Scenario:Lobelia - Unencumbered Duo
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Unencumbered Duo
Using the power of simulation taken from the Inchoate World, Lobelia and The Tower enjoy razing whole countries and islands. Back in reality, when the primal tries to slam down on (Captain) with its fist, Lobelia stops it in place and promises to talk things out with The Tower.
A few days have passed since the Inchoate World's defeat.
Lobelia: ...
Man: Hm? Who's that?
Woman: A representative of a church, maybe?
Lobelia: Salut! What a wonderful country this is! I see prosperity and happiness everywhere I look! How fortunate I am to have come for a visit!
Man: Sure... Thanks, pal. We're a peaceful country that hasn't known war or poverty for a really long time now.
Lobelia: Hehe. I can hear a subtle yet lively and refined harmonie from you.
Lobelia: Divertissements fill the air! The abundant opulence makes it impossible for misfortune to take root!
Woman: Ahaha... If you're interested in the arts, I'd like to take you to someplace special that the country's renowned for—
Lobelia: You mean the art gallery? I've already toured the place, and I must say it is simply divine. The collection of gems there is a sight to behold.
Lobelia: Here, listen to this.
Lobelia: Registre.
Man: Huh? That sound... Is it coming from the seashell?
Woman: I've heard that jingle before in the gallery... How does this work?
Lobelia: Yes, even the environmental noise is lovely. The shuffling of gallerygoers couldn't be more elegant.
Lobelia: Each item on display is a pièce de résistance... The artists responsible must have bet their lives creating them. To think that sound could emanate from even objects...
Lobelia: Aaahh... It invites such volupté! Ooh... Yeeesss...
Man: Um... You okay, buddy?
Lobelia: I cannot contain myself... Aaahh... Haha...
Multiple conches appear in Lobelia's surroundings as he covers his face and trembles in exaltation.
They fall to the ground in rapid succession. Immediately thereafter...
Scream: Aaiiieee!
Woman: Eep! What was that sound just now?
Scream: Stop! Stop it, pl—
Man: What in the skies just happened!
Lobelia: Très bien! My body, my heart, my very soul trembles with excitement!
Feeling exhilarated by the ensuing rhapsody, he turns to the man and woman and snaps his finger.
Woman: Ah... Huh?
The bodies of the two begin to bubble, as if being cooked in a hot pot.
Man: Cough... Ngh...
Boiling blood and melted organs pour out of their orifices. What were once people soon become nothing more than messy puddles on the ground.
Lobelia: This is happiness!
Lobelia: What a country! What wonderful citizens! What beauty!
Lobelia: Très bien!
Lobelia lightly claps his hands, his face colored in ecstasy.
The Evoker's victims die in a gruesome manner one after another, matching the timing of his claps.
Some instantaneously explode, some have their viscera clawed every which way, and some have their limbs torn off as if drawn and quartered.
Lobelia: May your euphoric melodies ring for eternity. I'll make sure none of it goes to waste in my conques.
Lobelia's surroundings are now littered with conches all over.
Tower: A most riveting concert it was.
The Tower is suddenly standing beside The Evoker.
Tower: The sight of those in bliss turned into inanimate remains in a flash is pure beauty.
Tower: Mind if I have a go at it?
Lobelia: Make it good.
As The Tower clenches his fists, those who'd lost their lives are instantly brought back.
Man: Urk! Wha? I... I'm alive! But how...
Woman: I can't believe it... What happened just now?
Tower: Grant us happiness.
The Tower raises his clenched fists.
A flash of lightning is followed by the rumbling of thunder. In the blink of an eye, everything around the two turns to ash.
Lobelia: ...!
Lobelia: Braaavoo! Bravo! Très bien!
Lobelia: What a blissful sound that was! You may have pulled off a better performance than I!
Tower: But that is the extent of what I can do. Your destruction is far closer to happiness than mine.
Lobelia: It's enough! More than enough!
Lobelia: Je t'aime, Tower... I couldn't have asked for a better partner.
Lobelia: It's just a shame that I forgot to bring along some vin mousseux.
Tower: That sparkly beverage? Indeed, the way it bubbles does remind me of the sound of happiness.
Tower: How nice it would be to have a glass. Perhaps we can have a feast on the next island. Though I can't actually ingest anything.
