Morimens story · Special Ops
Serene Fission
12 scenes, 868 lines
1. Pilgrim's Chant, before the fight
68 linesThe barefoot pilgrim crawls onward.
The blizzards of the uttermost north cake the pilgrim's face. Her toes had split open long ago, her vision had blurred long ago, and her blood drags a long trail through the snow.
Still she presses on toward the summit, unwavering.
Yes... Beneath those white mountains, deep within the caves, the source of all uncleanness lies waiting.
It is her fear. Her nightmare.
And it is where she belongs.
I don't accept what you call "evidence."
This so-called witness report proves only that the culprit was not human. It points to no particular individual.
Gaunt, long hair, suspected to possess more than one pair of upper limbs.
Per the "Southwark Street Dissolution Incident Report: C06", there is one creature here that matches both the description and the area of activity.
It was Mythag University itself that filed this report with the joint archive. Or do you mean to deny its authenticity now?
I merely questioned how reliable a witness report might be. There's no need for such an overreaction.
Instead of splitting hairs, why not ask the one who was actually there?
Miss 24, at 9:15 on the night of December 17th, do you remember what you were doing at Doctor Bernard's clinic?
Huh? I...
A reminder: according to Doctor Bernard's consultation records, you were the last patient he saw before he died.
...
What did I do?
...I killed him, of course.
Miss 24? Are you listening?
Once, twice, three times... I smashed that lovely face of his to pulp. Didn't leave a bone intact.
The smell of blood clung to me for a whole week.
Regrettably, the suspect is being evasive. Under the terms of the "Treaty", the Committee is authorized to take her into custody at once.
You can't. Miss 24 isn't like other Awakeners. She,
She's hysterical, she's insane, we're all aware of that. But does being insane entitle her to slaughter a well-respected doctor?
That argument doesn't hold, Miss Doll.
I am a murderer.
Miss 24...? Miss 24!
Wake up! I haven't even given you the injection yet! This is no time to be sleeping...
Huh... where am I...?
Thank goodness, you're finally awake!
Mythag Lounge
I hear your memories have been badly scrambled lately, so let me fill you in.
That last round of questioning about the death of Doctor Bernard left things very ugly between us and the Committee.
The final ruling: seven days. Seven days to get to the truth.
If I remember right, all of this happened before you were sent to the Wax Museum, so we're just as much in the dark as you are.
The file's been sealed for months. Heaven knows where they dug it up. And investigating anything in a rat's nest like the East District? Might as well be dreaming...
So we've decided to send %player% into your artificial Domain to investigate. Which means we'll need a small favor from you...
I see. Sorry, my head's been so foggy lately...
A terrible storm is gathering somewhere inside that body, and the body's owner knows nothing of it.
Wait.
Is "I" truly the master of this body?
Ding!
Winkle draws out a syringe she'd had ready all along.
Relax, that's exactly what I'm here for. One quick jab and that muddled head of yours will clear right up...
That way %player% won't have such a rough time in there after all nobody knows what's waiting inside and what if something terrible happens...
Or runs into something horrifying like "N" again, the way it happened last time, Aah!!
Winkle claws anxiously at her hair and sucks in a frightened breath.
Damn it! I've lost even more hair...
Miss 24 needs calm, not your nerves and your hair. Winkle, give her the injection and get out, quickly.
Ten minutes later
Feeling any better now, Miss 24?
I'm fine, just a little dizzy... What about %player%?
Already in the passage to the artificial Domain. Don't worry, we've set the window at half an hour this time. There won't be any lingering.
What about Miss Ramona? Isn't she going along on the investigation?
Given that the Domain's owner is... not entirely stable, none of us can even guess what might be waiting in there.
Ramona's mind might not hold up under it.
24 lowers her head, dejected, and silently tightens her grip on the edge of the blanket.
Miss Doll, what if I told you... the killer really is me?
I remember it. I went to the clinic that day, and then...
Shh... I wouldn't bet on the Committee not having an informant in here.
Doll thinks of Sylvia and does her best to arrange her face into something comforting.
Miss 24, I'm afraid you know yourself far less well than you believe.
The "truth" you saw isn't necessarily the truth.
I don't understand... not the truth...?
You've been in Mythag for months now, and we still know nothing about your condition, or what you've been through.
Think of this Domain investigation as a chance to get to know you anew, Miss 24.
We only want to understand you.
2. Shadow Tale, before the fight
91 linesArtificial Domain Investigation Log ■Domain ID: M-C06 ■Setup Time: December 17, A.F. 315, 9:00-9:30 PM ■Setup Location: Dr. Bernard's Clinic
■Domain Owner: Mason·@2 ■Domain Infiltrator: %player% ■Objective: Investigate the death of Doctor Bernard
*Cough, cough*... it reeks in here...
A thick, clinging stench of blood hangs over the clinic. Medical instruments, books, and case files lie scattered across the floor.
Doctor Bernard's body lies slumped against the wall. What is left of his head is too ruined to make out a face.
"Male, thirty years old, six feet tall, graduated with honors from the University of Londinium School of Medicine..."
"A generous man by all accounts. For years he ran free medical clinics all over the East District..."
A spotless record. No wonder the police and the Committee are taking this so seriously.
Hsss...
Something stirs faintly in the dark, like a viper flicking its tongue in an empty corner.
A snake... Who's there?!
Tap, tap, tap.
Hurried footsteps close in, and long hair whips past your face.
Miss Mason?!
Let go of me... Ow! Who are you? Are you with her?
Huh? You don't recognize me?
Right, the murder happened before Miss Mason ever set foot in the Wax Museum. We hadn't met yet...
Tap, tap, tap.
These footsteps aren't hurried like the last ones. They are slow, steady.
She's coming, she's coming...
Who's coming?
She... no, "I" am coming!
"I" is coming to kill me!
?
A fist comes at you, whistling through the air.
Die, all of you!
Ten minutes later
Please, calm down... Miss "24".
You plant yourself in front of Mason, barely holding off the shadow's savage attacks.
One more step, and I won't hold back.
Heh. Looks like the crybaby found herself a bodyguard.
The dim light picks out a familiar slender figure, long hair, white dress, irises red as blood.
Another "24".
No time left... Don't worry. I'll get to every one of you, one at a time.
Your turn will come.
With that, a remark that explains nothing, "24" turns and walks away.
Wait...
Don't go after her, we can't beat her...
What's going on? Why is there another you here?
I don't know... She just came at me out of nowhere, saying she was going to kill me...
And the doctor? Did she kill him too?
