They were consistently reaching deep into Aziluth, having brushed day forty five several times. Yet day forty six had yet to come, even though forty five wasn't so different from forty four.
He had once claimed to himself that it was merely a matter of competence, that the facility simply hadn't reached the point of being able to break into the final five days.
That lie now lay in tatters, for he had admitted the truth to himself and to Garion in a futile attempt at finding his answer. A great divide had formed within his psyche, preventing him from taking the final step; for when the time comes, he'll find himself unable to make the decision, letting it all scatter to the wind.
What is to be Angela's fate? The answer to such a question couldn't be left ambiguous, the stakes were too high, the consequences too significant.
So he ran, ending his loops before the forty sixth, before he'd be made to choose.
Angela continued to speak to the sephirot, Garion continued to prod her mind, he continued to manage the facility.
The abnormalities continued to breach, the employees continued to be slaughtered, the sephirot continued to suffer.
Benjamin continued to forget, still grasping at a realization that would never come.
With each reset his sins continued to mount, the burden upon his shoulder growing heavier, unbending as he may be. With each reset he continued to ignore, in the hopes of coming to a final answer to his dilemma.
Was it luck then? That the world had seen fit to hand him a distraction on a silver platter, an abnormality never seen before having made its way into containment to no one's knowledge.
He heard agent Edward over the intercom, he noted to himself that it was the first time he's ever spoken to the man. An intrusive thought came, a voice and a manner now assigned to the one who suffered the most, sacrificing himself every loop in an attempt to fulfill a script Ayin didn't intend to finish yet.
"The cameras all blacked out for an hour at midnight, it was already here when the glitch was finally fixed. None of the clerks on the night shift saw anything either, as far as we know it seemed to have just materialized out of thin air." Explained the agent.
It was unprecedented. Every abnormality and ordeal had been fully studied, each of them having been extracted, managed, and suppressed tens of thousands of times. For a brand new abnormality to suddenly appear for supposedly no rhyme or reason was a ludicrous idea.
Yet there it was, with a bird's mask and pair of pitch black wings floated their newest abnormality, dubbed 'Plague Doctor'. Its informational log lay empty, the managerial tips void for the first time in five millenia.
"Agent Edward, you are to guard the containment unit until further notice, don't allow anyone in without my direct permission." Scans showed the enkephalin production potential of the abnormality to be that of a Zayin, suggesting it wasn't particularly dangerous. But he had learned his lesson with the Army in Black, he wouldn't be taking any chances, especially when the circumstances surrounding its appearance were so suspicious.
"Angela, raise Qliphoth deterrence levels and delay the start of the work day by an hour. I need to see Garion."
Angela nodded in confirmation.
Garion shook her head in denial.
"Neither my employees nor I had any involvement in the extraction of such an abnormality." Concerning, for an abnormality to supposedly form out of thin air. Even the three birds had to be extracted from the forest through the well.
"Do you think the Head is involved?" It was the only plausible answer to him, that all these years of running had finally caught up to him.
"No, you were quite diligent in your deception of the Eye, no agent of the head will arrive for decades more."
"Of course." He said to reassure himself. His fear was completely illogical, the Head wouldn't have sent an abnormality of all things, they would've sent an Arbiter or a Claw.
It was likely just the well or the river acting up, they simply had to study and catalogue it like any other abnormality or ordeal.
Such were his thoughts as he left the extraction department.
Garion turned to gaze upon the bucket.
"What is your intent? I wonder." She mumbled to herself.
Ayin returned to an abnormality that had four wings rather than two, a golden cross floating over agent Edward. A recording showed the man standing guard as he was told for half an hour before suddenly walking into the containment unit with no prompting. The cameras blacked for a moment just like the night before, only returning to normal when Edward left the containment unit.
"Qliphoth deterrences were raised, yes?" He asked Angela.
"Yes manager, they were raised to the maximum power."
"There were no glitches with the audio systems?"
"I've already checked it thrice, all facility systems remained normal."
Ayin was grasping at straws, trying to somehow justify the scene in front of him. For it to have overpowered Qliphoth deterrences and influenced his most mentally resilient agent with seemingly no struggle, it was concerning. Extremely so.
"Did the cross appear after he interacted with Plague Doctor?" It was a pointless question, the answer an obvious yes. He was merely attempting to distract himself.
"...Cross?" Questioned Angela.
"The cross floating behind agent Edward." He explained, dread beginning to rise in his heart.
