animus_network

No. I find it best to ignore them, before madness destroys you.

Oh, believe me, I have no intention of lingering near them. But their tactics are quite different from the majority of the monsters that wander at night, do you not think?

That is very true. Do you have a speculation on why that might be?

No, unfortunately. I lack the information necessary to make a solid theory about them, hence why I have turned to the network.

It suggests to me that this bears closer investigation then. I am willing to undertake such a thing if asked. Phantoms bear no terror to me, but then, nothing really does.

Edited 2013-08-09 05:49 (UTC)

[Quite certain of yourself, aren't you?]

Thank you, for your offer, but first please allow me to see if this query bears any fruit. I do not like putting people in harm's way if it is not necessary.

[ He helped conquer a galaxy, the Tower still doesn't faze him. ]

I was made to be put in harm's way.

Even so, my preference still stands. But how may I contact you, should I require your assistance?

Find me in room 04-06, or send me a message through this terminal system. Or the mail, I suppose. Just ask for Cerberus.

Understood. Thank you again for your offer of aid, Cerberus.

Think nothing of it. I exist to serve.

[Poor Neal, this is the first he's heard of this.]

Say what?

I've never been on any of the floors at night.

That is probably the wisest course of action, in the end. But, to summarize, there are ghostly figures that roam the eleventh floor, and when night falls, they whisper to you in familiar voices - ones that sound like those from your home world. If you stay near them too long, they will drain you of your energy until you are unable to move.

I have grown curious, since they are the only monstrous creature to use such a method to my knowledge.

[And there are other reasons as well, buuut she can't go into those on the network.]

Weird.

Most monsters attack people. That seems a little out of character, doesn't it?

Indeed. It could be that, given their fairly incorporeal form, that is the only method they have to bring down their victims, but I thought I would ask anyway in case someone else knew more about them.

Can't think of anything.

I've never dealt with the incorporeal before. And I'd guess any information on them wouldn't be possible to find in the library.

Edited 2013-08-09 08:38 (UTC)

Your guess is correct. Any information that could be considered useful tends to be the sort we have to find ourselves. Unfortunately, my experience with spectres and the like is not much use in this situation either.

[Poes just kind of try to kill you.]

Maybe these spectres can read minds or something.

I don't know what else it could be.

[There's a pause, longer than what it's taken her to respond thus far.]

I have heard theories, but they are not necessarily pleasant ones.

What would they be?

[Because he needs to know, no matter how horrible.]

They are lost souls - those from our worlds that were not "saved" like we were.

[And then, a moment later, like an afterthought.]

But of course, we have been unable to confirm or deny this theory as of yet.

What?!

But that

Then what are the monsters?!

I do not know.

Please remember this is just a theory, Neal. They could as easily be constructs made to instill homesickness and despair in us.

You're right.

It can't be real. It has to be a a trick.

[Except she knows it's not; Aria implied as much when she talked about the psychelysis phantoms.

Zelda has never been very good at telling the truth when she knows it will hurt someone, however.]

Of course. Even so, I would like to find out more about how they work.

[Neal has seen some horrible things in the centuries that he's been alive.

He knows, deep down, that Zelda is telling him the truth. But he can't bring himself to think about it. The implications are horrific.]

Yeah. Me too.

Yeesh, ghosts were enough trouble back home, I'd hate to think what ones twisted by this hellhole would be like...

Surprisingly, they are among the tamer creatures I have had the misfortune of stumbling upon during my time here.

Still not a pleasant experience, mind, but at least they are fairly easy to escape from.

No nasty prankings or possessions or anything like that?

None whatsoever. One tried to speak to me with the voice of my childhood attendant, but it did not pursue me when I ran.

Huh, weird.

Guess that's one point for this place, then. Sort of.

The strangeness of it is precisely why I am asking. [Sort of.] This place can hardly be called merciful.

You'd think something like those would be, y'know, more common, give us some kind of sense of security that we can get away from stuff here before we met some of the other things...

I suppose some of the more peaceful floors could fulfill that purpose, if we expand the criteria to include not just monsters. Perhaps the monsters are beyond the administrators' direct control, given the lack of collars or other, similar mechanisms.

Given how that whole whale thing worked out, I'm inclined to agree. Too bad there's not any way we could really use that to help us...

the same one can sound different to other people, is all i know.

that, and the fact that the presence of others from your own world won't change the voices they speak with.

Is that so? I suppose that makes some amount of sense; the tower would be covered with them if they could not change voices to fit their victims.

[Number of experiences vs. number of phantoms, etc etc.]

The idea behind them seems to be that they are meant to represent those who were not "spared" when the worlds were destroyed. If those we know from home that are here are truly from alternate versions of our own, then... the voices not changing when someone new awakens here also makes sense.

[Those people are still dead; it's only alternate versions that have been brought to the tower. She doesn't particularly like thinking about that aspect of life here, though.]

Edited (1am phrasing is terrible aaah ) 2013-08-09 05:25 (UTC)

you misunderstand. they'll speak at once, and any present would have heard different speakers. given the nature of our existence here, i'd attribute it to the glamours, but

[ but the monsters are real. ]

what the admins would have to gain from that, i don't know.

it's a cruel fate. if they are... they should have been left to rest.

[ and yet he takes some amount of solace, no matter how small, in his nightly ritual of stopping by the floor anyway, so what does that say about him? ]

Ah, I see. I have not lingered long enough or with a party to fully grasp what it is they are capable of, so thank you for explaining.

As for the administrators... the majority of them are cruel themselves, and their leader enjoys seeing us despair. I do not think it would be a stretch to imagine their purpose is simply entertainment.

[She knows it's not, though, if they are truly connected to those shadows with gleaming teeth. But she can't say as much - not on the network.]

But I agree.

[ a long pause; some distinctive delay. ]

frivolous usage of energy, if they programmed such into the glamours for entertainment. it's hard to think they give such personal attention to any other creatures here, but i suppose what you say is plausible enough. considering they are practically harmless, otherwise...

[ it's only agreement for the sake of agreement, as per unspoken rules on how far any of them can go on the network. ]

Unfortunately, vague speculation is all we can do with the information we currently have at our disposal, apparently.

[Even if she's holding back and redirecting, it's still frustrating.]

According to my source, phantoms are created when an attempt is made to bring a person's body and soul here at the same time. This does not work, so they are "broken" and become phantoms.

If this is true, perhaps they are the remains of the people you believe they sound like.

--Sephiroth

[... Ah! This is new. ... And it basically confirms Gandalf's theory from so long ago. She doesn't particularly like thinking about that prospect, but there's only one way to get to the bottom of all this.]

Is that so. I had not heard the part about bodies and souls being brought at once before.

Do you know in what way they are "broken"?

My source is reliable. They heard it from Zo.

The mechanics were not explained, and Zo himself might not understand them. It was only said that the soul is broken by the process.

According to Zo, simple souls, like that of monsters, can be brought in along with their bodies, but more complex ones are damaged, so that must be what causes them to break down.

I see. In a way, I am reminded of the talk of splitting and merging souls from last month, but in an obviously more unrefined manner.

Did your source ask anything about how to heal the broken souls? Or what happened to the bodies those souls belonged to, for that matter?

text

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

text;

Text

Text

Text

Text

Text

Text

Text

Text

Text

text;

text;

text;

text;

text; and little did they know...

text; ~timing~

text;

text;

text;

text;