Lost Souls

[shimmershimmer]

[You don't wake up, exactly, but at some point you come to. There's something wrong with you, a numbness and translucency. Should you try to touch something, your hand will pass through it. Why, it's as if you were a ghost. So that's the bad news. Sorry about that. The good news is that mentally, you've woken up entirely. You remember the real truth of who you are, your relationship to your so-called "family," and all the other lies you've been fed by the Shimmering Lady.

You can move freely around what you will soon realize to be the village. The reason why it may take moment of realization is simply because it doesn't look anything like you remember it. The sky is black, the grass is dead, and the cottages are run-down and shoddy concrete buildings. The pond is dirty, and there are no animals whatsoever, anywhere.

And the temple. It's more like a storehouse than a temple. The Shimmering Lady is there, or that mass of flesh and tendrils that calls itself the Shimmering Lady...

She doesn't seem to see or hear you. When the others exit their "homes," neither will they. And there's some strange force keeping you within the walls...]

((Popcorn, mingle, curse the Lady, etc! Also! There will be a special thing for you to do here once Night 01 starts. Watch for it~ :>))

Comments

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ OK, Oswin's head is no longer in immediate mortal peril. Now that that mess is dealt with for the time being, it's time to see if he can get any information out of our new resident demon here on the wrong (right?) side of wakefulness. ]

Isaac McDougal. Might I ask you some things? You are the only one here who can provide a "demon's" perspective.

[glaciates]

Yeah. I don't see any point in hiding anything from you guys now. I'll try to answer any questions as best I can.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Thank you for your cooperation. Allow me to start by cutting straight to the heart of the matter: what is your aim in all this? What is it the demons hope to accomplish?

[glaciates]

We were "woken" in the middle of the night to speak to an entity calling himself the Gentleman. He told us that the Lady was lying to us, which is apparently true. We were supposed to cut the number of townspeople down to equal the number of Demons, then we'd beat the Lady. We were told that everyone put to sleep would be able to be saved, so none of us thought anything about choosing our targets during the night. We could have refused to select anyone, but no one thought about that. I guess we were too riled up about the whole thing.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Oswin nods in understanding. ]

At least you have been acting in good faith. Though.... Let me explain to you in turn what I have seen to happen here at night.

The thing that calls itself the Lady leaves her "temple" in the night and the souls of those in the village come out to follow her. It is true that last night, I pulled Kimblee away from her and that is why he does not sleep as the rest of us do, but that isn't all there is of note.

Our physicians, yourself, and young Tsukiyama. All four of you are here because the Lady prevented your souls from returning to your bodies.

[glaciates]

Wait, seriously? So even the ones the Demons chose to put to sleep were stopped by her? Is that right?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

That is entirely correct. I see no other explanation but that your Gentleman and the Lady are actually one and the same, though I... I cannot imagine why.

[glaciates]

No way... Is she trying to pit us against each other for some reason? The only thing I can think is that this is some kind of sick game that she wants to play for... some reason, but there's got to be more to it than that.

[This whole thing is almost as disturbing as the shit going on back home with the government, so congrats, Lady??]

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

A game.... Bulat said the same thing. I certainly hope there is more to it than that. Being toyed with like this does not sit well with me.

...Do you know who your comrades are likely to choose tonight? If we can save one of the faithful in the same manner I saved Kimblee, then we can at least see from her reaction if she favors one side over the other.

[glaciates]

Unfortunately I don't know for sure. Fulbright's one the Demons wanted to get rid of, but everyone was sure that the Templar would protect him. It might be the Maddened tonight though now that they've outed themselves. Last night we tried to choose someone random since in the end it's really just a numbers game to the Demons.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Hm. I agree that as long as the Templar is a factor, Fulbright is an unlikely target. Until we know which side the Lady favors, he is probably best left alone, regardless. I would not want to risk interfering with his visions.

The Maddened pair is a likely one. The Templar is not likely to prioritize their survival over Fulbright's. If anyone else seems they would catch the demons' eye, please do not hesitate to say anything. I would not suggest waking more than we have to, but we are not limited to only one.

[glaciates]

I understand. I'll let you know if I see someone I think they might be targeting, but I can't guarantee that I'll spot anything.