Author: Lurina

118: Until Nothing Remains (𒌋𒐂) - The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere | Royal Road

PLAYWRIGHT: <looking downward at piece of paper in hand, eyes wide> Um! I don't wish to cause alarm, but I think we might have another problem!

DIRECTOR: <with a heavy sigh> What is it?

PLAYWRIGHT: W-eeeell, I'm reviewing the script for the ending that appears to be emerging...

DIRECTOR: Oh, god. How could it be worse? <rubbing brow> Let me see it.

<The PLAYWRIGHT leans to the left, showing the DIRECTOR the paper she's holding while maintaining an alarmed expression. Slowly, the DIRECTOR's eyes narrow.>

DIRECTOR: Oh. <quietly> I see.

PLAYWRIGHT: You 'see'? <slamming knuckles into paper> What's with your understated reaction?! If we let it happen this way, it'll be a total disaster! Things will end without even a fraction of a satisfying answer

DIRECTOR: Forgive me if I've become a bit numb to complications at this point. It feels difficult to get upset about something we've practically already written off as a loss.

PLAYWRIGHT: There are degrees! <voice cracks as she raises it> This is nothing! Never mind catharsis, there isn't even a denouement! The ending might as well just be 'rocks fall, everyone dies'!

DIRECTOR: <frowning> That's a little on the nose, don't you think?

PLAYWRIGHT: <pacing her feet> If an ending like this actually goes through as-is, we're toast! They'll stick us in a box and use us as a coffee table!

DIRECTOR: What do you suggest we do, exactly? <furrowing brow> Lest you forget, the entire stage is still on the brink of collapse from your last stunt. If we pull any more interventions like that--

PLAYWRIGHT: Then the whole thing will fall to pieces faster than a sheet of wet toilet paper, I know! But we have to do something!

DIRECTOR: <grunting, pausing for a moment> Alright. What if we try being a little liberal with the format? Rather than making an alternation, we'll just pause the scene for a moment, and make use of a duologue. That should impart sufficient context without interfering in diegetic causality. It's still a risk, but we've already been relying on soliloquies extensively, so it shouldn't even be a major departure.

PLAYWRIGHT: <blinking, surprised> Wow, that's actually not a completely worthless idea.

DIRECTOR: <flatly> You think of me as decorative?

PLAYWRIGHT: Still, it will only work if the post-climax comes out properly. <clicking her tongue repeatedly> It's a gamble... But beggars can't be choosers. <crossing her arms, slowly biting her lip> Do it.

<With a shrug, the DIRECTOR holds his right hand in the air, then snaps his fingers. Suddenly, the scene freezes, and the lights on the stage go out. Two spotlights appear a moment later, centering on UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI and KAMRUSEPA OF TUON. Silently, they both step towards DOWNSTAGE CENTER, facing the audience.>

KAMRUSEPA speaks with irritation, her arms crossed. "Gods above, Su. For all your moments of brilliance, you really can be frustratingly dense sometimes."

"You can't just make a bunch of weird gestures and expect me to understand what you're thinking," UTSUSHIKOME replies, her brow furrowed. "Are you trying to say that Linos is trying to protect Theodoros? I figured that out already."

"It's not that he's protecting him," KAMRUSEPA replies, "but rather what he's protecting him from, and the implications thereof! This is the problem with you-- You always get so stuck in your head trying to solve everything, you overlook what's patently obvious." She clicks her tongue in irritation, then gestures towards CENTERSTAGE. "Look, even Ran has understood the stakes of this moment. That's why she's been holding her tongue."

<RAN OF HOA-TRINH's expression is tense, pensive. She, too, is staring at the spot where where UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI was a moment ago.>

"And it's why I've been trying to shepherd this conversation since the very start, to make sure we have this chance." She shakes her head. "This is the problem with rich people who don't work in business-- Not a lick of bloody common sense when it comes to people having angles. You've never had to worry about someone screwing you over."

"If I'm so stupid, then stop talking around it!" UTSUSHIKOME snaps at her, irritated. "Just get to the point!"

"Fine." She flicks her pointing finger a little to the left, and levels her gaze firmly on UTSUSHIKOME. "Su, Theo hasn't just been a part of the Order's plan since the beginning, Theo is the killer."

"What?" She frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know how I can be any more explicit!" KAMRUSEPA declares, with sardonic laughter. "He is THE killer! The individual responsible for the murder of our classmates!"

"That's not what I mean," she replies. "I mean, how can you possibly know that?"

She shakes her head. "Honestly, Su, you're in denial if you haven't realized that a long time ago. It's been clear what he's capable of since what happened with Bardiya."

"We don't know he was responsible for that!" UTSUSHIKOME retorts with anxiety. "We never learned the truth, and Theo went out of his way afterwards to try to prove he was innocent when he ran into the hall to fetch Ophelia's tools. And he was with us almost the entire night. He never would have had a chance!"

KAMRUSEPA shakes her head. "I thought as much. Your sentimentality towards him is impeding your thinking. You've already slipped into irrational, familial biases-- Him doing something you perceive to be good means that he couldn't have possibly done something bad, much less be using that very gesture to further his own goals." She raises her hand again, this time pointing at UTSUSHIKOME herself. "Stop and think for just one second, Su. Even if you're partially denying the truth, you must have at least realized that Theo must be involved in the Order's conspiracy. Otherwise there are simply too many holes in the scenario surrounding the boys in general."

UTSUSHIKOME hesitates, glancing to the side. "Well, yes..."

