Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

Fantina stared at her from across the table with eyes that had suddenly gone from a bright amethyst to a black so deep and bottomless they seemed to suck some of the light around her. Inyssa shivered. This was the same feeling as the first time she'd met her. As though the room's temperature had gone down drastically.

"I suppose we should get this out of the way early," she said, her quiet tone booming all the louder compared to the previous silence. "It's not quite what you want, but it will help you understand, down the line."

"What are you talking about?"

Placing her hands on her lap, Fantina pushed herself gracefully to her feet and walked around the table, stopping beside the ceramic vase adorning the middle, a bouquet of red spider lilies resting in it. She raised her right hand slightly. Then, she pinched at the white fabric of the glove with the fingers of her other hand and slowly pulled it out, letting it fall on the table.

At first, Inyssa thought Fantina was wearing another glove underneath the white one, but the more she looked, the more she couldn't distinguish between her pale skin and the… dark, violet corruption spreading from her palm outwards.

Inyssa's eyes went wide, fraught with horror.

"W-what?"

Fantina let out a low chuckle at her reaction, uncurling her fingers so that she could get a good look. The very center of her palm was adorned with a small dot of the darkest color Inyssa had ever seen, so dark in fact that even with her eyes flared and her sight sharpened, she could barely perceive it. Darkness spread from the dot outwards, covering every inch of skin down to her forearm. However, as it got farther away from the source, the color changed from jet black to a deep, rich purple, forming a disturbing yet beautiful gradient that eventually faded into the woman's normal skin tone just before it reached her elbow.

But it wasn't just the blackened hand that shocked Inyssa. It was also that, as said hand moved slightly, the light in the room felt like it was pulled toward that darkness, forming small, dot-like gleams across the surface. Every few moments, it made it look as though there was a small galaxy painted across Fantina's skin.

"Startling, is it not?"

The sound of Fantina's voice shocked Inyssa back to reality, who'd forgotten to breathe for the past few seconds. However, as she looked up at her for an explanation, all she got was a sad smile.

"You are not the only one who carries her predecessor's scars upon your arms," said Fantina. "However, unlike you, I'm not brave enough to show mine to the world. You'll have to forgive me for that."

Following that, she pinched at her other glove and took it off as well, revealing another, identical arm.

"S-since when have you…?"

"It's been a long, long time," smiled Fantina, letting out a small sigh. "Though if you want a more specific time-frame… since slightly after I met Johanna."

Inyssa gulped, unable to take her eyes off Fantina's hands. "But… why do they look like that? What did you…?"

As a response, Fantina extended her right arm to the side, the tip of her index finger touching the petal of one of the lilies. There was a sound like that of a snap. The petal, then the rest of the flower, blackened and shriveled up as though it'd been left out on the sun for a whole week. The effect spread throughout every other flower touching that first one. After a few seconds, the entire bouquet had shriveled up and died.

Inyssa's mouth fell open. When Fantina raised her arm again, she instinctively tried to rise from her chair, though she stopped when she realized the woman wasn't walking toward her.

"These," said Fantina, curling and uncurling her fingers, showing off her palm, "are the product of my contact with the heart of nothingness, that which all Eight Stigma must commune with in order to carry Nyss' old mantle."

"W-wait, wait!" Inyssa cut her off, shaking her head in confusion. "S-stigma? Nyss? Slow down, what the hell are you talking about!?"

At that, an amused smile crossed Fantina's face. She nodded and walked back to her chair, placing her now uncovered hands atop her lap as she sat.

"Like I said, to get to Shadi, I'm afraid you'll first have to listen to this," she explained. "The two of us… ended up walking very similar paths, despite my insistent warnings against it."

A now familiar image flashed across Inyssa's eyes. Fantina and Shadi arguing outside the latter's room, while she looked at them from behind the couch, accompanied by the former's daughter.

"I'm… sure you already know this, being such a talented and knowledgeable trainer," she said, "but there's a good reason very few people specialize in the training of ghost Pokemon. In fact, not many have one in their team to begin with."

Inyssa frowned. What does this have to do with anything?

"Ghost Pokemon are hard to control," Inyssa confirmed. "It depends a lot on the species, but in general it doesn't matter how good of a trainer you are; whether a ghost type will accept to join you or not depends on your personality, not your skills. It depends on how compatible the two of you are. And besides… most normal Pokeballs can't even hold ghost Pokemon inside against their will."

