- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Caretaker
The rattling of ethereal chains snakes into your ears as you call upon Ei to materialize. As if crawling out from a pit of hell, the black book twists and wriggles its way into reality, manifesting perfectly in your hand as if that was the place where it best belonged. Before anyone can say anything about the grimoire, you break into a sprint, dashing towards the door, the exorcism incantation a swift whisper at the back of your throat. Upon seeing you move, Sakimura calls out, “T-That’s right! Everyone, let’s hold the door shut-“ His rallying shout turns into a cry of shock as you fling the door open and hurl yourself into the dark beyond.
Your feet stumble a few steps beyond the threshold, the echoes resounding down the dim hallway. There is no one here. You finish the incantation, its last lines fading off your lips, but there is nothing for you to use it on.
“Shinoseki-san, this is no time to play at looking cool!” shouts Sakimura, aghast. “We need to close the door, not open it!”
“I… I thought…” you fumble at trying to explain, and shake your head.
“Look, just… get in… here…” Sakimura slows down, his voice trailing off.
track: grave
The back of your neck prickles. The temperature seems to have plummeted, but frozen as you are, you are unable to even shiver. “Bad... children... to break the curfew.” You hear the dry, dead croak in your ear, a whisper that should by all rights be intimate, yet with only the emotion of a dead fish. There is a feeling that the words aren’t addressed at you, but at memories long past. “Punishment.”
You whirl around to confront the specter at your back. A pale, grinning visage fills your sight, looming so closely that you take a step back in horror. There are quivering black holes where her eyes should be, and the skull-like rictus is a wide, dark crescent with all too many teeth. The figure appears to be blurry, as if it is out of focus, but there is no mistaking the white silhouette before you: indistinct it may be, projecting an image that appears to be incompletely formed, but it is definitely dressed up as a nurse.
A dozen voices scream out a warning in your head before they are overwhelmed by a high-pitched whining that drowns everything out, and without being given any time to recover, icy fingers close around your throat and lift you effortlessly off the floor. The cold bites into your skin and tunnels into your flesh, and you cannot help but cry out in pain. You struggle, kicking out in vain at the spirit before you, your hand passing helplessly through the white, incorporeal arm that is holding you up. Wasn’t the incantation complete?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “E-Everyone, run! Now!” You call out desperately, hoping that they won’t waste this chance you’ve given them. It takes them many precious seconds before they hurriedly heed your call. The gaze of the nurse jerks towards them in rigid increments as they tentatively approach the door, her attention drawn by their movement.
“Hear me… the eight myriad deities assembled on the High Heavenly Plains…” Choking out the words, you begin the incantation. Instantly, the blurry head swivels back to face you, staring at you with those dark holes for eyes, so deep that you could sink into them for an eternity and not-
You do. Thankful for Ei’s timely intervention, you continue to recite the norito. “Yield to my command… the spirits of purification…”
The nurse’s other hand lashes out and grips your wrist. She flies forward and drives you against the wall – the impact of your spine against the wood sends a wave of pain down your body. The vise around your wrist tightens. She is attempting to make you drop the book… or failing that, rip your arm off. Stifling a scream of pain, you attempt to continue with the chant. “All… sins… should be cast into…” Out of the corner of your eye, you see the others hurrying from the room, their eyes averted from your horrible predicament as much as they can possibly manage.
Then, a hand clamps down over your mouth. And another. And another. The wriggling dead fingers, white like worms, dig under your lips, between your cheeks, and grasp your squirming tongue. You can only watch on in horror, your words silenced, at the outgrowth of new arms from the nurse’s body. Long, spindly white limbs, like stalks of fruiting fungi, reach out for you, for your ears and nose.
“Evil begone!”
The arms stop, and their hold on you slackens. You drop to the ground, choking and gasping for breath. Looking up, you see Amanozaki panting heavily, the ashes of a talisman burning away in blue fire between her fingers. Uehara is with her, fingers outstretched, as if she has just thrown something. The nurse turns to face them, her myriad arms waving in the pale moonlight like a thousand-armed bodhisattva. The faces of the two girls tells you that they suddenly regret very much their attempt to save you.
