The corridor sweats.
A wide chamber opens before you: a cathedral-turned-dining hall, rank with rot and grandeur. Slumped on gold-trimmed thrones are the decaying remnants of forgotten gods. Their eyes are hollow. Their mouths still chew.
A long banquet table stretches toward the altar—topped with steaming meats that twitch, bleeding fruits, and bread that breathes.
At the head of the table sits a grotesque **homunculus**, stitched and swelling, its smile carved into its cheeks.
**Ulfar’s Familiar:** "Welcome, pilgrims. Partake. Be filled. Be *remembered.*"
**Vizious:** "These gods were worshipped once. This… this is sacrilege incarnate."
**Lila:** "It smells like old prayers and fresh corpses. And I think that pudding just blinked at me."
**Gerrick:** "This isn't a feast. It's a ritual. And we’ve been invited as ingredients."
The Familiar gestures. The table shudders as if breathing.
**Ulfar’s Familiar:** "Eat... or insult those who offered flesh."
[[Approach the feast|EatFeast]]
[[Refuse and prepare for battle|RefuseFeast]]
[[Ask Vizious to interpret the ritual|ViziousLore]]
[[Make a personal decision|PlayerChoiceMoment]]
You sit.
The plate before you trembles. Something beneath the meat is *still alive*—twitching faintly beneath a skin of roasted memory.
But your hand moves anyway. Almost reverently.
You take a bite.
The flavor is wrong. The flavor is *true*.
It tastes like blood spilled in libraries. Saltwater grief. Ink poured over dreams. You see *beyond* the table—beyond the room.
You see patterns beneath things that should not have patterns.
Your vision blurs. Your breath catches.
Choose what happens next:
[[You embrace the knowledge and hold it together.|FeastEatSuccess]]
[[The meal corrupts your body even as it feeds your mind.|FeastEatFailure]]
You step back, hand on your weapon. The chair behind you groans, as if disappointed.
**Gerrick:** "Good. There’s no honor in partaking of corruption."
The homunculus shudders with offense. One eye falls from its socket, replaced by a pulsing maggot.
The gods around the table moan. Thick black ichor drips from their mouths. Rats pour from their jaws like communion wine. Flies rise in clouds.
The feast begins to *scream.*
**Ulfar’s Familiar:** "Blasphemers. Gluttons who refuse. Then may *you* be consumed."
**Lila:** *drawing her blade* "Knew skipping meals would save my life someday."
**Vizious:** "These aren’t vermin. They’re faith made feral."
**Combat Triggered:** Swarm of divine rot and plague-born vermin.
Choose the outcome:
* [[You fight through the swarm and uncover something sacred.|FeastSwarmSuccess]]
* [[You’re overwhelmed by filth and infected.|FeastSwarmFailure]]
You gesture to Vizious, your voice low but urgent.
**You:** "This is more than horror. Tell me what it *means.*"
He nods once, the scholar in him already engaged.
Vizious circles the table slowly, eyes flicking across the folds of napkins, the language etched into plates, the positions of goblets and cutlery—like a ritual encoded in table service.
The air thickens as he begins to speak a forgotten tongue under his breath.
The homunculus watches him with twitching delight.
Choose the outcome:
[[Vizious deciphers the ritual without losing control.|ViziousLoreSuccess]]
[[The knowledge overwhelms him mid-analysis.|ViziousLoreFailure]]
You step into silence—lush, humid, and wrong.
Vines writhe across the stone like veins under skin. Moss creeps beneath your boots. Flowers bloom and wilt in seconds.
Every step you take is erased. The path behind you closes in green.
The Maw is alive.
**Vizious:** "This growth pattern… it’s not natural. It’s accelerated. Directed."
**Lila:** "I just saw a flower grow teeth. I’m officially done with all things nature."
**Gerrick:** "No tracks. No wind. Even the light feels swallowed."
**You:** "It’s like walking through someone’s diseased lungs. And this someone really hates us."
Behind you, the corridor is already gone.
> *You must move forward—or be absorbed.*
* [[Cut through the growth|PushForward]]
* [[Try to understand it first|StudyFlora]]
* [[Light torches to mark a path|TorchPuzzle]]
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
:: VerdantExit
The vines open at last.
Beyond the Maw, stone reappears. Light—pale and distant—glows from above. You're out.
For now.
**Vizious:** "The Maw wanted something from us. And it may still have gotten it."
**Lila:** "If I sprout moss, someone *please* kill me."
**Gerrick:** "We passed through it. But that doesn’t mean we left it behind."
**You:** "It grows fast. But we grow stronger. That has to count for something."
You draw your blade and press forward.
The underbrush tightens around you like a living snare. Vines lash at your ankles. Branches twist midair to block your path. Even the moss seems to crawl.
You hack, burn, push. The forest fights *back*.
**Vizious:** "You’re enraging it. This thing remembers violence."
**Lila:** "You got a better idea? Whisper it to the ferns!"
**You:** "No time for clever. Keep moving—or get swallowed."
The trees shift, groaning. Two bark-skinned beasts erupt from the undergrowth—part flesh, part root, all rage.
**Combat Triggered.**
How does it end?
* [[You defeat the beasts and carve a path.|MawCombatSuccess]]
* [[You’re caught and dragged into the vines.|MawCombatFailure]]
You crouch beside a pulsing stalk and brush away the soil. Roots flex. Petals blink. It's observing you.
**You:** "It’s not just growing. It’s choosing where to grow."
**Vizious:** "Then we exploit it. Give it what it wants—or make it want something else."
**Lila:** "I vote we *don’t* let it want *us.*"
**Effect:** You learn to delay regrowth by redirecting light with polished stone. Future puzzle made easier.
[[Set the path using your insight|TorchPuzzle]]
You move through the choking green, planting torches in strategic points.
At first, the moss recoils. Steam rises where flame touches vine.
But then... the growth begins to *learn*.
It watches.
Vines shift their paths. Branches reroute mid-growth. You’re not just navigating a thicket—you’re inside a *thinking labyrinth.*
Each misstep triggers a low pulse beneath your feet. The floor beats like a second heart—alive, rhythmic, watching.
The only way forward is through its rhythm.
**Puzzle Challenge Initiated.**
Choose your outcome:
* [[You read the pattern and reach the other side.|TorchPuzzleSuccess]]
* [[You misstep and are caught in the growth.|TorchPuzzleFailure]]
You reach a clearing.
Except it wasn’t there before. The path forked… but now it loops back.
And ahead: a bloom the size of a carriage opens like a mouth. Inside: a cocoon. Someone is trapped.
You recognize the armor.
**Lila:** "That's Gerrick!"
**Vizious:** "But Gerrick’s standing—"
**Gerrick:** "No. That’s from when I went missing in the Timber War. I never told anyone… I lost two days."
**You:** "This place *remembers* us. It’s replaying what we survived—or what we didn’t."
The cocoon writhes.
> One of you must choose what to do.
* [[Cut it open|CutCocoon]]
* [[Speak to the trapped echo|SpeakCocoon]]
* [[Leave it behind|LeaveCocoon]]
Link TBD
The path ends where even memory refuses to follow.
You step into a vast, lightless chamber. The walls feel more like dense thought than stone—shaped by sorrow and half-formed dreams. The air hums with exhausted sanctity.
At the far end: a massive obsidian door veined with flickering starlight. It pulses like a failing heart.
Before it stands a figure.
Seven feet tall. Black steel armor carved with moons and ravens. A decayed feather-cloak drapes from shoulders broader than myth. His helm, horned like a fallen seraph, reveals glowing eyes behind shadow.
This is the last sentinel of dreaming.
**Ebon Titan, the Dreamweaver.**
Once Korgan of the Bloodraven Tribe. Now: the living lock upon the gate of Nightmare.
**Ebon Titan:** "Five centuries pass. The tomb mourns. The veil tears. And now... I smell *hope.* One of you will take my place. But only the throne shall decide who."
Each of you must face a test—not of strength or sorcery, but of self. The echoes of who you were, who you are, and who you might become.
Who will face the Dreamweaver?
