[traumaprom]

[actsofconviction]

[The whole world seems to spin around you, colors blazing and swirling, sound muffled—it feels like you're going to faint—

. . .

Seconds later, it's over.

And you're somewhere else entirely. It looks like you're trapped inside a dome of frosted glass; nobody can see in, you can't see out, and should you try to break it, the only thing your efforts will earn you is a bruise.

It's a small space, which you're sharing with one other person—perhaps they're very, very special to you, perhaps they're not. Either way, other than them, all you'll be able to find is a long, sharp knife, and a vial labelled with naught more than a skull and crossbones.]

Comments

[actsofconviction]

[takes a deep breath and turns around to face her, hands still clenched into fists so tightly they're shaking.]

This is just... this is pointlessly cruel!

[humanspirit]

Jude. What do we have to offer?

[actsofconviction]

I-- I don't know. [pretty obviously forcing his emotions under control so he can focus.] She hasn't been very specific about what she'll accept.

[humanspirit]

I believed she would have to come outside again and I would time to confront her. That was my mistake. …I'm sorry, Jude.

[actsofconviction]

[shakes his head]

No one could have anticipated this.

[humanspirit]

I knew she would be attempting to make us murder each other. I didn't know that she would be so efficient.

[actsofconviction]

I overheard some people talking about something like that, but... [trails off and closes his eyes for a moment.] Milla. She's only going to take 50% of the offers. What about Alvin and Elize?

[humanspirit]

[she shakes her head.]

There's no point in thinking about it. There's nothing we can do for them right now.

[actsofconviction]

Technically, there is. If we don't offer, we boost their chances of getting into the top 50%.

[... leans his shoulder against one of the walls and looks down at the floor.]

But I don't want either of us to die.

[humanspirit]

[puts her hand on her hip.]

You're right that we'd boost their chances by not offering. But we won't be doing that. We'll just have to trust that they can find something.

[actsofconviction]

[nods after a moment.]

Yeah... yeah, you're right. I know Alvin won't let anything happen to Elize, and he promised he'd take care of himself.

[kind of wavers on that last bit but still.]

[humanspirit]

Jude. There's nothing we can do. We need to start thinking about what we can offer.

[actsofconviction]

[... stands up straight.]

I don't have anything with me that's worth much. I mean, other than this.

[reaches into the collar of his shirt and lifts out Milla's necklace.]

[humanspirit]

[she nods.]

And I have my sword. But would someone who's capable of dragging people across worlds and cutting them off from the spirits be interested in these sorts of things?

[actsofconviction]

I don't know. It depends on what she considers to be valuable. From an outside standpoint, your necklace is just a glass bead. But it's priceless to me because of what it represents. The house and the garden... they were both pretty lavish, so I don't think she's lacking for money.

[humanspirit]

Perhaps my question was too hasty. What do we know about her? We know that this space is hers. We know that Sabra is a world in which one exchanges memories for a wish. We know that she has great power, but we don't know what that power is. If we are to play her game, we must play it well, and if she has a weakness, we must take advantage of it and save as many people as possible.

[looks expectantly at Jude; do something with this, second protagonist.]

[actsofconviction]

Sabra? I didn't hear anything about that.

[humanspirit]

A girl explained it to me. She seemed very familiar with it… surely you noticed that both Alvin and Elize have amnesia.

[actsofconviction]

I noticed, but... are you sure you can trust that girl's information? I asked around, and there were a number of different places mentioned.

[humanspirit]

She seemed to know where we were. Why? What did you find out?

[actsofconviction]

I talked to our host, very briefly. She just said this place was her home and garden, not part of some larger system. And a few other people were familiar with this kind of setup, but they were talking about somewhere called "Aather."

I don't think anyone but our host was here ahead of time. She must have brought everyone from different worlds. The basic idea just happens to be familiar to some of them.

[humanspirit]

How strange. The girl I talked to even knew that she would be telling us to kill each other.

[actsofconviction]

Then... I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. But either way, the rules of this "game" are the same.

[humanspirit]

What does it mean?

[actsofconviction]

[meets Milla's eyes, his face gone a little pale.]

If our offering isn't accepted, one of us is going to die. That's the important part.