From her vantage point on the cliff's edge, Elizabeth saw the vast sea, blocked from her view by the already present deity, who, despite lacking expression, felt amusement at her. From her past visit, it seemed like it could tell what she was feeling even if she hadn't expressed it. The resentment she felt, the sickening pit in her stomach that was made after using the gift given to her, was something until now hadn't realized she felt. Now, being back at the hands of a twist of fate that would have never happened if not for the news of the Visitor's true arrival, gave way to an unfamiliar emotion she didn't know how to express besides looking ahead and begging for it to end.
"My precious guide, I'm sorry, my time in this realm is fleeting, but being voluntarily asked upon has given me enough time to ask you for the debt you owe me that will now be fulfilled. Come to me, child, and claim the favor you've already requested.
"Why did this have to happen?".
"Means outside of either of our control, I'm afraid. The Gray forest blocks our connection slightly, surely the cause of that Schnee woman's departure into it with such haste. But if you question whether this event was my doing, then I'm afraid the blame lands elsewhere. Truthfully, where you go does not matter to me, where she would have led you means nothing to me, what will happen next is the only thing I crave! It is the only thing I yearn for".
"Who was it?".
"I cannot answer that.".
"How many people are involved?".
"I cannot answer that?".
"Why not!?".
"Because you've yet to ask me the favor".
"I won't ask for any favor from you, so forget it. I won't ask," she shook her head in frustration. "Damn it, I won't!".
"I'm no trickster; I'm not the devil of which the Christians speak of, I'm no one compared to what lies beyond this boundary that keeps me sealed. I would shrivel if the devil spoke to me, I would lose, I would die. I have endured suffering that no one will ever understand, but nothing in this world will stop me from getting what is rightfully mine.
"What do the Christians have to do with th—"
"All will be answered if you ask the favor".
"Where was Rum leading me?".
"Is this your criteria?".
"Yes. This will decide everything past this".
"Mmmmmm, that Schnee woman knows a great deal about the state of the world." Above all, she knows about me, she knows your duty, and when she saw the beast decline entry inside your shadow, she knew that there wasn't enough room for two. And so it latched onto her and, in her brief moments of assurance, gave you the treatment you needed to potentially leave or return to what you call home. The Schnee's sanctuary is anywhere besides Toblitche, as it is no longer their home. She tried to protect you from me, and as a result, they punished her. Her understanding of the oddities was wise, but her fate was sealed the moment she led you into the Gray Forest. You and she have much in common, much more than anyone knows. Not you, though. You know what she is, don't you?". Wrinkles formed around the sides of the eye, almost as if it were attempting to smile. Without any mouth, however, it only stretched the center of the eye slightly.
Everything it said was true; she couldn't refute a single claim, but even then, she declined the thoughts from ever becoming more than that. Years of programming conditioned her not to utter what shouldn't be said. That didn't mean she couldn't act upon it. That didn't mean she would miss the opportunity to save her and mend the mistakes she'd made before, although her most grievous mistakes could never be healed. But perhaps these could, perhaps this thing could fix it. From everything she knew and even now, its abilities were true; it could fix this and find the people who enacted it.
But the foreign voice wouldn't allow it, even as her lips parted and the words attempted to leave, they were caught by the invaders' warning. Danger, danger, that's all it said, that's all it needed to say for her to understand the ramifications of what was so long ingrained in her to decline.
She was being torn apart, and the eye could see all of it; its longing, all-consuming eye prevented even her thoughts from being private. Nothing could get past it, and in the end, it was right. From the beginning, she had no choice but to ask,
"I want to learn what happened. I want to learn the truth".
The world had turned completely black in an instant, and as the eye began to fade, it spoke one last time before disappearing with it.
"Then your debt will be paid".
The ground beneath her had dispersed, and she descended into a free fall that led to a fire. Fire had consumed everything around her, and there was nothing she could do besides continue to fall as she descended deeper, beginning to hear the reverberated voices of thousands of people all intertwined, all immensely painful to the ear. Preventing her from thinking, preventing her from acknowledging the sheer height she was falling from. Until she mustered the strength to open her eyes and was welcomed to a bright light that streamed down from the sealed window and an open pencil case beside her.