cancry | Acedia Intro Log

MOVING ONWARDS
With Lana's blessing and direction it's at last time for the Executors to proceed deeper into Purgatory. Despite the downtime, the sense of unease that settled in you before has yet to wane, even at the prospect of making further progress in your journey. Unanswered questions still linger, as does the possibility that for all the progress you've made there still exists roadblocks that could keep you from fulfilling the duty you've taken on to Purgatory. Strangely, though, you feel your spirits lift as you begin your descent. Part of it is the relief that comes from the drop in temperature but mostly, you feel embraced by a sense of deep comfort and relaxation. As the snowy white landscape and gentle colours of Acedia swim into focus below you, it brins with it a sureness that whatever was going wrong before that none of it matters - you'll figure it out.
ACEDIA
♪♫ Blossom – Sakuzyo A gentle, fluffy snowfall tumbles down ceaselessly over Acedia, the Sloth Layer. In contrast to the layers above, things here are chilly enough to warrant wrapping up warm and an occasional gust of wind seems to blow right through you. With snow blanketed everywhere, all the bustle of the town seems quite muffled and far away and the overall vibe of the settlement is... sleepy. Peaceful. If it weren't for the fact that you know you're in Purgatory, you could almost be fooled into thinking that nothing bad could or would happen in a place like this. Initial explorations uncover the town's purpose - Acedia takes the form of an onsen town, a settlement built and centered around the many natural hot springs that have sprung up in the area. Traditional inns with luxurious rooms and serving all manner of incredible feasts can be occupied free of charge with waitstaff who'll serve you like a visiting king. Even aside from the springs and the inns, the whole town is packed to the brim with the sort of entertaintment you might find in a town in the snowy mountains, but all of it comes at a gentle, relaxing pace as if the very existence of this town relied upon easing your heart and your troubles. More so than the town, though, perhaps the familiar faces you encounter here will be enough to bring you some comfort... AREAS OF INTEREST ⚝ HOT SPRINGS: A number of natural hot springs can be found and visited in this layer. Some are indoor and some are outdoor with spectacular views of the snowy landscape. ⚝ RESTAURANTS: Feeling peckish? Eateries serving cuisine of any sort line the streets and all of it is free of charge. If there's anything you can imagine wanting to eat, chances are good you'll find it here. ⚝ MOUNTAIN: The town as a whole sits at the base of a mountain with a towering peak. If you squint, you see what you think is some sort of structure at the very top... but surely not. Who would want to live in a place as lonely as that?
THE DOPPELGANGERS
As discussed on Discord, the Executors aren't the only ones who seem to have found their way down to Acedia. Once they arrive in the Sloth Layer, each of the Executors will come across up to three of their castmates who seem to have been occupying the Layer for quite some time before their arrival. Each of these castmates will tell roughly the same story - they were once Executors too and found their way this deep into Purgatory but have found no way of progressing any further. They have tried every possible way to escape but no matter how long they stay here, they can't proceed any further. Despite the news, all of them seem happy and fulfilled and will encourage the Executors to try and settle here in Acedia and simply enjoy the miracle that is their reunion. It probably goes without saying that these are not actually the Executors' castmates. They are, essentially, a tangible illusion based on their memories of their loved ones. They can be talked to, touched, interacted with and basically treated like any other real person and the trickery is, at first, imperceptible. As time passes, it will become increasingly clear that there are some conflicts and missing spots in the doppelganger's memory of their lives together and confronting them on this will have them respond in confusion. If you continue to confront them on the conflict, they will become increasingly upset and eventually violent. Who is casting this illusion and why, though? Well... that's something the Executors will have to investigate themselves.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

....Eh?

[ People WHAT now? ]

Did you really not notice how attached nearly everybody was to you when you were around?

I....

[ Oh. Now that he's thinking about it. Oh.

Here's a little smile, and a BIG blush. ]

Really, first Medic and now you. And yet Sword still thinks he's fantastic.

[ did monarch just witness a murder?????

not.....real keen on replying to that.... ]

W-well, if you think it'd help, I can talk to her.

It certainly couldn't hurt. I've been searching the area for anything useful or interesting. Nothing so far, save what I've already told you.

