Exploration, floor 1 c2
After our battle against the Chaplain, we... returned to the Fount,
having experienced time so vast that the very concept itself felt alien to me...
<Wait... Don't tell me we were sent back again!>
No, Manager.
It appears that... a considerable amount of time has passed.
<And... what is that thing...?>
Hang on... doesn't it look like it's gettin' closer...?
The pile that fell from the sky turns out to be corpses, mangled beyond all recognition. A curious golden glow, bright like sunlight, winks through the gaps between the bodies.
The people I assume to be the "customers" mentioned in the announcement are desperately scrambling among the corpses, snatching up whatever they could find.
If I sit on this object, it will become a chair.
Without understanding why, I realize that I don't want to do that.
An empty stall. Only empty bottles and dust motes roll around in it.
There is something scribbled on the signpost.
[Dante... Meursault... when you see this message, find me at Le Rouge Contemporary Hall. It's right up over here.]
[You didn't come this season either. Where... Where did... everyone go...?]
The scribbles continue all the way to the bottom of the signpost.
... Pwie seems to have left us messages.
<These notes look... ancient... The ones Pwie wrote at the top are so weathered that I can hardly read the words.>
<Everything was Liquidated. And Pwie kept searching for us after the end... until...>
There is something written in the corner.
[I cannot stay downstairs any longer. I must rise. I must devour. I must consume.]
…….
A department store signpost that's been scribbled over with Pwie's messages. Just how many seasons have passed since the last message...?
Fallen debris stands in our way. Who will remove these for us, now that even the Kakis have disappeared?
Pieces of black fabric can be seen here and there. Must be made from members of Le Noir.
A half-torn piece of leather is patched haphazardly over it.
[To think that the Voice would grace my humble Contemporary Hall in person...]
[Though we've been unable to find the group of strangers the Voice seeks...]
[... my label will finally be accepted into the Luxury Hall...]
Pwie must've gathered the Rouges here before heading to the Luxury Hall.
... Though I don't know how many seasons have passed since then. Could've been dozens, or even more.
According to this journal left behind by a Rouge, Pwie must've gathered the Rouges here before heading to the Luxury Hall.
... Though I don't know how many seasons have passed since then. Could've been dozens, or even more.
A layer of dust has settled over the figure. There are no clothes draped over it.
The basement... has fallen to bedlam. The great cycle yet persists, but it has now turned into a living hell where each devours the other.
Strangers. You must continue climbing if you seek to fulfill the Voice's will. The lower floors hold no purpose for you.
An empty display stand.
This heat lamp doesn't work.
Ishmael called it a salon heat lamp. I doubt it would do anything beyond warming my head.
... I've never sat on this chair before.
Then, is this even a "chair" from my point of view?
…….
Questions like this have been cropping up ever since I entered this department store.
No time to sit around. We need to find a way out of here as soon as possible.
... There's an eyeball here. Did someone drop it?
<... Is that something people normally drop like loose change?>
That woman who claimed to be Kromer's sister said these eyeballs function as currency in this place.
So it is loose change, huh...?
Before anyone could object, Rodya slipped the eyeball into her pocket.
... There's an eyeball here. Did someone drop it?
<... Is that something people normally drop like loose change?>
That woman who claimed to be Kromer's sister said these eyeballs function as currency in this place.
So it is loose change, huh...?
Before anyone could object, Rodya slipped the eyeball into her pocket.
We picked up an eyeball dropped by a customer.
We picked up an eyeball dropped by a customer.
Clothes hang here, unwanted and untouched. Perhaps that's because they barely contain any Golden Hide.
An empty display stand.
A wall patched over with Golden Hide.
The presence is faint, but something about it feels like the Golden Bough.
Despite having faith in the idea that you can always choose, you've been unable to truly make a choice. So... escape. Escape from this fate, this system.
A soft and warm peal of laughter brushes past the fingertips laid against the wall.
A pale light, reminiscent of the Golden Bough, glimmers beneath its surface.
What's all that?
Clothes that have fallen out of fashion due to the passing of the trend seasons.
Someone has gathered them here.
They're tucked away in such an out-of-the-way corner. It almost seems like someone was trying to hide them away...
Ya know how fashion is - it's one big cycle. Maybe somebody stashed 'em here until they can come back in style?
<Could these be items for sale?>
There is very little evidence to support that possibility. They lack proper price tags and have not been maintained, Manager.
Hup...! Aww. No dice. Figures...
W-what are you doing?
I'm tryin' to take one, obviously. Sorry, Meur, but can ya grab whichever one's in the best shape? There's a bunch of other stuff there mixed in with the clothes, too.
... Understood.
Obtained 10 eyeballs.
Something is concealed within a fissure in the wall.
Meursault picked up the Out-of-style Rouge Clothing.
All the scents are starting to blend together.
An unfamiliar fragrance hangs in the air. This must be the perfume section.
There's something strange and peculiar about the smell. ... It's starting to register more as a stench.
Doesn't smell like anything. The fragrance must have all but evaporated with the passage of time.
The merchandise here is different from what was on the displays along the way.
Unpopular clothes, perhaps? They've been tossed carelessly into a corner.
Clothes have been heaped haphazardly in the corner.
A shelf with something on display.
The sign reads, "BLOWOUT SALE".
It says [Origami CollectioN ° 92, 1 of 5].
An exhibit shaped like a tangle of intertwined limbs.