Night V is shaping up to be much longer than I initially intended but it's a strong episode that will begin to unravel mysteries as well as set your MC on the path that will define her story moving forward. It's a particularly important night for the Zealot MC. Even when aligned with The Weaver, she still struggles with doubts about her new identity and how to navigate life as the person she's become. Night V will be an important threshold for her where she has to make a decision. Will she follow The Weaver, attempt to forge her own path with Serax & Valdricht, or opt out of her destiny entirely? And if she goes forward with Serax and Valdricht, what will the context of their relationship be?

In the interest of getting more content out quickly, I'll likely be dividing Night V into two separate updates. I'm going to spend tomorrow writing as much as I'm able to and then I'll make a determination as to when the update will be expected. It will be the first update available on Patreon as an early release. I haven't sent out the soft launch invites yet. I'd like to have a bit more content ready before I do so. I've never made a Patreon before and I think I'm making a very big deal out of it in my head when I probably shouldn't. Anyway, here is the excerpt. It's actually multiple passages strung together, so you'll have some choices that may change what you read within the story. This is a direct continuation of Zealot Night IV. For those playing the Heretic non-NSFW route, yours will be fairly similar. It's also still in need of a line edit, so some words and phrases might be changed.

★★★

I'm dying.

The realization hits you with sickening clarity.

You divide into two halves. One slowly sinking into an abyss, the other bleeding out on a bed.

In some ways, it's worse than the last time. When you burned, it was violent and painful, but quick. This time, you feel every second. The only pain is your awareness of how utterly alone you are.

How alone you've always been.

Your field of vision narrows as you detach from your body and slip deeper into cold shadows. Even when your feet land on solid ground, the windows of your eyes continue to move farther away.

When The Weaver appears, you want to fling your arms around her, if only to have something to cling to. However, you're given pause by her strange form. She wears her customary starlight gown and the features of her face are in flux, periodically settling on that of a shadewalker woman, one with a long, angular face, violet skin, and unnaturally large, lavender eyes. Rather than greeting you, she seems just as preoccupied as you as she looks up at your shrinking vantage.

"Valdricht will be here soon," she says. Something about her voice sets you on edge, and you don't like the way she clutches at her arms.

"What if he's not?" you ask. "What happens if I die?" A long moment passes without an answer. "You'll put me back, right?"

Eyes shifting from lavender to amber, her gaze sharpens on you. "I cannot put you back into a corpse."

"You could make a new body though, right? Like last time."

She looks back up, prompting you to follow. With a jolt of alarm, you see that your vision has narrowed into distant orbs of light. You watch as the orbs shrink into starlight.

"This is part of your plan, isn't it?" you press. "You ordered me to give them my blood. I was only doing as you bade me."

She pinches the bridge of her nose with clawed fingers. "The fault is mine. I should have accounted for this." She looks back to you, her face undergoing a rapid succession of changes in the span of her gasp.

You look down to find that your body is becoming insubstantial, your legs becoming one with the shadows. When you try to take a step, there's nothing to heed your call.

"What's happening to me?"

"This body is dying," she says, making her way over to you. At her approach, the shadows recede, but your legs remain absent, your pelvis suspended on nothingness. "You will have to return to the sea for a time. If there is another path forward, I promise you, I will find it."

"What do you mean, return to the sea?" You reach down to grasp at the place where your legs should be, only to find that your hands are losing their solidity as well. "No. I didn't ask for any of this. If I am to die, my soul should be in Eduana. I belong in paradise with The Dawn Mother, not in the shadows."

The Weaver takes hold of your fading hands, lacing her fingers in yours. "Be calm, daughter."

You shake your head. "I'm not your daughter. I know you've been lying to me. Telling me what you think I want to hear."

"You underestimate me."

Her form suddenly solidifies into that of a lovely woman with sun-drenched skin, eyes of pure gold, and hair like firelight. Atop her head is a glowing crown of pure sunlight.

When she speaks, her voice is like a song. "If I wanted to manipulate you, it would have been easy. But I never wanted blind devotion from you. After a lifetime of lies, I had thought to give you truth."

The facade burns away, and then she's back in her shadewalker form. "Perhaps I misjudged you. Should there be a next time, I will not make that mistake."

As she speaks, your hands turn to mist. You want to break down and cry, but everything is fading now. The Weaver pulls what remains of you into an embrace and you begin to sink into her.

You can no longer speak, but your innermost thoughts spill into the shadows.

Is this really the end? Did I devote my life to serving The Dawn Mother, only to once more sink into the shadows? Was I so wretched that she could not find it in her mercy to love me? Was I always doomed to be shackled to the sins of my ancestors?

If The Weaver hears your lamentations, she doesn't answer. Around you, the shadows begin to tremble.

"Praise him," you hear her whisper, before a thunderous voice fills the void.

"Vira'vir."

The words are like an invisible hand taking hold of you and jerking you forward, up toward the pinpricks of light. As you soar through the shadows, the lights grow larger and what remains of you begins to solidify. You are just beginning to make out a figure in the distance when your ascent stalls and you begin to sink.

Desperately, you reach for the light.

"Vira'vir, nerila."

Once more you're pulled forward, this time with brutal force. You're launched toward the lights, momentarily blinded as they engulf you...

★★★

The cliffhanger was funny because on one hand it was a nail biter, but also we're obviously going to survive. In this brief sequence, we get a glimpse at our supposed deity who is not only not in control of this situation, but relying on Valdricht and praising him? There's still a lot to learn about the tangled web we're in. Questions will be answered, proposals will be offered, and choices will be made in Night V. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

-Mortish