FATE/CURADH BEAG

"Little Champion"

Chapter 21: Swallowed by the Earth

Once Connla readied Liath Macha for their trip, she and Naoise set off northward for Emain Macha. It would take them until about early that evening to make the crossing, so it was an uneventful journey through the forest. The only quibble that occurred was Liath misbehaving because he refused to allow anyone besides Connla to ride him. She was worried about Naoise being tired and offered to let him ride Liath, but the steed audibly grunted in objection.

"Now, don't be stubborn," Connla chided. "I know we've been dragging you around everywhere, but that's no excuse to be so snippy."

"Frrrgh!"

"Sir Naoise must be exhausted from having to walk all the time. Can't you let him ride you for just a little bit?"

"Fweeeee!" Liath neighed, as if in retaliation.

She puffed her cheek as she pouted, "Mmmgh! Do I have to be strict with you now!?"

"Come on, there's no need to get angry," Naoise urged. "I'm fine, and it's not much farther anyway."

"No, I'll get him to cooperate. This is a matter of discipline – something which a horse should get familiar with as soon as possible."

He watched in embarrassment as Connla clamored off of Liath's back and stood in front of the obstinate horse. She firmly put her hands on her hips and said, "Horses are not supposed to be picky about who gets to ride them. You have an important job to do, and I expect you to perform it without question. Now settle down and let Sir Naoise get on."

Liath glared away from her in clear disdain.

"What's the problem? Is it because I don't weigh much?"

"Ffffmgh!"

"Don't be ridiculous. You're strong enough to carry three children, but suddenly you're all weak and feeble whenever a single man wants to ride you? I think you're being a little too discriminatory here."

"Frrrrgh…"

"Ohhh, so you're saying you don't want carrots for dessert tonight? You'll be perfectly fine with just bland leftover silo grain?"

"…"

Finally, Liath approached Naoise and waited for him to get on. The warrior chuckled sheepishly, then accepted the horse's invitation to climb on his back. Connla patted Liath's flank and said, "There we go. That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Really, there's no need to go through so much trouble…" Naoise murmured.

"No, I figured it was something I needed to address. Seriously, I don't understand why he's so fussy," Connla grumbled.

"Hm… If I remember right, Liath Macha was one of Cuchulainn's two chariot horses, wasn't he?"

"That's my understanding. Uncle Fergus owns the other horse, Dubh Sainglend."

"Do you think Liath misses his former owner?"

Connla gazed into the steed's dark eyes, then murmured in concern, "Maybe. But it's not like things can go back to the way they used to be. It may have been 15 years, but he still needs to learn to accept change."

Naoise stroked Liath's mane and said, "I know it's difficult for you, buddy. At least you've have a wonderful owner now. Keep taking care of her, will you? Her duty as a Champion has definitely been tough on her, so it's great to know you're helping her out."

"Wrrrgh!" Liath merrily neighed in acknowledgement.

They kept moving forward for the next two hours, eating a simple assortment of bread and fruit they brought with them from the hut as their supper. Eventually, they broke through the edge of the woods and saw the town nearby. Several farms could be seen in the distance, although most of the fields had been completely harvested in time for the incoming winter season. The town itself was nowhere near as grand as Galway, nor as desolate and depressing as Belfast, but it possessed a rustic charm of its own. If Connla was not a Champion, she would have loved to settle in a town like this.

She remarked, "So this is Emain Macha, the village erected in the goddess Macha's honor."

"Yes. It can mean either Macha's Twins, Macha's Pair, or Macha's Brooch, in reference to the two features on the hilltop," Naoise explained as he pointed at the two distinct formations of land dotting the peak of the rolling hills. "Considering that Fir and Fial were Macha's children though, it could've also been named in their honor."

"I'm not 100% sure, but it could be the townsfolk's attempt at easing Macha's enmity toward Ulster. If I wanted to calm a goddess' rage after she miscarried her children, keeping their memory alive through any means possible is definitely what I would do."

"I think so too."

The adventurers strolled through the town's main gates and found the nearest inn. After enjoying a decent meal in the tavern, they turned in for the night, hoping to begin their investigation at first light.