"There is no cross behind the agent, Manager." Was her reply, concern clearly visible on her face.
He looked at Edward once again, to check if his eyes had deceived him.
Just as Angela had said, there was no cross. Except there was, and there wasn't. He squinted, trying to decipher the hallucination that had taken hold in his mind. That was when he heard a familiar voice.
'And I say unto thee, That thou art Edward, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it'
A dozen alarms were raised in his head.
"Angela, begin TT2 protocols." She didn't question it for a moment, faithful as always, just as he was.
Agent Edward stood before the camera, here on his first day of work for the millionth time.
Behind him a cross floated, phasing in and out of his sight.
"Angela, begin TT2 protocols." He ordered.
For the first time in five thousand years, agent Edward wasn't the first employee of the facility. Ayin had instead chosen agent BongBong, normally his second pick.
On the second day the Plague Doctor was here, floating in a newly built containment unit with four wings, merely a hall across from One Sin.
Agent Edward stood before the camera, here on his first day of work for the millionth time, the cross still floating behind him, phasing in and out. The records department had malfunctioned, producing the agent with no orders given.
"Angela, begin TT2 protocols." He ordered.
Ayin sighed as he saw the abnormality along with agent Edward once again, here on the second day even after twelve resets.
It seemed as though the facility was stuck with the thing, they'd simply have to accept its presence and find a way to work around it.
"Angela, begin the work day." He finally said.
Employee guidelines, O-01-45.
-Plague Doctor is capable of influencing the minds of employees, seemingly at random with no pattern among those who were affected.
-Those who were influenced always find their way into Plague Doctor's containment unit. All attempts to stop those who were affected failed often due to spurious reasons. Restraining action on those who are affected are to be attempted regardless.
-Employees who entered Plague Doctor's containment unit become 'blessed', with them holding a highly positive opinion of the abnormality. Those who were blessed show a great increase in both physical strength and mental resilience.
-The plague Doctor's appearance changes after each blessing.Side effects of the blessing are unknown, further observation required.
-There are no currently known methods of reverting the blessing.
-Though its rate of enkephalin production would normally prompt a classification of Zayin, the manager has overruled standard protocols to classify Plague Doctor as an ALEPH. All protocols relating to ALEPH containment apply, work is to be performed only by the manager's direct order given in person.
All employees are to familiarize themselves with the new guidelines, those who fail to do so shall receive elevated disciplinary action.
Those who knowingly break the new guidelines shall be immediately dismissed from the corporation. Three-strike policies, employment guarantee contracts and five day grace periods are overruled. Effective immediately.
Signed. Yesod, head of the information department.
Signed. The manager of facility X.
(Total count of blessed:2)
Employee guidelines, O-01-45, revision 1.
-All employees on the maintenance team shall be put on standby until further notice. Maintenance of facility systems are to be carried out by automated robots overseen by assistant manager Angela.
-Clerks are no longer allowed to enter the control department, the control team is to be reduced to only one agent.
-'Blessed' employees are to be kept as far as possible from Plague Doctor's containment unit.
-Elevated force is to be administered to those attempting to reach Plague Doctor's containment unit.
-Physically disabling those attempting to reach Plague Doctor has shown to be effective.
(Total count of blessed:5)
Employee guidelines, O-01-45, revision 4.
-Due to the high number of maintenance staff affected by Plague Doctor's influence, all members are to be put in permanent confinement.
-Plague Doctor has shown the ability to switch its location with other abnormalities. Clerks are not allowed to enter the department it's located in and the number of agents are to be reduced to one or two depending on the department.
-'Blessed' employees are to be put in solitary confinement. This is due to the increasingly erratic behaviour shown by blessed employees in spite of their low mental corruption levels.
-The sephirot and assistant manager Angela will directly supervise the Plague Doctor after the work day is finished. All employees will be put under curfew during this period.
(Total count of blessed:6)
Employee guidelines, O-01-45, revision 9.
-Abnormality O-01-45 will hereby be dubbed 'WhiteNight'.
-All maintenance staff have been dismissed.
-NT type execution bullets will be remotely administered to anyone attempting to enter the containment unit of WhiteNight. Protocols preventing its administration on Tier V agents have been overwritten.
-Standard type execution bullets will be remotely administered to employees attempting to leave during curfew. Only department captains may leave under the direct orders of the manager or the assistant manager.
-Due to agent Edward's recent escape from solitary confinement and the forceful blessing of three tier IV and two tier V agents, the 'blessed' are to be kept in extraction pillars at all times, placed in the disciplinary department and guarded by Sephirot Gebura.
