"I know I have disappointed you, Aunt Mathilde, and I am most sorry for it. I did not intend to break your rules," Cora rushed to explain. "But I do have some questions for you."

Aunt Mathilde sneered unpleasantly. "What sort of lies has this half-formed mongrel from hell been feeding you? I thought you were a sensible child, Cora. How could you let this beastly spawn sway your good judgment?"

Cora furrowed her brow in a troubled manner. "Honestly, I do not know who or what to believe anymore. I feel as though you and Aunt Amelia have been keeping secrets from me. At first, I thought you brought me here to the In Between to find Luna and Noctis and my mother and father. Now... I am not so certain what your intentions may be."

"How could you doubt us, child? Were we not the kindly guardians who took you in and raised you as our own after your parents disappeared?" Aunt Mathilde shrieked. She lunged for Cora. "Get away from him! He is corrupting your mind!"

Cerberus dashed over. His jaw unhinged to freakishly unnatural proportions as his sharp fangs clamped down on Aunt Mathilde' arm. She roared in agony and tried to fling him away with all her might. A powerful gust of wind shot out from under her, sending Cerberus flying into the wall.

Cora started screaming as well. Blood was now gushing from her aunt's wrist because, well, the poor woman was missing her entire right hand. The lost appendage dangled precariously from Cerberus' mouth. Cora watched in horror as he snapped his mouth twice and swallowed the gory hand in a loud crunch of teeth and bone.

"How dare you, you mangy mutt!" Aunt Mathilde clutched her injured stump with a murderous look on her face. "Mark my words, I will return with my sister, and together we shall put an end to this nonsense!"

Before Cora could react, her aunt disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. She glanced over to Cerberus. Was it her imagination or had he suddenly grown taller? Even his appearance looked less boyish. His face and features had become less rounded and more angular.

He smiled at her. Blood and bits of her aunt's flesh dripped from his mouth. "You are welcome, gatekeeper. No need to thank me."

Cora grimaced. She wanted to vomit. "You disgust me."

Cerberus shrugged. "It is what I am. I cannot help it. My powers grow with every soul I devour. Their flesh sustains me. The deader, the better. Would you have me wither away and perish instead?"

"My aunt is not dead yet! Why did you try to..." Cora paused awkwardly, "...eat her?"

"She is not exactly dead yet, you are right, but she is not supposed to be alive at all," Cerberus explained mysteriously. "I must admit, she is rather cunning for a mere mortal. It would seem the two witchy ones you have been erroneously referring to as your aunts have pulled off the impossible. They somehow managed to escape death."

Cora pouted gloomily. "There you go again! Spouting more drivel and rubbish that I have no idea whether or not to believe in! I wanted so desperately to speak with Aunt Mathilde. I had so many questions to ask her. Why did you have to scare her away?"

Cerberus cocked an eyebrow as though she were daft. "Because she wanted to kill me and reclaim you for her own nefarious purposes."

"I can understand perfectly why she might want to get rid of you." Cora sniffed snootily. "But what does she want with me? Are Aunt Mathilde and Aunt Amelia even my real aunts?"

"They most certainly are not your aunts," Cerberus chided. "Why, I do not know if creatures like you even have parents. As far as I know, gatekeepers seem to appear out of nowhere. Emerging from shadows. Arising from thin air—"

"Enough!" Cora groaned irritably. "If I came out of nothing, then why do I possess such distinct memories of my parents and my childhood with them?"

Cerberus smirked. Cora's fingers itched to wipe the smugness off his handsome face.

In lazy tones, he drawled, "Are you certain those memories belong to you? Perhaps... they were borrowed. Illusions that the witchy ones fabricated to bind you closer to them."

"Impossible!"

"Look around you, gatekeeper. Nothing is impossible anymore."

Cora's face fell. She realized that he was right. Then, her expression hardened. A pale silvery light began to form around her person.

"I swear to all that is holy and good, I will get to the bottom of all this! I do not trust you or my aunts. Stay away from me, Cerberus! I wish to find these answers on my own!"

With that, Cora spun upon her heel and headed out the door. Shards of glass crunched beneath the soles of her shoes. Her reflection no longer flickered in the broken mirrors as she marched away. The floors and walls seemed wobble and oscillate as she passed by, as though her mere presence now threatened their very existence.

Paying no mind to Cora's warning, Cerberus laughed and trotted after her. "Oh, this is starting to get very interesting indeed!"