So it was her?! No, not just him... the hibernating snakes too...
Thousands of snakes@2killing their own brothers and sisters, fingers in their mouths... mm...
Miss Mason? Do you even know what you're saying?
Saying? It's not what you say that matters, it's what you do! That's what Mr.@2 taught me...
Mason is lost entirely in a world of her own, spilling out one jumbled murmur after another.
You... I feel like I've seen you somewhere before...
%player%... You are the Keeper!
...
Remembering who I am again, are you?
Your head starts to ache.
Don't go rushing in. I'm not done talking.
Miss 24's Domain isn't like Ramona's, or Lady Sorel's. She has no stable personality, and a trait like that is bound to show in her Domain.
The personalities are sealed off from one another, and yet they bleed together. You may even run into a great many "24"s in there.
All of it, the people, the places, the dates... maybe none of it is real.
If none of it's real, is there any point in investigating?
Of course. Even if only one percent of it is true, we have to hold on to that.
Miss 24 is no indiscriminate killer. We both know that.
None of it is real... Calm down, %player%. Start by settling on what you're looking for.
You take Mason's hand and turn it over. Her fingers are spotless, no wounds, no sign of a struggle.
Miss Mason, was there bad blood between you and Doctor Bernard?
He... he was treating me. Lately I've had this itch all over. It's so strange...
As she speaks, Mason idly scratches the white eyeball sprouting from her dissolution wound.
She has no idea she's doing it, of course.
He treated you. And then? The two of you argued?
Then, then... after that I can't remember anything...
I see. I think I've got the picture.
Memory loss is a hallmark of split personality. Something must have happened during the treatment, something that let a shadow personality surface and kill the doctor...
Next time, I just turn the clock back another hour and see what was going on then...
You glance at your watch.
The Domain's about to end. Let's leave the investigation here for now.
Miss Doll worries too much. This Domain is far simpler than Lady Sorel's...
You stretch, then crouch down in front of Mason and look her straight in the eyes.
Miss Mason, what you have is no ordinary illness. No doctor with a pretty diploma on the wall is going to cure it.
Next time, come find us at Mythag. Understand?
My... th... ag...
That's right. Mythag University. We're the professionals.
Oh...
Drip. Drip.
The wall overhead begins to flake away, piece by piece. The Domain is coming apart.
Until next time, Miss Mason.
...
The time is now 9:30 at night. Cold wind howls past, and outside the window a crow lets out a lonely cry or two.
You are still standing firmly inside the clinic, Mason kneeling beside you with a blank, uncomprehending look on her face.
Hmm... {Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} Keeper, aren't you planning to leave again?
Uh, is something wrong with the equipment?
Zing!!
An instant later the world collapses around you, and you fall into a bottomless abyss.
AAAAAH!!!
Artificial Domain Investigation Log I ■Domain ID: M-C06 ■Setup Time: December 17, A.F. 315, 9:00-9:30 PM ■Setup Location: Dr. Bernard's Clinic
■Investigation Results Contact with the Keeper has been lost.
3. Grand Slam Covenant, before the fight
71 linesArtificial Domain: House of Rogers Wax Museum
Ah! A prince charming, dropping out of the sky~
He walked through that door and carried off my heart...
My...
own...
heart!
Tsk, tsk. Spend enough time around that vampire slave and you pick up singing too, apparently.
Terrible! Just terrible!
Crash!
A vase shoots past, close enough to graze George's face.
Stuck in this wax museum day after day, I'm going out of my mind! Can't a girl even sing in peace?!
Go on, keep singing. George will keep cussing. Hehe.
Lord Rogers, do something about your precious little pet! He's turned into an honest-to-goodness demon!
Mm... Botticelli... Primavera...
Where, where do I find a model this time...
Pandia pulls a deck out of the drawer with practiced ease and slaps it on the table.
Bridge again? George doesn't like bridge. Besides, the vampire slave isn't here, so we're one short...
Pandia points at the corner. Beside a cabinet no one ever looks at, "24" is polishing the pieces on display.
Understood.
What's she doing with a pair of glasses? Some pauper from the East District trying to pass herself off as educated? How embarrassing!
You really got all that? It's pretty complicated, you know...
Fifty-two cards, thirteen to each player. Every round you win counts as@21 trick. A contract is built on a base of six tricks@1only tricks beyond that count toward it...
Lord Rogers. If I win, would you grant me one request?
Heheh, somebody forgot her own weight class, she's in for it now!
S-say it, then, what request?
You still need one more model for your Wax Sculptures, don't you? I'll do it.
Whoa~ Miss 24, are you volunteering to get yourself killed?
"24" lowers her head without a word, her knuckles pale around the broom handle.
"Spring" is the piece Rogers plans to exhibit at the exposition. Being chosen as a model means exposure, being seen by far more people.
Jenkin...
Of course. Miss 24, your bones have clean lines, and lovely ones at that. You'd suit the role perfectly.
I'm v-very glad you've volunteered to become part of my great art.
Two hours later
Tsk...
Ah...
Whoa, a grand slam! 24, teaming up with you was the best luck I've had all day, la la la~
You two, cough up!
Rogers tosses a few silver coins onto the table, grinning.
Never thought we'd have a h-hidden card shark sitting right here. Very impressive.
No way... she couldn't even keep the rules straight a minute ago!
George had been watching "24" in secret for a whole month, and he was certain she was a genuine, bona fide moron. There was no way she could be this clever...
Manners, George. Manners. Kids who welch on their debts never grow tall, you know~
George goes red in the face.
She cheated. She must have cheated!
It's only simple arithmetic. From the information already on the table, the four trump spades work out to distribution probabilities of 0.023, 0.183, 0.412...
...
Wow, I don't und-understand a word of that.
...0.314, and 0.069. So when I drew out the trumps, I weighted @1 and @2 most heavily, then worked from the order you played your cards...
As "24" walks them through her analysis in painstaking detail, George bends his head and starts counting on his pudgy fingers.
That's not right. Why can't I get those numbers...
Excuses! Nothing but excuses! You think you can get out of your punishment just by babbling a bunch of stuff we don't understand?!
With that, George throws himself at "24".
Let's have a look, are you hiding something in there...
Zing!!
A hole tears open in the roof of the Wax Museum out of nowhere, and something heavy comes down on George, crushing him into pulp.
Awoo!!
He never finishes the sentence. George never makes another sound.
Cough, cough... What is this? My backside's all sticky...
Huh? Wasn't I on my way back? How did I end up in the Wax Museum?
{Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} %player%, are you alright?
Miss Mason, what are you doing here?! Don't tell me I'm still inside the Domain...
Aaahh! They, they dropped right out of the sky...
Ge, George?
Rogers stares, aghast, at the shapeless mess of George beneath you, his eyes welling with grief and fury.
Pandia... get, get them!
4. Grand Slam Covenant, after the fight
35 linesNgh!!
Not bad at all. Looks like it's time the little ones down below got up and went to work...
The little ones downstairs...
That has to mean the wax figures we saw in the museum basement.
If it's them we're facing, this is going to be an ugly fight...
Click.
In a corner no one is watching, someone touches a candle to George's remains.
Within moments, the Wax Museum is ablaze.
Oh dear, there's a fire!
No, my wax figures...
Before you can react, a hand closes tight around your wrist.
Come with me. Now.
Through the silent night, the three of you run hand in hand, past one crossing after another.
Haah... you with the glasses, uh, Miss 24, how much farther are we running...
This will do. Rogers would never set foot in a mass grave this devoid of beauty.
I owe you two for this.
That little one watched me like a hawk, and the Wax Museum was crawling with their informants. All twenty-three of my escape plans failed.
It was an accident, really... None of us know how we ended up here either.
Huh, doesn't that surprise you? Standing face to face with another you.
"24" and Mason both turn to look at you, as if you'd asked something very strange.
I don't know what you mean... There have always been lots of 24s in the world. We're bound to run into each other.
Is this another one of this Domain's strange rules...
Never mind. Forget I asked.
I have to get home right away. Jenkin must be worried sick.
Wait, Miss 24!!
"24" strides on ahead, she has more important things to do. But then...
Knock knock.
Invisible threads seem to hook her insides and tear them loose from their places.
Ngh!!
There's something close by... Who's out there?!
"24" clutches her chest and doubles over in pain.
The next moment the earth beneath her knees pales, and the whole world goes white.
When she opens her eyes again, the sky and the snow-covered earth merge into an inscrutable void, with only the unbroken mountains standing before her.
Everything lies bathed in pale blue polar sunlight, cold, sharp, indifferent to joy or grief.
She falls to her knees at the foot of the snow-covered mountain.
5. Sleepless Serpent, before the fight
85 linesThe barefoot woman crawls onward.
Her long hair drags behind her, snarled with dead grass, snow, and clotted blood, its old luster long gone.
All around her, buried in the snow, hanging from the trees, lie the withered corpses of other "24"s.
No one had ever explained what they climbed this high to find.
She knows only that @2 is waiting for her, at the end of everything, where ice and daylight melt away.
Impure. Unclean. Accursed.
The source of all that is impure, unclean, accursed...
"24" drops to her knees.
Trembling, she lifts both hands high and looks up at the pitch-black vault above, a ceaseless stream of blurred murmurs spilling from her lips.
The source of all that is impure, unclean, accursed...
Return... Return!
Ngh... my head...
The murmurs spread outward in ripples. Mason clutches her head in pain and falls to her knees behind "24".
Stop it... stop it!
She throws herself forward and catches "24" from behind, blood streaming down that face.
Please, I'm begging you, stop...
Mason fights to pull "24"'s raised hands back down, their blood and tears running together. It changes nothing.
Return, return...
Share in this filthy, unclean, feast!!
Miss 24, don't!!
Twisted, misshapen arms sprout out of "24". They bathe in the blood and the moonlight, and then...
gently, but without hesitation, they break her neck.
...
There is no gore. "24"'s body comes apart into flecks of golden light, like fireflies flickering through a pitch-black night.
Oh... what is this...
The lights circle Mason gently. Some sink into her; some dance on her fingertips before drifting weightlessly away.
...I've seen these lights before.
In dreams, and awake... they come to take "us" away.
You reach out and touch the lights. Warmth spreads across your fingertips, and some hidden bond seems to run between you and them.
Strange... why do I suddenly feel so sad...
Zing!!
As the last of the lights fades, you feel that familiar tremor of rage rising from deep beneath the earth.
This is bad. Is the Domain collapsing again?
Take my hand, Miss Mason!
Artificial Domain Investigation Log II ■Domain No.: M-C06 ■Time of Descent: December 17, A.F. 315 ■Site of Descent: Southwark Street@2
■Findings A Dark Figure hunting the other "24"s / unexplained suicidal tendencies / religion@2? How are they connected? ...More leads needed.
Meanwhile, outside the artificial Domain...
Researchers in white coats hurry in and out of the Domain entrance.
It's been a full day, and %player% still hasn't woken up. Should we request a forced termination of the Domain?
{Male=His,Female=Her} vitals are all steady. There's no sign of any dangerous upheaval.
We'll keep watching a while longer.
And if we keep stalling, what happens to Miss 24? The Committee has been dying for a chance to make something of this case, it's their way in, their excuse to take over the handling of Awakeners...
Winkle buries her head in her hands.
It's all my fault, I just wanted to study her Domain so badly, and now our Keeper's gone and turned into Sleeping Beauty and what are we supposed to do...
Don't worry. We planned for this. William is on his way to the East District to investigate.
As for %player%... give {Male=him,Female=her} a bit more time.
Bernard's Clinic East District, Londinium
Under Chapter 3, Article 2, Clause 13 of the "Mystia Treaty," when an Awakener violates secular law, the Committee has first right of investigation.
Chapter 3, Article 3, Clause 2: should the suspect's conduct suggest evasion or flight, the Committee is authorized to take them into custody at once.
Chapter 4, Article 1: any organization or individual found to have harbored an Awakener...
...
Mr. William, are you listening to a word I'm saying?
...I'm listening.
...
Save your effort. The body and every scrap of evidence were cleared out long ago. There's nothing here for you to find.
Is that so. Then may I ask what this is?
With his tweezers, William carefully lifts a dry, half-transparent scrap of something.
Looks like a shed snakeskin. What could that possibly have to do with this case?
It's December. Where would a shed snakeskin come from?
RRRRIIIPP!
Something clatters over in the clinic's back room.
What was that?! This place was sealed off ages ago...
Come out.
Unhurried footsteps draw closer, and an unnaturally pale man steps out of the back room.
Good evening, officer.
I was a colleague of Doctor Bernard's. My superiors sent me to collect the research he left behind...
His eyes are half-lidded, as though he were half asleep. Smiling, he holds out a business card.
Registered physician of the Royal Medical Society, Pierce @2...
Sorry, but we went through Doctor Bernard's acquaintances a long time ago. If I recall correctly, this Pierce is an old man in his fifties.
