Scenario:Caim - Awakening and Departure
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Awakening and Departure
Caim suddenly falls into a deep slumber. The Hanged Man explains that he must reinvoke his pact with Caim, or they will both fade away. Seeing no other way, the crew allows it. Free of all the tragic memories he once held, the innocent and pure Caim joins the crew along with The Hanged Man.
Months have passed since the battle with The Hanged Man.
Lyria: I wonder how Caim's doing now...
The crew are on their way to meet Caim after receiving word from Sierokarte.
Vyrn: Word is he just stopped waking up one day. What coulda happened to him?
Lyria: Well, Siero did say he's just sleeping and not exactly ill...
Lyria: But it still worries me.
Vyrn: He still can't remember anything, right? Must be feeling like a real burden.
Lyria: Ah! That reminds me...
Lyria: I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I haven't really felt The Hanged Man's presence lately.
Lyria: I don't sense much of his power anymore.
Vyrn: Yeah? Come to think of it, he came off as a total chatterbox, but he hasn't said a peep for a while now.
Lyria: Could it be related to Caim's condition?
Vyrn: Considering those two have a pact in place, that sounds about right.
Lyria: Yeah...
Lyria: Anyhow, we'll just have to see for ourselves how Caim is doing!
(Captain) and company walk into a room and find Sierokarte watching over Caim.
Lyria: Siero! How is he?
Sierokarte: Hi there! He's still dozing off as you can see.
Caim: ...
Vyrn: Hm, he's definitely getting in more than forty winks.
The crew gazes in wonder at the slumbering Caim.
Lyria: We can't just leave him like this.
Sierokarte: Mm-hm. Staying in bed twenty-four seven is only going to make him weaker and weaker.
Vyrn: That must really suck!
Lyria: Mmph... What do we do...
Vyrn: There's not much we can do without knowing what exactly he's come down with...
Lyria: ...!
Vyrn: Wha?
Lyria: I just felt a sudden wave of The Hanged Man's power!
Lyria: Eek!
The Hanged Man: Hoo boy...
Vyrn: Hey... Hanged Man! What's the big idea!
Lyria: You scared me!
The Hanged Man: Whoops, my bad. I came out on my own since I was running out of time.
Vyrn: Whaddya mean you're outta time?
The Hanged Man: I meant to say I'm running out of juice.
Lyria: Oh no!
The Hanged Man: Hm? I thought you noticed, Lyria.
Lyria: It's true I felt your power getting weaker, but to think that you might disappear...
Vyrn: How did things turn out like this?
The Hanged Man: I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to primal beasts. I've got issues.
Lyria: What exactly do you mean by that?
The Hanged Man: Me and the other Arcarum primals were created by The World.
The Hanged Man: Maybe it's because we're made from recycled cores of other primals, but we can be pretty fragile.
Lyria: A primal beast created by another primal beast...
Vyrn: Wait, recycling cores is a thing?
The Hanged Man: I suppose you could say anything goes for us primals.
Vyrn: You almost make it sound like it's someone else's problem...
The Hanged Man: Meh. We're programmed in a way so as to never oppose The World.
The Hanged Man: In layman's terms: brainwashing.
The Hanged Man: Before I forget, I should also mention that the mastermind responsible for manipulating you all into helping shape a new cosmos is also...
The Hanged Man: The World. We're all following his orders.
Vyrn: Hold up just one sec! This is some pretty big news you're laying on us!
Lyria: So even now, you're still...
The Hanged Man: Nuh-uh, thanks to you guys, the fetters placed on me by The World are no more.
Vyrn: Geez, you coulda told us that first, you know!
The Hanged Man: Yeah, my bad. Anyway, getting back on topic...
The Hanged Man: Now that I'm free of The World's clutches, I'm finding it hard to keep up my strength.
Vyrn: So that's what you meant by "disappear."
The Hanged Man: Caim stopped waking up pretty much because I've become so weak.
Vyrn: So it was all related after all!
Lyria: What can we do to help! At this rate Caim's going to...
The Hanged Man: The solution's simple enough. I just need to renew my pact with Caim.
Vyrn: Wha?
Lyria: You mean do what you did to him... again?
The Hanged Man: Anyone who makes a pact with one of us Arcarum primals is known as an Evoker.
The Hanged Man: Evokers are the ones who hold the power for the Arcarum to materialize in this world.
Vyrn: That explains why refreshing the pact would keep you wholesome.
The Hanged Man: Yep. And it'd mean rise and shine for Caim to boot.
Lyria: But then... (Captain)...
(Captain) finds it difficult to respond to Lyria at once.
Vyrn: You can't expect us to just say, "Yeah, sure—go right ahead."
The Hanged Man: Why?
Vyrn: Are you serious? Don't tell me you've already forgotten what you did to Caim!
Lyria: He's still suffering from memory loss.
Lyria: To place such a heavy burden on him on top of that might be too much...
The Hanged Man: Aww, how gentle you guys are. Well, I guess that's the end of it then.
