The Lapse

Link to article: The Lapse.

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[[=]]
+ Chapter 1: The Lapse
[[/=]]

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|January 13th, 2022.##

##000000|I dream of a world where I can return in time. I want a world where the pain of immortality doesn't cling so heavily to the heart. A place to confide in your eternity.##

##000000|If there were an opportunity to meet you again, I would've ushered in the chance without a second thought.##

##000000|If I could tell you something incessantly, it would be, "I love you." Not because I'm afraid you'll forget, but because when the time comes for you to depart, your final memory is full of a truth truer than the universe's constants.##

##000000|I love you from Hell to Heaven.##

[[/div]]

On January 4th, 2016, an eigenweapon was launched against the Global Occult Coalition and its subsidiary members. Approximately 75% of the Coalition's population was rendered debilitated.

The PANGAEA Division Initiative immediately enacted the Cataclysmic Emergency Act (2003) under the direct oversight of the Undersecretariat. Despite being affiliated with the GOC, PANGAEA had no casualties, allowing it to launch MOBCOM (Mobile Command) to substitute absent HICOM personnel.

The eigenweapon impacted the following organizations:
* Council of 108 members
* HICOM (~50 personnel)
* PHYSICS Division (~150,000 personnel)
* PSYCHE Division (~50,000 personnel)
* PTOLEMY Division (~20,000 personnel)
* PNEUMA Division (~1000 personnel)

Publicly, the Coalition denied such an incident from occurring in fear of hostile organizations exploiting an opportunistic gap in security.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 5th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Unit 5C, Rm 433A

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
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**Dr. Silver:** Are you out of your mind?

**Dr. Xu:** As far as I'm aware, she suffered a severe hemorrhage. She's displaying all the symptoms of—

**Dr. Silver:** Stop.

**Dr. Xu:** We need all the beds we can get. If we can save someone else—

**Dr. Silver:** We are NOT giving up on her.

//An alarm rings over the intercom five times. The two doctors stand in front of patient Alice Priya, who lies on a hospital bed.//

**Intercom:** Code Blue, Code Blue, Code Blue, Dr. Azrael Silver to unit 5A, room 431B, immediately. Code Blue, Code Blue—

**Dr. Xu:** You need to answer that.

**Dr. Silver:** You first.

//Dr. Silver motions to the room's door. Dr. Xu sighs.//

**Dr. Xu:** Azrael, I'm not going to—

**Dr. Silver:** Go. Get out.

**Dr. Xu:** That bed could be used for someone else who has a better chance. You have to understand that.

**Dr. Silver:** I'll have you replaced.

**Dr. Xu:** THERE IS NO OTHER REPLACEMENTS!

**Intercom:** Code Blue, Code Blue. Dr. Silver to unit—

**Dr. Xu:** You need to answer that. Get moving.

**Dr. Silver:** I don't take orders from you.

//Dr. Silver forcefully grabs Dr. Xu's coat and drags him out of the room, who grapples against Dr. Silver. Outside the room in the hallway, there is a loud clamor, which is then abruptly cut short by a dull blow. There is a collective gasp. Numerous voices begin shouting, most calling for security.//

**Intercom:** Code Blue, I repeat, Code Blue. Any available physician, please respond.

[[/div]]

Upon the incident being sufficiently allayed, medical reports indicated that patients affected by this eigenweapon displayed rapid cellular degradation. PTOLEMY R&D confirmed this suspicion after //in vitro// culture plates holding patient cell samples exhibited erratic apoptosis. There was no further evidence of a pathogenic or bioweapon agent inducing this reaction.

Approximately 8% of the Coalition (~32,000 personnel) perished instantly or shortly after the eigenweapon's deployment. The remaining 72% (~288,000 personnel) were rushed to nearby ICUs and immediately hospitalized.

There is no treatment or cure. Every patient affected by this phenomenon died.

[[include component:image-block name=before.jpg|align=center|width=80%|caption=Taken with an inverted microscope. Day 1 of human cells extracted from a patient affected by the unknown eigenweapon.]]

@@ @@


[[include component:image-block name=after.jpg|align=center|width=80%|caption=Taken with an inverted microscope. Day 19 of human cells extracted from a patient affected by the unknown eigenweapon.]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 6th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Unit 5C, Rm 501A

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[[/div]]
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//Professor Williams removes his glasses and throws them on the desk. He pinches the bridge of his nose with a scrunched nose.//

**Professor Williams:** Tell me, Dr. Silver, precisely what we're doing here.

**Dr. Silver:** To save lives.

//Williams stands up and opens his mouth. After glaring down at Dr. Silver, William sits back down.//

**Professor Williams:** Let Dr. Xu handle Alice and—

**Dr. Silver:** We are here to save lives. Dr. Xu is not interested in that mission.

//Williams sighs.//

**Professor Williams:** You are out of line. You agreed to reserve your qualms—to be selfless. It's a sacrifice, yes, but you vowed that if that day comes, you would honor it. Please, I truly cannot afford to lose another physician.

**Dr. Silver:** If that's the case, assign Alice to me.

**Professor Williams:** Did you not hear a single word I said?

**Dr. Silver:** Crystal. Loud and clear. You can't afford to lose another physician.

//Dr. Silver stands and leans over the desk.//

**Dr. Silver:** I'm aware that what I'm doing is wrong. It's against the rules. It's unfair.

**Professor Williams:** Listen—

**Dr. Silver:** But you and I both know what it’s like to care about someone.

**Professor Williams:** This is a waste of time.

**Dr. Silver:** I know it is. I know it's unfair to put one above many.

//There is a knock on the door. Before Professor Williams can answer it, Dr. Silver stops him and walks to the door. Upon opening it, a hand holding a manilla folder peers through. Dr. Silver grabs it and says something indistinct. He closes the door and walks back to Professor Williams' desk, throwing the folder onto it.//

**Professor Williams:** What is this?

**Dr. Silver:** It's a simple surgery. Ten minutes of prep, thirty minutes in the OR, then she can rest post-op in that room. I have the scrub techs going right now.

**Professor Williams:** You can't be serious. Not without my authorization.

**Dr. Silver:** Better than labeling a patient "brain dead" when they're alive. Harold, I know you're new to this. Half of us are new at everything now. But triaging involves the assessment of urgency, not the abandonment of faith in your patients. Alice will never be repaid the debt of gratitude this world owes her. And if I didn't know any better, from an empty man like me, I would've paid that total sum tenfold more than what everyone owes her.

//Dr. Silver walks to the office door and opens it halfway.//

**Dr. Silver:** So yeah, I hear you, Harold. It's against the rules. It's unfair. But you know you’d do the same if it was your fiance on that bed. That’s just the truth. Don't you think it's unfair that in Alice’s pursuit of becoming a hero, she still hasn't realized that she already is one? Is that her or our fault?

//Dr. Silver takes a step through the door.//

**Dr. Silver:** If no one has faith in her, then I will stretch out and fill that gap myself.

[[/div]]

The culprit responsible for detonating this eigenweapon was unknown. Due to strained resources, the PNEUMA Division was unequipped to launch an investigation promptly.

Nonetheless, the Undersecretary-General, D.C. al Fine, reconvened with MOBCOM and remaining administrative personnel to actualize numerous contingency plans.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 8th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Unit 5C, Rm 433A

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**Alice Priya:** When was the last time you slept?

**Dr. Silver:** Just a while ago. Short nap.

**Alice Priya:** Liar.

**Dr. Silver:** How's that?

**Alice Priya:** Something called dark circles and baggy eyes. And bad acting.

//Dr. Silver chuckles. He pulls out his mobile device and checks his face.//

**Dr. Silver:** I don't even have any right now.

**Alice Priya:** Liar.

//Dr. Silver scoffs, shoving the device back into his coat pocket. He breathes in deeply and then exhales.//

**Dr. Silver:** The day you were admitted.

**Alice Priya:** And how long have I been here?

**Dr. Silver:** Three days. Four if you count the initial rush.

//Alice shakes her head.//

**Alice Priya:** You idiot.

**Dr. Silver:** You know how it is. Especially in a hospital. Well, especially now.

**Alice Priya:** That's if you're working. I don't see you running around the halls.

**Dr. Silver:** I //am// working.

//Dr. Silver smiles. Alice rolls her eyes and smacks his shoulder. They sit in silence, Alice staring off into the back wall and Dr. Silver's gaze never breaking from Alice.//

**Alice Priya:** Why don't you say it?

//Alice keeps her eyes trained on the back wall.//

**Dr. Silver:** There's no need to.

**Alice Priya:** Still shy?

//Dr. Silver shrugs. Alice moves to the edge of the bed near where Dr. Silver sits. She grabs his hands and slowly brings them to her cheek.//

**Alice Priya:** I love you.

//Alice's back blocks Dr. Silver's face.//

**Dr. Silver:** I know.

[[/div]]

Due to the overwhelming influx of patients, covert GOC hospitals were unable to treat every patient. Due to Second Mission concerns, MOBCOM decided not to request additional assistance from mundane hospitals.

In an effort to minimize suffering, patients determined to be unrecoverable were administered midazolam as a sedative, analgesic lidocaine, and then a kill injection of potassium chloride, which are medications sequentially used for medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Following patient expiration, they were subsequently discharged, allowing the bed they occupied to become available for those with a higher chance of survival.

MAiD was also administered to outpatients in waiting rooms, as the majority were not expected to survive.

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|January 13th, 2022.##

##000000|You are a constellation. And so, even if the sun were to fade away, and the end of times covered all in darkness, I would still thrive with you watching above. And even if heaven became crowded, no angel would ever come close to your beauty.##

##000000|My search for the world's wonders all coalesced into you. And when I collided with your fate, it was the first time I stopped fearing the future.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 9th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Exterior

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[[/div]]
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//The footage reveals rolling snowfields under the dim, silver moonlight peering through gaps of the low-hanging stratus clouds. A slow breeze sways the grass. Spare snags were visible in the distance atop the peaks of the hills.//

//The camera slowly pans to the right. A large bonfire with bodies piled atop lit the vicinity. The silhouettes of three men outfitted in hazmat suits are shown throwing corpses onto the fire. Their shadows shaded Dr. Silver and Xu, who both watched from a distance, propped against the wall the camera was attached to. The hazmat team walks away, their shadow letting the fire's light hit Dr. Silver and Xu.//

**Dr. Silver:** How many was it today?

//Dr. Xu fidgets.//

**Dr. Xu:** Ninety-three. Fifty-six of them didn't make it past the waiting room. The stench...

//Dr. Xu quickly covers his mouth, gripping his chest. Dr. Silver watches Xu.//

**Dr. Silver:** I'm sorry.

//Dr. Xu looks at Silver with a surprised expression.//

**Dr. Xu:** For the punch?

**Dr. Silver:** No. About that.

//Dr. Silver gestured to the bonfire with his head.// 

**Dr. Silver:** I'm sorry.

//Dr. Xu nodded slowly. The two continue to watch the bonfire from a distance.//

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 9th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Floor 3

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//The camera follows two nurses shuffling down a hallway, each slowly pushing metal trollies crowded with supplies on both top and bottom shelves. There are constant sounds of wailing and hurried footsteps.//

**Nurse Adams:** What is it now, the fifth time?

**Nurse Malai:** Seventh. It's a higher dose as well.

**Nurse Adams:** Christ. 

**Nurse Malai:** You can't blame them, Sarah.

**Nurse Adams:** I know that.

//Nurse Adams chuckles.//

**Nurse Adams:** All because you said the Q word, yeah?

**Nurse Malai:** Not now.

//The camera continues to follow the two. They walk silently with the trolley wheels' squeaks echoing down the hallway. From afar, a person screams, emanating ahead of the nurses. The two begin to hurry.//

**Nurse Adams:** Sorry.

//Both nurses begin jogging, the sounds of their trollies growing louder. They turn a corner.//

[[/div]]

By January 9th, 2016, hospitals had begun running dangerously low on opioid pain medications. Patients frequently complained about pain in various extremities and limbs, most commonly within the chest. 

