A few day later Sera, David and Cass stood at the cathedral''s construction site. The workers were making great progress and currently the three of them stood next to Sera''s feet.
In the past few days they had that promised photoshoot, and now Sera''s statue was already getting built. Currently they were done with her feet and ankles, but more were getting built each day.
She cringed a bit just by thinking about it. She argued with Cass for over an hour about what she would wear and what pose she would stand in for the 3D rendition of her body.
Eventually they made a compromise. Sera wore a golden dress the exact same color as her hair. She managed to convince Cass so her cleavage wouldn''t be showing, but in turn her arms, shoulders and nearly her whole back was. Also, to her utter dismay, she couldn''t wear shoes, so her feet stayed bare.
Her rendition had a face of a serious woman, but also a kind one. It was strange and a bit unnatural in Sera''s opinion, but Cass and Lilith really liked it, so the facial expression stayed.
For the position they decided to show Sera''s two most symbolistic parts, her glaive and her flames. In her right hand the glaive stood straight, with its butt a bit off the ground. Her left hand was placed at a 90 degree angle with her palm facing upwards.
They didn''t rendition the flames, and instead they would build a gigantic pyre in her palm, which would have actual flames burning inside it, just like the Everlasting Bonfire in New Athens.
Sera stared at her feet for a few more moments, but as the atmosphere changed, she turned back towards the front of the church, where the skeletal structure of the walls and one of the gates was already standing.
She stood on Cass''s right side, while David stood on her left. It wasn''t the first time he will meet Amygdala, but it will be the first time since he began dating her daughter.
Cass hid her trembling hands behind her back, not like it mattered. Her whole body was shaking from fear and anger. She haven''t spoken much about her childhood, but Sera had great imagination and she knew how bad Amygdala was.
Agnes was the one who told a few stories about her. After hearing only a few of them Sera became glad that she was an orphan and not a child of a living monster, like Amygdala.
Sera stared at the gate where something was finally happening. They were waiting in this place for the past hour, since that''s when she was supposed to show up.
Beforehand they stopped the constructions and sent every worker away. Sera didn''t want any of them to get hurt or permanently damaged by Amygdala''s presence... Or killed on a whim by her.
In the gateway a dark aura coalesced into the shape of a two meter tall female. She stood naked, her only clothing being her extremely long black hair. It covered her breasts and nether area. It was also constantly moving around, like a snake weaving its way over her sinful body.
Her bare feet weren''t touching the ground. She walked a few centimeters above them, on air.
As she took one step and her aura finally appeared as well. Next to Sera Cass and David fell to their knees, their faces absorbed in pure terror. They haven''t even noticed Sera''s bored expression, but Amygdala did.
With a couple of steps she arrived a few meters in front of the three. She stood a lot further away, but with each step reality bent, giving her the appearance of a mirage.
Also upon closer look Sera saw that no part of her body was actually touching the statue.
Amygdala only stared at Sera as she spoke... "Daughter, take your dog for a walk, while I speak with the little angel alone!" She said with a grin.
Cass and David looked at each other, then at Sera. They didn''t want to leave her alone, with Amygdala, but after a nod from Sera they left while giving her pitying looks.
When the place was clear of everyone other than Amygdala and Sera, she spoke again.
Her face had nothing left of her previous grins and giggles. She stared down at Sera, like she was only an ant compared to her.
"I have a message to give you." She said spitting out each word with more and more annoyance, like it was a very lowly thing to deliver it.
"How is Harold doing?" Asked Sera with a wide grin. Her eyes contained no humor, and the left side of her face ––which was still withered–– wasn''t working properly.
Amygdala''s eyes narrowed, which caused Sera''s body to tremble. Her focused gaze was enough to cause a small amount of pain in her mind. From her right nostril a trickle of blood made its way down to her mouth.
"Did I give you the permission to speak? I will deliver his message, then I can finally leave this shithole and continue to have fun on the frontlines!" Her deep black eyes turned reminiscent, as she probably imagined some new way to kill and torture innocents.
Sera learnt from her mistake. Using her hands, she cleaned off the blood the best she could, then stared at Amygdala. It took her a few minutes to get back to reality and continue delivering the message.
"Since you finally saturated your core, he will need you to stay with him for an extended period. He wants to finish your testing before you advance to transcended!"
With that she began fading out of existence, leaving the last parts of her message echoing through the empty site.
"He will come soon, so get everything done here as fast as possible. You will be staying with him for about a week, but probably more... I hope you have lots of fun there!"
The last thing Sera heard was Amygdala''s Mad cackle as she went back to the western front...
After Amygdala left, Sera just stood there silently. Her eyes stared at the ground, while her hands trembled by her side. The memories of all those past experiences flooding her mind.
She nearly jumped out of her skin, when a hand touched hers. Sera''s head snapped to the side where Cass and David stood. She must''ve been standing here for a long time if they dared to return.
Cass said nothing. She just forced out a smile, and while holding her hand, she led Sera away...