"Stop keeping me in suspense," Greg demanded in his mind. "What the hell is this thing?"
Nightmare's voice grew calm, taking on the ethereal quality of a deity speaking of ancient secrets:
"These were drawn or carved by followers of the Outer Gods after listening to indescribable whispers, driven by madness and obsession. They contain fragments of the corresponding Outer God's power-exceedingly faint, yet exalted in their very nature."
She paused, seemingly sensing the obscure fluctuations emanating from the stone tablet.
"Judging by the rhythms and tendencies contained in these patterns... they should originate from the being dwelling deep within the Dungeon in the far north of the continent-the Fallen Mother. Her authority is closely bound to twisted desires, the corruption of the mind, and the pleasure of surrendering to primal instincts."
"The Fallen Mother?"
Greg's heart tightened.
Nightmare had indeed mentioned before that this world contained Outer Gods in addition to ancient deities like her.
But he had never expected to encounter something directly connected to them here, in this manner.
And wasn't the northernmost Dungeon the Demon Realm Dungeon, one of the Five Great Dungeon?
This... actually involved the Demons too?
But didn't all Demons worship the Demon King?
Why would any of them worship this Fallen Mother?
Wait-!
A figure suddenly surfaced in Greg's mind, like a flash of icy lightning.
No, surely not... granted, she had seemed mysterious from beginning to end, and her methods often skirted gray areas...
But she was the original game's officially designated lead heroine!
No matter how wild the developers got, surely they wouldn't make her backstory this... dark and complicated?
A chill crept up Greg's spine.
He shook his head hard, temporarily pushing that horrifying suspicion back into the depths of his mind.
*Now wasn't the time to dig into