“What I shall do with this information…” Seventh turned toward the Twilight, with long wisps of ghost fire burning from the tips of her tails. “I shall investigate the castle. Find any clue that could lead to her whereabouts. If there is something hidden inside the castle’s walls,” her voice became icy, “I shall find it.”
“Knowing Father, he probably found some way to send Mother to Chaos, so that she cannot be found through normal means,” said Icetales, shaking his head in disdain. “That is the kind of ‘mon he is.”
“Chaos…” Seventh turned to her brother. “I fetched a lost soul from there once. If I have to do that again, I shall.”
Icetales blinked and tilted his head, wondering who that lost soul was. Seventh seemed very focused on him, almost as if she was staring at him with her pale eyes.
A soul… Wait. Who was his rescuer again? His memories were corrupted and hazy due to being affected by madness, but… he recalled some purple flames, then he saw a Vulpix. But that was Fifth… wasn’t it? No. There were two Vulpix… in Chaos…
Icetales’ eyes widened. “Seventh, thou…”
The vixen snorted and looked away. “…I was just doing a favor. Nothing else.”
Icetales could tell that there was more than just a ‘favor’ in play there, but before he could ask more about that, the Twilight around them vibrated.
“…You must depart. The Twilight is shifting.” Seventh waved her tails. “It is making extra place for new departed souls, and I must attend to the shift.”
“…All right.” Icetales took a deep breath. “Thanks for thy time.”
“Do not mention it. Really. Do not.” The vixen took a step back, while her spiritual body became more transparent. “Best of luck with thy world-saving quest or whatever that is, Tenth.”
Icetales gave a quick nod, but he didn’t know what else to say. So, he merely watched Seventh’s body disintegrate and return to her center. But then, a bright light shone from within Seventh.
“…One last thing that I must say before I leave. There is something I detected in Father’s soul when I told him about thy nature as a daemon.”
Hearing that didn’t really make Icetales feel good. Of course she would be a snitch and tell their father about his daemon blood. But… no. He wanted to go. He was tired of directing more hatred toward his sister and of that place. So, he took a deep breath and asked, “What was it?”
“…Fear. Of thy power. Of thy darkness.”
Now that information surprised him. He frowned. “Huh?”
“Dark sorcery… What he did not want others to know is that dark sorcery is more than just darkness, black matter and forbidden arts. It is…” her voice and fire faded away, “cosmos…”
And then, Seventh was gone, just a wandering spirit returned to the Twilight. Icetales stared in stunned silence at the empty space, with more questions forming inside his head. But there was nothing more he could do — the shift was coming. They had to go.
“Let us… depart…”