[[Vizious|TestVizious]]
[[Lila|TestLila]]
[[Player|TestPlayer]]
[[Gerrick|TestGerrick]]
Vizious steps forward, his boots echoing like solemn bells.
A ring of runes ignites around him. Scrolls unravel in midair, whispering secrets long sealed. A chorus of forgotten mentors, rivals, and regrets rises in volume.
A massive tome slams open before him, its pages alive with flame.
[[Vizious reaches for the truth.|ViziousSuccess]]
[[Vizious hesitates and fails to control the magic.|ViziousFailure]]
[[Vizious steps back, unwilling to complete the trial.|ViziousNeutral]]
Lila steps forward, breath shallow.
From her cloak, she draws a weathered charm—a sea token etched with salt-stained memory. Her fingers tighten around it as the chamber shifts.
The floor ripples like water. The ceiling fades into fog. Whispers rise and fall like tides—her uncle’s voice among them, barely above a lullaby.
A drowned figure rises from the mist—its shape cloaked in kelp, its hands offering a mirror made of black glass.
Lila trembles, but doesn’t look away.
**Ebon Titan:** "Will you remember with courage... or bury it in silence?"
Choose Lila’s path:
[[Lila faces the reflection.|LilaSuccess]]
[[Lila falters and the image vanishes.|LilaFailure]]
[[Lila lowers the charm and walks away.|LilaNeutral]]
Gerrick sets his sword down before the Dreamweaver. Not in surrender—but in reverence.
The chamber shifts.
The ground becomes scorched stone. A battlefield painted in ash and blood. Echoes of war rise around him—shouts, clashing steel, final prayers muttered under breath.
A dozen fallen soldiers kneel around him in spectral silence—men he once commanded.
One raises its head. Familiar. Accusing.
**Ebon Titan:** "Will you bury your shame in silence—or let it shape the vow you must still keep?"
Choose Gerrick’s path:
* [[Gerrick honors the dead.|GerrickSuccess]]
* [[Gerrick turns away from the memories.|GerrickFailure]]
* [[Gerrick does not speak—but listens.|GerrickNeutral]]
You step forward.
Your footsteps ripple the stone like water. The air shifts—not just around you, but *within* you.
The chamber folds into itself, and from mirrored walls, a thousand reflections of you step forward. Each one shaped by the roads you might have walked.
One says: *"We ran."*
One says: *"We fought."*
One says: *"We begged."*
One says nothing at all.
They wait.
So does the Titan.
**Ebon Titan:** "This is not about what you were. It is about what you carry now."
What will you choose?
* [[Confront your reflections and step into your truth.|PlayerSuccess]]
* [[Refuse to engage—let your past overwhelm you.|PlayerFailure]]
* [[Walk through the moment with quiet clarity.|PlayerNeutral]]
The chamber holds its breath.
One of you entered the throne. The others stood in light. But none leave unchanged.
The obsidian door closes behind the chosen.
The sunbeam fades.
And deep beyond the gate… something ancient begins to stir.
End of the Demo. Thank you for playing!
TO BE CONTINUED...**
As the banquet’s ritual deepens, the Familiar locks eyes with you. The gods twitch. Your reflection appears in a platter—changing, flickering.
You feel the weight of choice pressing in.
What do you do?
* [[Take another bite, fully embrace the knowledge|FeastAgain]]
* [[Flip the table and challenge the Familiar|DefyFeast]]
* [[Offer a silent prayer and step away|WithdrawQuietly]]
A long hall stretches before you—lined with mirrors too old to shine, too cracked to lie.
The reflections move, but not in sync. Some twitch. Some whisper. None match reality.
Each mirror reveals warped versions of the party:
**Vizious** floats, cloaked in orbiting tomes, his smile cold and sharp.
**Lila** is absent. In her place: a man in sea-worn robes. Watching.
**Gerrick** kneels in a field of corpses, his armor rusted, his banner fallen.
**You** stand above a burning city, fire licking your smile.
**Vizious:** "These aren’t illusions. They reflect the self—fear, guilt, desire... all unfiltered."
**Lila:** "I don’t want to be here. These reflections... they can *feel* my thoughts."
**Gerrick:** "This isn’t just another trial. It’s a confession. It's a baring of the soul."
**You:** "And they’re not lying. That’s the worst part."
> *Choose which reflection you’ll face.*
[[Approach a mirror|ChooseMirror]]
Which reflection do you confront?
* [[Your own reflection|ConfrontSelf]]
* [[Vizious’s reflection|ConfrontVizious]]
* [[Lila’s reflection|ConfrontLila]]
* [[Gerrick’s reflection|ConfrontGerrick]]
*[[You've faced enough reflections. Proceed to the exit.|ChallengeGate]]
You raise your weapon and strike.
The mirror explodes in a shriek of silver and shadow. Glass flies like broken memory—jagged, sharp, true.
From the shards, something rises: a version of you, twisted in form and intention. Its smile is wrong. Its eyes know too much.
**Lila:** "It looks like you. But not like you now. Like... if you'd given up."
**Vizious:** "This isn't a reflection. It's a *residue.* Fight it—or be rewritten by it."
*Combat begins.*
What happens?
* [[You defeat the reflection.|SelfMirrorSuccess]]
* [[It escapes into your shadow.|SelfMirrorFailure]]
You step into the glass.
From behind the surface, you see your friends—but they cannot see you. You are the reflection now.
**Lila:** "Where’d they go?!"
**Vizious:** "They’re between selves. That mirror won’t hold them forever."
**You:** "I feel... rewritten."
**Effect:** Dialogue may distort on next floor. Slight sanity loss.
[[Return to Hall|ChooseMirror]]
You step back. The mirror dulls—but something in it watches still.
**Vizious:** "Avoidance is a choice. The reflection waits."
**You:** "So be it. Let it wait. Let it wait forever if needs be."
**Effect:** +Shadow Affinity. -Sanity.
[[Return to Hall|ChooseMirror]]
You enter a cavernous chamber where endless shelves spiral upward into blackness. Books hover midair like sleeping birds, their spines twitching. The silence here is unnatural—too wide, too exact.
Some tomes open as you pass. They whisper in voices older than your bones.
The air thickens. You feel your thoughts trying to leave before you do.
**Vizious:** "Ungodly Noryx dwells here. This is her cathedral of unwords and untime."
**Gerrick:** "This place… it has no order. Even evil should follow laws."
**Lila:** "I hear humming in the books. In my teeth. Like... music trying to climb out."
**Vizious:** "She’s not just hearing them. She’s syncing to their rhythm."
**Gerrick:** "Then is she safe to continue?"
**Lila:** "I’m *fine*, thank you. Just don’t make me *read* anything. I might bite something."
What do you do?
* [[Open a whispering book|ReadBook]]
* [[Search for lost tomes|SearchLibrary]]
* [[Avoid the shelves and sit quietly|RefuseKnowledge]]
You reach toward a gently rotating tome. Its cover is made of stretched hide. It opens before your fingers touch it.
Inside: symbols spiral inward—some drawn in ink, others burned into the pages. Your mind convulses as space tilts inward. Your ears ring. Your vision pulses.
**Sanity Strain Triggered**
Suddenly—
**Lila:** "Make it stop! Stop looking at me! Stop *thinking* at me!"
Books spiral around her like hornets. Her skin glows faintly.
**Gerrick:** "Hold her! She’s slipping—"
**Vizious:** "She's tuning too deep. She won't last—"
You pull her back. Her eyes roll back, but she breathes.
Choose your response:
* [[Reassure her gently|ComfortLila2]]
* [[Speak firmly—snap her out of it|FirmLila]]
* [[Say nothing. Let her recover on her own|SilentLila]]
You navigate the spiraling stacks. Dust shifts away from you. Shelves breathe when you're not looking.
At the foot of an obsidian bust, you find a sealed scroll case. The wax pops—untouched.
