maybe it's because the memories this week have been making him think of the old days with yuty and aj so much, but the sound of crying gets to him a little more than it otherwise might have. and even if it could be a trap, he wouldn't feel good about turning his back on it and going the other way.
so after only a brief moment of hesitation, he goes to the right. ]
the trees bow over his head for a moment - wind whistles through them, carrying the sound of the crying. as he walks the path, he'll realize that it sounds familiar: a small female voice, hiccuping. the fog stays as thick and oppressive here, but as he moves, he can see the landscape is still much the same. bushes, trees, a dirt road.
"You guys didn't have to..."
the voice says, half on a laugh, half on a cry. it melts into a sob. "I just wanted to be good...." ]
that already hits him pretty hard, and now he thinks it's probably even more likely that this way was a trap... but he's not even considering turning around, so he doesn't bother to look behind him to see if the other path is still available. he could never just walk away from her.
he keeps following the voice to wherever it's trying to lead him. ]
[ datz why do you think i would ever lead you in a trap. :(
forward he goes. the darkness seems to get heavier with each step that datz makes. the sobbing girl's voice melts away, like it's fading.
another voice that sounds like a hubbub of discussion, hard to pick out initial words, but datz can pick them up. "Rebellion." "Prison break." "We'll get you out of here."
the past and the present seem to meld together. the young girl sobs. "You all tried. You couldn't break me out. You tried... you tried..."
he can hear the sound of bells, too. they seem to echo with footsteps, marking time with datz. ]
[ because you are the authority on this cyoa and he trusts no authority
those overlapping voices that come in (from a certain direction, or all around? how about the bells?) are unsettling in their own way, especially when he still hasn't seen the image of a single person out here. makes him question whether there's really something out there or if this is all in his head somehow.
there's a pang of guilt when he hears her cry again, but— he frowns at the words once they've fully registered. sure, they feel right, but... she'd never said that, had she? never made it sound like what they did hadn't been good enough. she'd smiled and laughed, and that's why even if that mission was objectively a failure, he'd do it all over again. ]
[ (temenos voice) that's my love arrow assigned boyfriend
anyway. they are coming from all around! that's a great question to ask. it almost feels like there's no source to them. like no matter how far you run, or how much closer you get, you'll never catch up to them.
the girl's voice peters off into sobs, and it melds into another. a female voice this time. "My child is fatherless. I am loveless. He gave it all for me - but it was all because of you."
datz can start to feel it - a hand crawls up his back, skittering like a bug - claw fingers, curling into the backs of his clothes. ]
for a moment he's confused by this change, by the shift from mika to someone back home, which seems incredibly far away now after traveling to two different worlds. but it hits him soon after, and then he feels like a jerk for letting a comrade he respects as much as her slip from his mind.
the fingers on his back make him flinch, and for a moment he almost thinks he can feel the flutter of the black veil she once wore against the back on his neck.
the reality is that it's all because of the ga'ran regime, just like everything is. without the dc act there'd be no rebellion, and the high priest and his wife never would have gotten mixed up in anything dangerous; they never would have been backed into a corner like they were.
but anything can be traced back to an acceptably distant root cause if you follow the thread of cause and effect back far enough. it doesn't change the fact that it was his escape they were aiding when it actually happened, or that he was right on the other side of the curtain while tahrust was bleeding out. ]
[ there's silence, for a moment, when datz accepts it. for the briefest moment, his lantern flares with a brilliant blue light - it pushes back the darkness long enough that he can see forward. the path continues onwards, and the purple fog is radiating from a distant temple.
the woman's voice says, Do you think flowers are enough? Does remembering make it right?
and like that, the vacuum closes as soon as it came. the fog oozes back into place. each step you take feels like wading through a swamp: it's getting colder, and colder. the sound of bells continues, like the high priest walks beside you. as if this is normal. tahrust could look right at you and smile. the high priest could offer you rousing words. but in this darkness, there is only their sorrow, their despair.
