Fate groggily attempted to sit up, but was hindered by two things...fiery muscle pains and a seemingly asleep Liza, clinging to him like a monkey. Somehow, though, he didn’t seem even slightly surprised by this behavior, despite his usual apprehensions still being present, and focused on this to block out the pain.

-At this point...I think that I...somehow consider her a friend, despite this...weird level of devotion she has for me...Did I become some sort of cult leader with insane charisma, but just don’t know it? If the Witch wanted to give me roles which would let me clash, with the so-called ‘heroes,’ one that allows you to overpower inferior minds with batsh*t insane beliefs...might actually be her forte.

The vision Fate held of this ‘goddess’ wasn’t a flattering one, by any means, but he felt that he was far enough in the loop to know that she, while seemingly sadistic, wouldn’t let him die this early on.

He repeatedly tried to pry Liza’s fingers from his arm but was met with stern opposition. Eventually, though, he was forced to tend to his aching joints, but it didn’t stop him from questioning.

-She seems super weird...like...who wants to still be friends with someone when you burned their arms and frequently act like a turd-sandwich? Disregarding my, extremely ingenious and possibly correct, cult leader theory, doesn’t this friendship just seem fake…? Or am I just trying to convince myself that I don’t deserve to be happy…? Eh, I think the answer will somehow reveal itself...I just hope that it isn’t too bad...No, no, just relax, dude! It’ll either turn out that she’s a spy or that she’s my friend, those are the two options I see being a realistic possibility, so drop it!!!

While Fate was attempting to justify the theory of friendship, Liza began to stir…

Liza: “Mmmmm…”

Suddenly, she let loose Fate’s arm and proceeded to roll into the wall, repeatedly squishing into it before sitting herself upright and turning to him. He got a vague sense that something was wrong, but decided, like a standard autist with no tact, to…

Fate: “Hey, Liza…? I usually wouldn’t ever question friendship, considering my environment, but why do you want to...Ahhhh!!!”

Out of nowhere, Liza let loose a fist, aimed towards Fate’s head! He dodged, shifting to the side, but was bombarded with a flurry of punches and kicks, all aimed at his head!

Fate quickly stopped himself and managed to shift his body past her punch, then proceeded to grab both of her arms, locking her in place. He stared, bewildered at this out-of-nowhere change in behavior from her usual demeanor.

Her hazel brown eyes had small hints of indigo in them, a trait that Fate definitely didn’t remember seeing before…

-Okay…! So either my all-powerful cult leader powers of power have worn off...or she’s gone f***ing bananas!!! Seriously though…! What is with this...change?!|

Fate: "Liza, what the hell are you...!

She didn't respond to his shouting, still struggling against him. Fate kept his tight hold on her arms, waiting for the time when she would tire herself out, but his strength actually seemed to be slipping, while a strange tone began to fill his ears…

At first, it seemed like a barely noticeable, low-pitched ringing noise, but it had now become higher with odd tones mixed in, which distorted it. However, the more Fate attempted to keep his grip, the louder the noise grew!

Fate: “Arghhhhh…!!!”

Finally, after it had increased to the point where Fate couldn’t stand it anymore, he let go of her arms to cover his ears, while simultaneously squeezing his eyes shut and bracing himself for the presumed hit she would deliver! However, the noise vanished and when Fate opened his eyes, the door was wide open and Liza was gone…

-What the f***?!?

Fate ran towards the door, which seemed to be normal, until the hallway outside suddenly collapsed, revealing a bottomless chasm! Fate immediately scrambled backwards but heard cracking sounds underneath him. Looking down, he now saw that the entire floor was plagued by indigo-colored cracks, which began to leak fog into the room.

-Ok, ok, this is a dream...THANK SH*T, I was...honestly, pretty scared!!! Wait...can your ears and joints hurt in dreams…?

The fog began to coalesce, forming a ghostly visage, although rather vague, of a person, who was now drawing ever nearer to Fate...He, in response, backed himself to the wall, shaking in fear as he did so. The mysterious mass of mist’s shape became clearer, nearly fully settling on the shape of a woman with long flowing indigo hair, dark-blue robes, and eggshell-white skin. However, she wore a skeletal mask over her face, with metal bolts stuck in the sides.

-Seriously, what mind-f***ery is this? Am I on drugs...is someone invading my mind?!

As he was thinking this, a starry-purple flicker pulsated in the wall behind him...

...

Thanks for waiting out my Christmas days, guys! Now, I'm rested and have dual-monitors for my PC(though I'm not sure when I'll need to use the second one since its frame rate kinda sucks). And in response to everyone's comments about Liza, I'll pose another question...is her character the result of my social ineptitude or part of a grander design...or just my writing not being up to par with expectations(guess that's how I earned a 1-star review! Ha hahaha ahaha hahaha!)

P.S. - Everyone, if you know anyone who desperately uses the word boomer like the world's gonna end or preaches youtube quotes and comments to substitute for an actually personality, try to connect to the source of their sadness(in other words, make the world a better place because I'm lazy and can't! :"D)

P.P.S. - Happy holidays, and thanks so much for giving over 500 favs and 35k+ views this year!(Thank you, Santa! I have been a good Tom this year! - Toonami, the Forge episode 3)...AND THE FIRST REVIEW FOR THE SERIES, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!