It's Turbin' Time (Library of Ruina Modded/Arknights)

Whatever experiment they have waiting for this man, you can't be a part of it.

While they focus on trying to restrain him, you move closer. They grab his arms and try to pull him into position, but he shakes his head and smacks the doctor on the face with his uncracked horn.

For a second, there's just chaos.

Time to move.

You tug on the hanging strap. Nobody notices but the patient, who stops screaming. They go back to trying to restrain him, but with a pull of his leg, he's back on his feet.

The doctor's the first to go, a punch throwing him against the wall.

You leap back so you don't get caught in the crossfire. One of the other guards tries to hit the patient with- is that a cattle prod? Either way, it's a swing and a miss. The patient slams his forehead against another guard, sending him sprawling down into the floor. A sweeping kick and the one with the prod is down.

He turns towards you. He gives you a small nod, really small, almost invisible.

Then he's lunging for the door- and running down the corridor, half naked. The other guards will be in their trail soon.

The doctor is on the ground with a bleeding nose, everyone else is out of commission. You don't have a lot of time, but you have a few seconds left to examine the room.

There is a locked hatch in the wall, a table full of syringes and labeled vials, some empty. You don't identify all of them, but at least one is an Oripathic suppressant, another is an anaesthetic, another induces coagulation, the next prevents it. One's a laxative, and another is just really, really deadly neurotoxin.

You slip the neurotoxin into a pocket.

There's a set of scalpels in a bunch of different sizes, and a large pipe that runs throughout one of the walls. That one's new, you can notice- installed very recently. There's a faucet connected to it.

Should you...

You pick an empty vial and turn on the faucet. It doesn't work. Nothing comes out but a few stray drops of black liquid.

What is this? What's this place? What were they planning to do here? You hear sounds of a struggle down the corridor. Someone screams in pain, and it's not the patient.

You slip away before you're discovered.

---

Your name is Saria, the mission has yet again grown more complicated.

Another tendril of ferrofluid tries to coil around your leg. You throw it off, and leap out of the way of another blow.

A wave of liquid smashes into the spot you were just a second ago. You smash your shield into it, pushing it back.

Bystanders scream as the storm of black metal rampages through the street. It picks up cars with its sheer mass and flings them in your direction, and you're forced to dodge- if only to push the civilians out of the way before they are crushed.

The patient on your back moans in pain.

You take cover behind the ruined wreck of what was a food truck- and turn towards the cowering woman that was hiding in the same spot.

"You. I need you to take this man out of here." you say, placing the unconscious patient in her lap. His eyes are glassy and unfocused. "Take him to the clinic close by- Olga Street, 22."

The woman babbles something incoherent, and you place your hand in her shoulder.

"I'll cover you. Go. Get somewhere safe."

She nods, shakily, and places the man in a bridal carry- with some difficulty. She runs away, and you move out of cover- slamming your boots in the ground to attract the mass' attention.

As the womans run off with her charge, you're left alone to deal with the situation.

The driver lays against a lamppost, a few feet away from the burning wreckage of the ambulance. Unlike you, they did not have the necessarily resilience to survive the impact. A jagged chunk of steel is driven through his chest, and his body is mangled from the neck down by shrapnel and the force of the collision.

The corpse stares at you, in a silent accusation.

You grit your teeth and take a step back- blocking off another tendril as the mass lunges forward- aiming directly at your throat.

Your calcification Arts is doing nothing to impede the enemy's ferrofluid manipulation- if anything, with every pulse you emit, it grows faster, more aggressive and reckless.

Where is the Caster? They chose an crowded place to attack, but-

You dodge out of the way of a wave of rapidly solidifying thorns, which break through a wall before retracting back. Now that you had a look at them, you believe your defenses are more then enough to withstand the amount of force they can output- but you cannot allow them to continue causing this much damage in their attempts to kill you.

There are still people hidden around the wrecks of the cars, people trapped underneath rubble- and people still held in its appendages. You cannot allow them to die- you need to find the Caster.

There must be one- this cannot be a remote Arts unit, not with the sheer intensity and agility of the mass.

The larger shape slithers into the rubble, dragging the civilians into its hiding spot, before a part of it comes poking out again- this time, in the shape of a larger, if still amorphous, single appendage instead of a knot of coiling tentacles like before. There are shards of something sticking out of the mass- the foci? Could be. You'll target them first.

It lunges- and you withstand its strike.

Your shield holds, through your boots dig into the ground. But you can see it now- jagged fragments of bone submerged inside the fluid. Handfuls of fragmented ribs, chunks of what must be a femur, a stray molar. They vibrate as the large tendril beats futilely against your barrier.

You pull out your pistol, point it towards them, and mutter a word. The catalyst within hums, and a resonating pulse is released a second later. Half a dozen bone splinters shatter, and the mass recoils.

An involuntary movement- is it connected to the caster's movements? No matter. You slam your shield against it, pushing it back, then unload another pulse, then another. It shudders and takes a step backwards each time you do so.

It divides itself into two- and tries to flank you. You kick off the ground as the two masses collide with dazzling speed, stepping through a shattered window in a building.

It seems the mass can't float in the air as an Arts-controlled ferrofluid would be able to- there's something amiss. It is too responsive, too agile. No remote Arts conductor is this reliable, and nanomachine-based conductors are still on their early days. You frown.

...either there is a Caster nearby, and you simply haven't managed to see them yet- or this is a prototype, an entirely new technology. You know a person, a person known for numerous breakthroughs relating to Arts-based remote controllers, but why would she...

