Quote Originally Posted by ARandomTool View Post
He attaches The Rose to his chest like a corsage. Good thing it was untrapped, the thing would flatline him easily!

"Alright, loose ends time. Equip the Security Armor from inventory, then PUT THE THING IN THE THING!

...By which I mean stab the vase at the Macro Market with this spooky rose and try not to die horribly. Full health's gotta count for something, right?"
Knowing what you are about to do may have dark and unexpected consequences, you take the plated security armor from the storage cabinet and put it on. And then you grab the Blackened Rose, feeling at least a bit more ready for anything.

Nickelfool has equipped the +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)

Tonight, you head toward the Macro Market, letting Benni know you’re going to get to the bottom of this dark anomaly she discovered. She sighs, hoping for the best although she doesn’t know what to expect and what will come out of all this. Either way, she’s hoping the next time she goes to the Macro Market, this dark vase will be gone and no trace of it will remain. From there, only time can heal the wounds as the memories get more vague, the details decay, and the whole experience becomes forgotten.

You leave the farmstead and walk your way toward the Macro Market, intent on seeing what this dark relic might have in store. As you’ve see times before with the Stalkers, to put an end to them, it requires one to be on the offensive. And now you’re doing just that.

You make your way to the back of the store and enter the same way Sam did last night, using the broken pull-down door as your entry point. The latch still has yet to be repaired, but in the end, it makes it easier for you to get inside. The whole time, however, it reminds you of just how easy it would be for anyone to shoplift anything they wanted out of this store.

Once there, you head through the loading and storage areas and then into the main market area. And then you head toward where the home goods are, finding the same pots and vases that Sam discovered earlier. It takes a minute to find it, but you track down the location of this dark relic and while shadowed in the presence of the more colorful vases, it still has the presence of the Stalkers… a presence that normal Pokémon cannot detect.

Carefully, you place the Blacked Rose into the vase…

Nickelfool has used [The Blackened Rose].

@Deep Corruption – ROCK (6 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 83 out of 100: Failed!

As the dark rose is inserted, the vase suddenly rattles, causing you to impulsively withdraw your hand out of shock… but in the process your wrist ma̠͍̪͚̜̗̤ke̙s̲̗̪ͅ ͉̞co̥̖̮͕̳̱̗n̥̺̻̦̼̮ta͎̥̯̜c͎͎͖t͉ ̤͕̩w̺̘̜͎̳͇i̦ṯ̯̗̻̗h̘̟͈̪̬̦ t͖̘̭̥ḫe̜͉ v̰̖̘ͅas̹e̫̪…

…your vision darkens for a moment as you feel a sudden fear and hopelessness take a firm grip on your throat…

…you’re still fighting? Why? You already know how this ends…

“I need… to save this town,” you try to remind yourself as you fight against this belittling voice.

…so it can die another day from something else. You cannot stop it from becoming dust. Does delaying
the inevitable really mean that much to you?

You clasp the prayer beads that are strung around your neck. The blessing upon them absorbs some of the darkness, allowing you to breathe…

Nickelfool’s +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P) have absorbed 2 Purity damage.

But the relentless assault continues… far beyond what they can resist…

…you, him, her, everyone… everything you see and love is GONE. In 80 years or so, everyone you’ve ever known will be dead, buried, and forgotten under a crumbling, grime-slathered grave. These buildings will be collapsed… these plants withered… it all gets older every day and there’s nothing you can do to stop it…

“…”

…and you’re guilty of it, too. Guilty of believing you actually have any kind of control over any of this. You keep doing it, but you can’t even pretend like you understand what’s really important. It’s like trying to paddle backwards before you tumble down the waterfall. You gain nothing.

Ṉ̬͕̱̼͖͎̙͓͕̝̟̹͇ͪ͑͊̓̈́̈ͦͮͭͧ̂̀͊͛͜͠͠Ờ̷͍̩͔̰̩ͦ̀̈̈́̃̅ͮ͐͜ ̝̖ͅͅT͢͞HÎ̶̤̯̟͙̱̰͚͇̥͚̮̥̝ͩ̿͑̅̂ͣ̄̉͂͐̍̾N̴̶͘G̢͊̾̑͋ ̗͙̙̱

You only suffer longer. That’s what you gain.

Nickelfool has suffered 2 Purity damage.

D̑ͩo ̥yͥO͚̓U̺͉ ǩ̝̞̠̄̍n̖̾O͇̩̻͛̓̅W ̗͍͌̑th̫̳͚E da̗T͎̫͋̈́E͈͈͗ͤ i͆T͛ͥ̑ ̬H̤̦ͪ͌A̦̦pp͇̲͎͒ͥ̂EN̓̓͑S̲̐!͍͚̙̓́͐?͊ͮͣ ̥̑D͇͕̮̄͊ͨO yOU̝!̝͇?̱̞͋ͬ

…And to think the only thing that keeps you sane… is the fact you’re ignorant of it all. You don’t know the day you die. Or how it will happen. Or the day the world finally buries and forgets the last remaining traces of you, as if you never existed. But what if you did know?

W͔̞̓ͫH̄̈a̤̱ͩ̊T If̘̘ͥ̌ ̼ͭͬͅỴ̻ȏ̙̝̈U͈ D̋i͎͂d̦͆!̩?͕̘̊̒

And then for one dark moment, your mind is flushed with the possibilities of how many ways you could die and when it could happen. It’s the fact you truly don’t know, but it’s that incessant voice that tells you yes, it will happen in one way or another. And you don’t know when. It could be in minutes… it could be tomorrow… or years from now. And the many… many ways anyone could die. It becomes a hellish soup of how, when, why, where, by what and possibly by who… it’s the questions that leave your will feeling hollow, almost devoid of determination. But then for a second, you can comprehend them all… and it suddenly guts any bravery you might have mustered…

Nickelfool has suffered 2 Purity damage.

It ends shortly after, but it leaves your spirit feeling wounded… broken… questioning just why you’re even doing this in the first place and why the hell you’re even here… wondering what do you truly deserve for what you’ve done… or what you hope to have…

When you look up and snap out of the trance, you no longer see the vase before you. There are no dust or fragments of it anywhere as if it was only just some horrible figment of your imagination, but instead some grim, leathery paper-like material lies before you on the shelf where the vase once was. You pick it up, and feel a sense of shame and guilt in doing so…



[=1st Half of the Macabre Mantra=] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You’re not sure what it means in full and it’s only an incomplete part of something else. Something darker. But you can make out certain words and phrases… “we are all banded by evil…” … “just one among many…” …and “eat your guilt.” But the rest is vague, broken, and missing critical pieces. For a dark moment… it looks and feels almost as stripped as you do right now…

You decide to leave the store… feeling like less of yourself than how you first came in…

Nickolas "Nicklefool" Foligan the Mr. Mime (M: Psychic / Fairy)
Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Hisuian Zoroak, Mr. Rime, Decidueye, Gardevoir, Aegislash
EQUIPMENT:
  • Defense Armor: +|A| Security Armor+ (2H)
  • Jewelry: +|J| Prayer Beads+ (2P)