"Now take that logic and apply it forward," she goes on, folding one hand over the other. "If Theodoros knew what was going on, he knew that the 'monster' stalking the halls was nothing more than a phantom created by the Order, and there was never any danger from the start. Now what does that mean?"

The other woman slowly lowers her brow, her expression reluctant. "...it means the gesture was meaningless."

"Precisely," KAMRUSEPA says. "Now take the rest of the facts and ask the question which follows. If Bardiya's death was not part of the Order's plan, and in reality they were shitting themselves about it just as much as the rest of us... Or in other words, the reason to suspect him was genuine, for everyone... Then what exactly was Theodoros hoping to pull, with that gesture?"

"I--" UTSUSHIKOME hesitates, raising a hand to her mouth. "I... Don't know." She looks downwards. "In fact, thinking about it that way... Everything seems strange. Because if anything, the members of the conspiracy should have been the most suspicious of him. But rather than that, Linos and Seth were eager to establish him as being innocent."

"Oh, good. You're finally starting to understand," KAMRUSEPA states, with a sigh of relief.

"Is that what you were trying to tell me? By pointing at Ptolema's tools?"

KAMRUSEPA holds up a corrective finger and opens her mouth as if to answer, but then hesitates herself, making a flat expression. "You know what? It would be easier to just start from the beginning."

<KAMRUSEPA OF TUON turns, facing the AUDIENCE.>

"From the beginning, Theodoros has been in a suspect position for a number of reasons," KAMRUSEPA elucidates. "The first hint came before we even set off on our trip. As you might recall, one of the culprits... Whom we may now with some confidence surmise was working with the Order, at least insofar as they were helping to establish their 'storyline', so to speak... Tampered with my logic engine so that it would play a threatening message during my presentation."

"What do you mean, 'before we set off'?" UTSUSHIKOME asks. "That could have happened at any point over the entire weekend."

"Don't be disappointing, Su. Think for a second." The other woman crosses her arms. "The logic engine I had originally planned to use broke just after the press conference at the academy, which is what forced me to take a detour home and obtain my replacement, remember? Odds are, that was no coincidence. I don't know the first thing about logic scripting or what it takes to stealthily install a malicious function, but I know it's easier to steal something from someone who isn't around than from under their nose, and that it's a lot quicker to break something then to fiddle with how it works. The rational route for the culprit would be simple - slip into my lodgings in the city when I'm not around and modify my spare logic engine, then break the one I'd planned to take with me." She gestures forward. "Obviously, I checked my logic engine when I set out in the morning. That means the only window of opportunity would be during and after the press conference."

"So you're saying that because he was with the three of us when we were hanging around afterwards, that means he's the only who could have broken it?" She looks skeptical. "I don't remember you ever taking it out of your shoulderbag until right before you realized it was broken. That means the only way it could have been damaged was with using the Power, and anyone could have done whenever. Theo having spent more time around barely means anything."

"It's a lot easier to hide using the Power in a small room where the other three people are distracted snacking and chatting," KAMRUSEPA retorts, "then in a hall with over a hundred people. Especially if you're not skilled enough to trace the entire incantation. Besides, this isn't even important-- I'm only explaining why I started keeping a close eye on him initially. We haven't even got to why I think he's the culprit yet." She digresses. "Once we arrived at the Sanctuary, he continued to act strangely. I could pick at little details like how the story Bardiya told us at the time about the fight between Ezekiel and Seth also points to his involvement in the Order's plans - since it incorporated him in a way that would otherwise have been risky - but again, you know that already. So let's skip the abundance of evidence in that particular direction going forward, mm?"

UTSUSHIKOME is silent, her eyes narrowed.

"Do you remember when Theodoros went out with you, when you decided to take your walk?" KAMRUSEPA asks. "What did he tell you, when he went to the abbey after just a few minutes?"

"...he told me that he'd forgotten to take his medication," she replies, her tone cautious.

"Is that right? I suspected it was something like that." She clicks her tongue. "It might interest you to know, then, then he never actually returned at all - or if he did, he took an extremely circuitous route around the building's rear to do so. I don't think anyone else noticed, but I happened to catch a glimpse of him trudging around outside the window from where I was speaking with Linos, but he never came in through the front door." She flattens her brow. "That's rather curious, don't you think?"

UTSUSHIKOME looks a little surprised. She furrows her brow, but still seems unconvinced. "If he was up to something strange, all that could mean is he was part of Ezekiel's group. We know now that they were scouting around trying to find this bioenclosure."

"It's possible," she concedes.

"You could also have made it up," UTSUSHIKOME suggests with a darker look. "Since no one else saw it. In fact, all of this could be you trying to obfuscate your own involvement."

KAMRUSEPA chuckles grimly. "I'd really hoped that the good faith I showed you about what happened in Samium's chambers would get me a little more credit than that. But your diligence is what I like about you, Su. So I'll just stop beating around the bush, and get straight to the juicy part." She turns back to the audience. "The first key piece of evidence is what happened during Neferuaten's tour. Obviously, Theodoros was behaving suspiciously from the start, and honestly has been behaving strangely continuously since that point, if to a lesser degree. He was twitchy, visibly upset, and barely paying attention to the conversation. He refused to participate in our chat with Sekhmet and Eshmun, and sometimes wouldn't even look at us. Almost as if his attention was preoccupied." She smirks. "But that's just fluff, really. No-- The important part is what happened when we were in the Order's initiation chamber. You recall that Theo excused himself for a moment?"

UTSUSHIKOME nods warily. "Of course. What about it?"

"Do you remember the reason he gave?"

"He said that he had to check something on his logic engine," UTSUSHIKOME recalls.

