← Previous Chapter |
Next Chapter →
Back to the game page
Lune: So this is Visages’ island…
Monoco: He Who Guards Truth With Lies.
Sciel: Are those… Faces?
Monoco: An infinite sea of them.
Sciel: Is this island… singing?
Maelle: This melody…
Lune: This is creeping me out.
Sciel: What’s it doing?
Verso: It’s not attacking…
Maelle: Was that an invitation?
Sciel: So it seems?
Verso: Mm-mm. Feels like a trap.
Maelle: I don’t mind a straightforward path for once. Better than battling through a mountain of Nevrons.
Sciel: No, Verso’s right. Something feels off.
Mark Keeper: Oh, I’m harmless, you don’t need those.
Verso: Well, if you’re harmless, then these weapons will stay harmless too.
Mark Keeper: Touché. Well. Visages invites you to join him in his chamber at the end of this path. I assume that’s why you’re here?
Sciel: Where do the other paths lead?
Mark Keeper: You’re free to traverse them. Masks are not just to obscure. They may also illuminate. Look for the masks that you need.
Maelle: Meaning?
Mark Keeper: The invitation stands.
Sciel: Well. Head straight to the Axon or take the other paths?
A mask. It seems connected to the Axon. It speaks.
Mask: He who painted this world. Seeking what he could not grasp. Longing to share with those he loves. Behind his smile, what could it be?
Lune: Joy.
Something happens.
Maelle: Did you hear that?
Verso: That was the Axon.
Sciel: Destroying these masks seems to hurt him.
Lune: Then let’s keep doing that.
Blooraga: Long ago, this island was just like any other. Some humans even decided to come and build their life here. Then the tremors came, the landscape changed, and… the humans were nowhere to be found… I hope we meet again! It’s a tad lonely around here.
Sciel: I know they’re Nevrons, but… witnessing the sorrow of others… I can’t help but feel for them.
Monoco: A noble but tremendously fatal impulse.
A mask. It seems connected to the Axon. It speaks.
Mask: He who lives in-between. Behind his veil, emotions swell. For a life forced to paint. What is he but a reflection of…
Lune: Sadness.
Something happens.
Maelle: Yeah, it definitely hurts him. I think I saw one more path.
Verso: That’s good, we’re weakening him.
Sciel: This feels… off…
Lune: Everything’s destroyed.
Monoco: Normally I enjoy a little destruction, but this doesn’t feel right.
Sciel: It’s rage.
A mask. It seems connected to the Axon. It speaks.
Mask: He who cannot fight fate. Behind his scowl, emotions blaze. But in the shadows, his temper fades. What am I but a mask of…
Lune: Anger.
Something happens.
Maelle: I think that’s all of them.
Lune: We should be able to fight the Axon properly now.
Verso: Let’s answer this thing’s invitation.
Lune: Monoco, what does that mean, “He Who Guards Truth With Lies?”
Monoco: Exactly what it sounds like.
Sciel: Guard as in protect? Or guard as in control?
Monoco: Yes.
Verso: I think you pissed him off.
Mask Keeper: People want so badly to know, “What’s behind the mask?” Front, back. Recto, verso. Great art is both window and mirror. Whether it’s your mask or theirs.
Verso: Harmless, huh.
Sciel: He’s the real Axon.
Mask Keeper: Child, we all need masks, but how you use them, mmm.
Maelle: Merde.
Maelle: We did it!
Sciel: No, wait-
Mask Keeper: We all need masks-
Sciel: This mask can’t hurt me. Because it is me.
Verso: You okay? What happened?
Sciel: Axon down. Let’s bring this to the Curator.
Verso: That was Verso, wasn’t it? Renoir?
Back at camp
Maelle: Me? You want me to give it to you?
Lune: Why?
Maelle: That was- I saw-
Sciel: What happened?
Maelle: I saw- I saw… It was… Renoir?
Verso: I used to see him in my nightmares too. He can be quite traumatising.
Sciel: One down, one to go.
Verso: The next one will be harder.
Sciel: …
Verso: You were right.
Lune: About?
Verso: The odds of killing Axons. “Close. But not zero.”
Lune: “Not zero.”
Maelle: You have nightmares too? About Renoir?
Verso: Yeah. He’s… hard to shake.
Maelle: Yeah.
Monoco: Seems you were right about these Expeditioners. A most impressive group.
Verso: They’ve grown on you, haven’t they?
Monoco: Maybe.
Verso: They have.
Monoco: …
Verso: Hmmm. I recognize that look. What’s got you so grumpy?
Esquie: Those masks…
Verso: What about them?
Esquie: …
Verso: Are you jealous? Why?
Esquie: I’m supposed to fly too!
Verso: Maybe stop losing your rocks then. How do you lose them anyway? Don’t you swallow the rocks?
Esquie: Sometimes… I laugh too hard. I can’t control myself and…
Verso: Okay, yeah, uh… I see… It’s, uh… hard to control.
Maelle finds a spot where she can write. She spends some time writing in Gustave’s journal, to honour his memory. She writes about how fearsome and incredible the Axons are, bigger than mountains. She hopes Gustave’s apprentices will read this journal someday.
Verso: Do you mind if I play here?
Maelle: What song was that? I feel like I know it.
Verso: Yeah, it’s an old song I used to play to my sister.
Maelle: Can you play another?
Verso: Sure, we, uh, we have all night. Okay, ready?
Maelle: Are you ready?
Verso: I am ready, I will need a bit of space. Alright. Esquie? You ready?