The Land of Shadows

Cuchulainn returned to the castle after spending a hard day's work quelling any unrest within his undead army. In simpler terms, he punished any spirits who had any plans of rebelling against him. It was much harder to rally them when they had little reason for fighting on the mortal world's behalf. Instead of trying to rationalize with them, Cuchulainn used extreme and violent force to destroy any key insurrectionists who were inspiring others to follow their lead. This dissuaded the weaker spirits from taking any further action, and reluctantly surrendered to their king's absolute authority.

Feeling worn out from all of the fighting, Cuchulainn planted Gae Bolg blade-first into the floor next to the throne and sat down with an exhausted grunt.

"What a pain in the ass," he grumbled to no one in particular.

There was no point in complaining about it though. He just needed to be patient and formulate his war plans as methodically as possible. He was afraid that if he took even one wrong step, Medb would find a weakness in his strategy and crush him before he knew how to react. He knew that a 'perfect' strategy was not humanly possible, but he wanted to at least make it as foolproof as it could be.

Unfortunately, he didn't feel that he was ready yet. He absolutely needed to make sure that Connla was successful in her mission to dispel the Curse of Macha, or else the pincer strategy he discussed with Ewan would not work. Fergus' army would be stricken by the curse, giving Medb an opening to fall back to either Ulster or Leinster if needed. Fleeing to Leinster was fine, but if she was able to run away to Ulster, that would put both Cathbad and the Leyline in perilous danger, since the Grand Servant would not be able to be summoned to fell the Tree of Emptiness. Cuchulainn did not want to take that gamble while the curse was still active.

To him, the problem was how Connla was supposed to find the curse's origin. Other than the legend of Macha's death, there really was nothing else for her to go on. Even if she scoured the area where Macha and her twins died, what was she supposed to look for in the first place? There weren't any reports of paranormal activity within the town, meaning the threat was concealing itself far more efficiently than what happened with Deirdre of the Sorrows. After all, this was a goddess they were dealing with. Cuchulainn knew that Macha was one of Morrigan's two sisters; the other was Badb, the war goddess who could change the tide of battle to whichever side she favored, and was said to shriek like a banshee.

There was one common thread that linked the sisters together though – the fact that they were all related to the earth in some form or another. Macha in particular represented the earth's fertility, and that it could be vengeful if disrespected. Morrigan's existence revolved around personifying any given territory and either granting or revoking sovereignty to a king over such land, while Badb oversaw any conflict that involved territorial disputes. Furthermore, the world's only surviving Leyline was also a vein of pure mana located deep within the ground beneath Ulster.

Hmm… The earth, huh?

Cuchulainn couldn't be sure, but he had a hunch that he wanted to confirm. Now that he had a plan in mind, he reclined upon the throne and closed his eyes, transferring his consciousness from his body back into the Mini Cu doll.

Emain Macha

Early the following morning, Connla woke up and washed her face before getting ready to leave with Naoise. It was going to be a long day of asking questions and poking around for any clues. Naoise had warned her that the topic of Macha's death was not one that the citizens would be entirely comfortable with discussing, meaning they would have to exercise a lot more tact and reasoning than usual if they wanted to find answers.

Connla organized her belongings to make sure she had everything, but it quickly became apparent that something was missing. She looked through her satchel again and wondered, "Hm? That's odd. The plush is missing."

She knew she never took it out even once the previous day. The bag had been tied shut, yet the small rope was loose. She realized what this potentially meant and sighed, "Oh brother… Did Cuchulainn take it over and wander off on his own?"

She felt a slight migraine coming on as she realized she would have to look around for Mini Cu on top of her inquiring the townsfolk. She rubbed her forehead, then was about to leave the room when she noticed a small figure hopping onto the window sill. She gasped when she recognized it and blurted, "Cuchulainn!"

"Hey there," the grinning Mini Cu waved his tiny arm at her casually while wielding his miniature Gae Bolg in the other hand. "Finally awake, I see."

The irate Connla stormed up to him, quickly placed him on the bed so no one else would see them, and then exclaimed, "Don't you just 'hey there' me! Did you seriously run around town looking like that!?"

"Everyone was fast asleep when I left, so no one noticed me. Even if they did, this tiny body makes it easy for me to find hiding spots."

"That's not the problem! Why couldn't you have waited for me to wake up!? It'd be more believable to everyone if I was carrying you around, rather than you lurking about like some mythical creature that'd make anyone panic!"

