't truly believe it. Words of good intention fell short to a being part of a grand design for murder.*

`" Thank you... Ezgi, truly. I mean that from me, not this divine representation, but the small part of my soul still unable to rest deep down. If we are talking about the bravest however, I would give that credit to you... Trying to save a being that could crush you with a flick of the wrist, I could've broken you in an instant... But you didn't relent, I don't see stupidity. I see heroism and you may just be the greatest hero of them all. "`

*She reaches over to try to give a gentle pat on the shoulder if allowed... Hoping to rest her fingers in between the cuts and bruises and offer some much needed comfort in a dark experience.*

`" I hope if you ever feel unrest or anyone tries to hurt you, that you think of me and I will be there to protect you. You've saved me. It's only right to do the same back."`
Michael
Ezgi knew her words couldn't quite resonate with the girl, her heavy sigh had only sealed the last nail on the coffin for her negative thinking, knowing fully that it was foolish to attempt to reconcile the bond between the despot that parasitically dug into her being, and the gentle and kind soul that housed that monstrous abomination. Her nose twitched, and her bloodied, bandaged hands clasped together, returning to their nervous fidgeting. It seems her bravery had finally come to an end, and the returning of old habits had resurfaced from the surge of emotions that had managed to waterlog them for the preciously short time being.

It was still uneasy to remember just how easily she could be murdered and returned to her home realm, where she could be forced to relive every terrible experience of being reborn. It was a terrible state of affairs that her cruel deity of a mother did not decide to spare even the mercy of a painless rebirth. She felt like she had no choices in life anymore. Even the gift of death was robbed from her. The gift of life had been taken a long, long time ago when she had been just a child, sentenced and condemned to die in a trench.

It was a God that had decided to look down upon her and grant her mercy then, it was the same now. That god placed her hand on her shoulder, forcing a flinch. She tried to hold herself steady, but her instincts tore her arm away from Thana too quickly to allow her reason to kick in. She sighed, gritting her teeth.

‎ 
"Y-Yes, well.. Maybe s-stupidity and h-heroism have m-more in common than I thought. I m-may just be the b-biggest fool and f-fraud of them all." She whispers to herself.

But her jaw relaxed, and her eyes had finally relaxed, allowing those glazed orbs to break their tension and allow tears to fall. She glanced back at Thana with a broken, quivering, but soft smile. Her hands reached out towards the Goddess, pulling her gently by the digits back to her arm, where she placed them over her wounds. 

"I-I'm no Hero, Thana. I n-never will be, but I made peace with that. I w-will do wh-what b-brings out t-the best of myself, and t-that will always be b-bringing out t-the best in o-others. I-I'm eternally b-bound to suffer, b-but that's w-what makes me w-who I am, right? T-that's what I think, anyway. N-No point in a-arguing with a fool."

The girl leans her head into Thana's hand on her shoulder, the ice-cold sensation matching her snow-white skin tone. The girl looks up toward the Goddess and glances at her wounds, softly chuckling incredulously. 

"Err.. If it's not too much trouble, c-could you possibly help me c-close my wounds, Th-Thana?" 

Ezgi knew what she was asking for. Thana would likely see that despite the lightheartedness, they were not light words.
Ali
*Tensions had finally settled, the pair could get some much deserved peace. Thana would wait patiently and keep a blissful watch over the demigod, treating them as a friend but also somebody in need. Seeing how they twitch and fidgeted, as well as the way her eyes showed, they were lost, deep in thought. There is a moment of awkwardness as Ezgi first pulls away. The goddess does not look offended or hurt. She understands it's an involuntary reaction and something she knew all too well with the curse mangling her train of thought. Keeping slow and delayed in movements to try to ensure a level of trust remained between the pair.*

*To say the pair were damaged was an understatement. One was subject to cruel rebirths and a seemingly eternal torment, whilst the other ran from an inner demon that sapped her soul with each waking moment, just how long would it be before Thana was no more and the husk of her body laid way for yet another god to be born... Or reborn. She still did not understand why this entity had so much more knowledge than her or why it knew faces... It didn't recognise Ezgi at least, so that was something. No doubt it would ask to kill them too.*

