Argenti's Palace

[beautifulknight]

The stage is set they say;
They don their masks and shields,
Shadows creep and cover their minds;
Now, what beautiful role shall they play?

𝓜𝓮𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓷 𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓵𝓮


♫

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EXPLORATION PART 1: HALL PHASE...END cw: Trypophobia, Body Horror

[beautifulknight]

[ Once everyone has interacted with all of the objects, as well as spoken with one another, the doors will suddenly slam open, and the room they are in will start to darken.

Yes. Everyone is coming closer to putting together pieces of the puzzle. Most assuredly, most certainly...everything seems potentially even cut and dry.

The Shadows said Argenti is waiting everyone.

...

...Are there really going to be more pieces to this puzzle? It seems s̷̡͓̙̞̱̘̙͇̅́̈́̄̍͒̐̔́̌̿͛̇̓̑̀͜imple enough, doesn't it? Confront him next and be done with it.

Yet, before their very eyes, everyone witnesses distinct images settle into their eyes, like watching from someplace far away...

In a field of flowers there is a Knight in bright armor meeting Argenti; his face can't be seen, as if blocked by a strange darkness. They seem to talk hours on end, words indistinct and inaudible before this Knight places a hand over on one of Argenti's shoulders. There is a sense of warmth that washes over everyone, particularly as a setting sun hangs in the background.

It becomes clear these two must be close friends. Though even this memory seems more fantastical somehow. As if witnessing a fantasy tinged with edges of affection.

A wind blows, scattering petals from the flower field, even if the white gladiolus ultimately remain in grand numbers. It's enough to obscure the vision of all for a singular number.

As they die down, the memory's surroundings have evidently shifted to the red-haired male entering a place where surroundings are muddled by the night. Dark and darker still, until Argenti sees the back of that knight, who turns to face him.

Except the appearance of his dear friend is now horrid beyond words.

cw: trypophobia, body horror

Inexplicable as it is, there is a spear protruding from his chest, a strange, black substance that drips from it, his armor now scales, with eyes glowing, and a strange skin that covers half of his body with a pitch blackness that can't be made out its color or true appearance. Something else breaks out of the skin of his back, as if to further enhance the transformation - undoubtedly an extra limb, that contains a pincer, also etched in deep black. His eyes glow red, slit like a snake's, and his hands are now mere claws. He leaps out at Argenti, mouth wide with fangs like a dragon's, ready to mindlessly attack.

And, without hesitation, Argenti lashes out at what his dear friend used to be in a quick few movements that cover the bright Knight of Beauty in blood. The creatures he slays also stain his spear red.

But, he finishes up soon enough, as there do not appear to be a lot of them.

He emerges from the cave. Then, he sees a much older man, in armor. He turns, and already, Argenti is raising his spear—in that moment there is a flash of red in the older male's eyes. He too is already on the same road of transformation, letting out an unearthly, mad cry.

Just the same, without hesitation, Argenti's lance finds its mark, piercing through that brilliant armor, spearing him through the heart. Petals fall to their feet, and the images distort as the ground is soaked in red.

"Master...

My dear, beloved friend...please let your beautiful souls rest in peace. Idrila shall immortalize your contributions to Beauty dearly."

His words seem twisted and d̴̙̫̪̰̯͆istorted and it echoes throughout the area.

...Or perhaps those are not the right words for it at all. For those listening carefully through the distortion...

They may be able to perceive that these are words filled with guilt, despair...and fear. Though it is clear as he goes to bury their bodies, he does not falter.

Not ever, not now. He cannot stray now, otherwise...

The memories fade away, and the darkness in the room encroaches further. So...

Time to go onwards!

The next part of Exploration will go up in an hour. ]

[destage]

[...

Sayaka views this all and she feels her heart sink deep into the ground. Killing seems to be such a common theme in the memories of people here, but Argenti--he cared for this one. Distorted as his face may be, he still cared, and he still cut down the man in question without hesitation. And the mentor, and...

He's held so much pain inside of him this entire time. Is this what he was hiding behind his knightly demeanor and kind smiles? Is this the pain that he's held onto by himself the entire time?

Sayaka proceeds forward, but--one might be able to see her wipe her eyes a bit.]

Oh, Argenti-kun...

[fullmoonmutt]

...

[ That... that was... ]

He. He killed the other knights himself?

[ They had been corrupted by something, though, hadn't they? It isn't an uncommon story for Eli. A unit running afoul of the wrong kind of demon, someone getting infected with something, and then—

Eli will carry on forward after a pause to settle his nerves. That transformation they saw had been far more disfiguring than his own, normally, when back in his world, true enough, but that feeling wasn't one he'd ever quite been able to shake. ]

[goei]

I think whatever turned them into those monsters's what really killed him.

[Carefully choosing his words, or at least as much as Izou can do such a thing, now that he knows a little more about Eli's situation.]

[fullmoonmutt]

It... yeah. It was. When someone loses themselves to a transformation like that, you usually have no choice but to put them down.

