POV: Eclaire

I have some time before the meeting later today, so I think I'll spend some more time with the little kids from our orphanage. I doubt I'll have much time for that once I'm officially head of our church. I'll miss playing with the little gremlins...

Nothing unusual happens on the way there, though the air feels a bit cleaner - at least I can no longer see the black dots. I wonder why that is.

I soon arrive at the church. Everything looks still the same, still in need of repair. Now that Jared is awake again, I hope we can soon order some repairs over the fortress menu...

I quickly take care of my duties and then head over to the neighboring orphanage.

I can already see the little kids from afar. They are playing with our little pile of goo Lydia. And someone else is watching over them, someone I recognize - someone who should be here.

"Father Clive, I see the dead are walking among us again. What brings... 'you'... back here?"

The former head priest notices me and walks over to me to greet me with a fake smile, "Indeed, my dear saintess, Eclaire, indeed. And I'm clearly not alone with that achievement."

Yeah, undoubtedly a fake. The real Clive didn't live long enough to learn of my new name. Not that he was the most pleasant to be around.

"And would you be so kind", I brandish my strange, new weapon, "and tell me what you're doing in defiling dead Clive's body?"

"You can put your weapon away, former child, I mean you no harm."

Why is just talking with him making me feel nauseous?

"I'll be the judge of that!"

He sighs and answers distraught, "If you must know... I'm... investigating the damage my shortcomings have caused... again..."

"What has that got to do with the old man? Why don't you finally show me your real face?"

The body snatcher corrects his hunching back, "Circumstances forbid me from doing that. You'll have to excuse me on that."

"Maybe. Go on, I'm listening."

He sneers, "Glitches and I don't mix well. I need to hide in this corpse just to not die, and even then it still burns", he shows me how his left hand burns in a bright, white fire, then hides it again in a glove, "satisfied?"

Does that also apply to his voice? Is that why I'm feeling sick just from talking with him?

Enduring a burning sensation in my ears, I have to nevertheless put on a brave front, "I see, I'm sorry about that. And may I ask what accident you're investigating?"

"Isn't it obvious?", he points in various directions, "I failed to prevent this. I... should've seen this coming, yet I didn't."

That disaster? I thought it was my husband's fault? But if he wasn't then...

"I don't get it. Are you an outsider? How did you even get in here? The barrier should separate us from everything."

"That's... not important, really. Say, I'm looking for someone but I only know that person by their title. Might you be so kind as to tell me where this 'Customer' is? I'd really appreciate your help."

"I've no clue who-"

<NULL>

Huh, what was that? That felt... strange.

Not-Clive looks at me, "I see. I'm sorry if this talk caused you discomfort, but I had to ask."

That's not the only discomfort I've been feeling all this time, you know?

"Who is that supposed to be?"

"...all I can tell you is that you better stay away from him. If I find that creature in time I might still be able to prevent the worst but... well, if I told you any more I'd get both of us into serious trouble. Even more than we already are."

Every time the self-righteous jackass speaks, I feel like I want to vomit.

Wait, why do I want to call him that? He's not done anything to me aside from... existing...

"That's-"

He cuts me off immediately, "I'm sorry, I can't afford to stay here and chat for very long. But I have a piece of advice for you."

He almost puts his hand on my shoulder but at the last moment decides differently, yet he stares creepily into my face, "Go d- I mean, don't ever leave this continent. Please. As long as your people stay put I still have a chance to make everything right. But once you leave..."

Suddenly, I'm overcome by an intense feeling of dread, "R-right..."

He starts to leave but mumbles some final parting words, "I've already sacrificed too much. This time I have to succeed. I must."

Wh... what...? Urgh, I want to just run away already!!!

While I wait for him to finally leave me alone, a voice calls out to him, "Ḧ̴͎́e̶̡͆y̶̥̋,̸͙͗ ̴̬̅D̵̫͒a̶̱͝d̶̠̊d̵̤̋y̵̟͂,̵̀͜ ̷̯̈́w̴̧͌a̷͓̍i̷̧̽t̴͔͆ ̶̠̓f̷̨̃ő̴̢ř̶̻ ̶̚ͅu̷̺͌s̵̤̎!̶̡̀!̶͉̕"

Annoyed he grumbles to himself, "Great, another one of these abominations, I thought there were only two here. Guess it'll have to remain a prison planet then."

