You make your way up a set of stairs, the narrow hall coming to an end. Candles are lined all across the walls, providing you sources of light- however dim. A door can be made out in the distance, the final room before the Fountain. You can feel it… down to your very soul. The destination is close, and you'll have finally reached the end of this journey in just a moment's notice.

There is someone following you. Your partner who has been with you since the start of this journey, who has helped you for so long. There is no need to turn back to look at them… their loyalty is assured. The other two were separated from your group. Lost within the cathedral's cavernous maze.

Hopefully those things did not get to them.

Finally reaching the door, you push through without hesitation. Light blinds you as you step foot into the main room of the cathedral. The room where one would pray…

You and your partner walk through the cathedral's nave, passing the empty aisles where worshippers would normally be placed. Just as you reach the altar, a voice calls to you.

"You dare step upon our Sanctuary? Where one would be protected against all evil?" The door you entered from shuts, trapping you here. You turn to look behind you, and then forward only to find a figure now standing behind the altar. A book in front of him, as if he was giving a sermon, hunched over the altar.

"The fallen angel and her corrupted knight stand before me." It was Father Alvin; it appears that he too was brought to this Dark World. "Knocking on Heaven's door."

Your partner says to you, "There is another enemy ahead. Shall I take care of it?"

"By now I've come to realize my error." The priest continued before you could give the command. His voice is tired… Mournful. "I should have known that we had a wolf in our midst… it is the shepherd's job to protect his flock. Father, forgive me."

You point towards the priest, giving your partner the command to attack. A shock of ice was sent flying towards Alvin at a shocking speed. Her power had grown tremendously since you first met… you could feel a slight shiver of pride at the accomplishment.

Except that the attack did not connect with the intended target. Surrounding the priest was a sphere of light, encasing him in. The ice shock was rebounded into a wall, damaging some of the stained-glass windows. Realizing that magic attacks would be fruitless, you motion your partner to stand back as you draw your sword.

You make to charge at the priest, when suddenly several pillars of light appeared all around you. You were surrounded. The pillars began to glow brightly, nearly blinding before they erupted into tiny, tiny balls of light. The balls rush toward you from every direction. You try to dodge and block with your shield, but it was no use. The balls of light scratch at you, doing little damage in a high quantity.

"The Angel offers me protection." The priest explains. "My faith will guide me towards the Light. What guides you?"

You respond by continuing your charge, slashing your sword at the light sphere around Alvin. The sphere ripples slightly… the sword did a little bit of damage. Good. The meddling priest can be defeated then. It will just take a little bit longer than anticipated.

Alvin pushed his right hand forward, open palmed. A beam of light was shot towards you, one that hits you square in the chest. You're thrown back into the nave, away from the sanctuary. That beam… it did a lot of damage. Best not to get hit by it again.

You snap your fingers, and suddenly a green circle surrounds you. The wounds that Alvin has made on you vanish, leaving nothing behind. You are completely healed thanks to your partner.

With both hands clasped around the sword's hilt, you charge once more. Raising the sword over your head, you swing downwards to slash at the sphere. It ripples more than it did last time.

Before the priest can counter, you quickly spin yourself towards the left, getting an extra hit in to cause more damage. A circle of light surrounds you from the ground, forcing you to dive to the side. Another pillar rises from that circle, and then vanishes once it realizes that it missed its target.

Father Alvin is a stationary target, relying on his shield completely. He planned for her strength… but not yours. Power can be used in different ways. One can simply overwhelm every obstacle, another could outmaneuver them.

"While the concept of 'sin' might not be recognized by our congregation," Alvin says. "You are a demon wearing the face of a child." Circles of light appear in the air around him, brimming with magical power. You ready yourself.

"And so, an exorcism must be performed."

You exorcise your right to survive and run through the pews as beams of light burst through the circles, all homed in on you. You duck, dive, roll and jump through the beams as they tear the pews apart, leaving nothing but shavings of wood behind. Soon the lights vanish, and so too the circles that were near the priest. You look to make sure your partner is unharmed, and she is.

Good. It seems that the only target is you.

You rush towards the sanctuary, sword raised once more over your head. Once you've reached the altar, once you've reached the priest, you swing down again. The sphere of light ripples and cracks, before breaking to pieces, vanishing into thin air.

The moment has arrived, this distraction has lasted long enough. You turn towards your partner and give her your final command. Finish this…

And she complies immediately. Hands raised, eyes glowing white. Her most powerful spell to be used on this worthless priest. Around the room, cracks begin to form on the windows that overlook you. They each break from the spell's pressure, and snow rushes in to consume everything.

The cold is harsh, you can feel it. But you know this attack will never be directed at you. With this in mind, you look down on the kneeling priest, hands clasped around a rosary as he says his final prayer. The snow encircled him, engulfed him until you couldn't see his silhouette. Soon he will be nothing but ice.

The sounds of the storm… the wind screeching in your ears, the snow blowing wildly in every direction, none of that mattered. You were still able to hear the priest's muttering.

"O father, hear my prayer… please grant me your strength one last time!"

At once, a circle of light glowed through the dark storm. Where the priest was to become a frozen statue for eternity, instead you can see him standing firm. The snow battered against the light, but it was no use. Father Alvin stood firm against the raging storm.

You almost didn't hear her screams of pain… nearly buried under the snow.

When the snow settled at last, your vision returning to you, you look to see what's behind you. What you saw was not your partner, but a solid snow statue of where she was supposed to be standing.

For a brief moment, you felt anxious.

