[SP-F06] <<Calming the Soul>> Sins of a Freyd Mind

[Freyd 0]

"Waterfall of the Sage, eh?"  Freyd closed some of the UI menus he'd been reading, revealing the majestic landscape before him.  It was absolutely sublime.  The water itself careened down a series of stepped cascade, playing a virtual tune as the different splashing tones interwove with each other and the soft shushing of the breeze through the surrounding and plentiful deciduous trees.  The rustling of leaves against each other played against the water's sound, rising and falling in contrast to the steady thrumming of the water.  Freyd, though, was cataloging the various safety hazards and scanning the scenery for potential material spawn points and treasure nooks.  It's beauty had been noted, but was hardly worthy of primary consideration. 

'Things need doing!' his mind repeated, dismissing the serenity of the space as aesthetic veneer of no relevance to his current agenda.  A long list of quests remained on his schedule to complete, and he'd fallen behind his projections due to a variety of inconvenient distractions. 

"Let's see what needs to be done here.  I'm sure we can get this over with quickly."  He scanned the quest requirements, his eyes widening as they went.

"I have to relax?  Let loose control?  FACE MY FEARS!?  Who the heck vetted this list?!?!"  Facepalm.  Groaning at the mere prospect of having to sit on a rock until his mind surrendered to sheer and overwhelming boredom, Freyd turned around and made ready to leave.

"Yeah, we'll just come back anoth...hey... where'd the path go?"  The forest had closed in behind him, and he soon realized that the density of the foliage had dramatically increased.  Darkness swallowed the clearing as the canopy grew and encroached, blocking out the sky and the sun.

"Oh, that's just not right..."

Spoiler

Name: Freyd
Level: 31
HP: 620/620
EN: 62/62

Stats:
Damage: 17
Mitigation: 56
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4
KEEN:1
HLY:2
BLD:12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Forgiven Disobedience (T1-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, BLD 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb (T2-LA, MIT 2, EVA 1)
Misc: Assassin's Cowl (T2-Trinket, ACC 2, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival

Mods:
Precision
Finess - Rank 3

Battle Ready Inventory: (4/5)
Starter Healing Potion (50 hp)*3
Teleport Crystals*2

Divinity's Wait (T1 Mit 3)*5
Liquor of Light (T1 DMG 3)*5

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs: n/a (solo)

Scents of the Wild: n/a

Wedding Ring: n/a

Spoiler

Consumed:

Divinity's Wait (T1 Mit III; Mit +15) - [154232] - http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19383-f01-r10alchemist-cintamani-open/?do=findComment&comment=614543

Liquor of Light (T1 DMG III) - [152188-1] - http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19383-f01-r10alchemist-cintamani-open/?do=findComment&comment=614543

 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"I was wondering when you would show up."  The voice was that of a youthful boy, perhaps in his early teens, but carried a deep and malevolent echo behind that he instantly recognized.

"Billy."  Freyd said the name through clenched teeth.  "Or should I call you Cardinal today?  I'm not really sure what the difference is anymore."

"This child's facade serves my purposes.  I knew that it was merely a matter of time until you found this place.  Than you so much for sparing me the effort of luring you here." Freyd rolled his eyes, imagining a Mario-worthy mustache unfurling from both sides of the shadowy silhouette standing between him and the falls.

"What do you even want from me?"  It was a legitimate question.  Freyd had originally assumed that Cardinal or its creator, Akihiko Kayaba, had discovered how he had agreed to enter the game under contract to one of their competitors to investigate and report useful intelligence.  It had only been a means to an end, for him, as there was no way that he could have afforded the nerve gear or cost of access on his own.

[Freyd 0]

"I want the same thing from you as from any other player: to see how far you can be pushed before you break.  You, Takeshi Sanamoto, simply have the additional appeal of having previously reached that point.  This makes you a valuable candidate in the experiment."

"I'm special?  How sweet of you to care.  Can I trade that in for a special decoder ring, or something?"  The sarcasm was real, but Freyd's sense of humour wasn't engaging in their banter.  Such exchanges with the Cardinal system often carried at least the threat, if not the real possibility of lethal consequences.

"This laboratory has been prepared in accordance with the findings of preliminary research based on your submitted profile and additional records available online.  I hope that you enjoy the extra effort we've put into it, just for you."  A wide, white, ear-splitting grin split the black silhouette of Billy's form.  The malice behind it was clear.

