Morimens story · Psyche Deepdive
Pale Descendant
7 scenes, 387 lines
1. Gate, before the fight
78 linesThey say that in Their labyrinth, it's not just your sense of direction you lose.
Your name, your home, the people you love... everything, important or not, gets left behind.
After that, you have only one identity: Their offspring.
P-offspring?
Yes. Countless offspring, like a pale tide, pouring into the labyrinth from every direction.
Entrances to the labyrinth are everywhere. Inside walls, in the sewers, and where we're standing right now...
A hidden door beneath the Municipal Library.
I can't believe a place like this actually exists... the legends were all real...
Are you ready, @1? Let's push it open together.
Creak...
!!!
What... is this place...?
The place where you'll be spending the rest of your life.
A girl sits on a hollow ledge, smiling, chin propped in both hands, her right leg dangling idly in the air.
Welcome to my labyrinth.
My, you were out cold. I was just about to drop a few little bugs in to wake you up.
Agrippa...?
You look down at the unfamiliar clothes on your body and realize you've entered Morpheus again.
What's different this time is that you've lost almost all memory of the original host. Who was she? Where did she come from?
You have no idea.
What's happening... the original host, no, who am I...
Don't bother. You won't remember anything.
One day, a hundred days, a thousand days, your mind will stay as blank as a newborn's.
Now, I'll give you two options.
One: Make a pact with me and become my offspring.
Two: Starve to death in the labyrinth and become my offspring.
Agrippa lays out your situation and presents her terms with practiced ease, as though she has done this countless times before.
Offspring? What?
Don't worry, no poison, no pain, no side effects to speak of. Or if there are, you won't even notice.
So, compared to those evil gods who constantly demand you Sacrifice your life or slay your beloved, wouldn't you say I'm much gentler?
...
Alright. I've made up my mind.
You nod, quietly sliding your right foot back.
My choice is...
You spin around and run as fast as you can.
Run!!
A long, long time later...
Huff... huff...
You race down the long corridor until a door blocks your path.
The Wax Museum? Again...
Unless my memory's off, this is the 23rd time I've seen it.
Yes, there are countless doors here, each leading somewhere different.
They keep appearing before you, again and again, often enough to drive even the most clear-headed investigator mad.
You push the door open and continue down the corridor.
This corridor again... fifteen times.
Your hand moves without thinking to the silver cufflinks on your sleeve.
An old Mythag school crest... So this time I've stepped into the shoes of someone who came before me?
But how did she end up in the labyrinth?
Lost in thought, you find yet another door blocking your way.
You're standing before this door now, @1. Open it.
Who's there?!
My head... it hurts. Are these the memories of that upperclassman girl?
Deep breaths, %player%. Clear your head...
You force yourself to calm down, grip the brass handle, and ease the door open.
...Keygrave?
Through the mist, you catch sight of someone familiar, and yet not quite.
Charlotte... Charlotte!
You remember her now, Charlotte, the friend who brought "you" into the labyrinth.
Wait for me, Charlotte!
You run after her and grab her by the wrist.
The moment your skin meets hers, a torrent of disjointed images floods your mind.
Open the door, @1.
No, I, I just remembered I haven't finished my homework, I want to,
Aaaaaah!!
Charlotte, your face...
The door... the door...
@1door@2open@4
Open the door......
So it was you. You tricked "me" into the labyrinth...
You instinctively release Charlotte's wrist and step back.
The mist begins to clear. Charlotte turns around with some effort, looking at you with mournful eyes.
...@4gate@4@1
With those hollow, empty eye sockets of hers.
2. Hive-Mind, before the fight
33 lines@4
Charlotte, what happened to you?
"Charlotte" wrenches her head to the side. A low, droning hum rises from deep in her throat.
Teehee, didn't see that coming? That little friend of yours became my offspring ages ago!
That voice... You're Agrippa?
How touching, you still recognize my voice. Now, let me show you something really fun!