"Would you calm down already? I had something very important to look into, and I couldn't wait until morning. Luckily for both of us, I discovered what I was searching for."

"Does this have anything to do with Macha?"

"Damn straight."

"Hmph… This had better be good," Connla folded her arms and huffed.

Mini Cu wanted to tell her to lighten up, but he had a feeling she wasn't in the mood for it. Instead, he told her, "I found the exact spot where Macha and her kids died inside the race track."

Her eyes lit up a bit. "Did you?"

"Even for a goddess, it's impossible to not leave a sort of 'spiritual stain' behind after cursing the inhabitants of an entire province. It isn't noticeable to ordinary people, but druids are able to pick up on it if they apply their Runecraft properly. It's still rather difficult to pinpoint the precise location it due to how widespread the curse is. Hell, even I had a hard time figuring it out with everything at my disposal. Fortunately, I could also use my nose to sniff for traces of old blood, and found some near one of the goal lines."

Connla was a little startled at first, and she blurted, "Uh… You used your nose? Like how a dog would?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem with that?"

"No. It's just… well, I wasn't expecting that."

"When you lose a lot of your humanity and regress to that of a carnal beast like I have, your senses become much more heightened than usual. Hell, I could probably eat any kind of animal and know exactly where it was from based on its scent and diet."

"You don't say…"

"But we're getting off topic here. I'll show you where to go, and you can sort out the rest from there."

She nodded, then exited the inn and found Naoise waiting a bit impatiently for her on the dirt road. He asked her why she was so late, and she explained everything that Mini Cu told her just now. Naoise was rather surprised with Cuchulainn's discovery, but still believed it would be a good idea for him to ask around town in case anyone had valuable information. They agreed to split up for now and meet back at the tavern, then went their separate ways. Connla made her way to the horse race track and paid for a pass to go inside.

The track was closed today, but it was a popular form of entertainment for the royalty and nobility to gamble on the outcomes of any given race. On a business day, the high-priced seats would be filled with wealthy tourists from all over Ireland who wanted to forget about the world's woes for a short while and place bets on their favorite steeds. Many of the common folk were also addicted to these races and scrounged up whatever money they could find, hoping to earn a good profit. In turn, such winnings would be quickly spent on buying barrels of spare rain water that opportunistic merchants would tack hefty prices on.

Barely anyone was around today besides a couple of employees who cleaned the fields every day. This gave Connla and Mini Cu plenty of freedom to walk around without being disturbed too much. He pointed her towards the finish line in question, and as she approached, the hairs on her skin started to prickle.

"Whoa," she uttered. "I think I'm picking something up."

"Figured you would," Mini Cu said. "It's the residual energy I told you about, where Macha lay dying and cursed Ulster's warriors."

She became forlorn as she frowned and thought, So this is where Fir and Fial died…

She shook her head to try and dismiss such dismal musings. She had a job to do, and she needed to concentrate. She kneeled upon the dirt and glided her hand just a few inches off the ground to perform a more detailed scan with her Runes. She closed her eyes, and the Runes showed her what the magical energy deep within the earth looked like. Distinct blue lines ebbed along the rocks, stretching further and further into the bedrock. It was leading her somewhere, but since she was about to reach the depth where the Leyline was, the huge amount of magical energy radiating through the land would make it nearly impossible for her to see anything more than an endless wash of azure light.

"Hmm… I don't think I can do much with the skills I have," Connla admitted. "I may know some Runes, but not enough to be considered a high-class druid. The ones I use tend to be tailored more towards battle, rather than practical applications like this. It's such a difficult challenge, I think that Lord Cathbad may be the only one who can do anything."

"But at least you know where the entry point is," Mini Cu said.

"Yes. It's safe to assume that Macha's curse is relying on the Leyline to keep it active. It's almost like a geas that's been applied to the earth itself, and any Ulsterman who walks upon Ulster soil will suffer its effects once the conditions have been met."

"Interesting. I had never thought of it that way."

She then grew perplexed as she murmured, "But there was something else I noticed."

"What is it?"

"The curse isn't just contained to Ulster. It's reaching out all the way to Connacht, Leinster, and even into Munster. All of Ireland is under its effects. Why would that be? All of the tales claim that Macha only afflicted Ulster – nothing has ever been mentioned about the other provinces."