A half-second of time *skips.*
**Gerrick:** "Time just stuttered. That wasn’t natural."
**Vizious:** "This scroll warps causality. It may save your life—or erase your moment."
**You:** "We’re carrying a loaded paradox. Let’s hope we never have to pull the trigger."
**Item Gained:** *Scroll of Entropic Delay* (pause enemy turns in combat)
[[Return to the shelves|StarlessIntro]]
You step away from the floating tomes. You sit, cross-legged, near the center of the chamber.
The books whisper. But you do not answer. And slowly… they stop trying.
Silence envelops you like a lullaby carved from shadow.
**Vizious:** "Resisting knowledge is wisdom in its purest form."
**Lila:** "Or maybe it’s fear with discipline. Either way, you’re still standing."
**Gerrick:** "Sometimes the most courageous thing is *not* knowing."
**You:** "Some secrets deserve to stay buried. And some of us… deserve to forget."
**Effect:** +1 Sanity. May influence interactions with Noryx if she appears again.
**You:** "You’re safe. You’re back. I’ve got you."
Your voice cuts through the static, through the whispered verses still clinging to the air. You hold her steady, grounding her—not with force, but presence.
Lila blinks, as if waking from a nightmare still breathing at the edges of her mind.
**Lila:** "They were reading me. Not the surface stuff... the real parts. The broken pages I didn’t know were still written."
Her voice shakes. Not with fear—something more raw. Exposure.
She reaches out blindly and finds your hand. Clutches it tight.
For a heartbeat, she doesn't speak. She just breathes—and lets you hold the silence with her.
[[What did it do to you?|PlayerChoiceReading]]
**You:** "Lila. Focus. You’re stronger than this—pull it together."
Your voice is sharp, but not cruel. You need her back. Now.
She flinches—not from the volume, but from the truth in your tone. Her eyes dart like they’re trying to lock back into her own skull.
She breathes. Once. Twice.
**Lila:** "Right. Yeah. Just a little vertigo from the mind-worms."
She tries to grin, but it’s shaky. The kind of joke you tell to stop yourself from breaking.
Her hand brushes yours for a second—intentional, but brief. A silent thanks... or a warning that she’s still finding her footing.
[[What did it do to you?|PlayerChoiceReading]]
You give her space.
No commands. No reassurances. Just stillness.
Lila drops to one knee, head bowed, breathing like she’s trying to remember how. Her hands shake—not from fear, but from having been touched too deeply by something she didn’t invite.
You stay close, but not too close.
She exhales. Again. Slower this time.
The tremble lessens. Her fingers uncurl.
**Lila:** softly “It wanted inside. Not just my thoughts—me. The parts I don’t say out loud.”
She glances at you—not looking for words, but making sure you’re still there. That the world hasn’t moved on without her.
**Vizious:** "Not every wound needs words. Sometimes silence helps. It gives the soul time to rearrange itself."
He folds his arms, gaze distant.
**Vizious:** "The Library speaks in meanings, not sentences. And it listens to fear like it’s scripture."
Lila finally rises, slower than usual, but standing on her own.
**Lila:** "Next time it whispers? I’ll whisper back louder."
She doesn’t smile—but her jaw sets like she just learned something she plans to survive.
You step beside her, voice low and steady.
**You:** "It spoke to the wrong person if it thought you’d break."
She gives you a sidelong look—grateful, but guarded.
Then nods.
And the Library whispers on.
[[What did it do to you?|PlayerChoiceReading]]
What does the experience do to *you*?
* [[Push through the spiral, embrace the knowledge|PushThroughBook]]
* [[Drop the book, retreat from the whispers|DropBook]]
* [[Stare deeper, trying to see what’s behind it all|PeerDeeper]]
Your reflection grins. Behind it: a city burning, and you at its center—smiling.
> *"This is who you want to be. Respected. Feared. Free. So what if it costs the world?"*
**Vizious:** "It’s not showing what you did—it’s showing what you could become."
**Lila:** "That smile. I’ve seen it in killers and monsters... not friends."
**You:** "And yet, I understand why it’s mine."
* [[Shatter the mirror.|ShatterSelf]]
* [[Step into the reflection.|EnterSelf]]
* [[Turn away.|RetreatSelf]]
Vizious stares into his mirror—a swirling storm of parchment, fire, and spinning runes. His reflection stands within the glass: calm, composed, *cold*.
The runes burn like judgment around the reflection’s head.
> *"You chose knowledge over love. Understanding over people. What have you become?"*
Vizious flinches, but does not back away.
**Vizious:** "That used to be true. But I’m not that man anymore."
**Lila:** *arms crossed* "Then prove it, Vizious. Can you? Does your reflection lie?"
He breathes deep. He raises his hand.
The glass ignites.
What happens?
[[Vizious overcomes the reflection.|ViziousSuccess1]]
[[Vizious is overwhelmed by the reflection.|ViziousFailure1]]
[[Vizious decides|LetViziousDecide]]
[[Player Intervenes|YouInterveneVizious]]
The mirror shows a man—tall, weathered, draped in a sea-soaked cloak. His face is older, worn by salt and time. But his eyes...
**Lila:** "That’s... Taro. My uncle. He vanished when I was a child. They said he was lost at sea."
The reflection meets her gaze.
> *"You let them forget me. You stopped looking."*
She staggers, one hand over her chest.
**Vizious:** "This isn’t just memory. It’s a wound made visible."
**Gerrick:** "What you do now... that’s what defines you. Not the past."
**You:** "He may not be real, but you are. What do you want to say?"
* [[Let her speak.|LetLilaTalk]]
* [[Break the mirror.|BreakUncle]]
* [[Offer silent support.|ComfortLila]]
The mirror waiting for **Gerrick** does not shimmer—it smolders.
It shows a battlefield soaked in ash. The skies are bloodless. The ground split and smoking.
In the center, Gerrick kneels—surrounded by the bodies of his comrades. His sword is broken. His banner burned.
> *"You survived. They didn’t."*
Gerrick’s face hardens, but his eyes tremble.
**Gerrick:** "And each night, as I close my eyes to sleep, I remember each and every one of them."
**Lila:** *softly* "You never said that before."
**Vizious:** "He didn’t need to. We all carry ghosts. His just follow closer."
The reflection of Gerrick doesn’t accuse. It just waits—silent and still.
What happens next?
* [[Gerrick honors their memory and accepts the past.|GerrickSuccess1]]
* [[Gerrick falters, unable to face it fully.|GerrickFailure1]]
You step between Vizious and the mirror. It shifts—showing him younger, cradling charred scrolls.
**You:** "You were just a child. That pain wasn’t your fault. You have to let it go."
**Vizious:** "And yet it shaped everything I became."
**You:** "Nothing is immutable. Nothing is set in stone. You are not a prisoner of the past. You can change."
**Effect:** Bond deepens. Future support unlocked.
[[Return to Hall|ChooseMirror]]
Vizious turns away, shaking his head slowly.
**You:** "Are you sure you don't want to do this?"
**Vizious:** "Some truths need time. Not to be uncovered—but to be faced. You can’t rush them. You can’t force them open like a locked scroll. They sit in the dark and wait for you to be brave enough to listen."
>He pauses, speaking as if to himself.
**Vizious:** "I don’t know if I have that time. But this one… this one will have to wait."
[[Return to Hall|ChooseMirror]]
Lila steps forward, slowly—like every inch toward the mirror is heavier than the last.
She touches the glass with her fingertips. The drowned figure inside—the older man with sea-worn robes and hollow eyes—meets her gaze but says nothing.
Her voice is barely above a whisper.
**Lila:** "I never stopped searching. I followed every rumor. Every map. I followed the stars—just like you said."
The mirror clouds at the edges. The reflection’s expression changes—not to joy, but to peace. His hand lifts, as if to return the gesture. Then the image fades into silver mist.
Lila’s breath catches. She closes her eyes—and for a long moment, the silence is sacred.
**Vizious:** *softly* "Even false images can hold real truths."
**You:** "You said what mattered. That’s more than most ever get."
Lila doesn’t answer. She just nods—then tucks the sea token back into her cloak.
There’s no smile. But something in her shoulders finally relaxes.
**Effect:** +1 Lila Affinity. *Memory reconciled. Anchor restored.*
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]
You act before anyone speaks.
Steel flashes. Glass breaks. The mirror shatters in a burst of jagged silver and sea-salt wind.
The drowned figure inside—Lila’s uncle, her last tether to an unanswered past—vanishes before he can speak.
Silence swells in the chamber like a held breath.
Lila turns slowly, eyes wide with disbelief, then narrowing—not in anger, but in something colder.
**Lila:** "That wasn’t yours to end."
Her voice is quiet, but every word cuts.
**You:** "I didn’t trust what it was. I thought—"
She raises a hand to stop you. Doesn’t look back.
**Lila:** "It wasn’t about *you.*"
She walks away, silent.
Vizious says nothing. Gerrick watches her go, his expression unreadable.
The broken mirror glitters on the floor. What’s left behind is not a curse. Just a wound—left open.
**Effect:** -1 Lila Affinity. *Mistrust flag set.*
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]
You step forward slowly—no grand gestures, no words at first.
Just presence.
You place your hand gently on her shoulder.
She doesn't move. Doesn't speak. But she doesn't pull away either.
The mirror stills. The figure within—her uncle, or the memory of him—remains for a heartbeat longer... then dissolves into a ripple of silver.
Lila’s breath shudders.
**Lila:** "I always imagined what I’d say. A speech. A memory. Something... final."
She lowers her eyes.
**Lila:** "In the end… I just wanted him to know I remembered."
You squeeze her shoulder—quiet, steady.
**You:** "He does. You showed him the only way that counts."
For the first time since entering this hall, her hands stop shaking.
She doesn’t thank you. She doesn’t need to.
**Effect:** Small affinity gain with Lila. *Grace flag set.*
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]:: ChallengeGate
The mirrors have gone silent.
At the far end of the hall, a stone arch glows faintly—veins of crimson pulsing within.
**Vizious:** "We’ve seen fragments of ourselves. Not all were false."
**Lila:** "They don’t stop watching. But at least now we know what they see."
**Gerrick:** "We faced them. That’s what matters."
**You:** "We looked. We chose. That’s enough—for now."
**You may proceed.**
/%
Best Insertion Point: After the first major character hub/choice sequence and before or as part of the first true "self-test" floor.
Narrative Role: This scene functions as a powerful introspective trial and works perfectly early-to-mid game as a means to:
Establish character backstory through surreal confrontation
Let the player shape party relationships via responses and support
Introduce emotional consequences without physical damage
%/
You and your party pass through a narrow hall flanked with hundreds of fractured mirrors. Reflections begin whispering secrets from your companion's past—including betrayals, hidden thoughts, and things they regret.
[[Entering the Hall|MirrorHall]]
"This is the penultimate beginning of the end. Where reality and nightmares enact a terrifying dance of dark and light. Of sanity and insanity. Here is where the world's fate hangs in the balance."
[[Into the darkness|ThroneThreshold]]/%
Best Insertion Point: After an emotionally heavy or dialogue-dense section—serving as a high-tension, exploration-combat hybrid.
Narrative Role:
Adds danger and movement after a slower-paced scene (like Mirror)
Thematically aligns with invasion of the tomb by the Nightmare Realm (this floor feels infected)
Introduces environmental storytelling and puzzle-solving mechanics
%/
Any path you carve is gone in moments—choked by moss that pulses with warmth, flowers that bloom and wither like blinking eyes, and vines that slither across your footprints as if trying to erase you. It’s not just overgrowth. It’s absorption. The forest isn’t a place—it’s a mouth, and you’re already halfway between its teeth.
[[Walking through a Green Hell|VerdantIntro]]
/% Insert before the Threshold (between Regroup and Threshold?)
It’s deeply surreal and psychologically destabilizing—ideal for a prelude to the Dreamweaver’s test. Also reinforces the lore-heavy tone, gives cosmic hints, and offers deeper insight into Noryx, which may play out later. If a character is “cracking” (e.g., sanity low), this is where the party may fracture.
%/
Scrolls hang like cobwebs in the air, unfurling without touch. Their ink moves on its own, reordering symbols even as you watch. They whisper truths etched in forgotten grammar—names older than memory, concepts too large for thought. Reading even a fragment warps something inside you. Sight bends. Voices echo wrong. You see your companions not as they are, but as they could become—or what they once were, in lives never lived. The world stutters, and reality forgets to finish its sentence.
[[Entering the Starless Library|StarlessIntro]]/%
Best Insertion Point: Mid-to-late game as a climax of a lore arc—especially if the player has recently gained or lost divine favor.
Narrative Role:
Offers branching narrative flavor based on player beliefs and party bonds
Introduces optional corruption and divine insight
Sets up potential consequences for interacting with god-corpses or memory-based artifacts
%/
A long, rotting banquet stretches through the bones of a once-sacred hall—pillars carved with forgotten prayers now slick with mildew and flyspawn. Slumped in thrones of gold-chased stone sit the bloated husks of gods, their hollow eyes locked in an eternal, mindless chew. The stench is holy and wrong. At the head of the table stands a stitched-together homunculus, flesh riddled with maggots, its grin carved deep into its waxy cheeks. Ulfar’s Familiar. It raises a goblet brimming with something black and warm.
“Feast,” it says in a voice made of wet parchment. “Taste what was lost. Swallow knowledge not meant to be remembered.”
[[A Strange Hunger|FeastIntro]][Good place for this is right after the encounter with Barbarian or after an early terrifying combat encounter]
Beneath crumbling sigils and the hush of ancient stone, the party finds a rare and hollow calm. No monsters stir. No shadows chase. Just silence—and the weight of everything left unsaid.
Here, in the stillness between horrors, courage falters. Old wounds stir. The path ahead demands unity, but the tomb knows how to whisper doubt.
Some battles are fought with blade and blood.
This one begins with silence.
[[Into the Silence|AshenRest]]
You find what might once have been a resting chamber—stone benches swallowed by vines, a cracked fountain leaking black water, and a ceiling painted with flaking constellations. Everything here feels paused.
You *should* rest. But the silence creeps.
The party splits without speaking.
**Vizious** slumps near the wall, scribbling absent patterns into the dirt.
**Lila** stands with her arms folded, back turned, gaze flicking toward the exit.
**Gerrick** stares at the broken fountain, one hand pressed against his chest.
No one speaks.
Not yet.
> You breathe. Then choose who to speak with.
* [[Approach Vizious|RestTalkVizious]]
* [[Go to Lila|RestTalkLila]]
* [[Check on Gerrick|RestTalkGerrick]]
* [[Stay silent—let them speak first|RestSilent]]
You kneel beside Vizious, who doesn’t look up. His finger draws nonsense shapes in the dirt—like he’s trying to solve a problem that won’t hold still.
**Vizious:** "I thought knowledge would save us. It always has. Give me a pattern, a name, a sigil—I can work with that. But down here? It's noise. Screaming in the syntax. I can’t sort the useful from the venom anymore."
**You:** "You’re still the sharpest mind in the tomb. But we need your heart too. We’re not just fighting illusions—we’re holding each other together."
He exhales—slow and bitter. The scribbling stops.
**Vizious:** "I just… I didn’t expect the cost to be everyone else’s faith. Not mine. I knew I’d doubt the tomb. I didn’t think the tomb would make them doubt me."
He finally looks at you—eyes hollow, not with madness, but with something colder. Uncertainty.
[[Continue the scene|RestContinues]]
You approach Lila, who doesn’t turn. Her arms are folded tight across her chest like she’s holding herself in.
**Lila:** "I joined this mess chasing someone already gone. A ghost who probably stopped looking back a long time ago."
Her voice is steady, but barely. She stares into the dark where the path used to be.
**Lila:** "But what if... what if I’m gone too? What if this place is hollowing me out, piece by piece, and I don’t come back the same? Or at all?"
**You:** "You’re still here. Still fighting. That means something."
She huffs out a humorless laugh.
**Lila:** "Does it? Or am I just too stubborn to quit? Too scared to admit I’m done?"
She finally turns toward you. Her eyes are wide—not with fear, exactly, but with something worse. Doubt. The kind that echoes.
**Lila:** "Tell me it’s worth it. Tell me we’re not just feeding ourselves to a tomb that doesn't care."
[[Continue the scene|RestContinues]]
Gerrick barely reacts as you join him. His gauntlet traces the rim of the ruined fountain, water slicking over his fingers like blood that won’t wash off.
**Gerrick:** "The Barbarian reminded me of my command days. Back when I wore banners on my chest and told people where to die."
He doesn’t look at you, but his voice lowers—quiet, cracked.
**Gerrick:** "I gave orders I didn’t believe in. And good men followed anyway. Believed in me. They died clean. I lived stained. Thought I was doing the right thing. Hell, I needed to believe that."
**You:** "You still carry them."
He nods once. Not in pride. In grief.
**Gerrick:** "Every step. Every time I tell someone to watch their flank or check a corner, I wonder if I’m walking them into the same kind of grave I helped dig before."
You pause before you answer.
**You:** "We don’t need perfect choices. We need honest ones. And you’ve made those."
**Gerrick:** "You say that like it’s comfort."
He finally looks at you, and for a moment—just a moment—you see the commander again. The one who never stopped counting the dead.
[[Continue the scene|RestContinues]]
You sit in the corner. Say nothing. Just listen.
The air is thick—not just with dust, but with everything unsaid. Regret, fear, doubt... it hangs like smoke that won’t rise.
Footsteps shift. Armor creaks. A breath is drawn and held too long. Someone sighs, but it’s like sound doesn't want to exist here.
The silence isn't empty. It watches. It waits. It listens back.
Then—
**Lila:** softly “If we’re all ghosts by morning, I hope mine haunts something better than this place.”
A pause. Then a dry reply.
**Vizious:** “Your ghost would argue with the furniture. Loudly.”
That almost gets a laugh.
**Gerrick shifts closer, the metal of his gauntlet brushing stone. He doesn’t speak, but the tension in his shoulders softens.
The silence doesn’t leave. But it begins to make room.
[[Continue the scene|RestContinues]]
Eventually, everyone finds a place in the same rough circle. No one says it’s time to gather—they just do. Drawn by shared breath, shared silence, shared wounds.
No fire. Just breath and body heat. Just shadows flickering from dying glyphlight in the cracks above.
Lila pulls her knees in close, voice hushed.
**Lila:** "So what now?"
Her question doesn’t land like a complaint—it lands like an echo. Like she’s asking the tomb itself.
**Vizious:** "We descend, of course. Into something worse. There’s always worse."
His voice isn’t bitter. It’s tired. Measured. A scholar tallying the risks and knowing the ink’s already dry.
**Gerrick:** "Or something true."
He says it without conviction, but not without hope.
A long pause follows. Dust drifts through the air like old ash. No wind stirs it.
Then, as if by instinct, they look at you.
Three pairs of eyes. Not demanding. Not judging. Just... waiting.
**Lila:** "Your call. You always speak last, but they always listen."
Even here—even now—your silence holds weight. Not because you’re the leader, but because when you speak, it matters.
Choose how you respond:
* [["We’re not done until this tomb forgets our names."|RestInspire]]
* [["We break here, we die here. That’s the deal."|RestPush]]
* [["If we don’t know why we’re still walking... we find out together."|RestUnite]]
Flows into next scene/floor.
You take a second bite.
The texture is indescribable—neither meat nor fruit, but something ancient pretending to be both. It collapses on your tongue like damp parchment, yet pulses like it remembers your name.
The flavor is wrong. The flavor is true.
Truth unspoken.
Your jaw slackens. Your pupils dilate. Sound dulls. The air thickens, like the world just took a breath it forgot how to release.
Your heart stutters.
And then—vision.
A thousand broken mirrors reflecting names you never gave yourself. Forgotten oaths. Half-sung prayers. Secrets whispered between teeth that aren’t yours. You know something now—but the knowing has weight.
And worse—it knows you back.
Something inside you bends. Cracks. Makes room.
Your hand trembles, still gripping the silver fork.
**Vizious:** rising to his feet, voice tight with dread
"You’re letting it in. Too much and you won’t come back."
His fingers twitch like he's preparing a counterspell—but he doesn’t cast it.
**Lila:** eyes wide, half-furious
"I’ll slap it out of you if I have to. Don’t you dare go full oracle on me, not at this table."
You blink—hard. Once. Twice.
The world tilts.
The homunculus is still smiling. The gods still chew, their throats pulsing like bloated worms.
You set the fork down slowly. Something in your reflection across the silverware no longer matches.
**You:** low, unsure if you're joking
"I think I just saw tomorrow. And I don’t know who survives it."
A long silence. No one breathes.
Then Gerrick speaks, quiet and solid.
**Gerrick:** "We're leaving. Now. Before whatever that was asks for a third course."
You nod.
But somewhere deep in your mind—far behind the veil of reason—a new voice hums. And it’s using your tone.
**Effect:** You gain deeper lore insight for future floors—but suffer increased corruption.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]
You shove the plate aside.
It clatters to the floor with a wet, fleshy thud—like raw meat hitting stone. The table groans, its surface blistering, as if offended. A crack splits it lengthwise, bleeding dark ichor between silver platters and pulsing bread.
You rise, steel drawn, defiance rising in your chest like sacred fire.
**You:** "This ends. Now."
The room breathes in. The air thickens with rot and wrath.
At the head of the table, Ulfar’s Familiar jerks upward, limbs twitching unnaturally. Maggots spill from its smile like pearls from a broken necklace.
**Ulfar’s Familiar:** "You choose to starve? Then you choose to burn. Let the gods gnaw your marrow for your insolence."
The slumped gods twitch in their thrones, chewing faster now. One begins to laugh—dry and papery.
**Gerrick:** unsheathing his blade "Finally. A response I can trust."
**Lila:** under her breath "I was hoping dessert wouldn’t involve screaming."
**Vizious:** "You just declared war on gluttony incarnate. I hope your stomach's emptier than your soul."
Candles around the room flicker to life—not with flame, but with hungry eyes.
The feast has turned.
**Effect:** Combat Triggered: Ritual desecrated. Ulfar’s Familiar and corrupted banquet swarm engage.
[[Fight escalates|RefuseFeast]]
You bow your head.
Not in prayer. Not in fear. Just... stillness.
You offer no challenge. No surrender. You simply refuse.
The table doesn’t react at first. The air stays warm and heavy, thick with perfume and rot. The gods continue their slow chewing, their jaws twitching with the weight of dead worship.
But then—something shifts.
A hush rolls over the chamber like a drawn curtain. The candles dim slightly, as if disappointed. The very air feels like it's watching you.
Even the homunculus stills. Its carved smile stretches wider, but it does not speak.
Your companions look to you—not confused, but surprised.
**Vizious:** quietly, almost reverently
"Sometimes... restraint is the sharpest blade. You drew a line and let them cross it alone."
He closes his book and folds his hands, eyes flicking toward the altar like he half-expects it to retaliate.
**Lila:** eyeing the table warily
"Yeah, well. I’m still not touching the cake. Pretty sure it just whispered something obscene in ancient Peluvian."
She nudges a pudding that twitches back.
**Gerrick:** low and steady
"You chose dignity over power. That’s rare. And dangerous."
You raise your head slowly. The weight of your silence still hangs over the room like a shroud.
Whatever rules govern this feast... you broke none of them.
But you didn’t play either.
And something in this temple of rot remembers that.
**Effect:** Small sanity gain. May impact future divine interactions.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]
You fight to hold the shapes in your mind.
Symbols bend and spiral, folding inward like thoughts trying to forget themselves. They claw for definition, reshaping language, memory, self. Your skull feels too small to hold what you're seeing.
But then—something clicks.
Not like logic. Like revelation.
You don’t understand it. You become it.
And just for a moment… the cosmos opens.
You stagger back, breath shallow. The whispers hush.
**Vizious:** awestruck, reverent "You saw it, didn’t you? The pattern behind the veil. The sentence the stars were afraid to finish."