A muffled cackle bubbles up from "Charlotte's" throat. Then her neck twists, and she changes entirely.
%player%, are you sneaking cake again!
Have you finished this week's homework? The "Introduction to Dissolution" exam is right around the corner, how's your studying coming along?
Ramona?! No, I didn't, wait, this isn't...
%player%, you were 5 minutes late to class today. Your cumulative tardiness this month stands at 30 minutes and 15 seconds.
Come see me in my office after class.
!!
...
These... shapeshifting tricks, where did you learn them?
You've seen Agrippa's file in the Awakener archives. There was no mention of shapeshifting anywhere in it.
Learn? I am the Lady of this labyrinth. In my domain, I can do what-ev-er-I-please.
Just one? I could show you ten, a hundred.
With that, Agrippa vanishes again.
One by one, two, three, more and more Charlottes appear before you.
Guess which one is the real me... teehee...
Boo-hoo... which Charlotte is actually Agrippa?
One chance. You only get one chance...
Countless shrill voices tangle into a discordant melody, drifting through your mind.
Get away, get away from me...!!
You take a deep breath and finally steady yourself.
Sorry. You all look the same, I can't tell you apart.
Huh? Giving up that fast? How dull.
The next second, a "Charlotte" hits the floor. You rub your temple and say, calm as ever...
But it's fine.
I can put every last one of you on the ground and ask you one by one.
3. Hive-Mind, after the fight
31 linesNo, please...
You take down the last "Charlotte".
The Keygrave fades, and you're back where you started.
Come out. I know where you are.
A deep, trembling hum rises from underground, and the earth slowly splits open.
BOOM!!
Pfft, ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!!
Agrippa bursts up from underground, covered in dirt.
Cough, cough, cough, y-you! How dare you cheat!
It was just a little guessing game. No need to make a whole thing of it...
Where's the way out of the labyrinth?
Teehee, want to know? Then get on your knees and give the great Agrippa a proper apology, and then...
You slowly raise your hand.
W-wait! I'll tell you...
The girl opens her mouth, then hangs her head, deflated.
Actually... I don't know either. I've been stuck in here for nearly a thousand years...
All I ever do is sleep, stare at nothing, and keep my offspring in line. I'm going out of my mind with boredom!
...
Aren't you the Lady of Labyrinths? How can you not know where the exit is?
You'd have to ask whoever threw me in here. How would I know what They were thinking...
How is that possible...
So, what if, hypothetically, I mean...
What if the person who entered the labyrinth isn't here in body, but exists as some form of consciousness?
Could they, uh... theoretically ignore the rules of this labyrinth?
Agrippa gives you a strange look.
Of course not.
Care to guess why you've seen so many familiar faces and places in the labyrinth?
Hallucinations? No... memories.
Agrippa shakes her head.
Neither. To be precise, consciousness.
What the labyrinth has trapped was never anything more than your consciousness.
4. Her Kingdom, before the fight
55 lines39, 40, 41...
You flip open the notebook your senior was carrying and scribble down a note: Dormitory: 41.
Stop wasting time on that and come play with me!
...
Do you mind coming back when you're wearing a different face?
Tch. So stingy!
"William" rolls his eyes, then vanishes into thin air with a loud pop.
You turn back to the dense pages of notes in front of you, searching for some way to break the labyrinth.
It won't work, it won't work! There were brilliant people trapped in the labyrinth before, mathematicians, even!
If they couldn't crack it, don't exhaust yourself trying.
Look, neither of us can kill the other, so we might as well make the best of it.
Let's talk! Or cards, do you play?
Don't let the underground fool you, I've had plenty of time to get good at cards. No one beats me. No one.
You have to admit, her words sting a little.
If no one has cracked this labyrinth in all these years, what makes you think you can?
You're nowhere near as sharp as Ramona.
With that thought, you drop face-first into the soft pillow.
I'm not much of a card player. Let's just talk instead. How did you end up trapped in this labyrinth?
Er...
The question catches her off guard. For just a moment, all the compound eyes spinning inside her sockets go still.