"Those things all contribute to it, yes," said Fantina. "However, in most cases, it comes down to the simple fact that we, as humans, are both disturbed and fascinated by the concept of death. We love to explore it in our stories, in our art, but we avoid thinking about it on our daily lives as much as possible. Almost like an offering to Death itself, to keep it out of our doors.

"Now, imagine you're a ghost Pokemon. An entity whose entire existence has been defined by death. Most trainers you might run across will be interested in you, they might even genuinely like and appreciate you, but as much as they might try to hide it, you'll always see that glint of fear in their eyes. That feeling deep in their chests that tells them there's something wrong about you. That an integral part of you is that which disturbs them more than anything else. How would you feel?"

Inyssa thought about it for a moment. It was true that, outside of Fantina she'd never met another trainer who was in possession of a ghost type. Now she knew why. If she were in their shoes…

"I'd… start avoiding trainers. Avoiding people," she replied. "As much as I could. Doesn't matter how nice you are to someone; if it's obvious you fear or look down on them… they'll end up hating you anyway."

"Very much so," said Fantina, smiling. She looked proud of what Inyssa had said. "Of course, it all depends on the species. Yamask and Phantump will generally be more somber about the whole thing than, say, Shuppet or Gengar, which tend to approach the matter in a much more childish, albeit dangerous way. But the root of their behavior is, usually, the same."

Inyssa nodded, looking down. "Then… what makes you and people like Morty or Agatha or Shauntal so special? Why are ghost Pokemon attracted to you?"

Fantina leaned back on her chair, frowning contemplatively. She pressed a finger against her lower lip, and Inyssa noticed that her skin didn't start blackening or rotting like the flowers had.

"Well, if I had to draw a similarity between all of us, it'd be that we all have a very odd sense of humor." She smiled mischievously. "And we're all very childish, in one way or another. Ghost Pokemon are attracted to that for some reason."

That wasn't the whole story, of course, and Inyssa let her know that she knew by raising a judging eyebrow.

"Though… I guess there is another reason," she continued. "This might sound obvious in retrospect, but all of us simply… don't fear death. I don't mean to say we'd throw ourselves off the top of a roof at the slightest inconvenience, just that, whether because we've come face to face with death sometime in the past or simply because we never feared it to begin with… we don't possess that same primitive instinct that makes others recoil from ghost Pokemon. We can live with them, not pretending that they are the same as any other type of Pokemon, but instead accepting that they are not, yet treating them with the same respect and love as we would for any other. That… is what makes us different. What makes them trust us. In that sense…"

Fantina shot her a very specific look which made Inyssa shiver.

"You and I are similar, aren't we?"

Inyssa gulped. "I… I don't think Hao stayed with me because of that. His circumstances were different."

"I'm not talking about Hao," said Fantina with a wave of her hand. "I know from both Vi and my dear Gengar that you are very much the type of person ghost Pokemon would feel comfortable with. If you ever decide to become a Gym leader, I'm sure you'd make for a fine ghost-type specialist."

"I…" She narrowed her eyes, shooting Fantina an icy glare. "Is that just some dark joke you felt like saying? That odd sense of humor of yours at work?" she asked, tone getting heated. "Yeah, I was a dumbass who looked for any possible excuse to throw my life away and pass it off as a 'heroic sacrifice'. And because of it… ghosts like me. Great. What a ringing fucking endorsement. Sure, sign me up to be a ghost-type specialist right away."

"Well, sarcasm aside… you've sure grown self-aware, haven't you?" muttered Fantina, raising an amused eyebrow. "You've changed so much since last we met. So what if that change was brought about by the pain that was inflicted on you? Does that mean you shouldn't be proud of the 'you' that fought tooth and nail to climb up from that pile of rubble?"

"Are you saying I should be happy that I didn't end up worse?" Inyssa spat out.

"I'm saying you should take pride in the horrors you've survived. We humans are surprisingly sturdy; as a matter of fact, sometimes not even death can lower our spirits!" She giggled to herself. Inyssa groaned at the terrible joke. "Trust me; I've seen horrors, both human and inhuman, that would shatter your sanity like a hammer falling upon a teacup. And I came out the other side still smiling! I'm sure Vi would want the same of you."

Inyssa's eyes narrowed into an irritated glare. "Sorry… I guess I just wasn't born with the sense of humor," she whispered. "And I've had enough of people trying to cheer me up for the day. Can we get back to the point?" She pointed at one of Fantina's arms. "What does all this information about ghost Pokemon have to do with anything? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it is important. Here, let me show you."

