Utterly, did Valley find herself, unprepared for the ocean of magic that sprung forth from the droplet of magic she dripped into the ritual circle to lure the Servant that would heed her call. Around her, bells rang of all kinds; from tinny jingles to dominant clangs, like tambourines and church bells. In eerie depths of tone, a phantasmal choir vocalized - a backing of notes, two-four -  as an acting, metronomic tempo to a whispered duel of chants in a mix of languages she couldn’t speak. However, she knew snippets of their tongues; Latin and Spanish, old mother tongues. 

“[i]Hear him![/i]”

“[i]See her![/i]

“[i]Our Grand Inquisitor![/i]”

“[i]Our Lady of Shadows![/i]”

Feverishly, the chants dueled to a higher and higher pitch, as the choir grew oppressively lower, and both forced Valley to her knees. It was all the struggle she could muster to maintain the Spirits that heeded her call; the self-trained Mage, and Phantom Thief, looked up as the Saint Graphs materialized - two had come to her aid, timeless and connected.

Yet, only one could stay the course.

If she could find it.

Pain wreathed her body, her soul, and tore at her spirit. Such control was beyond her means, and inspired not thoughts of greatness, but fear...

At a crossroads, she stood:

[center][i]Walk proudly upon The Path of the Righteous...

[b]...or...[/b]

Drift freely among The Dreams of the Slumbering...[/i][/center]
Her choices were only two, yet felt immensely more. In her heart, she knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she didn’t realize how dangerous.

Until now.

"[color=50C878][i][b]Daunting odds, isn't it, my little granddaughter? The Grand Inquisitor. The Lady of Shadow. A choice, all yours.[/b][/i][/color]" Phantasmally, to her right, a dapper, masked man appeared and rested his hand on Valley's trembling shoulder - before rapping her upside the head with a fancy cane. "[color=50C878][i][b]Stop trembling. It's unbecoming of a Lupin. Ask yourself, chickadee, the only question worth asking: What's worth stealing? The Hand of God, or the Hand of Death?[/b][/i][/color]"

Valley looked up, eyeing her masked grandfather - some generations back - with amazement. In moments, her shaking ceased, as her bravery mounted, and her mind looked upon the challenging Servants as prizes to be stolen. "[color=89CFF0][i]I'm never going to Heaven,[/i][/color]" she says, her voice a light, pleasant soprano. However, it deepened, suddenly, as if another was speaking, into a contralto, "[color=E0115F][b]So, I should enjoy my time in Hell.[/b][/color]"

Confidently, Valley grinned, as she made her choice of damnation over salvation; determined to follow the path of the Lupin Family. Standing, Valley barely noticed Arsene's Phantom vanish into his book of secret and deceptions that had served her for years, but she did - her voices, seemingly, joining into a mezzo-soprano - as she said, "[color=DA70D6][i]Thanks, Grandpa,[/i][/color]" before she faltered; eyes rolling in the back of her head, body going limp, as she fainted from the strain of summoning two Servants in a single cast.

Fortunately, the choice was made, the cast was set, and she sealed the Lady of Shadows upon the physical realm once more.

Now, she just needed to wake up.
[hr]
[@Seirei No Hai]