tower-of-erinyes

[tower-of-erinyes]

Become the dirt I walk on

Once again, your captors have managed to force your worst nightmares to come true. In this case, it was in a quite literal sense, as each time you felt yourself drifting for even a moment, the darkness circled in. Explosions, crashes, screams, and shrieks of agony lined the insides of your eyelids. Some of you tried to soldier on with your sleep, with the mental anguish of the night’s rest clear, while the rest of you couldn’t stay down if you tried, bags fully developed under your eyes. No matter who you were, everyone was nearing their wits end.

It’s not as though you had any sense of what time it was to begin with in the tower, though you surmised that it had been roughly four days since these dreams had been inflicted on you. A mere blink causing the suffering to be reimagined anew, some new terror to be wrought on your senses. How many of them featured Atropos and Lachesis? Surely for some of you at least one or two of these visions had to have featured them. It’s why once you heard Atropos’ voice begin to ring out through the tower, you weren’t entirely sure it was actually her, or your imagination.

“Dear Unfortunates, please come join Lachesis and I in the landscape room. We have something we’re just dying to show you!”

Lord, you’re tired of this. You’re tired in general. Why do you even bother continuing on here? Why bother to continue listening? You’ve lost your motivation to even try to explore this place anymore, knowing that it all goes to the same result. People have been shutting themselves away in fear, and those that hadn’t weren’t usually your first option of conversation. Why keep following their commands when you can’t even be bothered to keep going?

Because you’re still human. And like all humans, you’re a coward when it comes to the potential end of your life. Because you know whatever is holding your life’s string were to snip it, your existence would be gone. And you’re too scared of letting your existence end with no meaning. You wouldn’t have nightmares if you didn’t care about living.

So you play the game one more time, knowing the result won’t be good.

Entering the featured exhibit of the floor, you see Lachesis standing in front of the mountain top view painting, trying to admire it. Upon closer inspection though, he appears as haggard as the rest of you. Seems even he wasn’t safe from the demons of your minds. Once he takes notice of you, he tries to put up a smile, but you can tell from the tired expression that it is no more than a formality.

He waves you over and points towards the painting, as if he was telling you to walk into it. You had heard about some of the others actually having entered a few of the other painting’s miniature set worlds, and it seems as though this one must have had the same trick. You stick your hand out, and a feeling of being pulled in takes you over, the air acting as a vacuum, forcing you closer and closer to the frame. Your head enters in, and the rest of your body is soon to follow.

You feel the cool and crisp air of the mountain top as you fall into this painting, a gorgeous perpetual sunset laid before you. The sky is painted with yellows, reds, and an evanescent purple as the clouds are defined by the light. Trying to shake the cobwebs out from your fall lets you appreciate the colors. It's almost enough to make you forget your troubles until your eyes focus on Atropos floating in front of you near the side of the cliff. Though not just that, there’s something else. To the edge of the apex, someone’s lying on the rocky floor…

A soft and warm glow seemed to radiate off of Beni. The perpetual pain in your collective side since the start now was here before you, peaceful in slumber. You see the wound on his abdomen, blood seeping out, and you have to blink a few times to make sure that this wasn’t just another nightmare. Before you even had a chance to go to him, Atropos spoke to you.

“It’s odd how some humans find peace in death. For someone like him to do so now… You Unfortunates truly are puzzling creatures.”

So that’s that then. He seemed like the kind of guy who could outlive everything. He practically already had after having his hand cut off, it felt as though the odds of death catching up to him were slim to none.

But then again, the reaper comes for us all one day. And that doesn’t change the truth of the matter.

Benito Efraín Jesús Costa, the Unemployed, was dead.

“I don’t imagine I need to tell you what to do by this point. You have two hours.”

And with that, Atropos floated away once more.

[Art by Emi!]

[tower-of-erinyes]

Sweet dreams, sweet prince.

Your heart beats as you wander the halls of the art gallery sometimes. You know that something is at stake here, something that is beyond just each of your own mortalities. When the life of someone’s loved one is on the line, you know deep in yourself, that someone will appear dead, surely. In a world that features rather haunting exhibits, featuring miniature realms that you can quite literally be sucked into… You can never help but stay on edge.

