WEEK THREE

[shimmermods]

THIRD WEEK

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While very few things have been made entirely clear since you've been here, one thing certainly seems to have been: there are no more survivors. There's no one else to watch out for, but there's no one that you're going to be able to save, either.

You are truly and utterly on your own.

With two of your number injured, it's likely that this isn't a welcome thought; it also means that the going may be slower than anyone would really like. Unfortunate, as this is where the hike starts becoming more difficult; it isn't particularly treacherous - there are no steep dropoffs or cliffs to be wary of, and it is still hiking more than climbing - but the paths are becoming steeper, requiring more exertion to traverse. It will give you time, however, to pay attention to your surroundings, and the way they start to shift around you - almost as though in response to your presence itself.

It's simple things at first - a familiar flower, a plant you used to see all the time back home. Perhaps it will even feel nostalgic for a moment before you realize that it has no business being here. Some of the changes are small - glasswing butterflies with wings the shades and colors of real stained glass, beetles with their hard backs glittering in jewel tones that serve no real purpose. Occasionally the bark of the nearby trees have cracked open, wood splitting to reveal inner mechanisms and gears like clockwork.

Some of the changes are reflected in you as well - or perhaps Wesker's words simply have you thinking too much. The notion that the Shimmer resides in you seems impossible; after all, you don't feel any different.

It begs the question, though.

Have your fingerprints always moved like that?

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code by vuvuzela

Comments

[scythegun]

It certainly has been a lot, hasn't it.

[Not that he's expressed much of a sentiment beyond "don't like it" at the king of moss back there, but "A Lot" sums is up pretty well.]

[alchemicals]

Something like that. I'm still not complaining about it, though.

[It is what it is, even if it's sort of a shitshow.]

It's not getting to you, is it?

[scythegun]

No, of course not. We knew going in that this was going to be dreadful, after all.

[alchemicals]

Knowing and experiencing are two different things. I've seen it happen to people before - everyone knew going into an active warzone was going to be bad, back when we did it. Much to their absolute surprise when we got there, it was bad.

[scythegun]

War is a specific brand of horrible that most people aren't truly ready for, even when they think they're prepared for the absolute worst. I'm not surprised by that.

[alchemicals]

You think so?

[Interesting.]

I've always thought it's no worse than the stuff people are already doing to each other. It's just on a larger scale.

[scythegun]

Oh no, certainly. We haven't any large scale conflicts between humans in quite some time; the guilds and the Empire were on the verge of war for quite some time, but ultimately those conflicts never escalated enough.

[And there was also the guild conflicts, but that didn't turn into all-out war either, so...]

[alchemicals]

We were sent in to put a stop to a civil war that was going on. State Alchemists don't get involved in war if it can be avoided; it's generally less of a war and more of a massacre when we show up.

Some people didn't take too well to the idea of being used as weapons like that.

[scythegun]

...What exactly were they expecting? I can see being appalled at being called in to massacre people, but surely they realized that they were going to be used as weapons and it wasn't going to be a fair fight?

[alchemicals]

Like I said. Difference in knowing and experiencing.

[He doesn't really get it either; he never really cares to.]

I enjoyed myself, while I was out there. It was probably the best experience of my life. But then, I'm pretty fucked up.

[scythegun]

Well, I attempted to orchestrate a war to get one man killed, so I really have no room to talk.

[alchemicals]

...That sounds like it has a story behind it.

[scythegun]

Oh, it does! The man was Don Whitehorse, the leader of the guilds. I found him entertaining; I suppose I was fond of him. But he was such a thorn in my side, and I would have an infinitely easier time if he was out of the picture, so I tried very hard to get him killed. My first attempt - dragging the tensions between the Empire and the guilds into war - was unsuccessful, so I had to create an even more complicated plan to get him killed. That one didn't end in war, but it did end with his death, so I got what I wanted.

[Just without the added bonus of selling blastia bombs to both sides, but you win some, you lose some.]

[alchemicals]

...That sounds like a lot of really pointless effort.

[scythegun]

I couldn't kill him outright! He was over seven feet tall with a sword to match, he easily would've killed me.

[Outside of that time he didn't manage it somehow...]

But you're absolutely right. It was definitely a lot of really pointless effort.

[alchemicals]

That's why I like my line of work. Explosions don't care how tall you are, or how big of a sword you've got.

[scythegun]

They certainly are handy like that, ja! Unfortunately the ones I work with are a bit too large to use in combat quite like that, unless you're perfectly fine with wiping yourself out as well.

[alchemicals]

But starting a war was somehow reasonable. Okay.

[scythegun]

Well, starting a war would have been good for business! So yes, it was definitely reasonable.

[alchemicals]

That makes it profitable. I don't know if that makes it reasonable.

[scythegun]

Fair, I'll give you that one! I'm not exactly the best judge of what's "reasonable" to begin with, so leaving it at "profitable" is very fair!

[alchemicals]

No offense, but I've noticed. About the not-knowing-what's-reasonable thing.

[scythegun]

It's a little too late to blame it on my world being strange, isn't it?

[Not that he seems all that bothered by it, of course.]

[alchemicals]

Way too late.

[scythegun]

Oh dear. Whatever will I do now. I can't have people thinking I'm strange.