*As her arm is gently pulled back to rest on, Thana feels the stinging cold of Ezgis draining ability. Her own divinity saps away slowly. She cannot feel the warm influence she usually had. Tending to wounds would be harder than the first thought, but she wouldn't let that show. Instead she gently nods, conjuring a kit of medical supplies and stitches, or sutures as she would have known them. Small bits of thread and a small sewing needle adorned in her crimson style. An ornate piece she would carefully guide.*

`" Of course I will, try not to move too much, alright? "` *A reassuring smile, Thana downplays the demigods divine ability and tries to pretend it was never there, starting with a gentle dab of a small cloth to try to wipe any open cuts and sanitise a bruise. She had no idea if this would sting.*

*After the wounds had been initially cleaned, it was time for her to begin using the small needle and thread, there was a great effort of delicacy that made this experience oddly human, she could've probably taken an easy way out by forcefully injecting her hyperactive blood into Ezgi to accelerate regeneration but was in no rush to gross out the poor girl any further with the displays of gore. Each wound was a slow process as she softly weave the thread and loops it. Ready to tie together the wounds. Thana can't help but give a small smile at the exchange. She felt like a normal girl again. That was what she had wanted most, over all of her lives. This one included. An opportunity she never really got to do, and when she did... It never mattered, it was only to spur on her prey to run back into the wider world so she could catch them again, playing with her food.*

*As they are sutured together. There is a deep sigh of relief from the goddess. Admiration for her own handiwork? She was amazed she remembered how to do this, and how to do it well. This was an obvious moment of weakness for both of them, Thana showing her humanity and Ezgi showing trust. Could she trust Thana? Was it really all that it seemed?*

`" There we are, sorry if I hurt you at all... "` *She keeps her hand close despite the numbing sensation. At the minute, she didn't care about letting her guard down, finally happy to sit with somebody and potentially be normal for just a brief period. A long pause provides the girl with time to think over mistakes and also to respond to the other points finally. She had been postponing them in order to carefully choose the right thing.*

`" You're my hero right now, Ezgi. I'll never forget that-"` *She cuts herself off before too much appreciation pours forth and the waterworks begin, a close call... The moment needed to remain tranquil, any emotional outbursts could spell doom if not correctly mitigated.*
Michael
Ezgi couldn't say she felt a bit uneasy at the thought of holding Thana's hand with her accursed ones, knowing that the seeping influence of Any's Void would writhe its way into her life, meddling like it always did. She didn't spite her curse, however, and only learned to live with it as one would live with a disability, not that it was truly that different in retrospect. Her hands quaked and shook, tremoring constantly as she suffered from a certain disease, known only to a scarce few knowledgeable of their past lives. Despite the moving, she did her best to attempt to ease her constant shaking, focusing on entering a trance-like state, or trying to move other parts aside from the ones that were being cleaned and cared for.

It led to marginal results, but she did steady herself just enough for Thana to be able to dab her with the cloth and clean her bleeding and bloodied wounds. Her hands burned, but every other wound was too obscured by the sensation of the cold to notice fully. It only felt like a slightly uncomfortable sting, such as a bug's claws nipping her to cling to the skin. She wondered if the influence of the Void would allow for the thing in Thana's soul to be frozen, or held in stasis for a little while longer. Ezgi looked down in contemplation, a genuine moment of deep thought to consider asking her newly found friend if she would want to try a potential poison for a terminal disease she knew nothing about.

No, it was selfish. And yet... No. If she was a hero, she wouldn't put someone through that kind of uncertainty. 

Nobody can win against a fool who can trick themselves into believing they are in the right. She glanced toward Thana's direction and saw the medical kit, her eyebrows raising in surprise but a relieved sort of surprise. She didn't think that many Gods knew about modern-ish technologies, suture kits included. 

Her hands and body tried to remain steady enough to suture safely, but at certain points she would shiver uncontrollably, making the process unbearably slow. In lieu of that revelation, she cleared her throat, opting to focus on something to ease her shaking. She wanted to say something in response to Thana's words, but she couldn't quite think of anything.