The death toll recorded at that time was estimated at around 120,000 personnel.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 9th, 2016
**Device:** Azrael Silver's Dell Inspiron Laptop

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[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

[[div class="danke agent"]]
AZRAEL SILVER ACTIVATES DEVICE
AZRAEL SILVER ACCESSES THREAT ENTITY CASEFILE PTE-0080 CODENAME ACHERON
INACTIVITY FOR FIFTY-ONE SECONDS
AZRAEL SILVER ACCESSES PTE-0080 TERMINATION PROPOSAL
[[/div]]

**Dr. Silver:** Fuck.

[[div class="danke agent"]]
AZRAEL SILVER ACCESSES PTE-0080 LIQUIDATION METHODOLOGY PITCHES
AZRAEL SILVER OPENS PALISADE MESSAGING
AZRAEL SILVER ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT PTE-0080 RESEARCH TEAM
INACTIVITY FOR FIVE MINUTES AND THIRTY-TWO SECONDS
AZRAEL SILVER ACCESSES PUBLIC DOMAIN
AZRAEL SILVER SEARCHES FOR FLIGHTS TO GREECE
NIZE LOGS ACTIVITY
[[/div]]

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 10th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Unit 5C, Rm 433A

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[[/div]]
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**Alice Priya:** I don't need it.

**Dr. Silver:** You do.

**Alice Priya:** I don't. Give it to someone else.

**Dr. Silver:** Alice.

**Alice Priya:** If I remember correctly, you can't force medication on me.

//Dr. Silver sighs, furrowing his hair.//

**Alice Priya:** I'm not deaf. I hear the trollies in the halls and the nurses. And these walls aren't particularly thick.

**Dr. Silver:** You're in pain.

**Alice Priya:** Not as much as others.

**Dr. Silver:** But—

**Alice Priya:** End of discussion.

//Dr. Silver walks to Alice's bedside and sits on the matress' edge.//

**Dr. Silver:** And you called me a liar.

**Alice Priya:** I'll be fine.

**Dr. Silver:** Look at yourself. You're wincing.

**Alice Priya:** I said I'll be fine.

**Dr. Silver:** You're not! By the time I leave, you'll be begging for it. You'll be in so much pain you'll forget to regret it. Please, just take the pill.

**Alice Priya:** I would if you hadn't stolen it.

//Dr. Silver opens his mouth. After a moment, he closes it and looks away.//

**Alice Priya:** Azrael, you still have a job to do. People need you now more than ever.

**Dr. Silver:** I know.

**Alice Priya:** I can't be the center of your focus. You need to—

**Dr. Silver:** Stop. I know all of this already.

**Alice Priya:** Then why aren't you out there?

//Dr. Silver leans onto his knees and covers his face. Outside the hall, a physician and two nurses sprint past. The intercom buzzes from afar, speaking indistinctly with a monotonous tone. In an adjacent room, someone wails and then screams.//

**Dr. Silver:** If I leave, I'm afraid you'll go. I can't afford that.

**Alice Priya:** That's not true. When I go, the—

**Dr. Silver:** Don't say that.

//Alice smiles.//

**Alice Priya:** When I go, everyone will have you.

//Dr. Silver scoffs.//

**Dr. Silver:** What? A reluctant doctor?

**Alice Priya:** No. A heart that understands the weight of living. What you're missing is the appreciation of it.

//Dr. Silver faces Alice. He brings her into his arms and leans his head over hers.//

**Alice Priya:** Are you still doing that hobby of yours?

**Dr. Silver:** More now than ever.

**Alice Priya:** I hope it's not because of what's happening right now.

**Dr. Silver:** What's happening now gives me a sounder cause.

**Alice Priya:** There's no point in it.

**Dr. Silver:** There absolutely is. I can try to. As long as I try. Don't take that away from me as well.

**Alice Priya:** Hm. Have I already taken away too much?

**Dr. Silver:** I didn't mean it that way.

**Alice Priya:** But it's true.

//Dr. Silver scratches his nose.//

**Dr. Silver:** Well, if it is, I offer you everything more.

//Alice chuckles. She escapes Dr. Silver's embrace and leans back against the inclined bed, staring at the ceiling.//

**Alice Priya:** Death is what makes living a gift. It's fragile. A push over the table shatters it; no matter how much tape and glue you have, it will never be the same. And who are you going to blame for it? The child who accidentally knocked it over? The curious cat who didn't know any better? Or me, who recklessly bumped into the edge of the table holding it?

**Dr. Silver:** This isn't your fault, though.

**Alice Priya:** That's true. That's very true. It's no one's fault.

**Dr. Silver:** Then what are you saying?

**Alice Priya:** That exactly. It's no one's fault. Things happen for a reason, whether it's a force of nature or a forced hand. But those reasons are not meant to be harassed. They're meant to be understood. And even with a deliberate murder, there is a reason.

//Dr. Silver shifts.//

**Alice Priya:** Those were the words my supervisor told me. And those were the words that convinced me to enlist. Perhaps if I weren't so inspired, I wouldn't be in this spot. Just maybe.

//Alice chuckles. Dr. Silver smiles, playing with Alice's hair.//

**Dr. Silver:** I'll make sure to send a formal complaint to him.

**Alice Priya:** Please. That's the last thing I want you to do.

//Alice looks at Dr. Silver.//

**Alice Priya:** Don't carry that burden with you. No one can bring them back.

//Alice sits upright and then pauses. Dr. Silver quickly steadies her. Alice smiles again, wincing. She faces Dr. Silver and grabs both sides of his head.//

**Alice Priya:** Promise me you'll be okay.

**Dr. Silver:** Doctors don't make promises.

**Alice Priya:** You'll be okay.

//Dr. Silver stares into Alice. The faint crackles of fire from outside are heard through the windows.//

**Dr. Silver:** I'll be okay.
[[/div]]

An emergency investigative unit was launched under the joint purview of PANGAEA, PNEUMA, and the Undersecretariat. A certain cynical aura surrounded the new unit as if it was intentionally distancing itself from the rest of the Coalition. 

It became apparent their eyes were affixed upon its own members as suspects. The name of the investigations unit was strictly classified, and the reason behind its formation at that particular time was undisclosed.

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|January 13th, 2022.##

##000000|The droplets expelled from a micropipette fall onto a petri dish, dispersing like hands reaching out in all directions. Beneath a microscope, worried whitecoats watch as cells kill themselves, whether it is a disease, mental anguish, or fate. Now I know how it must’ve felt for them.##

##000000|It was a chaotic orchestra. I listened as each of the nurse's compressions pounded against your chest like a drum beating to an unnerving tempo. I hear the strings compel you to leave me and the brass trying to pull you back down. But for the percussion, I wasn’t sure which one it was: the sound of my breaking heart scuttling all hope or yours forced to beat for a breathless moment.##

##000000|That reprise transformed me from an atheist to a prayer. And I prayed with a sinner’s desperation, wishing I could disgrace your contract with heaven so that you could feel my final kiss goodbye.##

##000000|There is one sin I will never forgive myself for:##

##000000|I didn’t mean to say, “I know.”##

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||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 11th, 2016
**Location:** St. Atropos Hospital, Unit 5C, Rm 433A

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**Intercom:** Code Blue, Code Blue in room 433A, unit 5C. Code Blue, Code Blue, Code—

//A rush of nurses crowd the room around Alice, gathering medical instruments in haste. Dr. Silver sprints inside, nearly slipping but catching himself on a railing, rushing to Alice's side. One of the nurses throw herself on top of Alice and begins administering CPR.//

**Intercom:** Unit 5C, room 433A, Code Blue—

//Another physician, Dr. Xu, enters the room, running to the opposite end of the bed across Dr. Silver. Backs of huddled clinicians block the camera view from seeing Alice clearly.//

**Dr. Xu:** PADDLES! GET ME PADDLES NOW!

**Nurse Shang:** Here, take a break.

//Nurse Shang gestures to the other nurse administering CPR to get down. Nurse Shang replaces the previous nurse and continues administering CPR.//

**Dr. Xu:** WHERE THE FUCK IS THE LUCAS DEVICE?!

//Dr. Silver pushes the nurses aside, sprinting back out of the room into the hallway where yelling ensues. The nurses look at each other aghast. A loud tone repeats itself, ringing from the intercom.//

**Intercom:** Code Blue, I repeat, Code Blue—

**Dr. Xu:** GET THEM TO SHUT UP! WE'RE HERE ALREADY GOD DAMN IT!

//One of the nurses sprints outside, running into Dr. Silver who enters the room again, striding to the bedside with a dagger and blood bag. He grasps the shoulders of the nurses in his way and pulls them away from the bed. He gestures to the nurse administering CPR to get down. She complies. The camera view sees Alice unconscious.//

**Dr. Silver:** Stand clear.

**Dr. Xu:** Azrael? What are you—

//Dr. Silver rips the blood bag's seal and pours its contents onto the blade above Alice. Dr. Silver then places the bottom of the bloodied dagger's hilt at his upper chest, mutters indiscernibly, and then impales Alice's solar plexus with the dagger. Alice begins to shudder and then seize, shaking viscerally and uncontrollably. Medication and supplies are swept off the tabletops by Alice's flailing limbs, shattering and crashing onto the floor. The room's occupants back tread. One of the nurses runs out of the room. An alarm with a more rapid rhythm and lower tone begins to sound over the intercom, a baritone voice replacing the one before.//

**Intercom:** Code Cyan, I repeat, Code Cyan. Unauthorized thaumatic working detected in room—

//Tumor-like protuberances begin to grow from various parts of Alice's body, and blood starts leaking out of her eyes and then the rest of her orifices. A swirl of gusts grows within the room, throwing furniture awry and the occupants off their feet. A nurse hits her head against a railing and becomes unconscious. Dr. Xu yells at Dr. Silver.//

**Nurse Lanley:** SHIT! OH—

//An unknown object flies into the camera and disables it. The feed automatically connects to another camera, showing the outside. There is the sound of a riotous fire crackling.//

[[/div]]

The death toll recorded at that time grew to around 190,000 personnel.