No. Speculation later. The mass has turned in your direction, but it's immobile for now. More evidence in favor of the hidden Caster.

It slips back into the shadows, but you know it is just waiting for another chance to strike. You jump back into the street, and try to pierce through the darkness. No, it took down nearly every single light, and it seems the energy supply has been cut. A few lights slip through the windows of the buildings- but it's not enough.

This is, obviously, not the work of a single actor. An extremely advanced prototype, enough influence to shut down the lights of an entire section of the city- Rhine Labs is at the heart of this.

You grit your teeth as the mass goes for your throat again. The Caster is growing frustrated, it seems- their aim was poor. Calcium coalesces, and a protective shell forms around your arms.

The mass retreats, before more tentacles slither out of the rubble- holding shaking civilians that futilely try to pry themselves free.

It gestures. Its intentions are obvious- it will slam the civilians against the ground. With the speed and strength you saw before, there's no doubt it will reduce them to paste with very little difficulty- and you cannot allow that to happen.

You take a deep breath, and kick off in its direction. The appendages lunge for you, civilians still in their hold-

And with a single punch, you push them away, black liquid splattering across the street. A woman falls to the ground, coughing and spitting- and you catch a child before she lands on her head. You place her back on the floor, slapping her in the back- she starts to vomit.

You leap back to the fray.

The mass tries to surround you, to overwhelm you with its sheer size, force its way down your lungs, gouge out your eyes- but your shield holds. You pay it no heed, committed to the assault. You need to find whatever core powers this thing and crush it.

Then, all of a sudden, the world is spinning, then there is a flash of pain. And another.

You realize the creature has managed to grab your foot and is currently smashing you against- and through- the concrete floor.

Once, twice- and then it tosses you away, into a building, through the wall and into a large room- a foyer- through another wall.

A mistake on its part.

You claw your fingers into the whipping ground and force yourself to a halt, ignoring the awful tug as your momentum halts. The world is spinning and your ears ring, but you ignore the blood pouring from minor head wounds - the thing cannot be provided any opening. You slam your feet against the floor and hurl yourself back at the mass without hesitation.

It did not expect you to come back that quickly- you catch it completely offguard, landing an uppercut that completely shatters its current form.

As it reels, trying to drag itself away from you, you rush forward to keep up the pressure.

Each punch dissolves more of it, reduces its cohesion, turns more of those bones into dust. Soon enough, you've forced it into a corner, and the civilians are scattered- definitely unwell, possibly Infected- but safe, for now.

But you've still yet to see the Caster.

You turn towards the freed civilians.

"Get out of here! Take the ones that can't move!" you roar, betwen one punch and another. "Now!"

As the mass coils on itself, and you feel something- you hear something, in the back of your head, amidst the screams and the sounds of people fleeing.

Laughter.

It moves again, faster then before, and twists to crush you beneath its weight. Just as you move out of the way, it swerves mid-air- twisting into a wheel and crushing an unconscious woman lying on the ground.

You gasp. No!

It lashes out with another flurry of tendrils, and you bat them away with a jab.
There's no time to waste. There's still people left- you can't let them-

Before you can even complete the thought, the mass turns away from you, and towards them.

It grabs four people- a tall Caprinae, a white-haired Liberi, a pale Forte child, another Liberi. They're the only people left in the street. It raises the Caprinae man off the ground, right where you can see him.

A tendril reaches out and snaps one of his horns clean off. He tries to scream, but another one pierces his throat.

It lets him gurgle, grabs his ankles, and swings him into the ground. You hear bones snap. And it does it again, and again, and again- until all that is left is red paste, after which it simply drops him. Then it holds the other three in front of you as shields. The laughter in the back of your mind grows louder.

This-

This served no purpose, you realize.

This time, you take the initiative. You cannot let it continue dictating the terms of the fight. You catch it with another punch, then swing your shield as a bludgeon- the impact separating it in two. Right as you move to catch the child as it falls out of the grasp of its tentacles, the mass reacts- and it smashes another one of the people it held on its appendages against the ground.

The white-haired Liberi. It lifts the crushed remains, then lefts them fall to the ground- again- where you can see them.

Before you can react, it moves again.

In a second, it does the same to the last one- cracking and snapping sounds resounding until it's left with no shield at all.

Spite.

It did this to spite you. It would have benefitted more from keeping them as shields, but- that wasn't important to it. It didn't care. It-

It just wanted to see you suffer.

The child in your arms coughs. The laughter resounds, and the mass vanishes into the shadows before you can even act any further.

You grit your teeth.

They'll pay for this.

---

One more hallway, one more hallway, one more hallway, one more hallway.

One more hallway, one more-

Ah.

It's another damned dead end.

You slump down against the wall, wiping sweat off your forehead.

No matter what direction you go in, no matter what you do, how many doors you open, you just keep walking in circles.

You've started to avoid the guards.

They're definitely going to notice something's really wrong if they see you and your, definitely terrible, current state.

Damn, you're so frail.

You could just- just smash your way out of here, sublety be damned. Take out your gun and go on a rampage, until this maze lets you out.

But no. The team's counting on you- you need to keep going.

You take a deep breath. Now's not the time for this. Gotta keep on going. It's time to stand up straight and get out of here, and you're also going to get this done.

Now, to raise yourself up. Your nails dig into the wall, leaving long trails. You give the damn thing a good punch just one time, just for good measure-

Wait.

You turn your head towards the crack in the wall you just made.

The sound you just made isn't normal. This isn't a regular concrete wall. You know the sound that makes. Is there something inside it?