“Attention all Unfortunates, report to the Éirnes exhibit at once.” A rather curt announcement rang out from one of your hosts. Best not to leave them waiting.

As you arrive in this hall of history that you still have yet to take the time to fully look through, you see Atropos floating there looking rather impatient. “Unfortunates, you need to be quicker next time! Lachesis really doesn’t like having to wait for you.”

Beside her laying on the floor was the aforementioned blond, seemingly lost in slumber, though a bit uncomfortably. You can’t tell if his twitching was resulting from being on the floor, or something else.

“Ah, don’t fret about him. I’m sure he’s just having a bad dream.” Atropos attempts to dissuade you from having your attention drawn, though it only served to make him the focal point more so. Glancing down at him, you see him tossing and turning, restlessness clear as he continues through whatever dream he’s having. That, or he’s a really good actor.

“That does remind me, we have been a bit lenient on you all, haven’t we?” Atropos let’s the question linger for a moment before continuing. “For all that we’ve thrown at you, we’ve been more than gracious enough to let you sleep it off.”

You wouldn’t personally classify the poor rest you get here as “sleeping it off”, if anything it’s just time to digest the harrowing experiences you continue to have to endure. There’s not a night you don’t have the dead of this tower flash through your mind. Tragic, how they’re considered a part of the furniture to you by this point, really.

“Well, that ends now. From now until the moment one of you dies, you will be subject to your worst nightmares every time you fall unconscious.”

You would question how such a thing would even have been possible, though given that you all were progressively losing your memories following your sleep not long ago, nothing surprises you anymore. It’s one thing to wake up and lose a piece of yourself… It’s another to have the darkest parts of you invade your mind night after night.

Atropos had fallen silent as you all registered that your fears would come to haunt you each rest, the hunger of mental torture now waiting. “And to our saboteur…” Her normally boisterous and booming voice was primed, pointed, and quiet, forcing you to pay attention to hear her.

“I think we both know what your dreams are going to be about. Perhaps you should start getting to work before they come true.”

Atropos begins to float off, not requiring your attention anymore, leaving just Lachesis alone with you. His writhing had continued during her speech, only to finally come to a halt. His hands flash up towards his head, clutching it with his teeth grit.

Until finally, he awoke.

Eyes wild and wide, he quickly scans the room to try and locate something, instinctively scrambling to his feet with his chest heaving. For the first time since you’ve been here, you see Lachesis with a look of terror written upon his face.

It didn’t take any of the gruesome deaths here to do it, it didn’t take any of your threats, it didn’t even take him being stabbed by one of you to have this emotion show. All it took was whatever laid dormant… Waiting for him in the depth of slumber.

The frightened host tried to steady himself, before quickly marching after Atropos. The terrified presence has left the room.

If even he can be shaken… Then what awaits you?

[tower-of-erinyes]

Keep your loved ones close, and your enemies closer.

The exploration of this art gallery has already revealed some rather astonishing facts about the floor. The fact that seems to be miniature realms hidden inside this tower through select paintings is intriguing, and begs question for what else may lie in wait for you all. However, as night approached, it was time for everyone to turn themselves in for rest. More secrets were bound to be discovered, but that should be done with more attentive eyes.

Upon your waking, you crawl out of your bed and see that there's a note taped to the inside of your door. There's no doubt who this could possibly be from.

Hey besties, come to the foyer, it's that time again! Or else!

Sparkle on!

- Lachesis

You utterly despise this man.

You meander your way towards the elevator to get down to the newst set of locations. Waiting for you there as expected was the dreaded hosts with the most. It didn't take long for Atropos to cut the silence in half. "Rise and shine, Unfortunates. I'll make this round of explanation short and sweet for you all." For the usually lengthy talker that Atropos is, that was slightly worrying. "I'd like you to close your eyes and picture in your mind the one person you care about more than anyone else. Could be a friend, a partner, a family member…"

You don't like where this was going, but you oblige anyways, the thought of those dearest to you floating in your mind. "Now, what would you do if it meant keeping that person safe? How far would you be willing to go?"