"Y-Y'know, it's funny.. I-I've lived f-for so long, y-yet I feel s-so young again. I-I'm surprised this world has suture k-kits. B-Back when I was f-first born, I m-mean WAYYY b-back, I was so d-dreadfully terrified o-of them. I-In the age I lived i-in, we didn't have t-them. I-It's poetic, kind of.. T-the best of our m-medicine was t-to cut off th-the injured l-limb and p-pinch it off w-with rope, hoping w-we would live t-to see the end of the w-week. N-Now, the n-needle is the s-scariest part."

She stopped shaking as much, thankfully.

"And i-in the f-future, this was j-just t-the basics. It a-awes me every t-time, seeing the progress t-that mankind makes, n-no matter the world i-it's in. It g-gives me hope t-that one day, I m-might be able t-to j-just.. G-go. I d-don't know where, but just.. G-go."

‎ 
She looks at her first sutured wound, nodding her head approvingly at Thana's handiwork. It was excellent, and that was coming from a woman with experience with the stuff. She would've assisted if she hadn't started yapping on about her lifetime of uninteresting tidbits of knowledge.

"I-In the future, they h-had this disease, a l-lot o-of physical s-symptoms like mine; the sh-shaking, loss of sl-sleep, t-the issues with d-doing normal d-day to d-day things. T-They tried curing m-my condition l-like how th-they did with that one, g-giving me tools and e-electrot-th-therapy. Lot's o-of medication, i-if you know w-what that is. They ca-called it Parkinson's D-Disease. Hah.. T-they didn't find a cure. S-So they called it "E-Ezgi's Syndrome." D-Disease would've i-implied that t-they knew how to t-treat it. I-I'm still kind of g-glad I'm remembered t-that way, though. It's a f-fun little tidbit I have i-in my back pocket."

Despite how morbid the fun fact sounded, her tone and expression indicated that she wasn't sharing the sentiment. She smiled at Thana like she was telling her a fond childhood tale, one which had spanned an anomalous amount of time for a Demi-God to have lived.

"T-Thank you, Th-Thana. Truly. I feel... Less b-burdened, by this. B-By being with you."

She looked like she wanted to say something but she was holding back her tongue.
Ali
*Thanas expression perks up at the change in Ezgis' body language. The shaking simmering and more open conversation seems to bring a smile that washes away the icy frigid grip of the void from herself. The conversation takes a darker tone despite the way the information is presented, even somebody as gruesome as Thana pauses and arches a brow at the explanation, she could not tell if this was a serious retelling or just a way to numb the pain she may have experienced from such an event, it seemed they both had suffered for so long without salvation in sight.*

`" The future, hey? I've never stopped to think about the world ahead of us. I'm always feeling lost in the present, struggling to embrace each passing day. Yet now I'm like this... Divine. A day feels like a second and a year passes in a blink. But... It sounds like it didn't do much better for you, though. Doubt it'd do anything to change me. Apparently I asked all the other deities to help me make some sort of artefact, but I don't even remember doing it... It's like I'm losing myself to the longer everything goes on. "`

*The cold and shaken deity stays close by... Not wanting to move far even if it stings, the comfort of what felt like a human interaction kept her bound to this moment, if she had the power to alter time she would most likely prolong it. Just to remember the old times, they were both reminiscing about the pasts and the futures, but... Neither of them seemed happy in any of the outcomes? Were they doomed to despair and remain a broken shell forever? Droplets of crimson fall from her eyes, small stains of blood hitting the floor as she does her best to stifle true tears... When you cry to the point of bleeding often something is very wrong, for Thana it was natural and it hurt... The paleness of her arms returns and the veins softly poke through the skin. She was so thin in retrospect... It wasn't her fault; she wore thicker clothing and robes to mask it.*

` " M-me too... Me too... "`

*Thanas head slowly moves to try to lean into Ezgi, she missed being mostly human... A moment of weakness pulled through as her humanity as she sought nothing more from comfort. It would never mean anything, it never could. A divine could not truly harbour such understanding, for they understood too much. Feelings become games, mindsets are made to be manipulated and ordered. She loved to try to be herself, but it could never amount to anything more than a facade with this state. She had considered an avatar in the past, but it just wasn't the same.*