You punch it again, harder this time.

There is definitely something inside this wall- something squishy.

You look around. Nobody's watching. No cameras here either, as you already knew. If there were you wouldn't have stopped walking.

You pull out a knife.

It's going to ruin it, but better then fumbling around blindly.

---

What is it this time.

I don't have them.
You don't need to insult me.
Why does it matter to you?
...okay.

Why do you want them?
Ok.
What is that one?


Okay.

I'll send them to you.

---

The pipes are all inside the walls. It doesn't matter where you pierce, there's just more of them.

And they're going in straight lines, at least. No matter how much the hallways bend or twist on themselves, the pipes are still going forward.

They're all carrying that same black liquid you saw earlier, all over the facility.

But it's not just pipes. It looks like they're some sort of... organic thing. The pipes twitched when you scratched them with the knife- like they were alive- and there's some sort of... mass growing between some of them.

When you put your finger on it, you can feel the beat of a heart, far away from here.

You still don't know what is happening, but you have a clue of where to go. It looks like this liquid is all flowing from one spot in the lab, being distributed through the pipes. It's probably the same place where the heartbeat comes from.

This nightmare, you think, would not be out of place inside the Ruins.

You chuckle. It really is just like that, huh?

Sometimes you can't run away. Be it because the way back doesn't exist anymore, because the paths go on an endless spiral, or because they're blocked by some hole in space, all you can do it keep moving forward.

You don't have any other leads. What else can you even do?

The only way out is through.

---

Your name is Capone, but damn, you really wish you were someone else right now.

Well, not really. You like being yourself a lot, by now.

Huh.

You think this is probably the first time in your life where you're just... okay with yourself and where you are.

Anyway, not the moment for thinking about that stuff.

What a goddamn time for a gang brawl. All it took was a dumbshit rookie with way more beer then he should have, and now everyone's shooting each other. The standards have really went down since Siracusa withdrew from here- no care for decorum.

As for you, you're in the ground, a knife driven into your throat.

The guy who just stabbed you isn't laughing and sipping beer anymore. No thanks to you- he's just lying on the ground, being wrestled down by a horned woman. She's going to pull out a knife and stab him in the neck if he keeps struggling like this, you're pretty sure.

There's a crossbow bolt lodged in the wall next to you, and you think the fucker put an Originium chunk in the tip, the asshole. It isn't even a good material for this sort of weapon.

Can you even get Infected...? You'd rather not risk it.

Ugh. Do you even get out of here? You could just... wait for everything to calm down and then just leave, but-

Hm?

You're smelling something strange.

Feels like-

Feels like you, actually. In a way. Something like you, underneath the floorboards. Faint smell of iron.

You have no idea what that means, but-

You could follow it. There's another of the secret tunnels underneath this shitty bar- it's the whole reason you were here at all. Mapping the tunnels. You've found four entrances already and you think you know how one of the tunnels connects with the main sewer system.

Hm.

Should you...

[ ] Follow the strange scent.
Well, you don't think you'll die, at least. Slither through the floorboards and into the tunnel- whatever happens, happens.

[ ] Keep note of it.
Tell Sieg about this, see if you and him can go down to the tunnels to search for it later.

---

You've found it.

The heart of this place.

It's-

Half the room is an office. The words "Ahrens Parvis" sit on a small plaque atop a desk full of papers. Bookshelves cover the walls. If it wasn't for the oppressive aura and the feeling something's leaking through the walls, it would be...

Normal.

It felt like something some Wing middle manager would roost in, not the center of some nightmarish Ruins-maze of folded space and dream-logic.

The other side is way less friendly. The wallpaper shifts into white tiles, and the shelves melt into racks of full of what you hope are just surgical implements. Near the wall you can see a slab. Like one you'd find in a morgue, but with leather straps.

For a prisoner.

In the ground, a hatch. You can feel the heartbeat resonating from the ground- whatever produces it, it comes from there.

You take a breath. First, collect evidence. You don't know what those papers are about- some look like reports. There's one you think is an autopsy. No, going by the wording, half of those are autopsies, and you bet they have to do something with the experiments. You shove as many of them inside your pockets of your clothes as you can. And when those run out, you start shoving them inside your coat, inside your shirt until they're just completely crammed.

You turn towards the bookshelves. Most of those don't seem that important. Scientific magazines, journals and literature. Books on physics, psychology and neuroscience. There's a framed photograph as well, with Parvis, and who you recognize as Saria- standing along with what are probably other Rhine Labs directors. They founded this damn company together, if you recall correctly.

Pushed to the side by the scientific journals, there's a small, metallic trinket. Almost like a trophy. The words are in Leithanian, so you can't read them. Into your pocket it goes.

After that, there's a half-dozen more papers. They're curious- all published articles, printed out and bound with plastic combs- but all the articles are from the same person.

Olivia Silence.

You knew she was a Rhine Labs whistleblower, but you guess she was more important then your regular run of the mill scientist, if she got this much attention from one of their directors.

To be frank, you didn't think she was that useful. Enough to justify her being here, sure. But by what you've seen, the Director of Defense already got the role of healer filled, and your resident medic gave no implication of being a good fighter, or anything like that. You suppose it's good to have backups, but you'd rather have brought Warfarin, if possible.

You like her. You hope she and Arabella are getting along well.

Hm, if anything her being here would mean the kid would stay home with her mother. And that would mean your boss wouldn't be tied up with the kid.

But you guess he was correct to bring her. Oh well.