So talk. Who are you really?
Heh heh... The Committee's reputation is well earned, sir. Such a memory is truly admirable.
His eyes snap open. Cobalt-yellow slit pupils glint cold in the dark.
Then I suppose I can play with you for a while.
Hsss...
Something cold and slick brushes against his face.
At some point the ceiling had filled with pale little snakes, writhing fast and soundlessly, dropping like rain.
Snakes... snakes everywhere!
Ceiling, floor, walls, snakes had crept over everything, pale as weeds drifting in a silent black river.
Squads A-2 and B-1, hostiles inside. Move into position immediately.
William draws his Silver Key at once, but the man in front of him is already gone.
I know you're still here. Come out.
The thick air around him shivers for a moment, then unfurls again, delighted.
A faint hiss reaches his ear, like a cold draft brushing softly across his cheek.
Only a small token of welcome. Do take good care of them for me, Investigator.
Good night.
6. Awaiting Comedy, before the fight
83 linesArtificial Domain: Lilian's Workhouse, East District
Cough, cough... my back...
Really sorry, {Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} %player%! I seem to have gained some weight recently...
Only some? Miss Mason, would you please get, get off me first...
Huh? Have we entered a new Domain?
Are you angels?
The girl blinks up at you with wide eyes, then points at the gaping hole you'd smashed through the ceiling.
Aigis saw it all. You came flying down out of the sky.
I saw it too! Holdin' hands, hair floatin' every which way, pretty as a pair of wax dummies!
Shh! Quit shouting, you'll spoil the show for everyone!
On a makeshift stage, a clown in thick greasepaint is putting on a show for the crowd.
Long, long ago, so the story goes, deep in the snowy mountains of the uttermost north, at the end of an ancient river, there slept a gray monster~~~
Hello, everyone. I'm the monster. Rawr,
Waaah, Wait, isn't that Jenkin?
Nobody knew where the monster came from, or what to call it. All anyone knew was its appetite, every winter, the people living at the foot of the mountain would pack their baskets with good food and fine wine...
They'd light a silver candle, set the basket adrift in the river nearest their home, and that way the monster would receive their offerings.
I, I got a question! If the monster lives up in the snowy mountains, how's it supposed to get offerings out of a river?
Because every river ends at the foot of the snowy mountain. No matter how far apart they run, they all come together there in the end.
Oh... then what?
Munch munch munch, I got everybody's offerings! I'm real happy, so I'm gonna pay you all back!
With that, Jenkin ducks her head and shakes her hair furiously, like an engine revving up.
Quit shaking! The fleas are flying out... huh, is it snowing?
Whoa, it really is snowing!
Snowflakes of silver paper drift down. Aigis is hiding behind you, quietly tossing the little scraps into the air.
Shhh... Honored one, please pretend you never saw Aigis...
Soon candles in every color flicker to life, and the children's small faces glow in the warm orange light.
And ever after, when the first snow of the year fell, silver candles would come drifting down the river, along with baskets brimming with gifts.
Squeeeak...
Baskets full of gifts, coming through!!
Sarah comes out beaming, pushing a little serving cart.
Wooow!! Plum pudding, salmon salad, and... and roast suckling pig!!
Hold on. What are we supposed to say before we eat?
The children trade grins and answer as one...
Happy Silverfrost Eve!!
So there's a legend behind Silverfrost Eve. I'd never heard it before.
Miss Mason's Domain is like a dream. I can wander from one scene to the next, and no one ever questions why I'm here.
Any place, any person, all mixed together however they please. Nothing like this could ever have happened in the real world...
Maybe this is what Miss Mason wants most, deep down.
Miss Mason, aren't you going to join them?
You point off to one side. The children are still crowded around Joker "24", listening to her spin those lurid, fantastical tales.
I'm no fun at all. The only thing my jokes do is put people to sleep.
Waaah...
Big sis Mason, Jenkin, she's, she's picking on me...!
Hmph, can't beat me so you go tattling? How pathetic! Serves you right for saying I've got fleas!
Shh, Mac is a brave little knight, and little knights don't cry, all right?
Mason gently wipes the tears and snot from Little Mac's face, murmuring to the sniffling boy.
Big sis Mason, Bobby the bear's eye fell off...
Aigis comes over too, the doll clutched tight against her chest.
Let me see... oh dear, it really is gone. How about I sew him a new one tonight?
Mhm~!
But Miss Mason looks happy too. I hardly ever see her like this.
Sarah sits down beside you, chin propped in both hands, smiling as she watches the children crowd around Mason.
There's a happiness in being needed, you know.
...
Little by little, more children drift over to Mason, until the Joker is the one left out.
D-does anyone still want to hear a story? Once upon a time, long, long ago...
Long, long ago...
Night falls. The children have all gone back to their rooms, and the Workhouse settles into its usual quiet once more.
The curtain falls, the crowd drifts away... Oh!
Leaving only the Joker to clear up the mess alone, with nothing but her lonely reflection for company.
The Joker rambles on, head bobbing side to side, and looks toward the shadows in the corner.
Such a sad story, don't you think, dear audience?
...
Oh, I've heard all about you: the famous "Killer 24," who comes and goes without a trace and hunts personalities for sport.
No personality you set your eyes on lasts three days, Uwaaah!
Terrifying, truly! And yet this Joker here neither trembles nor runs. Why might that be?
Hmph. Cheap theatrics.
The Joker doubles over laughing, a faint glint in her eyes.
Because the killer doesn't know: those inferior, unstable personalities can't survive even a single day.
They're born out of countless chance moments, and once they've done what they were made for, they're meant to disappear forever.
And what is the mission of Joker "24"? Why, to bring joy to Jenkin, to everyone, on Silverfrost Eve, of course.
The Joker breaks into an enormous grin, and the paint on her face scatters into flecks of golden starlight.
I've already done far more than my share, so it's time to head back~
Back where?
Back to the place where we were first born, of course.
Let me tell you a secret: every personality is a rootless thing adrift in the world. To be whole again, that is what all of us want.
To laugh together, to weep together, to feel Jenkin's love and trust together...
Heh. And you still have the nerve to say Jenkin's name. Do you know what my purpose is?
To kill everyone who wants something for nothing. Every last one.
Crows burst from the treetops and scatter into the pitch-black sky.
It is a quiet winter night.
7. Golden Fugue, before the fight
60 linesYou have a long, long dream.
In it, the sky is a graveyard with one corner torn open, and something black pours in like ink.