`" To just go sounds... Nice. Somewhere I can be me. Just me, no strings. "`
Michael
"M-My physical a-ailments h-haven't done me m-much good, I'll admit, b-but.. Well, I was never m-much of a s-spiritual wo-woman, being a d-doctor, but t-time has a way of finding a small e-entry-point and c-creating massive changes. Things y-you'd've never considered can b-become alluring at some p-point in time. It's p-part of the magic o-of the h-human condition. We a-are curious, ever-changing c-creatures who can b-both hate and r-revere the g-gods, try to conquer t-the world and yet, t-try to save it, and k-kill each other b-because we are t-too scared to understand one another..."

She stops and looks at her hand, which found itself holding the Goddess' face, her thumb swiping away and trying to smear the crimson color off, not realizing how she'd found herself there. Yet it felt so natural like her body was made to make this motion, to comfort.

"But w-when we understand e-each other... Wh-When the pain i-is no longer o-only ours to bare, a-and we take that scary first st-step into the greater w-world, to see what i-it has for us... I w-want you t-to experience t-that same feeling, o-over and over again. To kn-know that you're never a-alone, in this world. E-Even if I-I die i-in this world, you w-will be a part of m-me for the rest of t-time, for every single rebirth w-will have you in my m-memories."

‎ 
"If y-you lose yourself, I-I'll do my b-best to bring you b-back, or help y-you remember who you are. The k-kind, curious and powerful woman, t-the beautiful and caring, expert s-suturer, the f-friend who helped m-me remember that I a-am more than my mother."

She allowed Thana's head to gently lay in the nook of her neck, allowing the woman to rest herself comfortably as she thought to herself for a couple of seconds. She decided to ask Thana about the hypothesis she had made a few minutes ago that she considered too dangerous and inappropriate to attempt.

"Y-Y'know, I could try to c-create some k-kind of serum o-or treatment for t-the thing t-that lives i-inside you. I-I'm not... Fully sure, i-if it'll work, but m-maybe my blood c-could alleviate th-the symptoms."

"I wa-wanted to ask before, b-but the more I thought a-about it, the more it f-felt like it was just me a-asking to u-use you as a lab rat. I-I don't want to mislead y-you with false h-hope that I c-could cure you w-when I don't f-fully understand the d-depth of your problems."
Ali
`" Feels like I know change better than most these days, it's all this foul blood whispers to me... "` *An offhand comment, her words spiked with animosity. Thanas radiant eyes peer with a profound stagnation as the two keep close in body and mind. Even though they were so close... The goddess was a million miles away in an oncoming wreck of thoughts. Ezgi spoke so much, a harsh juxtaposition from the quaint and reserved girl only moments before. The static of Thanas' mind was overtaken by this chatter. Like the hijacking of a radio station she could feel both Ezgi and the snake beneath the peeling skin blabbering away, an eternity of never being alone should be great but here it is malformed into a malignant sickness, endless vocal leeches chewing through the skin and bone.*

*Brushing a gnarled hand first against Ezgis and moving it away, then shifting the attention to her sleek black leather, the deity stretches her shoulders and tenses her face into a scrunched squint, slowly leaning forward as two small crimson masses of flesh gently prop her upright like a marionette. With a newly cleared face, they turn their attention back to the conversation and away from the underlying horrors she was so close to comprehending. Thanas' head cocks to the side with the curiosity of a confused puppy, a reverberating pop as the internals of such a goddess shift to keep up with the rapid movement.*

` " I wish I could say the same- I... I don't think I get my second chance. "` *She sighs apprehensively, a cold exhale that catches on a choked wheeze and a rough cough, covered just barely by a quick adjustment of her jacket. Dry and cracked lips curl into a quivering wallow as Ezgi poses a question forward about the experiment, as if the little girl inside her jumped at the prospect of being fixed. Just say yes damnit Thana... Hesitation slips into the crevices of her mind. The wiggling tendril of doubt sinks its jagged fangs further, tandem with the slow drooping of eyes...*