What is going on now? I see... two of those Glitch Creatures. I thought the one we had in the Glitch Zone under the fortress was unique, but now it brought a friend. At least I'm quite certain one of them is that Glitch. How did it even get out of there? And who is its friend?

And did it call him "Daddy"? Did I hear that right? At least I feel like I can - barely - understand it if I concentrate hard enough, which isn't that easy with the pain the old man's voice causes.

The old man grunts at the black-green humanoid, "I've told your kind time and time again, that you're not welcome anywhere, get lost already!"

"C̷o̵m̵e̴ ̶o̶n̸.̵ ̴D̷a̶d̸d̶y̶,̵ ̵d̴o̸n̴'̵t̶ ̸b̸e̸ ̴l̴i̶k̴e̴ ̸t̴h̶a̴t̷!̵ ̷W̶e̷ ̸m̶i̵s̴s̶e̴d̷ ̶y̶o̴u̴!̵"

"I̵̘̋ ̶̝̉t̶̘͋o̷̊͜l̶̮͘d̵͇̈́ ̸̪͝y̵̥̔o̵̜̅u̵̼̿ ̴̠͗p̵͈̏a̴̼̎ ̶͚̓h̶̨̑â̵̫t̵̪̒ē̷͕s̶̞̀ ̵̤̽u̷̚ͅs̵͓͂.̶̮̚"

"A̶w̶,̵ ̴d̴o̷n̴'̴t̸ ̶b̵e̶ ̵l̷i̵k̵e̶ ̸t̵h̷a̴t̷,̸ ̷y̵o̸u̷ ̵t̸w̸o̸!̵ ̴D̶o̷n̷'̶t̶ ̶y̷o̸u̸ ̴s̸e̸e̶?̷ ̶I̸'̶v̶e̸ ̷f̵i̷n̷a̸l̸l̵y̸ ̷g̴r̶o̵w̷n̶ ̵i̶n̵t̴o̸ ̵a̴ ̴n̸i̸c̵e̵,̶ ̴b̷e̵a̴u̸t̷i̵f̷u̴l̶ ̴F̴e̸a̶t̸u̷r̴e̷!̸ ̶C̶a̷n̵'̸t̸ ̵y̴o̴u̴ ̸a̸t̷ ̸l̶e̶a̴s̵t̷ ̶b̷e̷ ̵a̴ ̷l̶i̶t̵t̷l̷e̷ ̴h̸a̷p̴p̵y̴ ̸f̴o̷r̷ ̸m̷e̷,̶ ̵D̶a̶d̵?̷"

The old man is visibly hurting from their conversation, "You're not my children! My children are out there, alive, and not some freaks that go against all reason. And you're certainly no features, you're Bugs! Mistakes that need to be eradicated! So stop lying to yourself and perish already!"

So family drama? I don't really understand what they say, not all of it, but the... sentient Glitches feel abandoned in the same way we are? What's going on here?

"B̴̰͠ŭ̸̻ẗ̶̻,̵̬͛ ̶̩̈́ḇ̸͑u̸̮͗t̵̨̿,̷͎̅ ̴̬̑Ď̷̗a̸̞͋d̸̢͋,̶͓͠ ̶̠̀y̸͇͗ö̴̥́u̸̠̔ ̵͚̽d̵̝̍i̵̙͌d̴͍͂ ̸̗́b̴͚̚r̴͓̓i̶̡͝ǹ̵̠ĝ̵̘ ̴̖̔u̷͙͒s̶͖̽ ̷̤͗i̷͖̋n̴͇̊t̶͕͗o̸̠̿ ̶̯̏t̸̜̃h̸̻́į̴̃s̵̬̈́ ̷̘̍w̸̺͂o̴̟͊r̷̖̽l̷̝̚d̷̞̉!̵͍͛", one of them lunges at the old man.

"Get off me! You damn Glitches shouldn't exist!", he pushes the creature violently aside, and suddenly everything hurts, my vision becomes a black-and-white blur for a moment. What was that?

Urgh, I feel even more like vomiting now...