On January 12th, 2016, the incident was officially dubbed as "The Lapse."

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##000000|January 13th, 2022.##

##000000|What I meant to say was, "I love you too."##

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[[=]]
+ Chapter 2: Sacrifice
[[/=]]

Sleeper agents are operatives tasked with infiltrating and retrieving intelligence regarding foreign organizations. 

When they are operating under a guise, their consciousness is rerouted into a "sleep state" that supersedes their original identity and takes on a persona suitable for the organization they're infiltrating. This method has mitigated the chances of operatives getting compromised.

**Awakened State:** A period of time when agents have full control over their own physical body and consciousness.

**Dream State:** Also known as **The Deep**, the Dream State is remotely activated by PNEUMA command, triggered by a cognitohazardous tone only audible for sleeper agents which activates a sequence of neurological implants and jumpstarts artificial action potentials. After thirty to fifty seconds, a separate persona conforming to a desired identity will control the agent. The agent’s original identity remains alert in their subconscious, enabling a subtle influence on their persona's actions.

Similar to dreaming, agents witness their bodies move without volition, acting out their identity for the agent's convenience. This enables an Awakened agent to retain their memory and effectively recall information gathered during the Dream State.

Unfortunately, the downside every sleeper is required to accept is they are incapable of breaking out of the Deep unless prompted by PNEUMA command. Should an agent become compromised for whatever reason, they will likely remain in the Deep indefinitely until further notice or death.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 11th, 2016
**Location:** [CENSORED]

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**Assistant Director Nize:** Keep them asleep. No, we can't risk them talking. If we activate their embedded kill agents, it goes against our purpose. We need to buy more time. Yes, make it seem like an intel snatch. Spread out the rate at which you reveal them, and let each trickle in. Don't rush it all at once; ease it as the month goes. Do you understand? I need to know if you can do this. 

//There is a pause. Finally, a voice speaks indistinctly over a phone receiver.//

**Assistant Director Nize:** Thank you for safeguarding humanity.

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|SLEEPER AGENT FLYER ABANDONED##

##red|SLEEPER AGENT KILO ABANDONED##

##red|SLEEPER AGENT TRENCH ABANDONED##

##red|SLEEPER AGENT BULLY ABANDONED##

##red|SLEEPER AGENT FOXTROT ABANDONED##

##red|SLEEPER AGENT TANGO ABANDONED##

##red|...##
[[/div]]

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 12th, 2016
**Location:** [CENSORED]

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//From an overhead angle, Assistant Director Nize sits on a swivel chair with his back turned against the camera.//

**Helena:** I don't believe we're at that capacity anymore, sir.

**Nize:** To do your jobs?

**Psalm:** To do anything.

**Nize:** And why is that?

**Helena:** This eigenweapon revealed a slurry of our own people, and we simply don't have the numbers—

**Nize:** Tell me something I don't know.

**Psalm:** Someone is on the verge of finding more of us in different—

**Nize:** Then don't reveal yourself. Continuing your act is your only guarantee.

**Helena:** Sir, I think there's someone within our ranks with the know-how that could be responsible for our comrades' disappearances. There were many who weren't inflicted by the eigenweapon that were arrested. Someone must've found us out and told the organizations we are in. Please, you must've known about this.

**Nize:** I've assured you countless times that there were no info leaks. You are all safe where you—

**Psalm:** SIR!

//Silence elapses. Nize's head tilts up slightly. Psalm sighs.//

**Nize:** Am I reading the room correctly?

**Helena:** Well—

**Psalm:** Yes, you are, sir.

**Nize:** Helena?

//Helena does not respond.//

**Nize:** I see.

**Psalm:** You showed up out of the blue, taking the reins, and you think you can herd us right out of the gate. I've put two and two together, and there are no such things as coincidences. Certainly not in the field I operate in.

**Nize:** You would be wise to think that.

**Psalm:** Would I?

**Helena:** Sir, we haven't developed much trust. We've worked with Assistant Director Eris for perhaps our entire lives. But, even with our time constraints, I think reestablishing that trust with you can... help us along.

 **Psalm:** Forget about it. He doesn't care about trust.

**Nize:** Correct.

//Silence elapses again. Nize stands up, hands in his pockets.//

**Nize:** I don't care about trust because you've already reciprocated it.

**Psalm:** What kind of bullshit—

**Nize:** Enough of your groveling, Psalm. I think I've heard enough. Yes. It is true that Eris was an extraordinary director. Down to the letter, crossed his Ts, dotted his Is. However, what he lacked has acidified our waters.

//Nize turns around and steps forward slowly.//

**Nize:** What slid under his deaf ears permeated throughout this entire coalition, until it tore through our abdomens.

//Nize takes another step.//

**Nize:** And reared its atrocious face out of our chests.

//And another step.//

**Nize:** It was enough for one to cower into a corner, disabled, and traumatized. 

//And one last step, until he is directly underneath the overhead camera.//

**Nize:** Enough to make you, Psalm...

//Nize tilts his head up and stares directly into the camera.//

**Nize:** ...and everyone else here quiver and fall. And now we're here, thousands of us dead. So, let me ask the audience, do you want me to be another Eris?

**Psalm:** What are you talking about?

**Nize:** More so, who am I talking to?

//Nize tilts his head sideways, squinting into the camera.//

**Nize:** Psalm, I did burn all of your men. Yours as well, Helena. And you, Trish—Rogers, Phalanx, and whoever else is watching now. After all, this entire get-together was your idea, wasn’t it, Psalm?

**Psalm:** I’m going to hang you by your tongue.

**Helena:** Psalm—

**Nize:** He's right, Helena. I’m a piece of shit. The biggest kind you'll ever meet. That’s what separates me from Eris.

//Nize lowers his head, looking ahead.//

**Nize:** But tell me, since you are all such seasoned operatives, what would tip our culprit off? The anticipated uncovering of our own among their ranks? To confirm their suspicions? To satisfy their palette with more blood? More tragedy? Or is it subverting their expectations and proving our competence?

//Nize turns his head around, keeping his back facing the chair.//

**Nize:** Helena?

**Helena:** Subversion? Show of force? Let them know we're unbreakable.

//The corners of Nize's mouth pinches up until he bares his teeth. A low, guttural chuckle emanates which suddenly spikes into laughter.//

**Psalm:** What are you laughing at, rat?

**Nize:** Incorrect. If you do that, you’ll be showing your hand.

//Nize turns around to face the chair.//

**Nize:** We give them everything they want. We fill their stomachs with fat until they can no longer move. We make them think we’re smaller than them. And you are right in thinking that such a pitiful number of us can never make a difference. But numbers don't matter if the enemy is too self-indulgent to care anymore.

 //Nize balls his right hand into a fist.//

**Nize:** The fatter the prey, the bigger the game.

 //He covers his right fist with his left hand.//

**Nize:** You sway the elk somewhere it's content with...

 //He cracks his knuckles.//

**Nize:** ...and it'll miss the forest for the trees.

 //He walks to the chair.//

**Nize:** If I was a traitor, Psalm, I would've burned you all without temperance. But surely you've acknowledged the doubts in the back of your mind.

**Psalm:** That you couldn't be a traitor? Laughable.

**Nize:** That "there are no such things as coincidences." Helena, her superior technological prowess; Steelgard, his expert data analysis; Rogers, his evasive mobility enough to dizzy me; Psalm, your keen memory for every detail. I don't think I need to remind your refined memory that every individual I let go of was a novice at best, and you surely knew there was a reason behind this.

//Nize stands behind the chair and pulls it back.//

**Nize:** So, with all that foresight and a strikingly close prediction, who am I talking to here, Psalm? The people you’ve gathered here to expose me? Or you? It is true you have put two and two together, but perhaps you've molded the conclusion into something more... digestible. Is that a byproduct of Eris' leadership?

**Psalm:** Shut the fuck up.

**Nize:** It's easier to point your fingers at someone. But you know the rough idea of my plan, don't you? To give them what they want? So I beg you the same question again: do you want me to be Eris instead? To cower asunder? To hesitate?

 //Nize steps around and sits on the chair, bringing himself forward to the roundtable. Every chair encircling the table and its contents thrashed about, leaving askew from its previous occupants' haste.//

**Nize:** Do you understand me, Psalm?

 //Nize props his legs up and crosses them together on the table.//

**Nize:** It's a yes or no question.

**Psalm:** No. No, I don't understand. How can you throw away lives so easily? You are supposed to bolster our security, not weaken it into submission. We are here to fight for a noble cause, not one tainted by crimes. Yes, perhaps the people you burned saved us, but at what cost? All you've done is stripped everything from us.

**Nize:** Me?

 //Nize lowers his legs and sits upright.//

**Nize:** Me? This is incomparable to what happened before I came along.

 //Nize leans forward.//

**Nize:** What I scrutinized Eris for was his inability to realize sacrifice, and the same now goes for all of you. You all fear for yourself, not for the people who are dying as we speak. You are scared that I will reveal you to the enemy, not tear down this excuse of "security." You are afraid of dying.

 //Nize leans back, head tilted up.//

**Nize:** Your lives have already been stripped away—comfort is impossible, and cruelty is a necessity. You are tools used by the upper echelon who know no better. I will imbue that heavy truth you should’ve already accepted. Because right now, you are gingerly admitting that you have never understood what sacrifice is—what it entails and what it reaps. And that isn't what'll get you killed; it's what will get //everybody// killed.

//Nize pulls out a silenced pistol and shoots at the camera. The video feed is disabled, but the audio remains intact.//

**Nize:** You're not fighting for whatever noble cause you delude yourselves with. Every single one of us are tools to further agendas. I am being used to help the people above find a scapegoat, and you are being used to help me find the truth.

//There is a click. A sharp tone is overheard in Helena's and Psalm's audio feeds. Frantic shuffling is heard from the two.//

**Nize:** To reveal injustice, you must permit it. Long enough for the stench to become memorable. All you need to do is continue acting in your spots and change absolutely nothing. Report to me on any findings, but keep comms limited. And if I don't answer, there's a reason. I've given you time. //They// have given you time. So when your prey has fattened enough, I hope you don't hesitate like you did today, because if you do, then those sacrifices will amount to nothing.

//Helena's sobs are barely audible over the transmission. Psalm curses indiscernibly. Nize racks another round.//

**Nize:** Follow me, and I will give those sacrifices the noble meaning you desire.

//There is another silenced gunshot which terminates the audio feed's connection.//

[[/div]]

During the Lapse, approximately 600 PNEUMA sleeper agents suffered the same symptoms of accelerated cellular degradation. This, in turn, alarmed foreign organizations, confirming prior suspicions that the GOC had waged a conglomerate espionage effort without diplomatic advice, ultimately compromising agents’ cover.