Thoughts rush through your mind of just what it is you have done to help this person in the past, and what you would do for them now. The thought of them being in any sort of peril sent you more than a minor panic. "That is the question our saboteur will have to ask themselves. Who knows how far they'll go for them, Unfortunates? Will they kill for another, or is the dangling sword of Damocles going to be cut loose? Only time will tell. With that, however, you all are dismissed."

And just as you instructed to be brought in by him, Lachesis proceeds to shoo you out, a wry smile written across his features.

[tower-of-erinyes]

Come and play the game.

Upon waking up in the morning, you decided not to test Lachesis's patience. You were surprised that he didn't make mention of the stabbing in his note, though perhaps that was because he had them prewritten. Who's to say? Either way, you can imagine his fuse is probably short, so it's best not to press your luck. You ventured your way over to the elevator, and with a ding, you were already at your destination. The prison cells were the fastest of the second floor locations to reach after all given that you spill out there anyways. Though that doesn't stop you from deciding to take a brief detour before your inevitable leap of faith.

Walking over to the botany lab, you see that just as before, the corpse that once blocked its entrance has been removed and cleaned. No Kesley in sight, nor a pair of handcuffs to be seen. Inside the lab, the blueish body of Memory had also been taken away, and the red powder had been swept. After all that had occurred, two bright and joyful lives had just been snuffed out, and whisked off as if they never existed. The scenery betrays your recollection, as it looked as though nothing had ever happened. That maybe Kesley and Memory and even Ruri might still be alive and joining you down below, but you aren't that naïve. Not anymore.

Returning to the prison cells, just as before, the abyss awaited you. The hexagonal hatch in the center of the cells was opened, a maw awaiting its meal. Once more you steel yourself, jumping straight in and plunging downward like a needle, trying to make this tormenting fall end faster and hopefully not have your legs shatter upon landing. Thankfully though, once you finally touch down, having a bit more tact while doing so, you see that the running theme of hexagons continues. The room is adorned with ambient lighting, showcasing a multitude of paintings scattered about. The floor is a dark gray tiling with a well-polished sheen, and in the center, Atropos and Lachesis were there.

"I certainly hope you have a refined palette, Unfortunate. Welcome to our personal art gallery, furnished with only the highest class of work."

[Chapter 3: Start]

[tower-of-erinyes]

Rest and respite are needed for proper reflection.

"Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out the door..." Atropos's voice oozed self-amusement as the scene unfolded of Ruri taking herself to her own demise.

You can dream a wonderful dream all you want, but nothing changes from the cold, harsh, cruel reality we all live in. This tower that traps us here, and brings out the worst in you. Despite it all, you remain astonished at the devilish tricks that continue to be pulled, as the life of Ruri is sapped away from this mortal realm.

"It's always a pleasure to see the fruits of your labor rewarded. Though enough of that Unfortunates, you all have had quite the day. Off to your rooms, take the rest of the night off."

You didn't have to be told twice, anything to get out of there as soon as humanly possible.

Upon making your way to your tiny forced abode, you are met with a similar sight to what happened after the first trial. Ten bones lay upon your bed, but it seems they are spelling out "K + M". And just as before, a note has been left by your resident silent lunatic.

You all did it again! Wonderful work, absolutely wonderful! It takes quite a bit of effort to solve two cases at once after all, that was quite the show. Thanks again to those of you who spent some time with yours truly in the labyrinth, it was quite a good way to kill the time.

Now I hope you all have sweet dreams, just like Ruri did! Get out of bed bright and early though, we're jumping down to the next floor tomorrow, you can find the hole in the prison cells. Make sure you're there by noon.

[Chapter 2, "Among The Living": Completed]

[tower-of-erinyes]

Once Upon A Dream...

So that’s that. When all’s said and done, human beings will always act from their emotions first and foremost, no matter how they try and rationalize it. That’s what everyone here was doing, including herself.

That’s why all Ruri can do is stretch her arms above her head and yawn. All of these high-running-emotions were making her sleepy. Thankfully, her time has come; she looks over towards Atropos, then over towards Lachesis in the scrap before her, nodding at each as she does so.

