Andy
Shadeje definitely had the right energy, though their questions were a little bit... Unfocused. And useless. And frankly rather confusing. But they seemed to be going along with it, which was what The Ascendent was after anyway. 

"Steel and faith are ever stronger than mere words, Shadeje. Decisive action will always come out on top when compared to mere trickery. See how this *Thing* Still tries to trick us. It refuses to answer, for giving any answer would be an admission of guilt. If it admits to being here by Edon's will, then clearly we would have to eliminate the threat it poses to us. Were it to lie, we would do the same."

A thin blade of flame slowly came out of The Ascendent's closed fist, dragging along and poking at Vorran's flesh. The vermin seemed to wiggle and writhe under the heat, getting more and more distressed. Good.
** **

"It matters not if this creature is ready or not to die. No one is ever ready to die, but that hardly matters. The abomination's destined time is fast approaching. Whoever this Edon is, it did not account for my divine wrath when it came to creating a demigod that would live long. The thing is a snake in form and in nature, lying comes to it as easily as coughing up its wretched fluid. The safest thing to do, for both of us, is to end its miserable existence before it finds a way to hurt us." 

The Ascendent stepped on top of Vorran, walking to the thing's ghastly excuse for a head.

"Though I am of the opinion that even the most dastardly of heretics have the opportunity for redemption. And what better way to redeem yourself than dying in the line of duty, laying down your life for the cause of fighting evil? We are still not friends, Vorran. But we can be."

With a mercifully unlit hand, The Ascendent gently cupped Vorran's face. 

"I truly believe that you have the chance to redeem yourself. To be more than Edon, to become friends with me. And you want that right? You only have to do one thing. One easy thing, and then we will be friends forever."

The Ascendent gestured to its side. To the branches. To the roots, below them. To the abyss, under everything.

The skeleton whispered, quietly enough that it barely even heard itself.

"If you and I are to be friends, then you need to kill yourself. Now."
Lila
*"I'll miss her when she's gone... Not because I cared, because I could've done better..." ~ Edon*

*The wounded, gasping serpent gently contorts and twists in her painful embrace. Agonisingly overstimulated by everything going on, the sensation of pain... Her body giving out, the fleeting life as her eyes flicker and falter. She clings to the entrance of the tunnel, refusing to be carried into the light, the sound of voices. Constant questions... She was meant to embody change and everything that came with it, so why was this too much to handle? There was a small gasp as she pulls at strings in an attempt to control her breathing, her divine heart thumping out of its chest... Beat after beat, it was only accelerating. Panic... Perhaps this was the way forward? To overcome change. You must adapt to it. But there always comes a point where you change just that little bit too much, then what?*

*Her struggling settles... Her head droops, flopping meekly by the serpents side, embracing the scales in a tight cradle as she hugs herself. Gently nuzzling the newly formed horn against her body, just to feel something... Pleasant, something less painful. Exiled from one place, only to be exiled from another. That was her fate, forever on the run. Forever homeless with nobody to go to. The horrors of war would scrape her skin away like barbed wire. This world was no mans land, there was nowhere or anything she could do to change that. They would find out she belonged to him, then they would hate her...*

*An endless cycle, weaved into history. Etched into fate.*

*"You are the one mistake I wish I could've undone..."*

*The sentence echoes in her ringing ears, the tears continue to fall. Her eyes quiver and tremble, breaking apart as her composure completely falters. There was no running from this anymore, she would answer their questions... Then she would do it, become its friend. As requested... Perhaps, she would be visited after life? That must be what he means... He would be her friend, just in another reality. They only had to get there... They'd join her. Dragged to the grave, she could see it now... The moments of peace, a blooming friendship. The games they would play, the memories they could share... She just had to reach the end of the tunnel.*

`"I am a snake, because I wait in the grass as a slippery creature. Change is an endless curve, fate is a slippery curse... Serpents embody both of these things... Edon is my father, a serpent that just wishes to die... So he tells me, I don't believe it. If he wanted to die, why hasn't he? We talk because we are gifted divine power, I talk the same reason you do... Our creators had the dignity to let us be heard. My mother... My mother, I don't know... Would an OUTCAST have a mother?"` *She seems to emphasise the word outcast, making it painfully obvious how much the word stung. How deep the venom of such a spiteful meaning wove into her lungs, flooding her with poison. There was an antidote here. She whispers back to the ascendant, her voice as broken as it was when she arrived. His gentle grasp is kind and caring, for a moment she forgets the agony...*

`"Then consider us... Friends."` *She smiles faintly, her tail raises up, quickly shifting and warping... A large impaling spike rears up and aims towards Vorrans skull. It was all so quick, she doesn't even hestitate. A vile reminder of just how down this creature was, how foolish and stupid she was to believe the words of her aggressor. The heartbeat slows to a gradual thump... Acceptance was the final stage of grief... Now she could finally accept a happy ending, a light rain begins to fall upon the tree as the spike is driven through Vorrans carapace. Straight through the head, there was no blood... Only flowers grow from the wound as she slumps down, the light in her eyes extuinguished for a good. It was over... It was all over now, they could move on... She. Could move on...*

*"And then... We will be friends forever."*
Kyle
Death.

 What was death?
 What did it mean to die?
 What was Shadeje supposed to do?

Death.

 The word cascaded off his tongue.
 Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death.
 What was its purpose? Why was there a word to describe it?

Stupid.

 Stupid.

 Stupid.

 Stupid.

 Stupid.

 Stupid.

 Stupid.

 So
#


Shadeje could've done something.
Shadeje could've helped.
Shadeje could've been her friend.
Shadeje could've saved her.
Shadeje could've stopped Vorran.
Shadeje could've shut up The Ascendent.
 Could've done something.

 Instead, the
 demigod wa-
 tched like a he-
 artless, idiotic,
 merciless piece
 of garbage.

..............................Her
 te ars
 had fa-
 llen into
 Shad eje's
 gen tle h-
 and s. Th-
 they glis-
 ten ed as
 the demi-
 god let 
 the m f-
 all f ro-
 m th eir
 palm. Was
 Vorran really
 .................................
 Dead?

Staring at the decorated space where Vorran once was, Shadeje slowly turned back into Blue. "She really just... Disappeared."
There were no words she could think of that would possibly satisfy the *Itch*, the need for meaningful dialogue, that had been pinned between Shadeje and The Ascendent. After a few seconds that felt like a million years, she thought she knew what to say. It was a question, a *Hope*, a singular piece of her that was unlike her creator in many unimaginable ways.

 Gonna come back, right?"

Shadeje still had more questions about snakes, and she didn't want to ask them towards anyone but Vorran. But Vorran was gone.
"Yeah, an outcast would.. An outcast would have a mother.. I'm an outcast. WE COULD'VE BEEN BEST BUDS! Oh, Skelly.. Oh, why would you let her do that to herself?"
Picking up one of the flowers her body had left behind, she carefully tied its stem to one of her horns and let it dance in the World Tree's light wind. It would forever remind her of this.. Ugly day.
"I..."
*I what?*
"..Don't..."
*Don't what?*
"...Understand."
 Don't understand."

A quiet blue tear slipped off of her smooth face and stained her skin. She looked at The Ascendent, wishing he would *Do something about it*. He could make everything right! Where was Vorran? He'd find her. If she had gone away, he would surely bring her back.



Maybe it was easier to remain naïve than to know the truth.