“Ueharaaaaa!” With her name as his battlecry, Sakimura leaps into a fray, swinging a piece of wood that he picked up from somewhere. The arms blur. There is a loud, cracking noise as he is swatted away, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground along with the broken pieces of his impromptu weapon.
But he bought me time to finish.The final lines of the incantation echoing around the corridor, you focus your mind upon the book, and the nurse, bridging the two and creating a conduit by which the malice will flow. As has been done so twice before, the malice will burst outwards, free from the confines of the vessel that both births and is birthed by it, and you will then have an opportunity to subdue it with your will.
The wave of shadow explodes outward, from the nurse’s body… and then it stops, like a black halo around her. What does not stop is a burst of static, seemingly hidden within the darkness, that continues past the shadow, past you, and the others, a ripple that fades into the distance and leaves the world behind it one of black and white.
track: unease
The world distorts, and the nurse comes sharply into focus. Unblurred. Distinct. At the base of her heels, water begins to seep forth from the floor, forming a brackish puddle that grows by the second. She stands still, a white statue with countless arms wreathed in black shadow. The darkness blooms from the holes that were her eyes and mouth, spreading and warping her face until all that is left of her features a deformed spiral with no recognizable features.
Uehara’s eyes open in slight recognition. You, too, recognize the nurse at last. It is the nameless shade of the swimming pool that you had encountered in nights past. The last time you had seen her, she had been battling the ghouls at the Juunimon. If so, could she be an ally of Seika, whoever she is?
“No! She is no longer under Seika-nee’s influence!” Uehara shouts out a warning, as if she could tell what you were thinking. As the nurse turns towards the two girls, the concentrated malice and hostility washes over you, and you know that she is right. Not that you thought there was a chance of reasoning with her in the first place – the nurse was far from a friendly ghost in your previous encounters.
The shadow flickers. Without any hint of movement, the nurse crosses the distance and appears right in front of Uehara and Amanozaki in the blink of an eye, close enough that they could reach out and touch each other.
“Bad… children… go to the the the director… for re-educat-at-ation…” rattles the spirit jerkily. “Let’s go meet the director.”
Furrowing your brow as you attempt to stave off the despair of impending doom, you wonder if you should try the exorcism incantation again.
We don’t have anything at all that can be used against her?
Her answer comes flatly, and there is an implied meaning at the end of her words. You know what Ei is hinting at. The nurse’s attention is focused on Uehara and Amanozaki – who has fallen on her butt in fear – meaning that if you wanted, you could run away right now.
And if I stay?
Ei lets out a sigh of frustration before answering.
Although?
She tells you how.
***
A. You attempt to cast the barrier ritual. Even if it doesn’t delay the ghost for long, it can hold long enough for all of you to get away. You only hope that you can manage to complete it in time.
B. You attempt to get one of Amanozaki’s trinkets – you remember that she had a dagger of some sort. It might be able to focus your exorcism spell. There’s no telling if it will be strong enough to work, but hopefully you can still weaken the ghost and escape.
C. You draw the Nurse’s attention back to you, and then you run, as you did in the Third Night, to lure her away from the others. Sure, this version of the ghost seems to be able to teleport, but you have confidence enough that as long as you are not caught off guard, you can play keep-away long enough to figure something out.
1. You offer part of your own life force as a vessel, allowing Ei to project herself from the book and take a human-like form. This will allow her to physically interact with the world around her and give you an extra helping hand.
2. You don’t. You don’t trust her with your life force – what if she doesn’t give it back?
***
D. Ei is right. You should run – this is not an enemy you can beat at this moment. All you have are ifs and maybes: what is certain is that the Nurse is dangerous, and that you are better off fleeing until you find a way to defeat her. The rest can feel free to run too – they’re not obliged to stay around.