[Freyd 0]

The light swallowed everything else around him: the waterfall, trees, rocks and even Cardinal-Billy's sinister shadow form.  Freyd found himself standing in a wide open field of infinite white, with the sound of two voices arguing on the inestimable horizon.  Trying to focus on the source triggered a shift in the scene.  Freyd found himself staring at his parents arguing with one of this teachers over some homework assignment he'd failed to complete - or more likely completed to a degree far surpassing the expectations or understanding of his teachers.  A young Takeshi sat in uniform at a child's school table, a few feet away, drawing figures and faces in a notebook while the debate raged and tempers flared.  His father's anger was rising, and he knew that would mean trouble. 

The man's expectations were absurd.  He demanded perfection, but put in no effort, deeming it beneath him to actually parent his own child.  All Takeshi had ever learned from his father was that he wasn't worth his time, and that he was expected to soak in everything ever said to him like a sponge, then have it ready to regurgitate upon command.  Art history, book tours, architectural theory, endlessly repetitive music lessons - a chore for which he had no talent whatsover.  It was all geared towards setting the bar for his father's expectations of a perfect person.  All he had ever wanted was a dad, but that never factored into the all-powerful equations.

[Freyd 0]

As his father's anger rose, so did his stature.  That was more than enough to shatter Freyd's distracting walk through memory lane.  Nearly seven feet tall now, his father grabbed a bleach white yard stick resting against the teacher's desk, neither of which had been there a moment earlier.  With two swift strikes, the teacher and his younger self were shattered, their glimmering motes disappearing instantly against the formless white background.

"YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO FAIL, AND I WILL YOU FALL BEFORE I LET YOU BRING ANY MORE SHAME TO MY NAME!"  His father's towering form rushed forward, and Freyd felt like he was eight years old again.  But this time, he wasn't helpless, and despite the terror lapping at his will, he was not afraid.  This man was weak, and could do nothing more to him, and Freyd had over two decades of practice at hardening his heart and mind against his incessant abuses.

Forgiven Disobedience - how aptly named -  his sword and trusted companion amidst the horrors of Aincrad, pierced his father's heart with a single blow.  It's white blade was momentarily stained cardinal-red with blood as it burst through the man's chest.  Freyd was forced to watch the hatred and abhorrence in the man's eyes fade as oblivion claimed him.  

Freyd felt nothing but numbing cold; a complete absence of mercy or caring for the one who had sired him.

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:620/620 | EN:54/62  (-8) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 4 + 4 = 8 (hit).  Freyd deals (204- 4 = 200) damage to 1st Demon (Father - The Fear of Failure).  Killed.

1st Demon (Father - The Fear of Failure): HP 155 | DMG 46 | MIT: 4

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"It's just like you, isn't it?  Never good enough.  You can even keep him defeated, can you?"

A chill climbed Freyd's spine as he heard the voice.  There was no way it could be possible, but then, how had Cardinal known about his father too?

The blindingly white surroundings inverted suddenly, disorienting Freyd and forcing him to one knee as he struggled to re-determine which way was up.  A single figure emerged to torment him - Kyle Brackenreid - his eighth grade tormentor and nemesis.  Takeshi had been driven close to suicide by this miserable boy's hand, though he'd never so much as touched him.  His brand of torture was psychological - corrupting everything and everyone around his victims until they broke.  It had backfired with Takeshi.  His bully was sure that he'd break within days, and only intensified his efforts the longer he held out, turning toxic every good and lovable thing in his life.  

But Kyle had underestimated his victim.  Takeshi hadn't wilted.  No one would have guessed that he'd choose fight over flight when the break finally came, and the blowout was jaw-dropping spectacular, in a most gruesome manner.  Kyle never walked again, and suffered permanent scarring and neurological damage.  Charges were pressed, but Takeshi was sheltered by youth offender laws and his father's influence.  The shame and press had been enough for them to move back to Japan a few months later.  

[Freyd 0]

The monstrosity that faced him now was a twisted creature.  Disfigured and broken in unnatural ways, it was a grotesque caricature of the the boy that was, as if the evil inside him had been made plain and obvious in his flesh.  It charged forward with remarkable agility and grace.  Kyle was always a smooth one, and tortured by proxy.  His mocking avatar was no less insidious.  It's abilities belied its form.

Freyd didn't care.  He'd put this fiend down once, brutally hard.  The cost had been high, though, forcing open a door to an inner darkness the likes of which he never would have suspected could exist within him.  Cardinal was counting on him re-opening the same door.  Not this time.  Freyd waited until the Kyle-monster-thing was nearly upon him and simply bopped it in the forehead with the pommel of his sword.  He dropped like a sack of squishy, rotten potatoes, crumpling into a heap before him.  Kyle had never been more than a house of cards.  Now that he knew who and what he was, he no longer posed a threat.  The door within was the true danger.

