Invidia Arrival Log

[cancrymods]

INVIDIA

With the Executors now victorious over the first layer of Purgatory, the only way for them to go is further down. Thanks to the combined efforts of Kingslayer, Ariel and Mona, a path forward has been opened that leads down to the next layer of Purgatory. Rei looks ill at ease about this. If asked, she'll brush off the concern a bit, explaining that she's never gone this far down into Purgatory before and she doesn't know what lays ahead. It might be even more dangerous than the Underside. She's just glad they're all heading down together. So, once everyone's collected themselves... head down they to to the next layer of Purgatory... Welcome to Invidia. Congratulations on unlocking your first major location change in Can Cry! Feel free to use this arrival log to chronicle your initial misadventures in the city of Invidia. Investigation is strongly encouraged here as from here on out, plot progression will moved along by player involvement. If you want to unlock the next Underside, get investigating! All investigations that require mod oversight should be tagged with INVESTIGATION REQUEST in the subject line. Get out there and have fun!

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[cancrymods]

From this high up, the wind is almost deafening. It's not often windy in Purgatory and winds this strong are unheard of. But then again, so is a sheer drop this high – so high that at a certain point in the horizon, the sickly yellow of Invidia's sky fades into a noxious looking purple fog. Apart from the stark colours of the sky, the other details are all indistinct. You get the very strong impression that there is a city here, that something other than this impossible death dive was here, but to the owner of this memory, the entire world is contained in this drop.

And there at the very edge are the two companions, huddled together for warmth and reassurance in the face of the wind. Their features are all impossible to glean, like trying to pick details from a faded old photograph but the emotion of the smaller of the two – the girl – is clear as day. She's shaking.

"I can't– do this. I can't!" she's babbling.

The companion at her side takes her hand in theirs and squeezes reassuringly. "Yes you can. You have the power of an Executor now. And that means you have to learn how to use it properly."

"Why can't I learn that with both feet on the ground?" the girl demands, at once exasperated and defiant. Her companion just laughs.

"Think of it like a leap of faith. I swear it, you wouldn't have to do this if there was any other way for you to learn. But a bird never learns to use its wings if it stays on the ground its whole life."

A moment of silence passes between them and you get the distinct impression that the small girl is steeling her resolve. Her trembling doesn't come to a stop, but it does ease just a little. She turns to her companion.

"I won't just fall? You promise?"

Putting their hands on her shoulders, the girl's companion leans in and gently touches their forehead to hers. "No falling. I promise. You're going to fly."

The girl grips onto their wrists for strength and silence hangs between them for a minute longer. But then she pulls in a steadying breath and takes one, two, three steps away from the cliff's edge before her. And with a suddenness that suggests she's on the verge of losing her nerve she bolts for the edge and throws herself off it, into the air.

The second of panic just as her feet leave the ground lasts an age and no time at all at once. Just as quick as it came, it's washed away by the intense tactile memory of the wind tearing through her hair, skimming her face and making tears stream from her eyes. Her stomach turning loops. The sky open in front of her, impossibly vast. Endless.

It's just like they promised. She's not falling. She's flying.

And then Ardyn comes to. He's slumped across the controls of the arcade cabinet, as if he'd swooned there just a moment ago and aside from a faint trace of glittery golden powder in his hand, the butterfly is nowhere to be seen.