"It is time." A deep voice rumbled, the echo resonating through the room. You look towards the altar. Father Alvin, wielding a simple hammer, stands tall as his gaze pierces your soul. His appearance altered, no longer was he the hunched-over old fool of a priest. He stood tall, upright. Angelic and determined. His eyes glowing with a majestic power. If there was mercy in his heart before… any trace of it has now since vanished.

A bell's chime vibrates the air.

Gripping your sword, you hold a defensive stance. Unsure of Alvin's newfound power, you decide to play it safe. The ground begins to rumble, as if the very earth was roaring to life. Alvin raised his hammer, straight over his head. His eyes never leaving yours.

"Only the Angel can pass judgement… I am merely the tool of which to administer your punishment."

He swings his hammer down, calling forth a storm of light. Beams of light, thicker than before, appear from above, searing the ground below.

You run. You run forward, you run to the left. You backpedal, you run to the right. Everywhere you turned there was scorching light, entrapping you in a storm from hell. Wherever the light touched… fire remained. The beams died out, leaving nothing but fire.

Hellfire surrounds you.

The heat was excruciating, but you persevere. There was no going back now. Pushing through the blazing fires, you force your way back into the sanctuary. Scorch marks cover you, burns and bruises covering your skin.

You charge at the priest, eyes set on the target. Aiming for the center of his chest, you drive your sword forward only to be parried by the hammer Alvin held in his hand. Before you could react, Alvin points his other hand at you and shoots a beam of light to blow you away. Thankfully you were prepared for the counter, your shield taking the hit for you. Scorch marks seared onto it now for eternity.

"You lack contrition and do not seek penance." The turtle says. His hammer starts to glow brightly. "Thus, you will never have absolution." He swipes the hammer to the left, summoning a straight wall of light in front of him. Through the light-

Those things!

-miniature angels appear through the wall, shrieking towards you. There must be hundreds of them, at least. You turn to run from them, but even you are not fast enough to dodge these abominations. With each bite that passes through you, a burning mark is left behind. It burns from your skin to your very core.

These angels… they're burning your very soul…

"Retribution from those who have perished by your hand."

You feel the weight of your sins fill your lungs.

You're tempted to dive down into the fires that have now covered the nave, and the transept as well. Instead, you put all your weight into diving to your side, tricking the angels into purging themselves in the inferno. Breathing haggard, you slowly rise and turn back to Alvin; the wall that he had summoned having vanished during your chase. You take a step towards him. Then another, and another.

The air crackles with light.

Within a split second, that golden hammer appears before your face. Leaning back before the connection was made, you swing your sword in return. The sword is parried by a small barrier of light, and you place your shield over your head as the hammer slams down into you. The ground cracks beneath you, the clanging of metal reverberating alongside the sizzling flames.

You push forward, shield out in front. Alvin is forced to pull back as you give chase. The priest is fast, faster than you would have ever expected from the turtle. Whatever power he has now… he wields it well.

Dodging a light barrier meant to block your path, you chase Alvin back to the cathedral's altar. He shoots multiple beams from his hammer, but you weave through them. You go to slash the priest, but a barrier prevents you. This time, however, the barrier ripples slightly, just like before. Alvin's defensive spells are weakening. You slash at it again.

And again. And again. Slash, slash, strike. Slash, slash, strike. The barrier ripples more and more, cracks beginning to form. Your strikes grow heavier as you put more weight into them. You can see the desperation in Alvin's eyes as you slowly break through his shield. He closes his eyes, as if he were submitting.

Heaven's choir sings high above you.

Alvin's hammer glows once more, his eyes opening wide. He breaks his own barrier, and before you can go for the kill the barrier's shards absorb into each other, reforming into a sword that slashes at you. You block with your shield and swing your sword at the magical copy. The light breaks and vanishes, but its too late. Alvin gained a slight distance from you, breaking free from the pressure you had mounted onto him.

For a moment, you thought you saw a look of regret on the old turtle's face. As if… as if looking at you brought back a terrible memory. As if this battle was the last thing he wanted, that it should have been the last thing you wanted. A feeling forms in your chest… A feeling of familiarity…

Confessions die in your throat.

You rush at him, your vigor renewed. There was nowhere for the turtle to run now, his only choice was to fight and die.

Your sword meets his hammer. Silver clashes with gold. Echoes of metal hitting metal, echoes of the clangor dancing in the air. The surrounding fire eating away at the air. The bell's toll vibrating the air. There was little time left before-

"Ah!" Alvin cries out, with a sword piercing his chest and through his back. The golden hammer drops to the ground, its once bright gold now turning to a dim, sickly yellow. The sword is pulled out of him, and he falls to the ground.

You stare at him, as he shivers and shakes and writhes in pain. Picking up the fallen hammer, you decide to hold onto it for a later time. It could prove to be useful in the coming adventures.

Without the hammer's power keeping it alive, the fire dies out and vanishes. Silence returns to the cathedral, with only the sounds of Alvin's pained cries filling the air.

"I… seem to have failed you again… father…"

You turn away from the fallen priest, uncaring of what becomes of his body. You look towards the frozen form of your partner, the thick ice showing no signs of damage. Even now, her power overcame the priest's. So how…?

You walk towards the ice, peering into it. You wanted to see… but its hard to see into the ice.

You turn towards the final door that the priest was guarding. The door to the Fountain… at last, this adventure can come to an end. Walking towards it was painfully dull now that all obstacles have been defeated. The only move left to make was to erase it all now.

Entering the Fountain's domain, you waste no time moving towards it. Releasing you soul and lifting it into the Fountain… your world is drowned in Light.