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:620/620 | EN:49/62  (-5) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 3 + 4 = 7 (hit).  Freyd deals (102- 5 = 97) damage to 2nd Demon (Bully - Unbridled Rage Within).  Stunned.

2nd Demon (Bully - Unbridled Rage Within): HP 109/206 (-97)| DMG 60 | MIT: 5 -> Stunned

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

His enemy lay helpless before him while Freyd towered over him with his blade in hand.

"I put you behind me a long time ago."

"You don't get it, do you?  I AM YOU!  When you maimed Kyle, you became something worse than he had ever been!"  It cackled madly at him, as if savouring some kind of Pyrrhic victory.   The laughter ended abruptly as a white blade pierced the thing's chest, shattering it into a thousand vitriolic shards.   Freyd recognized that both of their statements were true.  Kyle was an abhorrent excuse for a human being, and he got what he deserved.  Freyd only regretted that he'd been the instrument of justice, not that it had been served.  His true struggle was over what it meant for and about himself.  Had he actually become the monster?  He'd certainly done something worthy of the title, regardless of any rationale or justification.  Where did that leave him?

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:620/620 | EN:47/62  (-3 +1) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 8 + 4 = 12 (hit).  Freyd deals (119 - 5 = 114) damage to 2nd Demon (Bully - Unbridled Rage Within).  Killed.

2nd Demon (Bully - Unbridled Rage Within): HP 0/206 (-114| DMG 60 | MIT: 5 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"It leaves you here, in my playground, where we will pull back the layers until that lovely beast of yours comes out to play once more."

Freyd's perspective spun again and the void shifted to become a cube-shaped room, roughly twenty feet to a side.  All of its surfaces were crimson red and slick, as if coated in blood.  The voice had come from above.  Standing on the ceiling was a spindly, wiry humanoid completely wrapped in sickly red cloth.  A narrow slot reveal at the eyes were its only gap, wherein two glowing red orbs glared at him hatefully.  It lay down to avoid having to crane its neck, gravity having apparently flexible rules here.  Freyd did the same, and both of them were suddenly facing each other on the same plane once more.

"You're sick, Cardinal."  Freyd's accusation bounced off harmlessly.

"Perhaps, from your perspective, but I could say the same thing about you, Takeshi.  What would happen to you if everyone you met in here, suddenly realized who and what you were?  A liar?  A sociopath?  What if they start to believe that you're actually part of the system afflicting them at this very moment?  A traitor?  Would they do to you what you did to Kyle?"

[Freyd 0]

Freyd weighed the threat.  He actually knew very little about the Cardinal system or its capabilities.  Was this being before him truly a manifestation of its mind and will?  Was it truly the Machiavellian mastermind behind Akihiko's demented nightmare, or was it just another pawn in a mental game?  Was any of it even real?  The red ninja's face lacked a mouth, but he got the decided impression that it was pleased as punch with itself.

"I guess we'll just have to find out."  Freyd finally replied.  Cardinal hadn't expected that.

"You expected to defeat me by forcing continuous withdrawal until only one recourse remained: to open that final door.  But you've assumed that I'm still the same person I was when this hell was unleashed."  He shook his head at the realization.  "I've grown, Cardinal.  I'm no longer the coward I was when I arrived, and I am no longer afraid of you, or what fate may have in store.  I have the confidence to choose."

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

The flurry of attacks Freyd unleashed carried such venom and ferocity that Cardinal was nearly cut to pieces.  Leaping forward forward from his prone position, Freyd cross the red room in the blink of an eye and unleashed a torrential assault upon his captor.  The red figure scrambled to recover, but the press of Forgiven Disobedience was unrelenting and its own daggers could hardly keep pace.  It leaped off the surface against it rested, barely dodging Freyd's leg sweep, only to receive a heavy pommel strike to the face.  The blow sent it crashing into an adjacent wall with such force that its form was imprinted on the red surface and surrounded by a spiderweb of stress fractures.

Freyd's demeanor was one of utter calm - not at all what the program had intended.  

"I'm going to end you, Cardinal.  Not here or now, and not alone, and that last bit is precisely the point.  Despite all of your efforts to the contrary, I have finally come to understand what that means."  He leaned in so that his eyes were so close to his foe's that they reflected their sinister glow. 

"We are going to break and end your game."

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:620/620 | EN:54/62 (-9) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 7 + 4 = 11 (hit).  Freyd deals (221 - 7 = 214) damage to 3rd Demon (Cardinal - The False Embodiment).  

