Arrival

[letsplayamod]

The moment is a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you were just minding your own business somewhere, others may have been in more... dire circumstances. Regardless, you were approached by a figure you can't quite picture, and they offered you an accord; in exchange for aiding them in the healing of a world lost to chaos, you would be granted something almost unheard of. Godhood.

And each of you said yes, more or less.

A blurry hand, shifting and rippling, reaches out to you. You feel a glow of warmth, unlike anything you've known before. As soon as you think you can describe it, you wake up.

The room you're in is plainly furnished, but it's about the size of a small flat. Plenty of room to stretch your legs. Don't get too comfortable, however. On the bedside table each room has is a letter; handwritten, it's wrapped around a bronze key. The lettering could only be described as the platonic ideal of 'neat and precise'.

If you are reading this, than our deal has been made. You've awoken in a place that will surely feel strange, so I want you to take some time to acclimate. Meet with the others. Breathe. I shall be along shortly.

-A

Whatever that means becomes more apparent as you step out of your housing and behold the world around you. The building you were in, and every piece of architecture you happen across, is blatantly pre-modern. Yet, something about it is otherworldly. Stone and iron and glass as far as the eye can see.

But above you was where the real questions were. It wouldn't be right to say the sun was shining on you now, nor would it be right to say it's the dead of night. Instead, the sky is a hazy mixture of both, wrapped in suffocating storm clouds that are threatening rain. Everywhere you look, into the horizon, it's the same.

Welcome home. Take your time and explore. Nobody ever said godhood was easy.

Comments

[cannotunravel]

[Misane Mikoto doesn't remember all the details of the conversation that led to her being here. It's like a vague memory even though, uh, it all happened just now, she's pretty sure. It's very frustrating her memories are now flawed for real.

But what can one do about it, really. Perhaps she can just ask this A about the details again. She trusts her own judgment, so she's sure whatever discussion happened was reasonable. Misane comes out of her room, with no hesitation. She strolls around without any fear or concern.

Soon she arrives to the edges of the island, gazing out to the sea from atop the cliff. She's keeping her distance from the barrier, content with staring out at the ocean. She seems to be deep in thought, at least until she senses someone is nearby.

Without much of a greeting, she says aloud:]

Do you remember much about the person who brought us here?

[Maybe she just got a bit distracted or something during that chat with A, who knows.

Later, she has returned to the hero's pavillion, and you can find her at the lift. She's currently poking around the controls, trying to activate anything. She pulls from levers and presses buttons, attempting to make anything work, but it just isn't working out]

This seems to be off. Perhaps we should figure out how to make this work. We could get to somewhere new.

[Or so is her guess, really. She moves a lever up and down several times like that'll do the trick!]

lift

[psychonductor]

[At the sound of tinkering, Crito peeks their head through the doorway of the lift. In an extremely chipper voice, they add:]

Did you know that around thirty people die a year to elevator accidents? I just thought that was interesting.

[cannotunravel]

Are some of those deaths due to not knowing how to operate the elevators?

[Misane barely looked up, she staring at the buttons as if she was considering if this was some sort of puzzle to solve]

[psychonductor]

Almost certainly.

[They blink expectantly.]

D'you wanna know about electrical deaths too?

[cannotunravel]

Then you should keep your distance. I don't want to smash you with the lift.

[Misane looks up, tilting her head a little, and after some thought, she nods]

Tell me about that. It's a little morbid, but it's better than being in silence.

Barrier

[latinumsbetter]

[Quark's just been walking around, casually getting the lay of the place. At that prompt, however, he pauses his approach for half a step, before continuing to close the distance between the two of them, seeming like he's coming to look at the border]

Not entirely much. I know we've got a contract. How about you?

[cannotunravel]

I know I got myself into some deal...but the specifics elude me. Something about healing a world.

[......]

I'm not surprised I accepted but also I wish I remembered more.