In my pain, I no longer understand what they say, "S̷̛͎ḭ̶̛s̶͓̈́,̴̳͝ ̸̦̄j̴̱͆ǘ̷̬s̴̲̄t̴̮̚ ̵̝̍d̴̩̃r̴̗̐ö̸͍́ṗ̷̤ ̸̝͆ĭ̶͉t̸͇̅.̶̤̌ ̷͔̀T̵̮̄h̷̪͝ę̴̔ ̶̦͘ṁ̴̲i̸̲͝l̸̺̀k̷̪̎m̴͈̊ǎ̸̞n̴̖͛ ̶̹͋ȯ̷̙v̵͎̅ȅ̶̲ŗ̷͊ ̴̘͑t̸͉̉h̶̛̹ẽ̸̩r̷̲̒e̶͎̒ ̶͉͝i̷̅͜s̷͙̈́ ̷̗̈́s̷̱̔ḯ̵̯m̸͇̃p̴͗͜l̴̗̍y̷̬̏ ̴͇̌a̸͍̔n̷̨̈́ ̴͍̈a̴̯͝s̶̠̓s̴̠̚.̶͕͌"

"Y̸͉̓ô̶̩ṷ̸̀ ̶̥͑c̷̟̈́a̴̭͒ǹ̸̞ ̶̰̓d̵̪̏e̴̞͊n̷̺̽y̶͍̍ ̵̤͆u̶̦͆s̷̻̎ ̶̨͠å̸̱l̶͜͝l̷̡͘ ̷̢͆y̷̫͑ó̴̮u̵̫̒ ̸͍͝w̷̲̿ả̷͜ń̵͍t̸̰́,̷̞̔ ̶̳͂Ď̶̘ḁ̴͌d̷̪̏,̵̱͛ ̴̪͛b̶͈͝u̷̫͊t̷͖̒ ̴͙̾t̴̯̒h̵̗̀ȃ̷̩t̸̜̑ ̸͙̂d̵̠̊ȍ̴͉ê̵̥s̸̙̽n̴̻͒'̷̲̑t̵̞̉ ̶̰́ç̷̃h̸͎͘å̴̻n̵̹̽ǧ̸̖ë̴͉ ̷̼̉t̸̪͗h̴̛͎e̷̛̱ ̵̯͒f̴̤͐ȧ̶̯c̷̪̅t̸̛̺ ̶͇̈́t̴̥̚ḣ̴̫ā̶̢t̸̖͝ ̴̣͌w̷̙͝ě̷͚ ̵̗̇ā̵͉ř̷̜e̵̹͌ ̶̪͘ÿ̷͖ó̷̟u̶̫͝r̴͇̚ ̴̧́c̸̭͛ĥ̴̥ḯ̷͔ḻ̸͝d̶̮̃r̶͜͝e̸̼͋n̷̘̊ ̶̇ͅà̶͔s̷̤͘ ̵̫͂w̸̤̎é̶̺l̵͉̅ḽ̷̽,̸͍̀ ̸͎̒e̶̪̅v̷̬͒e̵̍͜ň̷̟ ̷͈̎i̸͋ͅf̵͔͒ ̵̺̎ỳ̸͖o̵̱̽u̴̥̒ ̷̲͋d̸͚̎ỏ̷̡n̸̮͑'̶̦͊t̶̛͕ ̷̢́w̸̜̏à̵̝ṋ̴̈t̴̖͝ ̶͖͂u̸̬̓s̸͈̒,̵͈̄ ̵̺͊t̵̖͘h̵̝͐a̷͖̒t̶̩͋ ̴͖̓d̴̖͝o̸̹͊e̴̬͌s̵̬̽n̸̔ͅ'̴̫̈́t̸̗͘ ̸̭̏c̶̫̃h̶̹͛a̷̩̎n̶͚̚g̶̹͠e̷̛̦ ̸̻̀t̸̞͒h̷̛̳ḛ̸͛ ̶̰̆f̶̝̓a̵̹͘c̸̢͐t̸̙̿ ̵̟̈́ṫ̶̩h̵̗͋ȧ̷̬t̷͖̓ ̶̬̚w̵̳̌ȇ̸̥ ̶̟͘ą̷̾r̷̗̀ę̴̈́ ̴͎͝h̶̠̽e̵͈̽ṙ̴͙e̸̲̽ ̵̢̆ṅ̶͔ȍ̴͖ẅ̶̨́!̶͎́ ̷͙̕A̵͔͝n̵̗̉d̴̪́ ̸̠̌ŝ̶̼ț̴̇o̶̰̓ṕ̶̩ ̵̙̓ć̶͈a̶͈͘ḹ̷l̶̻̍i̶͙͆n̸͈͘g̶͈͒ ̴̦͌u̴̩̿s̶͓̽ ̷̞͛G̴̳̈l̶̗̅ĩ̵̲ṫ̴͖c̶̩̉h̴̳̍e̶̩͊s̶̢̿,̸̺̏ ̸͖̈́ẃ̴̘e̸̢͗'̴̡́r̸̈ͅė̷̫ ̴̱̈ã̷̧l̸̳͝ŕ̸͜è̶̯a̷̛̱d̶̘̆ỳ̶̰ ̵̼̃g̵̮͌r̵̭̊o̵̜͌w̷͎͑ṇ̴͂ ̸̮̒F̸̛̟e̵̝̽ȃ̶͎t̵͚͒ǔ̴ͅr̶̟̉ē̶̬s̴͎̈́!̶̮̎"