**Lila:** half-grinning, half-spooked "And we thought he was the dramatic one."
She doesn’t laugh. Not really.
You look at your hands. They’re still shaking.
**You:** "I think it saw me back."
A silence follows—not of fear, but of understanding too big to name.
The book closes itself.
**Effect:** Puzzle on next floor is auto-solved. +Lore bonus.
[[Return to the shelves|StarlessIntro]]
You let go.
The tome closes on its own, pages whispering against each other like leaves shivering in the dark.
The sound fades. But something inside you doesn’t.
It’s not pain—more like an itch beneath thought. A question you were on the verge of answering... or being answered by.
You feel lighter. And somehow less.
**Gerrick:** "Smart. Some pages aren’t worth the ink."
His voice is steady, but there's something in it—relief, maybe. Or regret that you were the one who knew when to stop.
You stare at the book, still hovering just inches from where you left it. Silent now. Waiting for someone else.
**You:** "I didn’t want to see how the story ends."
You walk away.
But the ending still follows you.
**Effect:** -1 Sanity.
[[Return to the shelves|StarlessIntro]]
You look past the words—not at the ink, but at the gaps between them.
The empty spaces stretch wider as you stare.
Lines breathe.
Punctuation pulses.
The symbols curl inward, not into meaning, but into invitation.
And then, somewhere behind the grammar of existence—
Something looks back.
You recoil, breath frozen, but your mind won’t let go. Your thoughts stagger, losing structure. You no longer know which part of the page was yours.
Blood drips from your nose. You taste copper and static.
**Vizious:** urgent, sharp "Your nose is bleeding. Stop. Look away. Now."
But it’s too late. You’ve seen beyond syntax. You’ve seen intent.
**You:** "It wasn’t a book."
You wipe your face. The blood keeps coming.
**You:** "It was a mouth."
Something down the corridor exhales—though nothing's there.
Your vision bends—pages flutter sideways in your peripheral vision even when there are none. You’ll carry that wrongness with you for a while.
Effect: -2 Sanity. Vision distortion persists until next floor.
[[Return to the shelves|StarlessIntro]]
You draw your blade and step toward the cocoon pulsing in the center of the clearing.
The vines around it twitch like nerves in a dying animal.
One clean strike—then another—and the husk splits open with a wet sound.
Inside: a pale version of **Gerrick**, eyes fogged, mouth trembling.
He gasps awake—then lunges, blade in hand.
**Lila:** "Gerrick?!"
**Vizious:** "No. That’s not him anymore."
**Combat Begins:** Echo-Gerrick fights with techniques even the real Gerrick has never spoken aloud.
Choose the outcome:
* [[You defeat the echo.|EchoGerrickSuccess]]
* [[The echo fuses into Gerrick.|EchoGerrickFailure]]
You kneel beside the cocoon, placing your hand on its pulse.
**You:** "Who are you? What do you want?"
The vines vibrate. A distorted voice echoes back:
> *"You are what you leave behind. And you left me to die."*
Gerrick grips his weapon but doesn’t move.
**Gerrick:** "He’s not lying."
**You:** "Then you say what needs saying."
**Effect:** Gerrick’s subplot deepens. He gains +1 Insight in future scenes.
[[Exit the clearing|VerdantExit]]
You step back.
**You:** "Whatever that is—it’s not part of our fight."
**Gerrick:** "I would have made the same call. But part of me wonders if we just left *me* behind."
The clearing folds into vines.
**Lila:** "Let’s not think too hard about that."
[[Exit the clearing|VerdantExit]]
**You:** "We’re not done until this tomb forgets our names."
The words strike the silence like iron on stone. No shout. No rage. Just the kind of quiet vow that lingers.
The others don’t answer right away. They don’t need to.
They breathe it in.
A tether pulled tight again.
A moment where the cold loses its grip.
**Vizious:** smiling, faint and sharp "Then let’s make it remember why it feared us."
He straightens, brushing dust from his robes with a flare of confidence that hasn’t been there in hours. The runes at his hip flicker like they’ve heard the challenge too.
**Lila:** "Damn right. We walk loud. We fight loud. And when this place coughs up its last nightmare... it’ll remember our names as the last thing it tasted."
She taps the hilt of her dagger against her palm, fire returning to her posture like coiled thunder.
**Gerrick:** "There’s glory in silence. In dying quiet and unmourned."
He lifts his gaze.
"But there’s more in defiance. In leaving scars on the dark."
They stand with you, the circle no longer broken.
No fire lit.
But now, there’s a light anyway.
The tomb remembers many things.
It will remember this.
[[The party rises and moves on.|NextFloorIntro]]
**You:** "We break here, we die here. That’s the deal."
The words drop like stone into still water.
No poetry. No comfort. Just truth—hard, cold, and unmoving.
The silence sharpens around it. Breath catches. Armor creaks. No one mistakes it for cruelty. They all feel it: the weight, the edge, the need for someone to speak the unspeakable.
**Gerrick:** low and level "Then let’s walk onward and act like the dead fear us."
He rises with a soldier’s gravity, adjusting the strap of his blade. There's no fire in his tone—just iron.
**Lila:** "If the tomb wants to break us, it better pick someone easier to chew."
She spits into the dust and stands, cracking her neck like a boxer before the bell.
**Vizious:** "And if we die... then we do it with noise, curses, and names it’ll never scrub clean from its walls."
He closes his journal and slides it back into his coat, hands steady again.
You rise last—not because you're uncertain, but because they needed the silence first.
Resolve isn’t loud. It’s chosen. And it’s chosen now.
[[The party rises and moves on.|NextFloorIntro]]
You: "If we don’t know why we’re still walking... we’ll find out together."
The words don’t echo. They settle.
**Lila:** "Not a map. Not a prayer. Just us. I’ll take it."
She leans back slightly, shoulders easing, like the weight of trying to be the strong one all the time just got shared.
**Vizious:** "Hope by committee. Sounds like utter madness. And yet..."
He glances at the others, and for once, doesn’t look away.
"...this might be our greatest strength."
**Gerrick:** quietly "When the war took my unit, I thought I’d never sit in a circle again. No fire. No safety. Just silence like this."
He looks down, then up at you.
"But I was wrong. We made one."
For a moment, it almost feels like the tomb pauses too. Like the dreaming world—so full of horrors and echoes—respects this moment. Doesn’t dare to interrupt.
Then, a distant rumble.
The next floor is waking.
**Lila:** "And here we go again."
**Vizious:** "This time, with purpose."
**Gerrick:** "This time, together."
They rise.
So do you.
The rest is shadow and ruin. But this—this circle—was light.
[[The party rises and moves on.|NextFloorIntro]]Vizious clenches his jaw. He walks forward, eyes locked on the burning tome. The glyphs spiral around him, not in chaos—but in invitation.
He places his hand upon the page. The fire wraps around him—but does not consume.
**Ebon Titan:** "You faced the cost of truth and did not look away. Your mind is tempered. Your soul unwritten by fear."
Vizious lifts the book. The flames recede.
**Vizious:** "Then I will remember—so the world may sleep."
The door groans open. Starlight bends around him as he steps through.
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Vizious approaches the tome, but as he reaches for it, the runes stutter. The pages writhe. Heat surges, searing his skin before he even touches it.
He screams and pulls back. The tome bursts into ash. The whispering scrolls snap shut.
A golden crack splits the ceiling above. A shaft of light falls over him—merciful, but not triumphant.
**Ebon Titan:** "You pursued knowledge but lost control. Wisdom denied becomes rot."
**Vizious:** *gasping* "Maybe I wasn’t meant to be the seal... but I can still be a shield between the light and darkness."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Vizious stares at the open tome—but does not move.
The whispers fade. The scrolls fall limp in the air.
He bows his head and steps back.
**Ebon Titan:** "To delay truth is not cowardice. But it is a debt you will owe."
Vizious says nothing, but his eyes remain locked on the book as the light fades from its pages.
**Lila:** *softly* "Not everything has to happen now."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Lila walks into the watery field and lifts her sea token toward the drowned figure.
The mirror reflects not her fear, but her strength—the girl who never stopped searching, and the woman who made it matter.
