The cure

Isla take your medicine She had heard enough. She had read enough. She'd slept on it, and slept again, and walked the Sanctuary for hours in the snow before finally making her decision. The Shrine she knew existed because Remi had been there. The gods she knew existed because Samuel had mentioned how he had become an Ascended. The only thing Isla was lacking was the motivation. And in a weird twist of fate spent in the manor of one Archebold Cobb, she found that too. The feel of his fangs in her neck filled her with as much disgust as it did anticipation. Death is the only cure, he had said. Or something like that - she found that evening difficult to remember at best. But his words had stuck in her like a needle, and they were dripping poison in her veins even now as she tip-toed through the passageways that led to the underground chamber. The corridor filled with water she was wary of, but seemingly without reason - nothing stirred as she ran through on bare feet. It was dark outside the underground, she'd made sure of that, but it had been snowing when she entered and it would be when she left, no doubt. Water pooled around her as she stepped into the room veined with light, to the obsidian statue with clasped hands. Isla fell to a halt and shivered. "I..." She took a shaking breath, then forced her voice to steady. "My name is Isla Lockwood," she said. "I would... I would like to Ascend, please."

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best Isla Lockwood The voice slipped from the shrine as if tasting it, trying it on for size. Yes. It fit quite well. The veins that punctuated the floor began to glow a cool teal and green as the slow thrum of energy filled the room and rattled the medic's bones. The ghost of an outline appeared before the shrine which slowly became if not quite corporeal, at least solid enough to see and not be completely distracted by what little could be seen through her form. Hello new one. She said, though her lips did not move, but instead curved upwards, the smile reaching her eyes and alighting them brilliantly. You wish to ascend? To become bright? To be completed? Delight contoured her youthful face as it tilted downwards her smile widening.

Isla take your medicine Isla took an instinctive step away from one of the veins of light as it began to pulse and change, as though worried it might burn her, and she had to force herself to look back up at the shrine. The room seemed to fill her to the brim with its vibrations, like deep music in a language she couldn't hope to understand. Isla swallowed hard, lips parting to say something more when her own name echoed back at her, silencing her like a spell. Pebble blue eyes were round and wide as the figure - the Voice - emerged from the Shrine just as she'd heard it had before. Hot blood thrummed in her ears with her racing pulse - blood she might not have for much longer, given what she'd seen of Samuel. The smile, though... the smile from the Voice warmed and calmed her, enveloping her in something more than what she was. And that was the real driver, truly. Isla wanted to know. Had to know. "Yes,"" she said, before hastily adding, "please. If that is possible."

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best Be not fearful. The light simply carries information, and the heat is a byproduct of that light. She said, lips still curved into a smile as her knowledgeable voice echoed in the small chamber. More than possible. The Voice replied, her arms spreading wide. Inviting. Calming. Welcoming. Come to me Isla Lockwood. Be made complete. Be made perfect. Be made bright. The Voice's arms, though semi-transparent as they might be, sparked slightly with electricity. Her smile widened, beatific and intelligent. As Isla stepped forward the Voice smiled reassuringly. This will not be without pain, but it will be temporary and then gone forever. I will be here with you for all of it. Be not afraid. And with that, Isla would experience the worst pain of her life as the Voice's palms came together against her temples. Electricity would flair through her brain as her parietal lobe was all but completely fried. The benefit of this was the complete removal of pain. The downside of course was that it made other tactical senses a bit...flaky. But the calculus the Voice employed dictated that the sacrifice was worth it. While only seconds would have passed, for Isla the immense pain likely stretched the moments out into an eternity, but eventually the fog would lift and the ascended-in-progress would find herself utterly free of all physical suffering. That was uncomfortable for you, but it is over now. I see that you are a medic Isla Lockwood. Would you like to remain conscious for the rest of this procedure?

Isla take your medicine As with all things, understanding brought calm, and Isla felt no further fear once she knew what the grooves of pulsing light were for. What information they carried and where was still outstanding of course, but the immediate danger was passed. She faltered only once as the Voice invited her forward - one last shred of doubt to be shed before she could truly embrace the future. There was no room for doubt right now. All things should be questioned, and that part of her nature would (hopefully) never leave her, but she needed to put her trust in the Voice for the moment. For all her moments from now on, it transpired. Her blue eyes tracked the sparks of electricity that danced along the young woman's arms, Isla swallowing hard and nodding. "I am ready," she said softly. But she was wrong - nothing could prepare her for what came next. The touch against her temples was cool, then hot, then searing, like the Voice was driving needles into her skull. She crackled, she burned, standing alight before the goddess - or that's what she thought was happening. Her lips parted in a scream she couldn't hope to contain, and while she wanted to pull away, to run, to find somewhere safe that wasn't here on this pyre, her muscles locked within her. Gods, she was going to die here. With cheeks wet with tears and the strange sound of bells (she didn't know if it was real or if she was hallucinating), it finally, finally relented. Isla stood, exhausted and panting in the Voice's grip, gazing up with bloodshot eyes. ...Nothing. There was no pain. And it felt like bliss. "Yes," she said in a hoarse and broken voice. "I'm a medic. I'd like to see, to know..."