Mini Cu folded his arms as he thought of a reasonable answer. He whispered to himself, "It could be possible…"

"Did you think of something?"

"Remember that the three Morrigan sisters all relate with the earth, especially with granting territory to reigning lords. Since Ulster lost to Connacht at the Cattle Raid's conclusion, Medb took possession of Ulster and amalgamated it with Connacht. Then she forced Munster and Leinster to join Connacht as well, effectively turning all of Ireland into a singular province."

"So you're saying that the other provinces inherited the curse by virtue of the merger?"

"Most likely. As far as Macha is concerned, if any other territory is conjoined with Ulster, then it too is considered to be Ulster."

"Wow. This is a lot worse than I thought," Connla murmured gravely. "Uncle Fergus' insurrection will be stopped cold if nothing is done about this."

"Hmph. Leave it to Medb to fuck things up even more than they already are."

"Not to mention that the curse is sucking up the Leyline's magical energy to keep it active. Short of diving into the Leyline itself, there's literally nothing I can do here."

The doll shrugged and said, "Oh well. At least you can compel that old fart to do something useful for once, besides ruining people's lives with his ridiculous prophecies."

"I sure hope this won't waste too much of his t-"

She stopped in mid-sentence when she thought she felt the ground quiver beneath her feet like gelatin. She gasped, thinking she was slipping on ice for a split second, but then the rumbling subsided as instantly as it occurred. She glanced at him and asked nervously, "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"I-I thought the ground shook for a second. Was it just my imagination?"

"Oy, lassie!" they heard one of the workers shout from several yards away. He waved at her frantically and exclaimed, "Ye need t'git outta 'ere pronto! The quakes are 'appenin' 'gain!"

"Quakes?" she asked.

"Aye! Dunno why, but the town's been gittin' a case o'the shakes lately, if ye know what I mean! I think this may be the biggest one we got!"

Connla and Mini Cu made eye contact, both realizing in stunned silence what this could mean. She picked the doll up and struggled to flee, but then lost her balance and fell face-first upon the dirt after the ground's shivering erupted into a full-blown earthquake. Mini Cu blurted, "You okay, kid!?"

"Owww… I think I hit my nose…"

"Come on, get up! I can see cracks forming on the field already!"

"Ah… Ouch!" she screamed when her head accidentally lurched forward against her volition and smacked against the earth.

He grit his teeth and thought, This isn't good!

The only things she could hear anymore were the persistent rumbling and piercing cracks of solid earth that opened up like the maws of hundreds of hungry animals waiting for their food to fall through. The race track was ruined, and the man who was calling out to her had already bailed by this point. Before Connla could shuffle onto her knees, a horrific and unnatural roar screamed from deep within the bedrock. Now she really was starting to think that there was some kind of gigantic beast lurking in there that had awakened from its slumber. Suddenly, the ground she was on shifted sideways like a pillar that was sliding inward on a muddy foundation, and she started to slip dangerously close to the edge.

"CONNLA!" Mini Cu shrieked.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Before either of them knew what was going on, they both fell off and plummeted into the crevice that opened up. Shock overcame the stricken girl's senses, preventing her from thinking rationally enough to escape this predicament. There had absolutely been no warning whatsoever, and certainly no reason to suspect something like this would happen. As she watched the fissure rise all around her, and the hole get smaller and smaller with each second, a familiar azure light glowed from behind her peripheral vision. She was unable to do anything as the blue glow grew more and more intense until it overwhelmed her vision, and she completely blacked out.

Back at Leabharcham's hut, Deirdre read some poetry that her caretaker had left behind to the twins. Most of them were lengthy stories that enthralled the children with tales of emotional adventure, which helped keep their minds off of Macha. They kept a small bonfire going to keep warm as they quietly listened. However, for some peculiar reason, the children were looking more and more uncomfortable.

"Lo, I say!" Deirdre exclaimed as she read from the parchment. "Doth not recognize mine affection for thee? Why doth thou persist in ignoring mine declarations? Hath I been mistaken this whole time? Art I doomed to live with an unrequited heart for the rest of mine days? Answer me, woman of noble heart and wealth! Must social stature control our destinies, and-"

"Um," Fir suddenly uttered. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but…"

"Hm? What is it? Would you like to take a break?" the young woman asked.

"No, it's a really good story. But I think… someone's calling my name."

