[Endgame: rise or DROWN]

[warpweft]

[How long have you been exploring Nessa's palace now? You've met her family, viewed her memories, learned how to fight as a witch and tried to find the source of her power and the Treasure of her palace: the Voidheart. And along the way, you've tired your best, with mixed success, to avoid the incarnation of her eldest cousin and the representation of her trauma and fear, the Nightmare of Esmau.]

[Wherever you are in the Palace right now, you feel the ground briefly shake under your feet. Little shakes here and there haven't been out of the ordinary - Esmau is trying to blow the place down to the studs, after all. But that felt different. That felt....worse.]

[Your phone beeps as you receive a message.]

Comments

GATHER INTEL

[voidhearts]

[At Akira's command, Nell runs off to inspect the barrier, searching for weaknesses in it that they might be able to use to get into the Temple. She returns a few moments later, her head down. She looks disappointed.]

I...I'm sorry, b-but it's bad news.

The barrier is unbreakable. I couldn't find a single weakpoint on it. It must be powered directly by the Voidheart or something...we're going to have to find some other way to bring it down.

The only thing I could find is that I noticed that to attack us with that crystal, she had to cast it outside the barrier. So at the very least, I don't think there's a ton she can do to us either for now, besides use that crystal....

[cosplayed_out]

Wait, does this mean she's going to sit behind a shield and attack us with psychic energy the entire fight??

[voidhearts]

I-I think it's what she's going to try...

...

I don't think it's what she wants.

Esmau would want to attack us directly as much as possible. She wouldn't want to hide behind a barrier....she would think it makes her seem weaker than us.

G-Grandmo... [She pauses.] ...Lilith must be telling her to do that.

[cosplayed_out]

Let us taunt her. She may become so cross that she will make a mistake.

Re: GATHER INTEL

[velluminous]

[ 2+2= ] So we attack crystal. We make ourselves such pests she must come to meet us.

Re: GATHER INTEL

[voidhearts]

I...

I think she's only staying behind that barrier because that's what Grandmo -- [She pauses.] ...because that's what Lilith wants her to do.

I think...

[She points at Esmau. She looks...



Kind of annoyed?]

I think she wants to fight us directly. S-so maybe if you're right...we can take advantage of that!

Re: GATHER INTEL

[velluminous]

[ curls her lip at Esmau ]

Oh, I think I'm right.