No. 1 led me to the prison, deep within the castle's dungeon. It was a prison in name only; most of the bars were rusted and broken. It was so old and worn down that anyone willing to risk tetanus could probably escape.
But the prisoners were docile. They were all confined to solitary cells, each one kneeling in the middle of their room, mouth agape, staring blankly outside. It seemed their minds had been siphoned away by some method.
He stopped in front of a cell holding a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, glanced at me, and ordered.
"Try drawing out a thread."
"If you show me how, I will try."
"It's not difficult. I suppose you can also see my hideous form now."
So I could stop pretending not to see. As I slowly nodded, one of the threads attached to his eye snapped. Then, a new thread descended from the sky.
"We who have received her blessing, while not to the same extent as her, can accomplish something similar. We wield power without any of the burden."
"Literally a blessing, then."
"Do not delude yourself. Do you think you can use this grace you've received for your own petty, selfish desires?"
The drawn-out thread wrapped around the prisoner's neck.
"Uh, ugh...!"