"I hear someone saying my name too," Fial admitted.

"Really?" Deirdre raised an eyebrow and looked around. "I haven't heard anything of the sort."

Without warning, the twins got up and hurried outside, which alarmed Deirdre. She scrambled to her feet and chased after them, shouting, "Where are you going!? It's dangerous at night!"

She lost them momentarily amidst the dense autumn forest and dark evening sky. Dried up leaves crinkled beneath her shoes as she wandered around looking for them. She soon discovered them standing side-by-side in a small clearing near a stream of gently gurgling water. Their expressions were eerily blank as they stared afar at what Deirdre thought was absolutely nothing. She wanted to scold them for running off, but their distant gazes gave her pause.

"What's the matter, you two?" she asked.

"Fir…" Fial murmured. "Is that who I think it is?"

"I don't know for sure. But I think it's him," Fir responded in an empty voice.

Deirdre struggled to understand what they were going on about, and she uttered, "Come to your senses already! What is it that's gotten you both in such a fuss!?"

They glanced back at her in concern, and Fial asked, "You don't see him?"

"See who?"

"Thewe's a fawmer standing thewe and saying ouw names."

"Papa was a farmer, so we think it's him," Fir added.

"Um…" Deirdre was completely perplexed by this development. "I'm sorry, but I don't see this fellow that you're talking about."

The children looked at each other uneasily. Fial moaned, "But he's wight thewe. He's tewwing us to go to Emain Macha."

"Say, do you think something bad's going to happen to Connla and Naoise?" Fir wondered worriedly. "Maybe Papa wants us to help them."

"Yeah. Papa pwobabwy wants us to save Mama befowe she huwts them."

Deirdre frowned once the conversation turned towards Naoise potentially being in danger. She tightened the shawl around her shoulders, then said, "I'm not sure what's going on, but if this man you claim is your father wants you to go to Emain Macha, then maybe there's a good reason for it."

"I think so too," Fir nodded in agreement. "Can we go as soon as possible?"

"Papa wants us to huwwy," Fial uttered. "If we don't, something weawwy, weawwy bad might happen."

"All right," Deirdre relented. "If you're both claiming to have seen him, then I shouldn't question it too much. The trip may be dangerous at night though, so let's wait until morning."

With that, the trio returned to the hut and gathered whatever supplies they would need for the journey. Once they finished getting ready, it was only a matter of waiting for daybreak to arrive so they could leave without worry of nocturnal monsters attacking them. Since they were all too restless to consider getting some sleep, they sat down around the dimming fire and ate some bread.

Fial grew concerned as she asked her brother, "Say, Fir… Awe we doing the wight thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"We don't even know what Papa wooks wike, so that might not have been him at awl."

"But he was definitely saying our names, and Ms. Deirdre couldn't see him."

"Hmm… I don't know. We don't even know what Mama wooks wike either. Even if we met her, we wouldn't know if it was her."

"That's true…"

Deirdre leaned in and asked, "Do you two know anything about your father?"

Fir faced her and said, "Only what Auntie told us. He was a poor and lonely farmer named Cruinnuic who had lost his first wife. Mama suddenly showed up at his home one day and acted as his wife, doing housekeeping duties without saying a word. Thanks to her presence, Papa's farm flourished, and he amassed a lot of wealth."

"So they didn't have a proper marriage?"

"I don't think so. But they loved each other anyway, and Mama became pregnant with us. Then one day, Papa brought Mama to the horse races, but Mama told him to never talk about her with anyone. Papa broke that promise by boasting to a king that Mama could run faster than the royal steeds. The insulted king threatened Papa with death if he couldn't prove his claims, so Mama had to enter the race to save Papa's life."

"So that's how it all happened," Deirdre murmured. "But the price for your father's hubris was too steep. Instead of just him being put to death, your mother had to sacrifice both herself and the two of you. Three lives in exchange for one, in other words. It's no wonder Macha cursed Ulster's men – it must have been all much too unfair for her to bear without exacting some form of revenge towards the impotence of kings and nobility. By afflicting Ulster's warriors during their time of need, she would force them to understand the weight of their excessive pride while being trampled upon by an outside invader."

"I guess so," Fial said. "But Connwa said that the scawy guy Cuchuwainn is gonna wage war with Iwewand soon. That means Mama's cuwse is gonna twigger, isn't it?"

