you hear a voice. male, light. familiar. thoughtful.
The scripture tells this story. After the death of Alpates, her children were overwhelmed with despair. Aelfric then crafted a single mirror from her body. And the warm light from the mirror relieved their clan of their sadness. Alpates's mission was to protect that mirror.
another voice, low, female. somber.
But... why would she give the mirror to us? And what does the light shall not fade mean?
and as this voice speaks, the cave starts to grow dark. more, and more, and more. the lights that line the cave walls all begin to flicker violently as the corpse eunhyuk is examining starts to shake, violently. and then - with a sudden roar, the body explodes into shadow. it's like a whirlpool, the wind screaming, the stone walls starting to crawl around you as the darkness drags all of you in. you cannot escape it, not even if you cling to each other. it takes over all.
and you are left - somewhere, together, but separate. ]
[ you've all lit your altars. the darkness will be lifted.
but there are those who would deny you this chance. a man and a woman stand at the entrance to the cave, standing apart, but both smiling placidly. see, you've undone all their work. this has been something they have been working on for years, and a couple of morons (a thief in purple, a cleric in white) playing at heroes have come to relight the world? no.
your collars are tight. you are so close to being free. you are so close to finding the truth. what did alpates want for you?
the woman puts her hand to her chest and sighs. ]
Honestly... The three of you had but one simple task. "Apprehend" Alpates, and get killed in the process. And yet! Here you all stand before me. Aren't you exhausted? You certainly look it.
This world that you have found yourselves in does not deserve to exist. The people here are violent, and wicked, and cruel. They steal, and they lie, and they kill, and they hurt. They destroy each other. All we want to do is mitigate the process. The Moonshade Order knows the truth - surrender yourselves not unto silent dusk. Then, the light shall fade.
[ she shakes her head. ]
Well. I'll introduce you to someone who understands. I've no time to fight you, you see... and I won't waste my time on you, either. I'll introduce you to my dear friends, my little lights. See how the Shadow has doused them, as it will soon douse you.
[ and then the man speaks. ]
You've made it, my little seeds. [ a laugh. ] I knew that you would. You're strong. That's what I want, for all of my children. For my legacy.
I care not for whatever she has to say. [ at this, the woman rolls her eyes. he continues. ] All that I want is release. Make it to me. Slice me open. I desire it. But know that I won't make it easy for you.
[ and in front of you, down the stairs that lead out of the cave, several monsters... or something like it, appear. leaking that purple gunk from before, eyes rotted white, bodies falling apart, everything only pain. yuri, viktor, lucien, ivy, xia goujun, eunyoo... but not quite.
and - castti is here! and the horse. don't talk to the horse, it's here and it's very confused. she looks at the group of you, and says: If you need healing, now's the time to ask.
somewhere in the temple, a brilliant blue light blazes. it's just one, at first. and then two, three, four - all the way up to eight, eight blue flames. they surround the exhausted party in their warmth and protection. instinctually, you realize that these flames are those of the gods who gave you their powers. their light is warm and everlasting, and they form, abruptly, into the statues you saw at the very beginning of your journey, surrounding the group in an octagonal shape. you start in a cave, just like you did at the beginning of your journey, and feel the draw of your god once more.
however. before you can do that, there's a soft male voice that murmurs - "The truth...lies in the flame."
and the world around you pauses, almost like it's a freeze frame, becoming enveloped in that soft, blue light.
harley, lucien and shu - when you turn around, you might notice something different about your companions. mainly, their forms are no longer completely solid and human as they were before. viktor, shouxue, and eunhyuk, your bodies look something like this. you are solid, but that solidness is fading.
this is a moment frozen in time. all of your memories come back so clearly - of the eudora, of your time spent together. you know, now, that your companions that you just battled through solistia with are dead. that the last time you saw them alive and breathing could have been weeks ago.
that's the thing about the truth: it's so rarely beautiful. you can dream of a reality where you walked side by side, but in the end, those moments have passed you. you may never get to have them again. and you have to accept that. you have to let them go.
but perhaps, the extension of the sacred flame's blessing will grant you this frozen moment in time to say goodbye. it is fleeting, but it is something.
you get the sense that once you touch the statue that blessed you, your time in solistia - your time among the living, for some of you - will end. ]
[ Hooray, you did it! Each of you will be returning with the following:
✨ your injuries. if you want to have things reopen that were healed during the journey, help yourself. you do not get to perma die but feel free to be at 1hp if that is how you think things would go. ✨ your class clothing: even though it's destroyed. none of you have any armor. hunters return with a cat ear/wolf ear headband and a fluffy tail clipped to their belt. additionally, shouxue and shu get to have manyue and scarecrow in plush bird form. ✨ foam versions of your weapons: including the heart cupid bow and the chef's ladle. ✨ your collars are still on your neck. you will know they're no longer poisonous. ✨ any leaves you still had: because some of you were rich. they are chocolate coins now. ✨ any grapes or plums you still had: they are just fruit now
EXTRAS: ✨ a tiny plush of a horse for the claudlets ✨ a tiny jar marked "healing concoction" for the mindlets. there's a grape inside. it is just a grape. it tastes good but it heals nothing. ✨ an ornate key that you know, intrinsically, will unlock your collars.
!! ADDITIONALLY !!: ✨ up until trial on saturday, you may feel like performing your path actions on other unsuspecting people/animals on the ship. all the time. have fun! please do this for me in public so i can laugh at it (no) (unless)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I. CROSSED PATH
there's a corpse laying here in the middle of the platform.
there are also some other people standing on the other side of the platform.
welcome to jackass! (take some time to react, perhaps? ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
(no subject)
(no subject)
II. THOSE WHO DENY THE DAWN
you hear a voice. male, light. familiar. thoughtful.
