animus_network | Gather around

*It's a recorded video. Enoch stands before the terminal. He eyes the screen before taking a breath and beginning to speak.*

Shall I tell you a tale, Animus?

In another world, there was a dark and foreboding tower with no name, ruled by seven Fallen Angels. Heaven sent a man to capture these rulers, but in the three hundred years this man searched for them, the Tower built its own story. Inside the Tower, people thrived, and enjoyed a life of luxury and abundance in beautiful, otherworldly lands. Each level was as its own world, and had beauty all its own. Even the land of cold steel and eternal lights was breathtaking in an eerie way. But all was not as wonderful as it seemed. The people lived luxurious lives surrounded by beauty and wonders, yes, but when they died, their souls did not ascend to Heaven. They were taken from their rightful course and sent to The Darkness, to sate the gluttony of the demon prince Belial. No one seemed to know this but Belial himself and a resident of the Tower named Ishtar. Ishtar heard the voice of God, and knew that the Fallen Angels were not to be trusted - she gathered followers. It meant severing their connection to the safe and the familiar, to spurn the luxury of trust and plenty and ease of life. It meant turning their rulers against them. But...

*Enoch pulls something from his pocket - something small. Those who look hard enough might be able to catch a faint green glow before he closes his fingers around it, and a strong female voice speaks.*

They became the Freemen. The Fallen Angels became angry and rebuked us. I knew then that God's Word was true.

*Enoch's fist lowers, and he continues.*

But the Freemen knew the truth. Ishtar died in battle against the children of the Fallen Angels, who were in such misery they ate one another to end their brothers' pain. But she left behind prophecies. Messages that outlived her, to aid the Freemen that had sworn to follow her. The prophecies promised Ishtar would return to save them, but until then, they had to work hard to survive when those who were as gods in the realm were against them. And then, when the time came, they surely would not stand by while the resurrected Ishtar fought alone.

That is the story of the Freemen, a story that I did not know of until my own intersected it. Do not forget, Animus, that there are always stories other than your own. Thank you for hearing me.

*The recording ends, showing Enoch sitting at the terminal, feed live to hear responses.*

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well..while this was unexpected, it was nice to hear another little piece of Enoch's story, even if he didn't know it was tied to him at the time. She would probably record it in a notebook later, but for now, smiling, Tohko would just respond.]

Thank you for telling us. So, even if we fail, those who come after us or those who stand beside us will hear of our struggle and carry on our work. That's..rather hopeful. I like it.

*Enoch looks at Tohko awkwardly. And he thought the focus on the prophecy was the worst misunderstanding he's heard.*

...N-no. There's no room for failure here, Tohko. The people here and the people that come are the only ones that can act, and if we fail, there is no carrying on to be done.

[At that, Tohko sighed.]

I didn't say that there wasn't. If we fail here, we'll either die permanently or all get sent back to our destroyed universes, right? But..even if Ruana dies, who knows whether or not Zo or any of the other Administrators will choose to not pull us to a different place or a different Tower? Or if someone else in a different universe watching this suddenly grows a conscience and pulls us to wherever they are?

Of course, this is pure conjecture, but it's possible. Even if we are the Freemen fighting against 'Gods'.

*...Well, at least she got the unspoken moral.*

The others are likely just as angry with us. I don't like the idea of disappointing Zo, but...

*He shakes his head.* We must continue as if we will not be rescued. We can hope for it, but we don't have the time to wait for it.

[She wouldn't be much of a book girl if she couldn't get that much.]

I'm not so sure. Jason, maybe..but Riki's always been a bit in the shadows. I have my own thoughts on him, but I'm not sure yet if they're correct or not.

[Because someone didn't know yet about what was found under a certain tree. However, Tohko sighed again.]

I'm not saying that we shouldn't work as hard as we can. Even if there is some hope for it in the future, there's no guarantee that it'll happen. It's positive..but we won't know if it'll happen unless we fail, and I don't think that's something either of us want to do.

*Riki...they'd stripped his art down to the canvas. Enoch can't imagine he's happy about that, even if it's come back now.*

Of course not. But...we will pull through. One way or another, we will not let this be our defeat.

[Tohko, sadly, didn't know enough about Riki to say whether he would or wouldn't be happy about the illusions going down. At Enoch's words though, she smiled and nodded.]

Of course not! We've only gotten started, and there's quite a bit more to do. Even if we get beaten back..we'll just have to act like phoenix's and rise from any ashes we burn into.

*He tried not to visibly wince - that "we've only gotten started" could implicate them in the worst way. But reacting to it would only seal their fates.*

...It isn't as if Jason won't still see to that happening.

*So the answer is clearly to brush it off like a joke.*

[If anyone who wasn't in the group or the Administrators asked, Tohko would respond with the a story that she meant the whole of the Tower, all the residents had only just gotten started with fighting back in their own ways and learning the truth. Even if it did look suspicious..one would have to ask to confirm their suspicions.

Being a book girl helped, of course. Sometimes.]

Gather around

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