You're the one who said we should get along. Then honesty is where we start.
Fine, fine, I'll tell you...! It's nothing but a tired old story anyway.
My family was the wealthiest in all of Capua. The line of slaves trailing behind me every day went on as far as you could see...
Then those fools had the nerve to start a revolution, going on about "liberation" and "freedom", things I never had any use for.
I refused to die at their hands, so I had a gladiator do it instead.
Agrippa spreads her hands toward you as she speaks.
...And when I woke up, I was here.
I learned about this uprising in History class. Apparently...
Not interested. What a dull topic! Change it, change it.
One hour later...
The aimless chatter drifts on, until Agrippa finally pulls the conversation back to herself.
You know, I have a thousand offspring under me now...
They move freely in and out of the labyrinth, bringing me stories from the outside world and hauling back whatever poor souls might make suitable new offspring.
Without them, I'd have died of boredom ages ago.
As you listen to her ramble on, an image drifts unbidden into your mind...
An aging king, leaning on a cane, sunken deep into a heavy, rotting throne.
His domain is boundless. His power, absolute.
He sends out envoys to bring him stories from distant lands: green cat's-eye stones, wandering elephants, rainbows after the rain...
At the most exciting parts, the envoy would wave his arms with delight. The king, however, always stayed silent, like a moss-covered statue.
There was nothing he could do. He had long been unable to leave his throne.
Agrippa, you've heard so many stories from outside... Is there anywhere you'd want to go?
Agrippa answers almost without thinking.
My offspring tell me that the heart of this labyrinth lies somewhere beneath a valley called Cambrian.
I've heard it's a beautiful place, lakes like mirrors, they say.
Every spring, a flower called freesia blooms all across the valley...
Agrippa rests her chin in her hand, eyes drifting toward the distance.
There's a beautiful lake in my homeland too. I never got to see it.
Why not go and see it?
Agrippa gives you a haughty glance and tips up her little pointed chin.
I am a Roman lady of noble birth. A lady does not simply wander wherever she pleases.
So you can command all those slaves, but you're not truly free yourself.
One sentence from you, and the girl's face crumples like she's been hit with a bucket of cold water.
Back then, I was worse off than any of those slaves. And now... well.
5. Memory Barrier, before the fight
86 lines16@1 B.F., Capua
Damn it. The woman's gone.
Heh. Decided to hide, has she? When we find her, we'll take her legs off first...
Hey, Uvhash. You seen Agrippa?
In the shadows, the gladiator slowly opens his eyes.
...Leave.
Heh. Every brother out there fighting for the cause, and you're still happy playing the good dog.
I said leave. You deaf?
You@1 say that again...
Leave it. Don't bother with him. He's out of his mind...
The slaves shove each other on their way out, and the dim cell finally goes quiet.
The girl steps out of the shadows in the corner of the cell, her head bowed.
Why didn't you leave with them? Tonight was the perfect chance to win your freedom.
I like it here. Why would I leave?
Like it...? Ha. How remarkable. Do you like being screamed at, or do you like the feel of my whip?
The gladiator yawns and stretches lazily.
I like blood. I like killing even more. To me, killing is freedom.
As for being called a slave, they can pile on as many titles as they like. Why would I leave?
Agrippa looks up toward the dungeon's exit, her face perfectly calm.
Crimson waves of fire surge toward the sky. Laughter, wailing, screaming, every sound imaginable swells together into a symphony from hell.
Soon they'll find me, @1 me, then cut off my head, just like they did to my parents.
I won't have those filthy creatures anywhere near me. But you...
You're different from them. I know there's been some "bad blood" between us, but this time, you won't refuse me.
Oh? Let's hear it.
Kill me...
Agrippa...?
Kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me...
Agrippa!
Wait, I think we skipped over a few things.
Nonsense! I am the Lady of Labyrinths. Everything is under my control...
First: why can your offspring come and go from the labyrinth freely, but you and I can't?