MOB: 1 -1 = 0 (miss)

3rd Demon (Cardinal - The False Embodiment): HP 96/310 (-214) | DMG 91 | MIT: 7

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

Silence and stillness fell between them.

"NEVER!"  The red ninja lunged forward, but Freyd was ready.  Grabbing the blade of his sword with his gloved hand, he slammed the flat of the blade into his opponent's face, dazing it momentarily.  It was enough for his to pull back the sword and thrust it into Cardinal's gut like a bayonet.  

"You can snipe at us all you want, but I know your secret: you're ultimately still bound by your programming.  The game has rules, and by those rules it is actually possible for us to win - and we will."  He shoved the sword in another four inches.  Cardinal's red eyes winced and flickered in pain before fading out.  An instant later, the rest of the wrapped figure was also gone.

The red room disappeared and Freyd found himself standing on a mirrored surface beneath a beautiful field of stars, both reaching out to an infinite horizon.  

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:620/620 | EN:52/62 (-3 +1) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 4 + 4 = 8 (hit).  Freyd deals (119 - 7 = 112) damage to 3rd Demon (Cardinal - The False Embodiment).  Killed.

3rd Demon (Cardinal - The False Embodiment): HP 0/310 (-112) | DMG 91 | MIT: 7

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"So, that's it, is it?"  Freyd perked up at the sound of his own voice.  No one expects to hear their own thoughts externally.  His head swiveled around and finally came to rest on his reflection staring back at him through the mirrored floor.

"Uh.  I'm going to go with 'probably not'?"  This was just weird.  "Are you supposed to be my conscience or something?"

His opposite just laughed, but in a truly genuine manner that Freyd never quite managed to get right.  There was an awkward moment as he considered that this doppelganger might be more human than he was himself.

"I suppose that's possible.  Would that make it easier for you: to absolve yourself of any moral responsibilities?"

Freyd remained unmoved, but maybe that was the point.  Surviving his ordeals had come to mean avoiding his feelings - actively suppressing them and giving himself over completely to reason.  But it hadn't entirely worked.  Fear remained, and his self-imposed stoicism had rendered him numb to common and mundane emotions.  The simple pleasures were gone, until recently, at least.

[Freyd 0]

His morning coffee habit might have saved his soul, along with the simple interactions of companionship.  People lose themselves without the grounding of simple pleasures.  Great lows and highs provide contrast, but only against the backdrop of shared experience.  His solitary existence had slowly drained his humanity, and would have left it a withered husk in the alleyways of the Town of Beginnings, if something hadn't provoked him to leave.  Freyd had no idea why he'd suddenly wandered up to floor six and fought the Gemini.  Yet here he was again, facing off against himself.  Realization finally dawned.

"This is what it's all about, isn't it?"  

His double's smug smirk vanished.

"My childhood, my life, even everything here in Aincrad, it's all just been one withdrawal after another.  I've let myself forget what it means to be a person, just to avoid the pain that goes with it."  He shook his head, as if casting off years of built up dust and detritus.  "Even worse; I've actively been forcing it on myself!"

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"I've been a complete coward..."  Relief swept through Freyd as he said it.  "All this time, I've been hiding from my own... shadow..."  He looked down again. Sheer unmitigated hatred glared back at him.  "It's you..."

Shattered glass filled the air around them as the barrier broke down and the two halves of a single fractured soul flung themselves against each other.  Stars reflected in the crystalline cloud as both combatants lost all sense of direction, fighting without gravity in a field of spinning shards.  Freyd planted his foot on his shadow's face, spinning himself full-round, throwing it off balance while he pivoted in place to bring Forgiven Disobedience up for a heavy strike from below.  His white blade plowed through the floating glass shards leaving a glimmering wake behind it as it struck true.  The darkness howled in frustration and clipped him  in exchange, slashing viciously across his right shoulder with its own black mockery of his holy blade.

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:540/620 (-80) | EN:53/62 (-9) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 3 + 4 = 7 (hit).  Freyd deals (221 - 11 = 210) damage to 4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed)

MOB: 8 - 1 = 7 (hit).  4th Demon deals (136 - 56 = 80) damage to Freyd.

4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed): HP 255/465 (-210) | DMG 136 | MIT: 11

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"You've grown weak, Takeshi, and I have patiently feasted on the dregs of your sapping strength for years!  You've had your chance, and failed at EVERY turn."  Freyd barely parried a frenzied flurry of jabs and slashes as the shadow grew more eager and desperate for ascendance.  The more he wounded the thing, the stronger and faster it seemed to get.  "Now it's my turn to come out and play!"

