The Soul Before: Escape to Paradise

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Eden Althea-Liams.
Trinity Sirona
Maxine Gunther.
Jakome Sirona.

Four souls,
Alive.

Four souls,
Dead.

Four souls,
Fight.

Four souls,
Rebel.

...

Eden Althea-Liams, a 23-year-old woman with a family of one mother and three younger brothers, worked hard to keep her family alive. She was poor and had a job as an artist. Though it never paid her generously, it was the only work she could find. She suffered every day from the panic of not doing well enough and disappointing her mother. One day, she vowed that she would finally make her proud. She went to an art show and tried to sell her art. No one noticed her and she felt hopeless, until someone stopped. A woman wearing a mask with a moon chiseled in the center of it. The woman took off her mask and admired her art, and then she paid her 500 dollars for it. More than Eden was ever paid before. The mysterious woman promised even more to her if she met her again. Eden accepted her offer and came home to her family, overjoyed. Her mother embraced her and encouraged her to keep doing what she was doing, whatever it was. And she did. She kept meeting the woman, and the woman kept giving her new money each time. She soon could pay off her mother's house bill, and soon even her debt. But she never questioned why the woman was doing this for her, she thought that maybe she really did love her paintings, that she loved her life's work, and that was enough for her to keep making pieces. Then, one day, when the woman presented her 7,000 dollars, she asked for something in return,
To meet her suppliers in the woods. She went on about how much they loved her paintings and how much more money they would give her if only they could get in touch with Eden. Then the woman giggled, but it was off. It was.. strange.
Eden, though, being so hopeful and almost enchanted by the woman and the cash, agreed. She followed her into the forest, but what she saw was something she couldn't describe to anyone else. A hologram. A creature so horrifying, with a floating head the shape of a moon. A creature... so.. mesmerizing. The creature called her to him and reassured her that everything was okay and that he was a god who was going to bring peace to the Earth. And he needed her help. Eden believed him, Eden believed him because she couldn't believe anyone else. This was what she was looking for, right? The creature soon had her luring other people into his circle, promising each of them prosperity and life, if they just followed him. Even though all of this was initially to help her family, she grew farther from her mother and was made into more of an intern in this group. Like most, she wasn't allowed to leave, she wasn't allowed to speak of it to the police, and she wasn't allowed to tell her mother where she was getting the money. Eden didn't know why, and they didn't tell her. The only thing they did tell her was to stop asking questions. And that is what made her want to ask, what made her need to ask. And then, on that day, before she met with the Moon, to question him, to try to make sense of... all of this... she saw something. Something she wasn't meant to see. She saw a murder.
She ran away, ran faster than she ever did. She ran home.
She kept seeing more murders on the news, mentions of a rumored cult... and she realized how much danger she was in. How much danger everyone was in.
And then, the night after that, she helped her first victim get out. She worked undercover, active in the cult at night and freeing unsuspecting newcomers by day.
She freed about 50 novices from the cult and spread the news about the murders.
But one day, when she was coming home from a train stop, she was met with a terrifying punishment. Her house was set ablaze, with her mother and siblings in it. They were all dead.
And that was when she snapped.

...

Trinity Sirona, a 21-year-old woman who grew up in a negligent household with her older brother, was fascinated with the universe. She read every astrology book known to man and excelled in geometry, though in each class and occupation she tried to apply for, she was denied. She and her brother were kicked out of their family home at 18 and were forced to find another way to pay off their debt. One day when Trinity's brother was out trying to find work, she heard the doorbell ring. She answered it and a man wearing a mask with a moon chiseled in the center of it stood there, eying her carefully. She invited him inside and made him coffee like he was a normal person. She hoped he was a normal person. And when he spoke, it was something she never thought she would hear. He said that he could offer her everything she ever wanted, wealth, luxury, and even superb health. That was what she wanted, right? What she and her brother wanted. And that's when she followed the man to the forest. The man told her that someone very special would meet them. And when she gazed at the magnificence that was the Someone, she was in awe. She only ever saw these kinds of things in books, in movies, and on television. And the "Someone" was interested in her too; he saw her as different from the others. He knew there was something special about her. So, instead of letting Trinity meet with only the interns of his sect like the rest, he got to know her personally. Trinity was scared of the being at first, but when she heard how soft his voice was and how gentle his touch was, she wanted to learn more about him. He was almost like a ghost that could interact with the living, a beautiful phantom. Every night they would meet in the forest and share things about each other, and they started to gain trust, more and more, until they were almost friends.
A girl and a god.
At least, that was what he told her he was.