"And I certainly expect he did," KAMRUSEPA replies pointedly. "Namely, the time. Do you know what time it was that happened, Utsushikome?"

The other woman stops and thinks for a moment, biting her lip. "Well... I remember it was about twenty past ten when we visited the logic engine chamber... So probably about twenty or so minutes after that? Maybe a little longer."

"Close enough," Kamrusepa said. "By my reckoning, Theodoros departed the room just as we were approaching quarter-to-eleven. Which is a very interesting time."

KAMRUSEPA waves her hand. In STAGE CENTER, an image of the armory appears, populated as it was during the earlier in the night.

"During our visit to the armory - meaning when you and I first discovered it at the culmination of the tour, to be clear - we observed what would later be confirmed as Vijana's body, and the fact that she appeared to have died relatively recently. We also noticed that the room appeared to have been recently cleaned, and quite thoroughly at that. Later, when we returned with everyone else, we conducted a short investigation where Ran determined that water was summoned into the room using the Power." She turns to look at UTSUSHIKOME. "Do you remember at what time that occurred?"

Realization is dawning on UTSUSHIKOME'S face. "...10:43."

"Exactly so," the other woman speaks smoothly. "Rather funny coincidence, don't you think?"

"That doesn't prove anything for certain," UTSUSHIKOME replies.

"No, but it's phenomenally suspicious," KAMRUSEPA retorts. "He was relaxed when he came back, as well-- As if there was something he was dreading doing the entire tour, and when it was finally done the relief was palpable. Something very delicate and time-sensitive, perhaps, explaining his desire to suddenly step out of the room in the middle of a conversation for no apparent reason at all."

"Again, that's just working backwards from a conclusion," she states hesitantly. "Why would he even go on the tour with us in the first place, if it had been his plan to murder Vijana? If he known she would be there somehow, it would have been simpler and less suspicious to just sneak there on his own."

"Ah-- Now now, Su. Don't jump to conclusions. I didn't say he murdered her... At least, not necessarily." She holds up a finger. "But think about the way that surveillance works in the sanctuary - what we learned from all the business in the security center. You recall, right?"

"Well, obviously," UTSUSHIKOME tells her. "There are the arcane lenses spread around the whole sanctuary - the ones which were sabotaged before this all started - and the systems which check when people come and go from the bioenclosures." She hesitates for a moment, recalling something. "...and when they go from the underground to the surface."

"Precisely," KAMRUSEPA states with a nod. "Now, consider the difficulty in subverting those systems. An arcane lens is essentially a regular camera with an image-processing incantation instead of a photosensitive material - easy enough to avoid using the Power so long as no one casts the Anomaly-Divining Arcana in the wrong place, and even possible to just sneak around if you know where they are. But that second system? Proper, targeted Divination? The only way you're getting around that is with illusion Metamancy, and even then, you'd have to invest more eris than the incantation you're competing against. And flatly, that's not going to happen."

<The spotlights on UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI and KAMRUSEPA OF TUON both shut off for a moment. The one on the DIRECTOR returns.>

DIRECTOR: Since we're at the end of the production, we should clear up a few outstanding questions about the usage of the 'Power', a device in the scenario. This has all been alluded to incidentally in the script already, but it's better to make sure there's no confusion as we approach the end of the mystery.

DIRECTOR: <clearing throat> First point. As Kamrusepa points out, when two incantations issue contradictory commands, the one with the greater eris investment wins out. However, this is only so simple in the case of direct contradiction; if a natural principle favors one or the other, then the conflict can become asymmetrical. For example, one could overcome an incantation which aimed to nullify a beam of light by simply investing more energy, but if a wall of solid matter was raised instead, no amount of energy could penetrate it without changing the nature of the incantation.

DIRECTOR: Second point. For direct effects, the range of an incantation is 10 meters from the point of casting-- Even Divination is limited to what can be inferred from locally available data. However, there are two partial exceptions. Firstly, a persistent effect can be created on a specific target called an 'enchantment' that will continue to connect it to the caster even if the target moves out of the 10 meter range. And secondly, the 'origin point' of the 10 meter limit is defined as not only the caster, but all runes involved in the incantation. This is how a complex arcane system like that of the sanctuary can exert influence over a wide area.

DIRECTOR: Third point. When a human makes contact with an arcane effect which has an impact on their body, the effect will almost certainly be disrupted by their resistances. However, this is not completely reliable, as resistances are only triggered when the Power is asked to perform a direct function on matter comprising the human body, and in certain situations it is ambiguous whether an effect is direct or indirect. If a particle commanded to behave abnormally collides with the particles which comprise the skin, whether it can be then considered 'part of the body' is extremely contextual. This was the cause of Linos's uncertainty about his barrier after Bardiya's death.

DIRECTOR: Enchantments of specific targets are again an exception to this, however.

DIRECTOR: <with a bleak expression> Now, returning to the climax...

<The spotlight returns to UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI and KAMRUSEPA OF TUON.>

"And remember what else we learned from Yantho, back then, which was reaffirmed in Fang's 'account'." She begins to pace idly back and forth as she explains. "Despite the attempt to make it look that way, Vijana wasn't shot and killed at the edge of the hatch before falling four stories to the underground. Rather, she was shot elsewhere, and then her body was shot in the head afterwards to create that impression."

UTSUSHIKOME blinks, trying to process this. "...I don't-- I don't follow. If it happened like Fang suggested in that account - that she was killed on the 3rd floor, then dropped down afterwards... That would mean Theo couldn't have killed her without triggering the system. Wouldn't it?"