`" Y-you'd fix me... You can try? W-wasting time on a stranger, putting yourself at permanent risk of being maimed. I can't control hurting myself... Let alone others, I'm a walking hazard in Ezgi. It'll get you killed before you figure me out. H-he won't let you succeed and I'll be to blame. "` *Her instinct surges in a primal urge to verify this claim. Blood and spit ooze from her teeth, mindlessly salivating at the ideal of a dead soul walking. Behind the dreary eyes was a monster, an Ouroboros symbol twinkling in the irises.*

`" Hah... Hahahaha... "` 

*She grins from ear to ear, gritting her teeth with a loud snap, clamping like a bear trap would to an innocent woodland creature, the boundary of personal space on the hinges of being shattered as the girls ravenously observing demeanour draws closer. An overbearing glance barrels down on Ezgi as Thana only seems to grow taller and one with the surrounding, the flickering of crimson splashes vividly returns in a spectrum of flashes and crackling bolts of light. A long pleated tail unfurls from her back like a grand carpet, slinking to the grass as a stinger squirms and writhes on the end. Her ribcage cracks as the bones jut and alter to elongated, lustrous frameworks for wings to flourish. The entire time her trifling grin is still plastered from side to side, the signet in the now twitching eyes throbs and pulsates with the tenderness of a beating heart.*

`" Are you a doctor... Girl? I'm afraid you'd need a necromancer... This soul has long expired. Kyeheheh- "` *Her voice booms into a maniacal cackle shreiking with the hollow wails of a banshee, no sooner than this strange voice starts is it forced down by a gargled cough and dry heave, during those final copious retches, a serpent can be seen winding its way down her throat, the curved spikes of its body rip through tendons and tear at sinew as Thanas still squealing body hums with undeath and bloody howls.*

`" I know all about belief, child..." `

It's the only reason I'm still here, after-all. " 

*The cackling resumes, every feature of her mangled body accentuated back to the toxic cesspit of a monster she was back at the start of this conversation, she winds and constrains like the very motion of the same evil that attempted to strangle Gaias eternity all that time ago, the twinge of pain all life had felt that day. Ezgi would've felt it... The day Edon tore through a divine fruit and the world mourned... Kept here like a parasite, strained by the reminder he left in the world. Forever bound for Thana, vying for control of her fickle mind. As long as he was remembered, the tyrant would live on. Now this poor demigod was face to face with them...*
Michael
Ezgi knew better than to have continued disrupting the peace they had with each other with her works and unwarranted attempts at naïve optimism, yet she couldn't help herself. It made her quiet down as soon as she realized how terribly foolish it was to continue attempting to solace the girl with dreams of happiness when she was actively being tortured in what could be considered a living hell. Despite her silencing, she had managed to get everything she thought out before she watched Thana's strange tendrils prop her up and away. She didn't try to bring her back, instead curling herself up now that she was mostly healed and could return to a criss-crossed position.

Her tired and dull eyes diverged Thana's strongly, her pink-hued irises observing Thana's motions and body parts, the way they seemed to erratically break apart and split. It remained consistent that she almost existed in an extremely gore-ish, bloody stasis that would easily move one way and exaggerate the construction of her limbs, movements, or structures. It pained Ezgi to watch it, but it seemed that Thana had yet to make any claims about it being as painful as it should be. She flinched slightly when the sound of Thana's neck cracked loudly, but otherwise had grown a little more comfortable with the gore. Ezgi's traumatic experiences with it were... Well, overridden, frankly.

"W-We talked a-about this already, y-you aren't a st-stranger, Thana. You're my f-friend. I'm s-serious about this, I-If I can find a-a way t-to make y-your life a little easier, I-I'll stop at nothing to m-make it a reality. I-I'm willing t-to take those risks, too. I-I've lived m-my life, I-I'm... W-Well, I won't say I'm okay with it, b-but I'd... I'd want y-you to live a f-full life, too."

‎ 
Ezgi's eyes widen a little when she realizes the monster has started to stir and wake from its slumber, taking Thana away from her yet again. Her brow furrows into deep concern as she starts to back away quickly, panic soon replacing concern as she gets a few inches away before her wounds threaten to reopen.

