[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
We can not remember what we have done, what we are doing when our eyes open to endless magenta!
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BARNABY FINCH feared that the same fate would befall him, here in this poisoned, nameless place. When he felt his consciousness being tugged back to reality, he wondered if he'd lose his waking autonomy, too, as the Megalopolans had. Oddly, a small, cryptic part of him — the barest whisper in the back of his subconscious — didn't mind the thought of being one with the Never-Rot.[break][break]
...only it can grant me my deepest desires...
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However, when he opened his eyes it was not to a wave of magenta, but the crumbled fabric near
fern delaney's armpit. The sight and smell would have normally annoyed him, if not for the odd sensation that accompanied his awakening: the feeling of something sliding from his tear duct, down his cheek, and to the corner of his mouth.
It tasted of salt and something else he couldn't quite place.[break][break]
He'd awoken just in time, too, as their cell opened and
fern delaney was yanked from their shared cot. Along with two others, the admin was humiliated in front of their collective ward. It was an occurrence that would become commonplace.[break][break]
The days became monotonous, punctuated only by the sweet taste of mochi mixed with the metallic tang of blood. Beatings in the pit, humiliation and ridicule, polishing crystals until his hands bled - his only reprieve from the pains of this new reality came from the Chamber of Desires. Each time he glimpsed into that crystalline mask his yearning grew stronger.[break][break]
At first he kept busy in his dreams.
BARNABY FINCH remembered
AZELF, recognized the creature suspended in its tank as the same one from the battle at Sootopolis City. Each night he'd stare into that cracked red jewel and recall the horror of that day.
Ċ̶͙̦͊͋ơ̴͕̬̭͌́ȗ̵̢̟ḽ̶̆̊d̴͇̈̉̕ ̴̟̇t̶̗̹̽͝ͅh̴̝͈̣̓͗e̷̖̮͆̏͠ ̶̲̼̜̽͒͝N̶̹̝̔ḛ̷̜̎͊̄v̴͔̄́̿e̸͇̔r̴͙̜̿-̵̺̣͊R̵͎͈̄̈ȯ̴̱͖̒t̴̪͓͑͜ ̵̞̿͊̎h̴̝̪̾a̸̳͔͆̋͒v̷̥̔e̶̥͐̋ ̸̧̠̲̈́̄s̸͚͔̅͝t̷̨̟͇̀̃̕ŏ̴͙̤̜̈́̿p̴̓ͅp̷͓͛̏ȅ̸͉̝̒͑d̸̜̓ ̷͓̈́͆͠Ǹ̸͊ͅE̴̠͂͂͊C̴̡͖̥̆̎̚Ŗ̶͇̀͠O̶̬̽̀̾Z̷̪͚̹̑M̶̖̔̄̕A̵̠͋̃̑ ̷̖͚̻̋̅f̵̝͝͝r̸̙̪̻͗̏̌o̶̹̒͜m̶̫̜̭̋ ̶̡̰̉i̸̠̜͂̽t̵̳̼̻̋̅̋s̵̘̤̑̄̇ ̷̹̈́͜w̷̫͕̓͊ȧ̴͖͔̖͝y̴̨̤̦̎͒ẁ̵̢̳̈́a̴͙̎r̶̲̯͗̽d̷̘̟̏̏ ̵̼͓̿ḏ̷̹̣̊ḙ̶̛s̶̢͓͊͊t̷̼̥͑̈́̕ŗ̸̺̱̃u̶̞̘̍̾͐c̸̢̞͑͝t̵͔͌i̴͍̩͗ő̴͜n̸̹̟̤̽?̷̻̩̪̽͐ [break][break]
In his dreams, Barnaby would commune with familiar faces like
Cillian Quinn,
Naomi Sato,
howard slayte,
Tempest Quinn,
Amor Rose,
fern delaney,
jayden cross,
THEO BECKETT,
Zev Harcourt,
priam conrad,
Grigori Sokolov,
Aurelie Lefevre, and
oscar clayton, among others. After meeting with
Lulu Flint, he'd try and manifest her vision by wishing for
AZELF's awakening, but the intensity of his wish-making unconsciously faded over time.[break][break]
He even found himself seeking out
Elisabeth Fiorelli less and less. After all, could he truly trust her after what
Zev Harcourt had revealed to him? Not even her persistent attempts at grabbing his attention yielded any sort of desirable outcome. A sidelong glance, perhaps, or a muted word or two. [break][break]
By the end of what felt like seven days, it was finally
BARNABY FINCH's turn to face
FEZANDIPITI's orchestrated humiliations. [break][break]
With his mask limp at his collar to reveal a heavily bruised face courtesy of the wood-legged creature, his limbs moved against his will, jerking and trembling to regain control. But it was a futile effort. There was no resisting here. Grasping a tera shard spirited his way by the warden, its edge sharpened to resemble a blade, Barnaby brought it to the base of his scalp and—[break][break]
Strands and strands of midnight hair fell to the dirty prison floor. Blood trickled from ragged cuts caused by the makeshift blade. Guffaws filled the room, his the loudest of all.[break][break]
Eventually the laughter died down and the other prisoners dispersed to continue their work. [break][break]
He'd been made ugly here. Beaten and disfigured.[break][break]
To be covered by the mask was now a blessed relief.[break][break]
JczK0Xtg
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PATISSERIE HM RP