-In the event of a 12th blessing being bestowed, dubbed 'Scenario Midnight', all agents are to be administered a high dose S.P bullet. The manager's authority will be overridden for this period and all further orders will be handed out by assistant manager Angela.
Signed. Yesod, head of the information department.
Signed. The manager of facility X.
(Total count of blessed:11)
Managerial research log.
Access level: Lobotomy Corporation CEO A.
[Access granted]
[Deactivating Fairy counter measures.]
[Deactivating Singularity J.]
[Deactivating mind kill agent CENSORED.]
Research log. O-01-45, 000001.
-Plague Doctor has shown the ability to interfere with facility systems. Limit unknown.
-TT2 protocols are ineffective in removing its presence. Reason unknown.
-The blessed remain blessed even after a full facility reset. Reason unknown.
-TT2 protocols show no glitches. Confirmed twelve times over by Angela.
-Employee's attempts to communicate with Plague Doctor are ineffective.
-The blessed have a cross floating behind their heads, only visible to A. Reason unknown.
Research log. O-01-45, 000006.
-Plague Doctor has shown the ability to tamper with facility architecture, notably its switching of locations. Limit unknown, investigation authorised only to A.
-All attempts made to observe how it influences the facility ended in failure. Further attempts at study will no longer be carried out by agents after agent BongBong's sudden blessing after a blackout.
-All employees share a feeling of reverence upon observing the abnormality. Angela, the sephirot and G appear to be exempt. B currently untested, high priority to keep it as such.
-The blessed have made attempts at convincing others to enter Plague Doctor's containment unit. Some of their speeches bear resemblance to C's.
Research log. O-01-45, 0000012.
-Plague Doctor's cloak has begun to turn white.
-The blessed have become more zealous in their attempts at conversion. Several agents have already attempted to enter Plague Doctor's containment unit.
-Physical discipline ineffective, the only method of consistently preventing a baptism from happening is the forceful removal of limbs.
-Her voice is heard after each blessing. I sometimes see a clock ticking down.
-Further study required, direct observation authorized to A.
Research log. O-01-45, 0000019.
-Cogito pattern testing shows that Plague Doctor finds its origin in twelve separate people. 40% is shared among the individuals: Elijah, Gabriel, Michelle, Giovanni, Lisa, Enoch, Daniel, Kali, B and G to varying degrees, with a large preference for B and G. 60% is shared equally between A and C. Reasons unknown.
-I've spent a lot of time simply staring at it. It feels like we can still live our days in paradise whenever I do so, however long it may have been since then.
-The blessed have shown behaviour correlating with those involved in the period 'Outskirts laboratory'. Reasons unknown.
-I spoke with agent Edward, he recited C's first speech to me, word for word.
-Further study required, the blessed are to be recorded at all times.
Research log. O-01-45, 0000036
-Agent Edward broke out of solitary confinement, killing 47 and forcefully baptizing 5. Origins of the E.G.O used is unknown.
-Agent BongBong attempted a breakout the following day, wielding an E.G.O identical to The Red Mist's in function, though more 'angelic' in appearance.
-I hear her voice every now and then, promising to return to our days under the eternally blue sky, lying in our garden without a care in the world.
-Further studies are to be carried out by A in person.
-Whenever I stare at its eternally closed eyes, I sometimes catch a glimpse of familiar crimson.
-A is to spend every waking moment studying WhiteNight.
-How I missed that beautiful hue, how long has it been since I've last seen her?
-A is to spend every breathing moment studying Whitenight.
-I believe her words, for that crimson holds no deceit, nor has her voice ever told a lie to me.
-A is to approach WhiteNight and allow himself to be embraced.
-Then, I can finally rest, leaving behind the world that wouldn't allow our one and only dream.
-A is to be the final disciple.
-Then, I can finally rest, and…fade…away...without...…a...trace...
Research log. O-01-45, 0000038
-And I say also unto thee, That thou art Giovanni, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
-Then Elijah spoke. Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?
-And Lisa and Enoch; and she surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The children of thunder.
-Gabriel saith unto her, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
-And as she passed forth from thence, she saw a man, named Daniel: and she saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed her.
-But there was a certain girl, called Michelle, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people, giving out that herself was some great one.
-Then said Kali, unto her fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with her.
-Benjamin answered and saith unto him, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
-Garion saith unto him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
-Then, the Lord finally spoke from the lake of crimson. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of Him.
