From the white lights, the darkness comes...

[sageking]

Today's trial was a mixture of regret, anger, guilt, and second-thoughts. Perhaps some people realized that situations and choices weren't to be black or white. However, decisions were made, and whether it'd be through people keeping secrets or causing a ton of chaos...everyone could probably agree on one thing:

They've made their choices and no matter what happened in the coming days, they will lie in the beds they made for themselves. Whatever that should mean for each and every single person still living here.

That being said, there's still new choices to make. In the days to come, what will those be?

Comments

[golden_dream]

...

[She writes, hurriedly:

"Wait, you're saying there's no hope to escape... so we're going to just make this a tomb and die in it?!"]

[sageking]

...Perhaps you should try to listen more carefully to what I've said, fool.

That said, I won't deny there's a high chance we won't make it out of here. Even so, I've no intention to simply give in.

[golden_dream]

...

[She writes back: "You don't have to insult me... I've been insulted enough.

Good. I've got too much to live for!"]

[sageking]

As I expected you would.

[ That said... ]

As we are in a meeting, however, if you've any ideas you've been considering yourself, I'm generous enough to hear them out.

[golden_dream]

[...she calms down a little bit, then nods.

Then, she writes:

"I do have a new one. It involves my nephew, Battler, and his power.

But it won't work unless it's kept a secret from him."]

[sageking]

[ He'll read that and give it some consideration. As a King, he will hear all ideas, no matter what their nature was. ]

Very well. Take care when you show it to me, then.

[golden_dream]

[Excuse her, Gil, as she writes a small novel for your perusal:

"My nephew believes he is in a contest with a witch, known as Beatrice.

The nature of this game is that he watches different versions of events of his family being killed over two days during our annual meeting on my Father's private island. I personally have no memory of these events, though I'm involved as well.

Ghosts can't touch him. Nothing supernatural exists to him by nature of extreme stubbornness alone.

What if we were to make him believe he was still inside a 'game', albeit with a new setting?

It might be enough his powers make him alter reality itself.

I can make a dress that looks like Beatrice. All we need is a girl to play and act the part. Then wait for him to wake up and make him think 'Beatrice' is talking to him and telling him he's still inside a game. It might not let us escape right there, but it might do something if all of us were to die, and Battler then believed the witch would be 'reviving' us all for a new 'game'.

I don't have my voice or I'd volunteer to try this."]

[sageking]

[ That sounded absolutely cruel.

But Gilgamesh listened without even a single change in his expression. So he decided to consider it and the possibilities of how that'd go.

First of all, the King knew Battler was impressionable. Despite his ridiculous disbelief in magic and such if someone knew the right words they could convince him of many things. Probably.

And second of all, if this happened...what kind of effect would that have on the miasma? What kind of new lifeform would the specter create borne from this 'new game'? But before even that...there was Battler's state of mind. Which was on his thoughts even if people didn't think so - Rosa had made that request of him a few weeks back, after al. ]

It sounds less like a contest and more like a mongrel who decided she wanted to kill simply because she could.

[ ... Anyway. ]

I suppose it's a well-thought out plan on paper. Though at that point we'd need to start looking at consequences. Let's start examining what could happen if it's unsuccessful.

And with that in mind, we'd need to think of the first consequence that he'd break from simply having enough of it.

[golden_dream]

[she shrugs, and BELATEDLY, is being very conscious of who sees this plan, gives Gil a little sign with her fingers over her lips to keep it down. Then she writes:

"I don't understand it either. Apparently he likes mystery novels, so it's supposed to be a mystery...? I don't know. He's told me outright I die. He's told me outright my daughter dies. You think I liked hearing it??"

She'll leave out how she apparently accused him.

"Well, maybe... but do we want a scenario where ALL of us are dead and miserable ghosts, or a scenario where potentially all of us are alive, and SOME of us are miserable? Who knows. Maybe the idea of 'Beatrice' being back will make him enthusiastic again."]

[sageking]

Hmph. It'd be viable if I weren't so sure that there'd be little chance of success in employing a plan such as that in the first place.

There are some plans that are worth the risk, but with this one...there's just too many variables where we'd be unable to account for what may happen. Your scenario could be considered ideal, but we're in one of the worst places to try for that level of manipulation.

[ Or at least, that's just how he felt, and he wasn't about to get them all instantly killed before they could achieve some sort of victory in all this by agreeing to such a plan. ]

[golden_dream]

...

[She'll hesitate, but finally give a little nod, glancing around. She writes again:

"All right. I trust your judgment.

In the meantime, just keep this idea between you and me... please."]

[sageking]

...Of course. I can only imagine the reactions.

[ And Gilgamesh would prefer to handle it himself instead of people's feelings getting in the way.

...Which he'd be able to understand why. It was a cruel idea, but the blond didn't bat too much at the idea of it being proposed because he had been a cruel man. It was an idea he'd have gone along with, in fact, if he were younger. ]

And as far as I'm concerned, we've already had enough to argue about in the past few days.

[ And he tires of it. ]

[golden_dream]

...

[She writes more:

"You understand, right? A nephew who hates me and wishes me dead is better than no nephew at all."]

[sageking]

[ The idea of family...well. It seemed a far away concept to him now, but he it was not so much so that he didn't know the value of allowing a soldier off-duty to tend to a wife who had just given birth.

The ability to perceive the value was not lost to him just yet. ]

As a King, I'd have to.

I've heard some of my own people expressing such sentiments regarding their family members in hard times, even though they had not exactly worded it the way you do. And trust me, it's not a thought I'd consider as unusual.

[golden_dream]

...

[She just nods. She'll save further self-justifications like how Battler seemed to be flirting with Beatrice at times for another day.]