cancry | Gula Undercity Log

Gula Undercity Log

GULA
Now that you've been guided here by one of its residents, it's time for you to get familiar with the Undercity of Gula. With so much of the rest of the layer consumed already, its Specters have retreated to the last safe haven left for them. Just like the city above, when in the Undercity, you will suffer the same inability to fully satisfy yourself and will always be craving just one more... anything. The entrance to the Undercity is slap bang in the middle of the last remaining garden in the entire layer. A snapshot of what this place might have been like before, it's crammed full of all sorts of plants, flowers, vegetables... if it grows in the ground, it's here. There's evidence to suggest that even this garden was a fair bit larger than it is now, with plants looking like they were uprooted or crushed on the outside of the garden, but it's difficult to tell. In the center of the garden, you'll find a steep set of stairs leading down to the underground where you'll find the settlement proper. The Undercity itself is set up in a giant underground bunker, with a tall ceiling and huge open spaces that keep the place from feeling too claustrophobic. There's a mild bit of spacial distortion going on down here that make the ceiling much, much higher than it should physically be possible for it to be, but that's baby stuff in Purgatory by now. There's a few walls and some makeshift separators that section off parts of the bunker for privacy reasons, but more or less everything is set up in the same huge communal space.The walls, floors, ceilings and more or less every surface have been slathered in paints and cloths in a chaotic variety of colours to make things seem a bit less cold and dull. The effect is... striking, to say the least. In some places, where the paint or cloth has begun to peel away, however, you'll see that the surfaces underneath are cold and black and seem to be made of metal. The general vibe of the place is some weird cross between a convention or an indoor market and an airport at 3:48 in the morning. There's rows of chairs and bed and makeshift beds all over the place for people to set themselves down and take a breather, with wide gaps left in between each row to let people safely come and go without tripping all over themselves and dying again. But despite all the work gone into setting up the place, it still feels strangely empty – going by the number of Specters you can see milling about in here, even with the Executors' arrival, this place isn't even half full and that's a generous estimate. On top of all that, the uncomfortable sense of things being "thin" or "stripped away" increases almost tenfold down here. There's something else, too, but it's hard to immediately identify – you'll have to investigate that yourself to work out exactly what's wrong. Thankfully, despite how dour Gula as a whole is, you're free to come and go as you please. So while you still need to make your way through Gula to reach the next layer, the previous layers will still be available for you to rest and recharge if you'd prefer to stay elsewhere. ⚝ Rest Areas: If you're desperate for some shut-eye, or just to get away from the chaos a bit, the four corners of the bunker have been sectioned off with thick screens and padded mats, blankets and pillows have been spread out across the floor. It's basically a nap area for you to come and chill out and despite everything, it's pretty cozy over here. There's also a radius of about fifty feet around each of the rest area that's designated a "quiet zone", where everyone's expected to pipe down and stay quiet to not wake anyone up. They're generally a good place to recharge, even if sleeping out in the relative open can feel a bit awkward. ⚝ Dining Area: A number of long tables have been lined up end-to-end by the door that you can assume is probably the kitchen. They're covered in colourful tablecloths and a hodgepodge of mismatched chairs line either side of it. Dinner is served twice a day, with a ten minute warning beforehand so you can hopefully find yourself a seat before the rush is over. As for what the food is... well, it's pretty lacklustre! Pretty much everything is dried food, canned food or some horrifying combo of both. At least it's... mostly edible? ⚝ Music Stage: A little stage area that's been set up by pushing a number of crates and boxes together to form a stable platform. It's had a colourful cloth thrown over it and weighed down so it looks a little less slapped together, and there's a few instruments spread out across the stage – there's the regulars like an acoustic guitar and a bass but then there's also... a saxophone? An oboe? A harp??? It's pretty random. There's usually a handful of people milling about the stage with someone banging out the tunes, but it's also used to give announcements and anything else that needs the attention of the whole group. ⚝ Kitchen: Locked. Investigate to unlock further information. ⚝ The Rusted City: The once-majestic city of the Gluttony Layer, now reduced to rust and decay. It's a huge, sprawing urban affair with skyscrapers climbing to dizzying heights and buildings packed in to each and every space that could conceivably hold a building. It reminds you, just a little, of Invidia – envious excess beyond anything a single person could ever own or consume by themselves. But the unfortunate reality of Gula is that much of it has been consumed. Shops have been stripped bare of everything that could be useful and any houses or apartments you might be inclined to check have been raided in much the same way. It's a sad, lonely seeming place that feels as though it's slowly rotting apart from the inside out. Alarmingly, Revenants can occasionally be found here, though they seem to have aimlessly wandered up from the Underside and seem just as confused to find themselves here as you are. ⚝ Train Station: On the outskirts of the layer is slightly busted-up looking train station with a single platform. Rusty old trains come through here every half hour on the dot, stopping only briefly to allow Executors to board. Using these trains, Executors can either travel back to any of the other layers of Purgatory without having to pass through the Underside. Isn't quick travel convenient?
THE UNDERSIDE OF GULA
...?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds as though you don't much care for it.

Ah… I fear that’s… somewhat of an understatement.

[ He wonders how much he should say. Phoenix hasn’t heard before about how Achilles knows he came from another world to reside in the one he would call home until his death. That he was an “alien” as Chiron had put it. He’d only ever told Chiron and Rei about that and well. Chiron didn’t remember now. He’d kept himself from writing about it in Mona’s journal, afraid that telling the others was going to alienate him from them.