Her expression stays stuck in her shocked state as Thana closes in on her, a gruesome transformation occurring where blood and bone crack and tear like tissue paper, and the red flashing of the air threatens to take her in an episode. She closed her eyes, trying to blink away the terror that continued to persist in front of her. She attempted to take deep breaths, only able to force herself to hyperventilate. Her eyes opened again and they remained, watching over her overwhelmed response as they continued to alternate and violently shift, changing into something akin to an angel of death. The backdrop of red and flashing colors, the bolts, it was almost too much for her fragile brain to handle correctly, attempting to shut itself down by entering a seizure. She clenched her body as the feeling approached closer, although it would not be coming for a few minutes.

Ezgi felt her fear punch her stomach and threaten to upturn her meal, but somehow it had managed to stay inside. A catalyst, she would take that small victory and the limited time she knew she had, and start to control her breaths. Her heartbeat blasted in her ears, but she could still hear that evil voice replacing Thana's, an imposter from an age that should've passed, only remembered as a warning and a cautionary tale and not some ongoing threat that loomed over everyone's heads. She felt anger well inside her stomach to replace the fear, a vile poison that made Ezgi's blood boil. Why did she feel this way?

‎ 
"I-I won't waste m-my breath on y-you. B-But know th-this, monster: I-I will h-have Thana, and y-you won't stop me. Nothing w-will stop me." 
‎ 
She feels her hands tremble as the seizure tries advancing. Her time was running out, but she would force herself to stand, ripping open a suture and forcing her bloody arm to plant and allow her to rise. Against the large monstrosity, Ezgi was akin to a summer ant, almost inconspicuous on the grand scale, but she nonetheless stood fast against her terrible odds.

"Y-you're nothing m-more than a boogeyman. A b-bully, and a monster. E-Even if I-I'm too weak to d-do something, someone e-else will blot y-you out. Y-You want belief!? I-I believe y-your days are numbered!! I-I'll make sure of i-it!"

The void begins to pool around Ezgi's feet, its black mist surrounding her and filtering the red light into black, sapping the world around them of its color once more. 

"I-It's only a matter o-of time!"

The weak doctor tenses her shaking body, galvanizing herself for what could very well be certain death. Despite her lack of immediate action, she's already made a call to her deity, the hatred and passion in her words sparking an interest in the Goddess of the Void's attention...
Ali
*A permeated rivalry, the thick haze of gore contrasted with the bleakness of a slowly crawling void clash side by side, rumbled grunts sound with each passing breath as the concatenation of Thana and the monstrosity inside lock into their endless standstill for control. This new appearance certainly suited the goddess better as a beast of bloodshed than her usual, rather generic humanoid appearance, adding just the dash of intimidation factor she sorely lacked. Still standing prideful, her embodiment of revelry is nothing more than a mismatch of splintered memories. Each fleeting moment comes with a brief crack as her body structure mimics that of gods of present and those far before Thanas times.*

*They lean in closer, still grinning with an utmost satisfaction. Hunting eyes lock on and teeth spark as they clack together like saw blades... A long drawn out breath paves the way for a hollow speech of the choking abomination.*

`" Nothing more? No... That is where you are wrong. I'm not a bully. A monster? Conceivably. Yet... You still stand before a god, the remnants of a fate lost to time... Change has always ALWAYS... Been inevitable, even now. Your temper rises, your blood boils. My metaphorical claws dig deeper, already on your heart. Do you feel them? The strings... They hold you so tight, close to me. Close to US. "` *A pause as the morbid pulsating form gasps for breath, hyperventilating as it struggles for air like a drowning child, practically panting with fanatical joy at its own words and the response it was being given. The outburst, the rage that had yet to be experienced from Ezgi.*

`" They refused to let me die for twelve years... What makes you think they'll stop now? The world won't forget me, yet it could forget you. "`

*It snaps its crooked, mangled fingers, expending an otherworldly amount of divine energy to shunt back the void as far as it can. A malign smile crawls like a centipede, tearing at her face as multiple mouths and maws form.*

