[UNKNOWN ERROR!]
[ATTEMPTING TO ABORT SESSION]
[WARNING! UNABLE TO ABORT!]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[SYSTEM FAILURE DETECTED! ERROR CODE 666: INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL]
[WARNING! UNABLE TO RESOLVE]
[FOREIGN DETERMINATION INPUT DETECTED]
[OVERRIDING CURRENT SESSION]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL 80%]
LUCIDIA
Where… am I?
[Lucidia of Berendin finds herself amidst a field of worn down mannequins. They come in all shapes and sizes: human, non-human, animals, short and tall, thin and wide.]
[Among them stood one exception: a female mannequin, whole and untarnished, wearing a 17th century tailored dress. It’s blue and white, much like her own.]
LUCIDIA
A doll? Is that supposed to be… me?
LUCIDIA
These people… Did ‘she’ do this?
[Lucidia approaches the mannequin]
LUCIDIA
Preliminary material observation indicates that this fabric is the same as my attire…
[She circled around the figurine to examine its make.]
LUCIDIA
However, the age is too young. The laces are of the wrong pattern. The shape is different too. Fine material wasted on a poor imitation. A copy.
[REDACTED]
BUT- IT- IS- YOURS-
[The female puppet’s head twists to reveal a smiling face. It has buttons for eyes and thread for a mouth.]
[REDACTED]
IT IS YOURS, BECAUSE I AM YOU!
LUCIDIA
!!!
I refuse to believe that.
[REDACTED]
MAYBE IT IS BETTER TO SAY THAT I AM WHO YOU WANT TO BE. WHO YOU TRULY ARE.
FOREVER ALONE, HIGH ATOP YOUR SPIRE, RIGHT IN THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY…
[The puppet woman points to a distant mannequin and levitated it neckfirst into her hand. It appears to be the body of a human adult male.]
[REDACTED]
ONCE UPON A TIME, YOURS TRULY WAS A HUMAN. A NORMAL HUMAN. A NORMAL ACCOUNTANT.
HE MIGHT HAVE MARRIED ANOTHER HUMAN. HE MIGHT HAVE HAD CHILDREN. HE MIGHT GROWN A PAUNCH AND LIVED A MUNDANE LIFE ONLY TO PASS ON IN HIS SLEEP, OLD AND GREY.
THAT NORMALITY CEASED TO EXIST BECAUSE HE MET YOU.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
LUCIDIA
What are you talking about? Why bring this up? I…
[The puppet woman throw the human mannequin back into the broken pile. She then pulled in another: a large lizard-like creature with black markings on its face.]
[REDACTED]
WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE THEN? IT IS YOUR LOYAL PET. THE ONE WHO ATTENDS YOU AT YOUR BECK AND CALL.
A KNIGHT, YOU SAY? HMPH. A SLAVE IS MORE LIKE IT. A HOPELESS, HELPLESS, WRETCHED SLAVE. SHACKLED IN CHAINS OF LOVE.
LOVE OFFERED, YET NEVER GIVEN IN RETURN.
OH, HOW PITIFUL HE IS. YOUR PET GROWS SICKER AND SICKER UNDER YOUR CARE.
YOU KNEW A MONSTER WHO TASTED HUMAN BLOOD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
I KNOW YOU KNEW, YET THAT DID NOT STOP YOU!
[The lady gestured towards the pile. Assorted female mannequins rise upon her command. They have a red bolt of lightning seared unto their featureless faces and begin to dance around Lucidia, chanting incomprehensible words of mockery.]
[REDACTED]
REMEMBER THESE HUMANS? THEY’RE A HUSBAND’S MANY WIVES. UNLIKE YOU, THEY KNEW ALL ABOUT LOVE. HOW TO GIVE AND TAKE IT IN ABUNDANCE.
[The dolls continue to chant their mockery in a sing-song manner. Lucidia covers her ears in distress.]
LUCIDIA
Please, stop!
You don’t have to remind me!
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
[REDACTED]
OH NO, THEY WON’T STOP. WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW LITTLE LUCY? KILL THEM? THAT’S WHAT YOU WOULD DO, ISN’T IT? IT’S WHAT YOU DID.
ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDN’T SHARE.
[The puppet woman then tosses the reptilian mannequin at the mocking dolls. It roars and tears through the marked ones, destroying them one by one.]
[REDACTED]
THEY WERE ALIVE. ALIVE AND FULL OF LOVE. BUT NOW THEY ARE DEAD, KILLED BY YOU AND YOUR JEALOUSY. NOT EVEN HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS DID YOU SPARE. AND SO BEGAN YOUR GRUESOME RECORD.
LUCIDIA
I don’t understand what you’re saying. They were the worst of criminals!
[REDACTED]
ARE YOU NOT A CRIMINAL TOO? YOU WAIVER THOSE LIVES UNDER LAW, BUT IS THAT REALLY THE TRUTH?