You lie on your back beneath the tear, your heart pressed as close to the earth as it can get.
...
You close your eyes and feel the tremors rising from deep in the mantle, a melancholy, ancient rhythm that makes you think of home.
You lose track of how long it lasts. Then comes faint laughter, and a hand takes yours. You hold on to that warmth you have gone so long without.
Mother. The tears come before you can say the word.
You have been apart far too long.
...
I think that's the first time I've ever dreamed about the past.
You clutch your head. Something unseen tugs at your mind, drawing you up out of bed.
You push the window open onto the first heavy snowfall of the new year.
Yahoo, it's snowing!!
Excited shouts ring out through the quiet night, and with a clatter of footsteps the workhouse children come pouring together in the yard below.
So much snow, and it sparkles. It's so pretty.
Aigis wants to build a snowman. One like Bobby the Bear.
Um... it doesn't really look like Bobby the Bear. It, it...
It looks like a dog! A pug!
Wahahahaha!
Th-that's rubbish! It does not look like a dog!
Squeak!
The children chase each other through the alleys, shrieking with laughter. Mason has woken at some point and now stands beside you.
She holds out her hand and lets a few soft snowflakes settle in her palm.
The snowflake lies quietly in her palm, then melts into cold water that glitters with golden starlight.
Oh... it's that light from before...
Countless motes of starlight come streaming out of the windows in the corridor next door, joining into a golden river of light across the night sky.
It flows weightlessly on, stretching all the way to the moon and the far mountains.
That's the joker lady. She's left us.
But I don't feel sad... I think she chose to go. Like she was going home.
Home...
I heard it too... how badly they wanted to go home.
The longing was so strong it made me dream of things from my past.
I've stopped hoping I'll ever get home. I'd settle for getting a little of my memory back.
You let out a small sigh and ruffle your hair, a little embarrassed.
Enough of my gloomy talk. Tell me about you, Miss Mason.
I hear you've been scraping by in Londinium since you were very small. Do you still miss home?
Mason looks down at Jenkin, tangled up in a scuffle with Little Mac below, and smiles softly.
My memory is terrible. When I was little, the Sister at the church school said I wasn't made for books.
My parents, where I came from... it's all a blur, and I'd rather not dig it up. Memories are for keeping the happy things.
In the storybooks I read, a place can only be called a home if it's warm and happy. I want to be that home for Jenkin and Brown.
I see. Miss Mason, you're far stronger than I gave you credit for.
You certainly weren't like this when we first met at the Wax Museum.
Looks like Ms. Winkle's "Extra-Strength Menophin Stabilization Course" was good for something after all.
Everyone's doing everything they can for me. How could I stay exactly the same?
I want to be of some help too.
You stretch, letting your eyes drift over the quiet, peaceful neighborhood below.
Maybe it's a trick of the eye, but you think you see a shadow at the far end of the black alleyway, watching that river of light in the sky along with the rest of you.
...
That same starlight, from back then...
Let me tell you a secret: every personality is rootless, drifting through the world. To be whole again is what all of us want.
To laugh together, to weep together, to feel Jenkin's love and trust together...
...It's all just a pitiful delusion.
A gentle wind blows, and the snowflakes dance through the air like soft cotton, settling wherever they please.
The starlight thins away, and your mind seems to drift off with it.
What will the next Domain waiting for you be like?
You find yourself almost looking forward to it.
Artificial Domain Investigation Log III ■Domain ID: M-C06 ■Collapse Time: December 24, A.F. 315 ■Collapse Location: Lily's Orphanage
■Investigation Results I saw snow, and golden starlight dancing in it. Somehow it always turns my thoughts to the past. Mist rising, light falling, laughter blurring away one voice at a time. It was a quiet winter night. Happy New Year. P.S. Miss Sarah's frosted little cakes were delicious.
8. All-Knowing Cat, before the fight
83 linesArtificial Domain: Camberwell Street, East District
A bleak wind sweeps down the street, kicking up dead leaves.
Little Mac stands at the end of the alley with a crowd of children behind him, hands on his hips, his face dead serious.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The girl comes toward them at a steady pace, the wind tugging at her ragged cloak.
So you came after all. Alone?
Squeak!
Not bad, showing up on your own. You're a rival worth respecting.
Tch. Brown and me are plenty for small fry like you.
What did you say?!
Little Mac waves a hand, and the jeering children shut up at once.
You know the rules, right? Lose to us, and you hand over Camberwell Street.
For good.
Quit stalling! If you wanna fight, come on already!
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Good. Then I hereby declare the 13th Battle for Camberwell officially underway. Boys...
Charge!!
Ow! Ow, ow, ow... there's too many of 'em...
Squeak...
Hmph! That's what you get for always picking fights. Now you know better!
Charge, boys! Victory's right in front of us...
Meow~
A furious cry, high and babyish, cuts the little war short.
Nobody picks on Jenkin, meow!
A cat... a cat person? No, wait, Big Sis Mason?!
Before he can react, three red scratches are raked across Little Mac's face.
...
Waaaaaaah!!
The children scatter. Their wailing is deafening, and it carries off into alley corners where no one is listening.
I never imagined there'd be a "24" that acts like a cat... Miss Mason, should we go take a look?
No one answers. Somewhere in the scuffle, Mason has slipped away.
Miss Mason...? She could have at least said something before leaving.
*Slurp.*
Something wet drags across the side of your face.
You turn your head in disbelief. "24" is hanging off you like an oversized doll, beaming up at you with a coaxing little smile.
Meow, mrrow?
...?
*Sniff, sniff*... I smell a mouse, meow!
Squeak squeak squeeeak@3!
A shrill shriek splits the air. You follow the sound and look down, "24" already has Brown clamped in her mouth.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak aaaah!
Brown squirms for all it's worth, its soft little body twisting, whiskers a blur.
Jenkin picks a shard of broken mirror off the ground with practiced ease and tilts it toward the far wall.
At once, spots of light go skittering across the stone, and they catch "24"'s attention instantly.
Shiny, meow!
"24" darts off after them, leaving Brown behind, still whimpering where it sits.
Whimper... squeak...
Sigh. Ever since we went to that quack, my sister's only gotten worse.
A quack? You mean Doctor Bernard?
Who else? "Miracle doctor," "savior of the East District poor", pah!
Nobody gives anything away for free. He's got to be after something...
Doctor Bernard is nice, meow!
"24," who a moment ago had been chasing the spots of light, suddenly pops her head out from behind Jenkin.
