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

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)

Achilles.

[He spoke the name in a gentle admonishment, looking up in the closest he could come to eye contact.]

Do you truly believe any of us will leave you to contend with such a thing alone? Do you think I would do that, at the very least?

[ He gently shakes his head. ]

I… I know you wouldn’t… b-but that’s… that’s exactly what I’m afraid of, Phoenix.

[ As he speaks his voice starts to tremble, as if on the verge of tears ]

She… kills everything I love. She takes life without a second thought, razes places until there’s nothing left but ash. And when she thinks I’ve replaced her, she won’t rest until she’s destroyed all that I care about. She spent 2000 years hunting me down and planning to destroy a whole world because she won’t let me go.

If she’s down here… if she truly died when I think she did… the instant she knows I have found a family I love and cherish again she won’t stop until she’s destroyed you all. And I… just the thought of that, I… I couldn’t…

Edited 2021-11-25 00:05 (UTC)

We've already managed to drive off someone willing to kill all of us. And if that were to happen, we'd likely stumble across her as an Authority. So far as I'm aware none of those we've come across have been truly familiar to any of us, so the chances of such a thing coming to pass sound slim at best.

[He answered patiently, breaking the matter down into rational pieces; something about that felt natural. Logic over emotion, sense over panic.]

I do not think anything is going to happen. And if I should be wrong, then we'll handle it together. All of us.

[ Yet. He can't help thinking. We haven't encountered an Authority familiar to us yet. But he keeps it to himself, too afraid to consider the possibility beyond what he's already considered regarding his sister.

Of course Phoenix would favor logic, and he realizes that he should be looking at it the same way. But it's hard. It's hard when it's so ingrained in him to be afraid of her, when thousands of years of suffering at her hands have come flooding back at once. ]

...I wish I could believe in that. Like I was once able to believe in the friends I had when she came for me before.

[ But where had they gone? It's true he still struggles to remember the finer details about most of them, but he knew some of them were longer lived races. Orpheus at least should have lived for a few hundred more years. Where was she? Why was it that in the hundred years between his sister reappearing during his journey with them and his adopting his child that he had... ended up alone and miserable in a cave, trying to sleep through a deep depression? Why? What had happened back then...?

But he doesn't want to keep worrying Phoenix, or think any harder about it, lest he make himself even more sick. ]

I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for my weakness. I-I know I should be stronger than this, I just...

You have nothing to apologize for, Achilles. I don't truly expect a few words to solve the issue outright. But I will say them all the same, and I fully intend on acting on them should the situation call for it.

I'm not going anywhere, no matter what may happen.

Th... Thank you. That... means more to me than you'll ever know.

[ ... ]

I... I truly do love and cherish each and every one of you. Some more than others of course but... you're all so important to me...

I don't... want to lose everything and be all alone again.

I'm hardly about to let that happen. If someone wishes to hurt any of us, they'll have me to contend with first.

[ Achilles wipes his eyes and... tries to smile. Tries to cheer up. Though he's only slightly successful. ]

You are a force to reckon with for sure, though I would like to remind you that you're near the top of the list of people I love and couldn't stand to lose. After Rei of course, but right about tied with Chiron.

Well, I can say that I'm truly flattered. I could admittedly say the same; I care for you and Chiron especially a good deal more than I perhaps should.

Oh, putting me right up with Chiron? Even though you haven't kissed me yet.

[ ...well he must be feeling a little better if he's teasing and making jokes like this. ]

Well, you've yet to talk so much that I found it immediately necessary.

[if it works, roll with it]

[ He laughs a little at that. ]

I suppose that's true...

[ but then after a few seconds the somber seriousness from earlier returns. ]

Phoenix I... I will be honest. I don't think the voice is going to... go away for a while yet. Or that I'm ever going to stop seeing my sister's figure in every shadow.

I know that... at least for now, it's not real but you're also the only one I've told about any of this. So I might... I might at times need to check that it's just in my head...

You should do what you think you need to in order to contend with it. If I can aid you in that, you need only ever ask.

Thank you... I would greatly appreciate it.

I know I can always trust you.

I'll endeavor to do all I can to be worth that. You don't have to worry; I'll not say a word of this to anyone else.

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CW: hallucinations (both visual and auditory)

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