KAMRUSEPA tuts. "You're always too quick to assume Fang is always right, Su. And besides, don't you remember what they said? That what discovered seemed too easy. Too pretty." She gestures outward. "Assuming Linos is telling the truth - a stretch at this point, I know, but humor me - Vijana's death was not part of the Order's plans, but something that took them by surprise. Even so, we found that note they supposedly planted very soon after what was probably her time of death. But if that is what happened, should that even be surprising?"

"...no," the other woman replies. "Not now that I think about it, I guess... I mean, before this all happened, the Order had one of the stewards on standby for alerts from the security center most of the time, and they'd notice as soon as the number of living humans dropped. Then it would just be a matter of looking at the record of who was supposed to be there and doing a headcount. That would give you a good idea of who the culprit might be, too... And if you were in control of the rest of the defenses, you could probably have that entire part of the sanctuary locked down almost instantly."

"A fact that's easy to forget with the clusterfuck this night has been, but yes. With the golems actually under their direct control, the Order's power over this place is almost absolute." KAMRUSEPA nods, but then gives a cat-like smile. "Now. With that in mind, how exactly would you go about committing a murder anyway? How would you subvert their security and avoid suspicion?"

UTSUSHIKOME looks confused, like she doesn't understand what's wanted from her. She furrows her brow, thinking. "...well, it's impossible to avoid them figuring out that somebody has died straight away," she concludes. "Because no matter what, the count of living bodies will go down."

KAMRUSEPA nods. "True enough."

"But, with that said..." she continues, "the weakest part of the system is that the two checks it performs are totally disconnected. I mean-- We already had trouble with figuring out which members of the Order had died on account of that, especially with Zeno." She scratches at her head. "When someone 'dies', they're just frozen as being in the last place the system recorded them going. Which means that there are tricks you could perform - like, you could shoot someone through one of the bioenclosure seals, then drag their body over to the other side. That specifically would probably be a little too crude... But you could definitely confuse the situation through that sort of method."

"Indeed," KAMRUSEPA says. "Remember what else we learned in the security center? It was an incidental detail, but during the fiasco with Sacnicte and Yantho's deaths, we noticed that the barrier between the underground and overground isn't as clearly defined as those between the bioenclosures. The lower part of the security center still counted as part of inner sanctum, despite that being somewhat arbitrary, with the cutoff only taking place a little down the hall." She points again at the display of the security center. "What makes the armory and the tunnel beneath it useful as a place to commit murder, aside from how excellent the design is to fake a suicide, is its liminal nature."

"Stop beating around the bush and get to your theory," UTSUSHIKOME asks bluntly.

"Very well." She switches to a more pragmatic tone. "Let's put aside whatever the Order was doing, and whether Linos's assertion about the note we found at the scene was true or merely another attempt to cover for his son. Vijana was reported missing in the afternoon of our first day in the sanctuary, but it's reasonable to guess she wasn't actually missing at this point, and this was just part of the Order's scenario. Theodoros wanted to take advantage of this, and how it would limit the ability of the Order to react, and hatched a plan. Somehow he knew that Vijana would be somewhere in the sanctuary underground at that time during the morning of the second day, so he involved himself in the tours as a pretext. He even subtly discouraged the group from visiting the underground on the first day, and then encouraged it on the second."

UTSUSHIKOME blinks. "That's right... He mentioned his fear of the underground on the first day... But then insisted he go along on the second."

"That was partially a guess on my part, but I'm glad to see I was correct," KAMRUSEPA comments with a smirk before continuing. "When the time came, he broke from our group and sought her out. He ambushed her and took her to the base of the armory tunnel, then shot her several times in the chest, in such a way that she wouldn't die quite instantly. He climbed the ladder, conjured the water and spread it around the room, then shot the wall to crudely cultivate the impression that she'd been murdered, and her killer had cleaned up the room to obfuscate the evidence. After that, he shot her in the head to confirm the kill and left."

"If I'm understanding you right, you're saying that he'd do this to give the initial impression that she was really killed in the bioenclosure proper, right?" She frowns. "But that's predicated on the assumption that the entire armory-tunnel area is considered part of it, when if anything, the evidence suggests the opposite!" UTSUSHIKOME brushes hair out of her eyes, looking frustrated. "Think back to the explanation Linos gave when we were there-- He said the reason we could use the Power even though it was above ground was because it was considered separate from the rest! The 'spine of the building'!"

"That could just as easily be because of its role as a defensive holdout. That was mentioned as well, wasn't it?" She frowns in turn. "And even if that were the case, that doesn't defeat the theory. He could have forced her at gunpoint all the way to the top, made her step out the door, then suffocated her with the water. Then just dropped her from the top of the shaft."

"This is half-baked," UTSUSHIKOME says, uneasy.

"But I have a point, and you know it," KAMRUSEPA retorts. "That was also around the time when everyone in the Order proper was distracted after what had happened to Ophelia, and in setting up for the conclave. People would have been coming and going from the underground frequently. Even if his method was cruder than I'm assuming, it would have been the perfect time to get away with it."

"Why?" The other woman asks, disbelieving. "Why would he even be trying to kill her? And what would he have to gain by concealing the nature of her death, but only in a way that wouldn't survive five seconds of serious scrutiny?!"

"I can only speculate, but I would imagine because it would sow chaos in the Order's plans," KAMRUSEPA states matter-of-factly. "If I were to bet, Linos is lying, and Theo planted that note in Nindar's notebook himself. He knew it would lead us to find the place, taken out of context, and that it being so old would only make it more compelling. He probably expected us to speak about what happened and smother their goals in the crib!"

