[ENTER THE PALACE]

[warpweft]

[You find yourself with a sensation like floating in water.]

[Above, the sky is dark. You can occasionally see things shifting, like gusts of wind, or perhaps waves of water. Is it…even a sky above you? Or is it some kind of giant ocean? Whatever it is, you can’t make it out very well. All around you, you appear to be floating in what appears to be water. It looks like a great, wide ocean of…space in every direction around you, with stars and lights twinkling in the distance. It looks like water and feels like water, but it doesn’t make you wet. You can reach your hand into it and pull some out, the purple and violet water and the tiny points of light inside it will even rest in your hands if you cup them to carry it, but once you’re not trying to hold it anymore, it’ll flow off of you, not a single drop remaining behind. You feel something similar if you go underneath the surface. The “water” doesn’t touch your eyes, mouth or nose when give the chance, it merely drifts around you, allowing you to breathe and see unabated. And you can see for a great distance, the twinkling stars illuminating the ocean of space all around you. Though perhaps less dark and empty, it feels every bit as vast as the sky above. You feel like you could swim forever and never reach the edge.]

[It’s quiet, here, with little noise around you but the starry ocean’s waves crashing back into its surface. It’s peaceful. In another situation, it might even be comfortable.]

Comments

[cosplayed_out]

So... you know I'm the Ultimate Cosplayer?

[That's kind of mean, she thinks when she reads the message, but she keeps it to herself.]

So you want a Symbol of Trust.

[voidhearts]

I do.

And, yes. Or the start of one, at least.

[cosplayed_out]

... Then why did you act like you would send me plain away?

[voidhearts]

Why did you ask me for work instead of being honest about why you're here?

[cosplayed_out]

I didn't know how meta we were getting about these quests. I thought you'd be acting within the context of a real villager without self-awareness.

This is like when you try to roleplay your character at a con and meet another cosplayer playing a character from the same series. It's a natural instinct to engage them like the character you're playing.

[voidhearts]

I don't know what most of those words mean. But they sound like words Nessa might know. Which is good, I suppose.

To put it as simply as I can, those of us in here that can actually help you already understand why you're here and what you're trying to do.

[i.e., if they're giving a quest, they know the score.]

[cosplayed_out]

...Okay, okay. A symbol of trust! I will bring it.

[voidhearts]

Good luck.

[cosplayed_out]

Where we're going, we don't need roads!

[quickly going to leave]

[voidhearts]

.....don't know what that means, either.

[You exit the house. You can go back down the hill or take the path from the backyard into the forest.]

[You can also, you know, leave this wing immediately without having to go all the way back to the starting point, if you want.]

[cosplayed_out]

[Winds her way back to Agnis with the bell!]

Hello again, Miss Agnis! I believe this will serve as a symbol of the trust Nessa has in me!

[she'll hand it over.]

[voidhearts]

[Agnis takes the replica bell.]

Hm....

[She looks it over for a moment and gives it a ring. It sounds a little softer than it did back in the motel, but Agnis is still listening to the tone it lets out, carefully....]

It sounds like you two have been through a lot together.

[cosplayed_out]

...The zombie game when I accused her of betraying me was a time I was under a form of mind-control. My actions during then were not my own.

[voidhearts]

You apologized for hitting her with a club, right?

[cosplayed_out]

I did. I plain remembered what I did. And what she said. She cried out "I'm sorry, Nell," while I hit her.

I brought it up later and told her that she absolutely did not betray me. It was the mind-control. And furthermore... I told her I didn't want her to associate what happened back then as akin to whatever happened with 'Nell.' Because she absolutely did not betray me. She did all she could to help me.

I didn't know any details about Nell, and I didn't press, but I could plain tell it was someone important to her and whatever circumstances existed were plain eating her up inside. So... we hugged. And moved on.

[voidhearts]

[... Agnis closes her eyes lets out a low sigh. It sounds like what Tsumugi is describing doesn't sound very unbelievable to her.]

She's carrying a lot with her. She...has a habit of always feeling like she should've done more.

I'm sorry that the two of you went through that. Thank you for supporting her.

[Agnis gestures for Tsumugi to follow her and walks down the hall.]

Please, come with me. I'd like to show you something.

[cosplayed_out]

[she nods, and follows, taking it seriously]

[voidhearts]

[They come to a door, which Agnis unlocks. She then heads inside.]

[The room is immaculately organized, as if the person that owns it gets pissed off at the mere idea of somebody seeing anything out of place. There’s a bookshelf up against one wall filled with novels and texts, a desk up against the opposite wall with notebooks, writing supplies and a little desk buddy that happens to be a black cat. Next to the desk, on the wall, is a whiteboard with a schedule for classes, a schedule for online tutoring, a schedule for studying and a to-do list which just lists a bunch of books. The bed is neatly made and the clothes hanging in the closet are all freshly pressed.]

[On the bed is a glowing violet orb. Agnis looks at it. Then at you.]

If you want to understand a bit of what I was talking about before, please, touch that. [She points at the orb.]

[cosplayed_out]

[another nod.]

All right... sorry about the fingerprints.

[She reaches out and touches it!]

[voidhearts]

[You touch the orb and you get just a bit woozy as images start to filter into your head, playing out as if they're happening to you...]

[cosplayed_out]

...

[Tsumugi immediately bursts into tears]

Noooo..!

[voidhearts]

[Agnis doesn't react much outwardly. She eventually hands Tsumugi a handkerchief.]

Are you alright?

[cosplayed_out]

That's so sad...!

[she cries into the handkerchief, unable to control herself.]

You're such a good sister...

/2

[voidhearts]

[Welcome to the Palace: Step 4 completed!]

[Step 5: Use the NessaShare app.
Open the NessaShare app and share your thoughts on the memory you acquired to earn NessaPoints.
Shadow Nessa: You don’t have to talk specifically about the memory. It can be anything, honestly. Just make sure it’s pithy and clever. But also, detailed and eloquent. Don’t suck up, I find it very annoying when people are cloying with me. But I’m extremely susceptible to being buttered up, so throw in some compliments. Look, I’m rambling, just share something honest and poignant about how fascinating my life is and you’ll be well compensated for it.]

[voidhearts]

[Agnis looks away, a bit awkward. She doesn't seem to know how to accept that compliment.]

I simply...did the best with what I had.

After what Nessa had been through...after what she'd lost, and what she'd gone through. I just thought she deserved someone that. Wouldn't let her down.

So I tried to be that, for her.