"Not every turn, and not recently."  Freyd turned his blade on the flat and sent a spray of glass knives showering onto his opponent, shredding his void-like flesh with penetrations of light.  "That's why you're worried, isn't it?  As I shake myself free from this stupor, your feast is going dry!"

"Then what say we make this my final meal?  I doubt I'll ever need another..."

The shadow lurched, then exploded outward in a mass of writhing black tentacle-like appendages, each of them terminating in a dagger-like point.  They swirled about and dove into Freyd from all side, piercing his avatar.  His body vanished as he screamed, the foul demon-beast basking in its victory, only to end abruptly as Freyd's voice spoke from behind it.

"You're not the only one who learned a few tricks."  

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:540/620 | EN:45/62 (-9 +1) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

BD: 8 + 4 = 12 (hit).  Freyd deals (221 - 11 = 210) damage to 4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed)

MOB: 7 - 1 - 1 (Disguise) = 5 (miss).  

4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed): HP 45/465 (-210) | DMG 136 | MIT: 11

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

The shadow demon froze as it stared down at its own blackened chest, where a bright white blade pulsing with energy protruded unexpectedly.  It's face inverted, reappearing on the opposite side to face Freyd - still very much alive and wielding his blade like a spear.

"I should thank you, Gemini.  You taught me that one the first time I killed you."  He hefted the sword up, pushing the blade deeper.  The pulsing light withing the blade gained speed and intensity.  Small fissures spread steadily outward from the wound with every second.  

aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!

The foul thing flailed and sought to envelop him in defiance of its fate, but he held firm and unflinching.  

"I am not alone anymore.  And we're already full-up on shadows."  Tilting his head down to speak into his own chest, he said the words that bound him to his greatest friend and ally in this world, and spoke the words to unleash her.

"Get'em, Persi."

 

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:540/620 | EN:36/62 (-10 +1) | DMG:17 | MIT:56 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 

BD: 4 + 4 = 8 (hit).  Freyd deals (221 - 11 = 210) damage to 4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed).  Killed

4th Demon (Himself - Broken Truth Revealed): HP 0/465 (-210) | DMG 136 | MIT: 11

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

An intricate lattice of interlaced black symbols suddenly spread up Forgiven Disobedience from the hilt up and into the thrashing fiend.  Freyd held fast as shadow fought to devour shadow.  Try as it might, the red-eyed beast's struggle for release was futile.  It's time had finally come.  A white web of holy light emanated from its chest wound, eating away its very essence as Persi's own shadowy form consumed the fragments as they shuddered and broke off.  This wasn't about locking away the beast.  It was time to end it, forever.

Freyd's eyes remained locked on his own eyes as they blazed red with fury, and then suddenly fear.  It knew that it had lost.  Slowly, it's eyes receded into the darkness until nothing remained but the soft and playful eyes of his familiar, shining brilliant blue into his own.  The void condensed into her mongoose form, such that she sat casually on top of the edge of Forgiven Disobedience's blade. 

Carefree.  Now I can learn to do the same.

[Freyd 0]

The twilight sky lightened gradually around them.  Persi hopped down and landed silently on the grass as Freyd stowed his weapon.  The two of them sat and watched the sun resume its place and presence in the sky.  Trees emerged from their hiding places and the soft, calming breeze filled them with a sense of peace and wonder.  A light, misty spray played upon their faces as the waterfall resumed its playful dance on the well-worn ridge that loomed before them once again.  All returned to the way it was when they had first arrived, but they had changed themselves. 

Freyd tossed aside his cowl and removed his boots, dipping his feet into the cool stream and watching as fish scattered as his toes kicked gently at the water. He flopped back onto the soft, caressing grass, letting years of tension and anxiety bleed away.  Persi hopped onto his chest, nestling in snugly like a cat on a sunlit window seat.  Freyd closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.  It was his first truly peaceful night's rest in almost twenty years, with a bright and honest smile still curled upon his lips.

[Freyd 0]

"Come on, Persi, it's time for us to go."  She was still busy chasing butterflies around the meadow.  Relaxing was good - really good - now that he could somehow fathom its importance.  How had he ever allowed himself to fall so deep into malaise? 

Things had changed today, in a manner and to an extent that Freyd could hardly have imagined  possible when he had awakened.  Awakened - that was it, wasn't it?  He'd been living a nightmare crafted inside his own head for years before becoming snared in Kayaba's trap.  Dreams had compounded horrible dreams under a previously hellish reality.  For all the thoughts of this place as his doom, this was the first time that he had ever considered its potential for a fresh start.

Tossing a pebble into one of the nearby ponds, he watched as concentric ripples radiated outwards.  

"Come on, Persi.  Let's go make some waves."

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows