Hidden truths

[Nephrite]

"I'd say that this doesn't make any sense, but..." Moore says as he shuts the door. He does test opening it again to see if it goes somewhere else.

[Anastasia]

Nope, same place.

"But we may as well throw sense out the window," Sylvie agrees.

[Nephrite]

"Indeed. Still, why is this here?" Moore asks as he shuts it again and heads back up to try Stairway #2. "I mean, the Guardian wouldn't ever have used it... but maybe it was a shortcut for its creations or something?"

[Anastasia]

"I have no idea," Kaja growls, "It might be?"

You go to another stairway. It leads to an identical locked door that opens in the same way. You open it and...another passage to the front entrance of the First Prison, except intense heat comes out from this door when open.

[Nephrite]

"...Oh dear." Moore says as he stands at the opening. "...What if these are all... different prisons?"

[Anastasia]

There's silence until Kaja manages one word to sum that up.

"Fuck."

Sylvie takes a long breath, "...it would explain...and maybe you never go into the same one from the entrance?"

[Nephrite]

Moore puts a hand up to his head and rubs at his temple.

"But... hm." Moore huffs once. "Why would this be necessary? The Guardian absolutely could simply create one place with infinite space." He says. "But maybe it's like you say, Sylvie, and it's so that anyone who did come in here wouldn't have any sort of idea of what the real layout is, because it was different every time."

A shake of his head again. "Let's check the others out. If they're all the same... well, it's still more information than we had before."

Plan will be to go back and try #3.

[Anastasia]

Three is the same, only without the heat from the entrance this time.

[Nephrite]

"Isn't this just the same as the first one?" Moore asks. "Does this feel any different to you, Xandra?"

[Anastasia]

"It's not quite the same," Xandra finally says, "I'm not sure how, but I can tell it's different."

"Thin, but good enough. I trust Xandra," Sylvie crosses her arms under her chest, a long breath out before she releases her pose and starts to adjust her bracers. "You know, a Guardian could probably even create creatures to inhabit its prison, if it felt the need and wasn't forbidden."

"That's my fear, that countless souls reside here purely by one being's will," Xandra confesses softly, "And if this is right and it's twenty more prisons, what if those have more prisons attached to them, like a descending set of tree's roots that split into more and more as you go deeper?"

[Nephrite]

"If that's the case, then we could really be here forever." Moore says. "But I think what we should focus on is just trying to find out what we can for now. We need to find some way to either wrest control of this place away from..." Moore trails off.

He looks down and starts digging in his bag. He definitely kept it, right?

"Hold on." He says. "I think I forgot I had something important."

He's looking for the broken dagger that he used way back when he was here with the Guadian. The key too, actually.

https://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,104397.1020.html

The one he used to put everything here to sleep, and that broke on the noose.

[Anastasia]

Both are as they were before. However, the key feels like it moves in your hand, as if vibrating.

[Nephrite]

"I'm so stupid." Moore says. "He gave me the tools we need, and I just never realized it."

Moore holds the key up and out away from himself - does it feel like the vibration is getting strong in any particular direction, or pulling him in any particular way?

[Anastasia]

Sylvie looks on curiously but adds, "Well, the first step is admitting the problem."

"Sylvie," Xandra's voice has a note of chastisement in it.

Kaja just smiles.

Meanwhile, the key is not pulling you in any direction or vibrating differently in any direction.

[Nephrite]

"I think there's some saying about glass houses and stones, too." Moore says with a smile as he turns towards the door they have opened. He shuts it and then looks to see if there's an actual keyhole on it or not.

If there is, he will try and put the key into it!