We have sacrificed all for this revolution. Dhurke sacrificed all. And you were too little, too late: and now, you play hero in a city. Have you forgotten about us?
datz: do you stand still? or do you continue to walk forward? ]
[ he nearly drops the lantern when it flares, but then as he looks down at it... he smiles a little, even as the darkness comes flooding back and the cold fog chills his spine. ]
Yeah. You've all sacrificed way too much already. But I'm not gonna let it be for nothing — just like you didn't. Continuing forward's the best I can do for all of you.
[ he holds up his lantern in the darkness. ]
You saw that a second ago, right? I still got the will o' the dragon burning in me no matter where I am.
in the distance, there's a bright, blinding blue light. it's like a bomb went off - explosive enough to cut through the darkness of the fog.
the shadowy hands writhe and start to multiply, grabbing onto datz's clothes, his body. one grabs across his face, claws digging into to try and pull, pull, pull. it's desperation, now, trying to yank him backwards, pull him into something.
how good is your willpower, datz are'bal?
if you fall into the shadows, if you join the darkness, you never have to worry. you can see the people you've lost all over again. you can mire into your regrets.
or, you can throw yourself forward, against the shadows, and run towards the light. the lantern in your hand flickers again.
[ if he gives up now, he's got no business showing his face in front of any of his old comrades ever again, so as far as he's concerned that's no offer at all.
so he is absolutely pulling himself forward out of the grasp of those hands, no matter how many claw marks they leave on him in the process, and he'll hack away with that dagger of his again if he needs to. ]
[ datz, you are tough, aren't you? you are unbreakable. you are unafraid, and you know who you are. you know the darkness, and the way that it creeps in, the way it harms. you know to be a revolutionary is to be a light.
as a claw rakes across your left eye, leaving a stinging, sharp scratch that will not take away your entire eyeball because i said no, you manage to hack, and slash, and stab at the hands, over, and over, and over. and with sheer determination, sheer datz are'bal energy, you shove forward, bleeding and cut up but alive.
the light in your lantern flares. white. blue. the monster shrieks, taking damage - there's a violent clash of purple shadow and blue light and then, like a bat out of hell, you break free.
THE TRUTH LIES IN THE FLAME.
in the distance, you can see the door to a temple. the air is wet and humid - this is a jungle, you've been dragged to, and the temple rises ominously in the distance. more than that, though, you can see ponta clinging onto the entrance of the temple for absolute dear life.
in your hand, you realize, you're clutching a sheet of paper. but maybe that will be relevant after you save ponta from getting his legs ripped off by an evil shadow. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
maybe it's because the memories this week have been making him think of the old days with yuty and aj so much, but the sound of crying gets to him a little more than it otherwise might have. and even if it could be a trap, he wouldn't feel good about turning his back on it and going the other way.
so after only a brief moment of hesitation, he goes to the right. ]
no subject
the trees bow over his head for a moment - wind whistles through them, carrying the sound of the crying. as he walks the path, he'll realize that it sounds familiar: a small female voice, hiccuping. the fog stays as thick and oppressive here, but as he moves, he can see the landscape is still much the same. bushes, trees, a dirt road.
"You guys didn't have to..."
the voice says, half on a laugh, half on a cry. it melts into a sob. "I just wanted to be good...." ]
no subject
that already hits him pretty hard, and now he thinks it's probably even more likely that this way was a trap... but he's not even considering turning around, so he doesn't bother to look behind him to see if the other path is still available. he could never just walk away from her.
he keeps following the voice to wherever it's trying to lead him. ]
no subject
forward he goes. the darkness seems to get heavier with each step that datz makes. the sobbing girl's voice melts away, like it's fading.
another voice that sounds like a hubbub of discussion, hard to pick out initial words, but datz can pick them up. "Rebellion." "Prison break." "We'll get you out of here."
the past and the present seem to meld together. the young girl sobs. "You all tried. You couldn't break me out. You tried... you tried..."
he can hear the sound of bells, too. they seem to echo with footsteps, marking time with datz. ]
no subject
those overlapping voices that come in (from a certain direction, or all around? how about the bells?) are unsettling in their own way, especially when he still hasn't seen the image of a single person out here. makes him question whether there's really something out there or if this is all in his head somehow.