Slowly, she steps down from her podium and begins to walk away from the scene, towards…a doorway? Had that doorway always been there? You can’t recall, but it’s there now, and without another word, Ruri slips behind it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[CW: Unreality]

♪♫♪

Ah, this is…

Her Dream Land.

A soft, pink forest; void of sound, the flora and fauna gentle and rosy and a few cutesy animal friends rush to greet her. Birds, foxes, sheep, all wispy caricatures of themselves flock to her and usher her along, which the tired young woman does with a small smile. She hums a familiar tune as they parade across the cherry-blossom-laden paths, picturesque and perfect and peaceful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That…is not what you see, however.

No, Ruri is alone, of course.

There is no magical world, there are no animals; just a dark and dreary hall that seems to stretch on forever, its walls covered in rust. And yet, her movements are the same. She waltzes down the hall, humming her tune, completely unaware of her surroundings. If it were anyone but her, it would probably be unsettling, but knowing what you do now, it just makes sense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome back, sensei!”

“We’ve missed you, sensei!”

“You’ve worked so hard, sensei!”

“You deserve some rest, sensei!”

As her animal friends chide her on, the young woman smiles and nods sleepily. They’re right. She’d spent so much time making sure everything would work out the way she wanted, she needed a nice, long nap.

Both she and the animals begin to wander off path towards a cluster of trees, where in the middle of it all is a neat, welcoming bed. It looks so soft, untouched, here just for her and no one else. Ruri yawns again as she approaches, her little companions surrounding the spot as she does so.

“Good night, sensei!”

“Sweet dreams, sensei!”

“Come play with us later, sensei!”

“Tell your friends we said hi, sensei!”

Ruri climbs into the bed, and an odd numbness hits her body. It must be her exhaustion, surely. Laying all the way down, she smiles and nods to her little friends before closing her eyes and pulling the covers up…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

..no.

No, that’s not what you see at all.

You watched her walk down the rusting hallway further and further until she’s come across a coffin, riddled with spikes inside. It’s more like a turned over iron maiden than a coffin.

She…she’d willingly…or perhaps unknowingly…perhaps a bit of both…who’s to say…?

She lies down inside, and closes the lid over herself.

There is no screaming, no emotional response, just some blood seeping out from beneath once the lid has been shut.

The dim lights of the hall flicker off, taking your vision with it.

Ruri Suiren, the somnologist, has gone to sleep.

[tower-of-erinyes]

Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear

The time for final words had passed, perhaps a little more violently than was expected, and though Atropos seemed visibly entertained by the whole ordeal, there were more pressing matters at hand. She cleared her non-existent throat before speaking.

"Benito, my boy, save your bloodlust for later! I promise you, there will be plenty more opportunities for murder. Speaking of..."

Atropos. turned her attention to the star of this macabre performance, the somnologist Ruri Suiren.

"Poor, unfortunate Ruri... Such a noble cause for killing your compatriots, and yet they scorn you just the same. But fear not, I would be more than happy to hand you the same salvation you offered your victims..."

The voice of the tower spoke with a blatantly artificial warmth as her mouth twisted into an eerily wide, yet all too familiar grin.

"After all, I'm sure you must be curious where you sent them."

[tower-of-erinyes]

Run.

It's times like these that Lachesis really wished he could speak. Everything the Unfortunates did for the most part made him fed up. Now look at what they've gone and caused: Staining his shirt and one of his favorite jackets with his own blood because Mr. One Armed Failure wanted to have some dumb little vengeance plot over his unrequited lover dying. It's not Lachesis's fault that Ruri used Kesley like the dog he turned out to be, why does he have to be the one getting stabbed over it? He knows why. But he's still upset.

Really he was just perfectly content in waiting right here to make sure Beni wouldn't go anywhere while they started up Ruri's execution. He probably doesn't have to at this point, after all he neutralized the leg for a reason, but still, he wanted to make sure Beni stayed conscious this time, unlike last round. He overheard Ruri and Dante yelling back and forth, and he wished he can zip the lips of all these melodramatic assholes, when he sees Dante coming over to pry the knife out of Beni's hand. He heard Dante tell him to get off, which he wasn't going to do, when he saw the blade be freed and slid closer to him. Quickly, he snatched it up and pocketed it for later. It's coated in his blood currently, which means it's his now.