Vyrn: Hm? What is it now?
The Hanged Man: If I can't have your permission, then there's no other way about it.
The Hanged Man: I'll just have to disappear along with Cain.
Lyria: What!
Vyrn: No way!
The Hanged Man: Only reason Caim hasn't kicked the bucket yet is because of the bond we still share.
The Hanged Man: In a way, he's alive thanks to me.
Vyrn: It's also your fault he almost bought the farm!
The Hanged Man: Yeah, you could say that.
The Hanged Man: Not like it changes the facts though.
The Hanged Man's easygoing attitude this entire time leaves (Captain) with a chill.
Lyria: Is that the only way?
The Hanged Man: Mm-hm, as far as I know.
Vyrn: There's gotta be something else we can try. We've just gotta look for it.
Lyria: Yeah! It's probably better to go with a method that won't be a burden on Caim.
The Hanged Man: Uh-oh! Clock's ticking!
Vyrn: Whoa! It looks like you're just about ready to fade out of existence!
Lyria: I can sense your power diminishing too!
Sierokarte: Ah! Even Caim's reacting!
Caim: Ngh...
Still deep asleep, Caim groans in agonizing pain before his breaths grow increasingly shallow.
Vyrn: Darn it! You weren't joking about running outta time!
The Hanged Man: Hate to say this, but it looks like this is goodbye.
Even during what may very well be his final moments, The Hanged Man remains as laid-back as ever.
Lyria: (Captain)! What do we do?
Choose: Go on and renew the pact.
The Hanged Man: Hm? You sure about that?
Lyria: Caim's life is at stake...
Vyrn: No time for buts!
Lyria: If this keeps up, Caim's—
Caim: Ngh...
Caim holds on by a bare thread.
Vyrn: C'mon, (Captain)!
Teeth clenched, (Captain) gives The Hanged Man an affirmative nod.
Continue 1
The Hanged Man: All right. Here goes.
The Hanged Man approaches Caim and places both hands on his cheek, maintaining the same carefree expression the entire time.
The Hanged Man: Guess we'll be sticking around a bit longer after all.
Caim: Wow, this airship is huge! Whee!
Vyrn: Whoa, slow down there, Caim! You definitely don't wanna fall off by accident!
Caim: I'll be fine! I'm not a kid anymore!
His pact with The Hanged Man renewed, Caim has joined the crew on their adventure.
Lyria: I'm really glad Caim's all better now.
Lyria: Just look how thrilled he is running around on the Grandcypher.
Vyrn: Yup, I'm just glad he's having a blast! Still though...
Vyrn: I wouldn't say everything's back to normal.
Lyria: Yeah... He doesn't remember anything about the past.
The Hanged Man: I don't exactly have the power to just whip his memory back into shape. Besides, Caim's having a ton more fun the way he is now.
Vyrn: That's a good point...
Watching Caim prance about with so much glee, (Captain) has mixed feelings about the situation.
Caim: So, hey! Where's this ship headed?
Lyria: Is there any place you want to go, Caim?
Caim: You're asking me? Hm...
He gives it some thought before noticing The Hanged Man.
Caim: Hey... Do I know you?
The Hanged Man: Don't be so cold. I'm The Hanged Man, remember?
Caim: Um... So where do you want to go, Hanged Man?
The Hanged Man: I've decided to tag along with this crew wherever their destination is.
Caim: That sounds a lot like me.
The Hanged Man: Yep, we're in the same boat here.
Vyrn: Care to tell us why you wanna come with us so badly?
The Hanged Man: Sure. Being with you guys gives me a higher chance of bumping into The World again someday.
Lyria: Hm... You want to see The World?
Vyrn: Whoa! What's that all about?
The Hanged Man: Hey, relax. It's nothing you guys need to be afraid of.
The Hanged Man: I'm not under his control anymore.
Lyria: Then why...
The Hanged Man: Sure, I might be free from his shackles, but I still need a way to stave off boredom, you know?
Vyrn: Heh, what a riot...
The Hanged Man: Most of all, I can't wait to see the look on The World's face when you foil his plans.
Lyria: Foil his plans?
The Hanged Man: Well, you don't intend on leaving him be, do you?
Vyrn: Not in a million years.
Lyria: If he wants to rid us of our skies, then we're definitely going to put a stop to that!
The Hanged Man: So there you go. You folks are ready to bust his chops after all.
Caim: Hey, what's this all about? Who's this The World? He sounds like a bad person.
The Hanged Man: A bad person, eh? Things aren't always so black-and-white if you ask me. It's more sophisticated than that.
Caim: Black and white? So-fisty-cake-did?
The Hanged Man: Hahaha! You'll come to know what I mean in due time.
The Hanged Man: And when that time does come, I'd be more than happy to hear your thoughts on the issue.
Caim: ...
The Hanged Man: ...
Their pact renewed, both The Hanged Man and Caim are now part of the crew.
No one can say...
How the experiences on this journey will end up shaping the wide-eyed, innocent Caim.