Fine, fine, fine. He's wonderful. Greatest doctor in the world.
Jenkin smooths "24"'s hair with practiced ease. "24" narrows her eyes, clearly loving every second of it.
Little Jenkin is nice too, meow.
When did Miss Mason first show these... uh, unusual symptoms?
Around the third or fourth visit to that quack, I think. One day she just up and told me she was really a silver cod.
Then she came up with a plan to blow up a fish and chips shop. Said she had to save her own kind...
I see. I put too much faith in the Committee and never stopped to question whether the doctor was qualified at all.
He might be a lackey of the Sculptors' Association, ike Dr. Miller...
So sleepy, meow...
"24" spreads her arms in a long, lazy stretch, then settles against Jenkin's shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Gurgle, gurgle...
She is asleep.
She's actually purring... just like the cats on the Mythag campus.
Curious, you crouch down in front of "24."
The sunlight falls soft and even, turning the fine down on her cheeks to gold.
Hey, what's so funny!
She looks happy right now. Like a kitten without a care in the world.
...
Sis used to say this life had been too hard on her. If she got another one, she wanted to come back as a cat.
As she speaks, Jenkin pulls a red ribbon from her pocket. It is the one Mason always wears, a rusted little bell hanging from the end.
Don't worry. Cat, silver cod, whatever you are, you're still my big sister.
Still, I'd better tie a bell on you, so you don't go wandering off.
Jenkin gently ties the ribbon around "24"'s wrist. Still asleep, "24" only wrinkles her nose a little.
I swiped this off Little Mac and his lot, so keep it on tight, okay?
Afternoon light spills over you both like time brimming past. Jenkin watches the shadows the sun cuts across the rooftops opposite, then lets her eyes fall shut.
My sister's always busy. Looking after me and Brown, working three jobs at once, like a machine that never breaks down.
Well, the machine's broken down now. So it's finally my turn to look after her.
She needs me.
9. Ends Here, before the fight
109 linesThe sleeping cat dreams a great many dreams.
Light drifting slowly under the afternoon eaves, white porridge bubbling and steaming, an old bell, bright candy wrappers...
And snowy mountains.
Huh? Where is this?
Jenkin, meow, meow...
The thin mewling is swallowed up by the wind and snow. Barren peaks tower ahead, spilling a dim blue light across the ground.
*Sniff, sniff*... Hm?!
She can smell the sounds. They hang in the air, wordless, rhythmless, like a mother calling softly.
Impure. Unclean. Ill-omened.
I have to go... I have to get there...
Hey, quit squirming. I'm not done brushing you yet. Ow, ow! Now you're biting? Honestly, next to the cats back in Mythag, your sister is downright well-behaved...
Faint laughter drifts in from far away, warm and tender in the way she knows and misses so much, close enough to touch.
Jenkin, meow?!
The cat sits bolt upright, straining to find where the sound comes from.
Return to us.
Nngh, no, I'm not going, meow!
Jenkin, I want to go back to Jenkin... back to everyone...
Go away... Go away, meow!!
All right, all right, nobody's touching you. What made you shoot up like that? Bad dream?
"24" looks around warily, her pupils and the tip of her nose twitching without pause.
Sniff, sniff... A bad person. Close by...
She springs up and lunges at the corner. But...
Mmph...
"24" lies flat on the ground, whimpering. Dark blood wells slowly from the ragged, gaping wound.
Not bad. Sharp instincts. Shame you picked the wrong opponent.
You?! Where's Miss Mason? She's been gone this whole time, don't tell me...
Shadow "24" laughs and dumps Mason at your feet, battered and bleeding.
{Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} %player%... cough cough, I'm sorry...
She lifts a foot and grinds it slowly into Mason's wound.
Ngh... AAAAAH!!
I told you. I'll finish you off one by one.
As Mason moans in pain, the wind dies. The dust slows its breathing. Even the sunlight freezes, caught in one endless moment.
Even Jenkin, right beside you, has gone as still as a statue.
At the same time, the space around you shudders violently, and the sky begins to peel away.
Great sheets of sky fall and shatter.
The Domain is collapsing...? No, it's worse than that. What is going on?!
Shadow "24" sneers and kicks at Mason, who lies barely breathing at her feet.
Bet you didn't know. This wretch is our core personality. If she dies, everything here falls apart.
Then you'd be killing yourself too. Why?
Survival of the fittest. Nothing says she gets to be the core personality forever. Isn't that right, Miss Mason?
Don't harm %player%{Male=sir,Female=madam}... {Male=he,Female=she} is the savior of Jenkin...
Heh... weak, useless coward.
They lied to you, badly, and you never noticed.
The scalpel opened you up, and you didn't struggle.
They forced you to work for them, and you didn't fight back.
You watched the person you loved most walk into the Workhouse, and you didn't stop her.
...
And in the end, you couldn't even be a "big sister" to her.
...
You threw every memory at us like it was garbage. You got to walk the school grounds in the sunlight while we stayed down in the dark, chewing on the pain.
You're the reason all of us suffer. And now you think you can keep me in line?
You don't deserve this body.
That's not your call to make, Ngh!!
You drop to your knees, the world reeling. Across from you, the shadow's breathing is steady as she walks slowly toward you.
No good... I can't even stay on my feet. I have to steady the core personality's mind first.
You crawl over to Mason and take her hand.
Miss Mason, don't listen to her...
Am I... too weak...
If only I were stronger...
If she had been the one, Mason's story today would have ended differently...
Heh. Does it hurt? Take that pain, multiply it ten times, a hundred times, that's what we feel!
That's right. That's right. That's right.
You don't deserve this body, this body, bod, bod, bod.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...
I'm not Mason, I can't be Mason...
Meow.
The wounded cat shuffles over to Mason and gently licks her bleeding wound.
Then she bends her head again, fumbling at something with a soft rustle.
Here. Don't cry, meow.
Amidst the void, something is pressed into her palm.
A strip of soft, cool cloth, with a rust-eaten bell hanging from one end.
Every "24" here matters, because...
You're the clever, quick-witted scholar.
Lord Rogers. If I win, will you grant me one request?
You still need a model for your Wax Sculptures, don't you? I could be that model.
"Spring" was the piece Rogers meant to unveil at the exposition. If she were chosen as its model, far more people would see her.
Jenkin...
You're the one who makes everyone laugh.
They say that long, long ago, deep in the snow-covered mountains of the farthest north, at the end of an ancient river, a gray monster lay sleeping~~~
Hello, everyone. I'm the monster. Rooar,
Waaah,
You're the cat everybody loves.
So sleepy... mrrow...
Gurgle, gurgle...
She's actually purring... just like the cats on the Mythag campus.
Hey! What are you laughing at?
She looks happy right now, like a kitten without a care in the world.
Yeah... they're all such good "24"s. And me? I'm no use to anyone...
You shake your head slightly.
Just the opposite. You're braver and stronger than any of them, because...
You're the best big sister in the world
Sir, all of this began with me.
She's just a kid from the slums. She doesn't understand any of it, and she's no threat to you...
L-Let her go... Please...
Let her go...
The cat reaches out a furry paw and takes Mason's hand.
There's a brave Mason, and there's a scared Mason. A clever Mason, and a silly Mason. None of that matters, because...
Golden starlight pours from the wound, trembling in the air before it flows into Mason, bit by bit.
All of us together... that's the real Mason, meow...
The real Mason...
That is where every river ends. However far apart they run, in the end they all come together here.
I heard it... their longing to go home.
Let me tell you a secret: every personality is rootless duckweed, drifting through the world. To be whole again, that is what all of us want.
Mason closes her eyes and feels the starlight circling golden inside her.
She sees her own face and her own viscera; she sees the Joker, the Scholar, and countless other faces of herself.
The faces look back at her out of the broken mirrors, every pair of eyes turning to her at once, endlessly calm, endlessly sad.
They are her shadows, her tears, her cracks, and they are her own blood and flesh, running deep beneath the earth.
They have been forced to tear their way out of her body, to be born, to wander, and at last to drag themselves home exhausted.
It ends here. It ends with me.
10. Cursed Binding, before the fight
8 linesMemories pour in with the starlight, tangled and disordered.
Memories manufactured and cut to pieces by deliberate hands flood Mason's mind, then draw back as quickly as a tide.
Until at last she stands at the foot of the snowy mountain, before the mouth of that pitch-black cave.
Follow the river at her feet far enough, and she will reach the lair of the slumbering Beast.
Thump... thump. Thump... thump.
It is a heartbeat like an old clock, the one she and the Beast share.
I see...
I remember it all now...
11. Cursed Binding, after the fight
96 linesWhy... why...
You defeat the shadow. She lies crumpled on the ground, motes of light drifting off her.
So strong, so full of rage... how could I lose to you? To her, of all people, that coward...
Because...
...
Leave it to me.
Mason sits down on the ground beside the shadow and gathers that motionless body into her arms.
Because... you never accepted every "24".
The one scraping by with nowhere to turn for help, she was "24".
The one who found happiness in a simple life, she was "24".
And the one the Sculptors' Association tormented, she was "24" too.
No... if you hadn't been such a coward, that doctor would never have...
Shh...
Mason presses a hand gently over the shadow's lips, then leans down and whispers in her ear.
Let me tell you a secret: I'm the one who killed that doctor.
Impossible. Where would you find that kind of nerve...?!
Killing isn't difficult. I had no weapon, so I used my hands...
By the end my hands had gone numb, and all I could see was blood.
Because I had to be certain he was dead. As long as he was still breathing, he would hurt the children at the Workhouse. And Jenkin...
He was like those people from the Sculptors' Association. No, he was worse than any of them...
He was a real demon.
So it was you... you, of all of us...
And what was I doing back then...? I never knew. Not a thing...
Mason shakes her head slightly.
That courage was borrowed. From you, and from every other "24".
Every "24" together makes one "Mason". No "24" can exist alone.
Just as every river runs to the same place, every "24" will come to the same place too...
Mason kisses the shadow lightly on the forehead.
To me.
The shadow comes apart into motes of starlight. They drift loose around Mason, then sink into her skin.
So that's how it is... I understand now.
You're where everything begins, and where everything ends...
Held in that warm embrace, her voice slowly fades to nothing.
The starlight flickers like fireflies in the dark, dimming and glimmering, until it is gone.
Good night, my "One Twenty-Fourth."
Artificial Domain Investigation Log IV ■Domain No.: M-C06 ■Time of Descent: December @1, A.F. 315 ■Site of Descent: Camberwell Street, East District
■Investigation Results The Domain closed quietly, without incident. Miss Mason's condition has been far more stable since then, and that alone has made everyone here happier than words can say. We are drawing closer to the real Miss Mason.
Mythag University, Administrative Office One day later
What? The Committee dropped the charges?
You missed all sorts of interesting developments. They're too busy right now clearing out the snake infestation with the city environmental office.
Snake infestation...?
Doll unfolds a copy of the "Londinium Post" from a few days back and holds it up in front of you.
"In recent days, an enormous number of albino snakes of an unidentified species have poured out of the clinic of the late Doctor Bernard, bringing local traffic and daily life to a near standstill..."
"The witness described it as the most horrifying thing she had ever seen. Should you, dear reader, have had the misfortune of seeing it yourself, you are welcome to call psychiatrist @2 for help..."
"The number is @4..."
A photograph runs alongside the article, and in it you think you recognize a few people from the Committee.
They are working their nets through the little snakes that keep pouring out, exhaustion and impatience plain on their faces.
There's something very wrong with this so-called "Doctor Bernard."
We tracked down someone from the Royal Medical Society. The photographs they gave us don't match the neighbors' descriptions at all.
In other words, the dead man was using the real Doctor Bernard's name. Though as things stand, we can't even be sure this impostor is actually dead.
There wasn't so much as a trace of a body at the scene...
December 17, the day of the incident Doctor Bernard's clinic
That's all for today's session. You're recovering nicely, Miss Mason.
Really? But everyone says I'm only getting worse...
I'm afraid my idea of "worse" isn't quite the same as other humans'. Have you been taking the tinctures I prescribed?
Splash!!
The doctor knocks over the files at his elbow, and yellowed pages spill across the floor.
Sorry. With all the outbreaks in the East District lately, the paperwork in here just keeps piling up...
It's fine! You're a great doctor, you work day and night. Something as small as picking up papers, just leave it to...
...me...
Her hand freezes inches from the papers. It is a stack of personnel files, and Mason strains to pick out the few words she recognizes.
Experiment reports... transfer records...?
These are... the children who went missing from the Workhouse! No, there's more than that...
And there, in the corner of a file poking out from the very bottom, is Jenkin's stubborn little face, staring up at her.
That's your sister, isn't it? I've met her. She's been worried sick about you, she even tried to sneak in here.
He smiles faintly, and his face softens.
I had many brothers and sisters once... All they ever did was cower from me, so I ate them all.
You... ate them all...?