Subsequently, an additional 400 sleeper agents were rooted out by individual organizations, primarily because of increased scrutiny from foreign organizations and info leaks from faulty handling of GOC intelligence. The number gradually increased, and once the trend plateaued, many believed the GOC's intelligence capabilities had entirely capitulated.

Recordings of sleeper agents' subconsciousness containing their last thoughts prior to expiration or abandonment have been logged. Due to its disturbing nature, only MOBCOM personnel are allowed to access these files until further notice.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 12th, 2016
**Location:** [CENSORED]

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**D.C. al Fine:** Are you sure this is how you’d like your first impression to be with them?

**Nize:** To give their sacrifices meaning?

**D.C. al Fine:** How do you promise that?

//Nize clenches his jaw.//

**Nize:** It’s not an objective I take lightly.

**D.C. al Fine:** Words are words.

//Al Fine straightens a sheaf of papers.//

**D.C. al Fine:** PNEUMA’s EXSEC prides itself on constancy. Constant monitoring, constant upkeep, and constant readiness. That includes consistency.

**Nize:** They certainly are stubborn in that regard.

**D.C. al Fine:** This isn’t the PANGAEA division, Nize. Bending their backs while simultaneously turning them upside down—and moral blackmail—doesn’t leave you with the best impression. 

**Nize:** Nor is constancy going to change anything. Hesitancy is the worst plague we can have right now.

//Al Fine sighs.//

**D.C. al Fine:** On the other hand, INSEC thinks the mole is within the Coalition.

**Nize:** Ideal.

**D.C. al Fine:** How so? You’ll have noses stuck up your ass.

**Nize:** If it helps make the facade more convincing, then I welcome it. So far, the Coalition itself is also convinced we’re suspicious of them. The better the act, the greater the yield.

**D.C. al Fine:** Do you think it’ll work?

**Nize:** I’ve already moved forward with it. I can’t back down now. It will work.

//Al Fine steeples her hands.//

**D.C. al Fine:** And how do you know?

**Nize:** The Hand’s wardens have apprehended numerous agents, most of them killed, giving them space to sigh a sizable breath of relief, which enabled our remaining agents to go deeper in; UIU is still somewhat panicked, catching up to what’s happening, but they’re still relatively oblivious with little difference in their security’s shady integrity; the Chaos Insurgency doesn’t care; the Foundation is pleased with the results and is now focused on diplomacy instead of counterintelligence, looking to sponsor our “recovery” under their banner; and MC&D has already known we’ve been keeping an eye on them, but even with that precognition, faults are beginning to grow and we’ve snatched opportunities we couldn’t have before.

//Silence elapses. After a brief period, al Fine glances up at Nize.//

**D.C. al Fine:** And?

**Nize:** The rest is on your desk, ma’am, including the evidence. Or do you wish for me to recite the entire thing?

//Al Fine crosses her arms and sits back.//

**D.C. al Fine:** You’re right about that. But I want to know the benefits of this.

**Nize:** They won’t suspect the few of us.

**D.C. al Fine:** And how will a “few of us” do anything substantial? How does cutting our own limbs off help us?

**Nize:** That brings me to why I’m here, ma’am. After we’ve sold them this act, we need a distraction that’ll induce tunnel vision. Something that will convince them that we’re too weak, so we resort to a questionable but effective expedient—one that will force their hand. They’ll reveal themselves in their haste. And once that’s done, it won’t matter how many of us there will be, because we’ll know where to look unlike before.

**D.C. al Fine:** And this distraction, you plan on making it Acheron?

//Silence elapses. Al Fine sits upright and places her arms on top of each other.//

**D.C. al Fine:** You’ve accessed the files more than thirty times now—edited it twice without R&D approval. Without mine as well.

**Nize:** The liquidation proposals were meant to attract his attention and request a trip there. I didn’t mean to come across as rampant.

//Al Fine scoffs.//

**D.C. al Fine:** Well, I have good and bad news.

**Nize:** Ma’am?

**D.C. al Fine:** He’s indefinitely suspended from his practice. It was an unauthorized thaumatic working. The investigating thaumaturges on the scene have never seen anything like it before.

**Nize:** Thaumaturgy? Magick? From //him?//

**D.C. al Fine:** I know. It’s odd.

//Nize rubs his chin.//

**Nize:** He never received formal training.

**D.C. al Fine:** But he has access to our research databanks, as do all World Parahealth physicians.

**Nize:** Still. With zero formal training, I didn’t expect he would do anything that dire...

//Nize stares at al Fine. Al Fine closes her eyes and nods her head somberly. Nize mutters.//

**Nize:** That explains a lot.

**D.C. al Fine:** Alice was quite the ambassador. I recall a brief encounter with her during her PSYCHE days in Romania after the Bucharest Campus Incident.

**Nize:** No wonder he was desperate. He was trying to save her even when his knowledge of necromancy was amateur—no, his execution, rather. Clearly, he displays a significant amount of knowledge for not being a Type Blue.

**D.C. al Fine:** Love makes you stupid.

**Nize:** Where is he now?

**D.C. al Fine:** Well, that’s the good news. Considering you’re already stalking his history, I did that favor for you.

//Al Fine slides her laptop to her and turns the screen to Nize.//

**Nize:** It worked. He even chose the most expensive flight.

**D.C. al Fine:** It was the only one available. Money means nothing to him now. The same goes for our authorization.

//Nize turns to al Fine.//

**Nize:** This is perfect. If we can get Acheron, who knows what more we can learn? From everyone who died. Their sacrifices will truly have meaning. This is our distraction. We’ll iron out the odds.

**D.C. al Fine:** We don’t even know how Acheron works yet.

**Nize:** HARBOR said to us before, did it not? Find the Lost One.

**D.C. al Fine:** Are you sure you didn’t //make// him a “Lost One?”

**Nize:** Alice’s death is not my doing. The liquidation proposals were meant to encourage him, not spark the fire. Her death has convinced him now.

**D.C. al Fine:** So you’re certain it’s him?

**Nize:** “Find the Lost One who will do anything to care for the dead. Find the Wandering One whose trajectory depends upon a soul. Find the Intuited One who understands the weight of living and death. Find the Determined One who will stop at nothing to secure justice for those not ready to die. Find the Lost One who is guided by the dead.” Word-to-word.

**D.C. al Fine:** And this is “the One” after botching that excuse of a ritual? After failing to bring Alice back?

//Nize stands upright.//

**Nize:** St. Atropos was more of a constraint, he’s going to try again in Acheron. HARBOR doesn’t look for one’s ability. It looks for one’s will.

//Al Fine squints at Nize, who remains still. Al Fine crosses her leg over the other and nods.//

**D.C. al Fine:** Very well.

//Al Fine holds down a button on the landline’s dial pad.//

**D.C. al Fine:** Get me the security team for 0080, staple personnel file of a Dr. Azrael Silver. I need tabs kept on him.

[[/div]]

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||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-7|Foundation Site-7 PLAINGAZER Platform,]]] Room 100M

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**Director Shaw:** Congratulations are in order, Supervisor Kinsey. Over two hundred saboteurs were discovered within a day. 

//There is an acclamation as supervisors and agents around the oak roundtable smile at Kinsey. The camera view slowly pans over to Kinsey, who does not reciprocate the gesture.//

**Director Shaw:** Moving forward, we can hope to put this disaster behind us and bring about a new friendship with the Coalition. One that is—

**Kinsey:** Excuse me, Director.

//Shaw looks at Kinsey, his mouth hanging open mid-speech. He closes it slowly.//

**Director Shaw:** Yes?

**Kinsey:** Permission to raise an inquiry.

//Occupants around the table look at each other, some groaning. Shaw sighs//

**Director Shaw:** You have the floor.

//Kinsey stands up, adjusting the collar of her black trench coat, which glistens from recently escaping a downpour.//

**Kinsey:** Director and colleagues, although I am grateful for the praise, I do not believe my hunt has concluded. There are many more to be discovered among our ranks. It’s not a surprise the Coalition has embedded observers amongst us, but now is never a more opportune time to purge their scent completely.

//Kinsey grabs a small remote before her and points it at the projector. The room’s lights dim, and a projection is displayed against a white backdrop.//

**Kinsey:** I am requesting more funding as this outline proposes. Not only are the results I’ve produced evidence of my abilities, but with your support, I will enable the Surveillance Division to ensure a more operationally safe Foundation unchained by the constraints placed upon it by its former rival.

**Lasky:** This is a hefty deposit with a rapid deadline.

**Kinsey:** It’s a well-placed investment.

**Klaudia:** I wouldn’t call it that.

**Kinsey:** Lowering our guards when we have them on the run is the biggest mistake we can make. We need to pursue.

**Lasky:** Pursue what? Your results aren’t just evidence of your skillset but also the current state of affairs. The Coalition is done for. Now we pick up the pieces.

**Bodie:** I second that. Supervisor Kinsey, there is no substantial cause for concern. Their financial accounts are in ruins, their logistics awry, and their military is a shadow of its former self. They even think one of their own did it. Your own sources confirmed that. What they need is some level of organization from the chaos ensuing.

**Hildred:** Which is why we should push for a more diplomatic front. Encourage External Affairs to get onto it immediately. Offer our hand. If they don’t take it now, they will eventually. And once we’ve built sufficient trust, they will flock to us. Wait any longer, and the opportunity will grow farther away, and once we’ve realized that, they’ll have already recovered independently.

**Kinsey:** ETHCOM will never permit it.

**Hildred:** They permitted the detonation, did they not?

**Kinsey:** That’s because we had no choice.

//Kinsey glares at Hildred, who breaks his line of sight.//

**Kinsey:** The GOC is under the UN banner. Breaking their constitution at such a rushed rate, especially when they could be bluffing, puts us under dangerous international attention.

**Hildred:** You are correct. However, we have a responsibility to repay the damage incurred.

**Kinsey:** Repay for what?

//There is a sarcastic tone in Kinsey’s voice. Hildred’s brows furrow.//

**Director Shaw:** Supervisor, unfortunately, this outline will not do.

**Kinsey:** Sir?

**Director Shaw:** The Special Technology Application Group’s upcoming project already covers the bulk of our remaining funds. To funnel more money to your already luxurious operation is redundant.

**Kinsey:** STAG? I don’t recall money being an issue for them, sir.

**Director Shaw:** It certainly isn’t unless you outsource labor.

//Shaw sighs, standing up.//

**Director Shaw:** It’s over, supervisor. You can rest now. We’ll find out the rest as you have already. Now, any further questions?

**Kinsey:** Sir, I—

**Director Shaw:** Listen. Two hundred agents in a day. A //day.// Two hundred is massive, and the number is only growing, thanks to you. You’ve proved your skills, and they’re being put to work now. Even those who weren’t inflicted with the condition were eventually exposed, and again, that’s thanks to you. You cast the net, and you caught the river.

**Kinsey:** I’m not concerned about accreditation, sir.

**Director Shaw:** No, you’re not, but you’re worrying about a parasite we’ve already expelled. You’ve been given the necessary assets, which are being used well. Don’t push it. Now, we need to deal with the aftermath, not chase ghosts. This conference is adjourned.