What doesn't kill you makes them a loser.

As Cyrille ran over towards them, Lachesis's attention was diverted to where when Dante shoved the backside of his shoulder, he was taken aback by it. It wasn't enough to topple him, but just the pure audacity of it. Lachesis slowly rises up off of Beni as Cyrille goes and takes care of his now useless leg. His mouth stretched to the corners of his mouth as his head turns towards the influencer. His eyes are open wide, and as he rises to his feet, staring down at the face of Dante, they can see that they aren't just open, they're vibrating in anger.

Lachesis takes one of his hands to his wound, before raising it to see that it's bloody. He taps Dante's face, making sure his crimson mark was left. No need for words. If they were smart, they would get the message.

[tower-of-erinyes]

une raison de vivre, une excellente raison de mourir | cyrille | re: beni, dante

Cyrille's brain doesn't catch up fast enough to actually stop Beni - they should've expected something like this, should've prepared. Part of them doesn't even understand why they want to. Ruri's going to die anyways, regardless of Beni's involvement. Beni's wellbeing isn't exactly their top priority either, but... they don't want anyone to get hurt like this. They'd help anyone in that position. That includes Beni. If they could help Ruri, too, they would, despite everything.

While they start moving before Dante, they have further to go, and so they end up getting there at about the same time. They focus on Beni's leg, pulling the knife out of it without any warning and stashing it in their purse. Beni does NOT get knife privileges. Then they remove some torn fabric from their bag, makeshift bandages they had previously prepared, just in case. Looks like they'll come in handy after all.

"Raise your foot," They instruct Beni, despite not being sure if they would even be heard over all this chaos. "Keep it elevated above your heart, to slow the blood flow."

They press some of the fabric against the wound, applying pressure in order to stop the bleeding.

[tower-of-erinyes]

They call him No Knife Beni, on account of his No More Knives || Dante || Trial 2 RE: Cyrille, Beni, Ruri ATTN: Lachesis

They want to press back, to argue that everything in their room belonged to them and so help them they were going to get their things back. But they don’t fire that retort; instead, they prickle at her next words.

“There’s nothing sad about it! You weren’t even there, how the fuck would– forget it. I don’t care if it makes you sad, don’t tell me what to do. I’ll do what I want.” Which… in this case is burn out? Probably not the best argument. They don’t care. They shift their weight, tilting their head just slightly to a more flattering angle, but then pause, going still for a moment. Their eyes flick over to Cyrille, who had just addressed them, and they seem at a loss for words. They’re surprised, and there’s something more that almost seems… confused?

(Why would Dante be under any pretext that what they’re doing was helpful?)

Dante doesn’t even notice that Beni hasn’t said a word to them this whole time, despite them sticking up for him. Votes close, confirmation is given that Ruri was responsible, and they wink at Atropos when she makes that pointed statement. They’re trying not to let it show that Cyrille’s scolding had rained on their parade a little, they have to fake the blase confidence.

But then Beni approaches (them? No. Ruri.) and things happen too fast. Right here. Right next to them. Without thinking they step back, pressing their back into the podium and looking about like they’d rather be just about anywhere else. In less time than it took Beni to get over here, both men are bleeding and Beni is pinned on the ground by Lachesis.

For a moment, Dante is frozen with their hand over their mouth. They don’t. Know what to do? God knows they don’t want to get stabbed. It’s Ruri who snaps them out of it.

Of course Beni wasn’t a lone wolf. He had friends. He had a pack already, unlike her. And they could prove that.

“Get off – let him go!” Dante steps forward, quickly closing the short distance between them and Lachesis. Their knees hit the ground barely a second later, next to Beni’s head, and they reach for the knife in his hand. They aren’t trying to snatch it, more just attempting to pry it out of his grasp for Lachesis to take. As long as Beni doesn’t have it.