The scripture tells this story. After the death of Alpates, her children were overwhelmed with despair. Aelfric then crafted a single mirror from her body. And the warm light from the mirror relieved their clan of their sadness. Alpates's mission was to protect that mirror.
another voice, low, female. somber.
But... why would she give the mirror to us? And what does the light shall not fade mean?
and as this voice speaks, the cave starts to grow dark. more, and more, and more. the lights that line the cave walls all begin to flicker violently as the corpse eunhyuk is examining starts to shake, violently. and then - with a sudden roar, the body explodes into shadow. it's like a whirlpool, the wind screaming, the stone walls starting to crawl around you as the darkness drags all of you in. you cannot escape it, not even if you cling to each other. it takes over all.
and you are left - somewhere, together, but separate. ]
SHU & EUNHYUK
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
SHOUXUE & HARLEY
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
VIKTOR & LUCIEN
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
III. THOSE WHO HOPE FOR THE DAWN
but there are those who would deny you this chance. a man and a woman stand at the entrance to the cave, standing apart, but both smiling placidly. see, you've undone all their work. this has been something they have been working on for years, and a couple of morons (a thief in purple, a cleric in white) playing at heroes have come to relight the world? no.
your collars are tight. you are so close to being free. you are so close to finding the truth. what did alpates want for you?
the woman puts her hand to her chest and sighs. ]
Honestly... The three of you had but one simple task. "Apprehend" Alpates, and get killed in the process. And yet! Here you all stand before me. Aren't you exhausted? You certainly look it.
This world that you have found yourselves in does not deserve to exist. The people here are violent, and wicked, and cruel. They steal, and they lie, and they kill, and they hurt. They destroy each other. All we want to do is mitigate the process. The Moonshade Order knows the truth - surrender yourselves not unto silent dusk. Then, the light shall fade.
[ she shakes her head. ]
Well. I'll introduce you to someone who understands. I've no time to fight you, you see... and I won't waste my time on you, either. I'll introduce you to my dear friends, my little lights. See how the Shadow has doused them, as it will soon douse you.
[ and then the man speaks. ]
You've made it, my little seeds. [ a laugh. ] I knew that you would. You're strong. That's what I want, for all of my children. For my legacy.
I care not for whatever she has to say. [ at this, the woman rolls her eyes. he continues. ] All that I want is release. Make it to me. Slice me open. I desire it. But know that I won't make it easy for you.
[ and in front of you, down the stairs that lead out of the cave, several monsters... or something like it, appear. leaking that purple gunk from before, eyes rotted white, bodies falling apart, everything only pain. yuri, viktor, lucien, ivy, xia goujun, eunyoo... but not quite.
and - castti is here! and the horse. don't talk to the horse, it's here and it's very confused. she looks at the group of you, and says: If you need healing, now's the time to ask.
welcome to the final boss fight. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
cw: eye stuff
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
IV. THE JOURNEY'S END
somewhere in the temple, a brilliant blue light blazes. it's just one, at first. and then two, three, four - all the way up to eight, eight blue flames. they surround the exhausted party in their warmth and protection. instinctually, you realize that these flames are those of the gods who gave you their powers. their light is warm and everlasting, and they form, abruptly, into the statues you saw at the very beginning of your journey, surrounding the group in an octagonal shape. you start in a cave, just like you did at the beginning of your journey, and feel the draw of your god once more.
however. before you can do that, there's a soft male voice that murmurs - "The truth...lies in the flame."
and the world around you pauses, almost like it's a freeze frame, becoming enveloped in that soft, blue light.
harley, lucien and shu - when you turn around, you might notice something different about your companions. mainly, their forms are no longer completely solid and human as they were before. viktor, shouxue, and eunhyuk, your bodies look something like this. you are solid, but that solidness is fading.
this is a moment frozen in time. all of your memories come back so clearly - of the eudora, of your time spent together. you know, now, that your companions that you just battled through solistia with are dead. that the last time you saw them alive and breathing could have been weeks ago.
that's the thing about the truth: it's so rarely beautiful. you can dream of a reality where you walked side by side, but in the end, those moments have passed you. you may never get to have them again. and you have to accept that. you have to let them go.
but perhaps, the extension of the sacred flame's blessing will grant you this frozen moment in time to say goodbye. it is fleeting, but it is something.
you get the sense that once you touch the statue that blessed you, your time in solistia - your time among the living, for some of you - will end. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
[ VICTORY FANFARE ]
✨ your injuries. if you want to have things reopen that were healed during the journey, help yourself. you do not get to perma die but feel free to be at 1hp if that is how you think things would go.
✨ your class clothing: even though it's destroyed. none of you have any armor. hunters return with a cat ear/wolf ear headband and a fluffy tail clipped to their belt. additionally, shouxue and shu get to have manyue and scarecrow in plush bird form.
✨ foam versions of your weapons: including the heart cupid bow and the chef's ladle.
✨ your collars are still on your neck. you will know they're no longer poisonous.
✨ any leaves you still had: because some of you were rich. they are chocolate coins now.
✨ any grapes or plums you still had: they are just fruit now
EXTRAS:
✨ a tiny plush of a horse for the claudlets
✨ a tiny jar marked "healing concoction" for the mindlets. there's a grape inside. it is just a grape. it tastes good but it heals nothing.
✨ an ornate key that you know, intrinsically, will unlock your collars.
!! ADDITIONALLY !!:
✨ up until trial on saturday, you may feel like performing your path actions on other unsuspecting people/animals on the ship. all the time. have fun! please do this for me in public so i can laugh at it (no) (unless)