//Kinsey pursed her lips. Silence elapses. Some of the room’s occupants look at each other nervously. Kinsey closes her eyes and then sighs.//

**Kinsey:** Yes, sir.

//People begin to rise slowly, and chatter overtakes the silence.//

**Director Shaw:** Speaking of chasing ghosts, Lewis, my office.

//Kinsey watches Director Shaw and Lewis Sing, head of STAG, exit the room together. She mutters under her breath.//

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** Foundation Site-7 BLUEFIN SHEAR Platform, Commons Room

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//Kinsey slams her fist against the metal-padded wall. Sitting at a corner desk, Senior Technician Jack Welsh flinches and jumps out of his chair, hand resting at his sidearm’s holster.//

**Jack:** Jesus, Kinsey. You need to stop doing that.

//Jack lowers his hand.//

**Kinsey:** Fucking STAG.

**Jack:** What now?

**Kinsey:** Everything. Just every-fucking-thing. You know, we used to see everything. Now, they’re letting their own imaginations substitute it. They’re so drunk on their aspirations.

//Kinsey throws folders off the steel dining table and sits on the couch, frustrated.//

**Jack:** Lies are difficult to keep.

**Kinsey:** Even so, the Coalition will never forgive what happened to them. They //will// make a counteroffensive. We'll be exposed if we let even a single cockroach onto this site.

**Jack:** Exposed for what?

//Kinsey chuckles.//

**Kinsey:** We’re at our dorms, Jack.

**Jack:** I’m serious; exposed for what?

//Jack stares at Kinsey intensely. Kinsey looks at Jack, taken aback. She scoffs.//

**Kinsey:** I guess you’re right. You can’t be too cautious.

//Jack stands up from where he sat and stretches as he slowly walks to Kinsey.//

**Jack:** Was it the director again?

**Kinsey:** No, actually. The entire damn room this time. No one seems to care except for themselves now.

//Jack sits on the couch next to Kinsey.//

**Jack:** They seem quite eager to absorb things they break.

**Kinsey:** No kidding.

**Jack:** I don’t recall that that was the purpose for this whole shebang.

//Kinsey growls.//

**Kinsey:** It wasn’t. It’s just some add-on.

//Jack twitches. He then leans over the side for a cup on the nightstand.//

**Kinsey:** I knew that as soon as STAG was brought up, it was out of my hands. Just one singular fucking word. And I doubt we’ll even know what they’re working on again.

//Jack brings in a cup at hand.//

**Jack:** Something called VOIDSEEKER.

**Kinsey:** I’ve heard the whispers. But again, they’re just whispers.

**Jack:** Yeah. Apparently, they got stirred up by a mass Coalition movement.

**Kinsey:** Movement?

**Jack:** Somewhere in Greece. They got a tip that GOC resources were being allocated there for some secret project. So now they want a special kind of listening device.

//Jack takes a sip from his drink. Kinsey mutters.//

**Kinsey:** Just what I needed. Another parade to hypnotize us.

**Jack:** Who do you think the rat is?

**Kinsey:** How would I know if I have no support? RAISA command keeps asking me that question, yet they give me nothing in return.

**Jack:** Sounds like you need someone to give you a hand.

//Jack points at himself with his thumb.//

**Kinsey:** What’s your clearance again?

**Jack:** About the same as yours. Add in the technological garble and remove the bureaucratic bullshit.

//Kinsey chuckles and smirks.//

**Kinsey:** Working independently again?

**Jack:** It’s tradition.

**Kinsey:** Are you sure?

**Jack:** How about a trade to make it fair?

**Kinsey:** A trade?

**Jack:** Answer me this: are we in the right here?

//Kinsey looks at Jack, her eyebrows settling into an indifference.//

**Kinsey:** I’m no saint.

**Jack:** Even better.

**Kinsey:** I thought we shouldn’t be talking about this.

**Jack:** Like you said, we’re in our dorms. I trust your intuition.

//Kinsey sighs. She turns away and looks at her hands resting on her lap.//

**Kinsey:** There’s no rhyme or reason for things out of our control. And to some extent, what we do can never be categorized as right or wrong. They are only truly defined by such remarks based on the values we uphold today.

//Kinsey looks at the ceiling.//

**Kinsey:** It was us or them, Jack. And if it were neither of us, it would’ve been all of us. And if it were them, they’d also choose themselves. We were just cursed with pulling the trigger.

//Jack sits upright, turning his body to Kinsey.//

**Jack:** But to what limit does choosing ourselves stop?

**Kinsey:** Well, this wasn’t that.

**Jack:** Why is there never a third option? Why must we always play the this or that game?

**Kinsey:** It was out of our control.

**Jack:** That’s what I fear the most—accepting that, just letting massacre roam. Don’t you feel the same?

//Kinsey stands up.//

**Kinsey:** I get it. It’s human to think that. But we can only move forward from here. We’ll pay whatever reparations are needed. Ultimately, it was us or them. We did what we had to do: to protect our own.

**Jack:** But—

**Kinsey:** We have people here. We have a responsibility to protect them. And that was the decision we made.

//Jack leans back against the armrest, letting his head rest on his hand, tapping his temple.//

**Kinsey:** Convinced?

//Jack nods.//

**Kinsey:** Right, then. Whenever you’re ready, meet me at PLAINGAZER.

//Jack sits upright.//

**Jack:** We’re going already?

**Kinsey:** Time isn’t on our side.

**Jack:** I don’t recall it ever being. I haven’t even agreed to this little pact.

//Kinsey walks to the doorway and stops. She turns and smiles at Jack.//

**Kinsey:** I have a feeling you’ll tag along anyway.

//Kinsey walks out of the room. After a couple of seconds of silence, Jack looks at the camera. He sighs.//

**Jack:** Yeah, if it’s to keep you from getting killed.

//Jack lays back against the couch, rubbing his eyes. He mutters.//

**Jack:** Why is there never a third option?

//Jack looks at the camera. After a moment, he stands and steps onto the couch, grasping the camera. The view shudders as a click briefly overwhelms the audio feed. He steps back down and looks into the camera again before turning and heading out the door.//

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]
[[=]]
++++* PTOLEMY SUPPLIES REQUEST MADE BY ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR NIZE (PNEUMA EXSEC) ON BEHALF OF “FOREFRONT”
[[/=]]

Greetings,

This is bullshit.

Why is this your //fifth// request //**today.**// Are you trying to drain all of our resources?

These were all the rest of the bugs I could scrape up for you. You better make sure that informant is sound; otherwise, you’re endangering an immense amount of TanGenT equipment.

Well, not that you’d fucking care if I told you that.

Anyways, if you need me to deliver instructions on installing these things, email me, and I’ll send you the PDF file. The password is “SOHCAHTOA3021Æφ.”

[[>]]
—Quartermaster Sergeant (Sector 04 & 39) Askr Kaleva
[[/>]]
[[/div]]

@@ @@

> ||||||||~ Quartermasters Division-AOD||
> ||~ Item||~ Designation||~ Title||~ Qty||
> ||1||TanGen-ADigB5|| Generation 5 Earwig-Grade Digital Bugs (Infiltrators)||53||
> ||||||||**Notes:** Paratechnological arachnid parasites, spanning a millimeter wide, capable of embedding themselves into surveillance-related devices. They then relay the intercepted data via an interdimensional tunnel to a location containing an Aquila-Grade Tunnel Catcher. However, the Catcher must be located as close as possible to the Earwig Bug so the data does not become lost in the process. Capable of limited movement should their position be compromised, but lifetime decreases substantially without sufficient power source.||
> ||2|| TanGen-ProtoLDA || PROTOTYPE Lead Disruptor Anchor ||1||
> ||||||||**Notes:** “So, you were talking about some reactor using a dissolving rune in alkahest. Given alkahest is a universal solvent, it’s difficult to halt it. //However,// pure elements like lead, which is usually the material of the container holding alkahest, can arrest the chemical reaction if imbued into the solution. This was my best attempt at it. Treat it as a Hail Mary if the EMPs won’t work. From the preliminary schematics on Site-7, this isn’t going to be easy, so keep me in touch.”||

@@ @@

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

[[=]]
+ Chapter 3: Acheron
[[/=]]

PTE-0080’s exterior, formerly classified as a PTE, is a ziggurat structure with five levels of terraces. The primary method of entry is by climbing 300 meters to the top of the temple via the front ramp. Currently, alternate routes are being devised, but construction of such routes has been delayed due to complications with the sanctity of the location enforced by on-site Oracles.

The front ramp is split down the middle with a flowing stream approximately 4 meters wide from within the temple. This stream would then connect to the Acheron River.

The symbolic significance behind PTE-0080 is its proximity to the Necromanteion of Acheron, a small structure that formerly hosted necromantic rituals used to commune with deceased ancestors. It is theorized that PTE-0080 is a refurbished project of the Necromanteion, hosted by the Oracles of the Dead, whose origins remain obscure. The means of construction of PTE-0080 remains unknown.

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|It was a brisk afternoon.##

##000000|Snow had already fallen, piling onto the ruins of a foregone civilization, blanketing the landscape with a white wonderland. Swirling gusts gently pushed snow off the branches of a grand, lonely hornbeam standing before the flights of stairs.##

##000000|He packed nothing besides his wallet, a backpack, and a dagger. His ebony hair was ruffled, erratically pointing outward from restless motel nights. The usual dark circles orbiting his eyes dragged his heavy eyelids down, and each step he took felt like a weary giant’s march.##

##000000|His eyes were sunken, and his cheeks became hollow. I knew without looking a second time that he had lost weight. A dangerous amount. He shivered, wearing only a sweater and jeans.##

##000000|He walked next to the hornbeam, leaning onto its trunk with his arm, the condensation of his heavy breathing scattering out of his mouth. His back rose and fell rapidly.##

##000000|I reached out, but I couldn’t feel him.##

##000000|But I felt his heart colliding into mine.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** PTE-0080 External Security Post 05

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

**Jester:** There he is. 

**Vamp:** You sure?

**Jester:** Black hair, slight limp, looks like he hasn’t slept in a decade, and really fucking skinny. Barely packed anything. All he’s got is a backpack, sweater, and jeans.