Once again, Fantina stood up and walked around the table, this time stopping right next to Inyssa, who couldn't help but flinch slightly at the sight of those dark-hemmed hands. And it certainly didn't help when one of said hands was extended toward her.

"D-do you…?"

"Take my hand," said Fantina. When Inyssa did no such thing, she sighed and added. "Don't worry. I have full control over this power; I promise I won't harm you."

Inyssa raised her hand slowly, timidly, squinting as though bracing herself for pain. But as their fingers touched, no pain came. Instead, her eyes flashed gold and that familiar sensation of her mind rising free of her body enveloped her whole, blinding her in a flash of white light. When she could see again, she found herself in that misty, ethereal form she'd taken many times before, although for once she was accompanied by someone else. Despite the figure beside her being entirely made of white wisps, Inyssa could instinctively tell it was Fantina.

"…Interesting,"Fantina's ethereal form whispered.

Is this… your mind? asked Inyssa, horrified, her thoughts echoing outwardly.

"So it seems," Uxie said from behind them. "How fascinating."

Compared to the pearly silver of Inyssa's mind, Fantina's was a crude mix between a dirty, rotten white and a deep, sanguine red. No matter how far she looked, all Inyssa could see were corpses. Human, Pokemon, and some that appeared to be neither. They covered every inch of the ground, rising up in piles of twisted, mangled limbs and torsos. However, it was hard to focus on anything concrete about them, as they were all covered from tip to toe in beautiful crimson flowers.

The flowers grew not only out of their ears and mouth, but also from every wound, puncture or missing chunk in their bodies, which, considering the state most of them were in, meant that it was hard to find a corpse that wasn't completely covered in them. The thin, vein-like petals that rose up from the edges dripped blood down to the ground every few seconds, as though the flower itself were siphoning it from its host.

Are those…? Inyssa recognized the flowers, and she did her best to focus on that instead of the horribly gruesome scene before her. Are those red spider lilies?

"My favorite flower," Fantina muttered sadly. "Or… well, they were. Seeing them here in my mind, in this context…"

The shock of the sight before her was enough to throw Inyssa off, because she almost asked Fantina why she sounded so surprised, before remembering that not everyone could hop inside their own minds like she could. This was most likely the first time Fantina had seen this place.

Y-yeah, uh… I'll do you a favor and not give any thought to what any of this means.

"Personally, I find it wonderful," said Uxie. "I still fail to understand humanity's fear of corpses. After all–

Uxie.

"Hm?"

We get it. You can shut up now.

"O-oh. Alright."

Fantina couldn't help but chuckle. Despite not having a body, her laugh reverberated through the air, and as it did so, every flower around them seemed to wiggle slightly, which was exactly the kind of fucked up thing Inyssa did not need to see.

"In any case, this was only meant to be the lobby of what I wanted to show you. How about we change the scene up a bit?" asked Fantina. "Here, let us start with the beginning."

A few of the wisps forming Fantina moved, and a moment after the gruesome scene disappeared from their sight, which made Inyssa sigh in relief. What replaced it was a darker, much less fucked-up one. A dark, candle-lit room, the middle of which was occupied by a young, purple-haired girl sitting on the floor and reading a book. A ball of gaseous darkness with big, sharp eyes floated around her head. A Gastly.

Is that you? asked Inyssa.

"Indeed," replied Fantina. "This is something Johanna already knows, of course. She's known ever since we first met, though she's sworn never to tell another soul. You see, I have always had this… predilection toward ghost Pokemon, ever since I was a child," she explained. "It all comes about from an event in my childhood, the details of which you don't need to know. I'm sure your imagination can fill up the blanks, while leaving some of my privacy intact."

The scene before them changed, dissolving like smoke underwater. It split in half as it reformed, two taller, slightly older Fantina standing with their backs to each other, a thin line of smoke separating them. They both threw their hands forward in unison, ordering their respective Haunter to attack. The first Fantina wore a normal, everyday outfit and seemed to be fighting in a gym arena, while the other danced and gesticulated elegantly while in a beautiful, close-fitting dress in the middle of what looked like a stadium full of people.