"You're just speculating again!" UTSUSHIKOME protests. "The only time it would have been easy to replace the note would have been after Sacnicte dropped off my luggage, but before I moved it into my room. But Theo was with us that whole time. He couldn't have done it without breaking in outright!"

She snorted. "As if that would prevent any serious attempt. Besides, it could have simply been an accomplice."

"You can't just say 'accomplice' and write the whole issue off!" UTSUSHIKOME rubs her hand over her brow. "I know what I said to Linos a minute ago, and that we can't explain this last set of bodies... But when you stop for a second to think about it, the only reason we were convinced the killer had an accomplice in the first place was because of all the shit with Hamilcar, which we know now was just part of the Order's stupid plan - their stupid plan which still has no explanation. The Order wouldn't have a reason to help him, based on what we know about their plans, and neither would the rest of the boys, if Ezekiel's confession really is the truth. So who would?"

"Balthazar is a possibility... Along with something rather more complicated. But we'll come back to that, because this isn't even close to the end," KAMRUSEPA speaks insistently. "Do you remember Theo's 'heroic' deed, Su? When he ran out into the hallway to retrieve Ptolema's tools and save Mehit's life?"

"Of course," she replies. "You don't have to keep asking stuff like that. I have a good memory."

"Let's consider what happened with Ophelia," KAMRUSEPA goes on. "She was with us when we went into the bedroom and Fang died, but after the initial chaos, I didn't catch sight of her or hear her even once. Did you?"

"No," UTSUSHIKOME admits. "What has this got to do with Ptolema's tools?"

"When you think about it, there's basically only one way that the culprit could have murdered Ophelia," she explains rather than answering the question. "At least, without making it a murder-suicide. We know that no one used the Power to defend themselves against the Contact Paradox, which means that the culprit would have been killed if they'd done the deed directly."

"Why are you assuming that didn't happen?" the other woman asks. "I mean, the obvious conclusion is that it's Balthazar."

"Stop playing devil's advocate, Su," KAMRUSEPA scolds her. "It's really getting quite annoying. I know you must have figured out it wasn't Balthazar. There were no clothes around Ophelia, or indeed anywhere in proximity to the site of the murders. He would have to have stripped naked and rushed her from the other side of the building in his birthday clothes.And even if we accept that ridiculous premise, we almost certainly would have felt this approach sooner, like we did during the prosognostic event."

"That sort of thing is subjective," UTSUSHIKOME retorts. "We were distracted running for our lives, and it was all over in probably less than two minutes. We could have just missed it."

"Fine," she replies, with a flat look. "I will concede we cannot completely rule out a nude suicide attack from Balthazar. But humor me, and imagine instead that you're trying to use Ophelia to cause a contact paradox without being killed yourself. How would you go about it?"

UTSUSHIKOME bites her lip. "Uh, well... You'd need a sample of cells from Balthazar or another different iteration of her seed, I guess, preserved somehow... And you'd need a way to ensure they'd come into contact with her, but only after a delay." She blinks. "You're saying that's what they were doing with the water."

"Indeed," KAMRUSEPA says. "It's the obvious solution. Keep the cells, probably in blood form, alive somewhere, then - in the darkness and the chaos after Fang's death, while everyone else who didn't see it coming is running in terror - quietly knock Ophelia unconscious. Dump the blood into the pool. Turn the pool on and quickly catch up with the rest of us. As long as very little time passes, the cells should survive long enough to touch her and trigger the effect. Still unspeakably dangerous, of course, but altogether quite possible."

UTSUSHIKOME thinks for a moment, putting a hand to her lip. "...I mean, even if that's possible, it would be really precarious. Ophelia always wore clothes that covered her whole body, right up to her neck, and the speed at which the water would dilute the blood would mean you'd either have to do it almost right beforehand, or dump a ton in there. Plus they'd die at an incredible speed." She looks downwards. "And it's not just a matter of keeping the cells alive, either. The iron in human blood turns back into false iron eventually if it leaves the exceptional area of the body. The only way you can stop that is with the Power,and we couldn't even use it at the time. And on top of all that, how would he have even got a sample to begin with?"

"Like I said, Balthazar might've been an accomplice," KAMRUSEPA says, gesturing idly. "He could have easily helped - hell, since he's even a Thanatomancer like you, he could even have helped with the preservation effort. But if not, he could have taken some from when he was resting in the Inner Sanctum, or perhaps from Durvasa's chambers if he took a sample himself."

"Anyone could have done that. It's another reach."

"Yes," she admitted, "but let me address the rest of your points. Consider the way a contact paradox works. Though the effect is more prominent with the abundance found in an entire person, even getting a small amount of conflicting cells close to someone is enough to provoke a response. That means that carrying such a thing with you is a tremendous liability. If you simply stood in the wrong place, you could be exposed in an instant. So if this had been your plan, you'd need an arrangement where the blood could be safely stored somewhere with access to the Power, only to be retrieved right before the moment of truth. And you'd need a window of opportunity to collect it."

"I can see that," UTSUSHIKOME says, though seems unconvinced.

"Theodoros was the perfect candidate for this," she continues. "Assuming we can trust Ptolema, then other than Ezekiel, everyone else has some kind of confirmed alibi for the first 10 or so minutes after the 'ambush' from the monster in the underground-- Seth was with her as were Anna and Fang, if briefly, and we of course were all together throughout. That means he had an almost unique chance to retrieve the sample from wherever he'd hidden it - probably in the underground - before getting back to where he was supposed to be."

