Shirley, Still Shaken

"This island... this entire island was part of an ancient god. Everything on it... the stones, the soil, those things that looked like trees, all of it...

"The Annihilation Cultists living on this island used its resources to build houses, make ships, eat the things that grew from its soil, and perform rituals day after day to summon demons... binding themselves to the whole island...

"There really weren't any living people left on the island. They had all been eaten by 'it,' by this island... Those idiots... those stupid cultists stirred up something deep within the island and made it come alive..."

Shirley hugged her knees as she sat on the ground at the edge of the square, recounting in fits and starts what she had just seen. The lingering fear had not faded, and deep unease was still etched into her mind. The impact of briefly glimpsing "the truth" had placed immense strain on her sanity. Although the captain had "pulled" her out at the last moment, she still felt as if something was buzzing inside her head, with countless hazy "memories" writhing through her consciousness.

A'gou stayed beside Shirley, gently rubbing its terrifying skeletal body against her thigh, trying to soothe her shaken nerves this way. It had some effect, and Shirley was gradually recovering.

Duncan sat beside Shirley, shielding her mind from the influence of that corrupting knowledge. At the same time, he asked curiously, "They stirred something deep within this island? What exactly did they do?"

Shirley hesitated and searched through her jumbled memories. Too much information had flooded into her mind at once just now—information lingering within the "living island's" "memories." She had had no time to distinguish, consider, or even understand it. Now, those chaotic memories gradually welled up from the depths of her