"As I made my debut and all of Sinnoh's trainers and coordinators learned to fear my name, my public image was that of a talented young girl who couldn't quite decide what path to walk in life. I both gathered all eight gym badges and reached the finals of the Grand Festival at the same time, mere months after the beginning of my journey. On one hand, I beat all members of the Elite Four… but I was unable to claim the title of Champion."

At that, the first Fantina gasped and fell to her knees, clutching her chest, while the other looked up proud, fingers curling into a victorious fist.

"On the other hand, while Johanna proved to be one hell of a wall to climb, I eventually defeated her and took my place as Sinnoh's top coordinator, a title I would continue to hold for years to come, even after becoming a Gym leader. And… well, if you ask most people, that's as much as they'd be able to tell you about me. But there was more, so much more that I desired besides fame and recognition."

Once more, the scene faded into nothing, only to reform into a sight Inyssa found uncomfortably familiar. A young Fantina stood at the entrance of the Lost Tower, the sliver of moonlight filtering through the branches above casting sharp, eerie shadows across her face. Said shadows were lined with a multitude of eyes, most likely belonging to her ghost companions.

"I wanted answers. Answers to the nightmares that plagued my mind every single night, nightmares of unfathomable destruction and death, the likes of which not even a god would be capable of. Nightmares of the end of all there is, and all that ever will be. And every time, I would watch from high above, like I were something beyond even the universe itself."

If Inyssa were corporeal, her eyes would've shot wide open. What Fantina was saying… these nightmares she had…

"It's just like what Shadi claimed to see," Uxie whispered to her.

W-what the hell…

Fantina continued, not having noticed her shock. "I of course made sure to consult with other ghost specialists like myself, but not a single one knew of these dark, ominous dreams. It seemed I, for better or for worse, was special. And while nowadays I'd want nothing more than a normal life, back then I couldn't have been more different. I was… infatuated with that which others said I couldn't have for myself. The secrets of death, of ghost Pokemon, of these nightmares I kept having… oh, how sweetly they beckoned to me. So sweetly, in fact…"

Another figure appeared behind young Fantina, that of a young, handsome girl of long ashen hair. Inyssa gasped. She'd seen videos and pictures of Johanna from when she was young, but to see her from up close… disregarding her pudginess and the lack of bags under her eyes, the resemblance to her was almost uncanny.

"…that I chased them at the cost of what was dearest to me."

The illusory Johanna tried desperately to grab young Fantina by the arm, but as soon as their skin touched the former burst into smoke and dissipated into nothing. The latter bit her lower lip, but she didn't look back. She walked toward the entrance of the tower, disappearing under its shadow.

"I would spend almost all of my free time inside the tower, studying, investigating, miring myself in the gentle darkness that rested deep within me; trying to understand it. And once the books from Canalave library and the scrolls I'd borrowed from Lavender Tower fell short, I moved my investigation toward greener pastures."

The next scene that materialized before them was one that Inyssa recognized well. Young Fantina stood at the end of a long, cavernous tunnel, the light of her torch unable to penetrate the massive wall in front of her, made entirely of some glassy, obsidian-like stone.

"I visited the Celestic ruins next, although even in possession of the Lorekeeper's ring, what I saw posed more questions than answers. I had no interest in the Lake Trio, nor their supposed creator. I was, however, taken by that wall of pure nothingness from which said creator was born. Yet despite my belief of the contrary, the Lorekeeper of Celestic insisted that the darkness I'd seen meant nothing. That the fresco was only meant to depict the creation of Sinnoh, and nothing more."

Next, Fantina stood atop the ceiling of a building in the middle of the night, overlooking all of Celestic. The multitude of ghost Pokemon floating around her weren't nearly as unsettling as the hungry, almost desperate look shadowing her face.

"I knew she was hiding something from me. Something important. But what could I do? As powerful as I'd become and as much influence as I could muster, I was still a teenage girl, while she was the heir of a clan thousands of years old. Even if I wanted to take the information I needed by force, I didn't stand a chance against someone like her. And yet… once again, the secrets beckoned. They sung sweet lullabies into my dreams, urging me to chase after them. To make them mine.

"After a time, I began to get desperate. All my other searches were for naught and I was driven to the point of seriously considering attacking the Lorekeeper clan just to get answers. I was a fool, of course, as every other person was during their teenage years. What others didn't possess though, was my tenacity, and my power. And most importantly, my lack of attachment to my own well-being. Luckily for fool young me, I didn't need to go to such lengths.

"Because, that night, my dream was different."

