01 | or that look of surprise

[grancenturio]

Characters: Nessiah and you!
Setting: Room 1-04, Floor 98, Elevator, Cafeteria, Floor 3
Format: Will match yours.
Summary: Nessiah makes his entrance to the tower, discovers no-powers floors, and goes to get some food and research.
Warnings: Eye squick before he puts on his faceplate.

[Room 1-04]
[Nessiah had been displeased upon waking up here, but not frightened. There were few things that could frighten him after so many years of death and rebirth: a simple kidnapping would not accomplish it.

He read the letter and put it away, skepticism clear on what remained of his face. There were of course ways to destroy a world, but not many to do it instantaneously, without warning. He would have known that something was coming.

That done, he rooted in his trunk for his clothes and the chains that properly covered him. At the very least, he should put on his faceplate before anyone but his roommates saw the empty holes where his eyes should be.]

[Floor 98]
[The dormitories offered little interest to him, and the staircase seemed the obvious way to proceed. He avoided the glowing step of floor 101, briefly explored the crystalline caverns, then returned to find the next floor down.

The moment his foot left the staircase his vision went black as the spells he used to see were cut out suddenly. He stumbled, tumbling onto his knees as he landed on the pipe floor.

Nessiah tried to feel his way back to the staircase with his hands, but the pipes were unfamiliar territory and it would be too easy to fall into a hole...]

[Elevator]
[Having bee rescued, Nessiah wisely decided not to take the walk down past many other floors that could easily blind him, and took the elevator instead. He wasn't one to strike up a conversation himself, but he wouldn't be opposed to something to fill the half an hour it took to get from the top of the tower to the bottom.]

[Cafeteria]
[Nessiah was presented with terribly mediocre oatmeal, but at least it looked better than whatever else was being served. He took an out-of-the-way corner of the cafeteria and began to slowly eat, watching whoever else was desperate enough to come to the cafeteria for nutrition.]

[Floor 3]
[Despite having most of his face covered, Nessiah has no trouble reading, and has a large stack of books in front of him on one of the tables. It's quite curious.]

Comments

[grancenturio]

Is it? And everyone who lives there is...?

[This would be remarkably close to his own goals.]

[tohko_amano]

Everyone who wasn't pulled by Zo is dead, I believe.

[grancenturio]

Then I suppose I have nothing left to do there.

[tohko_amano]

I don't think so..you could help us restore the universes, fight against the Administrators, and restore the lost souls, it that's possible.

[grancenturio]

Tell me more about the Administrators.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko nodded before explaining.]

There are four Administrators now-Riki, a secretive man who builds the Tower and is in charge of the records, Zo, a small child who can bring souls here, Jason, a sadistic medical doctor who sometimes experiments on the residents. He, I believe, helps transfer your soul when you die. Finally, there’s Ruana, a woman who has been here for thousands of years and doesn’t quite understand human empathy or emotions, and hates it when people go against her. She may seem sweet, but she is capable of removing free will and cannibalizing her own Administrators.

There used to be a fifth Administrator named Dax. He was the most humane of the bunch and did his best to protect us from Jason and the monsters here. He even managed to sneak people down to the Administrative levels in order to let them know more about this place. However, when he tried to go against Ruana..she killed and ate him, possibly absorbing his powers in the process. He was a good man.

[grancenturio]

I see... It is a shame to lose an ally.

[He has no attachment to Dax, of course.]

[tohko_amano]

[Not that Tohko really expects him to have any.]

It is..and he was a good person too. He could have helped us a lot..but..then he tried to fight Ruana for us and died.

[grancenturio]

As often happens when one challenges a greater opponent than one can handle.

[tohko_amano]

That does sometimes happen..but that doesn't make it any better. And sometimes the challenger can win a fight like that, you know.

[grancenturio]

Perhaps. But it seems in this case, he didn't.

[tohko_amano]

That's true..however, that doesn't mean that all hope is lost for us. Zo is still on our side, even if he can't do much right now.

[grancenturio]

Would you expect him to risk death now?

[tohko_amano]

Not now, to be honest..but not because he wouldn't. Zo is just a little kid, so while he likes us and doesn't want us to get hurt..he's much weaker than Ruana.

[grancenturio]

Some children are strong. But I understand your meaning.

[tohko_amano]

Right..some children are strong, and Zo is rather tough..but he doesn't know as much as Ruana, and she's much stronger than him. While he's an ally, he can't help us, sadly.

[grancenturio]

Nessiah merely shrugs at that. "What a shame," he answers, calmly.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed before replying.]

It is a bit of a pain right now..but that just means we'll have to forge on without him for the moment. We'll probably be fine.

[grancenturio]

What confidence you have.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.]

I think it's more optimism than confidence, really.

[grancenturio]

You distinguish the two?

[tohko_amano]

Sometimes. I'm not really sure if we'll win against the Administrators or not, but I hope we will..so I think it's optimism at this point. Of course, I could be wrong.

[grancenturio]

Hm. At least you're realistic about it now.

[tohko_amano]

A little..but that doesn't mean I've given up or lost hope, you realize.

[grancenturio]

A little hope is not a bad thing.