Chapter Text
[Pick up the blade.]
Silence as your hand grasps the handle. Your restless thoughts are at peace at last. You do not even notice them fade. You only feel the pull of the blade.
The metal gleams.
[Destroy your body.]
[Destroy the blade.]
[Destroy your bindings.]
[Abandon the blade.]
[Say nothing.]
[Look at your reflection.]
You twist the knife to look at yourself in the reflection of the pristine blade. The knife catches the light, and you see…
…
…
Is that really you?
…
You are alone in a vast, roiling plane. The air is thick.
[Descend the hill]
He is on the path.
[Enter the woods]
“Something finds me in the Shifting Expanse, and brings the gift of a fragile shard.”
[Explore] “The gift of a fragile shard?”
“Yes. Eyes and words to feel the world beyond. A perspective to add definition to my thought.
This one talks of passion and loyalty. You shaped him into something to be loved. Hand in hand, there was nothing else in his world other than you.
He will make for an adoring voice.
Do not worry. He has fulfilled his purpose.”
[Explore] “Let him out! I’m not done with him!”
“You speak of something I cannot do. There is no presence for him to return to. We are now one–it was an inevitability of his existence. I promise, though, that he is unharmed.”
[Explore] “What are you?”
“I am dark islands buffeted by pale waves. And you?”
[Explore] “Dark…islands? What do you mean?”
“Hm…glimpses of an experience without connection. A vast landscape hidden from the world’s view. I wish I was more.”
“What do you think I am?”
“I think you are like me. A cracked vessel wishing to be full once again. We are sprawling cities reduced to quiet villages.”
[Explore] “Do you know who I am? Do I know you?”
“You are familiar, but your voice is dissonant to mine. I feel regret, fear, longing, as I look at you. There are no words to fully compose it.”
[Explore] “Are you the Hero?”
“In some ways. In others I am not. He ends and I begin, and yet there is no seam where the two of us meet. A tapestry woven of other tapestries.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I am sorry. It is all I have to give you. ”
[Explore] “Did the Hero really end the world? Is that what this is?”
“Nothing can be truly destroyed. There is always something beneath. Something must remain.”
[Explore] “Are you the one who wants me to slay the Hero? Are you the one trapping me here?”
“I have only memories of your presence and the words of the shard that you have gifted me. I…have no intention of harm.”
“That isn’t a ‘no’.”
“How can I know for certain if I have or have not? Perhaps in time I will know the answer. But I do not want to lie to you.”
“What do we do now?”
“As we are, we can only remain in this place. There is no way to leave–there is hardly a way in. But there are ways to change that.
This realm bends to your whims, even as we speak.
If you wish to be able to, you can forget and set our story in motion again. Find the slivers of our existence and return them to me so that we can once again find ourselves.”
[Explore] “How much will I forget?”
“Everything, until I see you again.”
[Explore] “And what if I don’t want to do this? What will you do to me?”
“Nothing. I will only hope you change your mind.”
[Explore] “How many shards do I need to bring you?”
“More than you have brought me, but not all that you could find. We will know when the moment draws near.”
“I don’t want to forget.”
“We can stay here for eternity if that is what you want. There is nothing pushing us towards our fate such that we cannot enjoy a moment or lifetime of silence. If you wish to close yourself off from this world, if you become nothing but a glimmer in my memory, I will merely wait longer for you.
What will you do, in your time beyond time? Will you choose to write a new story? Will your story weave itself around your heart, tighter than I ever could? Will you unravel it, pulling at its strings until you are left bare once again?
I suppose we cannot know the answer to that now. I can only ask that you return.
I will stay with you until you are ready to move on.”
“Thank you.” [Wait.]
“Ah, you’re back. Though it hasn’t been long, it has felt like eternity as I waited. This world is so dark without your presence.
I hope this time has given you time to reflect.”
“I’m ready to go back.”
“I understand. This is the only way we can move on.
The shard…he asks that I tell you to remember him.
How unfortunate.”
Your vision goes white, and you die.
Chapter I
The Princess and the Hero
The Narrator
You are in the depths of a cabin. And beyond that cabin is a path. And down that path, there is a Hero.
He is here to slay you. And if he does, it will be the end of the world.