Sanctuary Confrontation: Cid Kagenou vs Corrupted Nelson
Sanctuary Confrontation: Cid Kagenou vs Corrupted Nelson
The cathedral district of the Lawless City was nearly silent at night, the kind of silence that felt staged—too perfect, too heavy. Cid Kagenou walked behind Jack Nelson as they descended a narrow staircase hidden behind a curtain in the chapel. The wooden steps creaked under them, and dust drifted through the lantern light like tiny ghost fragments.
“You19re fortunate,” Nelson said, voice calm but eyes twitching with excitement. “Few are allowed this deep. What lies below is a blessing granted only to those chosen by the Goddess.”
Cid nodded slowly. Chosen. Blessing. All perfect words for the role he wanted to play.
Descent to the Underground Chamber
The staircase eventually opened into a long stone hallway. Strange symbols lined the walls, glowing faintly with a pale blue shimmer. The air felt unnaturally cold, and Cid19s breath formed small clouds in front of him.
As they walked, Nelson19s steps became sharper, quicker. “You will witness a miracle tonight,” he whispered. “A miracle that will change everything.”
Cid didn19t answer. His focus locked onto a soft vibration in the air aheaddmagic, ancient and dense, like a heartbeat waiting to be heard. The corridor opened into an underground chamber larger than anything that could reasonably exist beneath the church. High ceilings curved into shadow. Machinery hummed softly, illuminated by a pillar of swirling light at the center.
Cid stopped at the threshold. This was the kind of setup he dreamed ofmysterious relics, hidden powers, secret doors to another world. Perfect.
Nelson gestured dramatically toward the pillar. “This is the Sanctuary Link. A connection to a holy realm sealed away for centuries. Touch it… and be reborn through divinity.”
Cid stepped closer, watching the way the pillar pulsed like a living thing. It wasn19t divine. He could tell that instantly. The magic was too cold, too mechanical. It felt more like a spell running on old machinery.
But it was interesting. So he reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the light, the world exploded.
Sound vanished. Sight dissolved into white. Gravity flipped upside down and sideways until Cid felt like he was falling through a snowstorm made of light.
Then, suddenly, everything stopped.
Into the White Void
He was standing in a white void that stretched forever, like a blank page waiting for someone to draw reality onto it. Mist curled across the air as if there were a ground, though there was none. Shapes floated in the distancefragments of buildings, trees, statueslike memories drifting in a dream.
A soft breeze brushed past him.
And then he heard it.
“Welcome… I19ve been waiting for you.”
The voice was gentle, warm, and strangely sad. Cid turned and saw herAurora. A woman with long purple-white hair, eyes that glowed faintly blue, and a faint, ethereal shimmer to her form as if she wasn19t entirely part of the world.
She looked at him with calm curiosity. “You19re different,” she said softly. “Not like the others who entered here. You19re… free.”
Cid tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting.”
She stepped closer, studying him. “This placethe Sanctuaryis a system created to preserve a past long erased. But the Cult twisted it. They use it to create puppets… like Jack Nelson.”
Cid raised an eyebrow. “Puppets?”
Aurora nodded. “He comes here often. He seeks to overwrite his weaknesses, to become something greater. But each time, the system rejects him. He is incompatible.”
Cid shrugged. Not surprising. Jack Nelson didn19t radiate “chosen one energy.” More like “overly enthusiastic NPC.”
Aurora suddenly looked past him, her expression tightening. “He19s coming. The Sanctuary has accepted you, but he will not allow that.”
Cid turned casuallyjust in time for the white void to crack open like shattered glass.
A monstrous figure stepped through, its form twisted and oversized, shaped from dark magic and corrupted memories. It looked vaguely like Jack Nelson, but swollen with power he was never meant to handle.
“Lady Aurora… that child belongs to me!” Nelson screeched, voice echoing unnaturally across the realm.
Cid sighed. Here we go.
Nelson lunged, the Sanctuary bending around him like a storm. Massive waves of corrupted light slammed toward Cid. He didn19t move. He simply extended one finger, his voice steady:
“Atomic.”
A thin ripple of pure magic spread from him, slicing the incoming wave cleanly in half. Aurora19s eyes widenednot in fear, but in awe.
Nelson roared and charged again, swinging a massive arm made of dark energy. The void trembled under the impact, shockwaves cracking the white space itself. But Cid stepped through the smoke, completely unharmed.
“Impossible!” Nelson shrieked. “Youwho are you?!”
Cid tilted his head slightly, letting the shadows gather around him. “Just someone who lurks in the shadows.”
He raised his hand. Magic gathered around him, pulsing like the heartbeat of a sleeping god.
Nelson screamed as Cid unleashed ita sharp, clean wave of power that tore through the Sanctuary like a blade of light. The monster19s body broke apart, dissolving into dust that scattered across the infinite white space.
Silence returned.
Aurora approached him slowly, her expression soft. “You19re incredible… more than anything this place has ever seen.” Her voice trembled slightly. “But the Sanctuary can19t hold together anymore. The system is collapsing.”
Cid looked around as cracks spread across the horizon, the white void disintegrating like paper set on fire.
Aurora19s form flickered. “Our time is ending. Thank you… for giving me a moment of freedom.”
Cid watched as her figure began to fade, piece by piece. He couldn19t save her. Even he knew that. The Sanctuary was coded to erase everything when the core failed.
But Aurora smiled. A small, peaceful smile. “Goodbye… Shadow.”
The world shattered.
Light swallowed him once moreand Cid opened his eyes back in the underground chamber, lying on the cold stone floor. Machines sparked and failed around him. Nelson19s real body was slumped nearby, lifeless.
The Sanctuary was gone.
Aftermath in the Underground Chamber
But Cid stood up with a grin. That was fun.
And he walked out of the ruined chamber as if nothing unusual had happened at all.