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⬣//SPREAD, CONTAMINATE, ERADICATE
You've had a chance to adapt to your new circumstances and make peace with what your life has become… hopefully. If you haven't, don't expect life to get any easier.
A few things have changed in recent days. Healing no longer works as effectively as it did in the past. If you're in the habit of behaving recklessly, don't expect one of Fragment's few healers to pick up the slack. Broken bones will now remain broken no matter how many healing spells are cast on your shattered limbs. Damage to organs can't be repaired with the wave of a wand.
What's more, HP and SP restoring items have gotten harder and harder to come by. Potions are no longer available for purchase at generic NPC shops and gatherable items needed for crafting have become fewer and fewer in number, limiting your item making options. If you've gotten into the bad habit of injuring yourself heedless of the consequences, it's time to rethink your lifestyle. Playtime is over.
Think of the three core memories that have formed and shaped the person you are today. Some will think back fondly on family and friends while others have been jaded by the ill treatment they've received from important figures in their lives. In any case, it's of little concern to you now. One of those three precious memories has vacated your mind, taking with it a vital piece of you that you can no longer get back.
You may choose one of the three key memories listed on your application to be taken away from your character. Choices are limited to the memories supplied in your application and additional memories submitted for the previous memshare event or not eligible for convenient plot-induced memory loss. Choose wisely, because you aren't getting it back.
And Sky Fish, and Disco Knives, and Evil Armors…
Has anyone noticed the monsters around town lately? Which town, you may ask? The answer is all of them.
Monsters have invaded Root Towns in large waves, attacking anything and everything in sight. Any lovingly crafted signs or other furnishings you've erected around town are easily torn to shreds and destroyed by the monsters who have come to roost in your once safe Root Towns. On the plus side, PvE and PvP has now been enabled in all Root Towns, which is excellent news for those who wish to combat the monster invasion and those who can't seem to help hurting themselves and others.
These monsters range in level from 50 to 75, and while many of them can be defeated with a bit of ingenuity and teamwork, some of them boast impenetrable shields that no regular attacks or spells can break through. They are also immune to status/potion/armor effects.
When in doubt, turn to your fellow players for support. There may be some among you who know how to deal with these impossibly strong monsters, but there's no guarantee that they'll want to help you.
A lilting, boyish voice sings to you in your sleep. His voice sounds familiar to you, tickling your heart like a call from an old friend, but this is no friend of yours.
"You had every chance to abandon this world and return to your own. What stopped you? Was it ego? Hubris? In any case, it's too late for regrets now.
They say the world is what you make of it. Doesn't the same hold true for reality?"
The voice will periodically visit you and your sleep, but the moral of his message never changes: you did this to yourself. You were trapped here because you chose to look the other way. If anyone is to blame for the current situation, it's you and you alone, but there is a̸̬̲͔̘͈͚̠̫̘̬̗̖̋͑̉̓̿͛̈́̋͐̃̾̈̕̕ͅń̵̩̱̠̫̖̬̲̻͉̝̈́̀̀̚͜͜o̴͍͎̣͔̤̝̲͍̺̿̒t̴̨͚͓͍̜̮̥͊͑̿̈́̉̂̐͜͠͝h̷̨̨̦͕͖̙̞͙̗̗͎̬͛̂̾̋̅͜͜͝ȩ̸͎̭̙̜̯͎̯̳̮̘̲͒ȑ̸̡̧̢͓̠̦͙͇͍͎̭͑̈́̓̿̓̅̑̅̌͑̈́̕͝͝ ̴̧̼͕̟̬̰̞̮̗͔͈̬̙͍̈́̀w̵̗̖̩̘͇͖̲̩̫̣̗̙̲̌͜a̷̛͎͋͑̃͛̆̈̋̑̋͠y̴̡̬͕͈̗̫̯̟̯͊͐̌̀̐͑͘͝͝.
Another h̶̦̘̤̘͐͑̿̂̏̎͋͝o̴̧͖͚̖̜͓͂̏́͒̑̈́͝͝p̶̡͙̏̉̿̎̀̑́̈̆͌̉e̷̡̡̦̣̯̘̺͍̟̰͍̤͛̀́̚͝͠. Will you heed that voice and call to it?
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No, you had him. He was your friend—Demian! You were talking about him so fondly too... back at the hall of mirrors.
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[Sinclair murmurs softly, testing the name on his tongue. It's not familiar. There's no stirring of warmth, the feelings an old crush should inspire. When he reaches back, he can't place a face or name like that.
...and when he thinks about his conversation with Oria back then, and then afterwards: what had it been? What did he say? Why does everything become so fuzzy? He remembers Oria's memory with clarity, the pain Oria had been hiding all this time. What--]
...Oria. What did I say?
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[ Oria draws the symbol in the air next to then so that Sinclair can see it clearly. ]
... He was everything you wanted to be.
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[ Sinclair murmurs, his brow furrowing. That necklace...]
I have one like that. At home somewhere. [ But think think] But I don't remember where it came from. Or what I wanted to be back then.
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[ So it definitely sounds personal. ]
You also said that before your project, you never spoke to him, but after he saved you from being paired with Kromer, you talked to him a lot more.
Then your crush got super big.
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[ There's this nagging sense of wrongness he can't escape. He can't work it out. He believes Oria is telling the truth. But...how?]