Lobelia: I'll eat enough for both of us. I may not look it, but I've got a big appetite.
Tower: Yes, I'm aware.
With The Tower freed of its role and Lobelia having gained new power, the pair embark on a destructive rampage.
No longer having a need to conceal their malice and ambitions, the two have gone from island to island destroying everything in their path, this particular round of carnage being their tenth.
Despite the thousands of lives they've taken, they talk like two little children just passing the time.
Lyria's Voice: ...lia!
Lobelia: Hm?
Lyria's Voice: Lobelia!
A voice too gentle for their world startles them.
Their world seems to unravel, and the pair now find themselves in a vast flower garden.
Gently tapping the spaced-out Lobelia on the shoulder, the captain lets out a sigh.
Lobelia: (Captain)... Haha. Sorry, I got so caught up in my chat with The Tower.
Vyrn: Sure had us surprised when you guys practically froze in place.
Lobelia: Oh, is that what it looked like?
Lyria: You mean... that's not what happened?
Lobelia: Ah, let's not worry about it. Yep, no need to worry about it.
Lyria: Okay, then...
Lobelia: (Tower... Looks like it's best we avoid using that simulation power from The World too much.)
Tower: (They grow suspicious, do they? I was getting tired of razing the imaginary anyhow.)
The two communicate without words via the Arcarum card.
Lyria: Anyway, it must be nice, Lobelia!
Lobelia: Huh? What do you mean?
Lyria: Being able to talk to The Tower!
Lyria: Haha, you two look so happy chatting away among yourselves all the time.
Tower: Happy, eh?
Lyria: Mm-hm!
Vyrn: From what I can pick up of their convos though, the stuff they talk about couldn't be further from "happy"...
Lyria: To each their own... Ahaha...
Tower: Happy...
Lobelia: Gwahahaha! I certainly do find myself filled with exuberance when conversing with my partner.
Lobelia: Though I must warn you, (Captain). Your expressions of love are lacking.
Lobelia: If you're going to poke me at all, pick a spot that makes a more harmonious sound.
(Captain), remaining expressionless, proceeds to pinch Lobelia in the cheeks.
Lobelia: Urk... Hey, that's not bad... You've expanded your repertoire, have you?
Lobelia: Oof, you put some power into that... Surely you're not jealous of how I talk to The Tower all the time?
Lobelia: Oh, yes! That shook my liver good!
Lobelia: Ack, oof! What a wonderful sensation that was! If only I had recorded it!
Vyrn: Yep. That's our Lobelia, all right...
Tower: ...
The air suddenly grows tense without warning.
Before (Captain) can sense the murderous intent, The Tower's fist comes crashing down on the captain.
Lyria: Eep!
Fortunately, Lobelia's magic leaves The Tower's fist suspended in mid-air.
Lobelia: Was that meant to be a joke? I'm not laughing.
Tower: ...
Vyrn: Er... What just happened right now?
Lobelia: Sorry. The Tower and I need some private time.
With a snap of Lobelia's finger, he and his primal partner disappear into the wind.
Vyrn: They're gone... What the heck was that about?
Unencumbered Duo: Scene 2
Having come to the floating remnants of an island they previously wrecked beyond recognition, The Tower and Lobelia sit down for a tete-a-tete.
Lobelia: Since you can talk now, maybe you explain yourself, Tower.
Lobelia: Why are you so impatient?
Tower: What need is there to wait?
Lobelia: ...
Tower: I seek to destroy you.
Tower: But that is the endgame. Before that, I wish to destroy the world alongside you.
Tower: Just like we did that spherical world, destroying the Sky Realm won't take long with your help!
Lobelia: You are correct. There is nothing we cannot destroy.
Tower: Yet you will not walk down that path with me. Transient worlds are the most you're willing to obliterate.
Lobelia: Are you dissatisfied?
Tower: Unsatisfied, more like.
Lobelia: Hm...
Tower: You have a debt to pay back to (Captain), which explains your reluctance to engage in unnecessary destruction.
Tower: I see that the captain has grown quite endearing to you...
Lobelia: Heh, it's not easy being a popular man. I didn't expect you to be the jealous type too.
Tower: To be frank, yes. I will not deny the fact.