Don't you all share consciousness?
What would you know? A Lady of Labyrinths must always keep her mystique.
Besides, whenever I please, they all come crawling back. Hardly what I'd call "free" passage.
You nod and take out your notebook.
There's one more thing.
I kept notes on every place I came across in the labyrinth, the school, the Wax Museum, the streets of Londinium...
But nowhere you'd ever been. Not a single place.
Why? Aren't you trapped here too?
So many questions! I, the great Agrippa, simply don't want to dwell on the past. Why think about things that only make you miserable?
Yes. You refuse to remember.
What if...
What if it's precisely because you, the Lady of Labyrinths, refuse to share your memories that this labyrinth, built from the consciousness of everyone trapped inside, can never be whole?
And so none of us can ever leave.
...
I've thought about all of this myself, you know. This is my labyrinth, after all.
But the moment the past crosses my mind, it's unbearable...
Agrippa clutches her head, words tumbling from her lips like someone talking in their sleep.
Those filthy wretches... how dare they do this to me...
Slaves, barely worth calling human. They were meant to be crushed under our feet, forever.
Rebellion? Absurd.
But they did. They hung my parents' heads on the city walls, grabbed me by the hair, and made me look, really look, at every last detail.
And my little sister, Julia. When I found her, she was@3 all over, and she was so small...
Pathetic, isn't it... Did you think I cried?
No. Never. I would rather die than let a single tear fall in front of them.
We are descendants of the Grey Wolf. We die with dignity, like true wolves. Those curs could never understand that.
Hahahaha...
Agrippa clutches her stomach, laughing until tears run down her face.
They must have been so disappointed when they found my body... Hahaha...
Agrippa...? Agrippa!
You grip Agrippa's shoulders and try to pull her back from the nightmare.
Stop. It's over now.
...
I'm sorry, Agrippa. I didn't know... Let it go. All of it.
You're the Lady of Labyrinths. Nothing can truly hurt you.
...Mm.
Agrippa falls silent, a rare thing. She hasn't escaped the shadow of the past.
If I could actually change the past... I could help her and get out of here at the same time.
No. Don't give up yet. There has to be another way...
You comb through the fragments of your memory, searching for anything that might be useful.
Morpheus can't change the past, but it can shape the future. That's why a Keeper must learn restraint while inside.
Shape the future?
Think of it this way, a person's memory is like a still lake.
Morpheus is like dropping a stone into it. The ripples spread, then fade.
But the stone stays.
Exactly. Even if the person remembers nothing after waking up...
...that stone sinks into their subconscious and goes on shaping who they are.
!!!
Agrippa, I know how to get us out.
6. Labyrinth's End, before the fight
49 linesYou're saying you can enter my consciousness and change the past?
If you were really that powerful, how did I manage to trap you?
Ahem... Strictly speaking, it's influence, not change.
Don't underestimate yourself. Your labyrinth is far more complex than I expected...
Agrippa eyes you with suspicion.
Fine. It's not like I have any other choice. What do you need me to do?
You reach back through your memories, trying to recall the feeling of every time you've entered Morpheus, and gently take Agrippa's hand.
Hey, you're not trying to take advantage of me, are you?
Shh... Close your eyes. Empty your mind. Don't think about anything.
Don't do anything...
Ugh!!
My head is splitting... I really shouldn't do this too often...
Out of my way, all of you, out of my way!
Anyone who touches my family, I'll kill this wretch first!!
A trembling blade presses against your throat.
...?
Morpheus successful, though not quite the entrance you had in mind.
A crowd of bare-chested slaves blocks the way ahead. The servility they once wore like a second skin is gone, their eyes burn with hatred.
Faced with Agrippa's threat, they go quiet for a moment. Then the laughter starts.
Pfft. Hahahahahaha!
Well, well. Our little princess has got some nerve!
Heh. You don't believe me...
A blade cuts fast and clean, and searing pain blazes through your neck.
Ngh! You're actually doing this!!