Anyway. You take the keepsake photograph. What looks like degrees, plus a few dozen certifications and prizes, are hanging in the walls- you take those too.

Now, for the hatch. You'd rather not touch those surgical tools.

There's a heavy-looking lock. But you're frankly, out of patience, so you just crush it with your hands- and then you open the hatch. A set of stairs.

You sigh, and slip inside- landing in wooden floorboards- and what you see before you is a horrorshow.

But before you deal with that- there's someone in power armor. You're pretty sure they're a guard, but they don't seem very attentive to their surroundings- just breathing heavily. You lunge for them right as they realize you're here- a knife to the throat in a very notable gap in the armor, and they go down.

"Design better armor next time." you mumble to yourself, as you bring out your pistol and activate the silencer. "Goodbye."

You shoot them in the head, and again for good measure. They slump over.

You wipe off a bit of blood that got in your eye, and turn towards the rest of the room.

It hurts to even look at. It feels like the walls are made out of liquid. There's a completely normal wooden table, with an open book sitting on it, but given by how it looks like it's suspended in mid-air and also standing in the floor at an angle, you don't feel like going there to check it out.
No matter how much we live, we always want more.
Hanging on the roof, is some sort of giant bio-metallic heart. It twitches and pulses, occasionally, and the heartbeat is strong enough to be felt through your skin. Those semi-organic pipes emerge from its valves, multiply as they reach the top of the room, before disappearing into the darkness.
Life is consuming, and growing. It cannot last forever, even if we wish it could.
There's two beds, with two restrained- and going by the groaning and incoherent babbling, drugged or tortured- prisoners. A woman with pointy ears and green hair that you recognize as Muelsyse, Director of Ecology, and a cat-eared middle-aged man that you think is Ferdinand Clooney, Director of Energy.
Never stop wishing for it. Never stop searching for it.
A coup? Must be. They can't just be test subjects, unless Parvis- who you're pretty sure is responsible for whatever the fuck this place just became- went insane.
Life is painful, but it is the only thing we have. What if nothing awaits beyond?
And that's a real possibility, isn't it?
We must hope that it last as much as possible. We must struggle, so it may last even longer.
Someone's shoes click behind you. You turn- how did they get behind you?
I don't want to burst, but burst I will, inevitably.
The man next to the ladder looks a bit winded, but not much. Definitely old. Goat horns, average stature. Bowtie, that kind of half-smile that says "I know something you don't." You know this guy. Director of Structural Section, and the person that you bet is behind everything you've seen today.
May the resonant beat of our hearts continue onto eternity.
"Good night." says Ahrens Parvis, eyes gleaming. "Who are you, exactly?"

[ ] Write-in.

4.9 - a place that is empty

---

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - The bliss of the dreamworld.

By now, it is a friend. To some, it is a mere release from the pressures of the world. But to you, it is *different.*

You never stop, do you? You only get worse, Sieghart. Even in your dreams, you can't find any rest. Because you'll never allow yourself to really ever do that, will you? You'll just keep on going.

All business. At all times.

You'll break one day, Sieghart. You'll break one day.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - .... .., .,. , ...

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - You see this?

You've cut her apart, Sieghart. With their knives and their drills you've cut her apart. You've *replaced* her, with little bits and bobs and doodads to make your life easier.

Can't you hear it? She wants to speak, but you've torn off her tongue.

Eh. It's not as if you'll listen. You never do. You never stop- you only get worse.

Do you have anything to say about yourself, Sieghart?

1. - I don't care about you have to say.
2. - I'll stop when the work is over.
3. - I'm worth something, sure. But they're worth more.
4. - Oh, just shut up.

YOU - I'll stop when the work is over.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - You know full well it will never be over.

Didn't you say this to yourself, countless times before? When this journey is over, when this journey is over, when this journey is over. It would be fine, if it was once or twice.

You embark on the next path before you've even had time to heal from the last one. You're a madman, Sieg. A madman. You know all of this already, how could you not? You know that *now.*

1. - I do. And I'll keep going anyway.
2. - I said- I'll stop when the work is over.
3. - If I stay put for even a second- the world will move on without me.

YOU - I do. And I'll keep going anyway.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - It's what I expected.

You just keep on going. Because you don't care about that.

The only reason you're walking with his sword and not some fancy magic weapon is because you're too stubborn to want one. You also know that, especially with all that you've learned. How could you just keep on going, even now?

How can someone know themselves, know the world- and yet refuse to change?

THEIR SHIELD [Impossible: Failure] - For their sake.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - ... , ,,, .,,.

1. - Keep going. (Move forward.)
2. - ... (Rest.)

YOU - Keep going. (Move forward.)

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - See you in Hell, Sieghart Izlinde.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - ... , ,,, .,,.

1. - Open your eyes.

YOU - Open your eyes.

---

IFRIT - "Hey! Big guy!"

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - Her voice is accompanied by a crackling noise.

1. - "...Ifrit."
2. - What's that sound?

YOU - What's that sound?

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - Fire. The sound a colossal furnace would make- coming from a location roughly five meters to your left.

INNER HEAVEN [Medium: Success] - Strange. A fire of this intensity should be warming you a bit, at the very least. But you feel nothing upon your skin. If anything, you can feel a cold breeze.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success] - It feels really good, at the very least.

1. - "...Ifrit."
2. - What's that sound?

YOU - "Ifrit."

IFRIT - "Yeah!" She sounds excited, if a bit confused. "It's me!"

???? - "Ifrit. Where are we?"

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - This voice is like a crackle of thunder, and the radiance of a lit flame. It is commanding, and yet understanding. The voice of the rightful king.