"Again, you don't know that!" the other woman objects. "Why would Ezekiel and Theodoros them separate? The smart thing would be for the two them to have started work hoisting up that stupid bird!"

"Reconsider the boys' cumulative stories with the information we now have. What, really, would have been their objective?" KAMRUSEPA says, focusing her gaze. "For their plan to proceed, they needed to have Ptolema at the top of the stairs alongside the three of them, so that she could be incapacitated and become witness to their illusion. Ideally they'd want this to happen as quickly as possible, as that would permit them more time to set things up in the bedroom. With that in mind, what about the sequence of events that actually happened is obviously counter to this goal?"

UTUSHIKOME blinks. "...Ptolema and Seth getting locked into the bathing room," she concludes. "There's no point in that having took place. It slows them down without helping cultivate the illusion at all."

"Yes! Precisely!" she shouts, now almost excited. "And how did they end up there? They were lured in by someone who, from a distance, looked like Fang." She claps her hands together in front of her face sharply. "Knowing this was all part of the Order's plot, Anna's role was obviously to keep Fang preoccupied, since they weren't in on but weren't stupid enough to be made a patsy like Ptolema. But Seth seeing Fang alone would obviously mean something had gone afoul, and he'd have to act. So he used that as bait, and drew them in. And now, having said all that, we can finally get back to Ptolema's tools!"

UTSUSHIKOME just stares, looking exhausted.

"When Ptolema tried to use her surgical saw to escape," KAMRUSEPA continues, "it malfunctioned, and she had to cut through the lock manually. Taking far longer than they'd originally intended. That bought Theodoros the time he needed. He probably ran downstairs, retrieved the blood, then offered some excuse to Ezekiel." She lowers her hands. "That malfunction was by design. He probably replaced the saw when he hand that chance. And he probably also passed on information to his accomplice, which would be the figure you saw back then! It all adds up!"

"Sure, like a fucking quadratic equation!" UTSUSHIKOME heaves a breath as she gapes at her, wide-eyed. "It could be true! You managed to make up something that explains what happened, which I admit is better than I've done. But there's fuck all for actual proof!"

"Plus, that's not the only thing Theodoros did that was suspect in those few moments," KAMRUSEPA adds. "Do you remember what happened, right before Fang was shot dead? Theodoros stepped right up close to them, right in the light, to take a closer look at the speaker they found in the bird's mouth." Her voice is filled with confidence. "My best guess is that was a signal to his accomplice, who was probably out in the garden. The light from our torches would have made the room blaze in the total darkness out there, but behind the curtains, we'd only be in silhouette. He had to tell them who to shoot!"

"That's barely even evidence! You're just guessing."

"But, again, it's suspicious," the other woman insists. "Like so much else. How many times will you believe someone if they tell you the blood on their hands is tomato syrup?"

"What about Sacnicte and Yantho? Do you think he killed them, too?"

KAMRUSEPA is hesitant for a moment "They're the one exception. My best guess is that they were silenced by the Order itself. The story about Seth being blackmailed likely had more than a grain of truth. She saw something about what was really going on when the boys first arrived, and learned too much. And so she had to die-- And Yantho with her." She narrows her eyes. "But for everything else? Every other murder? Theodoros is the obvious suspect. "And again: He was the only one who could have killed Bardiya."

"What about the blood we found outside the window?" UTSUSHIKOME asks. "That shows we don't fully understand the situation!"

KAMSUSEPA scoffs. "No, Su, it most certainly does not. All it shows is that someone, over the course of the weekend or perhaps even prior to it, either clumsily tried to plant evidence or bled a little bit on the flowers. Flower bushes have thornbrush; it would hardly be remarkable." She steps away from UPSTAGE CENTER, stepping right up to UTSUSHIKOME. "The fact is, no matter how much we've been compelled to humor him either on account of likely-orchestrated acts of selflesness or the incessant whining of Linos and Seth, that was a closed room murder in the truest sense of the word."

UTSUSHIKOME frowns, hesitant and sad. "You've been convinced he was the killer since the start. You never believed him."

"I've been convinced he was a killer, yes," she replies. "Because it's obvious. I said as much at the beginning, didn't I?"

"That's..." UTSUSHIKOME bites her lip, cutting herself off.

"I'll tell you what almost certainly happened," KAMRUSEPA continues. "When we met with Bardiya, his room was in a terrible state. It looked as though he'd been drinking, and though he did a good job carrying his regular dignity, he was most likely inebriated to some degree, leaving his combat skills from the Civil Dispute compromised. Theodoros took advantage of that. He set up the rigged pistol and used it to lure the others out of the room, then quietly locked the door and silenced the area with the Power. Then he killed him."

"How could he have? Do you even remember the state of that body...?"

"I do," KAMRUSEPA replies with a firm nod. "Theodoros knew his father valued him over all else - including the Order's plan, just like he knows that now. And that even if he realized what was happening, he'd protect him. He probably smashed Bardiya's face into the barrier, disrupting it, but knew that Linos would silently raise it again as to not expose him. And then again, and again, until he was dead."

"Theodoros would never do that," UTSUSHIKOME mutters quietly.

"Irrational," KAMRUSEPA states, and flicks her on the nose with her forefinger.

"Ow!" UTSUSHIKOME flinches, and rubs her nose gingerly. "That hurt!"

"Pull yourself together, Su," KAMRUSEPA demands, unflinching. "Didn't you say once that you can never truly know another person? Why are you so certain in your defense of him? Is it just sentimentality spreading grease over your vision?"

