Luxuria Intro Log

[cancrymods]

PROCEEDING...

With the real super power of teamwork, the Executors have successfully managed to make their way through the Gula Underside and defeat the previous Authority there. With Gerda now freed from her past regrets and given the power of an Executor, Gula and its inhabitants seem to be in safe hands... for now at least. More interesting – or concerning, perhaps – is the tentative ally you've gained in the form of Birdie, the mysterious girl who attacked some of your number in the Superbia Underside. While she seemed to be nothing but an enemy back then, a surprising connection has been formed with who you now understand to be the Authority of Purgatory itself. While she doesn't necessarily believe the Executors will be able to repair Purgatory, she is at least willing to admit that she shares their goals of wanting to see Purgatory restored... either to its former state, or to something new. But what does that mean for the Executors? And what does that mean for Rei supposedly born from the Authority's discarded heart? There are still many questions the Executors need to answer and as a blast of dry, hot air blows up from the next layer, you can only hope that Luxuria holds the key to at least some of them...

LUXURIA

♪♫ Wet & Dry – Sakuzyo After the humidity and noise of the Gula Underside, passing down to the Lust Layer of Purgatory initially seems like a relief. The air here is dry and sharp and though you hear noise drifting up to meet you and see a whole rainbow of lights clustered together in the dark, it doesn't seem as though it'll be quite as overwhelming as some of the bustling Layers you've had the pleasure of exploring before. But as you set foot down into Luxuria and feel the heat of the ground under your feet, you begin to wonder if you might just have hopped out of the frying pan and into the fire...

Comments

[crypddyd]

[he looks up from his mantra and his eye, while red and wet from crying, is surprisingly clear. He sees her, he knows her]

Mona...

[and he sounds so very relieved to see a friendly face, like he's been alone and scared for years instead of minutes]

I... I may have torn my hands somewhat, but... nothing serious.

[alcahest]

[ oh — instantly, it becomes apparent that he's doing far better than any other time he's had a similar episode. she expected the unfocused gaze, that hazy confusion like he'd just woken up from a long sleep. but he answers her promptly, aware of where he is and what's happening. she's so relieved, for his own sake. ]

Okay. That's good. [ she doesn't hesitate to approach now, and kneels down in front of him. it's only when she reaches for his hands that she pauses to confirm: ] Will you show me?

[crypddyd]

Ah... yes.

[he holds them out, and they are in fact dotted with wood splinters. His callouses and scars thankfully have saved him from much damage though. Superficial at worst]

[alcahest]

Thank you.

[ she takes one of his hands and holds it still, gentle but firm, while she brushes her fingers carefully over his palms to free any splinters loose enough to come off without breaking. every now and then, she glances up to meet his eye. ]

We should clean your hands properly and pull these out... [ but she won't ask him to move just yet. ] Did you remember something frightening?

[crypddyd]

I remembered how I lost my eye. Amoung... other things. I have never had a memory that covered so much time. It felt like... I was torn away from you all for so long. But I know, logically, that I never left.

Regardless it... rattled me. I came close to falling back into that man's terrors and madness.

[alcahest]

[ while he speaks, Mona holds his hand in both of her own and listens.

when he's done, she leans in close — not suddenly, but not warily either — and winds her arms around his neck to draw him into an embrace. it is not a timid or conservative hug. she goes up on her knees to get closer, holds him tightly and leans her weight into him, her hair brushes against his cheek. Mona's body has no heartbeat; on her sternum, the Horologium's facets are hard and uncomfortable up close; but she is warm. ]

You're still you. Whatever you remembered, whatever happened to you before... The time you've spent here won't go away.

[ not yet. not until the end. ]

[crypddyd]

[He's surprised she is willing to hug him like this- even if he is in better control than usual during a memory, his track record is not amazing. Still, he sinks into it, resting his hands on her back but too scared of his strength to squeeze.

Her hair and neck are quickly damp from tears, even from his blind side]

I know... but it- he was so alone. I do not know if I could bare that again...

[alcahest]

[ neither the dampness nor his trepidation bother her; Mona only squeezes him gently and allows him to slump against her. getting a memory back is something like reopening an old wound. though it happened a long time ago, in a life that often doesn't feel like your own, the feelings that come with it are fresh and new. for Lion to have remembered such a long stretch of time all at once, and for it to have been such a lonely memory— she can only imagine how awful it must be. (You will be alone forever.) she moves one of her hands to stroke Lion's hair, a slow and repetitive motion. ]

It must have been frightening. Both for you, remembering it, and for him. But you're here. Even when you remember that feeling... I'm here with you. We all are.

[crypddyd]

I am... I worry, constantly, that one day I will become him and- that I may hurt one of you. That keeping you close will doom you.

That I will... end up in the Underside, a beast.