With their other hand they push at Lachesis’ shoulder, not too forcefully but just to keep him from leaning closer. “Leave him alone, haven’t you done enough?” They’re not posing this time, or faking a smile, they’re not even being that showy or melodramatic, compared to a few minutes ago. Instead, there’s a desperation that almost seems real. “Just call it fucking even. Leave him alone and take it out on Ruri if you’re mad – go kill her about it!”

They use both hands to try and shove Lachesis. “Just get off!”

[tower-of-erinyes]

ya'll hear sumn? | Ruri | RE: Beni and Lachesis

"...well!"

"What a pleasant waste of time and a pathetic show of violence! I almost feel like giving you a round of applause for that final little show!"

"...but its only a matter of time before you're standing in my place, whelp. Only a matter of time...we wolves don't stray far from the pack at the end of the day, do we? There's no such thing as a lone wolf, try as we might..."

[tower-of-erinyes]

Heads up | Beni | Re:Results

What, so he's waited for the results like a good little guy and Atropos just immediately reveals that he's absolutely not getting involved in the killing part? Figures.

Beni had already expected this, naturally, because of course they wouldn't let him, and of course stepping out from behind the podium and just walking over wouldn't work, but that's what he's doing anyway, well aware that Lachesis is standing right next to Ruri. His hand is already pulling out his switchblade, and snapping it open with ease now- he's practiced, after all, what else is he going to do here? Bothering Kesley? Not anymore. She even took Memory too.

"Get out of the way, pity price blondie." He glances at Lachesis, just for a moment before going back to staring at Ruri. He doesn't have a lot of time... So when Lachesis moves, he's already prepared. Just two seconds, that's all he needs.... The knife flashes as he aims it at the enforcer's guts fast and strong, fully prepared to make him collateral damage if that gets him anywhere.

------------------------ Lachesis listened and waited for everyone to finish their spiels, glancing at his imaginary watch so he could lead the little hellion that was Ruri Suiren to her demise. He stood next to her, in hopes of not having to do the same thing that he did for Drew in the last round with a goose chase. It would be futile, as are all things these Unfortunates do, but to be honest, he would rather do anything than expend anymore necessary energy for this than would be required.

…

He should have known better than the wish for that, as the one armed Benito came rushing forward. Was he that serious about trying to end Ruri himself that the one armed well thought going through him was a good idea? Or was he his intended target, revenge for their sessions of treating that useless lump of his?

Lachesis intended to catch his arm, figuring that an overhand strike would be more befitting of his situation. Though he didn’t catch that Benito was going underhanded, and before he could reach down to stop it-

A sharp exhale was forced out of Lachesis as he looked down with bugged eyes at the knife now jutting out of his abdomen. Beni’s one hand pushing it in still, as Lachesis grits his teeth.

Oh you petulant little shit.

Lachesis thrusts his hand down to grab ahold of Beni’s wrist, eyes incensed with rage as he locks stares with him. With his hand clutched around Beni’s still grasped around the hilt of the knife, Lachesis pushes his assailant back, with seemingly far too much ease. Looking at the blade, it’s coated with Lachesis’s mortality as the crimson drips along the steel. Blood is seeping from his wound, but instead of being phased by it, he instead holds tight his iron grip, crushing the hand who dares to slay him. A smile spreads across Lachesis’s features as pushes their conjoined hands to the side.

Thought you would have been smarter than this by now.

With his one arm neutralized, Lachesis takes the opportunity to sweep out Beni’s legs with his own, having his body collapse to the floor. With a swift motion, Lachesis reaches down with his free hand and plucks out the hidden second knife that he knows Beni keeps hidden in his shoe, and flicks it open with lightning speed. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Lachesis seems to portray with he waggles the knife in front of Beni, jostling his arm to flip him over to the side, leaving the back of his legs exposed.

Now Achilles, it’s time to come down.

Dropping to a knee, Lachesis swung the newly acquired knife into the back of the lower leg. “Oh you little snake!” rebuffed the punk, as those with anatomy knowledge would recognize it was right where the Achilles tendon was, the blade now planted firmly. With Beni now writhing on the floor in agony, Lachesis goes to press both his knees down onto Beni, locked underneath the pressure and pain, and he looks to all those around him a grin and wide eyes.

Let this once again serve as a reminder.