[ Harsh as a reminder as it is that one day, that could be him with someone he cares about having to kill him, he isn't going to pretend like it isn't a simple fact of life.

So he just shrugs. See? He's fine. ]

But after you do, you always find yourself thinking, what if there had been a way to save them, you know?

[goei]

I've never had ta deal with a situation like that, so I dunno.

[Thinking is neither of their's strong suit.]

But I feel like, if it was someone you cared about, probably they wouldn't want you to agonize over it, yeah? And if it wasn't, then who cares what they think.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ They're both bozos, but Eli has way more experience with this. ]

I mean, yeah? But that's never how it goes, right? You'd feel bad about offing me if I lost control, right? I'd still want you to do it, but I know it would hurt you.

[goei]

[Damn well when you actually put names to it like that...]

... Yeah, I guess that's right. Kinda like the reverse of me and Ryouma, ain't it.

[Where he feels like he should be mad but just can't bring himself to act on it.]

Shit like this is what alcohol was invented for.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Or therapy? Maybe therapy? Can we consider therapy? No? Well, alright. ]

More or less. Just try not to drink yourself into a hole if it happens. That would piss me off even more.

[goei]

[What's therapy.]

Fine, fine... Why d'you guys care so damn much about how much I drink anyways?

[fullmoonmutt]

... [ should he say it, should he ] 'cause you cry when you get drunk alone and it's awkward.

[goei]

I don't-
[Well]

I don't cry. I don't even always get sad. Just sometimes.

[fullmoonmutt]

...you were totally crying when I dragged you to bed, mate.

[goei]

I don't remember that.

[Is he just denying it or was he actually blacking out at that point. Impossible to say.]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Hmmmm. ]

Well. You were pretty wasted.

[goei]

... Yeah I was havin' a bad night.

[He'll admit that much.]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Welp, then here, have a hearty clap on the back. ]

Then drink with friends on the next bad night. We'll even hold your hair.

[goei]

[The idea of reaching out to people when he's at his lowest... Well, no, Eli and the rest of that group already saw him at his lowest, didn't they.]

... Alright. Dunno what you gotta hold my hair for though, it's already tied back.

[fullmoonmutt]

...you telling me you've never gotten puke in those long-ass bangs of yours?

[goei]

'Course not, I'm a professional!

[A PROFESSIONAL WHAT]

[bloodweapon]

[It isn't surprising that Argenti has suffered. That he has lost those he cared for; that he has had to put them down by his own hands. It isn't a surprise that they're shown this now, to better understand what Argenti has been through. Argenti does not falter because he cannot falter. Whether because of his oath, his goddess, or simply because that's who he is, Fray understands this intrinsically. It's what drives good people like Argenti. Heroes. People like him suffer so much because they open themselves up to caring so much.

Fray grips something tightly in his hand as he returns to himself. Argenti's feelings were his own for a moment and even now it takes him far too long to shake them off. Grief, despair, fear... how common have these feelings been for someone like him, someone born of such emotions?

He pockets the thing in his hand and takes a breath to steady himself. When next we meet, I'll ensure you're no longer anyone's pawn. There's nothing to be done but keep moving forward. His eyes burn red already.]

[gardenful]

[ She has seen corruption similar to that before, back home. She and her friends had to make the same choice as Argenti too, even if it hurt their hearts.

And so, Aerith clasps her hands in front of her, closing her eyes. It's not a prayer, not really, but a moment of silence to remember the guilt, despair, and fear that Argenti felt as he had to slay his fellow Knights.

She owes the ones he cared about this little moment, standing in a reflective sort of quiet as she lets these memories settle into her heart. ]

[beathollow]

( yes hello she's been here the whole time and she is.... ...

she inhales, steadying her breath. it's-

is that what argenti's dealt with? what he's continued to deal with? and he's still so bright and kind. ... and real. not like her.

... )

... Did that happen to all of them?

[imperiosity]

[He remembers going to a movie with Van once -- a horror flick, where a group of friends wandered into someplace haunted and it ended with one of them being possessed. After the screening had ended, he'd been asked what he'd do for someone who had been possessed, and well. This is it, isn't it? Even if you know what must be done, even if you know they can't be saved, even if you don't falter, it's a somber affair with no happy ending.

Even if Aaron can't personally relate to what he's witnessed, he can understand that much. So he won't comment on it, he just steps forward so he can press on.]

[bloodandstars]

[ She's never seen her own transformation from the outside — only the wreckage left behind. Husks of bodies, husks of cities. The blasted plain where Constantine used to be a bustling, thriving city.

Is she any less horrifying than that, glowing eyes and scaled darkness? Probably not. But the unreasoning madness in those eyes reminds her of Ravenna. Some of those people could still be brought back. She hasn't had the chance to see the city again, to ask the ones who killed their neighbors or their family or strangers if they were grateful, in the end, to have their sanity returned.

Not everyone can live with being a monster. ]

...Duty before everything. I don't know who's worse, between you and Corvin.

[ Argenti can't hear her, so there's no harm in saying it aloud. ]