"It sure seems like it. That's what Naoise and Connla are working to prevent."

"Then if Papa says thewe's something we can do, I say we should do it!"

"Yeah," Fir nodded. "It may be scary, but I don't want my death to be partly responsible for Ireland's men being unable to fight when they need to."

"Me neither! We just gotta be bwave and go!"

Deirdre gently smiled, realizing that the twins truly wanted to contribute in any way they could towards stopping the Curse of Macha. She glanced through the window and noticed that the sky was getting slightly brighter. She shuffled to her feet and said, "All right, I think we can set out now. It's still pretty cold outside, so make sure to bundle up."

"'Kay!" the twins replied simultaneously.

Connla gradually regained consciousness, realizing that she was lying on her side.

She opened her eyes and wearily looked around at her surroundings. Her vision was terribly blurry and her head felt like it contained an entire building's worth of bricks inside it. She managed to make out that she was resting within a grassy field, and the dim sky indicated that it was early morning. The breeze flowed against the grass like water smoothly gliding along a shallow river. However, she couldn't hear anything resembling a breeze. In fact, everything was totally silent.

Where am I?

That obvious question would not receive an answer. Connla struggled to stand up, but it was pointless to try due to the immense fatigue she was suffering. All she could do was sit there and take in the scenery as she thought about what had happened.

Last I recall, Sir Naoise and I were looking around in Emain Macha's horse racetrack. Then I found a spot that emanated residual spiritual energy… and then the ground started to shake.

Was she in a dream? Despite her abnormal surroundings, she was acutely aware of being wide awake, so it couldn't be that. She might not have been sleeping, but this location felt way too distant and abnormal for her to be in the real world. Was she taken to some foreign reality without knowing it? She knew the Land of Shadows wasn't the only alternate dimension out there, so that was the most probable solution for her. Even so, which one could this possibly be? It was far too still and silent for her liking, so she knew it couldn't be anything like Emain Ablach, Mag Mell, Tir Tairngire, or even the Reverse Side of the World. Those realms were said to be populated by gods, sidhe, and Phantasmals who had long since left the world to be populated by humans, but this place was clearly devoid of life.

Am I… dead?

Despite how frightening that sounded, Connla knew it was a possibility. Who knew? She could have been suddenly killed while the strange earthquake struck Emain Macha. She might've been stuck here for millennia and never realized it until now. A sense of dread started to well up within her chest…

Then, some sort of movement caught her eye.

Something had fallen from the sky and collapsed upon the ground several yards away from her. She couldn't make out what it was from this distance, so she stumbled onto her feet and ambled toward the object as best as she could. Once she could finally see what it was, she uttered a small gasp of sheer astonishment.

It was herself, lying face-up with a blank expression in her eyes. Her skin was deathly pale and clammy, and her clothes were all torn and bloodied. That wasn't the worst part of it, though. To Connla's absolute horror, her heart had been gouged out, leaving behind a gaping hole full of blood and exposed viscera. Furthermore, some sort of strange bluish lines etched themselves throughout portions of her chest and face like an encroaching disease. She knew exactly what it was – she had seen Scathach use this curse plenty of times against her opponents.

Is that… Gae Bolg?

Connla trembled and shook her head in disbelief.

Why was it used on me? Who did this to me?

She looked over to see someone else landing on the ground a little further away. It was a man who appeared to be in his mid-20s. His long blue hair was tied back into a thin ponytail, his ruby eyes shimmered slightly, and he wore a Celtic bodysuit that was the same hue as his hair. To Connla's dismay, she saw him wielding that all-too familiar spear in one of his hands. Although she didn't recognize him immediately, she could discern enough of his features to realize who he was.

That's not the Cuchulainn I know, but it's definitely him.

That was when the awful truth dawned on her.

Wait a minute… Cuchulainn used Gae Bolg on me? But he's supposed to be my father, isn't he? Why would he… No, this can't be right! This has to be a bad dream! There's no way he'd do that to me!

She clutched her cranium and shook her head back and forth.

Stop! I don't want to look anymore!

She tried to turn around and flee. However, some compelling force caused her entire body to feel as heavy as molasses. No matter which direction she darted her eyes, the horrific scene refused to escape from her sight, tormenting her with uncontrollable fear and uncertainty.