Tower: Tell me something. I understand your love for the captain, but you also possess a great urge to destroy (Captain).
Tower: Why not act on that urge? Surely with our newfound powers, we would be the victors this time if a battle ensued.
Tower: Were you to fall, I would still be able to grant you supreme bliss.
Lobelia: Spoken like a newborn babe, my friend.
Tower: Look who's talking. Are you not the one who believed in Santa well past your childhood?
Tower: Tell me in earnest. Depending on your answer...
Lobelia: (Hm... This is more serious than I thought.)
Lobelia: (With its newly formed consciousness, it really is like a child. Haha, as charming as that might make The Tower seem...)
Lobelia: (It will surely go after (Captain) if it is displeased with my answer...)
Lobelia: (No, it'll be worse. The Tower will be as I was before meeting the captain.)
Lobelia: You've put me on the spot. It's not so easy to explain.
Tower: I only expect a reasonable explanation. After all, you were the one who wished to talk things through.
Lobelia: Oui... For starters...
Lobelia: Impossible! Why don't I destroy (Captain)? As if I could explain that in words!
Tower: Hm?
Lobelia: I do plan on making my intentions clear to you. It's just there's a faster way to go about it.
Lobelia: Registre image!
Those who once walked the Sky Realm manifest before them.
Tower: You're using my power, I see. Rather impressive to bring up a simulation in reality.
Lobelia: Remember this guy?
Tower: Yes... He was a spirited warrior. The hero of a border island.
Tower: The sound of every muscle in his body rupturing was most magnificent. His death throes left a lasting impression.
Lobelia: How about this girl?
Tower: Ah, the princess of a small nation. She possessed strong resolve despite her youth.
Tower: It was beautiful how she refused to scream even as her body was being squished under the weight of the collapsing castle.
Lobelia: My thoughts exactly. So you remember it all.
With a satisfied grin, Lobelia snaps a finger.
The once-people brought forth by Lobelia simultaneously burst open, then proceed to fade away.
Lobelia: Simulations can be helpful for reflecting on past events.
Tower: That was quite enjoyable.
Lobelia: Sure... But you feel something else too, don't you?
Tower: Yes. It grows tiresome.
Lobelia: Ever wondered why?
Tower: They are too easy to destroy.
Lobelia: Precisely. We've reached a point where we can no longer find solace in toying with easy prey.
Tower: The moment of reprieve gained from such a hollow simulation is far from satisfactory.
Tower: The same principle may apply to reality as well. Perhaps the happiness you and I seek no longer exists in the skies.
Choose: Are you forgetting someone?
Tower: (Captain), you mean?
Lobelia: Yes, (Captain)'s like me in a lot of ways...
Lobelia: Stopping at nothing in the pursuit of happiness, for the sake of friends as well.
Lobelia: The captain's willingness to destroy all obstacles to happiness is, in a word, pulchritudinous.
Lobelia: Were we to go on a rampage, (Captain) would just the same stop at nothing to halt our advance or even destroy us.
Tower: Wait, I'm confused. What are you trying to say?
Lobelia: You know, I'm just as lost as you are.
Tower: What?
Lobelia: There's only one thing to do.
Tower: Huh?
The Tower's right arm is sent hurling away.
Lobelia: Let's fight, partner.
Tower: Hahah!
The Tower trembles with joy, slamming down on Lobelia with an unavoidable blow.
Choose: You just might be right.
Tower: I see...
Tower: Our simulations are based on the havoc we've wrought thus far.
Tower: They portray in excruciating detail the acts we've committed. Yet I barely feel anything. Perhaps because...
Lobelia: The sound of happiness isn't there.
Tower: How empty.
Lobelia: All the more reason to continue seeking it, wherever it might exist.
Lobelia: Truth be told, I did find some new measure of bliss from your simulation.
Tower: No, that's your imagination talking. You were simply collecting similar sounds.
Lobelia: Way to put a damper on things.
Tower: I grow weary.
As The Tower's voice fades, it returns to the card.
Lobelia: Tower... This discussion's not over yet. I haven't even brought up (Captain)...
Tower: ...
Lobelia: Tower?
The Tower no longer responds.
Lobelia: Sigh... I must've said the wrong thing.
Lobelia: It's not easy convincing a newborn child...
The Evoker realizes that it is too late for regret and wallows in despair.