The rattling of ethereal chains snakes into your ears as you call upon Ei to materialize. As if crawling out from a pit of hell, the black book twists and wriggles its way into reality, manifesting perfectly in your hand as if that was the place where it best belonged. Before anyone can say anything about the grimoire, you break into a sprint, dashing towards the door, the exorcism incantation a swift whisper at the back of your throat. Upon seeing you move, Sakimura calls out, “T-That’s right! Everyone, let’s hold the door shut-“ His rallying shout turns into a cry of shock as you fling the door open and hurl yourself into the dark beyond.
Your feet stumble a few steps beyond the threshold, the echoes resounding down the dim hallway. There is no one here. You finish the incantation, its last lines fading off your lips, but there is nothing for you to use it on.
“Shinoseki-san, this is no time to play at looking cool!” shouts Sakimura, aghast. “We need to close the door, not open it!”
“I… I thought…” you fumble at trying to explain, and shake your head.
“Look, just… get in… here…” Sakimura slows down, his voice trailing off.
track: grave
The back of your neck prickles. The temperature seems to have plummeted, but frozen as you are, you are unable to even shiver. “Bad... children... to break the curfew.” You hear the dry, dead croak in your ear, a whisper that should by all rights be intimate, yet with only the emotion of a dead fish. There is a feeling that the words aren’t addressed at you, but at memories long past. “Punishment.”
You whirl around to confront the specter at your back. A pale, grinning visage fills your sight, looming so closely that you take a step back in horror. There are quivering black holes where her eyes should be, and the skull-like rictus is a wide, dark crescent with all too many teeth. The figure appears to be blurry, as if it is out of focus, but there is no mistaking the white silhouette before you: indistinct it may be, projecting an image that appears to be incompletely formed, but it is definitely dressed up as a nurse.
A dozen voices scream out a warning in your head before they are overwhelmed by a high-pitched whining that drowns everything out, and without being given any time to recover, icy fingers close around your throat and lift you effortlessly off the floor. The cold bites into your skin and tunnels into your flesh, and you cannot help but cry out in pain. You struggle, kicking out in vain at the spirit before you, your hand passing helplessly through the white, incorporeal arm that is holding you up. Wasn’t the incantation complete?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “E-Everyone, run! Now!” You call out desperately, hoping that they won’t waste this chance you’ve given them. It takes them many precious seconds before they hurriedly heed your call. The gaze of the nurse jerks towards them in rigid increments as they tentatively approach the door, her attention drawn by their movement.
“Hear me… the eight myriad deities assembled on the High Heavenly Plains…” Choking out the words, you begin the incantation. Instantly, the blurry head swivels back to face you, staring at you with those dark holes for eyes, so deep that you could sink into them for an eternity and not-
You do. Thankful for Ei’s timely intervention, you continue to recite the norito. “Yield to my command… the spirits of purification…”
The nurse’s other hand lashes out and grips your wrist. She flies forward and drives you against the wall – the impact of your spine against the wood sends a wave of pain down your body. The vise around your wrist tightens. She is attempting to make you drop the book… or failing that, rip your arm off. Stifling a scream of pain, you attempt to continue with the chant. “All… sins… should be cast into…” Out of the corner of your eye, you see the others hurrying from the room, their eyes averted from your horrible predicament as much as they can possibly manage.
Then, a hand clamps down over your mouth. And another. And another. The wriggling dead fingers, white like worms, dig under your lips, between your cheeks, and grasp your squirming tongue. You can only watch on in horror, your words silenced, at the outgrowth of new arms from the nurse’s body. Long, spindly white limbs, like stalks of fruiting fungi, reach out for you, for your ears and nose.
“Evil begone!”
The arms stop, and their hold on you slackens. You drop to the ground, choking and gasping for breath. Looking up, you see Amanozaki panting heavily, the ashes of a talisman burning away in blue fire between her fingers. Uehara is with her, fingers outstretched, as if she has just thrown something. The nurse turns to face them, her myriad arms waving in the pale moonlight like a thousand-armed bodhisattva. The faces of the two girls tells you that they suddenly regret very much their attempt to save you.