It isn't real! It isn't real! It isn't real!

She desperately kept repeating that mantra over and over again in a futile attempt to dismiss this nightmarish scene as someone's terrible idea of a joke. Although the scene unfolding before her was completely silent, she could see this alternate Cuchulainn suddenly holding the dying Connla in his arms and crying out loud. The stricken girl froze, seeing how anguished and mortified Cuchulainn appeared, and realized that maybe this was something he didn't want either.

Cuchulainn… What are you to me? Are you supposed to be an ally, or an enemy? I just don't understand anymore. Someone please tell me…

As despair started to grip Connla's mind, that was when she heard something breaking the soul-crushing silence.

"-ey! Hey! Conn-! Are you… Answer-!"

"Huh?" she murmured and strained to listen more closely.

"Connla! Where are you, kid!? If you can hear me, say something!"

A tremendous relief swept through her as she heard the man's cries, but something seemed wrong as she thought, That's not Sir Naoise's voice.

Due to this bizarre realm clouding her mind, it took her a moment to recall where she had heard it before. Eventually, she figured out who it belonged to:

"… Cu… chul… ainn?"

"Ah! I heard you just now! Say something again!"

"Um… I-I'm right here…"

"Louder! I can't see you in this damn fog!"

"I'm right here! I don't know where I am, and I don't know how to escape!"

"It's okay! I'm here to get you!"

A few seconds later, a shadow formed on the opposite side of the blanketing mist surrounding Connla. Soon, a bulky masculine figure with a swishing spiked tail became more and more distinct as he ran toward where he thought he heard her. It didn't take long for him to burst through the fog and find her sitting in a heap upon the dream-like grass.

"There you are!" Cuchulainn blurted and kneeled before her. "Dammit, it took forever for me to find you!"

"Wh-What are you… doing here?" Connla mumbled almost incoherently. "I thought… you were in Scotland…"

"My body is, remember? I transmitted my mind over to the Mini Cu doll, but that was when the earthquake hit the town."

"What happened? Why did the ground shake like that?"

"I think the Leyline exploded from beneath the surface, releasing a torrent of magical energy. I sensed that something unnatural was stirring within the earth and tried to warn you, but I was too late."

"Something unnatural?"

"Yeah. I'm not entirely sure, but given what it is we're investigating, I have a good hunch that it was Macha. Regardless if it was her or not, the fact is that you fell into the hole that ripped open in the earth, and the stadium was heavily damaged."

"I fell in?" Connla was shocked to hear this. "So, we're inside the Leyline right now?"

Cuchulainn nodded. "You're unconscious, floating within a sea of pure magical energy. I decided to leave the doll and enter your subconsciousness as you were falling, so that I could get you out of here. That black-haired fella you've been traveling with must be losing his mind trying to find some way to rescue you himself."

"Oh…" she murmured as she became worried about Naoise. However, a bigger concern arose as she asked, "Is it particularly dangerous for me to be inside the Leyline?"

"It can be lethal, especially considering how long you've been stuck here. I've been using Dagda's Cauldron to protect your body from severe mana intoxication, but the sooner we can escape, the better."

"I see. Then I guess we should get moving, assuming you have any idea where we are right now. Is this supposed to be a dream, a hallucination, the real world, or something else?"

"The Cauldron may be protecting your body, but your mind's rapidly breaking down as we speak. You're not in any condition to try moving about yourself, but I should be able to remotely control your body using the Cauldron as a tether. I just needed to look for you, the last vestiges of your mind, so I knew I wouldn't be trying to rescue a catatonic vegetable."

"Um… so, does that mean I have to do anything?"

"No," Cuchulainn stood tall over Connla, then turned to face toward the mist. "You just sit there and stay as calm as possible. If you panic, it'll be more likely for your consciousness to break down even further, making it harder for me to control your body."

"Okay."

With that, he closed his eyes and concentrated. His form glowed with an eerie mixture of deep red and pitch black, as if accentuating his malevolent nature. Back in the waking world, Connla's eyes opened, but had changed from their usual soft brown color into a bright and sharp set of crimson irises. Her expression was also a little more fierce than usual as Cuchulainn's personality took over. She 'swam' through the flow of pure magical energy, trying to find some sort of landmark she could use to find her way back to the surface.