The scene changed again. Inyssa heard the rushing, tempestuous rush of water, the sound of a storm swallowing the sea, before she could see it. There was no moon. Only the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the churning chaos that were the waves far, far below, extending infinitely in every direction, seemingly even past the horizon. Despite being there for only an instant, Inyssa found it a dizzying sight.

"I dreamed of this spot, high above some unknown body of water, every night for the following week. Some nights, the sea was swallowed by a storm. Others, it reflected the light of the moon like a polished mirror. But no matter how it looked, the dream always ended the same way. A voice. A… strangely familiar voice."

The storm clouds parted as she said that, revealing the gleaming moon for only an instant before its light was snuffed out, leaving everything in darkness once more. Then, from that darkness, a light shone far below. A pale, sickly turquoise glow under the churning waves, framing the shape of what seemed to be an underwater structure the size of a mountain.

Then, just as fast as it appeared, the glow vanished. And from deep beneath the waves, someone spoke with a voice like thunder, like the sea, like a storm.

"I await you, my child."

To say it was an inhuman voice would've been falling short, as Inyssa felt that not even a legendary Pokemon could've produced such a sound. It was as though the sea itself had split in half to form a mouth with which to speak those words. Yet despite its strength, the tone itself was… warm. Motherly.

It made Inyssa's non-existent skin crawl.

"Eventually, after a lot of investigating, I found a lead," said Fantina. "Less than a legend. A mere myth, a rumor of an underwater maze of caves and temples resting far below the waves of the Unovan sea. The Abyssal Ruins. But, just like with the famed Mirage island from Hoenn, it was said that the ruins would only show themselves under specific circumstances, which nobody knew about. Still… I thought it'd be wise to at least see that spot for myself, considering I'd been dreaming about it for so long. I departed at once.

"Back home, everyone assumed the worst, seeing as I ended up disappearing for an entire month."

A flash of light engulfed everything, thinning a moment after into a single bolt of lightning as the scene changed. Wind and rain battered ceaselessly against young Fantina as she tried to keep herself firm atop her Drifblim. They flew above a dark and endless sea, not a speck of moonlight to be seen. Were it not for the occasional flashes of lightning and the direction the rain was failing toward, it would have been impossible to determine up from down.

And yet, the girl persevered. Her head moved quickly, erratically like that of a Hoothoot as she looked for any sign of the Abyssal Ruins, for the light that heralded its presence. And yet, none could be seen. Drifblim's flight got slower, more difficult. Despite this being a memory, Inyssa illogically wanted to yell at the girl to give it up, to head back to shore and wait for another opportunity, but even if she could have, and even if young Fantina could have heard her, she never got the opportunity.

In the blink of an eye, the sky was parted down the middle by a tower of blinding light. Fantina barely had time to tilt her head up before thunder swallowed her whole. Inyssa gasped, although the sound was drowned by the roar of the boom as it finally traveled through the air.

Everything went dark. The sound of the sea and the storm slowly faded, leaving only the ringing that followed the boom of thunder behind. And in the end, even that vanished. The last sound was one that Inyssa knew she would never forget for as long as she lived; that of a body desperately flailing and spluttering the last of its precious air as it sank into the abyssal depths.

"Strangely, the last thing I felt was not fear or desperation. It was… familiarity. Safety. The feeling of falling asleep on sweet, caring arms, knowing that everything will be alright.

"And in the midst of that feeling, I heard that same voice."

Once again, as the voice spoke, Inyssa felt every inch of her incorporeal form shiver.

"My poor child… you've been careless again, haven't you? You mustn't do that. You are my beloved creation. You are a part of me, so why do you choose to hurt yourself? Can't you see how it also hurts me?

"But… it's alright. I forgive you, my child. I can wake you up from this dream, just like I did all those years ago. All I ask in return is another small part of you. Will you do it? Will you feed your poor mother for the chance to rise once more?"

There was a moment of silence, and then the voice spoke again.

"Yes, it's alright now. Just a little bit further, and you'll find me. Just a little bit further… and you'll free me, my child. You will take my place."

Inyssa jumped as a choked gasp was heard and a different scene materialized in an instant. Young Fantina lay on her side, desperately trying to catch her breath. Her coughs echoed throughout the cavernous insides of the place she'd woken up in. It was… massive. An impossibly tall and wide corridor of blue-ish ancient stone, poorly illuminated by the chunks of chargestone stuck to the walls.