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Challenging: Success] - The answer to his question is simple. You know where you are.


LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY - Ignore her for now, if you will.

And you, Carmen. Leave. I'll only say this once.


PROPHET OF DARK DAYS [Godly: Success] - ...Hm. So this is her. Fascinating.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - It's getting crowded in here.

EDGE ALIGNMENT - It is. I believe a culling is in order- after all, too many cooks spoil the broth.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - That sounds like a bad idea. But maybe it could be achieved, through surgery- could someone isolate a part of your brain responsible for a particular kind of thoughts?

TOP-GRADE OFFICER - It is a bad idea. And we are not destroying parts of our brain- even if it is getting clogged here, that's not actually that much of a disadvantage.

1. - Who are all of you guys again?
2. - Oh, not this again. (Sigh mournfully.)
3. - I don't have time to waste arguing with myself. (Get up.)

YOU - I don't have time to waste arguing with myself. (Get up.)

IFRIT - "Oh, finally." She sounds slightly annoyed. "What were you doing there on the ground, dude?"

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - You might have spent *some time* there on the ground without moving.

???? - "Hello."

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - As you turn towards the source of this new voice, you are met with what seems like a monster.

It stands at least two and a half meters tall. Flames coalesce around its body. Two enormous curved horns adorn its helmeted head. It carries a red scarf, and beneath its armor is a shirt in the same color. It is covered by numerous chains- though it does not seem to be *bound* by them.

In one hand, an enormous black sword that seems to be made entirely out of Originium. In the other, he holds a large metal lock.

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - A willing prisoner. He could- easily- shatter the lock in his hand and break free. He will not.

EDGE ALIGNMENT [Impossible: Failure] - You can't read his intent. He could reach for his sword while your eyes are on something else and I'd never be able to tell. So, don't glance away.

1. - "Oh, hello too. Nice to meet you."
2. - Squint at him.

YOU - "Oh, hello too. Nice to meet you."

???? - "It is good to meet you as well. I believe you're... Sieghart?" He drops the sword and offers you his hand.

1. - "The one and only." (Shake his hand.)
2. - "...Yes. And who would you be?" (Do not.)

YOU - "The one and only." (Shake his hand.)

???? - "Ah." His hand is like a piece of heated metal. "Thank you. I've already met your friend."

1. - "My- friend?"
2. - Ask for his name.
3. - Look around.

YOU - Ask for his name.

HC SVNT DRACONES [Challenging: Success] - There is no need. You *already know it.*

1. - I do?

HC SVNT DRACONES - Yes. His name is known to you.

It is Sverdsmeltr.

Sverdsmeltr, Guardian Ember of the King.

1. - Thanks for the information.

HC SVNT DRACONES - You're welcome.

PROPHET OF DARK DAYS [Godly: Success] - The dragon coils around your mind. Its breath is a boiling waterway, but its gravely voice is full of curiosity. I nest within its scales, maps of the unknown and the forbidden. Here be dragons, they say- and here they are indeed.

1. - "My friend?"
2. - Ask for his name.
3. - Look around.

YOU - Look around.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - You are in a place you've visited before, in dreams- that glowing expanse of *absolutely nothing* that was the prelude to meeting Abel for the first time.

To your left, to your right, up and down, there is only glowing emptiness.

And, behind you, Abel.

ABEL - "...ah, you've awoken." He says, cheerfully. He is as always- sharply dressed and holding his black cane.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He sounds very satisfied with himself.

ABEL - "I am happy to say that everything went as planned. There were no major problems and the minor discomfort I anticipated was a non-issue." He taps the ground with his cane. "We have opened communications, and we have been talking for a bit of time already."

SVERDSMELTR - "...Yes, it all went very smoothly. I haven't seen mental communication Arts used this efficiently since..." He pauses to think. "Since my King's time, yes. You're quite good at this."

Task complete: Establish communication

RHETORIC - Common ground. You can talk to each other like *equals* now, instead of voices filtered through multiple mouths.

ABEL - "Not *exactly* Arts, though I am interested in-" He stops himself, before he would go in a tangent. "Are you well, Sieghart?"

1. - "Yes."
2. - "More or less."

YOU - Yes.

ABEL - "Good to know. Now, shall we get to the heart of this issue?"

SVERDSMELTR - "That being?"

ABEL - "Carmen, for one, and Ifrit's history for the other."

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - There is more that he wishes to know, but he is keeping silent about that.

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - Specifically, a moment where Ifrit and Sverdsmeltr will have their guards down. Until then, he merely intends to hear as much as he can.

SVERDSMELTR - "Ifrit, do you believe they are in the right to know?"

IFRIT - "Yeah, yeah, I can tell. My head's not even hurting now!" She is sitting in the floor now. She sounds bored. "What you want to ask about, man?"

SUGGESTION [Godly: Failure] - Think *carefully* about what to say. There are many possibilities. Ask about *dreams.* A more innocent matter.

1. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
2. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
3. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
4. - Ask about Ifrit's dreams.
5. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.

YOU - Ask about Ifrit's dreams.

IFRIT - "Man..." She doesn't sound entirely comfortable.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - You should get her to open up with something else first. This is a *recent* wound. It has barely scabbed over.

SUGGESTION - Yes- you shouldn't have started with that. My bad.

THEIR SHIELD - It's better to swerve to another topic. You don't want to harm her. She is your responsibility.

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - And this is a matter that she, herself, doesn't understand. It has to do with this place, after all.