She reaches into the mirror and pulls free an old compass. Her uncle’s.
It glows like a lighthouse in the deep.
**Ebon Titan:** "You did not let grief consume you. You turned it into purpose. You carry memory like a blade—and wield it with honor."
The obsidian door groans open. Seawater rushes backward into the stone, leaving behind a clean path.
**Lila:** "Then I’ll guide the next dream. One soul at a time."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Lila steps forward, then falters. She grips the charm too tightly—and it cracks in her palm.
The drowned figure vanishes like mist under sunlight.
The mirror drops and shatters at her feet.
Above, a crack rips through the ceiling. A single golden shaft of light falls upon her like judgment.
**Ebon Titan:** "You broke what should have been held. You silenced what should have spoken."
Lila drops to one knee, clutching the broken charm.
**Lila:** "Even shattered things leave echoes. Maybe I’m still one."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Lila watches the drowned figure—but does not move.
She lowers the sea token to her chest and closes her eyes.
The mirror fades. The whispers grow still.
**Ebon Titan:** "You carry the past, but refuse its shape. That silence will speak... in time."
Lila doesn’t respond, but her grip tightens around the token.
**Lila:** "He’ll wait. Just a little longer."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Gerrick walks forward slowly, past the spectral dead, past his guilt.
He kneels. Not to beg. To remember.
**Gerrick:** "I gave the orders. Some died. Some lived. I still carry every one of you."
The spirits raise their heads. They salute. One places a spectral gauntlet on his shoulder.
A silver helm appears in the air, scarred and holy. Gerrick takes it.
**Ebon Titan:** "You did not lead for glory, but for duty. And you lead still—with wounds you do not hide."
The obsidian door opens.
**Gerrick:** "Then I’ll be your vanguard. In life—or what’s left of it."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Gerrick walks forward, but slows as the spirits draw near.
Their gazes bore through him. He flinches.
He looks down. And turns away.
The battlefield darkens. The spirits dissolve like ash on wind.
A sharp crack sounds above. Light pierces through a break in the ceiling, striking Gerrick like a judgment he does not fight.
**Ebon Titan:** "You carried them far—but not far enough. Their silence will follow you."
**Gerrick:** "Maybe that's the cost of leading without answers."
He lifts his blade again, slower now.
**You:** "We all walk with ghosts. But you still walk. That matters more than you think."
Gerrick doesn’t answer—but he doesn’t fall behind.
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Gerrick stands among the ghosts. Says nothing.
He meets their eyes, one by one.
The silence holds.
A wind passes through the battlefield—dissolving it.
**Ebon Titan:** "Some burdens are too sacred to voice. But you walk with them still."
**Gerrick:** "And I always will."
He turns. Shoulders square. Sword in hand.
**You:** "You don’t have to speak it. They already know. And we do too."
Gerrick gives you a faint nod—more truth in it than any vow.
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]You breathe.
One step. Another. And then you walk into the reflections—not to destroy them, but to claim them.
The voices rise in a chaotic chorus, then unify. You see every version of yourself—and accept each one.
The mirrors shatter outward.
Only you remain.
The dream does not reject you. It *welcomes* you.
**Ebon Titan:** "You lit the path when none followed. You are the dream’s final spark."
The obsidian door groans open. Stars shimmer beyond it, forming a stairway of light.
**You:** "Then let me burn, if it buys another dawn."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]You reach for the reflections—but they scatter. Your steps falter.
The thousand versions of you whisper louder. Their voices rise into a storm of doubt.
You cover your ears. Still, they speak.
The mirrors close in. The chamber darkens.
And then—*crack.*
A shaft of golden light breaks through the ceiling. It finds you in the center of the collapse.
Warmth spills over your face. You feel nothing but stillness.
**Ebon Titan:** "You are fractured—but not lost. The light seeks even the wounded."
The reflections fade.
**You:** "If I cannot seal the gate... I can still stand before it."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]You stand still.
You do not fight the reflections. You do not embrace them.
You simply *witness.*
A mirror cracks. Then another. They fall like dominos—until one remains.
You step forward. It shows only your eyes.
**Ebon Titan:** "Stillness is a choice. You walk not with certainty, but with awareness. That too is power."
You nod. Nothing more.
The chamber steadies.
**You:** "Then I will walk into the dream with my eyes open. And make meaning where I can."
[[Continue|DemoCliffhanger]]Vizious presses his hand to the mirror. It explodes in a corona of burning glyphs.
His shadow-self steps through—made of parchment and fire, eyes glowing with intellectual pride twisted into cruelty.
The air turns sharp with magic. Glyphs spiral. The two versions of Vizious circle each other like twin ideas at war.
Then, without fanfare, Vizious lifts his hand—and speaks a word none of the others understand.
The reflection hesitates.
It burns.
Ash falls where it stood.
**Vizious:** "Knowledge without empathy is poison. I won’t drink it again."
A glowing sigil floats down into his palm. It pulses once—then vanishes beneath his skin.
**Effect:** Vizious gains magical artifact: *Glyph of Reflection*. Light Affinity increased.
[[Return to Hall|ChooseMirror]]Vizious presses his hand to the mirror. It explodes in a scream of burning glyphs.
His shadow-self steps through—blazing with parchment robes and arcane heat.
It strikes—not physically, but symbolically—assaulting Vizious with every unspoken regret and pride-soaked choice he’s ever made.
One glyph lashes across his arm, burning deep into his focus.
**Lila:** *stepping forward, voice urgent* "You okay?"
**Vizious:** *gritting his teeth* "Magic’s slower now. But I’m still standing."
He holds his spellbook tighter. A few pages blacken and flake away like scorched paper.
**Effect:** Minor delay to casting speed next floor. Shadow Affinity increases slightly.
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]Gerrick breathes in the silence. Then walks into the mirror.
The battlefield does not vanish. It deepens.
He kneels beside the fallen.
**Gerrick:** "You gave your oaths. And I gave the orders. That truth is mine to carry—not to rewrite, not to bury."
He plants his broken blade into the ash. And slowly, one by one, the figures rise—not in judgment, but in remembrance.
One salutes. Another places a spectral hand on his shoulder.
The mirror pulses once, then dissolves.
**Vizious:** "He didn’t ask for forgiveness. That’s why he earned it."
**Lila:** "He’ll walk forward with them. Not away from them."
**Effect:** Gerrick’s Resolve strengthens. Gains the *Vow of Ashes* trait. Light Affinity increases.
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]Gerrick steps closer—but not fully into the mirror.
He reaches toward his fallen self—then stops. His hand trembles.
The mirror darkens. The battlefield folds in on itself like a wound closing too soon.
The figures remain prone. No movement. No peace.
A crack sounds from above. A golden shaft of light breaks through the ceiling—touching Gerrick’s shoulder.
He closes his eyes.
**Gerrick:** "Maybe... remembering isn’t enough. But forgetting would be worse."
**Lila:** "You still carry them. Even if the mirror didn’t show you how."
**Effect:** No gain in Resolve. Shadow Affinity slightly increased. May affect dialogue in future battle scenes.
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]The shadow-you strikes hard. It knows your every hesitation.
But you know something it doesn’t: who you’ve chosen to be.
You endure. You adapt. And finally—you break it, not with strength, but with certainty.
The shards hiss. The echo falls apart—scraps of you that no longer fit.
**Vizious:** "You defeated a version of yourself. But that echo will always exist."
**You:** "I didn’t kill it. I don't think I can kill it. I just didn’t let it win."
The mirror’s frame cracks and fades. Only you remain.
**Effect:** Light Affinity +1. Inner balance reinforced.
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]You clash with the echo—but it shifts too fast, too deep. It knows where you’re weakest.
You strike, but miss. Again. And again.
Then—silence.
The creature vanishes… not into the mirror, but into your *shadow*.
Your knees wobble. Your breath feels misaligned.
**Lila:** "You okay? You look... flickery."
**You:** "It’s still with me. Somewhere behind my eyes."
**Vizious:** "Then watch yourself closely. Some echoes don't stay reflections. They *become decisions.*"
The glass is gone. But the weight remains.