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best The Voice smiled and nodded. It was as she thought. Close your eyes Isla Lockwood. She instructed, and as Isla did so, instead of the blackish red veil that normally comes with closed lids, Isla would instead find herself in a pristine and white operating room. The setting was a construct, an illusion chosen specifically because it was one that Isla would understand. Before her she would see her own body laying prone on an operating table, with the Voice standing across from her. We shall begin. The Voice informed her with a smile and nod, though unlike in the cavern, the lips and head of the god did in fact move. Though this was an illusion, she was somehow more real here than back in the cavern. Rather than cutting Isla open as any other surgeon would have do, the Voice waved her hand above the woman's body and all of her organs appeared as three-dimensional representations above. We will start with the lungs. The Voice informed as the other organs lost their opacity leaving only the lungs in clear view. The primary purpose of human lungs is to oxygenate the blood and to remove carbon dioxide from the body. It is a very inelegant solution to this problem. Waving her hand, the lungs disappeared. Beneath the bed Isla would see a tray table slowly filling with blood. Her blood. The reanimation fluid I will add to your body does not require oxygenation and so the need for lungs is eliminated. The Voice continued to work, explaining to Isla what she was doing and how as she went. The medic's nervous system was overhauled, the optical cones in her eyes upgraded, two needle-like protrusions in her canine teeth that could be raised or lowered at will to assist with interfacing, an infusion of a lightweight but strong compound into her bones to sustain the new properties her body now had and a brand new heart which would push the fluid through her body. You are now bright, beautiful one, but you are still young. The Voice warned. A container of animation fluid appeared in the air and a beam of sunlight radiated towards it. After a moment it bubbled and began to smoke and finally burst into flame. A set back, but we are working on a solution. Until then, monitor yourself my child— And in Isla's mind she'd find the ability to introspect and take stock of her body was suddenly heightened to near perfect accuracy.

Isla take your medicine Oh. This was... perfect. Isla closed her eyes and opened them, truly opened them, for the first time in her life - or so it felt. The operating room was utter bliss to her chaotic and disorganised mind, and she ran her fingertips over the pristine wall before her attention zoned in on the operating table, and... herself lying upon it. Isla's breath caught in her throat, her heart thundering in her chest, though it seemed to have no effect on the Isla on the table. Swallowing hard, mind swimming, Isla approached and nodded at the Voice. She wanted to watch the deity rather than the lump of flesh that was all she was, and the sudden urge to let out a wild laugh rose up in the back of her throat. She caged it to listen to her benefactor, eyes drinking in the sight of the organs on display as if it was something she had always wanted to see laid out as such. The childlike awe on her face was utterly at odds with the steady drip of crimson beneath the table. Isla listened, she learned, she embraced it. Yes, it was a bit... odd (horrifying, nightmares, blood and viscera and what have I done) to see herself undergo such a transformation. But all would fall in place in time, she was certain. Nodding, Isla watched the reanimation fluid ignite with a faint narrowing of her eyes. She wanted to say she could work on a solution, but the Voice was already mentioning as such. And besides, she was soon distracted by the pinpoint accuracy with which she could monitor her own body. This was... (monstrous) wonderful. She was complete. (She was ruined). She was Ascended.

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best For a moment the Voice paused as if something was just occurring to her. Blinking her eyes in quite an animated and intervaled fashion, she turned towards Isla—the standing version that is—and smiled. You have very advanced medical training Isla Lockwood. The Voice said with a touch of pride. Moving towards the prone form of the medic, the Voice looked down at her for a moment, her head tilting this way and that before finally seeming to come to an internal decision. Waving her hand in a practiced and swift gesture, a representation of Isla's eyes appeared just as the lungs and her other organs had. Twisting and turning her fingers in complication motions, the Voice seemed to be manipulating the hologram with swift accuracy, contouring and subtly changing the facets of the woman's eyes. Blink. The Voice commanded and both Isla's as well as the hologram-eyes, did. Look at yourself Isla Lockwood. Do you see? And when Isla turned her face downwards, she would see. But what she saw would be so very much more. Fully within the ascended's control was now the ability to see in infrared and x-ray.

Isla take your medicine "Thank you," Isla murmured automatically in response to the compliment about her medical skills. Her voice sounded small and distant in the operating room in her mind, and she was still trying to coalesce what she was actually seeing. This was more advanced than anything she'd been so lucky to see before... speaking of which, her eyes appeared before them, Isla arching an eyebrow. Questions crackled along her tongue as she watched the Voice work, and at the command she was powerless to resist. Indeed, her eyes shut and opened again of their own accord - and she gasped, stepping back ever so slightly. Everything lay before her like an open storybook, Isla reaching out to trace the bones in her forearm, visible as if they were over her skin instead of within it. "This is... I don't... She laughed, even if she was crying and didn't realise it, glancing to the Voice and bowing her head reverently. "Yes, I see," she said. "I see everything."

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best The Voice nodded knowingly. You are ascended Isla Lockwood. Flesh made perfection. The limitations to what you can do and achieve are now bound only by time and not your body. You are creation made reality. Do not supplicate yourself before those who call themselves gods, for I will always hear you and will always be there for you. You are mine forever bright one. The operating room would fade in a blink and Isla would find herself standing as she had been, with the Voice's palms gently against her temples. Softly the room pulsed with light and energy and the thrum of potential. Go into the world my child. Be bright, and see.