Gate of Memoirs/There and Back Again

Crossing the straits of overlapping dimensions lands Giselle right back in court...with a new attendee.
Cycle after unknowable cycle.Can there truly be an endto this tumbling madness?—Torn note
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "A God"	Music: "A God"
 	
*—Shortly after Giselle's encounter with Kranus in the lab...
 	
*Giselle: Sigh.
*Giselle: I thought "biting the dust" was supposed to be metaphorical.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Giselle pushes herself off the dusty ground, shaking off the stardust of untold eras.
 	
*How long has it been since she had last traversed this space between?
*Vaguely, she recalls small windows in time—a fleeting glance, a curious look.
*Nothing here ever changed; it was part of *her* court, after all.
 	
*Giselle: Ugh, I hate this place.
*Giselle idly kicks at the floor, sending up a small cloud that quickly grows inert again.
 	
*Having tasted of life, the overwhelming sensation of decay here was all the more pronounced.
*The vibrant pulse of a soul within each and every person she'd ever worked with was at first curious, then comforting.
 	
*The many creatures cobbled together from her many observations brought her that most mortal sensation of "joy"; an addicting feeling.
*All of it had amounted to a single conclusion: that Giselle Tyndalos was becoming—IS her own being.
*Having parted with Kranus on such an ambiguous note, Giselle could only run a hand through her hair in mild annoyance.
*That entity had quite the habit of producing more questions along with its equally cryptic answers.
 	
*Giselle stares at her hands; where most would see smooth skin and elegant fingers, she only sees inert flesh.
*Giselle: Just because it makes sense doesn't mean it's easy...
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Kranus: ... ...
 	
*Giselle: Where are we?
 	
*Giselle: Another memory?
 	
*Kranus: There was a shell here, but it's gone now.
 	
*Giselle: Wait, what does this have to do with ?
 	
*Kranus inclines its head, as if considering its words carefully.
*Kranus: The...essence is most familiar. Only the container differs.
 	
*Giselle: Okay...? It would help if you didn't speak in riddles...
*Giselle: It's not as if is like you, you know.
*Giselle: Distilled out of the Void and tucked into a suit of metal.
 	
*Kranus: ... ...
*Kranus: We may differ in our conception, but surely a being composed of law and chaos both shares similarities with one of the Void.
 	
*Giselle: Huh.
*Giselle: That's...another way to look at it.
*Giselle: What of the Queen, then?
 	
*Kranus only observes her silently for a moment, before turning away.
*Kranus: I had thought you the knowledgeable one between us.
*Kranus: Now, it is up to you.
 	
*Giselle: Wait. Wait wait wait. You left me more questions than before.
*Giselle: Aren't you going to help us? You know, to get out?
 	
*A low, rasping sound, suspiciously like a low chuckle, issues forth from Kranus's hood.
*Kranus: You, of all, should know.
*Kranus: This space belongs to you. No?
 	
*Giselle: Hey—!
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Giselle: (I don't know if I would've known, anyway.)
*Giselle: (It's been so long since I became Giselle Tyndalos.)
 	
*Giselle shudders at the idea of having to meet the Queen again.
*For the moment, though, finding was her priority.
 	
*Giselle: Well, at least Kranus got *one* thing right. Or half.
 	
*Giselle: This space might not be mine, but I can make it so.
 	
*She concentrates, and a small shift in the atmosphere points north.
*Giselle: Hmm... Not getting my hopes up, so let's proceed cautiously.
Portrait 	Dialogue
 	
*The further Giselle went, the less sure she felt about the disturbances in the air.
 	
*Giselle: It's a little different from , but this aura is quite unmistakable.
 	
*Giselle: I'd hate to think they ended up some mindless, gibbering wreck out here. It's a terrible way to go.
*Giselle: If only I brought a shoggo or two. It'd make tracking the curve of their departure a lot easier...
 	
*A pulse stops Giselle in her tracks.
 	
*She looks down, and belatedly notices the anomalous pools of color melting into the grey landscape, like liquid static.
 	
*Giselle: Ah.
*Giselle: (Don't think I've seen this before, and yet...)
 	
Music: "Overcome"	Music: "Overcome"
 	
*Something unfurls itself from among the colors—a vaguely glowing creature the size of a child.
 	
*Caught in its shattered forearms, each surrounded in a halo of porcelain-like shards, is the remnant of a staff etched by lightning.
 	
*In defense, the creature—now in the form of a young girl—starts up a hair-raising hiss.
 	
*As if responding to her agitation, the staff emits streaks of lightning, forming phantom creatures around Giselle.
 	
*Crystalline Creature: W̧ho̷... ́W͜h̶o͜ ̀a̡r̀e yo͡u̢?
*Crystalline Creature: L͠ea̛v̶e ͜me a͜l̀o̢n̨e...
 	
*Giselle: W-Wait!