#hiddenhoax

@hidden-hoax

The Princess found the new world odd, if not at all ridiculous. Instead of scrying using a crystal or bowls of water, people prefer flattened bricks they adhere to their ears. Light glows from poles, but they are neither torches nor will-o'-wisps. Magic mirrors which converses with you are nowhere to be found; replacing them instead are boxes with worlds and miniature societies of their own. A floating island is to be expected, for any decent world has one or two in its atmosphere, but to have no fairy godmothers? The very thought of it made the Princess sniffle as she continued aimlessly through the streets till at last she caught the sight of something familiar.

It was a hooded figure. That was all she needed.

A scream pierced the clouds above. "A wizard! Ah, save me! A horrendous wizard wishes to kill me!"

Masks... they were funny things, weren’t they? Perhaps he shouldn’t be thinking such a thing while looking at another, but it had struck a chord--reminds him of the time he had been the one hidden in what he’d thought to be a flawless mask. And yet all it took was one child--one dear friend--to see straight through it. There’s a certain taste of bitterness; he had been so weak, to succumb to something like that. ‘Never... Never use that name to refer to me again!’ The denial--the need for that denial of his self had overpowered any rational he might have had in the past; even now he recognises it and laments it--why would he cast away his name? To seemingly ease his guilt? His warped sense of pride he had from gaining the power to save all he wanted to? He’d so contently sided with that which had destroyed his home planet in its entirety and killed so many of the refugee eldarians. What was he, if not a fool?

THERE WERE AN UNCOUNTABLE AMOUNT OF foreign aspects that perplexed the youthful daimyo with each passing day; everything from the sights to even the smells were simply odd to him-- so he chose to delve deeper into this strange place to completely immerse himself in anything that piqued his interest. Needless to say, he chose to start his small adventure within Seedling Town prior to poking his nose into Serein's area; after all, with the constant threat of danger looming over Seedling Town, it harbored much more excitement compared to Serein, which was more or less of a safer bet in his opinion. Being in an unpredictable location offered an abundance of opportunities for him to seize, and mused he was about to find one of those mentioned opportunities.

A vacant building with the sign StArcade above it had its interior lined with strange, dark boxes; if anything, this was a location he wanted to figure out what the hell it was supposed to be there for-- it didn't look like anything important. Upon entering, a singular, red hue flitted around the massive room and he decided it was safe enough to travel in further; after finding a box that seemed interesting enough to bother with, he pressed one of the projections protruding from the box and a raucous noise echoed throughout the room in suit. It was shocking enough to elicit a startled yell and the situation only turned worse from there; after catching a glimpse of something shorter than him-- with a mask, perhaps-- cross his peripheral gaze, he could only muse that this was only the beginning of what he got himself into. Shit... SHIT!! 

This place was totally haunted and whatever he just saw wasn’t there anymore... Maybe he was paranoid? Maybe... They could be a friendly spirit..! Then again, the possibility that said spirit could want to kick his ass for its own ghostly reason still stood rather strongly in Date’s mind; he even began regretting his choice of area to explore first, but he was rather committed at this point. Regardless, there wasn’t any sense in keeping tight-lipped; therefore, he opted on circumspectly speaking up, ❝ . . . Hello ? ❞ 

The eldarian lets out an uncharacteristic sigh in the silence. What was the point of all this? There was a complete lack in logic behind it. To live out a life--to continue living his life--after death had played it’s part. It was illogical and seemingly pointless. And yet dying here has adverse effects, and is not permanent either: Or so he gathered from the woman some time ago. What was the aim in living here? There had to be a reason. Redemption, perhaps? He could understand that. A punishment? Maybe if it were himself alone, but some people didn’t look worthy of such. 

“If only I could have fully redeemed myself in the real world...” he muses aloud, casting his gaze up. This world; he can’t escape it like he could so many others. There were no ships to take him across the Star Ocean, the Sol’s control unit was essentially useless. What good would it do anyway? He absentmindedly touches the malfunctioning device anyway. “Lymle...” he mutters the name, “Edge, too. Even though I made a promise...” There’s no way he can return, despite his wishing for it.

He died, after all.