[center][img]https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net/external/Vk0OUuf4HGxo00cwRJjQ8IdRZy3O03DtdnUKrhTPXGU/https/i.pinimg.com/564x/15/16/6d/15166d68f280d4b596592c0011f2930f.jpg?width=200&height=300[/img]

Level 7: 23/70
Location: Carcass Isle
Word Count: 777
Points Gained: 4 
New EXP Balance--- Level 6 : 27/70 [/center]

		At first, Sakura felt bad. She didn't expect such a withering response. After all, the other two Abyssals she had met weren't so bitter about their lives. But New Southern was distressed. More than Sakura could have imagined. But it was one thing to feel down on yourself- when New Southern turned her bitterness onto Rika and Bella, it got Sakura's blood boiling. It was like she was trying to infect Rika with the same mentality. It reeked of an uppity kind of condescension, of the worst kind. As if New Southern knew so much better than Rika and Bella that those two might as well just roll over and die, like her. What an awful thing to say and do to someone. 

	Before Sakura realised it, her teeth were grit and her shoulder was winding backwards. She was a moment away from giving New Southern a punch in the mouth to shut her up. Only a hand on her shoulder from Link stopped her. Sakura looked back at the hero and reddened, embarassed. Clearly New Southern was understandably depressed. And maybe part of it was Sakura feeling bad, too. That Friend Hearting wasn't working anymore. That she couldn't just make people happy. Having thought a lot about the meaning, or lack thereof, of life, she knew the sadness New Southern was feeling was something that couldn't be so easily remedied. She just figured New Southern might need a pick-me-up, but this was a hole that only New Southern could pick herself out of.

	Sakura took a step back and huffed. She ran a hand through her black hair, her cat ears low. [color=f49ac2]"Don't listen to her, [i]Rika-chan.[/i] She feels awful so she's being awful."[/color] Protectively she went to guide Rika away from the Princess as if the words themselves were a poisonous hazard.

	[color=f49ac2]"You're my friend. And that's real, okay? That's all there is to it."[/color]

	[hr]

	Once Sakura re-united with the rest of the group, they travelled inward. Things quickly began to get stranger and stranger. Serenely beautiful, but unsettling. For the first time, the street fighter felt like she was intruding on something. An ancient and mysterious...culture. All the viscious creatures were dormant and in prayer. Chills ran down the back of her neck, and her tail curled up. She too glanced at Bella and Rika, wondering what their thoughts were on all this. Their entire journey had been leading up to this moment. Like they were a knife plunging straight into the heart of evil. Why weren't they trying to stop the Seekers? To Sakura it felt like she was too late. Much too late. For what, or to stop what, she didn't know.

	Soon, they reached another jaw dropping sight. An underwater beach. Some crazy alternate dimension stuff was happening, and it boggled her mind. If she thought about it too much, she would spin in circles. Best not question it and focus on what was important.

	And what was important was, among all the death and decay, was a creature giving birth. Now, Sakura had never seen a woman give birth before, but she was pretty certain it wasn't supposed to look like this. Out of one alien monstrosity emerged another. The pink object it held in its hands made Sakura green around the gills, like she might throw up again. This...thing. Whatever it was. It seemed so sad. Was this really the creature at the heart of everything? 

	[color=f49ac2]"It's...just a baby." [/color]She said as she heard it cry. A tear rolled down her cheek. [color=f49ac2]"Is this really what we came all this way to kill?"[/color] Somehow she knew that this orphaned child was the boss spirit that Galeem had chosen. No doubt that despite it just being born infront of her eyes, it was a powerful creature. Perhaps it would only become even more powerful. Perhaps if left to grow, it would consume the world. Or maybe it's fate was just to sit at this beach and weep for all it had never gained. She didn't know. It was all just too sad to bear. So many variables. She didn't know what was Galeem's making, and what was always meant to be. She dropped her eyes to the grey sand beneath her and held her elbow with her other hand. Her tail and ears drooped. 

	Indecisive, she just stood there. She didn't have it in her to make the first move. And the orphan was too scary to approach on her own. But it didn't feel right for her to attack it while it wasn't looking. So shamefully, Sakura waited for one of her companions to make that decision for her.