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After the ritual
🕑 Added 2023-12-01 07:05:01 +0000 UTCAfter their daring escape from the Inquisition, the only person Miranda could ask for help was Angelika and her acquaintances. They helped the acolytes (ex-acolytes at that moment) to get to Malfi as quietly as possible. Malfi met them with a civil war and a threat of orbital bombings to pacify fighting noble houses. To bring it to an end, Angelika summoned her demonic patron, and one of her cultists, a noble lady from one of the fighting houses, willingly sacrificed her body to make a host for the demon.
During the summoning, everyone participating in the ritual lost their shape and form, turning into a liquid that mixed with the blood of sacrificed cultists. There were dozens of people in it if not hundreds, and somehow, everyone merged into one shapeless entity while staying self-conscious. People could share thoughts, memories, and knowledge naturally, with no effort. Through their eyes, Miranda saw many things that she would deem unspeakable if she wasn't witnessing it "personally". The harm the Imperium caused humanity. Sacred Terra, the cradle of all humanity is just an elaborate tomb for a dead man who can't protect anyone. Endless wars and murder going on for Millenias in the name of the dead man. Lies, lies, and more lies. The Inquisition wasn't a shield of humanity from ruinous powers. It WAS one of them. The world was slowly drowning in problems, and it prioritized inner turmoils over solving those problems. It resonated with what Miranda personally seen. Answered all the questions she had, but was too afraid to ask, knowing well what would happen to her if she dared.
After the ritual was over, she felt how air wrapped her body again. It felt like waking up from a long comforting dream. She stretched her arms, and another pair of arms, and another... it took a few seconds for her to understand that something had changed. Her body changed, everything that was cut off by Idit's medics or stopped from further development came back. For the first time in years, she felt like her body was finally whole like it was intended to be. Her bionic arms were in place. Maybe she got used to them so much that they felt like a genuine part of her. She noticed Genevieve staring at her with a mix of emotions on her face, and couldn't help but stare at her left arm and leg, and notice how she kept her right bionic arm, her precious tool. No scars, not a single mark from all the horrors they had to go through.
It felt like life gave them a second chance. And they both agreed to do anything they could to just try and make this world a better place.
