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cancry2022-10-16 11:37 am
cancrymods) wrote in cancry2022-10-16 11:37 am
Acedia Intro Log
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. | |
 ♪♫ 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...
⚝ 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? | |
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. | |
no subject
But it doesn't matter what he'd been doing. He's ashamed, now, of having shifted his priorities. Perhaps because Superbia had felt somewhat nostalgic? Or like....like experiences he'd never gotten to have, a normal school life.....what could that mean....
No, he has to focus. Even if his brain freezes up when subjected to that scrutiny.
"In any case, I'm back. Monarch."
We've graduated to introductions devoid of context!
no subject
It seems like that's all she's going to say at first. She doesn't return the introduction but maybe that's understandable, given the Fraught Identity Drama of it all. She keeps Monarch fixed with that steely gaze and though it's heavy, there doesn't seem to be any malice or ill will.
Eventually, she cocks her head. Bird-like.
"You may ask your questions – once you've answered one in turn. Why did you return?"
no subject
"I was wrong," he replies. "I thought there were things I could do to help, in Superbia. And there were. But the things only I can do........the things I need to do......that no one else can do, just me....."
He no longer looks anxious.
"Those are here."
no subject
She... stares at him for an unsettling amount of time. Her gaze is still as intense as it was a moment ago, but now she's transparently looking him up and down like she's trying to discern something that can't be picked up with eyes alone. This little Executor came running all the way down, so close to the Cogs, just to do what he felt was his duty.
Maybe they all feel like that. And that's why they're here.
After what feels like an age, she nods in turn.
"... ask your question."
no subject
So it's a relief when whatever mysterious factor she was measuring seems enough. He decides to just speak plainly. She might be the one who knows this....the only one, aside from the culprit. So....
"Why......did the Cogs break? What was the person who did it after?"
no subject
"I can't entirely speak for her, of course." she says eventually. "But if I were to guess... freedom. Out of ignorance or naivety, she believed going through the Cogs would grant the same freedom it does to all the other souls here. But as an existence born of Purgatory, there was nothing for the Cogs to erase – they simply recognized something like and yet unlike themselves and cannibalized themselves in the process of trying to chew it to pieces."
She gives a grim smile.
"Does that answer your question?"
no subject
So, someone from Purgatory, who wanted to.....
......it was......
an accident? All of this, all of this pain, and stasis, and.....everyone who's unable to move on, it was all because....
He's not sure he believes it. He's not sure he can believe it. (Or is it "wants" to believe it?) But he has another question, first.
"Who was it?"
no subject
"You really can't guess?"
Or maybe he just doesn't want to.
no subject
Can't......
.................................
........................................................
He doesn't speak, yet. But it dawns on his face - a sensation of can't be at war with can't not be.
Oh.
no subject
For what it's worth she doesn't sound at all pleased to have dropped this bombshell on him – not that it makes it any less unpleasant to be stuck in the blast radius.
"Really, I'm shocked that none of you had sooner."
no subject
He's trying to make sense of that, stuck, just like the Cogs she's admitted to having disrupted. It was an accident, and it was caused by the girl in front of him. By Rei-san.....by....sort-of-Rei-san.
"Everything everyone went through.....the greater purpose....."
There wasn't one....?
no subject
"I don't imagine there was one." she says eventually. "But is there ever? Souls are born. They perish, find their way here, release themselves from their burdens and return to the world of the living. If there was a greater purpose to this system intended by whatever power established it, I've yet to divine it for myself."
Pun intended? We will never know.