"You damned waste of data-", I see him throw a punch and...

...

Huh? Why am I here lying on the ground? Wasn't I just now at my desk? Damn, now I have got a massive headache...

Forget the headache, everything hurts. And my clothes look like they were on fire a while ago. Well, it is a good thing then that they'll be repaired along with my health regeneration.

And what is this half-burnt paper lying next to me?

I can only read a few fragments of the remains, they say "Customer... kill Jim... 8bF". No clue what that could have meant.

While I try to decipher the rest of that strangely folded paper, it suddenly catches fire in my hand and burns to ash.

So much for that...

"C̵̭͊o̵͇͠m̴̖̆ẹ̴͆ ̸͈̽ḣ̶̟ë̵̤r̶̢̚e̷̞͑,̷̼͠ ̴̣̌t̴̺͝h̴̯͒ḛ̶̂ ̴̖̄s̴͓̀c̴̡̍a̵̹͠r̴̭̊y̵̠̿ ̶͎͗g̶͍͠r̴̟̒ḁ̵̋m̴̼̆p̸͉̊s̷͚͗ ̷͈̾i̷̺̍s̵̢͝ ̵̪̚g̷̙̕o̴̺̓n̶̝̾e̷̖̚", what looks like the Glitch Creature living in the Glitch Zone under our fortress seems to give me a hand getting up. The distorted voice leaves a faint feminine impression. The shape of the creature itself is still incomprehensible to me, but if I had to say, I would assume it is a girl.

Hmm, I guess it is a different creature then, the other prisoner had a distinctly different presence to him.

"Thank... you?", reflexively, I grab the offered help.

I expected it to feel different; we were always told that just mere contact with glitches would be lethal, but it seems to be surprisingly... normal. Just like giving my evil twin Lucia a hand. Maybe a bit too identical.

I have no idea what is going on, aside from the one that helped me, there's a second living glitch and it seems to help the children - who has hurt them, what happened just now? One moment I was at my desk, the next I'm here, everyone seems to be hurt and the church is on fire...

Even Dan is lying on the ground, admittedly the sight is kinda funny with him flailing around helplessly. No one dares approach the wannabe-scary softie, and Lydia only pokes him with a stick. Guess that is up to me then.

Before I do so, I notice that the... person who helped me seems to be badly injured, "Are you hurt?"

From what I can make out, she seems to nod.

"Then hold still, I'll try to heal you", for the first time since I came back from the dead, I try to use my healing magic...

Why? Does the System not accept them as one of us? They aren't that different from us, are they? So, why?

Defeated I sigh, "Sorry, it seems I can't heal you."

It might just be my imagination, but she seems to look at me in confusion. She forces herself to let out a distorted sound that reminds me of Lucy's stage three infection, "W̶h̷y̷ ̷i̸s̴ ̷t̶h̶a̴t̶?̶"

I... guess I can understand those words, just barely, if I focus just a little bit.

"The System doesn't... recognize you as a valid target for my healing."

"B̸u̵t̵ ̸a̸r̵e̶n̴'̴t̷ ̶y̸o̵u̴ ̸o̷l̷d̷ ̶e̴n̵o̵u̴g̶h̶?̷ ̸W̶h̸y̴ ̵l̵e̵t̸ ̶i̶t̶ ̸t̵e̴l̸l̷ ̸y̴o̸u̸ ̴w̸h̶a̴t̴ ̶y̵o̴u̷ ̷c̴a̶n̷ ̴a̶n̶d̴ ̷c̴a̷n̵n̶o̷t̴ ̴d̸o̷?̸"

She grabs my hand and leads it toward her chest, pressing it against herself.

Eh!?