Okay.

[ He falls silent, pensive, at that. He is doing the Big Think, digesting this information she's been good enough to give him.

And he shivers, a little. It's cold, here. ]

[Wolfsbane is quiet for a second. She glances around the streets and, finally, gives a sharp sigh and turns on her heel towards the nearest building. A homey pizza place, the kind you wouldn't expect to catch her dead in, except she literally is dead so there we go.]

Come now, before you give yourself frostbite.

[ Before he...oh. ]

Mm. Sorry.

[ Not dressed for the weather, this child. ]

What are you apologizing for? [She holds the door open expectantly.] If I brought you back frozen and hungry, I'd never hear the end of it.

....That's true....

[ In we go. He rubs his hands in the warmth, enduring the pins-and-needles feeling. And looks around.

Pizza, huh....? He'll let Wolfsbane-san pick where they sit, but he's not sure he has ever gone out for pizza with a friend before. His memory is spotty enough that he supposes it could have happened, but this feels....novel.

He's excited. ]

[Wolfsbane sighs, notes the "please seat yourself" sign, and leads the way to a booth. She sits down, greets the Spectre wait staff reluctantly, and begins to leaf through the menu.]

Dill pickle pizza? Whose idea was that?

Maybe it's.....

[ better than it....

sounds.....

......no, even he can't say it. ]

I'm fine with plain.

[The sad thing is it actually exists out here and some people who are not me swear by it.]

I'm sure they can't make too much of a disaster out of Meat Lovers'. Really, though, what is it with Purgatory and bizarre food? At least it's not Limbo with the concept of yellow stored in the snack aisle.

[ more power to them; monarch, alas, is Boring ]

It's an in-between place, isn't it? So maybe...the food has to be not that good, but not that bad.....

[ and if that's so, does this reasoning apply to other elements of purgatory? but if purgatory has been warped due to the clogging of the Cogs, how would they know..... ]

Come now, Monarch, if that were true Phoenix would have ascended past the need for Purgatory ages ago. I just think they have no grasp on reality.

That's true.

[ On both counts.

Monarch smiles, suddenly. This is nice. Having a casual, nothing conversation with a real, responsive person. Who knows him, and wants to spend time with him (or at least isn't opposed to it). He can't remember doing this much. He definitely couldn't when he was trying to help the Spectres. They were all in disarray after the soccer coach went missing.... ]

Edited 2022-11-22 01:47 (UTC)

Do you ever wonder if the Spectres were always like this, or if things would be more coherent with Purgatory repaired?

[ well he sure is thinking about it NOW.....

a hand goes to his chin. ]

It's hard to say. But I think - they might be different.

[ He shall show his work for the class. ] Purgatory is a place where you learn the lessons you didn't in life, isn't it? It'd be hard to do that without self-awareness.

Put that way, I wonder why we're not all Eidolons to begin with. Perhaps it was a defence mechanism to keep everyone from going Revenant.

Possibly. Or maybe....

[ His mind almost zips to something SUPER NEGATIVE before he catches it, reminds it he has no proof, and goes back to things with slightly more evidence. ]

Perhaps awakening is the first step. But the broken Cogs make it harder.

Of course. If you're supposed to move on from your sin, oughtn't you be awake? And going through the Cogs is meant to be the endpoint of that. It's only natural.

So everyone is kept not only from moving on, but even their rehabilitation is slowed......

[ and now, a nod to the detective future he shall never have, as he's super dead ]

That might be a clue to the culprit's motivations.

Honestly, at this point I don't care what they want. I just want to fix it. We... Tell me, Monarch. Do you believe we're here for a reason? Or that we simply died for no purpose?

[ "No purpose." The words lodge in his side, and Monarch can tell: this distress is his answer.

But when he digs into why he's feeling it, he only finds.....pain? He doesn't understand. And because he doesn't understand, he deflects. ]

There must be a reason.

"Purgatory" implies the existence of heaven and hell, right? So there's something doing the sorting. Something that chose us.....that said this is where we're meant to be, until we learn.....until we grow. Something that singled us out.

Us, specifically. To be in Purgatory....and to be Executors.

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