*Then the defiled body is torn upwards from the neck by a long crimson string extending down from nothing. As Ezgi watches, a slow trail of blood hovers above the display, moving sinuously and transforming into a gargantuan, phantasmal spectacle of the fate god himself.*

*The now hanging corpse of Thana is dropped by the slash of the manifestations' tail to the floor, signifying that the curse may finally be free from the ongoing battle. Finally, fully in control of what was left of the girl. It bellows with a roar unbefitting for a deity and more akin to that of a wailing banshee, the falling body quickly caught just before it would reach Ezgi with another pair of strings and hoisted back up into a cross shape.*

`" It is only a matter of time indeed. Your days are numbered Ezgi, as are everyone else's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a corpse to command. `" *The sky bursts red for a fraction of a moment, then is engulfed by complete pitch black, a demonic red spotlight painted on Ezgi alone, it flickers twice then goes out as all light returns and there is no sign of Thana... The only thing left behind is a small dainty harp, the same one she had tried to play just a few minutes before this. Still freshly coated in the now drying blood of the deity as she had torn it from her own heart.*
Michael
Ezgi's breathing hitched and caught in her throat as she felt the overwhelming presence threaten to overtake every sense of her body, a God of unknown strength unlike anything she'd known in this world had returned. A monstrosity that had taken over her friend, yet left helpless to be able to stop it. Her weakness and helplessness in the wake of her friend's misery reminded her again of the severe weight of her body, unable to move when it was commanded to, failing her when she felt she could not afford to fail. She was failing Thana, even if the circumstances were not plausible or in her favor in the slightest. Her friend was breaking apart and being ripped away, torn into a thing of horror, and she could not do a thing to stop them. She felt her rage boil away into deep sorrow, a pit in her stomach that couldn't do anything other than swallow every other emotion, leaving her feeling hollow and empty. 

Even when the monster had leaned it close, her fear of losing her life had dissipated and all that remained was a readiness to be claimed by death, in the form of those horrid teeth and jagged claws. But her temporary hope did not come to fruition, as she was still able to hear their damned voice, as much as she despised the sound of it. It seemed death would not claim her today, as she could already feel his intent. They wanted grander endeavors, and she was nothing of the sort. Too weak to be claimed. Yet something about his words, the way he spoke, it lurched her stomach in such a way, she couldn't hold back a cackle.

"H-hhahaha, hahahaha! T-Time.. I-I like that. I-It's all a m-matter of time indeed, m-monster. I'll f-find a w-way.. I-I'll b-bring you low... Lower t-than the cesspit you cr-crawled out of, and I'll m-make sure you n-never come back! I-It's only a MATTER of TIME before you a-are WIPED FROM HISTORY, BECAUSE I ***WILL*** HAVE THANA BACK! I-I've got all the time in the world!"

‎ 
Ezgi flinches as the void is pushed hard away, feeling as though something is attempting to disconnect her soul from her body. She nearly falls to the ground but seems to feel stronger as a result, the void receding a little from her body. She still feels extremely weak and almost drops to the ground, only stopping her fall with her knee. Her tearing stitches rip yet again, forcing more of her blood to seep out. More void escapes her body.

She looks upward to see a slithering abomination, the true form of the beast, her target for the remainder of the life she will live. Thana's body begins to fall and on instinct, she reaches her arms out in a feeble attempt to try and catch her body, stopped by the monstrous tendrils of Edon's influence connecting with her corpse and ripping her away yet again. She grits her teeth and bites her lip so hard, it too, begins to bleed.

The monster escapes her, leaving her with a warning for those on the tree that their days are numbered. Ezgi falls to the floor, her arms and legs seizing as she feels she can no longer hold her will against the power of the Void in her blood, stopping signals from her brain to her body and forcing her into another fit of spasms. She feels tears and blood trickle down her cheeks, left empty by the events that had just unfolded.

Her hand reaches out to the harp left in its wake, her shaking and spasming hands clutching it for dear life and bringing it closer as she cradles it, her body balling up as she struggling to remain conscious.

 I-I'll fucking kill you..! I swear it..!
 Hate you...!
 I-I... Th-Thana..."

The void consumes her consciousness, her body disappearing into black mist, taking the harp with her.