If there was one thing I rarely did in all my time looping in this facility, it would be visiting the Atziluth layer. I didn't have a… decent relationship with Hokma, who had by all accounts lied to my face about 'A's' intentions with me.
'He'll warm up.' He said, look how well that turned out.
Not that he mattered at the moment. Hokma was a Sephirah that rarely left his department, unless he viewed it as necessary or if the leader of Record and him decided to have a debate about their true role.
I wasn't sure why Omega would need to keep a tally of how many people die here, not when she didn't know the true number. Yet something in her darkened eyes always showed that she knew more than the average agent. It has never been a problem.
My focus was on the other Sephirah, the disgraced Arbiter that was felled in the Old Lab, whom 'A' decided would be tortured for her actions against the Old Lab. His focus may have still been the dream entrusted to him, but I knew hate very well, and 'A' hated Binah.
The details weren't lost on me either, forced to gaze into the Well was quite the revolting task. Being an AI myself, it would be hard for it to truly affect me, yet the mere thought that I could recognize that place as 'repulsive' means anyone else… would find it disturbing to look at.
She was also quite literally branded like a cow. While many didn't see it besides the Manager and sometimes I, Binah's appearance through the cognition filter includes a golden earring on her left ear, this one being the brand of femininity and the Uterus. 'A' had given this to her as it is her job to tend and pull out the Abnormalities from the Well. I could honestly say I found the notion disgusting, yet Binah didn't seem to mind, I think she found it fitting…
Binah still had no respect for 'A'. In fact, I believe she judges everything he is doing and would do, unimportant as it may be. In the end, he won't achieve it, I won't let him achieve it.
Then… maybe I could ask someone to find out what to do after. Trigger seemed just as lost as I was, a man with conviction and will but no direction. Maybe after this being all over, we both could journey out and see what we could do with ourselves.
Binah threatened this idea, exploiting his weakness that came from his Imposter Syndrome and Dissociation. It took… some reading on psychology and talking with Bethany to have a clearer picture of the problem.
Just as I eagerly wait for the moment of my revenge, Trigger eagerly waits for the moment he feels accepted. Something… I could understand quite well.
Where did these issues come from? I had to look back to the camera footage, the times he was around the cafeteria and talking with people. He paid an unusual amount of attention to information that should be the norm, and would never bring up anything from his past.
It all clicked together in one of his talks with Yesod 'I'm not from the City'. Those words spoken out put most of the puzzle together, with one final piece which I was still lacking, did he not know? Or did he forget? I couldn't find the answer, but I have enough to work with.
Trigger gives and gives, in hopes of being acknowledged by those around him and in turn validate his place here, but when he fails or feels like he fails… that's when he shows more violent tendencies. He brutalized Malkuth with no hesitation, and has done the same to the 'Big and Will be Bad Wolf', the 'Warm-Hearted Woodsman' and the 'Ordeals' as the script calls them.
He can't accept failure, which means he has to face his own issues. He certainly seemed able to hide them or push them aside… Binah noticed too.
And that is why she recommended Gold Rush, a weapon that in conflict would weaken the mental walls around the user to bring out their deepest desires. Trigger's being 'the one to belong'.
Is this what Kinship is like?... How odd.
"Miss Angela, already visiting?" I glanced to my left, Joshua was wearing the [CENSORED] E.G.O set. For most, it would be quite the terrifying sight born out from unspeakable nightmares, but those with good enough mental fortitude…
As Bethany would say, 'It looks like they are trying too hard'. Once you went over its unspeakable appearance, you would find no way to describe it other than 'horrifying', it could even be said it goes full circle, to the point it becomes quite bland to look at the mass of tentacles and flesh made into a suit. It fitted Joshua, who had been experimented on.
I just rummaged through it, but he simply became 'unrecognizable' after said experiment. His appearance didn't change, but no one could remember him or see him as anything other than 'just someone else', the suit was the best way to notice who he was. His hair was… probably gray, even I had a hard time remembering him.
"Where is Binah?" I asked simply. Joshua's eyes were hidden behind the Gift of [CENSORED, yet I could tell he was surprised.
"I thought Lady Binah intimidated you." I gave him a small frown, and I get the feeling he rolled his eyes at that.
He jabbed his free hand towards the Main Room's door, "Lady Binah is busy tending to those poor fellows, sucks to be them if I'm being honest." Ah yes, those inside the coffins.
