Side Story C: The Chapel of Sleep

Heh, your comments are best. Very good observations! Thank you. I'm happy that you liked the story.

I think Patreon ate my comment earlier cause I don't see it. D: You rewrote it that quickly? Huzzah! I’m sorry I’m late to the party, I didn’t think we’d be here so soon! First off, this is hands down my favorite side story. The last one was good too but this one feels a bit special. We finally see Izumi start to heal, which is good considering she’s got some pretty deep wounds, both inflicted by herself and others. There’s still quite a bit of pain there, but I have little doubt Izumi will be able to continue healing in the future. Right now what she really needs is her friends and if anything a small goof off mini-adventure or two with them in the next book, but that’s in the future. Let’s delve into this delightful read. As usual, your grammar and style are fantastic. I think I only got tripped up once on a sentence during the entire story. The pacing was excellent, though it felt like things were begin beginning to get a little to quick towards the end but that’s okay! All in all, a job well done! Now, onto the story itself, which was what honestly threw me for a loop. I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly thought we were going to get some sort of weird cult, but seeing Izumi meet some of those she’s met along the way? That was definitely an experience. At first I wasn’t certain whether we were really seeing the dead and more or less seeing something like her interaction with ‘Riswelze’ until the dream with Naliya occurred, which has interesting repercussions. I hope that Izumi can make the detour to tell Faalan’s wife and kid about what happened to him and how brave he was on her way back to Bhastifal. That conversation about fate was interesting to read, given fate itself is often fascinating to talk about. His advice is a little vague, but I think I get exactly what he’s trying to say. It was absolutely delightful to see Naliya again, although I’m curious as to how exactly she came to end up in a place that appears to be the world in the far distant past. I think seeing her did quite a bit of good for Izumi, but if I’m understanding the foreshadowing she dropped as a possible future, then things might get very interesting. Seeing Yui-chan, even if she no longer has the memories she made with Izumi was great. Honestly, I’m surprised there’s even anything left of Yubilea after what I figured Aiwesh did with her. But honestly, I don’t believe she’s fully telling the truth when she says she no longer has her memories of her time with Izumi, especially with the way she was speaking toward the end with that smile. My guess is she doesn’t remember everything, but she certainly remembers parts of their time together. I’m not going to lie, I was expecting the last conversation to possibly be with Riswelze, but if I recall correctly the arrow she was hit with even burns the soul of the person it hits, which if true is rather grim. Regardless, seeing Iris definitely did quite a bit of good for Izumi. Honestly, at the end of the last book I didn’t think Izumi was ready to face what was to come. In the time I had to think between finishing Finest Hour and starting Chapel of Sleep, I realized that even though she may have broken the cycle she was in before letting it repeat again and grew in many other ways as a person, her past wounds weren’t healing. Now she’s finally begun to heal, I have little doubt she’ll be able to face the future without flinching, and I’m eagerly looking forward to what comes next. I have a feeling that what comes next definitely isn’t going to be easy though. The foreshadowing of a future where she may once again be with those she’s lost is something I honestly wasn’t expecting. Though it makes sense, given that the person who reaches the apex of the Trophaeum is granted their wish. I feel like there are a few important things to consider right now though. If I recall correct, the year in this world is fourteen months. I know it’s longer than an Earth year for sure, I just don’t recall exactly how long. If it’s the case of 14 months, then that means we have somewhere around four or five months left before the world ends. Even though Izumi is probably closer to Bhastifal now than she was when in Grelden, there’s still definitely a chunk of time needed to travel back to Bhastifal. So lets say that shaves off a month. That doesn’t leave long to plan, assuming that rogue daemon she fought in book 2 gets nuts. Things are beginning to get down to the wire! I have a feeling that there’s going to be a clash of ideals between Aiwesh, whose thoughts we can’t really comprehend now that I’ve had time to think about it, and Izumi in terms of what will become of the world when Izumi reaches the apex of the Trophaeum. I have a feeling that the world Naliya showed and the one Aiwesh wants are going to be vastly different, but I also believe Izumi is probably the best person to find the right level of balance between the two. I wonder what Izumi’s world will be like. I can honestly see her dragging the world forward technologically to a degree, but how much so I’m uncertain. After all, we know that technology is a really weird matter I’m honestly excited to see everything that’s going to come in the next book. My guess is there’s either going to be a visit to Langoria or preparations for the journey to the Trophaeum, or both! Regardless, I’m eager to see where things are headed in the future! Keep up the good work!

Izetta Mirai Fleur

Really glad if you liked! I don't officially take commissions at the moment, since practically every waking moment goes to getting various projects forward. And I'm also kinda insecure about my art. But, if there's a picture you want done and it's within my modest ability, then I can try make the time, sure. Just pm the details.

You wrote a cliche theme with a non-cliche story. How?! I loved it. Seriously. Also, little off-topic, but do you do art commissions? I love your art a lot. Sort of ethereal in a way.

ExorcistBirb