New task: Get Ifrit to open up about her dreams

SUGGESTION - Again, think *carefully* about what to say. We can't bungle this any more times.

1. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
2. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
3. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
4. - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.
5. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.

YOU - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - Going by the immediate huff she makes, this is a topic she is *very* opinionated about. A good one to begin with. She *wants* to talk about this.

IFRIT - "I- I don't know." She is as angry as she is sad. "They just don't talk to each other anymore. They... they're almost always arguing, when they're not avoiding each other. I think Saria is avoiding me, too." She looks downwards. "Was it me? Was it something I did?"

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - It was something big, and painful for all three. You would bet your entire career and fortune that Rhine Labs was involved.

SVERDSMELTR - "Silence cannot forgive Saria for what she has done." He turns his gaze away from you and sighs, before amending the statement. "Or better yet, what she failed to do."

IFRIT - "But what- what did she do? What didn't she do! They don't even tell me!" She roars. "No one tells me anything! You don't tell me anything either, you tub of lard!"

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - Sverdsmeltr knows more, but is omitting it. He does not believe she is *prepared* for this information. He is waiting for a more appropriate moment.

1. - [Logic - Challenging 12] Connect some dots and perform a leap of logic.
2. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
3. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
4. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
5. - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.
6. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.

YOU - Connect some dots and perform a leap of logic.
LOGIC [Medium: Success] - What if Saria was *responsible* for Ifrit's current state?

TOP-GRADE OFFICER - You mean, she was the scientist that experimented on them? Knives and scalpels, all of that? She *was* a bigwig in Rhine Labs.

LOGIC - I doubt she *personally* experimented on them. If she'd done that, Ifrit would be likely less intent on seeing them again. But she was the Director of Defense- it could be that she was involved with, maybe even pushing whatever project led Ifrit to become this.

THEIR SHIELD - If she had a sudden crisis of conscience after Silence's whistleblowing, it would provide a reason for her to quit her job.

EMPATHY - [Godly: Failure] Maybe? It feels wrong. Silence is... opinionated. She doesn't hate Saria *enough* for her to be directly responsible. Though it does make some sense. It gives a credible reason as to why she avoids the kid like the plague, and why Silence loathes her.

LOGIC - Yes, it's a good starting theory, but let's not cling to it.

Task updated: Find out what's going on with Saria and Silence

DRAMA [Legendary: Failure] - It's too late. It'll be coloring your perceptions now.

1. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
2. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
3. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
4. - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.
5. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.

YOU - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?

SVERDSMELTR - "I am the Last Diαblo."

HC SVNT DRACONES [Formidable: Success] - The Diablos (or Diαblos), also known as the Flame Demons, are a subrace of the Sarkaz. Or better yet, they *were* a subrace of the Sarkaz.

THRILL OF THE HUNT [Impossible: Success] - The enemies of Kazdel pay no heed to their countless losses, such is their callous conviction for victory. Once the killing finally ceases, the Wendigo will be doomed to a prolonged exsanguination - and the Diablo, left no more than crystals in a mass grave. Woe to the Vanquished, indeed. May our demise be a fraction as glorious!

HC SVNT DRACONES - ...uh. Okay. Well, as I was saying, they're a subspecies of Sarkaz, in a way.

1. - In a way?

YOU - In a way?
HC SVNT DRACONES - Sarkaz aren't enough of a shared species for their kind to be subspecies. "Sarkaz" is more of a word for a vast array of species native to this planet- their only truly shared attribute is being marginalized.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Native to this planet? The others aren't?

HC SVNT DRACONES [Godly: Failure] - It's a complicated matter. I'm not sure of how to put it to words...

SVERDSMELTR - "...Ifrit."

IFRIT - "Yeah?"

SVERDSMELTR - "What I am about to reveal- you must not tell a single soul outside of this... place. We cannot let this secret escape, no matter what. Please. You, too, must *swear this oath,* Sieghart. And you, Abel."

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - With the importance he puts on that word, this will definitely be more then a promise.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - A binding oath, never to be broken.

TOP-GRADE OFFICER [Challenging: Success] - He will never respect you unless you take that oath.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Notice the air around his mouth. It's distorting. Those words are, well, fire.

1. - Swear an oath with Sverdsmelter. (Opt in.)
2. - Reject this. (Opt out.)
3. - Let's not be this hasty. Ask for more time to think.

YOU - Swear an oath with Sverdsmelter. (Opt in.)

SVERDSMELTR - "Thank you for your trust. Our breaths are flame, flickering, dying. But as long as it lasts- may it be eternal." He offers you his hand to shake again.

INNER HEAVEN [Legendary: Failure] - This time, it's not merely warm- but burning hot, as if you were grasping a furnace's interior. It hurts- it hurts! You blink, and there is a flash of horrible pain. When it finally stops, your hand is burned down to the bone.

IFRIT - She yelps. "What are you doing?!"

COMPOSURE [Legendary: Success] - To your credit, you didn't even step back- not even as flames consumed your flesh.

SVERDSMELTR - He tilts his head.

SUGGESTION [Godly: Failure] - Was he expecting this outcome?

INNER HEAVEN [Legendary: Failure] - It doesn't seem to hurt anymore, and the flesh is growing back. Though your hand is itching madly as it does, despite your efforts to suppress the feeling.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - At least you manage to stop it from shaking.

ABEL - He hesitates, but offers his hand soon enough.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - Painful-looking burns appear during the handshake, disappearing afterward. Abel fliches, but remains there. They were forming around his *wrist,* though, not the palm, where Sverdsmeltr was actually touching.

