Basement (before battle)
Once we dealt with the Fauvists who invaded the Thumb Nursefather's destroyed Corridor, we left for the Index's...
... and ran into a few familiar faces, waiting for us at our destination.
<Huh...? Don't you guys have today off?>
Yeah, but... I thought I might as well come along.
It's... you know... You keep summoning us while we're in the middle of something, so I decided that it might actually be more convenient for us to be with you in person.
Your summoning occurred at the most... unideal moment.
Now, I know you weren't doing it on purpose, but all three times you summoned me, I was leaning over snacks topped with buncha whipped cream.
Today I learned that blacking out and waking up to a me-shaped indent in a cake I was about to chow down doesn't make for a very relaxing break, ha ha.
<S-sorry about that...>
<I should've checked in with you guys before summoning, but... I'm still getting used to it.>
Okay, now you're being too sorry. No hard feelings here, you know.
I'm tagging along 'cause I need some exercise, that's all.
I appreciate the additional employee assignments. Now, if you could share any information you know about yet another Corridor?
I hung out here all the time, so I know this place a lil.
There was this super clingy, annoying little...
Uh... No, that wasn't the masked dude. There was this other... um...
.......
Is there something you don't remember?
<Oh, right... Kira probably doesn't remember Sora.>
Sora...? I don't think that name rings any bells for us either.
Is that someone who used to live here?
<Yeah. Well, Sora was the Index Apprentice, so she probably lived here.>
Forsooth, the Index Apprentice... Hooh... Pray tell, wherefore is it that the Middle, the Thumb, and the Ring each have Apprentices, yet the Index and the Pinky lack them?
Hm... It would indeed be quite odd if a mere three of the five Fingers kept an Apprentice each.
Retrace I might my recollections, yet I find it like following a trail of odorless air - invisible and unreal.
... No, no. There was someone. But I can't -
The representations of the Pinky and the Index's Apprentices are... missing. No - to be more precise, a merciless blade has shredded and reduced them to intangible formlessness.
*puff* How refreshing to hear that same impression from someone else rather than myself for once.
As it seemed that I was the only one who remembered the two Apprentices, I retraced back to our first meeting and briefly shared what I knew about Sora.
Huh... She doesn't sound like a very forgettable character...
<Well, the Arayashiki cut her into ribbons.>
That would explain why it feels as though I'm recalling a sequence of events... with a critical part missing in between.
I can almost imagine her... giggling to herself like a creepy loner, and... she probably wears glasses too, right? Like one of those gloomy introverts from anime.
... I see. So that's why it feels like I'm tearing through each strand of a weave.
<Ryōshū?>
Let's say the world's made of strings or threads, Clock.
With every slash, this blade would be cutting through the flow of strands that twine to compose one's existence.
When an object is severed forever beyond repair, you'd think neither trace nor shape would be left of it...
But now that you've pieced some of it together, it's almost...
Instead of elaborating further, Ryōshū fell silent again, save for the sound of the tip of her cigarette turning to ash - like she was recalling another incomplete memory.
... I guess she's trying to avoid overspeculating on what she doesn't know for sure.
... Damn, that totally breaks the meta. I had a vague idea of how it works, but this is the first time I'm hearing the deets.
Papa had to go through four ramp-up stages and remove seals to like, even make full use of his sword... Honestly, yours needs a trade-off. Your sword totally powercreeps papa's!
*puff* T.O.? There's plenty already.
Ohhh, so true. Guess slicing your memories away is one helluva trade-off, sorry.
Okay, so... I'm guessing you don't have anything to contribute for this Corridor -
Ah, I've got one.
I dunno where it leads, but... the Index guy used it all the time.
Hopefully it doesn't drop us into an army of Indexes.
T.P.U. They rarely gather in big groups.
She said "That's Pretty Unlikely."
.......
O-ow! What was that for, Ryōshū?! Wait, did you just hit me with that sword handle?!
...? I didn't do anything.
But I saw it.
I saw Ryōshū's scabbard - Araya - suddenly jerking to the side, prodding Sinclair like it was annoyed by something.
I won't S.T.S. I'll S.Y.L.C. until you can barely walk.
I-I swear, this isn't a "slander" or whatever! Look, you poked me so hard it left a mark on my arm, here!
Well... I don't want to read too much into it, but... the scabbard was rattling like it was irritated by something.
Stop interpreting for her. This is why she won't stop making up these nonsense acronyms...
He's making it worse. I gotta stop him from translating for her, somehow...
<... Araya?>
Wait, that voice just now... it sounded a lot like Araya's...
D-Dante, you saw that too, right?
<Uh...>
<Ryōshū didn't do anything.>
Wait, really...? It really wasn't her...?
<Nope...>
Heh... then it's decided.
To be fair to Sinclair, no one else but I saw in full detail how the scabbard came to be.
Which means that he couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams that the scabbard poked him of its own volition.
It doesn't seem like any of the Sinners heard that voice, either...
Damn, you guys bully him a lot, huh?
Well... The lad's been long overdue for a little smack upside his noggin.
<We should head inside. Let's not keep Alan waiting.>
Kira directed us toward an almost disturbingly normal wooden door, so featureless that I could've mistaken it for any of the dozens of doors we'd walked past in other Nests.
We were greeted by a whiff of stale, musty air the moment we walked through the door...
<I think this leads to a basement...>
... and emerged to what appeared to be an almost dungeon-like basement area.
Whenever the masked unc's beeper rang, he'd walk through this door.
So... who are they?
The Index...
…….
Signs of life... There were people living down here, up until just a few hours ago.
Why are you here, Paper Slips?
We were only executing the Prescript.
I've had it with these Prescripts. Though at least yours don't make annoying beeps.
The basement was stocked up with shelf-stable and non-perishable food...
... and the cells were all completely empty save for what looked like a makeshift bathroom in each of them.
... It is likely that this dungeon was used to imprison individuals of varying features that may be required to complete a Prescript.
Seriously?
This room seems to have been used for something worse than simple incarceration. Among Faust's conjectures is that the captives were... "conditioned" in body and mind in various ways to match the Prescript's liking.
Ugh... Sounds like that guy was just as crazy as the rest of 'em.
Wait, wait. That staircase right there leads up.
Let's check out what's -
.......
... Friggin' annoying, man. The heck are you doing?
You cannot enter through this door.
Oh, I see. Another griefer bodyblocking in the doorway.
... Move. I need to see something.
The Will of the Prescript forbids you.
You cannot enter through this door.
<What do we do?>
Um... Is it worth forcing our way in there? They seem pretty adamant about not letting us in.
... I'd prefer if we stayed as far as possible from anything that has to do with the gods - I mean, Prescripts, but... nothing in this basement gives me any indication as to where the door connects to.
Outis is right. We're gonna have to get upstairs somehow if we wanna get an idea of where this door leads.
If Rien's been using this basement, then...
... I'd like to see what's upstairs.
Honestly, learning that this door connects to some basement is more than enough intel to cross it off the list.
Still, if this has anything to do with Ryōshū's memories...
<Alright, then. Let's push through.>
Executing your command, Executive Manager!
The Will of the Prescript is absolute.
<... Is it, though?>