Roselle was bored.
Since joining Alaric, he had undergone several treatments as both an employee and Experimental Subject No. 2. Each session was excruciating, making Roselle want to curse, but the results were undeniable. He had progressed from being constantly overtaken by his corrupted persona to regaining control for portions of each day.
Though the lucid periods were short, Roselle was satisfied. It proved Alaric's treatments worked, making his role as a test subject worthwhile.
The only issue was that, after a few lucid moments, Roselle realized his tomb had a glaring flaw. It wasn't just that he'd built it on an island tainted by the Mother Goddess of Depravity... a mistake far beyond a mere oversight, caused by his clouded mind being manipulated by her. Surely no one thought he'd chosen that cursed place by chance, right? Roselle was certain his decision had been influenced by the corruption. Otherwise, he'd never have picked such an ominous location for his resurrection point.
The real flaw was the tomb's emptiness. Aside from himself, there was nothing... no books, no distractions... making his lucid moments unbearably dull.
Roselle was not one to sit idle. Without something to do, time dragged painfully.
"If only I had a book." Roselle muttered, slouched on his golden throne, propping his chin with one hand, his expression weary. He yawned, pondering how to entertain himself, when he sensed something and looked toward the stone door leading outside.
Rumble...
As the mechanism activated, the door opened. Roselle's brow twitched, and as expected, two figures appeared.
One was all too familiar: Alaric, the unscrupulous capitalist boss Roselle felt deserved to be strung up on a lamppost. The other was vaguely familiar... a young Amon he'd seen at Alaric's place before, though this Amon had grown, now appearing fully adult.
Why were these two here?
Roselle was puzzled. He wasn't surprised Alaric could find him... they'd long established a connection, so tracking him was no feat. But Alaric, who typically treated him remotely and summoned him when needed, coming in person? That was odd.
Was something wrong?
Roselle's heart tightened, his mind racing to worst-case scenarios. He couldn't help it... ever since his trip to the moon, bad luck had clung to him like a curse, with few good things happening in years.
But then he relaxed, noticing the casual expressions on their faces. It didn't seem like bad news.
"…Should I say first meeting or long time no see?" Roselle mused, deciding to break the ice after half a second. He spread his hands, adding, "As the host, I'd offer you tea, but I don't have so much as a cup here. Bear with me!"
"No worries, I brought cups." Alaric replied with a smile. With a wave of his hand, an ornate, mystical table appeared, bearing three steaming cups of tea... clearly pulled from a pocket dimension.
"Whoa!" Roselle's eyes widened, genuinely impressed. "You've got flair! That pocket dimension trick is slick. I always wanted to craft a spatial item like that, but Apprentices are so rare. Even Sequence 5s are scarce, let alone demigods. I couldn't find anyone to study their characteristics."
While Artisans could craft mystical items using spiritual materials for limited-use items, creating something from scratch required deep understanding and specific materials. With the Apprentice pathway's demigods nearly extinct, Roselle, despite his interest, had never crafted many spatial items due to his lack of knowledge and resources.
"This is a pocket dimension Mr. Door crafted for me. If you're interested, you could discuss it with him later." Alaric said, sitting on a small stool by the table and sipping his tea.
Roselle sat down promptly, downed his tea in one gulp, and said, "I actually consulted Mr. Door about this back then, but you know I was dealing with my corrupted persona. He wouldn't teach me anything. Now…" He shook his head, a touch melancholic. "I'm no longer an Artisan. Learning's pointless."
Though once an Artisan, Roselle's characteristics had returned to the Spirit World upon his death. Now, he was a proper Black Emperor, awaiting resurrection.
"If you want, you could switch pathways again. I wouldn't mind." Alaric said, setting down his cup with a smile. "In fact, I'd support it. An Artisan's far more useful to me than a Black Emperor."
"Uh… no thanks. The Artisan pathway doesn't exactly let you reset characteristics." Roselle said with an awkward laugh, then looked at Alaric. "So, you didn't come just to have tea, right? What's going on?"
Alaric smiled, taking another sip of tea before saying slowly, "Roselle, do you want to leave this place and move freely?"
Roselle's eyes lit up, his expression turning serious. "Boss, you can fully remove the Outer Deity's corruption now?"
"Strictly speaking, I've always been able to remove it completely, but the method's too much for you to handle." Alaric said, glancing at him with a smile.
Nyarlathotep's power could indeed purge the corruption, but the cost would be catastrophic... turning the subject into an idiot or causing them to explode.
What Alaric had been seeking wasn't just a way to remove the corruption but a method to do so without harming the subject's soul.
Roselle's face twisted, recalling the agony of past treatments. His body shuddered... not from fear, but from a conditioned reflex.
***
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