soulping | TIAMAT

TIAMAT

[When you come to, you find yourself locked in a small, cramped, antique elevator. One wall is covered with a large, ornate mirror, and a chandelier hangs above your head. The doors are made of metal and shut very, very tightly. The lights are off.]

[You hear two familiar voices echo distantly in your mind]

LET ME GO, Ǧ̲̖̩̞̣̲̌Ĩ͎R̞̩͎̝̍L̹̳̫̾͛Ȉ͙͈̬͐͒ͭ̄̌̊E̥̥̓ͨ!

I won't let you hurt them!

[Before you have time to say anything, the elevator suddenly jolts, before it begins to plummet. Your heart drops to the pit of your stomach as you fall, fall, fall, and then. . .]

[Suddenly it stops. You're thrown off balance, possibly to the point of where you crash into a wall or a nearby neighbor. All is silent]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

L. . . long story.

[ha]

The voices are the Echo who was supposed to run this game-- Poltergeist.

The other is Eveningstar. . . a girl on Epona.

A dangerous Echo?

Epona's a team, isn't it? So what does that girl have to do with it...?

Yeah.

[there's a pause, and he mumbles you must've missed what happened before the game. . . and then he speaks up]

Eveningstar channeled the Echo. Poltergeist. He's a malevolent spirit, so I guess she was able to rip him away from Haunt and stop his game before he could do any damage.

[he heard that, bucko, and yes he did]

So that girl is fighting him as we escape? [what is this spirit medium bullshit]

[you know what, forget it.] Where are they? Is she alright?

I don't know.

[that's his answer to every one of those questions]

. . . but 'm hoping we can find her once we manage to get the heck out of this place.

I hope so too.

[that is some reckless bullshit right there] I doubt one girl can handle a.... creature... like that for long.

[he clenches his hands into fists at his side and ducks his head]

. . . I don't know Eveningstar well, but I do know she's tough.

That doesn't mean she won't need our help, though. And like hell anyone here is gonna leave her behind.

[People keep calling her "girl", so Matt assumes she's a kid like 99% of this game]

[and he's protective of those, don't judge him]

Let's find that thing and end this, then.

[hey teenagers aren't kids!1]

Right.

-- ah, 'm Kaito, by the way. Don't think we've met.

[YOU'RE ALL KIDS]

Jasper. I'm from Henwen.

Tiamat. Nice to meetcha.

[a beat]

I mean that, as much as I wish the circumstances were better.

Likewise. [a little dryly. This kid gets it] Circumstances aside, it's a pleasure.

Eh. At least we've done a pretty good job of punching our circumstances in the face, don't you think?

[we escaped from those portraits without dying!!]