Shut up! You're with them, you were always with them! You're the one who stole my family's key and the deed of bondage!
...?
And you all! If anyone laughs again, I'll cut another line on {Male=his,Female=her} neck!
Put the knife down, Agrippa... Go, now!
The whip comes down hard. She crumples before she can make a sound.
Mother!!
Drop that ridiculous act. We're not your slaves anymore.
All that strutting around the training grounds, did you ever stop to think this day might come?
Keep your eyes open, "little princess." Watch what we do to you...
Cowards, all of you! How dare you,
I'm the one who wronged you, not them... No, I was a fool. I never should have treated you like that...
Come at me, do whatever you want! Just let my mother go...
The girl is already babbling in a panic, the dagger in her hand shaking so violently it's nearly slipping from her fingers.
You let out a quiet sigh and gently take the dagger from her hand.
Don't be afraid, Agrippa. I'll help you.
Help me? But aren't you...
You step in front of Agrippa and meet the slaves' eyes.
Alright, playtime's over. You got what you came for. Now go.
Oh, look at her, thinks she's in charge, does she?
Cres, aren't you supposed to be on our side?
You shake your head.
I've always respected what you're fighting for. But that doesn't give anyone the right to kill the innocent.
"Innocent"...?
Heh. He's turned his back on us completely. Nothing left to say.
Kill him!
7. Labyrinth's End, after the fight
55 linesCough... cough...
We went easy on you just now, out of respect for old times.
But if you're dead set on protecting them, don't expect any mercy from us...
BOOM!
In the chaos, you throw your weight against the column blocking the path. The entire building begins to shudder.
Now! Come with me!
You take Agrippa's hand and flee with her family.
The once-magnificent courtyard comes crashing down, silent as a falling giant.
16@1 B.F., Outskirts of Capua
A low horn call drifts in from the distance. You haven't shaken the rebels yet.
You and Agrippa run hand in hand beneath a sky of solid black.
Her family runs close behind. All of them, driven by fear and hope in equal measure, race toward a horizon that never seems to come.
Who are you? Why did you save me?
Well... to be honest, I did it to save myself.
Oh... whatever the reason, you're... a good person.
Once we're safe, I'll give you everything I've hidden away over the years, all my money and jewels.
You can't help but smile.
I don't want your money. But... if you want to repay me, there is one thing I'd ask.
Tell me, I'll do it.
A shooting star streaks across the night sky. A perfect moment to make a wish.
It's simple. Keep smiling, and hold on to how you feel right now.
How I feel right now? Hmm... Happy? Relieved? Worried? Which one do you mean!
Whichever feels right. I'm curious which Agrippa they'll lead me to.
The war horn finally falls silent, and the quiet of the night settles back in.
Finally... it's over.
The girl sprints to the top of the sand dune in a few quick strides, clenches both fists, and screams toward where the war horn faded.
Agrippa! Conduct yourself, conduct yourself like a lady...!
With that declaration ringing out, she spreads her arms wide, as if lifting the vast starry sky above her into her own hands.
I'm free!!
CRASH!!
...Huh?
The sky disappears. The labyrinth disappears with it.
The Cambrian Valley rushes into your sight.
The lake lies still as a mirror, its surface shifting in quiet turns; the wind sweeps across it, and rings of glowing ripples spread out and out.
Agrippa sits frozen on the grass, staring blankly at everything in front of her.
%player%... are we out?
Welcome back to the real world, Agrippa.
...Oh.
So this is the Cambrian Valley. A hundred times more beautiful than people say, no, a thousand times.
Soft morning light filters through the mist and settles over you both.
Agrippa closes her eyes, drinking in the long-forgotten scents.
I can smell so many things. Earth, grass, freesia... and sunlight.
Sunlight has a smell?
She stretches and begins to hum softly, an old Roman tune.
The light melody drifts through the air, carrying her quiet joy to every corner of the valley.
After more than a thousand years, she has finally seen sunlight again.
And seen the Cambrian Valley for the very first time.