[ Any verbal response is delayed while Vanessa lingers in her disoriented state, finally blinking away the tears that had somehow gathered. She can't remember the song she was humming, but she remembers the feeling that came with it as her fingertips flutter beneath her eyes to wipe at a damp cheek. With her breathing slowed, Vanessa finds that her lungs no longer hurt. She is still dizzy, but then she was before this reading started. That won't ease. Her sense of self, however, is righting itself.

The fragments of his life that had funneled into her remain, but she can now parse them; organize and separate them from her own life's traumas. His pain, his loneliness and regret, his anger and his hope, all of it still churns inside of her. Her tiny frame shouldn't be able to hold so much, and yet every time, she finds room. The ephemeral has no limit, though it's a wonder it doesn't drive her mad.

No, he isn't the Devil. He carries too much regret. He does what need be done, but without the pleasure a demon would partake in. ]

No. You shouldn't be here. You are not of this world. Not of my world, yet...you are no demon.

[ There's no anger in her voice as she unveils her confusion, only trepidation. He isn't any type of supernatural creature she's met before, and she can't understand how he connects to the Underworld. Unless? ...An angel?

Her fear heightens. If an angel of God was sent for her, Vanessa can't dare hope any longer that it's to save her. If it's come to end her curse by whatever means necessary, to prevent the Hell she's destined to unleash on the world, then she ought to embrace such an end, shouldn't she?

But she doesn't. The selfish part of her digs in, and her nails bits into her wrist as she slowly stands. God's angels didn't come for her when she prayed for them, but now they dare to extend their hand? Cruel. ]

Save your misguided mercy for your own repentance. I know the path that I tread, and it is one of solitude. You answered my call too late.