EXTENDED

"It happens every 100 years. The method those before me have gone with is to either destroy it as soon as possible, kill themselves as soon as possible, or take a place in the backdrop of reality for as long as they can before being compromised—and then killing themselves."

Torrie speaks of the sanctai of deism ascendency— which only appears every 100 years after it is destroyed. Nobody has ever seen what happens when it is taken from the bearer and placed on the centre forehead, but it is rumoured that the deity looks like that of a gargoyle-like humanoid.

“I wait till the sun goes down, and the streets quiet. I don’t want to be acknowledged by anyone I pass by, nor anyone to remember seeing me. I wish I could move with the night clouds and hide behind the light of the moon. But I have a human body and a stomach to feed. The only place open is the gas station convenience store. Perhaps it’s worse I’ve made this pattern—every week or so, coming here around 4 in the morning. It’s worked for me so far, but the biggest problem is that I risk her remembering me. However the fact that I get on her nerves so much for covering an eye is a sign she doesn’t want anything to do with me. Still I cannot trust her."

Talia is who Torrie refers to as “her”. Torrie strives to spend minimal time interacting with those in-person; as to not have her identity compromised.

As Torrie walks back home that night, a white 1995 Cadillac DeVille speeds from around the corner as Torrie is crossing the street. It skirts to the side, and as her bangs are blown out of the way, she comes face to face with a young man with red hair in the passenger seat (Andreas). Torrie flusters to cover her eyepatch as the man driving (Zayn) yells at her to get out of the road. She runs away panicked as the Cadillac drives away.

Zayn and Andreas were driving after someone who stole their money from a bar moments ago. And they would continue to do so if Andreas hadn’t spoken up like Zayn taught him to do after seeing people with eyepatches. Zayn used Andreas to kill bearers for their sanctai so that they could sell them. They were both considered impieties. Their edge was that Andreas could disguise himself with the sanctai of metamorphoses and so they could uncover what bearers hid under their eyepatches, all while looking like someone else while taking their sanctai. So when Andreas tells Zayn that the woman crossing the road had an eyepatch, Zayn dismissively tells him to turn into her, being more focused on the car chase. Andreas does as told and uncovers Torrie’s eye from behind her bangs. He turns to Zayn, asking what sanctai she has.

It is from that moment forward that Zayn envisions something he won’t ever let go of until he has it.