[latinumsbetter]

I remember some vague specifics At least, I remember most of what I put in my contract. I wouldn't have made a deal to come here if I hadn't.

[cannotunravel]

Do you remember how that A person looks like...?

[She turns her head. Huh. Interesting looks, you have! Misane is pretty sure A isn't like him, but she might be wrong]

edges of the island

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex has made his way here too. He is in a state of both being terrified of his every surrounding and needing to know as much as possible. It fuels him. It keeps him going. So of course, that means finding the edge of this land. While Misane stares at the ocean, Alex reaches a tentative hand forward until the barrier springs to life.

He pulls it back, just as she asks her question. ]

...N-no. No, not really. Just a...warmth.

[ It was so cold. It was so cold for so long. How could he not...? ]

[cannotunravel]

That's quite vague, but I don't disagree. I didn't feel I was getting into some sort of weird deal...

[She can't remember a thing but at least she has faith in herself not to do dumb stuff]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex's face scrunches up in slight annoyance. ]

Well, it's vague 'cause I don't fuckin' remember much. [ Ahh, don't snap at her... He frowns. ] Sorry. Yeah, me- me neither.

[cannotunravel]

[The snap at her sure was noticed, but her expression didn't change, like it wasn't worth even commenting about]

Let's give it a few hours and see if after some time our memories return. There's no immediate danger, so we still have some time.

[They all can sit around and calm down, thankfully!]

cliffs

[threeapplestall]

[Mutsumi is hugging her knees as she stares out over the island's edge, lost in thought. Or maybe just dissociating. It's hard to tell.

At Mikoto's question, she startles slightly, then shakes her head.]

It's all a blank... I was playing at the live, and then...

[Oh. Right. Somehow, she shrinks in on herself even further.]

[cannotunravel]

This A person interrupted a live? In front of everyone? How brazen.

[A live what? Well, she assumes it was a live show of some sort, meaning there were a whole lot of other people. A can't have gone unnoticed by others, then!]

Are you alright?

[You seem...to be taking things a bit hard, Mutsumi. For one reason or another]

[threeapplestall]

Mhm... [she lies.]

I'm just worried that Saki will be mad... [And around a bajillion other things but >that's the most important thought.]</small

[cannotunravel]

It'll be fine. You just have to say you had no option -- and in a way, you didn't.

[Because it's a world at stake. But yeah, sure, Misane encourages to kind of twist this just enough for this gal to not be in trouble]

lift

[stringup]

[ After watching Misane try the lever several times: ]

Pretty sure you can stop trying at it. If nothing's moving, then it's likely at least one of the mechanisms isn't working at all.

[cannotunravel]

I was counting on that I was just inept at using the lift...

[But nah, it probably has no energy. Hmmmmm]

Think there's a way to make it work?

[stringup]

Kinda hard to figure that out just from what we can see here. If we can find the power source or where all these chains lead to, that'd be a different story, but...

[ Well, there doesn't seem to be a way to access either of those things, at least right now. ]

[cannotunravel]

Drat. I had hoped to explore places A might not have wanted us to see yet.

[Because poking where nobody called her is a good thing to do when you're in a strange place. Finding secrets is important!]

[tripartites]

[ sayo's own eyes fix on the barrier, and for a moment, it almost seems as if she hasn't heard misane. finally: ]

They're some kind of higher being than a mere human, I was sure of that much.

[cannotunravel]

[Huh. That's an interesting way of describing A...]

I'm not sure what you mean with that. Could you elaborate?

[She's truly trying to understand where Sayo is coming from!]

[tripartites]

It's difficult to explain. There was a... weight? To A's presence. Similar to something I had felt before.

[ ... ]

And they appeared to me in a place no stranger should be able to reach, without being noticed.

[cannotunravel]

I think I can more or less understand what you mean. It did feel like an unusual person.

[Although in Misane's case, there was nothing strange about the place she was contacted at. Perhaps if she had, she'd have fully understood what Sayo means]