Remiel whips his head around to set eyes upon the painting Summer had pointed out. But he sees nothing out of the ordinary... until, suddenly, the eyes upon ALL the paintings come to life with a staccato vibration. Depictions of knights, aristocrats, entire families, and long deceased kings and queens, all focus their crazed stares on the pair with such an intensity that Remiel reaches back to protectively seize Summer's hand again.

Then, seemingly through some trick of illusion, the walls begin to literally close in on them as the paintings begin to rapidly breathe — the sound of awful wheezing echoing throughout like two dozen asthmatics having an attack.

"The door! Try the door again!" The prince urges as the edges of the great hall collapse into each other.

Should Summer do so, however, they would burst past and find themselves in an unfamiliar place: rather than the courtyard of his estate, the door they'd opened lead into a hellish frozen landscape instead. Ahead of them, a dreary abandoned village awaited with a church spire at its center. And, behind them, the exterior of the estate had seamlessly become a sealed up barn.

For all accounts and purposes, it seemed they were no longer in Hoenn anymore.

Any attempt to go back the way they came was impeded by the collapse of the interior— a painting of a nobleman reaching the door before his face contorted into something demonic, screeching and yelling obscenities before the door slam closed on its own accord.

---

⚠ mission: hush [x]

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

A sudden feeling of terror made Summer freeze into place behind Remiel as the paintings looked at them. People of old, from times she was sure were long ago, were now gazing into her soul with eyes piercing like fire.

She didn't realize that she had held her breath until he held onto her hand.

A shriek filled the room, terror echoing within it. She didn't know where it came from until she realized that her mouth was open, her hand like a vice on Remy's arm as the walls began to close in on them. The sounds in the room were enough to drive anyone mad, as if Summer wasn't insane enough at this point.

Her red eyes opened as Remy threw another suggestion.

Sweaty palms rushed to work the door, which seemed locked.

"I-I can't open it!" she cried, giggling it before suddenly, it burst forth.

Into snow and ice they went, the door shut behind them and locking them in this new landscape that she was not dressed for. Her panting breath billowed in front of her as she looked around, teeth beginning to chatter as the sweat that had built up on her forehead began to freeze.

"What... what is this place? Remy?"

She had to make sure he was still there.

Remiel Calcifet

☉

"I'm here," Remiel assures her, reaching out to gently grasp her arm before sliding his hand down to entwine their fingers together. Cobalt hues assess her state of being for a moment. He wasn't at his best right now either. His once neatly combed head of hair was now slightly disheveled; his cheeks were red with cold. But he'd do what he can to calm her.

"We're in an illusion," He explains, shifting his gaze towards their foreign surroundings, and the puff of white that manifests with each exhale. "But the cold is real... so, if I had to guess, Goetia tricked us outside."

He refrained from suggesting that it was very likely this had been done in an effort to kill them. After all, that would only serve to startle Summer, he thought. Instead, the prince took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alas... the best way out of this mirage is through it... so let's make haste." He nods, prompting them to step forward down the snowy path towards a gothic village.

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

Remiel's voice and his hands intertwining with hers were a welcomed presence as she shivered from the cold. And terror? But she would not admit something like that. She was too proud to say that she was terrified about what had just happened.

"An illusion. It feels entirely too real," Summer said, her own breath billowing in clouds as she spoke.

She nodded in agreement, allowing Remy to lead her to the village ahead of them. It looked like it was out of a storybook, a fairytale. Something she'd read as a small child.

"Remy... who or what is Goetia?"

Remiel Calcifet

☉

"Illusions work best when they're seasoned with authentic sensations," Remiel responds, his boots crunching through snow with every step as he guides her towards the village mirage ahead. "Though the danger is entirely too real..."

When asked after the identity of Goetia, however, the prince grows eerily silent. Eventually, however, he slows to a stop before casting a wary gaze to their surroundings. It is only afterwards that he sets his hues of cobalt back on Summer, hesitant to answer.

"... If I say what it really is, you'll think I'm mental."

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

Illusions were something Summer Atreides was not familiar with that well. Alcoholic illusions were one thing. However these kinds of illusions?

They were another world entirely. And it was something she was unwilling to explore if it meant she was to be sucked in and threatened each time.

"You seem to understand how these work. Have you been entrapped by illusions before?"

What she was really curious about was the amount of times he'd been forced into a situation like this. Where the surroundings weren't real, but they felt real. Yet the danger was constant.

Summer noticed after she asked her question that Remy grew quiet, as though he was wondering what to tell her about Goetia. Or if he should tell her about Goetia. It made her all the more curious, if not more frightful. She gripped his hand tighter, to try to bring him back to reality, to her, and regain his attention.

"We're already in this place. I don't know if things can get more mental than this," she said, to lighten the situation.

"What are we facing, Remy."

It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Remiel Calcifet

☉

He's not sure when his experiences with the supernatural began. In truth, he can't remember a life without them present. His grandmother had once claimed that he was a magnet for such things, and that growing up in the ancient halls of CALCIFET PALACE had only fertilized his perception of the strange and occult.

Seeing things that others couldn't see, or simply refused to believe, was unfortunately common for Remiel Calcifet . Though nothing seemed to be certain in the spiritual world either. One always had to keep an open mind.