They can’t read his thoughts, but the intention is clear.

----------------------

From his position it's hard to move, but Beni, despite making no attempt to actually escape, is tense, as if there was any chance Lachesis might let up. As if he might actually have a chance, as he is. He's still, but he's ready, and his eyes are still locked on Ruri, that horrid little sheep who should never have gotten her chance to do this.

Kesley could have fought her off.

He could have killed her, he could have gotten away with it.

Beni knows he will never understand...

But... One thing he does understand, deeply, and it's that truth he has to spit at her before she dies. Before it's all over.

"They deserved better than you and me."

He sounds more urgent than usual somehow, like he is trying to really make her understand something so obvious to anyone with eyes. But he doesn't know how else to say what he really means. All he can do is hope that somehow, she understands anyway.

[tower-of-erinyes]

Close Your Eyes | Angelo | Trial 2.4 | RE: Trial Results

As the results were announced, Angelo tried to remain stone-faced. Sure, he was glad most of the others didn't vote out of spite. Key word being most. Damn it Dante...

And he was glad the true culprit was pointed out. But... 

Angelo spared Ruri one final look. He still didn't think this whole trial and execution nonsense was right. Nothing about this situation was right. That floating shit-eating grin of a "host"... this fucked up tower... they were pushing everyone to madness.

All of this was pure madness.

"Ruri... Goodnight." 

[tower-of-erinyes]

True Face, True Farewell | Mika | Trial 2.5 | RE: Results

Okay, her first impression was right, to some degree. And honestly? In a sense, this was the scenario she was afraid of the most. Kesley was the saboteur, and was possibly abetting this to get Ruri out as well? At least, until she-

She gritted her teeth, looking away. Ugh. Her stomach churned, ached. It was difficult to put a handle on her emotions right now. Part of her was utterly gutted. Part of her was angry. Part of her was... a little scared. The true face of someone who was nothing but gentle on the outside... That on its own cut her deeply here.

But this was different. Ruri was her friend.

Amidst her internal turmoil, another reaction caught her eye, though. Beni. She tried to catch his eye, just shaking her head if she's able. Not like this.

Final words, huh. Final words. Her eyes wandered back to Ruri, and she exhaled slowly. Finally...

"For what it's worth. I was really happy, you were my friend. Thanks, Ruri. And I'm sorry."

[tower-of-erinyes]

Now for the abhorrent results

Amongst the rabble-rousing, the finality of a pen might have been heard coming from Lachesis marking down the last of the votes. “Alright Unfortunates, I think we’ve heard enough prattle out of you all. We’ve gotten our majority.” Atropos had been waiting patiently for this moment to come, and had seen that the group clearly had their minds made up. No amount of bickering was going to stop the sheep from finally descending upon the wolf.

Though first, she had a bit of admin she had to do. “As you all have learned by her own admittance, the one who killed both Kesley Simmons and Memory Ito was none other than Ruri Suiren. Congratulations to all- rather most of you at least, on not listening to her on trying to vote for anyone else.” That felt like a pointed statement.

“Now before we move on to the inevitable punishment of Suiren, there’s obviously something else we must address in regards to our saboteur.” Lachesis had set aside the vote tally list and rummaged through his pockets for a familiar orange piece of card stock, waving it in the air at you all. “As I stated before, I never said there wasn’t going to be a trial, just that one might not have been necessary considering our quote unquote get out of jail free card for our saboteur.” She grinned as she let the words linger in the air for a moment. Lachesis stepped forward toward Ruri, his arm outstretched with the ticket.

Was she really about to…?

“Though I regret to inform you all that the saboteur this round has since perished.”

Lachesis immediately pulled the card back, and held it in both hands to get a better look at the drawing upon it. For those close enough, they could see the cartoon man of someone in a prison uniform looked familiar. A pair of goggles was around his head of messy blond hair.

“For you see, Kesley Simmons was my designated saboteur for this game. No matter how many times he was reminded that he could kill any one of you and be granted immediate escape, he never chose to do so. Even with the threat of erasing all of your memories, the man with the shortest fuse among you still cared too much.”