Believing that the happiness they sought no longer exists in this world...
The Tower has destroyed its own consciousness.
It never speaks again.
The sound of happiness will never ring again.
Fin
Withdrawing from quest.
Reconsider your decision and seek out another future.
Choose: Talk about the future.
Lobelia: Let's talk about what happens going forward.
Tower: Go on.
Lobelia: Chances are I'm going to continue pursuing the sound of happiness right alongside you.
Lobelia: I promise you boundless destruction in order to satiate our voracious appetites.
Tower: Destruction... in more than a transient world?
Lobelia: ...
That'd be nice too.
That'd be nice too.
Tower: Enough of your blatant lies. Do not coddle me.
Lobelia: You can tell?
Tower: I have no doubt that you would prioritize your debt to (Captain) over me.
Lobelia: Hm, I wonder about that. But you might just be right.
Lobelia: Except...
Tower: I've heard enough.
Lobelia: Tower.
Tower: I'll never find the satisfaction I seek, will I.
Tower: Ah... Happiness is ever so distant.
The Tower slowly, but firmly, raises its fist.
Lobelia: Wait.
Tower: My will never mattered.
Tower: I detest you, Lobelia.
Heaving a sigh of resignation, The Tower calls down a flash of doom.
Lightning bolts pierce the skies, quickly multiplying and obliterating everything in their path.
They seek to rob Lobelia of the happy sounds he has yet to collect.
Lobelia: Tower... Stop this. Think it over.
Tower: The Tower you know is no more. The only one who can stop me... is you, Lobelia.
Lobelia: Tower...
An unprecedented cascade of cataclysmic lightning floods the sky.
Every life caught in the wake of the purge meets a swift demise; it stops for nothing.
However, the destruction remains incomplete. A certain genius has given his life to end the calamity.
The few who survived the incident will never know what became of the genius and fortress that were involved.
The sound of happiness will never ring again.
Fin
Withdrawing from quest.
Reconsider your decision and seek out another future.
Continue 2
Continue 1
Unencumbered Duo: Scene 3
Lobelia and The Tower take delight in a bonanza of mutual destruction. After a lengthy discussion, The Tower realizes that in order to achieve true happiness, it must kill Lobelia, who in turn must destroy (Captain) after the captain has accomplished all there is to do.
Tower: Hahahahah! What a lovely sound... You are my key to happiness after all!
Lobelia: Heh-ahahaha! Likewise, it is a pleasure to take such delight in your sound, Tower!
The Tower is smashed into bits and pieces, while Lobelia is reduced to a hunk of flesh.
They resurrect themselves and continue in this sadomasochistic display, the unlikely combination of rapture and pain filling them with untold delight.
Vyrn: Whoa! Is that a thunderstorm on the horizon?
(Captain) and company are struck by a shock wave as they continue to wait for Lobelia and The Tower.
Lyria: It's coming from that way... I can't see anything though.
Choose: Must be Lobelia and The Tower.
Vyrn: Yeah? What the heck could they be doin' over there?
Lyria: Let's go find them!
Tower: I'm done.
The scene of carnage that was poised to last for eternity ends on short notice.
Lobelia: What's wrong, partner?
Tower: This, too... feels just as hollow.
Lobelia: So you noticed, eh?
Tower: This is no different from simulation. When everything can be destroyed and resurrected at will, the end result is the same no matter how you go about it.
Tower: I prefer to feel the destruction. That sensation is everything.
Lobelia: Go for it then. You've crushed me who-knows-how-many-times by now.
Tower: Well...
Lobelia: Why resurrect me? Leave me as an unsightly puddle of goo permanently.
Lobelia: You have a will of your own and can speak now. Tell me what you're thinking.
Tower: How underhanded. You used force to explain your case, yet you would have me use words to explain myself?
Lobelia: Everyone's got their strengths and weaknesses.
Tower: Heh...
Tower: One thing's for certain: fighting you has made me realize that this feeling is an antinomy.
Tower: As much as I'd enjoy permanently ending you, doing so would put an end to everything. That would be too great of a shame.
Lobelia: I feel the same, Tower. I'd very much like to smash you, but I'd also rather not.
Lobelia: Or should I say... If I pulverized you now, the sound of happiness...