Some of them, who were used to spawn Abnormalities, were poor nameless folk from the City, "I'll be on my way then." Joshua whispered something under his breath that carried sarcasm, I simply ignored it.
This is Extraction, a torture chamber, the place where the L Corp Singularity was kept, and a graveyard for those used to give 'birth' to an Abnormality. Except for a few natural ones and… that thing that manifested itself.
The black room filled with black coffins that are covered with golden scriptures fitted quite well the appearance of Binah, who was busy looking at one of the many victims of Cogito.
She wordlessly closed the coffin. With a command, it went down into the floor, fitting seamlessly with the rest of the room.
"Angela, it is unusual for you to show up." Binah turned around, even as a metal box, it was hard to not see the Arbiter that she once was. She also showed her tendency to try and make any conversation longer than it had any need to.
"Please, you knew I would be here, just like you knew what Gold Rush would eventually do." I threw my accusation bluntly, Binah's demeanor didn't waver at all.
"Is that so? Then perhaps I should have acted sooner, this is after all just one ordeal of many." Her cryptic demeanor didn't hide how little she was trying to tell me. It was obviously deliberate.
I sighed internally and prepared for a long conversation, "So you admit to it. What do you hope to gain from this?" Binah paused for a moment, seems like she was looking for the right words to use.
After a couple of seconds she spoke, "At first he shone bright like a star, encompassing the people around him with a hopeful glow. Yet, he himself didn't seem to know what he was doing." Binah seemed to praise Trigger, which was in itself a bit weird considering the reason I'm here for.
"What changed then?" My inquiry was met with amusement, yet I could suddenly feel the shift in the mood...
Cold and deadly, "He refused to take another step, I simply forced it… and I'm curious about the interesting happenings that his arrival brought along." Which one? There are many that fit that description.
As if reading my thoughts, the former Arbiter spoke again, "It's undeniable that his affinity for E.G.O is unmatched, not even she could have compared to him. But the day he came was the day the Well moved, and something came out." I blinked a couple of times, it didn't take me long to figure out what she was talking about.
The Plague Doctor. The first day of this particular loop he, by Binah's own words, manifested himself and asked the Arbiter to assign a 'Waiting Chamber for him'. It was quite the bizarre turn of events, and any attempt at finding out anything on the new Abnormality yielded no results. No one was quite sure what to make of it, only that it slowly evolved until it became a white angelical fetus.
While Trigger and the now Angelical Abnormality arrived at the same day, I never knew how connected their arrivals truly were, nor that the Well acted up when it happened, "Elaborate." With one simple word, I demanded what she knew and kept from me.
"I do not know." Her response made me snap my eyes open and stare at the former Arbiter viciously. What does that mean?
Binah started pacing around the room, "I'm not allowed to know, any information that could be linked to our two new players is kept in the only floor that no one has access to. It is clear someone would find it quite bothersome for anyone to try and peer into such secrets." Binah used a tone of voice I wasn't familiar with, or at least I never heard her use it...
Eager, "An unexpected road, and in the middle two unknowns… fascinating, isn't it?" I slowly closed my eyes again. So… she only wants to know where this new development will take us.
There is one more thing, "You said the Well acted up." Binah stopped her movements and hummed in wonder.
"Did he know the Dreamer was still awake? I assure you, she was staring back at me, even in her state." My mind blanked for a moment, and instant denial came along with it.
Shaking my head, I waited for Binah to say something else, "The Dreamer is awake, it was almost like she was waiting for the very day, and to know more, looking into the only route would be obvious, and to do so… some stress testing was needed." She was curious too, and Trigger was the only road to answers.
I… wasn't sure what to say, to this.
It felt like his whole life was being chosen by the people around him, by people he knew nothing about for goals he didn't understand.
I imagine Binah had a smile on her face, "Have you found more than what you asked for, Angela?" I walked away without any more words.
But the former Arbiter had a few more to add, "You are growing quite well. A welcomed change, just like his arrival was." I frowned and hurried my steps.
I have to gather my thoughts, and prepare for the new developments… something I hadn't done in ages.
Malkuth… she has shown to be reliable after her outburst. I loathe to admit it, but perhaps an alliance with someone that knows Trigger could help here. It also helps she has been showing disdain to the company and what it is doing.
…
This is new, actually new. Anticipation feels much worse than I imagined it would.