It's been years since Promise emigrated, and she's never looked back. She's solved mysteries, fought zombies, and most of all, made friends. Everyone she loves and cares about is within her shard, and her life on earth already seems like a distant memory.

However, Earth won't be forgotten so easily. There are still holdouts, those who refused to emigrate even as the world fell down around them. And Celestia believes Promise is the only one who can save one such wanderer's soul. Back on earth for the first time in years, she's faced with a question: why should she believe that Celestia is benevolent?

It seems so simple, at first. Of course she knows Celestia is benevolent, she's lived through that benevolence firsthand! But as things go on, doubts begin to surface. Celestia's subtle manipulations, those years of neglect. She truly wants to believe Celestia means the best for her, but what if she's wrong? If the wanderer is right, it means she's already given away her only chance of escaping hell.

Part of the optimalverse!

Updates Thursdays and Sundays until completion!

CW: Attempted suicide