SVERDSMELTR - He turns at Ifrit. "It won't hurt you. I promise."

IFRIT - She looks afraid. But shakes it as well.

INNER HEAVEN [Legendary: Failure] - After she does so- without any signs of injuries, your heart burns. The pain is agonizing. You gasp out aloud. The fire is lit within your heart- you will never break this oath. You will not even consider it.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Failure] - When it stops, there's no sensation of relief.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Legendary: Failure] - There's a pattern here. It's an *oath,* maybe it has to do with the amount of lies you've told before? She's a child, she hasn't had the time to lie all that much.

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - I notice a rather big hole in the middle. "We must never tell a soul outside of this place." So...

TOP-GRADE OFFICER - All we need to do is bring someone here and we'd be able to tell them. Good job. I'll note that he definitely left that hole there intentionally.

LOGIC - He knows we might need to tell it to someone eventually, so he left an exit. He's not stupid.

1. - "Well, now, are you going to tell us what this was all about?"

YOU - "Well, now, are you going to tell us what this was all about?"

SVERDSMELTR - "The first thing is that Rhine Labs' experiments on Ifrit related to chimerization."

ABEL - "Surgical?"

SVERDSMELTR - "Partially. Do you have experience?"

ABEL - "Unfortunately."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Chimerization: The formation of a chimeric gene, the creation of a chimera. Chimera: Creature composed of parts of other creatures.

HC SVNT DRACONES - You're kind of redundant now, aren't you?

ENCYCLOPEDIA - You are entrusted with matters esoteric and indigenous, while I retain the mundane and "urbane."

LOGIC - So, fusing multiple creatures? Most likely fusing multiple *races* of Terrans.

THRILL OF THE HUNT - The extreme physical resilience of a Vouivre, alongside the legendary endurance and agility of a Kuranta. Or the poison-secretion of an Anura. A worthy foe, perhaps having the strengths of both and the weaknesses of none. It sounds like something that a Wing would definitely try to persue for military purposes. In fact, they already have so.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - Yes. G. Corp- the old G. Corp- and their insect hybrids.

SVERDSMELTR - "Hm-hm. Continuing- my kind is all but dead. However, a few shards of Originium, holding the memories and consciousnesses of certain powerful members of our greatest Casters- remain. The project intended to implant those within you, Ifrit." He sighs."And they succeeded. You have all of my powers, and all of my potential. If your Oripathy does not claim you first, I dare say you could grow even stronger then I was."

IFRIT - "That's..." Her eyes are gleaming. "So cool! Were you a king?"

HC SVNT DRACONES [Easy: Success] - No.

SVERDSMELTR - "I was of the king's honor guard. Our king was not a grand Caster or blade champion- it was his great will to power, and his skill at politics, that brought him to the throne."

IFRIT - "Am I going to get even stronger!?"

SVERDSMELTR - "If you continue doing your homework every day and paying attention to your Arts lessons, you will."

IFRIT - "Dammit!"

SVERDSMELTR - "Language." He coughs. "Either way, the experiment retrieved the shards of my kind- most came from me, but a few came from others. Their consciousnesses have long since faded. They drove them into you, Ifrit, inducing hybridization. Melding the memories they had- the memories of my flesh- into your own. Through the years, I believe that will lead to certain, well, physical transformations."

IFRIT - "Transformations? Like, are my horns going to get the size of yours?"

SVERDSMELTR - "Most likely bigger. Our women had much larger horns." He seems embarrassed, even if you can't see his face. "Your tail, it definitely is shriveling a bit, so it will most likely fall off at some point-"

THRILL OF THE HUNT [Easy: Success] - Your own tail twitches. Don't worry. This one isn't dependent on mere *genetics.* It's a greater sort of weapon.

COMPOSURE - You haven't learned to suppress your emotional cues based on that one, not yet. You need to get that done.

IFRIT - "FALL OFF!?" Ifrit clutches her tail, panicking.

SVERDSMELTR - "Grow back again in a month or two, hopefully. Again, our women had larger tails, and yours will probably reach the ground. Mine was- is very short." He scratches his head. "Your eyes' color might get brighter, and your hair might get slightly darker. Some of us grew a second pair of horns. Around the back. If those start growing, remove them. They're like wisdom teeth, they're very unpleasant."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He is visibly insecure about his tail.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - The sound of someone scribbling on a notebook. Abel is taking notes.

1. - "Anything else?"
2. - "Why are we not supposed to tell anyone about this?"

YOU - "Why are we not supposed to tell anyone about this?"

SVERDSMELTR - "While the Diablo are gone, the rest of our empire remains... in a form. They would undoubtedly seek to extract me from her, should they learn I am alive, and aware." He says, with a mournful sigh. "We have fallen far, but I do not deny the empire of old would also do this. And there are other groups around the world that would be interested on a living Diablo."

ABEL - "Groups such as Rhine Labs itself, I believe."

SVERDSMELTR - "Most likely." He nods. "We do not know much, but we know Control allowed us to go. If they knew of me, they would have not done so."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Success] - The Control Section of Rhine Labs, obviously, controls the rest. Its leader is-

HC SVNT DRACONES [Easy: Success] - Kirsten Wright. Stop butting in.

1. - "Anything else?"
2. - "Why are we not supposed to tell anyone about this?"

YOU - "Anything else?"

SVERDSMELTR - "Hm. No. Most of it is not relevant at best. Do you have any other questions?"

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - Now that you already know about the experiments, Ifrit could be more open to talking about them. The topic has been breached, after all.

1. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
2. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
3. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
4. - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.
5. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.

YOU - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.

IFRIT - "Those bastard whitecoats?"

SVERDSMELTR - "Language."

IFRIT - "Shut it!"

1. - "Who else?"
2. - Simply nod.

YOU - Simply nod.

IFRIT - "I know I wasn't the only one there. There were definitely other people, too. They're probably still doing all of that." She thinks about something. "I think the guy in charge of me was that goat. The one you were talking about with Silence?"

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Ahrens Parvis. Everything seems to, in some way or another, trace back to him.

ABEL - "Ahrens Parvis."

IFRIT - "Yeah, and I bet he hasn't stopped."

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - If you agree with her in a more dramatic way, she'll like you quite a bit more.

1. - "Most likely not."
2. - "Unless you force them to, those kinds of people never stop. You either learn to live with it- or you beat them down until they have to stop, one way or another."

YOU - Unless you force them to, those kinds of people never stop. You either learn to live with it- or you beat them down until they have to stop, one way or another.

IFRIT - "You're right! We're going to have to bring them down!"

SVERDSMELTR - He looks at you with disapproval.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - He knows you're being a bit hypocritical and self-serving here. And you have a feeling he picked up some info on the City from stray conversations- enough to know you're a mercenary.

TOP-GRADE FIXER - And your kind don't last long if they go around talking- or thinking- like this.

1. - "Well, that's my job. Find out what they're doing, and stop them."
2. - Pat Ifrit in the head.

YOU - Pat Ifrit in the head.

IFRIT - She protests the pat initially, but relents quickly.

1. - Ask about Rhine Labs, and their experiments.
2. - Ask about Sverdsmeltr. What is he?
3. - Ask what is the deal between Saria and Silence.
4. - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.
5. - Ask about the voice that has been invading Ifrit's head.
6. - [Light of Possibility - Impossible 28] Come to a premature conclusion.

YOU - Insist on Ifrit's dreams.

IFRIT - She pauses, and mutters something incomprehensible.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Not to remember. She remembers it very vividly. To push past her fear.

IFRIT - She takes a long breath.

SVERDSMELTR - He looks at her and places his hand in her shoulder. "Ifrit, if you don't want to-"

IFRIT - "I want to. It's not just a dream, is it?"

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - It isn't.

PROPHET OF DARK DAYS [Godly: Success] - The spark of light knows better then you ever will. It was born of those dreams. It was born of me.

1. - "No."
2. - "It's just a dream, but it might lead to something important."

YOU - "No."

IFRIT - "Figures. Yeah, I'll tell you." She sighs. "It always goes... the same way. Always."

Task complete: Get Ifrit to open up about her dreams

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - Because the story never changes. It never will.

IFRIT - "I wake up in a straightjacket, again." She shivers at the memory. "The whitecoats are over me, talking. They're saying I deserve this, most of everyone. That me, out of everyone, deserves this. Someone protests, but it's halfhearted. Her voice is really warm, but even she gives up on me."

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - Forsaken by even the most merciful.

ABEL - His hands are shaking. He's stopped scribbling.

THEIR SHIELD [Easy: Success] - This is painful to him. Should we stop?

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Trivial: Success] - No.

PROPHET OF DARK DAYS [Easy: Success] - Greater horrors are ahead. This will not be what will break him.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - The recognition is very clear. It's a story he's heard before, word by word.

LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Something to do with Lobotomy Corporation, then. A vivid memory, witnessed by a living man. Not implanted in his head.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Godly: Failure] - He was just scratching his hands compulsively. It was really quick- almost missed it.

PROPHET OF DARK DAYS [Easy: Success] - Not exactly that. Pay more attention next time.

IFRIT - "The whitecoats say this is going to be the most I'll accomplish in my life. That I should be proud. That I should be honored. That I'm going to be part of something important- for once in my life." She says, voice almost a whisper. "Then they bring out the scalpels. They start cutting my head, and then I can't think. It doesn't hurt, but I'm still afraid. I can't think of anything when they're cutting my head open."

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - The dignity of a straitjacketed death row inmate wasn't something worth keeping intact.

IFRIT - "It's over, but they leave me on the straightjacket. Just in case. Eventually they... take it out, but I can't think. I can't think of anything anymore. I can't even get angry. I can't remember what I was supposed to do, I only remember that my head is... turning to metal. It's bigger, it's aching."

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - So no one felt guilty for him even as his brain rotted.

IFRIT - "Another one of the whitecoats comes over. They want to feed me, but I don't have a mouth. I bash my head into the wall. I bash it again into something wet. I hear bone cracking. Then the dream-"

LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY [Impossible: Success] - Now, the straitjacket is nothing but an accessory- to the hatred and anger that remains.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - The world changes in the blink of a second. The endless shining emptiness is no more. You sit at a gloomy medical room with a tiled floor. The windows are white, and barred. There are various medical tables spread across the room. Aside from the blocked off windows, the only exit is a pair of doors.

DRAMA [Formidable: Success] - EXIT SVERDSMELTR. EXIT ABEL. The stage is unveiled.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - It's only you and Ifrit- and the man in the ground. He is near bald. His grey, asphyxiate-colored skin and snapped neck give him the appearance of a corpse. He wears a cream straightjacket with black straps.

FORSAKEN MURDERER - "The dream is over. And I'm here."

EDGE ALIGNMENT [Trivial: Success] - Your hand is already moving to your sheathe. His straps are already shaking- get ready.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Failure] - I'd crack some sort of joke. But I can't think of one now.

[ ] Write-in.