“Ueharaaaaa!” With her name as his battlecry, Sakimura leaps into a fray, swinging a piece of wood that he picked up from somewhere. The arms blur. There is a loud, cracking noise as he is swatted away, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground along with the broken pieces of his impromptu weapon.
But he bought me time to finish.The final lines of the incantation echoing around the corridor, you focus your mind upon the book, and the nurse, bridging the two and creating a conduit by which the malice will flow. As has been done so twice before, the malice will burst outwards, free from the confines of the vessel that both births and is birthed by it, and you will then have an opportunity to subdue it with your will.
The wave of shadow explodes outward, from the nurse’s body… and then it stops, like a black halo around her. What does not stop is a burst of static, seemingly hidden within the darkness, that continues past the shadow, past you, and the others, a ripple that fades into the distance and leaves the world behind it one of black and white.
track: unease
The world distorts, and the nurse comes sharply into focus. Unblurred. Distinct. At the base of her heels, water begins to seep forth from the floor, forming a brackish puddle that grows by the second. She stands still, a white statue with countless arms wreathed in black shadow. The darkness blooms from the holes that were her eyes and mouth, spreading and warping her face until all that is left of her features a deformed spiral with no recognizable features.
Uehara’s eyes open in slight recognition. You, too, recognize the nurse at last. It is the nameless shade of the swimming pool that you had encountered in nights past. The last time you had seen her, she had been battling the ghouls at the Juunimon. If so, could she be an ally of Seika, whoever she is?
“No! She is no longer under Seika-nee’s influence!” Uehara shouts out a warning, as if she could tell what you were thinking. As the nurse turns towards the two girls, the concentrated malice and hostility washes over you, and you know that she is right. Not that you thought there was a chance of reasoning with her in the first place – the nurse was far from a friendly ghost in your previous encounters.
The shadow flickers. Without any hint of movement, the nurse crosses the distance and appears right in front of Uehara and Amanozaki in the blink of an eye, close enough that they could reach out and touch each other.
“Bad… children… go to the the the director… for re-educat-at-ation…” rattles the spirit jerkily. “Let’s go meet the director.”
Furrowing your brow as you attempt to stave off the despair of impending doom, you wonder if you should try the exorcism incantation again.
We don’t have anything at all that can be used against her?
Her answer comes flatly, and there is an implied meaning at the end of her words. You know what Ei is hinting at. The nurse’s attention is focused on Uehara and Amanozaki – who has fallen on her butt in fear – meaning that if you wanted, you could run away right now.
And if I stay?
Ei lets out a sigh of frustration before answering.
Although?
She tells you how.
***
A. You attempt to cast the barrier ritual. Even if it doesn’t delay the ghost for long, it can hold long enough for all of you to get away. You only hope that you can manage to complete it in time.
B. You attempt to get one of Amanozaki’s trinkets – you remember that she had a dagger of some sort. It might be able to focus your exorcism spell. There’s no telling if it will be strong enough to work, but hopefully you can still weaken the ghost and escape.
C. You draw the Nurse’s attention back to you, and then you run, as you did in the Third Night, to lure her away from the others. Sure, this version of the ghost seems to be able to teleport, but you have confidence enough that as long as you are not caught off guard, you can play keep-away long enough to figure something out.
1. You offer part of your own life force as a vessel, allowing Ei to project herself from the book and take a human-like form. This will allow her to physically interact with the world around her and give you an extra helping hand.
2. You don’t. You don’t trust her with your life force – what if she doesn’t give it back?
***
D. Ei is right. You should run – this is not an enemy you can beat at this moment. All you have are ifs and maybes: what is certain is that the Nurse is dangerous, and that you are better off fleeing until you find a way to defeat her. The rest can feel free to run too – they’re not obliged to stay around.
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