So he nods, when asked whether he'd been trapped in illusions before. Then he takes a moment to weigh what he's gathered of Summer Atreides so far against what he's about to say. "I have reason to believe Goetia is a demon... and it's followed me here from Galar."

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

Illusions weren't totally unfamiliar to Summer Atreides. The fog released at the Star Soiree had brought her into an illusion. She remembered the feeling on the gun, heavy in her hand, as she pointed it at her father.

She couldn't remember the words. What she could remember was-

Casey. And his desires, a family with her, settled away from the bustle of life. A daughter, living in a home in the country-side. The memory of it, as it plagued her mind, caused her to choke, holding back a pot of emotions threatening to boil over.

She was thankful as Remiel Calcifet spoke again.

"A demon, from Galar?" she echoed, having not realized her grip on him had tightened.

He'd probably think it was from fright, rather than emotional pain ebbing away at her.

"Why... how... can you explain this to me?"

Remiel Calcifet

☉

Summer's fingers clench to his hand, but Remiel isn't shy or dissuaded by the pain. There's an understanding embedded within that sensation. Remiel may not know the specifics of her trauma, but he understands what it feels like to live with something tearing apart at one's heart.

And... he's there for her. If only for the selfish hope that she'll be there for him, too. Especially with Goetia on the attack.

Nodding, the prince flits his gaze away from her grip and back towards her eyes. Just as he's about to answer, however, a chill runs down spine. It prompts him to keep them moving, approaching a vacant building made of grey stone in the illusory village ahead.

It wasn't real shelter. It would provide no protection. But even pretending it could had its uses.

"I can't explain it... at least not with any certainty." The royal responds, carefully pushing open the creaky wooden door in front of them. As they walk inside, they find what appears to be a meager peasant's living room. A stark contrast to the estate they'd been in earlier, its halls dripping with extravagance and wealth.

"I was an archaeologist before becoming an ambassador," Remiel continues, closing the door behind them as they explore the small stone house. "Whatever this entity is... I awakened it in the CATACOMBS OF HAMMERLOCKE by accident. It killed three of my colleagues before I managed to make my escape. How it found itself here, I can't even begin to fathom..."

Keeping hold of Summer's hand, until she's ready to let go, he reaches out with his free one to touch a picture frame on the wall. Its glass feels cold to the touch; authentic. He might have even believed this was an actual, physical picture frame... if not for the faceless family of farmers on the old photo therein.

Perturbed by the sight, he recomposes himself before looking back at the woman by his side. "You have to be ready, Summer. Mentally ready. It will attack using our greatest fears... and our deepest regrets."

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

As quickly as they could make it to the puny stone home, Summer felt like she could get a tiny bit of warmth back in her bones. She shivered, her breath coming out in small little puffs as she listened to Remiel speak.

And the more he explained, the more Summer's face paled. Even the rosiness on her cheeks seemed to dim in comparison to before. She swallowed, feeling like it was loud enough for anyone to hear miles away as she let go of his hand since the moment they got to this dimension.

"So you don't know what it is entirely. It uses illusions. It's from Galar. It's here. And we're going to be torn apart by our fears and emotions. I got all of that right, didn't I?"

She had to make sure that she wasn't going insane in that moment. Because she knew exactly what Goetia would target on her.

Never properly admitting her love for Casey and never being a good sister to Knox. Her father, continuing his rule as a tyrant and forcing her hand on who knew what...

Summer took a moment, departing from his side and sitting down in one of the chairs in the home. It was hard, made of wood and finished with iron to keep it sturdy, and it was cold. But it brought her to reality.

"Is there anything you know we can do to attack it? Or is there a way back home...?"

She tried to hide the desperation in her voice, rising in pitch. Her eyes looked at him once before looking to the floor once more.

Remiel Calcifet

☉

It was difficult, having to look back into her eyes and spot the glimpse of rising desperation deep within them. If anything, it made Remiel ashamed. She was his guest, after all— a guest he quite liked. It wasn't fair for her to be dragged into this. And, frankly, he should have dealt with Goetia long ago... or died trying.

"I'm going to get us out of here, Summer," He says in an attempt to reassure her. Though he looks away shortly thereafter. Partly out of guilt, but also to rummage around in the cabin kitchen drawers across the hall. "If we treat this illusion like a hedge maze, and find its center, we'll be able to escape..."

Oddly enough, the royal pulls out a pair of rusty garden shears from one of the drawers: a piece of reality pulled into this nightmarish mirage. If this 'cabin' had been formed around the layout of his garden shed, then he had a good idea of where to go next.

Carefully holstering these scissors between his belt and pant loop, he turns back to Summer and nods. "But we can't stay here for much longer. Let's keep moving."

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

Remy didn't say no. But he also didn't say yes.

Summer didn't know if that comforted her or scared her further. She just heard him trying to convince her that he was going to get them out.

She stood, walking around the area to see if there was anything she could grab in a form of self defense if she was attacked or act as an offense weapon. She heard him rummage in the drawers, pull something out.

Where he grabbed shears, she grabbed a shovel. It looked like the rust was going to eat holes into the sides, almost as if it was becoming serrated like a knife. It would work in a bind... so long as it didn't fall apart in the process.

Summer looked back to Remy, coming to his side.

"Lead the way."

Remiel Calcifet

☉