Lachesis with both hands on the ticket now began to tear down the center of the card, until it was ripped fully in two. Then another tear, and another, and another, until all the remained were little shreds.

“And it was that love and care for you that ultimately led to him being taken advantage of, and his death.”

Lachesis let the scraps flutter down to the floor of the cell block.

“Before I rain on Benito’s parade and take the execution in our own hands, I’ll allow you all a moment to say your final thoughts.”

[tower-of-erinyes]

Gotta go sometime|Beni|Re:Lish, Atropos

Wait until the votes are done? Okaaaay~

Beni is, for the first time in a while, back to his old self, smiling and throwing up a thumbs up to the judges, but there's a tension underneath it. There's really a point where all he has are death threats, huh... Saying stuff like 'if you don't let me kill her I will kill you', at that point he'd be so far removed from the actual reasons that it wouldn't even matter. He truly would be a beast then.... Not that that's bad, but he likes to think that he's a step above. So even if he thinks it, he doesn't say it.

No, he can be chill about this. He just watches Ruri, at least until Lish talks to him directly, at which point his eyes dart to him.

He thinks on it.

He shrugs.

"Gotta go sometime. Might as well do Kesley and Mem a favor if I do."

He's just correcting something, he thinks. That's fine. He looks back to Ruri. Kesley'd really trusted her. Carried her around like a princess.

She'd liked it when he tried so hard to get 'better', whatever that means, Beni thinks. But one setback, one small mistake, and suddenly he's a goner. What a charmer. What a real catch. Man, Kesley's taste in people is somehow even worse than Beni had thought. No matter.... He'll just take that one out, and the whole thing will be done. He doesn't think about tomorrow, the same as all yesterdays. He does not. Have plans. For whatever comes after he kills her. His life is empty once again.

[tower-of-erinyes]

betrayal, the only thing that remains || zenith || trial 2.5 || re: ruri

It’s funny in hindsight, how quickly everything falls apart, as the truth is unveiled to them all. There’d been a slight thought that Zenith had been pondering for the later half of this trial, a direction that he’d been looking at, but had ultimately been unable to finish the thought. And now that it was all laid out in front of him, it’s impossible to even look away.

A doctor, who’s sworn oath ultimately had left to murder. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, not a single trace of remorse or regret in sight. Because she’d know best, right? So long as to save both Kesley and Memory’s pain? 

He wonders about Kesley, someone who seemed to be searching for a single purpose that needed a push in the right direction. He thinks about Memory, someone who seemed so lost and alone, left to wander with this ache for the answers that she desperately seeks. They’d all been played for fools, he determines at last, looking at this now unrecognizable girl in front of him. And yet, he still feels like he’s failed her too.

(Hey Yuuto, do you see this too? Tell him, has anything changed? Or is it all still the same?)

The things everyone says blurs all together, though there’s certainly a portion that causes him to stiffen. To what though, remains unclear, as he lets out a sharp exhale, his gaze pointed at the corner of his podium before he looks back up again.

“... Right. Well. We’re done here, aren’t we? We’ve figured it all out now?”

Got it all out of your system yet, everyone? Said the last things that needed to be said? Keep flinging your insults, throw your tantrums, justify your actions however you need - because you won’t get a chance to do it again. He’s not even sure what words he has left to offer to Ruri himself by this point. In the end, he finally does.

“The least you can do is refer to them as they should be. You're calling them your ‘dear patients?’ Neither of them were yours to own. They had their own names, had their own hopes, dreams, and pain. They… they don’t belong to you, and it wasn’t your job to decide for them what you thought they needed.”

Because having your agency and free will taken away from you? That sting of betrayal in those last moments - he can’t imagine what that must’ve been like in that very moment. Honestly, whatever moral high ground there is within these jabbed comments that are being flung goes over his head, because really, that’s all he can think about at the moment.

How horrifying must it have been? How heart-wrenching, as you desperately fight for your life by someone who should’ve been a friend?

“... Their lives never should’ve been yours to control. You betrayed their trust.”

Ruri, he really did believe in you. A part of him still wants to.

But you also need to know when to admit your losses. And this has proven to be just that, as he submits his vote. He wishes things had turned out differently.