**Vamp:** Give it here.

//Jester hands the binoculars to Vamp.//

**Vamp:** Huh, he really showed.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** PTE-0080 Temple Entrance

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//The camera’s perspective watches Azrael lean against a tree from the temple entrance in front of a series of steps, presumably catching his breath.//

//After a minute, Azrael begins to climb the stairs.//

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** PTE-0080 External Security Post 05

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

**Vamp:** Jesus Christ, he’s actually climbing.

 **Jester:** That guy’s got a mission.

**Vamp:** Why is he here again?

**Jester:** Orders came from the top.

**Vamp:** So we don’t know, great.

**Jester:** I mean, watching him climb is kind of funny.

//Vamp shoots Jester with a glare.//

**Jester:** What?

**Vamp:** Keep a swivel head. We’re still on duty.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|I frowned. I wanted to scream at him. Yell at him. Tell him to stop.##

##000000|But no matter the castle, he continued climbing to me. It felt like the personification of his irritating persistence, breaking through obstacles to reach me as if he were a seraph.##

##000000|But he is no superhero. And once I realized his ambition, I was flooded with a crushing fear that my death could become his.##

##000000|But even knowing that, my selfish ego blushed at his chivalry.##

##000000|Even when I wanted you to stay alive, I would’ve given anything to feel his embrace once more. It was a scary thought, wishing for his nearness but praying he distances himself from me. In death, I was afraid. But he was like a soldier returning from war, and where my tears couldn’t fall, my dead heart learned what warmth felt like again in that moment.##

##000000|And so, ultimately, I smiled.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** PTE-0080 Temple Entrance

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//Entity HARBOR exits the entrance. The camera follows as it walks to the escarpment of the stairs. Upon arriving, he looks down on Azrael, who is only five steps from the top. Azrael freezes upon realizing HARBOR’s presence.//

**Azrael:** H-hello?

**HARBOR:** Greetings, Lost One.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Location:** PTE-0080 External Security Post 05

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

**Vamp:** Alright, he’s putting the gear on. Call it in.

//Jester reaches for the radio on a shelf to no avail, refusing to move from where he sat. Vamp grumbled and snatched the radio, throwing it to Jester.//

**Jester:** Canyon-5, Canyon-5, going for relay.

**Central:** Central, relaying Canyon-5, standby.

//Jester toys with the radio’s antenna, tapping it against his chin. Vamp swats Jester’s shoulder.//

**Nize:** Report.

**Jester:** PROFILE crossed brevity point INCEPT and is equipping the PPE. HARBOR entity has already interacted with PROFILE. You’re go for monitoring.

**Nize:** Understood. Let no one else in.

**Jester:** What about the third parties?

**Nize:** Let them try. But do not let them within the inner cordon. Play dumb, but not too dumb.

**Jester:** Wilco.

[[/div]]

During the winter, PTE-0080’s stream flows ceaselessly, never freezing over despite frigid conditions.  //In vitro// water samples revealed abnormal properties that have not been properly defined. However, temporal abnormalities present within the water may have contributed to its anti-freezing properties.

Resampled water revealed that these properties are later diminished approximately ten meters downstream of the stream connecting to the Acheron River. Upstream samples reveal no anomalous properties.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Device:** Bodycam of Azrael Silver’s Hazmat Suit 

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

[[div class="danke agent"]]
BODY CAMERA ACTIVATED REMOTELY BY NIZE
[[/div]]

//The camera shutters to life. It shows a black-robed figure whose hood shaded its face entirely standing before Azrael, who panted heavily. Its hands are together, hidden by sleeves.//

**HARBOR:** You have been forecasted.

**Azrael:** Forecasted?

**HARBOR:** Reach into your pocket.

//Azrael pats himself down, briefly hitting the camera in his motions.//

**Azrael:** I don’t have any—

//Azrael’s rummaging stops. After pausing, his hand slides out with a golden medallion. Engraved on it is a figure with his hand splayed toward the viewer, the other pointing up with its index and middle finger. Several other hands behind the figure sprawl out in various gestures and shapes. As Azrael’s fingers brush over the engravings, a shimmering wave follows where he touches, eventually resting below each point of contact. An eye at the center of the figure opens and glows red.//

**Azrael:** What the—

//Within a second, a black circumference exploded away from the center, turning the gold it rushed over into silver. The camera shakes from Azrael’s flinch. The figure’s eye turns blue.//

**Azrael:** What’s that smell?

**HARBOR:** Fumigate yourself.

**Azrael:** What?

//HARBOR turns, its robe flowing in its wake, and walks toward the entrance. The stream to its right roared upon its movement.//

**Azrael:** Wait! Jesus Christ, let me catch my breath first.

//Azrael breathes in deeply and then exhales with his mouth. He follows HARBOR into the temple’s entrance.//

**Azrael:** Who are you?

//HARBOR does not reply. Upon stepping into the shadow the temple ceiling cast, the camera lags.//

**Azrael:** Hello?

//The two walk in silence. From a distance, HARBOR stops as Azrael catches up, bringing a boat resting on the stream near it. No ropes were keeping the boat anchored.//

//Upon arriving and closer inspection, the boat appeared to be a punt with mahogany trims, the ends curved upward. The gunwales only go up to the rider’s shins, and there is only one seat at the bow.//

//Azrael starts to speak but is interrupted by HARBOR tilting its head back. Its hands bared out of its heavy robes with a charcoal color and reached in through the opening where its head was supposed to be. After a brief pause, it begins to pull out a dark spruce pole from its body, reaching deeper as the pole grows taller. The camera followed its growing height.//

//Finally, balancing the pole’s end at its palm, HARBOR brought the pole to the ground and gripped the base with bony fingers. Calluses are apparent on its knuckles.//

//Azrael stammers, but again, he is interrupted by HARBOR boarding the boat.//

**HARBOR:** I am the psychopomp.

**Azrael:** Psychopomp? Are you HARBOR? But... I’m not dead.

//HARBOR extends its hand to Azrael. After a moment of hesitation, Azrael places the silver medallion on its hand. The camera looks to its hood, which nods.//

**HARBOR:** Amendments are customary. I see you’ve made preliminary studies of me.

//The camera returns to its hand, the medallion gone.//

[[/div]]

Entity **HARBOR** is a black-robed figure ~195 cm tall who identifies as Acheron’s psychopomp—an individual responsible for transporting the dead to its appropriate spiritual plane. Despite this claim, HARBOR appears to also act as a gatekeeper, requiring entrants to present a medallion, the specifics of which remain unknown as it unconditionally refuses entry, with the exception of the “Lost One.”

HARBOR has yet to disclose its actual name.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Device:** Azrael Silver’s Hazmat Bodycam 

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//The camera shows the perspective of the punt’s bow. It turns around, watching HARBOR sway the boat forward with the spruce pole. The camera switches back toward the bow. The water flows against the direction the boat is moving.//

//As the boat traverses farther, the water gradually slows, and the droplets flying in the air remain suspended longer than before.//

//The stream begins to widen. As darkness converges, the stream’s end approaches the punt.//

**Azrael:** Uh, hey, I don’t…

//The boat treads closer. The water slows further until it becomes motionless.//

**Azrael:** Hey, I don’t think the water—

//The punt sharply accelerates as HARBOR pushes the boat over the edge. Azrael grabs onto the shallow gunwales.//

**Azrael:** JESUS!

//The punt tilts 90 degrees down, following the water at a right angle. The water moves again, but rather than falling expectedly, it rises toward the entrance, keeping its form as if it is a waterfall moving in reverse. Azrael slowly lets go of the gunwales, gradually sitting upright. The camera looks behind at HARBOR again, who continues rowing nonchalantly.//

**Azrael:** Wh-where are we going?

**HARBOR:** Acheron.

//A dense gray fog envelops the camera view. Azrael looks around erratically until the fog overwhelms the feed, replacing the screen entirely.//

//After two minutes and fifty-three seconds of inactivity, the view begins to clear. Azrael’s hands come into view as he inspects them.// 

//After pulling them away, the punt is shown approximately 700 meters above ground level at a 90-degree angle. The reversed waterfall is connected to a ground-level river at the city's center that bifurcates into five separate distributaries Northward relative to the camera. Parallel to the view, gray buildings with ancient Greek architectural influences cover the ground nearly endlessly within the grand cavern, blanketing a 10 km radius of visible underground land. Beyond such, it is covered in opaque smog, trickling in between buildings near the border. Large cave columns connect the ground with the stalactite-covered ceiling. A thick fog conceals the ground and surrounds the vignettes of the river.//

**HARBOR:** Twenty centuries.

**Azrael:** S-sorry?

**HARBOR:** After the Necromanteion burned under Roman oppression, the Vices devised and erected a renewal under the guidance of Persephone and Zeus. Acheron was constructed in disparity. An eon declared by construction fueled by loss, depression, and longing. Such unpleasantness never left our palates and, as such, is reflected in Our work. Behold.

**Azrael:** I don’t understand.

**HARBOR:** Alice Priya.

//The camera swings around to HARBOR.//

**HARBOR:** Your medallion.

**Azrael:** Excuse me?

**HARBOR:** She was your medallion. Countless losses irk in your perception. Where you arrive with disparity, we are all too familiar.

**Azrael:** What about Alice?

**HARBOR:** You resonate with death. Surrounded, encapsulated, and pincered. You tore through the fabrics that divided Alice. You usurped death just to commune with her one last time.

**Azrael:** It failed.

**HARBOR:** Yet, you persist.

**Azrael:** What’s your point? I tried to bring Alice, and I failed. My case is no irregularity. Loss is a part of one’s life. Why me?

**HARBOR:** Yet, your heartbeat pounds in resistance against such a fate. It marches forward resolutely. A healer who cannot heal tends to an angel’s broken wings despite knowing flight to be impossible. How arduous must the hike be to tear your tenacity?

//Azrael chuckles.//

**Azrael:** Arduous? I don’t know. I haven’t slept since, like a ghost with no purpose.

**HARBOR:** That is your panacea.

**Azrael:** My what?

**HARBOR:** It is not your abilities they seek. It is your will.

//Azrael scoffs.//

**Azrael:** I hardly find that appealing.

**HARBOR:** Love is stupid.

**Azrael:** That’s... the first coherent thing you’ve said yet.

**HARBOR:** Stupidity, desperation, and pure drive define your irregularity enough to become a vessel for a greater fate predisposed with esotericism. Your thaumatology grants you. But your will is what enables you. Your trek does not end here.

**Azrael:** So, when does it?

**HARBOR:** When you can let go.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Device:** Azrael Silver’s Hazmat Bodycam

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//The punt rocks awry as it hits the bottom of the reversed river. Rather than water splashing the camera, flying droplets follow a reversed trajectory, swallowed by undulating waves that move away from the bow. The punt docks to a wooden port illuminated by iron candle lanterns.//

**Azrael:** I…

**HARBOR:** This is your destination, Lost One. I bid you farewell.

//The camera turns to HARBOR.//

**Azrael:** I... my heart it’s…

**Unknown:** Not beating?

//The camera turns sharply. Another robed individual stands before Azrael from ashore, holding their hands together chest-level, their robe’s cuffs dangling to below their knees. An exterior layer of sheer fabric covers a set of dark, religious wool clothing underneath. A silver chain masquerade partially covers their mouth, and a black carbonic mask covers their eyes.//

**Azrael:** Who are you? Please give me a straight answer.

//The figure snickers.//

**Unknown:** The one you call HARBOR is Charon, emissary of the deceased—our psychopomp.

**Azrael:** I was asking about you.

//The figure smiles through their chained mask, their treble voice gentle and sedate.//

**Visage:** You may address me as Visage, Vice of the Soothsayers.

//Visage kneels and offers their hand. Azrael grabs it and disembarks the punt. Looking back, Charon nods and begins its journey back up the waterfall.//

**Azrael:** Jesus, my heart is barely beating. It’s like a rock is sitting in my chest.

**Visage:** The narcotic was meant to cleanse yourself and prepare you for your katabasis. I assure you, upon anabasis, you will return unsullied.