And how are you certain it was a big crush anyway?
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[ ... ]
It's because we were talking about him.
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[ His fingers curl in Oria's shirt]
I do remember you teasing me for that but it's like...bits and pieces have been cut out from a recording. I don't know how we started talking about that.
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... This is really starting to sound like the problem Nanashi had. Your memories were replaced to make things fit while taking Demian out of them. I think that necklace is proof enough.
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[He feels sick. If he hadn't told Oria, would he have even realised?]
...what about you?
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[ Because it's true. There's the entire experiment where people thought they saw something, but they were wrong, mostly because they were convinced otherwise. ]
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[Because of more concrete things: the mirrors, the armor... ]
What were you thinking of?
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[There's only one ex Sinclair is aware of that Oria talks about in that manner. He pulls back to study Oria's expression]
Oria, he died--you told me. I saw your memory --
1/2
The expression that Sinclair ends up seeing— ]
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Stop. Give... me a moment.
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... I'm sorry.
[ He didn't want Oria to look like that because of him]
cw emeto mention
His new special gear smells like the ocean.
Oria doesn't remember why, but his body does. He feels like he can smell the ocean right now despite their location and feels sick to his stomach. He won't throw up right this moment, but the crashing sound of the waves, the salty air...
It's not the loss of memory itself that's making Oria lose it--it's realizing that he's lost control over his own mental capacity, his own being. He can't remember? He trusts Sinclair not to lie to him about things like this. If his ex didn't just ghost him and was dead... Oria Severine is supposed to keep things under control, much less his own self. If he loses control of himself, then what else will he lose control over?
Even in front of people that Oria trusts, he tries not to be seen as extremely vulnerable. Sure, he can look sad or angry, but he can always bounce back from that. But the ongoing worries and fear of becoming replaced have finally taken their toll as well.
It's barely a sound when Oria opens his mouth while ducking his head so that his face can't be seen--a whimper.
Oria Severine is breaking. ]
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His chest aches. Seeing Oria like this--
Sinclair moves, drawing Oria into another hug, letting Oria hide his face against his shoulder. He holds him tightly, as if this much will keep the pieces from breaking apart any further]
...the only one here is me. Anything you want to say, anything you need to feel--you can let it out. It won't change who you are, Oria. Strong. Clever. Dependable. Everything that I will always love.
[this is Sinclair's guarantee, his safe guard against every thing this world wants to take from them]
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[ He shudders when he breathes out with his face against Sinclair's shoulder. It feels really shameful when he can't find the words to say when he should always know what to say. It's frustrating. It hurts his pride. ]
Will I remember again? Like the illness that spread a while ago?
[ Oria clearly did not take it well before when this sort of thing happened. ]
How much of myself will I lose? All that I built... all that I...
[ He wants to scream so badly, but he can't. Not right now. It's not something he wants to say nor need to feel. He doesn't need any of these things right now. He wants to go back to how he was before, with everything intact and-- ]
I...
[ .....................................................................
Oria is extremely blanking out right now as if his mind is shutting down, not knowing how to process this. ]
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[ Right now, they're digitised. Data. There should be a prior state that can't be overridden. Bits and pieces - the memory loss hadn't been perfect. Now that he was aware, he could see the blanks in his memory. Conversations with Oria no longer seemed to make sense.
Names said aloud replaced with spaces ------ and silence.
He wont offer empty reassurances. Neither of them were built for that. Focus on the present. Future. What can they do?]
We need to try something. Anything. If this is Lily's doing, then...he wants us easy to manipulate. But there must be a way to stop it. To fix it. We can't lose hope yet.
[ He shakes his head, holding Oria tightly]
I wont let you forget yourself. Everything you are, all that you've done, that belongs to you and no one else. Nothing will take your place.
[ His fingers curl tightly against Oria's back, leaving imprints. What can he do? What can he say? Softly:]
Are you really going to let a ten year old win?
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... No.
[ If words of comfort don't work, tap into vengeance. Tap into his vindictive personality. Sinclair would know that the best. ]
I've had it with that shitty brat. We're going to leave this place alive. Together.
So, tell me.
[ Moving on is what he's been taught to do. It's the only thing he can do right now, for the sake of progress. ]
... What did I forget? Don't hold anything back.
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Together.
[Sinclair echoes, soft and strong. He nods, reaching for those memories, where he felt he had been Oria himself. ]
I saw it in the Hall of Mirrors. You were in a hospital room. It was quiet, empty. He--Lenore--he was suffering from cystic fibrosis. It was terminal. It made his skin taste salty. There were flowers. You snuck a fake one in there, I think. That was the only one that was still alive. He was in so much pain. And so were you.
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... Ha.
[ He huffs out a lone laugh in its absurdity. ]
That sure sounds like me. What a lame pun too...
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He was dreaming of becoming a pilot, wasn't he? But he couldn't. You wanted him to be...free from it. From his pain. But you stopped. [pause, this is where he wasn't sure what happened but]
Even so, people believed you pulled his life support. There was a court case over it but they judged you had nothing to do with it. But there were so many rumors afterwards. It was ugly. You weren't allowed to go to his funeral, or visit his grave. And, at the school meet, you looked so sad. That's why I tried talking to you then. And ate all that food even if I didn't want to. I wanted you to see there were people who didn't believe that.
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