Tower: Would be distant. You'd feel nothing.
Tower: To destroy you now, the Walking Calamity Lobelia that I loved, would be most meaningless to me.
Lobelia: So you'd rather go after (Captain), who holds onto my reins?
Tower: That would be equally fruitless. You would destroy me in return in a mad fit of anger.
Tower: A path none the happier.
Lobelia: Yep. Wouldn't work out for either of us.
Lobelia: (Captain) is to me as I am to you. Another antinomy.
Lobelia: Expunging the captain would be more difficult than wiping out the entire skies.
Lobelia: Even if we managed to pull it off, it would be a hollow victory as we are now.
Tower: No different from the destruction we can experience through simulations or our battle earlier.
Lobelia: Oui, it's a shame.
Tower: Are we at an impasse then? Is happiness not in the cards for us?
Lobelia: Heh-ahaha! Aw, don't make such a sad face. You're like the pouting little sibling I never had.
Tower: Do not mock me...
Lobelia: Forgive me, Frère.
An impish grin on his face, Lobelia whips out a whole cake and a fork.
Tower: What are you planning now?
Lobelia: Ah, a nice whole cake for myself. I've always loved the chocolate plaque they put on these things since I was a kid.
Lobelia: Give me a moment to dig in. Nom... Nom...
Tower: ...?
Despite struggling to get it all down, Lobelia continues eating, desecrating the cake with his fork as he does.
Lobelia: I feel a bit of heartburn setting in. An entire cake is a lot...
Lobelia: But that's precisely what makes the chocolate plaque—which I'm saving for last—so delectably wonderful.
Tower: Get to the point. What are you doing?
Lobelia: Patience, Tower. I did mention in the beginning...
Tower: Hm?
Lobelia: You have to bide your time.
Lobelia: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Steady, steady, steady, steady, steady—
Twisting his face in glorious rapture, Lobelia crushes the chocolate plaque into pieces.
Lobelia: At the very end, you finally let loose.
Lobelia: Unleash your pent-up frustration—every last drop of it! Make all that stress work in your favor! Let the intoxicating bliss fill your body!
Lobelia: Just like this chocolate here! Ah, how sweet it must be. Just like the smile on your face when you get to this moment.
Lobelia: Now this is definitely something worth waiting for.
Tower: Your argument collapses on itself. What awaits after this is still emptiness.
Lobelia: What seems alike may be quite different in nature, Tower.
Lobelia: Take a second to consider the sheer joy that will fill your entire being when you've destroyed me right after I've expunged a (Captain) who's accomplished everything there is to accomplish.
Lobelia: An indescribable bliss waits at the end of the tunnel.
Tower: So you propose to savor the process and dream big, I see...
Lobelia: Doesn't hurt to wait. What do you say?
Lobelia: You get to destroy me the moment I enter rapture from listening to (Captain)'s sound of happiness.
Tower: It's a non-argument after all. You've explained nothing.
Lobelia: But surely my emotions got through to you.
Tower: Yes... I am loath to admit that you've convinced me to enjoy things as they are now. Good things come to those who wait.
Lobelia: Heh, glad to hear it. Let's take things in stride until the curtain closes.
Tower: Agreed...
Vyrn: Look, Conchy and The Tower are here after all.
Lyria: You were right, (Captain)...
Vyrn: Whoa, why are you guys in tatters!
Lyria: Did something happen?
Lobelia: We helped ourselves to a little party.
Lyria: A party?
Lobelia: Right, partner?
Tower: Yes, we may have gone a bit overboard in our celebration.
Vyrn: Yeah? Guess we were worried for nothin'...
Lobelia: Since you came all the way here, why not help yourself to some cake?
Lyria: Wow! That's a lot of cake!
Vyrn: What the... How are you hidin' so much cake under that mantle?
Tower: Don't bother asking. You won't get a serious answer.
Lobelia: Come now, Tower! I can give a straight answer when I need to. I just wanted to end the party on a high note.
Lobelia: Happy birthday, Tower.
(Captain) does not know the meaning behind those words.
Nor does the captain dig deeper. Because although The Tower's expression remains unchanging, any hint of hostility from it is all but gone.
Satisfied with the conclusion that this cake seems to hold great significance for the two, (Captain) and company indulge themselves.