**Azrael:** Narcotic?

**Visage:** Indeed. The one you inhaled prior to entering. It brings you close to death. Hence, your heart, your lungs, and your touch. Where your senses recede in life, your awareness of the dead becomes heightened.

//The camera shifts down to Azrael’s hands. He clenches them. He speaks breathlessly.//

**Azrael:** God. I’m not even breathing.

**Visage:** You only require air to speak. A miniscule portion is dedicated to your physiology.

**Azrael:** You guys drugged me, basically?

**Visage:** It means no harm.

**Azrael:** Why? Why the fuck do I need to—

//Visage frowns.//

**Azrael:** Sorry. Sorry, I’m just... I didn’t mean to come off as—this is just...

//Azrael continues to stammer, whispering to himself indistinctly.//

**Visage:** You will grow accustomed to it. I apologize, but this is an absolute for the purposes you seek.

**Azrael:** And the water, why does it... flow like that?

**Visage:** You will understand shortly after. We are working with time constraints, so please do follow.

//Visage turns slowly and begins walking from the port towards the buildings. Azrael takes another look around, spotting Charon halfway up the waterfall. Thick fog conceals the ground almost entirely; only upon moving his feet can Azrael see it. He sighs, then turns to follow Visage.//

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Device:** Bodycam of Azrael Silver’s Hazmat Suit 

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//Azrael is following close behind Visage, walking on gravel-like pathways surrounded by steel buildings.//

**Azrael:** This is no mistake, is it?

//Visage’s head turns slightly.//

**Visage:** No, it is not.

**Azrael:** I picked up a bit on what Charon said, but I still don’t really understand how this isn’t—how I’m not just lucky in breaking a chocolate bar and gaining the golden ticket to this place.

**Visage:** Necropolis.

**Azrael:** A graveyard city.

**Visage:** Call it what you will.

**Azrael:** It’s just...

//Azrael strides to Visage’s side. They faced each other as they walk.//

**Azrael:** If people like me lost someone they love, why did you choose me specifically?

//Visage chuckles.//

**Visage:** Your warriors guard our premises. Albeit not with our consent, they insisted upon discretion. And so long as no harm is brought down, I have no reason to deny such an order.

**Azrael:** Still. We just lost a lot of people. Hundreds of thousands. Why am I the only one here, then?

**Visage:** I know. They passed through here and crossed the rivers, reaching for the afterlife. A handful of yours watch us this very moment.

//The camera rotates around, scanning the area.//

**Azrael:** Right now?

//Visage stops.//

**Visage:** Close your eyes, but only momentarily.

//Azrael stops and pauses. As seconds pass, his breathing becomes uneven, and he starts to shudder.//

**Visage:** Enough!

//Azrael gasps, exasperated and nearly tumbling back. Visage catches him by the shoulders.//

**Azrael:** Wh-what was that?

**Visage:** I said momentarily.

**Azrael:** That could’ve meant anything.

//Visage’s jaws tense as they frown slightly. The camera scans the area again.//

**Azrael:** There’s... ghosts?

**Visage:** They are called Nomads, spirits of the deceased who have elected not to reach the afterlife. They reside here eternally until time ceases, and they walk these same roads in tandem with us, invisible.

//Silence elapses. After a brief period, Azrael sighs.//

**Azrael:** I recognized one of the whispers.

**Visage:** It is easy for a Nomad to find you.

**Azrael:** May you ask for a William?

//Visage lowers their head. Their mouth moves, but no sound emanates from them. After a moment, they face Azrael again.//

**Visage:** He asks, did you send his son the letter?

//The camera view remains frozen.//

**Azrael:** Yes. Yes, William. He said he loved it.

//Azrael chuckles.//

**Azrael:** God, I—yes, William, your son is doing great. Charlie’s healthy, and he’s growing fast. Faster than you could ever imagine.

//Azrael turns to Visage.//

**Azrael:** Can he hear me?

//Visage smiled.//

**Visage:** He said thank you.

**Azrael:** Is Alice here?

//Visage shakes their head. The camera tilts down.//

**Azrael:** You’re telling me, our fallen, those who decide to be Nomads, they’re stuck here for eternity?

**Visage:** Per their choice.

**Azrael:** Why?

**Visage:** Each has their reasons, similar to why you’re here. Whether it’s to watch over, preserve identity, or rest eternally. I advise you not to listen for too long.

**Azrael:** But you listen to them constantly? Is that why your eyes are covered?

//Visage nods.//

**Visage:** There are elevated forms of perception, but only for the trained mind.

//Azrael turns to look down the road they walk on.//

**Azrael:** You still haven’t really answered my question yet. Why me?

//Visage kneels and sits on the road. The camera pans down, and they smile back. Azrael decides to do the same as the camera lowers.//

**Visage:** As I say, you have your reason. Yours, in particular, is what dictated our decision. When Alexander the Great fell, Greece tasted vulnerability for the first time. The //Diadochi,// supposed heirs to the throne, tore Greece apart, leaving rubbles for Rome to conquer. I remember that very day; what a beautiful world tarnished by insurmountable rage. As I watched the Nekromanteion burn, it wasn’t just the Romans but all of humanity who forwent their integrity, succumbing to the wave of warriors infecting the lands with scorch and blood. They held an invigorated fire that was seemingly inextinguishable. A great fire fueled by vengeance. One that perpetuated conflict to no end. We, the Oracles, decided such a blind world was not worth keeping the dead in.

//Visage brings their arms out.//

**Visage:** And so they erected a utopia free from the noise above, eternally shrouded in serene darkness. A period of peace that would never witness the tearing and screaming of war again. It brought much-needed silence.

**Azrael:** How did the temple topside come about?

//Visage lowers their arms.//

**Visage:** It only rose when we felt prudent enough to reveal ourselves once more—to give the humanity I saw that day a final chance to deny the fire that compels them.

//The camera shakes as Azrael shifts.//

**Azrael:** You know, my organization is tasked with destroying all paranormal phenomena. To take no unnecessary risks to allow potentially dangerous anomalies to roam the Earth. That’s what the Global Occult Coalition stands for. It was forged in fear of another world-scale disaster. It destroys what it’s afraid of, and you fall into that criteria.

**Visage:** Yet, here you are.

**Azrael:** Indeed. Here I am. So, why?

//Visage shakes their head.//

**Visage:** Of this innumerable loss your faction fell victim to, I have no doubt many rise in anger, wishing to exact revenge upon their fallen. But you differ. 

**Azrael:** How’s that?

**Visage:** Have you considered joining your military?

**Azrael:** No, why?

//Visage smiles.//

**Visage:** Lies are fruitless.

**Azrael:** How would you know I’m lying?

//Visage tilts their head and points to their ear. Azrael sighs.//

**Visage:** I know too many hearts. I know the feeling of loss and the desire to lash out at the world—betray and abandon it, as it did to you. But you refused. You persisted.

**Azrael:** Don’t get it twisted. I’m only here for selfish reasons.

**Visage:** Who isn’t? Perhaps so. But here you are. You are evidence of my hopes that humanity can finally overlook the fire. You seek consultation over anger.

**Azrael:** And what would anger have been for me?

**Visage:** Inciting the impossible death of death. Force her to return into your embrace. And, after my disclosure, utter destruction in your wake.

**Azrael:** Sounds a little hardcore.

//Visage chuckles.//

**Visage:** Azrael, you are the beacon. If the cycle of war, vengeance, and despair can be broken with a human’s will, no matter the trek ahead, my intuition in bringing about Acheron’s return is not in vain. In your world, Romans have burned your kingdom. But your humanity refused to follow suit. Your civilization mourns heavily, and that wave was felt stronger than the entrance of a thousand souls on that fateful day. And do not be mistaken; any human would be tempted by the fire. I have no doubt you will seek its strength. But your moderation has convinced me.

//The camera follows as Visage stands up.//

**Visage:** Where your people seek revenge, you wish to heal the impossible.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|If I could show him the invisible crowd he gathered at that moment, his patients watching him, I think it would’ve rekindled him within a second.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ EARWIG BUG TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 13th, 2016
**Device:** Azrael Silver’s Hazmat Bodycam

[[div style="border-bottom:2px solid #777; margin-bottom:1px;"]]
[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//Azrael approaches the river, its waves backtracking.//

**Azrael:** Here?

**Visage:** Yes. Here, the Pilgrim will connect you.

**Azrael:** Are you sure?

//Visage nods.//

**Visage:** You must remove your exterior clothing.

**Azrael:** The hazmat? I can’t do that.

**Visage:** The water requires your touch.

**Azrael:** I’ve noticed the roads. They’re paved with lead. The entire thing. Do you realize how toxic that is?

**Visage:** You will not die, Azrael. The narcotic seals your spirit. You will not die. Nonetheless, I do not believe you fear that anymore, nor does it bring any benefits for me.

//Azrael sighs. After a moment of contemplation, Azrael removes the suit, pulling back the cuffs of his shirt underneath to expose his skin. The camera falls to the ground alongside the suit. Afterward, he tries to breathe in but falls short.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
CAMERA UNSYNCED
UNANCHORING
##red|WARNING, LIMITED LIFETIME##
##red|ESTIMATED SHUT DOWN: 15 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

**Visage:** Satisfied?

//The camera escapes from the suit, shifting away and watching Visage and Azrael from the ground.//

**Azrael:** I’m not dead yet. God, if I get poisoned after this—

//Visage chuckles. The camera walks toward Azrael’s boot as he takes out the quillon dagger.//

**Visage:** Keep that. She awaits you.

//Azrael’s face falls, his eyes tense, looking at the dagger. The camera leaps and latches onto his clothing, climbing toward his waist.//

**Azrael:** What should I say?

//The camera reaches Azrael’s waist, walking along the top of his belt.//

**Visage:** What you need to.

//The camera arrives at Azrael’s belt buckle. Visage waves farewell. Azrael turns to the river and walks to it. The water retracts in anticipation before his boots hit it, and ripples converge on each step he takes. The camera submerges into the water, spume falling downward. Despite the environment, the audio feed picks up Azrael’s shallow breathing with clarity and minimal muffling.//

//A faint rumbling emanates from afar. The view is tainted in a blue hue with warm, refracted candle lights peering through the water. Azrael looks at his hands, caustics covering them.//

**Unknown:** Your name.

//Azrael flinches, raising his arms to his face. The unknown voice speaks clearly through the water.//

**Unknown:** Your name.

**Azrael:** Uh—Azrael. Azrael Silver.

**Vestige:** I am Vestige, your Pilgrim. Who do you wish to speak to?

//Azrael brings himself back upright.//

**Azrael:** Alice Priya.

**Vestige:** Many go by that name. Do you know her Name?

**Azrael:** That’s the only name I know her as. She has multiple names.

**Vestige:** No, her True Name.

**Azrael:** I don’t know.

**Vestige:** Do you have a relic to call her with?

//Azrael looks down at the dagger in his hand, clutching the hilt. He holds it out in front of him.//

**Azrael:** This.

**Vestige:** Let go of it.

//Azrael lets the dagger float forward. After a moment, it rotates sharply as if an invisible force is inspecting it. Finally, it is brought tip up in front of him.//

**Vestige:** I shall call the departed you seek. Should my call fall short, be ignored, or be denied, you will not see her. Understood?