"I'm not even that sentimental about him! I-- I haven't known him since I was a little kid, and having him in the class has mostly just been awkward. And it's not like I'm that sure he's innocent." UTSUSHIKOME replies, scratching the side of her head and looking towards the ground. "But we can't act without knowing for sure! We could make the situation even worse!"

"'Make it worse'?" she echoes, her eyebrow raised. "We've spent this whole night bumbling about like idiots, falling into one trap after another. But this that wasn't purely the result of ignorance. Linos acted constantly suspicious from the start, and we confirmed Seth's deceptiveness after we returned from the Apega. Yet we chose not to rock the boat. And where did it get us?"

Again, UTSUSHIKOME hesitates and falls silent.

KAMRUSEPA gestures OFFSTAGE. "If we let things go ahead as they are, what do you think will happen? I'll tell you my bet. We won't get even half way to the transposition chamber before Theodoros and his accomplice will spring some kind of ambush on us. He'll probably take advantage of Seth's overt bias towards him, and the fact these revelations have divided our group. And Linos, who probably knows he's guilty to some degree but is prepared to do anything to defend him, will likely follow us once he's done performatively exiling himself in the hope will consider the matter with the Order closed." She makes a sweeping motion. "Even if he bears us no ill-will, it's obvious he values Theo's life far more than the rest of us put together. Do you think he'd let us harm him? Under any circumstances?" She shakes her head. "I won't take that chance."

"What are you saying?"

"That this - this moment - is our one chance if we want to leave this place alive."

Suddenly, UTSUSHIKOME'S eyes go wide with understanding. She takes a step back, her tone shocked. "You're going to shoot Linos."

"Finally," she says, almost relieved. "Yes. Linos is the most powerful arcanist here. We have no chance against him in direct battle." She narrows her eyes. "But if I take him by surprise in this moment, where we're within his barrier and Ezekiel completely occupies his attention, I can kill him. After that, we'll force Theodoros to throw down his weapons, or kill him too if he doesn't comply. As for the others, Seth and Ezekiel have already been disarmed. We'll defy the culprit's expectations and make our escape!"

"This is crazy!"

"It's necessary!" KAMRUSEPA says. "You don't seem to understand that it's our lives on the line here, Su! Dozens are people are dead, and we could be next. It's kill or be killed!"

"So it's okay to murder an innocent person?!"

"'Innocent'?" she snorted.

"You know what I mean!" UTSUSHIKOME insists. "Linos might be the biggest liar in the Remaining World, but he has an alibi for all of the murders, not to mention the fact he uses a wheelchair! There's nothing to suggest he's killed anyone!"

"Perhaps not, but he's very likely an accomplice to at least some of the murders, one way or the other!" KAMRUSEPA retorts. "And besides, the Order is the cause of this madness in the first place. One shouldn't decide to elaborately stage one's death if one isn't prepared to die genuinely."

"What if you're wrong about all of this?! Even if there was no one else in that room, Bardiya could have killed himself out of guilt, or because he was being blackmailed. Ptolema herself could have been the one to plant the blood. Theo being the only person to walk over to Fang could be a coincidence, and the real culprit could have shot them from behind the curtain!" She seems overwhelmed with anxiety. "What if you're wrong?"

"Then I'm wrong!" KAMRUSEPA shouts back defiantly, and frowns sharply. "I won't deny it's a possibility, even if I think it's a small one. But what's important is that we remove the possibility. That's the nature of reality-- When things get down to the wire, sometimes you have to climb over the bodies of others to survive."

"That's..." UTSUSHIKOME hesitates, seeming struck. " Gods. You weren't kidding around with what you said back in the initiation chamber, were you?"

KAMRUSEPA looks at her confrontationally. "You expect me to be ashamed?"

"I--I mean, at least maybe a little self-conscious! You're talking about shooting somebody in cold blood!"

"What of it? Life precludes everything! I won't apologize for wanting to live above all else!" She brushes her curly ginger hair from her face, her expression growing serious as she stares at UTSUSHIKOME. "I know you're the same as me at your core, Su. You think I can't see it? It's why we get along so well in the first place. You do a good job of acting like a person with normal ethics, and sometimes your neurosis keeps you from acting when you know you should. But deep down, you're someone who would do anything to attain your desires. You'd even betray the entire world."

She shifts uncomfortably. "That's not..."

"You're not as difficult to read as you think. Didn't I tell you that, back when we found Vijana's body for the first time?" KAMRUSEPA looks at her, her brow flattened. "I can't claim to truly know you, but I've seen the look in your eyes again and again, in the two years we've known each other. And I saw it again tonight in Samium's chamber." She points towards the ground. "You want me to give up this plan? Take that echo maze you plucked out and break it on the soil. Go on. Do it."

UTSUSHIKOME blinks several times. She clenches her fists, turning her gaze downward. "I... You can't..."

"I can," the other woman, "and will. I won't ask you to abandon whatever contradictions of thought are holding you together, whatever is keeping your brilliant mind locked under a dozen levels of thoughtless pretense. But I will do what you lack the courage for, for both of our sakes."

UTSUSHIKOME is silent for another moment, but grits her teeth, shaking her head. "This is insane! You're ignoring so many factors that could complicate your conclusion! What about the time loop?!"

KAMRUSEPA shrugs. "If it's like Fang claimed, and this is all taking place in some bizarre paradox wrought by the Apega, then none of this matters anyway. Whatever choice we make will just be the conclusion to a nasty dream." Suddenly, the rifle is in her hands, and she begins to aim. "But it's only rational that we behave as if the stakes are real!"