It didn't look like any kind of architecture Inyssa had seen in her life. The corridor turned and twisted onto itself as though it were a spiral, spires and cubes and strange pieces of rock growing out of the ground, walls and ceiling in random spots, sometimes even blocking the chargestones themselves. A few of the stone structures were lined with holes or slots in which to put something in, while others already possessed some form of item inside, though not all of them were like that. The placement and assortment of everything in the corridor made it look less like a human-made structure and more like a building growing and expanding in the same way a plant would.

"Much like I'd done once before, I gave up a part of myself in order to… rise again," said Fantina, sadness clear in her voice. "And once I woke up, this is where I found myself in."

What… is this?

"The place I'd been looking for; the Abyssal Ruins. Although some better know it by the name of 'The Sunken Library'."

It doesn't look much like a library.

"Nor did I begin to drown when I woke up inside, but you know how people are with names," said Fantina. "Regardless, I didn't have much time to muse about semantics. I was weak and confused by what had just happened to me, but I wouldn't let that stop me. I began to explore the ruins without even a semblance of a plan, as circumstances had forced me to. Fortunately… or perhaps the opposite, I didn't need to look for long before finding something."

Once again, everything dissipated into smoke, only to reform once more. This time, Fantina found herself in a similarly dark room the size of a cathedral, a misshapen clump of about a hundred chargestones tied with a net and hanging from the ceiling, casting a sickly blue light upon the tall, slender statues that formed a circle around the middle of the room.

And, in the spot where all the shadows converged, stood something that any pair of eyes would have recognized as a person, yet Inyssa's mind blared a loud alarm at the sight of him, telling her that there was something there she wasn't seeing. Next to her, she felt Uxie grunt, as though in pain.

"My meeting with Alberich, was... monumental, but ill-fated. Yet to young me, he was exactly the person I'd been looking for all this time. As the keeper of the ruins, he possessed the knowledge that had escaped my grasp for so long, and he was willing to give it to me… for a price."

Inyssa was almost too distracted to listen, unable to take her eyes off the man, trying to determine his facial features amidst the heavy shadows falling upon him. Something about him… felt terribly familiar.

The fact that he's the keeper of a place like this… I'm guessing he wasn't asking for money in return.

"Unfortunately, no. What he wanted was for me to join him. To join them." Just then, Alberich's shadow split into seven others, each with a distinct shape and appearance. "His Stigma. There were supposed to be eight in total, and I was meant to replace their number eight, whose time was, according to Alberich, starting to run out."

That's…

"Ominous? Yes. Though he assured me that all I needed to do was take her place, take her Stigma. Once I did that, I could leave for Sinnoh and never see him or any of the others again, and it wouldn't be a problem. And the strangest part was that… well, he was telling the truth.

"I don't need to tell you my answer. I hadn't come all this way and died a second time just to turn around and leave it all behind. I'd already done my fair share of sacrifices. What was one more? So I accepted. I became their Eight Stigma, and did like all others before me, keeping Chaos from spreading out."

The scene faded again, though this time it didn't reform. Inyssa felt as though her very soul frowned; this couldn't be it, could it? No, if it was then she was probably allowed to punch Fantina in the face.

But… what the hell is the Institute, and who are all those people? And what even is Chaos? she asked, irritated. I know it's what we saw in that fresco, and I know it's what Nyss brought into the world when she tried to enslave Dialga and Palkia, but what is it!?

"I had much the same questions as you. I too had been to Celestic Ruins, and I too had read Nyss' diary… though back then it was hidden not amidst the tomes of Canalave but in the insides of the Sunken Library. But no amount of reading or investigating could have prepared me for the truth. For me, it was my hunger for knowledge that led me to it. For you, it's necessity, and the desire to save what you love. Despite your intentions being nobler than mine, I have to ask… are you sure you want to know? I can show you, but–"

Oh, don't you dare pull that shit on me! Inyssa cut her off, voice flaring with anger. I didn't come all this way just for more cryptic bullshit!

Despite being unable to see it, Inyssa could tell that Fantina smiled.

"I suppose you haven't. I'll have to apologize to Johanna for roping yet another one of her daughters into this, but… it really is inevitable," she said, turning toward the empty space before her. "Fine. Let's share this truth. All I ask is that you brace yourself."

I'm read–

Inyssa didn't get to finish the sentence, which saved her from being proven wrong less than a second later.