DO YOU NOT FEEL GUILTY? OF COURSE YOU DO. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER. THE GRANDMASTER RAISED YOU.
‘BE MERCIFUL, AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS MERCIFUL’.
BUT YOU REFUSED. REFUSED AND WAGED WAR!
[At the end of the battle, two mannequins are left standing: the beast and the human male.]
[REDACTED]
CONGRATULATIONS. YOUR ENEMIES ARE DEAD. BUT THE BATTLE FOR YOUR LOVE IS NOT YET OVER. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.
[The two mannequins face each other in combat, destroying themselves in the process. Their remains scatter in the wind.]
[REDACTED]
YOU ARE STUPID, SKY WITCH. SO VERY STUPID.
STUPID ENOUGH TO MARRY A RED HUMAN.
STUPID ENOUGH TO KEEP A LOVESICK FOOL.
STUPID ENOUGH TO TAKE ONE HUSBAND AND NOT TWO.
LUCIDIA
Why should I have two husbands?! You’re not making any sense!
Why does this hurt so much???
[HIGH DISTRESS LEVEL DETECTED]
[ATTEMPTING TO ABORT SESSION]
[WARNING! UNABLE TO ABORT! OVERBURN IN PROGRESS]
[ESCALATING PRIORITY OF ERROR CODE 666]
[CALIBRATING ASPECTS TO REDUCE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE]
[INCREASING PRIORITY OF PURPLE/BLUE]
[DECREASING PRIORITY OF PURPLE/GREEN]
[PURGING CONTAMINANTS]
[ATTEMPTING TO MATCH OBJECT TO DATABASE]
[Lucidia stops reeling from the onslaught of emotion. She becomes calm, mechanical.]
LUCIDIA
……………
Match found. Identity confirmed. I now know who you are. You deceive no more.
[Lucidia uses her telekinesis to expose the puppet’s other hand. It is covered in monster dust.]
LUCIDIA
Conclusion: you are the one who murdered her own daughter.
[The puppet lady yanks back her arm.]
[REDACTED]
NONSENSE! I WANTED THAT CHILD, BUT HER FATHER CHOSE YOU INSTEAD OF ME!
I CAN PROVIDE MORE THAN YOU EVER WILL!
SHELTER!
SUSTENANCE!
PEACE!
LOVE!
AND YET HE STILL CHOSE YOU AND YOU ALONE!
LUCIDIA
Notion rejected. What you lack is irrelevant. You are a bane. A blight. A festering rot.
There’s no need to speak to you.
There’s no need to listen to you.
There’s no need to see you.
You are an object of extermination.
[Lucidia reaches out for the doll and proceeds to strangle it. Instead of choking, the object of her wrath laughs instead. Laughing and laughing.]
[REDACTED]
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
IF YOU WANT TO BURN THIS WORLD SO MUCH, YOU SHOULD HAVE MARRIED YOUR LOVESICK SLAVE. BE OUTCASTS TOGETHER. MAYBE THEN YOU COULD HAVE SPAWNED A CHILD TO CALL YOUR OWN.
IN THE END YOU STILL RESORT TO VIOLENCE!
DO YOUR WORST, SKY WITCH!!!
LUCIDIA
Calculating force required for total elimination. Severing head in 3… 2… 1…
[Lucidia prepares to break her neck, but a swarm of crimson butterflies sweep through the scene. The winged insects carry the puppet out of bounds.]
[INCOMING VOICE TRANSMISSION]
UNKNOWN
Lucidia. Don’t kill your heart.
I told you this before. Everyone has a responsibility for their own actions, and only their own. I have my free will. Nothing you did or didn’t do forced me to make my decisions. You should not let others shift their blame on you.
LUCIDIA
Who are you? Requesting identification.
UNKNOWN
I am Supreme Judge Mezil Thyme.
As long I walk on this Earth, I shall preserve peace. No schemer nor manipulator shall tarnish the hearts of the pure for their sick and twisted amusement.
My loved ones must be protected, no matter what.
Please, let me protect you.
LUCIDIA
…Mezzy?
MEZIL
Good. That’s better. Gaelic is waiting for you too.
Wake up, my dear wife.
[DECREASING PRIORITY OF PURPLE/BLUE]
[INCREASING PRIORITY PURPLE/GREEN]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL 53%]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL 16%]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL 4%]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL 0%]
[CORRUPTION RESOLVED]
[VITALS STABILIZED]
[RESOLVING ERROR CODE 666]
[DISCONNECTING USER]
[BLUE: OFFLINE]
[GREEN: OFFLINE]
[PURPLE: OFFLINE]
[USER SAFELY DISENGAGED. SHUTTING DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE]
[GOOD DAY, SEER LUCIDIA]