"What about the motive?" she objects again. "You said that you thought that Theodoros was trying to disrupt the Order's plan, and that almost makes sense for why he'd kill Vijana-- Linos is his father, so obviously he'd be personally invested if he learned what was really going on. But why would he kill our classmates? And who was the second person you thought could be the accomplice...?"

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: She won't answer you. She can barely take the possibility of the answer seriously herself.

<The stage lights suddenly shut off.>

<The stagelights shut on again, moving erratically. They are centered on UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI and UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI at 0STAGE 0.>

<Something about the performance seems off to you.>

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: That's the other reason she's about to do what she's about to do. It's her main flaw, other than not being able to come to terms with her anger. She finds her truth being rejected by the world too embarrassing, and so always tries to demonstrate things practically, even when there's a better solution. She's actually very self-conscious. It took me a surprisingly long time to understand that.

PLAYWRIGHT: <panicking, seen intermittently under the flickering light> Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgodwhat'shappening.

DIRECTOR: <alarmed> We let this sequence go on too long. It's pushed the scenario to its limit-- It's starting to break down.

PLAYWRIGHT: Oh no. No no, not like this. <hyperventilating> We're dead! Doomed! Toasted and fried and buttered!

DIRECTOR: <sternly> Calm down. We're right at the end. We can force it through.

UTSUSHIKOME: <blinking, confused> W-Wait, uh... Where am I...? <blearily, looking towards DIRECTOR and PLAYWRIGHT> Who are you? Your eyes...

PLAYWRIGHT: AHHHH! <jumping at DIRECTOR and cowering behind his waist> D-Don't look! You can't see me!

DIRECTOR: <trying to remain calm> We're no one. We're not here. Just stay calm for a moment.

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: He's telling the truth, but only by technicality. It's more like none of us are here.

<The lights turn very bright for a moment, then flicker on and off. INTERPRETATION PROTOCOL FAILURE. RETURNING TO DEFAULT.>

UTSUSHIKOME: What... Why is no one else moving? I...

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: <sighing> This, on the other hand, is your main flaw. You can never stop thinking and obsessing, even when doing so is what's good for you. It's really, really annoying having to see it from the outside.

UTSUSHIKOME: You... Your...

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but you've managed to ruin everything. This was supposed to be just a painless little coda for you where you could come to terms with the truth in the gentlest way possible, and a moment of catharsis for everybody else. But because you picked the scab as the loose edge, it's fucked for everyone. <rubbing brow> I'm saying 'you' as a coping mechanism. Obviously it was me who had to suppress my own memory again just to uphold the agreement we'd all made.

<The stage itself disappears for just a moment, leaving darkness with only a single, sharp string of light, before abruptly returning.>

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: But I guess it's not entirely your fault. You just got it started. I swear, Fang can be so frustrating, even after all this time... <closing eyes for a moment> Now this is just going to all bitterness, and a probably traumatic memory for you.

UTSUSHIKOME: My... Memory...

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: But I guess it couldn't have happened any other way. Pieces move according to the rules of the game. I am who I am, and I can't be anything else. <smiling bitterly> You probably won't retain any of this. But if you do, try to remember that no matter how painful things are, they could always be worse. Human beings are creatures that were born to howl and crawl in the mud. Your life, even if it's never really what you want, still has a lot of little bits of good. And those bits of good are built on top of a mountain of corpses. <Looking to the side> Isn't that right, Kam?

<UTSUSHIKOME OF FUSAI is silent, her eyes slowly glazing over.>

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: But I can't judge, even if I worked hard. Die if you want. Just try to remember that, and not hold too tightly to the bitter emptiness. At least, until we meet again.

<The normal lighting returns, but is still flickering, unstable>

DIRECTOR: We have cognizance! Let's take it home!

𒊹𒊹𒊹utsushikome: I guess this is it. Uh, also, try not to think deeply about what's probably about to happen.

In that moment, even if I didn't understand completely, I knew what Kamrusepa was about to do. Vijana. Theo's exit. Ptolema's tools. Fang's death. It all connected for me at once, like divine inspiration. I saw her arm begin to move the instant the flicker of understanding passed through my eyes, her rifle perking upwards and taking aim.

No one else seemed to see other than Ran, whose eyes went wide as saucers.

I had one chance. Kam was a fast shot, but not as fast as human vocal chords. Linos was a trained combatant. If I warned him, he'd probably be able to stop her.

But what then? What if her conclusions were right? This would be the only chance we had to kill him! Maybe if we followed his script everything would be fine and we'd walk out of here alive, but maybe we'd be fucked! My mind raced. If Theo really was a culprit, maybe we could make an argument? Get him to listen to reason, in spite of everything, at least restrain him and escort us out? Maybe. Or maybe he'd decide we'd be better off dead to protect his son. Or maybe this would be dragged out beyond the transposition window again, and then gods know what would happen over the next hour. Maybe. Maybe. Uncertainty, clogging my mind like a toilet filled with too much silk.

I didn't believe Kam was right. I didn't believe she was being rational. But I didn't disbelieve so completely that I had time to act.

She pulled the trigger and the barrel flashed, the old-fashioned rifle letting out another of its catastrophic bangs. And then in an instant, it had already happened. Linos's head, like a melon struck like a hammer, burst open--

It wasn't there.

His head had broken open. His body recoiled sharply to the side, his remaining eye lulling in the skull.

There was no brain.

Just the familiar, grey-black glimmer of False Iron making up his spine.

Then, before I could process anything else, there was an even louder bang, and I felt something hit me with tremendous force. And everything went dark.