Acanthus 0 Posted March 7 Author #21 Share Posted March 7 (edited) Spoiler content: the following post contains spoilers for the quest <<To Shine a Light.>> The staff worked really hard to make a really neat quest with a reveal; personally, I think you’re doing yourself a disservice to not work through the puzzles and experience the reveal yourself. Because not many people have done this quest at the time of reading, I’m keeping the narrative below as spoiler-free as possible. Run the quest if you’re interested in all the juicy details. Spoiler It seemed impossible for a space to be this quiet. The pounding rain could not stretch into the depths. Even the steady drip of water died halfway down the stairs. The space seemed to suck in the sounds the way the mire absorbed flesh and stone. Except one sound. The source of the moans sat blindly in a corner, locked in an uncomfortably small cage. Haru knelt down for a better look. She expected the thing to growl or lunge at her when she approached, but it—he?—appeared docile. With soft, thoughtful eyes, it studied her up and down as she did the same in return. It was a monster in form, no doubt. Black, chitinous skin covered the things entire body. Clothes had ripped from the body and lay askew from what she assumed was a terrifying transformation to watch, and a painful one to undergo. The thing had extra dead appendages, claws where hands should be, and a jaw that appeared fused shut. Another moan rattled the walls, causing Acanthus to shudder. Her desire to finish the quest pulled her away from the cage. Despite the quest icon hanging above the thing’s head, it did not prompt a new objective. There was still something to be discovered. The laboratory contained scraps of journals, piled high on the desk. The parallels to her own memories shocked her. She leafed through the pages, expecting one last round of puzzles. Perhaps the kanji on alternating pages could be formed into nonograms of their own? She dispelled the thoughts with a firm shake of her head. It was a silly idea. It was unlikely Cardinal would introduce more puzzles at the end of the quest. In the last pages of the journal, the monster told its tale through a eulogy to itself. Having read the story of the creature and the lighthouse, her objective changed. <<Make the choice.>> Edited March 7 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted March 7 Author #22 Share Posted March 7 (edited) The creature had fallen silent, and appeared to be looking at her with pleading eyes. Spoiler The choice sat heavy on her heart. She had indulged in too much death this last month to commit this decision to instinct. Leaning against the bars of his cage, she began to think out loud. “You weren’t always like this.” “You’re asking a lot of me. It’s funny to say that though, isn’t it? Every day, I kill a hundred things like you. I cut through them without so much as a thought. They all drop col and items and materials, the way they are supposed to. They drop col because they are programmed to. They die because they are programmed to. Is that the same for you, I wonder? Did you ever have a chance in this world? To live? Or did you spawn the moment I accepted the quest, a twisted, gruesome version of a man that never lived to begin with?” “...I think I would ask Dad a similar question. How long had he lived on a knife’s edge, held steady by Mom and medication. Was he always like that, or did something happen late in life that broke him? …Even if I had known earlier, and been bold enough to ask, he would have said nothing. I’m cursed to know nothing about my family, and I continue that curse through my own reluctance. Just like I know nothing about you, Lighthouse Keeper.” “I wonder. I wonder if that’s why he pushed me to keep my thoughts and actions so level. Stability was a constant battleground for him, a war he fought in the silence of his study, and one he lost when he lost Mom. I did my best for him, but I was not his anchor. Mom was.” “And so now you ask me to make the final choice in your life. Or, I guess, enact your final choice. Is there a difference?” The creature had leaned up against the bars of the cage next to her. She could hear its gentle breathing. The low moans had been replaced by soft chittering that reminded Acanthus of a purring cat. With a heavy heart, she drew botan. “You… you asked me to do this. It’s right here, in the journal.” The creature cocked its head at her. Botan stayed still by her side. “You’re not even here. You’re not even alive!” But still, her sword arm trembled. The quest was clear, but there was no world, real or otherwise, in which this was not murder. A defenseless creature sat in its confines and waited for a death it had asked for. And it was still murder. She drew back into a striking pose, allowing the glow of her sword art to fill the room. One stroke and it would be over. She could move on, find the labyrinth, and clear the game. From inside the cage, Noboru Masuda looked up to her, and begged for escape. Edited March 7 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted March 7 Author #23 Share Posted March 7 (edited) Softly, like handling a newborn child, Haru lifted her Dad from the floor. She recalled her de-escalation exercises from the hospital, but she never thought she’d be using them here. “Dad, I solved a cipher in one of the later journals.” Noboru stared wildly around the room. “Really? Really?? What did it say? No, wait, I want to solve it—” She cut in, “no, Dad, Mom said this was urgent. She said you have to start taking your meds again.” He shook his head. “She wouldn’t say that, she can’t talk to me unless I’m listening.” “She said… She said she needs a break.” Haru bit her lip until she tasted blood. “She needs time to come up with the next round of puzzles for you. But she has to be quiet while that happens." Slowly, Noboru began to nod. “I see… I see.” No tears right now. You have to act like everything’s together, or else he’ll suspect something. “You’d never lie to me, would you, Haru?” Dad’s voice cracked, and a wad of emotions rose and died in her throat. “I will never lie to you, Dad.” He nodded again. “Good, good. Keiko raised you well. Despite my best efforts.” He grinned. Breathe. Count to three. Cry later. “Let me bring you into the kitchen for some food. It’s late, but there are some leftovers. Ryoji did excellent, as always. I’ll bring you some water as well, so be sure to drink all of it: the medication says you might get dry mouth.” Her father safely deposited in the next room, she took one more look at the carnage the study displayed. For six years, her Dad had let the madness build up behind closed doors. Something about this room loosened his grip on reality; even now she could hear him recovering outside its confines, his mumbles silencing under the medication circulating through his system. She moved behind the desk one more time, reviewing the ransom of letters and words scattered like dust in a barren field. A shaking hand over scraps of paper, delicately rearranged to spell a simple phrase. I love you too. Edited March 7 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted March 7 Author #24 Share Posted March 7 THREAD SUMMARY Experience. [Word Count: 5499/10 = 549.9] * [True Tier: 7] * [Group Factor: 1] = 3849 + 1500 (quest) = 5349 * 1.1 (Slime Farm) = 5883 EXP Col. 400 (bonus) + 577 (Laurel Wreath) + 1500 (quest) = 2477 col Spoiler The Lighthouse Keeper was spared. (Note: In my google form response, I listed "kill the lighthouse keeper," but after writing the thread most of the way, I felt like my answer changed. I asked if it was ok to change and didn't receive a response, so I opted to ask forgiveness over begging permission.) Link to post Share on other sites
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