phantasmalrift | DUNGEON LOG: AMESTA FOREST

Entry tags:

!dungeon

DUNGEON LOG: AMESTA FOREST

Hello everyone!

Up and the others think that we have enough stabilizers ready for the next expedition! We're going to the forest to the south this time, but it shouldn't be too far for anyone to walk. If you're REALLY going to complain, you can talk to Top on the roof and catch a ride on one of the drones like before.

The scenery's really nice, but there's definitely some kind of magical effect going on in there - as far as we can tell, the day doesn't progress inside the forest. It's stuck a little while after sunset - probably when the Fissure first appeared? (°ヘ°)

Be careful out there! Don't be afraid to call for help if you need it and we'll send a drone your way! o(^▽^)o And Strange says no stupid stunts this time, got it? (；¬д¬)

You'll probably see a big tree on your way there, before you're under the cover of the forest! That's the Infinity Tree, it's a really big willow. Charm can probably tell you more about the mythology if you're interested. He's gonna meet you guys there at the end of the expedition, so try to work your way in that direction as you go!

(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ See you when you get back!

After Down's message, characters will find things set up much the way they were last time on the roof. Top is making last-minute adjustments to the drones, and there's tables with food and medical supplies set out - the latter a little sparse compared to last time, so hopefully you kept your first aid kits from before. The table of stabilizers, on the other hand, is much more full.

On your way, you might also see some of what the construction drones have been putting together so noisily these last few days - there's the metal shell of a building, similar to but smaller than the Station, to the immediate west, just off your path to the forest in the distance. Nothing much indicates its function as of yet, though there are significantly more windows.

To the southwest stretches the border of Amesta Forest - about a mile distant, though still easily within sight. As promised, the Infinity Tree sticks up from the far edge, easily visible for those who need a landmark either now or later in the dungeon. If you get lost, you can probably find your way up a tree somewhere to get a perspective on it, and which direction to head in.

The silver mist doesn't begin until some distance into the forest, the time of day gradually changing to the eternal twilight mentioned as you approach the boundary of the Fissure itself. There's no distinct border, just a slow shading towards late afternoon and then sunset while the mist increases around you.

And as the mist wraps around you, and exhaustion you might have felt from the walk out here starts to evaporate... You've well and truly arrived, now. Better keep your eyes open.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(continued from here!)

[...

...???

He looks up in alarm.

Did that cat.

Did it talk?

He stares at Morgana, intently.]

[Morgana stares back at Shido, unblinking, as he raises a paw to his mouth and starts grooming the traces of blood off his toes. Gotta be pristine, after all, even after clawing up a politician's scalp and getting flung around for his trouble]

Surprised? I thought Akechi told you about me.

[!!!

... Akechi told him...?

...! Realization dawns on his face, alarm fading to a more neutral expression.]

You're that Metaverse being.

Bingo.

[Cautiously rolling to his feet and stretching.]

That Akechi was a manifested cognition of yours, not the real deal, get it? So are all these other people. They'll get taken away eventually too, as long as you don't stare.

[To be honest, his attention has been mostly monopolized by the talking cat in front of him. But now, he looks around.]

This is the Cognitive World?

If it were the Cognitive World, these things would be a lot more dangerous, believe me.

From what I can tell, this forest is something like..... a threadbare place where the boundary between worlds has worn thin. A world governed by reality, yet where cognition is allowed to bleed through the cracks, like a daydream.

[It's almost like the inverse of a Safe Room, honestly--not that Shido would know anything about that.]

[The boundary between worlds? A "threadbare place"? A mixture of cognition and reality? It's all a bit hard to swallow...

... but more importantly...]

Why are you telling me all this?

[He's the enemy, isn't he?]

Because you asked? And you're one of the few people who could actually understand the answer.

[~~Because he likes being a know-it-all show off, duh. B|bb~~ You may be his enemy, but TBH, they're not fighting right this instant, so it's fine.]

The only difference it makes is that you're not attacking a tree anymore, anyway.

I think more than a few wouldn't blame you for leaving me to my despair.

[He swallows thickly, and blinks hard.]

He... I couldn't find or get a hold of him after a point.

[He hopes now that it was just because he had done everything he could to get away from Shido. He hopes he was successful.]

Probably not. But knowing this all comes from you is its own kind of despair, don't you think? As long as you're in this forest, you'll be hounded relentlessly by your cognitions. You might see scenes like this dozens of times while you struggle to find your way out. Maybe you can run or hide from something happening in reality, but you'll never be able to run fast enough to outpace your own heart.

[Morgana grins--not quite maliciously, but certainly with a fair bit of self-satisfaction. He digs his claws into the nearest tree, climbing up to find a perch again; he'd rather not strain his neck trying to look at Shido from a proper height.]

That was a few days before you got your calling card, wasn't it? Your plan worked. You just executed it earlier than you probably expected to, that's all.

[You know what you did. Did you expect to have to do it in real life, or was it always your intention to take care of it in your own Palace?]

[Its own kind of despair, indeed. He looks at Morgana with open horror, distraught.

He doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't want to believe he actually succeeded.

No. No no no no fuck.

Tears well in his eyes. His breath wavers. And finally, his hand comes up to brace against his face, a broken laughter escaping him as tears slip underneath his palm.]

I truly am the scum of the multiverse, aren't I?

[He doesn't even entirely know what the tears are from. Knowledge he'd ruined a child's life? That he had failed in every way he could as a father? Or was it something else?

Had there been a tiny light of something... something inside him for Akechi, for the only son he'd ever gotten to know? For the only family he'd had left?

The family he'd killed, just like the rest.

Serves him right.]

It happened in your Palace. Akechi fought us so he could take care of you himself. Once he was weakened from that fight, the cognitive Akechi--the image of him you'd built up in your mind--came to fulfill his mission and dispose of the real one. If Akechi hadn't sacrificed himself to ensure we could confront you, we probably wouldn't have made it out of there alive ourselves.

.....I don't..... actually know what happens to a body left in a Palace. We never had a chance to go back for him.

[Why is he telling you all this, indeed? Because there's very, very little that's crueler than the naked truth, when you have reason to fear it. Because you haven't hurt him personally, and he's already exercised his righteous rage on behalf of his friends that have been wronged--so any further pain he offers will be inflicted by Shido's own hands, not his. He's simply a messenger, teaching him what he had no opportunity to learn firsthand.

(And maybe..... because he wants someone else to know. He wants people to acknowledge Akechi's suffering and heartbreak, his anguish and despair, his sacrifice and ultimately heroic heart. He wants some tiny way to memorialize him, beyond those who indirectly witnessed his final moments--because a body never was found. Because a funeral couldn't be held. Because nobody had been given a chance to mourn, not really. Because the public..... hadn't seemed to notice or realize that he was gone, as much as they had appeared to adore him. They deal in a world of cognition--to speak and remember is to anchor an existence in reality, because it's important enough to remain real in people's hearts.)

.....Still, the truth isn't always merciless. Even if he doesn't know much about the subject himself, since it hasn't happened for him yet, he can at least correct Shido.]

I can't speak for any other worlds. But as much trouble as you've caused in ours, I'm told that there's some sort of evil god who's done even worse. That's supposedly going to be our next target, back home.

[Because a future Prime Minister wasn't a big enough challenge for them, they decided to literally fuck up a god, apparently. SLOW YOUR ROLL GUYS.]

[... he saved them. He gave up his life to save the Thieves. For everything he'd done to him, for everything he made that child go through, in the end, his truest self was still good, that of someone who wanted to do right.

Unlike him. He was rotten down to the core. He could still feel darkness festering inside of him, even after the Change of Heart. It would not give up its hold on its prey so easily, thrashing and howling until the last iota of it was finally snuffed out. At this point, he doubts it ever will be.

The knowledge that there is a being who has done worse does him little comfort. He could name off the top of his head a few humans who had done worse than him. He was still scum, wretched, a true shame of humanity. Maybe most people stood idly by and didn't get engaged in the evils that happened all around them, but he perpetrated it.

His hand drops away, tears still sluggishly rolling down. He looks empty.]

... how am I supposed to be convicted now?

[This place clearly isn't on Earth. How is he supposed to be tried for his crimes? How is he supposed to get the punishments that he rightfully deserves? An escape from them isn't a lucky break, it's torture.]

You work for it. Just like you'd work for anything else you wanted.

[And he does want to be judged, doesn't he? Condemned, punished, purified, made to suffer, given a suitable means to atone?

Sorry, Shido, it isn't that easy here. Maybe part of your punishment is that it won't be easy to even start doing whatever sort of ritual penance would satisfy your guilt.]

I'm told there's a chance that while we're here, time stands still at home. The most plausible way we have of returning home is helping set this world to rights, so we can leave the same way we came, in a way we actually can control this time. You know what that means?

[Have a stern look; cats are awfully good at being imperious when they want to be, aren't they?]

It means you're going to start serving your sentence preemptively. Rehabilitation through community service. You will help bring this world to salvation, or you'll never be allowed to face the justice you seek.

I... y.. yes. Yes, of course.

[He brings up a hand to wipe away his tears. Ha, how pathetic he is now...]

I don't know what way I can aid those here... wherever here is... but I'll do whatever is asked of me. For the rest of my life, if I must.

Good.

[He is pathetic right now, isn't he? The bigger the scumbag, the more pitiful they are once they spring a leak and all the sewage starts spraying out. Or maybe he's just a lanced infection, and it's only natural to need to drain all the crap out of him before he can heal properly..... Either way, it's a necessary act, letting him suffer like this. He doesn't need to be coddled, but tearing the whole wound open would probably just make it all even worse.

Honestly..... he's probably been surrounded by yes men for a while now, jumping to carry out his every twisted scheme. How long has it been since he's gotten a little tough love?]

The way you aid them is by supporting them however your skills allow. And if you don't have any relevant skills, then you start learning ones that are.

... that's all well and good, but... we'll need to survive getting out of here first, won't we?

[He's eyeing the tree Morgana is on with a lot of suspicion. So far it's just been the trees and the mirages, but he doesn't doubt there may be more unfamiliar dangers lurking.]

That is the hard part. And you're a little too big to use this trick, I think.

[Although he has to admit, the mental image of Shido sitting awkwardly in a tree and clinging for dear life is pretty entertaining.]

Either way, our best bet is to find more people. It's safest in a group.

... trick?

This kind of tree eats cognitions. That means it really wants to be around people, right? So it has to be able to find people who are currently manifesting those cognitions, the way you are.

[Have a paw gesturing to one of the few remaining victims.]

Of course, they try to sneak up on people, so they won't move while you're watching them. But if you sit in one and close your eyes while there are no cognitions around, then it's free to go find the nearest source of them, and carry you straight to another person! That's how I found you.

[Be amazed at his cunning, genius, and resourcefulness. He is a tree whisperer.]

... that's remarkably resourceful.

[no shido, don't feed his ego. but now he is looking at consideration in the tree???

listen. it's better than picking a random direction and hoping he doesn't isolate himself from humanity forever.]

Right?

[No, no, please do feed his ego! He doesn't get nearly enough respect around here. BRB clambering back down to the ground. He's gonna go swat the remaining phantoms out of existence like the ferocious predator he is.]

Of course, it relies on there being none in the area first. Do you actually know how to climb trees?

[... that's.

that's.. kind of cute? what the hell.]

It can't be that hard, can it?

[but judging by all of shido's waffling he doesn't really seem to know where to start]

[WTF no he's not cute. He's fearsome! Fearsome and savage! And maybe having a little fun pretending he's so strong he can fell a man in a single blow. Maybe. (Shhhhhh.)

Once he's done, though, he glances at Shido, who's very obviously still on the ground.]

Humans are natural climbers, right? Just find some handholds and haul yourself up. These trees have pretty low branches, you should be fine.

Right, of course. [OF COURSE...

Well.

Here goes... nothing...

He reaches up to grab at a branch, then grits his teeth and starts trying to haul himself up—

But loses his grip and lands back on his feet with a frustrated noise. THIS IS... NOT EASY.]

DUNGEON LOG: AMESTA FOREST

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)