Forgot to reply earlier about this but thank you for your service. I considered decensoring the assets myself but my art style is so much different from what's in the game. That and I don't have the confidence to give the art the justice it deserves. >_<
I'm going to throw a curve ball here, since so much is left to interpretation with the original. x_x
What if the events in the first game didn't happen? What if the premise behind Rabiane's quest to exorcise monsters was what the game wanted the player to believe till the big reveal it was a dream all along? Imagine instead that it was the Observer's cruel manipulation of her mind while she laid helpless in that flesh sack, ever since the cathedral fell to the cult.
And there's hints this is the case. When Rabiane reached the cathedral you find clues that a battle or at the very least a treacherous act took place there when you come across multiple sisters turned to stone. My best guess is Rabiane was around when it happened yet unlike their shared fate she was captured and taken away. The same can also be said for any other sisters that survived that day, but unlike Rabiane they were escorted away to be used as test subjects in its laboratory.
So, in terms of events playing out in order...
-- Kessaria Cathedral's sanctity is compromised when the Observer reaches out to members of the church there who are plagued by inner demons and are susceptible to persuasion. To them, the Observer is perhaps initially seen as the god they worship and see it as a sign of greater communion, yet their minds are so twisted against reality that they can no longer discern good from evil. It is at this point in the timeline that those initially ensnared by the Observer's trickery have begun conducting experiments on the surrounding area, beginning with the abduction of animals from local farms, particularly pigs.
-- The Kessarian cult is formed in secret as its members extend their influence to villages beyond its diocese while abducting innocents from them to be experimented upon in the cathedral's laboratory. Though said experiments are first considered to have no rhythm or reason other than to pervert creation itself, they are driven by whispers from the Observer to study their world in preparation for its arrival. Only the cult's leaders are aware of the latter, though, having realised the true identity of their so-called 'god', which has driven them insane. Meanwhile, other cult members continue to carry out the Observer's will in ignorant bliss, turning their attention to local fauna and flora they've added to their list of vile experiments.
-- Word spreads far and wide that an unnamed Kessarian priest is able to bring people back from the dead, resulting in a steady influx of desperate pilgrims seeking to witness the miracle for themselves. In truth, it is little more than necromancy, which the cult orchestrated to amass more bodies for their experiments. Unbeknownst to them, though, the church at large has taken an interest in Kessaria's exploits since the resurrection miracle, having assigned a dedicated chapter of sisters to aid the cathedral with the day to day needs of the pilgrims. Alas, they are completely oblivious to the cult and its ways.
-- The cult continues to operate in the region with little suspicion over their true nature. Thanks to the pilgrims and the subsequent abductions that stemmed from their arrival, the cult's experiments grow with increasingly disturbing results, exploring darker horizons. Members of the sisterhood now stationed at the cathedral suspect something is amiss despite not having proof of foul play, while its mother superior gives her blessing for a secret mission to explore the matter further. However, she and those tasked with the mission disappear once the cult learns of their actions, which makes things worse.
-- The cult, realizing they have gone too far, end the sisterhood before it can learn of their ways and report their findings back to the church proper. Few survive the initial purge within the cathedral itself, while sisters stationed elsewhere within Kessaria's influence are quickly abducted in secret. Among those are Rabiane, yet unlike her fellow sisters she is brought before the cult leaders after whispers from the Observer demand her presence specifically. She in turn is locked away in the tallest tower of the cathedral, sentenced to a fate far worse than many of her late sisters received that fateful day.
-- With the fall of the sisterhood there, the cult continues its experiments in earnest, knowing it is now only a matter of time before the church proper intervenes. Meanwhile, the Observer's torment of Rabiane has begun, playing on her deepest fears in a dream-like realm of its making. There she is subjected to countless acts of depravity in a focused effort to break her, though the sister ultimately prevails against the entity when she finally retraces her steps back to her captivity in the tower, allowing her to confront the entity personally after suffering in its midst for months. With the aid of her god she is finally able to vanquish it thanks to the provided miracle of a holy blade, brought into reality during her greatest time of need.
-- With the successful exorcism of the Observer, Rabiane is able to escape the horrors of Kessaria, bringing with her word of the cult's existence and the evils it's committed. The church in turn commits a crusade to purge it from existence. Deus vult.