But… who else can he tell now? Who else could he talk to about this now that it’s hanging in his head like an unpleasant fog. ]

Truth is… I couldn’t even remember it - only what I told others about it - until I saw Gula. Now everything is flooding back and I feel… overwhelmed. Overwhelmed and terrified.

[He squeezed Achilles' hand gently, trying and failing to find the right words. Between Chiron and now this, he was noticing that ability wasn't as reliable as he might have liked.]

...Is there anything I can do to help?

[ The hand squeeze reassures him, as he tries to decide what to do - what he wants, what he’s even willing to ask of the other. Does he just continue to keep a lid on everything until he bursts or does he just pretend everything will be fine so long as they just continue on like normal?

… ]

Would you… be willing to listen for a while? And if you do… can you promise you won’t think less of me after what you hear…?

You would be surprised what I am willing to tolerate without thinking less of someone.

[see: Chiron's bullshit]

Of course I'll listen, to whatever you're willing to tell me.

[ Asking someone to listen is one thing - figuring out where to start is another. So it takes him a few more moments to gather his thoughts and decide exactly that. ]

I… told Chiron this a while ago, though obviously he wouldn’t remember now. But when I was alive the world I considered home and the world I was raised in were different places. I left one for the other, knowing that I could never return once I did so, and learned to look and act like a human.

When I told Chiron he… likened me to an “alien being”.

He certainly does have a way with words.

[Exasperated, of course. Because Chiron, for fuck's sake.]

So why is it you chose to become something closer to human, if I can ask?

I… originally it was simply because I had fallen in love with the man who found and took care of me. He was the one who introduced me to food, to music, to life and love itself… I wanted to be a proper companion for him. I wanted to be someone that could stay with him and make him happy.

But now, with some reflection I think a part of me envied man. I wanted to be like them, to live like they do and be loved by them.

Because Goddess knows I was never going to get anything like that back in my original world.

Well, I can't exactly find fault in something like that. It's as good a reason as any, even on its own. But if this new layer reminds you of where you came from, I can't imagine it was all that pleasant a location.

It… It was miserable.

[ Okay. Deep breath in, deep breath out. ]

…It’s a dead world. It’s barren and lifeless - nothing there grows. Nothing can grow. There’s no colour, no food, no warmth. The only thing that can live there are the soulless, undying beasts who need none of that to survive.

And it wasn’t always like that. Ruined cities like Gula’s were playgrounds for me as a child. There’d been life once - humans, animals, trees. But all of it had simply been… stripped away. That I was able to grow up there at all and make it to adulthood was a miracle that hadn’t been seen in several thousand years.

Edited (Realized I didn’t really like this tag before so I rewrote it /)_(\) 2021-11-17 06:15 (UTC)

Ah...well, I can certainly understand why seeing such a place would upset you, in that case. [He squeezed Achilles' hand again, gently.]

But will you be alright?

[ He doesn’t answer right away, as he puts a lot of thought into the question. He could end this line of conversation here, continue to deny and hide to everyone and himself what’s been really bothering him on a deeper level for layers now. Or he can finally free himself of it here and now and tell one of the people he trusts most. ]

…If she leaves me alone, I might be.

[ …

Whomst. ]

...Achilles?

[whomst]

Has there been someone bothering you?

[ ………

He stops walking. ]

…Phoenix. You would be honest with me, right? If I asked you something right now.

Have I ever given you cause to believe I would not?

N-No… you never have. It’s just…

[ Okay. Deep breath again.

… ]

…It’s just the two of us right now… right? There’s no one else here?

You would be able to tell that better than I, but I don't hear anyone else.

…That’s what I mean.

You really don’t hear the things she’s saying right now?

[ UH ]

...

[To his credit, Phoenix paused and listened carefully, just to be sure.]

There's nothing and no one here but us. I'm sure of that.

[ He lets out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. ]

Okay… Okay.

[ With that confirmation he tries to calm himself back down. But even still, he can’t quite quell the trembling that had started and those deep breaths he’s been taking are sounding pretty shaky. ]

[Phoenix put down the bag he was carrying, bringing his free hand to Achilles' shoulder.]

Are you alright? What's going on?

[ The extra touch is appreciated and helps in his efforts to calm down. ]

…For some time now I’ve been hearing a voice in the back of my mind. [ That night in the Phantastma with Chiron, that meeting in Superbia when Wolfsbane went off about being replaced… ] Often I see her as well, out of the corner of my eye like a ghost.

And now… now she’s only gotten louder and it’s become harder and harder to tell when it’s really just in my mind.

Achilles...come here. Look at me. [His hands carefully found their way to Achilles' face, lightly covering his ears as if to block out whatever he heard that Phoenix couldn't.]

Whatever it is you're hearing apart from my voice, it isn't real. Whoever it is, she isn't here. I promise you that.

[ The hands help to anchor him, to block out the noise in his brain. He struggles to keep his eyes forward but he tries, tries to keep looking at Phoenix, to focus on what he’s saying, on the feel of his hands. He even brings his own free hand to place shakily over one of them, confirm to himself that this one is real, and not the ones he imagines grasping at his back. His breaths are still shaky but for the most part it works… to an extent. ]

…But what if she’s down below?

What if we explore Gula more and she’s there for real this time? Or we get to the next layer and—

[ the words almost get lost in his throat but he swallows thickly and just barely manages them out ]

…my sister is there. Waiting for me.

Edited 2021-11-24 07:16 (UTC)

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1/2

CW: hallucinations (both visual and auditory)

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