They had gone to Lorrel, home of Morana.
Fine.
They had travelled to the spirit realms.
Fine.
They had crossed a 'harmless' river.
Fine.
They had met a goddess.
Fine.
They had done so much to get their friends back alive.
Yet this is how it all ended.
Their friends were dissolved into the river, she would be dead, and Scott would become Marzanna's pet.
The thoughts raced through Cathedral's head as she sank deaper into the river's welcoming embrace.
Each water droplet was like a dagger, making invisible cuts in her skin which burned as though touched by acid.
Cathedral wanted to scream, to fight, but the whispering voices in the water took away all her energy.
Dimly, she registered a splash.
Maybe someone was going to save her, maybe Marzanna realized her wrong doings, and maybe, just maybe, she could save all the spirits too.
If she could just regain control over her powers...
She groaned, stretching out her fingers.
Nothing happened.
It was useless.
All her power combined wasn't enough to fight the power of a goddess.
Cathedral's eyes closed, she wanted to give up.
She imagined the water around her, red with her own blood.
The though made her shudder, but there was nothing she could do about it.
It was all over now, she could rest, she could close her eyes...
A pair of arms pulled her into an embrace.
Cathedral wanted to force open her eyes, but still, there was no energy left in her body.
"Cathedral," a familiar voice spoke beside her ear.
The sound was blurred by the water, but Cathedral managed to make out the next few words.
"Stay with me."
Cathedral forced her eyes open.
Scott was holding her in his arms.
Cathedral leaned closer to him, trying to feel the warmth of his body.
There was nothing.
Perhaps it was all just a hallucination.
Her eyes closed again.
"Cathedral!" The voice came again and again, repeating her name.
She couldn't do anything, she was so tired.
She felt someone lifting her head.
Suddenly, she felt warmth pulsing through her veins.
Her eyes shot open.
Cathedral could feel one of Scott's hands looped around her waist, the other tipping her head towards him.
There was no sound at all, even the river's whispering had gone silent.
Scott's lips were warm against her's, and Cathedral felt her brain melting.
Almost instinctively, one of her hands looped around his neck, grasping for his hair, the other grabbed a fistful of his clothes.
Cathedral's heart pounded as she kissed back, pulling him closer to her.
The water wasn't dragging her down anymore, and every moment, she felt as though she were closer to the surface.
She felt Scott's lips soft, but dominating. She pulled Scott even closer, their body pressing agaisnt eachtohers. She could feel Scott's racing heart, going just as fast as her own.
She kissed Scott harder, not wanting to let go, not now, not ever.
She felt herself break through the surface and get dragged onto the grassy Plain of Dreams.
She lay there, unable to break away from Scott's kiss.
It was Scott who pulled away first.
"I-I'm sorry," he apologized, blushing fiercly, "I couldn't think of a better way to pull you out of the river's magic."
Cathedral just smiled before pulling Scott into a hug.
Scott burst into a huge grin, pulling Cathedral closer to him.
"Oh, love doves," Marzanna's lips curved into a faint smile, the click of her clear blue high heels on the stone riverbank sounding closer and closer.
Cathedral felt her strength returning, and before the goddess even got close, her trident manifested in her hand, sending out a blast of energy as she lunged forward, her trident glowing a dim blue, the color of crashing waves.
The goddess rolled her eyes, snapping her fingers, freezing Cathedral in midair.
Cathedral gasped as cold rushed into her skin, making her wince in pain.
It was the same pain as the river had inflicted upon her.
Cathedral snarled as she was dropped to the ground, the prongs of her trident sinking into the ground.
She cried out, trying to pull her trident from out of the ground.
She failed miserably.
She thought of Martyn and Phoenix, her first friends; she thought of Morana, who had been by her side right up to the end, refusing to kill her even after all her stupidness; she though of Gem, Jimmy, Joel and all those innocent sould lost to a stupid game.
A game that she had created.
Cathedral wanted to make everything right again, but this stupid goddess was standing in her way.
The souls of her friends were dissolved into the river, she and Scott were going to die, Morana wouldn't even know.
Cathedral wanted to cry, she hadn't even gotten to know the entire crew yet.
Then, she scowled.
How stupid that Morana was named after this outrageous goddess.
She clenched her jaw as pain gripped her.
Her fist clenched aroung on her tridant, her body tensed.
She had to pull it out, but it were as though the trident were glued to the ground.
As her sapphire eyes fluttered open, horror pulsed through her veins.
Scott was a foot away from the river, his eyes glazed over as he looked down at the gentle ripples of the water.
Marzanna's blood red lips curved into a cruel smile, "Looks like the Ocean dislikes you too, Scott Autumn Major. As far as I can see, you wanted to kill one of Her prized sirens, and She isn't very happy about that."
Cathedral screamed, reaching for the power of the river.
Water exploded from the river, waves as high as mountains roared, leaping into the air, they circled like a tornado before they exploded, laying the world in dew.
Cathedral let out a wail of pain as the water splashed onto her skin, biting at it like acid.
Marzanna raised an eyebrow, her hand was raised, the water blocked by an invisible force.
Suddenly, Cathedral's mind betrayed her.
Marzanna was only a goddess, nothing more, she hadn't done anything to hurt her. Scott wasn't important in her life anymore, it was okay if he died.
Marzanna let loose a soft laugh, "I thought your mind was strong, Cathedral Lilian, but it looks like you are just as weak as everyone else, maybe even weaker. I'm surprised my daughter didn't sense you bioelectrical energy and control you."
She raised her hand, making the river fall into its bed.
Who was her daughter?
Luna Estrada.
The name shot through Cathedral's mind like lightning, making her collapse onto the ground.
Cathedral let out a cry of pain as control over her body was grasped from her.
Her eyes looked up at Scott, who was a step away from the river, even though she couldn't bare to watch him die.
Suddenly, Scott stepped away from the river, gasping in surprise.
There was a moment of silence, everything froze, and suddenly, Marzanna's rolled her eyes in annoyance, the bioelectrical energy taut between them snapped.
"Mother！Stop!"