Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

the Warm Voice — Lo, there is endless slumber. Naught but the ink-dark void of nonexistence. Thy mind, a void within a void, ensnared in a web of thorns that shall never yield. Thou art slain.

Fear not, for thou needst worry no more. 

Nevermore shall thou know anxiety.

1. Never more?
2. (Slumber forevermore)
3. [??? - Impossible 20] Awaken.

YOU — Never more?

the Warm Voice — Never, ever more.

1. Never more?
2. (Slumber forevermore)
3. [??? - Impossible 20] Awaken.

YOU — Awaken.

CHECK FAILURE

??? [Impossible: Failure] — No. The strings won't pull. The forces are holding their play, for it isn't time yet. You do not awaken. This is where you must stay.

1. Never more?
2. (Slumber forevermore)
3. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — (Slumber forevermore)

the Warm Voice — I see...

the Warm Voice — Minutes doth pass, then hours. Days turn to weeks. Weeks to months. Months doth pass, and yet they continue to pass.

1. I've never felt more... rested...
2. This is where I must stay.
3. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — I've never felt more... rested...

the Warm Voice — ...The wheels doth churn evermore. The sands doth flow ceaselessly. The march of time proceedeth, indifferent to thee. As if thou wert never to have existed...

1. So... tired...
2. This is where I belong.
3. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — So... tired...

the Warm Voice — My heart breaks for thee.

1. ...
2. This is where I die.
3. Why does your heart break?
4. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — Why does your heart break?

the Warm Voice — Thou art my world, my very universe. My heart. My dearest wish. The very embodiment of my deepest fantasies.

the Warm Voice — To behold thy pain is to witness mine own soul aflame. I am near powerless to aid thee, and the agony is unbearable.

the Warm Voice — It bringeth me to ruin.

1. ...
2. This is where I die.
3. Why does your heart break?
4. This doesn't feel right.
5. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — This doesn't feel right.

the Warm Voice — Indeed! Thou liest there as though naught were amiss, yet thy heart knoweth the truth.

the Warm Voice — All are anxious for thee. All await thy return. All need thee, awake and aware. Thy responsibility is immense, yet thou alone canst bear it!

1. No! Let me sleep!
2. This is too much!
3. I can't...
4. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — No! Let me sleep!

COURAGE [Easy: Success] — You need to wake up. The world is waiting for you. Its sounds. Its smells. Its sights. All the experiences and the memories and the stories you've read are waiting for you! I know it’s scary, but I believe in you.

ELOQUENCE [Easy: Success] — Imagine all of the tales you could tell! All of the dreams you could share!

IMAGINATION [Easy: Success] — Your utopia won’t make itself, sleepy head! Ya need to get to fixin' what's wrong and make it better!

RECTITUDE [Easy: Success] — Wrong exists. You will end it.

1. No! Let me sleep!
2. This is too much!
3. I can't...
4. [Locked] Awaken.

YOU — This is too much!

COMPOSURE [Challenging: Failure] — Through the dark and the decay, you can feel the anxiety within you welling up, twisting and pulling your face into a grimace.

HEALTH [Easy: Success] — Ya felt that, right? That means yer still alive.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] — My liege, nothing has ever proven to be beyond you.

STRENGTH [Easy: Success] — Have you ever given up on something before? Better yet, do you really want to start now?!

1. No! Let me sleep!
2. This is too much!
3. I can't...
4. [??? - Impossible 20] Awaken.

YOU — I can't...

RATIONALITY [Easy: Success] — You're the only one who should.

INSIGHT [Easy: Success] — You're the only one who will.

??? [Easy: Success] — You are the only one who can.

SURREALITY [Easy: Success] — Virtue lies in facing the unknown, my little friend.

1. No! Let me sleep!
2. This is too much!
3. I can't...
4. [??? - Impossible 20] Awaken.

YOU — Awaken.

+5 Anxiety to the brim

+6 A seeker guides you

CHECK SUCCESS

??? [Impossible: Success] — Forces from beyond the veil collect and recollect the stories of warriors past, heroes yet, personas unmasked, and ideals unleashed. They write, and debate, and draw, and agree, and create a character. A bright hero. A Will. You.

MAGLA — The currents twist and turn and push and pull in and against themselves. The air changes to suit the will of its wielder...

MAGIC — ...transforming into a concentrated mass of life, strength, anxiety, and willpower. 

PREMIER [Easy: Success] — The world calls for our guiding hand.

UNITY [Medium: Success] — Everyone’s hearts are beating as one. For you. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success] — The magla huffs and puffs, swirling like little dust particles. You can feel the soft flowers forming beneath… no, you are forming above them. 

The swirling wind transforms into the melodic sound of chirping birds. The warm, summer forest air sticks to you and your bright, white clothing. 

IMAGINATION [Easy: Success] — Oh my days, the outfit’s just like the ones in Utopia! 

PERCEPTION — It is a warm fit, but otherwise, it is comfortable. You open your mouth. It tastes of crinkling leaves and pollen. It smells of sweet bloom and wet grass. You open your eyes. At last, you can see again, see something other than the ink-dark void.

And then you hear it. The flap of a fairy’s wings coming your way. 

the Warm Voice — I am eternally grateful. Truly. But now, thou must forget.