//Azrael nods. The dagger before the camera remains suspended. One minute and thirty-seven seconds pass.//

**Azrael:** How long does this usually take?

//There is no answer. Two minutes and thirty-one seconds pass.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|ESTIMATED SHUT DOWN: 10 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

//Three minutes and twenty-eight seconds pass.//

**Vestige:** Your call was not answered.

//Twenty-eight seconds pass.//

**Azrael:** I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I tried to bring you back.

//Azrael lowers his head.//
 
**Azrael:** I love you. 

//Azrael turns to leave.//

**Vestige:** What will you do now?

//Azrael pauses.//

**Azrael:** I don’t know. 

**Vestige:** Are you not enraged? She didn’t even bat an eye. I am your messenger, yet she doesn’t even want to speak to me. After all those years, are you willing to throw it away now? Even after making the journey here? North America is far.

**Azrael:** Shut up.

**Vestige:** She disrespected you. She hates you. You should’ve let her pass peacefully and save the rest. You should’ve done your job. In my opinion, you are no healer. You are a harbinger of death.

//Azrael turns to the dagger suspended in the air.//

**Azrael:** What do you want me to do? What //did// you want me to do?

//Azrael stepped forward to the dagger.//

**Azrael:** I’ve thought about it: her words, her touch, her sad smile. I felt so angry at everything. The hospital, the coalition, everyone, but nothing came close to how much I hated myself. You’re right; I could’ve saved them. Even then...

//Azrael’s voice breaks.//

**Azrael:** I thought to myself, I would do it again. Even if I became the world’s enemy, I would’ve thrown it all away if it meant I could see her one last time. I would’ve forsaken everything. But what hurts the most is that I know she’ll hate me more than anything.

//Azrael collapses to his knees and laughs.//

**Azrael:** She was right. From all these sleepless nights, I couldn’t come to terms with it, but she was right. I realize that now. The fragility of life and how gifted we are to breathe, touch, and feel our hearts beat. I miss it so much already. I wish I could breathe. 

//Azrael wipes his eyes.//

**Azrael:** I was afraid of taking things for granted, fearful that if I left for a second, I would find her dead in her bed. And even with that anxiety, she still died alone. I hate myself so much for that. I hate that I left her alone. I hate that my hands weren’t the last thing she felt. You know what she said? “I’m afraid. I don’t want to go.” Her awareness of life’s majesty and the terminality of death made her all the more scared. She always lived like it was her last day on Earth. Why did she have to die like this? God...

//Azrael grips his face, his hands trembling uncontrollably and his hair floating in the water.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|5 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

**Azrael:** Instead, the last thing she heard was the trollies in the halls, the screams from the adjacent room, and that fucking fire constantly burning outside.

//Tears float away from Azrael’s covered face, conflicting with the reversed waters around them and undulating unsteadily.//

**Azrael:** WHY!

//Azrael sobs, gritting his teeth.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|4 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

**Azrael:** I’m sorry, Alice. I’m so sorry.

//Azrael sniffles.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|3 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

**Azrael:** So I’ll show you instead.

**Azrael:** I will give your death meaning. I will give everybody's death meaning. I promise you. I promise not to harass the reasons learned but to understand them. No matter if it was a murder, I promise I will carry your words with me in my mind. I will cover the walls of my mind with portraits of you just to remind myself why I’m here. And I will carry you with me in my heart.

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|2 MINUTES##
[[/div]]

//Azrael wipes his eyes with his forearm.//

**Azrael:** It was only when I got onto the plane that I realized you were right. Only then did I realize how maniacal I’ve become, drunk on the potential that I could save you in Acheron. But your words haunted me throughout the entire flight. I wanted to save you so bad, bring you back from the dead, but you were right; nothing can be the same after someone crosses that threshold. And all those crimes finally weighed on my shoulders: neglecting my patients for you, disobeying my superiors, abandoning the hospital, everything. I understand if you’re mad, and I’m so sorry.

**Azrael:** I didn’t stay because I was afraid of taking you for granted, I stayed because I was afraid of the moment you’ll die. I was frightened the entire way. I didn’t cherish anything. I didn’t even think of how you were still with me, feel my hands, or see my face. I was frightened. 

**Azrael:** I can’t imagine the weight I’ve put on your shoulders. And that truth tortured me the entire flight. I never thought once about you truly; only the fear of your death haunted me. I promise I won’t do that again. I will never do that again. I understand you now, and it’s always when it’s too late. But I understand now. I promise I’ll never be so mindlessly selfish again. 

//Azrael bows, sobbing.//

**Azrael:** You were right. Living is a gift. And I promise I will never scoff at that fact again.

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|1 MINUTE##
[[/div]]

//The dagger begins to swirl. Azrael looks up. The water surrounding it encircles into a vortex, creating a pocket of air in the space around the dagger. There is a faint murmuring in the distance as water rushes, reversed in time.//

**Vestige:** You weren’t supposed to say all of that. But that’ll do.

//The caustic patterns on Azrael morph into striations, alternating between its original and distorted forms. The alternations ramp up in speed until they finally relax into their original pattern. The water around the dagger collapses into the gap of space, and a mass of effervescence rushes to the camera, blocking the view entirely. Azrael grunts, shielding his eyes with his hands leaning back. As the view slowly clears away, lingering bubbles dance around the camera. A feminine figure appears, caressing the suspended dagger.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|30 SECONDS##
[[/div]]

//Alice Priya, her physical form loosely composed of effervescence, is surrounded by two faint and white rotating rings, as if an Archimedes spiral is orbiting her head.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|15 SECONDS##
[[/div]]

//Alice’s faint face smiles. Azrael slowly stands, stepping toward her, hand extended out. His pace speeds up until he is sprinting to her.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|10 SECONDS##
[[/div]]

//Azrael embraces Alice.//

[[div class="danke agent"]]
##red|5 SECONDS##
[[/div]]

**Azrael:** I love you too.

[[/div]]

@@ @@ 

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|If I could show him the rush of happiness that overwhelmed me at that moment, hearing his words, I couldn’t have loved anyone more than him in the world.##

##000000|Thank you for making my final moments beautiful.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ CAMERA FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPTION||

**Date:** January 15th, 2016
**Location:** [CENSORED]

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[[/div]]
[[div style="border-bottom:1px solid #777;"]]
[[/div]]

//D.C. al Fine sits before a laptop screen in a dark office.//

**D.C. al Fine:** I must say, I’m impressed.

**Nize:** We’re not done yet.

**D.C. al Fine:** Nonetheless, you should be proud.

**Nize:** Give it a break.

//Al Fine chuckles.//

**D.C. al Fine:** How did you manage it?

**Nize:** I simply let him walk in.

//Silence.//

**D.C. al Fine:** That’s it?

**Nize:** Ma’am, do all of your directors recite everything you already know?

**D.C. al Fine:** It’s a good habit to build. It keeps things tidy. Also keeps trust.

//Nize sighs.//

**Nize:** I talked with Visage. They foretold Azrael before we picked it up thanks to his faulty thaumatic working in the hospital. They said Alice’s death “shimmered in-between death and life” when she arrived in Acheron. Alice provided details regarding Azrael and his “hobby,” and Visage took interest immediately. That’s how they knew about that quillon dagger and everything else.

**D.C. al Fine:** How did she know about Acheron?

**Nize:** Azrael. He talked about it more times than some of our guys. The setup however, was entirely her idea.

**D.C. al Fine:** Set up?

**Nize:** Ah, right. This part isn’t recitation. The Vices and Charon initially intend to test Azrael's integrity. Charon hoped Azrael would accept Alice’s death, Visage tested if he could “overlook the fire,” and Vestige assessed how he would deal with a spirit. So, upon Visage’s acquired interest, given that the two knew Azrael would try to reach Acheron, Alice approached the situation with a bit more finesse and convinced the Vices to fake her unresponsiveness to see what Azrael might say. From there on, they would draw their own conclusions. Funnily enough, Vestige didn’t have to say much for all of their suspicions to be swept away.

**D.C. al Fine:** An ambassador even in death. And now?

**Nize:** Now, the Vices are convinced. So far, they’ve permitted our entry.

**D.C. al Fine:** And why is that?

//Nize shrugged.//

**D.C. al Fine:** Cut the bullshit. She gave them information on Azrael, but they wouldn’t just let //us// trample in. What did you do this time?

**Nize:** There were negotiations. This time, it really was done without me. She did more than appeal to them. She told them about the Lapse, and it struck a chord the Vices empathized with.

**D.C. al Fine:** And these “negotiations” would be this “Persephone Treaty” sitting on my desk, already drafted and signed without consultation from the Council of 108.

**Nize:** We won’t need their consultation if we place it under PANGAEA jurisdictions. All we need is your signature.

**D.C. al Fine:** Careful, Nize.

**Nize:** I know, ma’am. Don’t bend their backs.

//Al Fine glances at the papers on her desk.//

**D.C. al Fine:** And they agreed to this?

**Nize:** Yes. Alice affirmed that for us.

//Al Fine looks at her laptop’s camera with hooded eyes. She picks up an ink fountain pen.//

**D.C. al Fine:** I should’ve made her the head of a consulate when she was still alive.

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|January 13th, 2022.##

##000000|I love you from Hell to Heaven.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div style="border:solid 2px #000000; background:#b5aa8a; padding:25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"]]

##000000|And if I don’t see you with me in Heaven, I will bring everything down until I can reach you in Hell.##

##000000|January 13th, 2016.##

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[div class="blockquote"]]

||~ RECORDED DEATHS ON JANUARY 13TH, 2016||

...
__2148, St. Atropos Hospital:__ Ajax Springer declared deceased (84730293/739).
__2148, St. Lewis Hospital:__ Lavrenti Ramaz declared deceased (00438129/005).
__2149, St. Helene Hospital:__ Nihad Eldar declared deceased (73920193/X10).
__2149, NT-0080-Templum-Acheron:__ Alice Priya redeclared deceased (74359932/058).
__2149, St. Helene Hospital:__ Isi Malinalli declared deceased (92013432/902).
__2149: ICSUT Zurich Campus:__ Wiktoria Mellow Klara declared deceased (N/A).
...

[[/div]]

@@ @@

[[=]]

[[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-8484/offset/2|► OPEN DOCUMENT 2: NT_0080_Templum.pdf ◀]]]

[[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-8484/offset/0|► RETURN TO SCP-8484 ◀]]]

[[/=]]

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