Don't worry, Miss Mason. I didn't eat your friends. I only sent them to a safe place.
So you're the one behind the disappearances...
That's not funny at all, Mr. Bernard...
Mr. Bernard... you mean that thing?
With that, a long forked tongue slides out of the man's mouth, a bloody severed finger coiled around its tip.
He was a big one. I still haven't finished digesting him.
Let's start over. My name is Albino, apothecary of the Sculptors' Association.
AAAAAHHH!!
Mason's legs give out, and she crumples to the floor.
You're a bad man... You're going to do that to Jenkin too...
The man adjusts his glasses, pulls out his medical log, and scratches notes across the page.
Dilated pupils, violent trembling, elevated heart rate... You must be terrified. Are you cold?
No... don't come near me...
Soon you'll faint from lack of blood to the brain, just like every other dull little human.
He looks up from the medical log, a flicker of excitement in his golden, slitted eyes.
Or... will you react differently?
Twenty minutes later
I killed someone. I killed a doctor... They'll never believe me...
No... why did I kill him?
Mason comes to her senses and flees the scene in a panic.
The man's body slumped in the corner. His skull had been crushed, and blood kept seeping out of it.
Some time later, a line of black curse-marks flickered to life around the corpse's neck.
The curse-bindings rotate slowly like serpents, and the flesh that was crushed to pulp begins to converge and reassemble...
At last, the "corpse" slowly sat up.
Hoo... Not bad. Those tinctures did their job. Everything sleeping inside her has come out.
Albino flicked out his long, forked tongue and unhurriedly licked the blood from his face until it was clean.
The prey is fully grown. Time to report to our president.
He picked up the medical log at his feet and strolled away.
12. "Origin", before the fight
79 linesMythag University, on campus Three days later
I see. Shortly after killing Albino, you were taken away by the Sculptors' Association.
And that's how everything after that came to pass.
Mm. I remember all of it now. None of it is a happy memory...
You gently take Mason's hand.
It's over, Miss Mason. I promise you, none of it will ever happen again.
Thank you... {Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} %player%.
I'm the one who should be thanking you. When the Domain was collapsing, you gave me so much encouragement and comfort.
Huh? Ms. Winkle told me my Domain was a terrible place, with vicious monsters everywhere...
That's just her imagination running wild. Though I did see something very special in there, "you," for instance.
Me...?
You laugh softly and wink at her.
That's a secret between me and "her." I'll tell you all about it someday, when there's time.
Siiis!!
Jenkin pops out of the flower bed beside you without warning.
Aigis and I are back from our walk. Look what we found!
Jenkin swings a red ribbon back and forth. It's not like the ones Mason usually wears, this one has a yellowed little bell tied to the end.
The breeze stirs it, and the bell rings out bright and clear, like a cheerful little sprite.
I saw this in the Domain...
Huh, you saw it in there too? Then you must have met Sis when she was a cat!
D-Don't... please, stop...
What do you mean I can't talk about it? This ribbon is a very, absolutely, extremely important keepsake!
Back then I looked after you and played with you every single day. I couldn't have been happier!
Jenkin gently places the ribbon in Mason's hands.
I still remember somebody saying she wanted to come back as a cat in her next life.
Honestly, staying that carefree forever wouldn't be so bad. I could go on taking care of you!
Dried fish, catnip, whatever you want, just leave it all to me!
Mason smiles down at the ribbon, her fingers brushing the cool, soft fabric.
A cat? That's for the next life.
Right now I just want to live as "Mason," together with everyone.
Huh... Looks like that Domain changed you a lot, sis. You never used to talk like that.
I can vouch for her. Every word Miss Mason said is true.
You and Mason share a smile. Your thoughts drift back to that moment, just before the Domain came down...
So that's it... I understand now.
You are where everything begins, and where everything ends...
As the last of the starlight fades, the world is blotted out, as if drowned in black ink.
You hear bells tolling in the distance, a chaotic roar rising from somewhere deep beneath the earth.
Is this... is the Domain collapsing?!
Grab my hand, {Male=Mr.,Female=Miss} %player%!
You grip Mason's hand tightly.
In that moment your blood seems to flow into her, unobstructed, and your minds begin to merge into one.
You feel yourself drifting into sleep as countless dreams crowd in, carrying you down into the dark.
When you open your eyes again, you are alone in a cave. A glittering golden river runs beneath your feet, like a vein threading through the earth.
That's the starlight I saw before... so this is where it all gathers?
Come back, come back...
You follow the flowing starlight deeper into the cave.
What is this...?!
This place feels like the ultimate source of everything twisted and foul.
The pale gray mass throbs and swells, splitting off writhing, misshapen monsters, like a stomach convulsing without end.
But they fall back into the pool before they can reach the shore, swallowed by the mouths that gape open across the mass.
There's something familiar about the shape of these abominations... Could it be...
A sudden certainty takes hold of you. You wade through the gray slime until you stand before the mass.
Mason... is that you?
The mass goes still for a moment, then begins to squirm again, gently.
It makes a faint rustling sound, like a friendly greeting.
You look at the abominations kneeling in the pool, dragging themselves forward, twitching endlessly in the slime, asking only to be taken back into the mass.
Like pilgrims pushing through the snow in search of a miracle.
The source of all that is unclean, impure, accursed...
Come back...
Because this is where every river ends. No matter how far apart they run, they all flow together here at last.
So that's it... You're the end they all long to return to. Is this what you do, day after day?
With that frail body of hers, she pulls the scattered personalities back one by one, straining to keep up the appearance of a "normal person."
Like a weary mother waiting for her children to come home, torn so long between splitting and merging that she has forgotten she is a mother at all.
...No wonder I dreamed of all those things from the past.
The last time I saw these stars, it struck me how much like them I am.
...But not entirely. They know where home is. I've lost even my memories.
A sudden ache rises behind your eyes. You rest a hand on the mass of flesh and feel the quiet pulse beneath it.
Mason... someday I'll find my way home too, won't I? Just like you're all doing now...
The flesh stirs, and a soft, slick tentacle buds from its end to brush the tears from the corners of your eyes.
<Change>Of course you will...
<Change>Don't cry...
Rumble...
A faint tremor climbs up from deep underground, and cracks split open across the rock walls.
Time until the Domain collapses: 0 min
You turn and leave the cave.
At the mouth of the cave, you can't help looking back at her one last time.
Farewell, Miss Mason.
Joy, sorrow, pain... the personalities and the feelings come and go, but she never leaves that cave.
She is alive.