there's a pang of guilt when he hears her cry again, but— he frowns at the words once they've fully registered. sure, they feel right, but... she'd never said that, had she? never made it sound like what they did hadn't been good enough. she'd smiled and laughed, and that's why even if that mission was objectively a failure, he'd do it all over again. ]
no subject
anyway. they are coming from all around! that's a great question to ask. it almost feels like there's no source to them. like no matter how far you run, or how much closer you get, you'll never catch up to them.
the girl's voice peters off into sobs, and it melds into another. a female voice this time. "My child is fatherless. I am loveless. He gave it all for me - but it was all because of you."
datz can start to feel it - a hand crawls up his back, skittering like a bug - claw fingers, curling into the backs of his clothes. ]
no subject
for a moment he's confused by this change, by the shift from mika to someone back home, which seems incredibly far away now after traveling to two different worlds. but it hits him soon after, and then he feels like a jerk for letting a comrade he respects as much as her slip from his mind.
the fingers on his back make him flinch, and for a moment he almost thinks he can feel the flutter of the black veil she once wore against the back on his neck.
the reality is that it's all because of the ga'ran regime, just like everything is. without the dc act there'd be no rebellion, and the high priest and his wife never would have gotten mixed up in anything dangerous; they never would have been backed into a corner like they were.
but anything can be traced back to an acceptably distant root cause if you follow the thread of cause and effect back far enough. it doesn't change the fact that it was his escape they were aiding when it actually happened, or that he was right on the other side of the curtain while tahrust was bleeding out. ]
...Yeah. Probably so.
no subject
the woman's voice says, Do you think flowers are enough? Does remembering make it right?
and like that, the vacuum closes as soon as it came. the fog oozes back into place. each step you take feels like wading through a swamp: it's getting colder, and colder. the sound of bells continues, like the high priest walks beside you. as if this is normal. tahrust could look right at you and smile. the high priest could offer you rousing words. but in this darkness, there is only their sorrow, their despair.
We have sacrificed all for this revolution. Dhurke sacrificed all. And you were too little, too late: and now, you play hero in a city. Have you forgotten about us?
datz: do you stand still? or do you continue to walk forward? ]
no subject
Yeah. You've all sacrificed way too much already. But I'm not gonna let it be for nothing — just like you didn't. Continuing forward's the best I can do for all of you.
[ he holds up his lantern in the darkness. ]
You saw that a second ago, right? I still got the will o' the dragon burning in me no matter where I am.
no subject
in the distance, there's a bright, blinding blue light. it's like a bomb went off - explosive enough to cut through the darkness of the fog.
the shadowy hands writhe and start to multiply, grabbing onto datz's clothes, his body. one grabs across his face, claws digging into to try and pull, pull, pull. it's desperation, now, trying to yank him backwards, pull him into something.
how good is your willpower, datz are'bal?
if you fall into the shadows, if you join the darkness, you never have to worry. you can see the people you've lost all over again. you can mire into your regrets.
or, you can throw yourself forward, against the shadows, and run towards the light. the lantern in your hand flickers again.
a voice - unfamiliar, this time, asks:
...Will o' the dragon? ]
no subject
so he is absolutely pulling himself forward out of the grasp of those hands, no matter how many claw marks they leave on him in the process, and he'll hack away with that dagger of his again if he needs to. ]
That's what I said! What's it to ya?
no subject
as a claw rakes across your left eye, leaving a stinging, sharp scratch that will not take away your entire eyeball because i said no, you manage to hack, and slash, and stab at the hands, over, and over, and over. and with sheer determination, sheer datz are'bal energy, you shove forward, bleeding and cut up but alive.
the light in your lantern flares. white. blue. the monster shrieks, taking damage - there's a violent clash of purple shadow and blue light and then, like a bat out of hell, you break free.
THE TRUTH LIES IN THE FLAME.
in the distance, you can see the door to a temple. the air is wet and humid - this is a jungle, you've been dragged to, and the temple rises ominously in the distance. more than that, though, you can see ponta clinging onto the entrance of the temple for absolute dear life.
in your hand, you realize, you're clutching a sheet of paper. but maybe that will be relevant after you save ponta from getting his legs ripped off by an evil shadow. ]