**Effect:** Ongoing psychic instability. -1 Sanity. Nightmare influence increased.
[[Return to the Hall|ChooseMirror]]You move faster than the Maw expects. Every cut lands with purpose. Every flame finds dry root.
The beasts howl—a low, wooden creak—and collapse into slumping rot.
The path opens behind them. Just enough space to breathe.
**Gerrick:** "They bleed... but it's sap and memory both."
**Vizious:** "That wasn’t just defense. That was a test."
**You:** "Whatever this thing is, it *feels* every cut. And it learns."
You step over the steaming corpses. The vines recoil slightly.
**Effect:** Path cleared. Light Affinity +1. Enraged Maw trait set.
[[Advance Deeper|MawCrossroads]]The beasts overwhelm you—not with speed, but with *sheer persistence.*
A vine whips your leg and yanks you backward. You fall hard. Thorned roots coil fast.
Your weapon is out of reach.
**Lila:** "They’ve got you—hold on!"
**You:** "Keep going. Or burn it off me."
**Gerrick:** "We're not leaving anyone!"
Vizious hurls a burning glyph. The vines scream as they recoil—but they’ve already left marks on your skin.
Your breath comes ragged. You're not free—just borrowed time.
**Effect:** Entangled Wound. Shadow Affinity +1. Minor HP decay next floor.
[[Advance Deeper|MawCrossroads]]You pause. Watch. Breathe.
Then you move—not faster, but smarter.
The vines hesitate where your torches disrupt their logic. You use polished stones to reflect light into blind spots. A narrow channel opens like a blink of permission.
You step through just before it collapses.
**Lila:** "We tricked it. Outpaced its instincts."
**Vizious:** "You're not walking a forest. You're solving a will."
**You:** "Good. Because I’m not becoming fertilizer for sentient ivy."
The vines hiss behind you. But they don’t pursue.
**Effect:** Puzzle mastered. Mental resilience increased. Light Affinity +1.
[[Advance Deeper|MawCrossroads]]You plant the last torch—and step wrong.
The floor pulses.
A vine lashes out—snaring your wrist. It coils fast, but doesn’t crush. It *tastes.*
Your breath locks. You feel your heartbeat slow, matching the stone’s rhythm. The Maw is learning *you.*
**Vizious:** "It’s reading you. Feeling for intention."
**You:** "Then let it choke on me."
Lila cuts the vine. Gerrick pulls you out.
But something stayed with you. In your pulse. Behind your eyes.
**Effect:** Psychic Residue Imprint. -1 Sanity. Shadow Affinity increased.
[[Advance Deeper|MawCrossroads]]The battle is fast. Brutal. Familiar.
You’ve fought beside Gerrick long enough to know how he moves—but the echo improvises. It adapts. Learns.
Still, you outmatch it.
The final blow lands with regret, not rage.
The echo collapses—unreal flesh unraveling like bark peeled from a dying tree.
**Gerrick:** *quietly* "I don’t know if that was me. But I’m glad you didn’t leave it breathing."
**You:** "It wasn’t you anymore. It was what the Maw *wanted* you to be."
**Vizious:** "The tomb’s making copies. Echoes of our worst moments. And it's not done yet."
**Effect:** Gerrick gains Echo Resistance. Light Affinity increased.
[[Exit the clearing|VerdantExit]]The echo fights like a ghost with something to prove.
You parry, strike, but it always moves half a second too fast—like it already knows what you’ll do.
Then it touches **Gerrick.**
Not a slash. A *merge.*
Light explodes. The two Gerricks fuse for a moment—too bright to see.
When it clears, only one stands. Breathing hard. Eyes distant.
**Vizious:** "He’s split now. Not two minds—but not one either."
**Lila:** *low* "We don’t know what part came back with him."
**You:** "We’re getting out. All of us—or none of us."
Gerrick doesn’t speak. But his grip tightens on his blade.
**Effect:** Gerrick gains Echo Instability trait. Shadow Affinity increased.
[[Exit the clearing|VerdantExit]]You hold on.
The memory surges, but you don’t drown. Symbols bloom behind your eyes. You understand something about the tomb’s next shape—its rhythm, its ritual.
Your pulse synchronizes with it—for a heartbeat.
Then it fades. You’re back in the room. The gods are still chewing.
**Lila:** "You're… glowing. And twitching."
**Vizious:** "The feast grants knowledge. But it burns through the body."
**Gerrick:** "You need light. Or time. Preferably both."
You set the fork down, hand trembling slightly.
**You:** "It showed me the path ahead. But not the cost."
**Effect:** Foresight buff acquired. Insight into next floor. Shadow Affinity +1.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]You swallow.
The taste lingers—too long. It settles in your throat like smoke and in your stomach like regret.
Your limbs begin to numb. Not paralyzed. Just... *distant.*
A subtle rot pulses beneath your skin, like you’re being hollowed out from the inside.
**Lila:** "Something’s wrong with you."
**Vizious:** "The feast has poisoned your body—even if your mind was fed."
He reaches for a glyph of purification, but it flickers.
**Gerrick:** "That kind of rot doesn’t ask permission. It needs light. Or it keeps eating."
**You:** "It’s in me now. And it’s not done."
**Effect:** HP decay begins. Sacred light needed to cleanse. Shadow Affinity +1.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]Steel bites through vermin flesh. Fire drives back the swarms.
You wade through clouds of rot, hacking, stomping, casting. It's not a clean victory—but it *is* one.
The last rat dies with a sound like a sob.
You push over a half-melted platter, revealing a gleaming chalice beneath the filth—untouched, still warm with sacred heat.
**Vizious:** "A relic. Hidden beneath filth. Faith outlasts rot."
**Gerrick:** "We may need this more than we know."
**You:** "Even in a place like this, something still remembers purity."
**Effect:** Holy Relic acquired. Light Affinity +1. Bonus in next divine puzzle or light-based combat.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]You fight—but there are too many. The stench, the bites, the whispers.
Every time you strike one down, three more climb your limbs.
Something *intelligent* within the swarm speaks—not aloud, but inside your bones.
You break free only when Gerrick slams his shield into the swarm and drags you back. But it's not a clean retreat.
**Lila:** *grimacing* "Something bit me. And whispered scripture into the wound."
She pulls her sleeve up—maggots squirm beneath the skin like glyphs.
**Gerrick:** "You’re infected. We find light soon—or bury each other."
**Vizious:** *tight-lipped* "The feast wasn’t rejected. It was replaced. And now it’s *in us.*"
**Effect:** HP decay and infection trait. May trigger hallucinations or dream-plague symptoms on next floor.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]Vizious stops, breath steady, fingers glowing faintly with runes.
**Vizious:** "This is a reverse communion. The gods weren’t served. They *served*. And then turned on each other. They fed on *faith,* then on *each other.*"
He looks down at a ceremonial knife lying askew at the table’s head.
**Vizious:** "This isn’t just decay. It’s *devotion undone.* It's worship turned inward. Cyclical. Eternal."
The homunculus begins to twitch violently. Maggots pour from its smile.
**Ulfar’s Familiar:** "He *reads.* He remembers. He feeds the hunger of thought."
**Lila:** "Great. Our mage just impressed the dinner host."
**Gerrick:** "Can we *not* join this religion?"
**Effect:** +1 Light Affinity. Unlocks hidden god-lore in a future floor.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]Vizious’s fingers begin to trace a glyph above the table—but midway through, his breath catches.
His voice falters. His hands tremble.
**Vizious:** "It's too much. The pattern… it bites back."
He steps back quickly, knocking over a goblet filled with something black and moving.
The homunculus giggles and drools maggots.
**Lila:** "I liked it better when the food just stared at me."
**Gerrick:** "Knowledge has weight. Let’s not drown in it."
**You:** "Back off. If the feast wants our minds, it’ll starve today."
Vizious wipes blood from his nose. He looks ashamed—but alive.
**Effect:** No lore unlocked. Mental strain applied. Sanity -1.
[[Return to the table|FeastIntro]]