Nest is in a dark factory hallway, she’s currently lost and doesn’t know where she is

  Nest: Hello? Who’s here

  Nest looks around, the creaking of her surroundings turn into a cacophony of sounds and shadow

  Nest: Hello??

  Her cries for someone else are drowned out by mechanical whirring and the darkness of the factory, suddenly, the lights begin flickering on and off

  Nest: Hello? Hello? Who’s there?

  Nest’s frantic running stops as she turns a corner

  ???: Hello Nest, don’t worry…you’re no longer alone…

  The shadow begins forward towards Nest, absorbing the surroundings

  Nest: Whoever you are…please…please…have mercy

  Nest begins running, she tries calling for her bird friends, but they are not responding to her cries for help

  The sounds and sights of the room begin morphing into unfathomable shapes, suddenly she hears a scream

  Juni: HELP ME, HELP ME

  Nest: Juni??

  The corridor she’s in finally wraps around, as she feels like she’s suffocating in her own malice

  ???: I’m afraid you can’t help her

  Nest: Who even are you?

  Nest begins to run, holding in her fear as dark shadows of her failures and regrets begin to appear mocking her, a green light appears briefly before being swallowed by the darkness

  Nest: What’s the meaning of this

  Juni: HELP ME, HELP ME

  Nest: WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS

  Juni: HELP ME, HELP ME

  ???: Oh Nest…you should know me well

  Juni: NEST YOU NEED TO HELP ME, HE’S GOING TO KILL ME

  The figure in the darkness steps forward

  Nest: No..no…no…no…NO…NO…It can’t be you…

  The dark shadowed figure reveals himself

  The Buzzard: That’s right Nest…

  Nest: But you died…

  Juni: HE’S GOING TO KILL ME

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  The Buzzard: Nest, darling, you left me to die but I survived because I am hate incarnate, I can never truly die as long as you hate somewhere in your heart

  Nest: But…but…

  Juni: NEST, YOU NEED TO RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN

  Juni’s chanting of the word run compels Nest to run and run and run far away but the Buzzard begins soaring over her

  The Buzzard: I’m going to kill you and tear out your soul

  Nest keeps running, not looking back but she sees apparitions of all her failures continue to taunt and mock her

  Juni: HELP ME, HELP ME

  As the chorus of Juni’s screams grows to a fever pitch, Nest begins to cry, she runs across a familiar sight, those familiar corpses

  Edera: Join us Nest

  Zaylee: Join us Nest

  Nest: NO…NO…NO…I REFUSE

  The Buzzard: I’ll have all your heads

  Nest begins to run faster and faster but she stops hitting the ground

  The Buzzard: Aw..the little girl fell over

  Nest: No please…no this can’t be how it ends

  Nest begins to have the crest ripped off of her by The Buzzard

  The Buzzard: I love tasting your fear

  Nest moves away and continues running until Juni calls out for her again

  Juni: NEST, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU NEED TO HELP ME, YOU NEED TO HELP ME

  Nest: How…how

  Nest breaks down as The Buzzard engulfs her and…

  Nest wakes up in a cold sweat in her bed, screaming and crying, flailing, struggling to breathe due to the weight of her intense nightmare

  12 Hours Later, Columbia, Maryland

  Nest is sitting in an office with Hadane, Nest has just exited a guild mandated therapy session which happens whenever a veteran unit suffers from a post-traumatic stress event. The two have remained relatively silent until…

  Hadane: Do you want to tell me about it?

  Nest: About what?

  Hadane: Your nightmare, do you want to tell me about it?

  Nest: Why do you care?

  Hadane: It’s still bothering you, and that’s bothering me

  Nest: Alright…well do you remember the events that happened here in this city years ago

  Hadane: Are you referring to your encounter with The Buzzard?

  Nest: Yes, he was going to kill me if Falconer and The Century Corps did not intervene, they are the reason I am still alive but it didn’t come easy, quite a few people died but I survived. However, when I go to bed, I see their faces, I see them mocking me.

  Hadane: I believe that is called Survivor’s Guilt

  Nest: That’s what the therapist said

  Hadane: I remember my own nightmares I had, I am also only here because of The Century Corps.

  Nest: Really?

  Hadane: Your previous grandmaster, Iseri, saved my life by fighting the Angel of Death, it’s a gesture that I can never repay

  Nest: I see, and how did your nightmares stopped

  Hadane: They just did, I made peace with the fact that everyone else had died and that I was now going to live my own life

  Nest: Well I thought that I had gotten there too but then last night The Buzzard appeared in my dreams and I was brought back to the brink of death, he scared me, I felt trapped

  Hadane: Listen, you killed him right, he’s gone

  Nest: In my dream, he said he could never die as long as there was hate inside my heart

  Hadane: Then you have to let go

  Nest: Let go of what?

  Hadane: Your fears and doubts, you’ve got to soar far above your worries

  Nest: But there’s very little aether here, how am I gonna fly without it?

  Hadane: Sometimes you need others to be your strength and you’ve got tons of feathered friends, don’t you?

  Nest: My bird friends?

  A bunch of birds sit perched outside the window

  Hadane: They’re worried about you too

  Nest: So, looks like I’ve got to trust my friends?

  Hadane: You’ve got them and you’ve got me

  Nest: But what if The Buzzard really does appear again, rear his ugly head and endanger our friends?

  Hadane: We’ll fight him together

  Nest: I’ll hold you to your promise

  Hadane: I will uphold it

  Nest: Still, I feel shaken

  Hadane: That’s ok, remember Nest, let your feelings be your guide

  Nest: I’m going to do my best, so there’s no ghosts left to haunt me

  Nest leaves the room, reinvigorated with a spirit to do what’s right

  Hadane turns to face the room, she’s not alone in there now

  Hadane: You’ve been oddly quiet

  Iseri: It’s your conversation, who am I to interfere in it

  Hadane: You know for a standup guy you sure do a lot of haunting

  Iseri: Listen I didn’t give your friend a nightmare, that was her own guilt and fears

  Hadane: No I believe you

  Iseri: Do you like your place here?

  Hadane: I do

  Iseri: Remember Hadane, if you ever need some ghastly advice, you can always talk to me, you’re friend’s going to need help to get through the trials ahead

  Hadane: I appreciate your kindness Iseri, but you’ve done enough for a lifetime, enjoy your eternal rest

  Iseri: Fair enough, my time on the mortal plane is limited anyway, good luck on the battles to come.