-It answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?—
"Manager?" Ayin instinctively closed his research logs upon hearing Angela's voice.
"...Yes?" His voice was weak, exhausted from the sheer stress of the last forty five days.
"Benjamin wishes to speak with you, he's calling you down to the records department." Angela said unto him.
He rubbed his eyes in the hopes of removing the blur that covered his vision. No such luck.
What was he even writing without being able to see?
"I'll be there right away." He decided to ignore his blurry vision, he could navigate the facility from memory alone anyways.
He heard concern bleed into Angela's voice. "Are you sure, manager? I could tell Benjamin to wait until you gather your bearings."Ayin smiled and patted her head in reassurance before heading out.
The facility was deserted, even more so than usual. He took drastic actions to prevent the clock from ticking, for each second passed would bring him closer to it.
Yet, as her voice grew louder, as he saw the phantoms ever clearer, his resistance weakened, even as the rules grew harsher.
He wanted to give in. But somehow, someway, dragging his broken mind day by day, the facility had finished the forty fifth.
Even now it called out to him, demanding destiny be fulfilled.
He did what he did best, and ran. With some hope in his heart that Benjamin had found a glitch with TT2, that they could simply reset and pretend it never happened.
Such feelings were shattered the moment Ayin laid his eyes upon him.
He recognized those eyes, even if he's never seen them before. The eyes of a man that had come to a realization, the eyes of a man that had seen through the script, the eyes of man that had seen through the betrayal.
He recognized it, for it was always mere moments away, forever haunting him as his friend cycled through confusion and doubt for thousands of years.
"..."
"..."
Neither of them spoke a word for a while, Ayin staring at Benjamin, and Benjamin staring at the clockworks of Records.
Tick
After several minutes, the clocks ticked, all at once.
A single tick it was—inconsequential, yet just as irreversible.
Benjamin finally spoke after letting out a long tired sigh.
"...The clock never stops ticking."
Tick
"...It never rests, it never rushes. It is not meant to follow any specific person."
Tick
"...It simply walks forever, maintaining the pace it always has."
Tick
"...At least, that's how it is meant to be."
…silence
"...So why is it then? That I find mine to have stopped moving."
"..."
He must've forgotten, in the mayhem of the last forty five days. Without him to actively deter Benjamin from noticing, he's finally put the broken pieces together to see the inconsistency in their now separate worlds.
"..."
What was he to say? He had no script prepared for such an occasion, Benjamin was simply never meant to find out. He was to remain blissful in his ignorance, thinking himself a partner every step of the way, never realizing the ship had set sail long ago.
"I…" Not a word more came.
He couldn't see Benjamin's face through his blurry vision, but he could imagine the hurt, hidden behind a hundred walls of stern anger.
The betrayal of his trust, the betrayal of the promise the two of them made as they marched into hell hand in hand.
That they'd bear it all together.
That they'd drown under the sins together.
What was he to say? He had no words to absolve himself of such a sin. He never did.
"..."
Ayin didn't know when he had begun to run, though it must've been a long time ago.
He couldn't see where he was going, his vision seeing nothing but a blur.
Ayin didn't know when he had gone blind, though it must've been a long time ago.
Flailing in the dark, making meaningless promises as he repeatedly told himself that he knew what he was doing.
That there was a justification for all of it.
That he could be redeemed.
It all seemed so meaningless. He saw forgiveness beyond the horizon, but it was never meant for him.
He who had sinned beyond judgement, the world had no penitence for such a man.
"..."
The world had none to offer him, yet it appeared as though she did. She called out to him, her voice echoing beyond the winding halls that never held any meaning.
He didn't know when he had begun to run, though it must've been a long time ago.
He didn't know when he had begun to hide, though it must've been a long time ago.
He didn't know when he had stopped, though it must've been a long time ago.
He didn't know when his cogito had begun to distort, though it must've been a long time ago.
'Manager's authority detected, opening containment unit.'
He took a single step forward, and upon her he gazed.
He kneeled before her, and clutched his hands high, and then he heard her voice in its fullest.
I heard thy cries. Thy heart reacheth me. Ayin, thou hath called me.
The clock ticks, ever so slowly.
It doesn't stop, it doesn't rest.
It doesn't slow, it doesn't hasten.
It simply ticks, for it is inevitable.
And the clock had finally reached its destination.
Midnight has come, to unleash upon the world a new light.
A new world approaches, to trample over the old.
Notes: