Chương 14: 14-A Will of Change

[1505 HOURS: 01. 04. 2026] ELNA: > SHUTS THE COMPUTER OFF REMOTELY > OBSERVES JOHN ALERT gently Do you remember all of this? JOHN: > NODS SLOWLY IN DISGUST quietly That Onarius… that Warden… was someone different from the current one… > DEEP SIGH quietly I did everything he said, but the officers shelved the evidence out of fear of retribution. That bastard of a father had so many high-level connections… > SHAKING WHILE STARING AT ELNA SUSPICIOUSLY Do you have any idea how hard it was to shake off that name I had?

Knowing that you were the son of a guy whom everyone hated? > DEEP SIGH And if my fans knew that, if he- > STARES AT PICTURE OF [REDACTED] shaking -He knew that people would want to skin me alive. Throw me in the streets because I'm his son. ELNA: > INQUISITIVE But you aren't afraid of Onarius or your dad? JOHN: > SLOWLY NODS Because I thought they would never harm me again, never see me again. Well, until now, when Onarius sent you.

> STARES INTENSELY AT {me} muttering Now, I'm angry that some kid hasn't been given the chance to grow up and was forced to do some jackasses' bidding. ELNA: > LOOKS AT JOHN'S COMPUTER IN SADNESS > DEEP SIGH slowly Before I read your journals… before I talked to you, I genuinely thought you were one of the scum of the earth. But I realize you aren't that… JOHN: > STANDS AND KNEELS BEFORE {me} gently Assuming makes an ass out of you and me; and both of us are asses. ELNA: > RAISES EYEBROW Like Onarius?

JOHN: > LOOKS AWAY DISMISSIVELY Somewhat… but he has changed. ELNA: > CONCERENED Then, what about the video? JOHN: > STANDS UP AND SMIRKS AT {me} After seeing you, I'm more inclined to release it. ELNA: > RAISES EYEBROW John, "Ned" wants that video deleted, same with you. JOHN: > EYES FLARE UP I don't care if this "boss" of yours is afraid of some video exposure; I'm making sure he harms no one again. ELNA: > TERRIFIED exasperated You pissed off Ned so much that he was actually going to intervene himself!

JOHN: > PAUSES IN FRIGHT So, let me ask you, why did Onarius convince Ned to send you to "remedy a problem"? ELNA: > DEEP SIGH Because Onarius convinced him that I could change your mind about the video's contents. JOHN: > NODS IN DISBELIEF You certainly did do that. > OBSERVES GLASSES Funny, out of all the scumbags on this earth, I would be the one that Onarius wants to "spare". ELNA: > SIGHS SADDENLY softly Do you remember that one story on Warden Watch, the one that Onarius played with that kid before he passed?

JOHN: > NODS Yeah. What does that have to do with anything? ELNA: softly Well, he never forgot about him. Onarius still carries that boy's shield around, visits his grave, and even gave his parents photos they thought they had lost in a fire. He does care about people, including you. He never forgot. JOHN: > SIGHS Does he know what hell I went through with my foster family? The fact that my "brother" constantly bullied me for my interests back then? Along with the school I went to? ELNA: > NODS SLOWLY Yeah.

You did have good foster parents though, right? JOHN: > NODS I'm still in touch; though that excuse of a brother- ELNA: … Well, I read they disowned him after; and the fact your parents made an effort to make your life- JOHN: > INTENTLY AND ANGRILY STARES AT {me} muttering -Do not mention him. That brother I had is a miserable excuse of a human being. > CALMS DOWN And I know where you are going with this.

Yes, I still have contact with the victims of the "Evil AI Art Girlfriend" video due to the shit she did to so many people. I've been very busy helping a lot more victims affected by "Lysandra". ELNA: > BACKS AWAY Alright… JOHN: > SIGHS slowly I've had so many nightmares that one day. Even if you say he does care about me and hasn't forgotten, then why didn't he help me when I was a [EXPLETIVE] mess back then? ELNA: > GUILTY LOOK gently To tell you the truth, Onarius doesn't like to revisit those he met…

JOHN: > SMUG LOOK So, he just leaves us to, of course, deal with these memories when he thinks everything is said and done, is that it? And takes little trinkets to make himself feel good at night? > PUTS ON GLASSES AND TURNS TO {me} slowly Kid, I had so much shit to fix on my own that it took years of counseling and behavioral therapy to just reacquaint myself with society. Your "guardian", despite all of his heroics, is a monster in his own right.

ELNA: > FREEZES IN SADNESS JOHN: > KNEELS BEFORE {me} AND PLACES HAND ON SHOULDER gently You didn't know all of these things, I get it. Someone like you, though, deserves to know. ELNA: > SOFT SMILE JOHN: > STANDS UP AND ADJUSTS GLASSES So, if Onarius sent you, there must have been another reason besides "changing my mind on that video" and "remedying a problem"? This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ELNA: > WORRIED … To let you see what he actually does to the prisoners.

Something that none at Warden Watch, including myself, know about. JOHN: whispering At least he isn't willing to harm his child under his custody… > SQUINTS AT {me} A death trap, then? ELNA: > SHAKING HEAD panicked Nonono! He wouldn't incarcerate a guest. JOHN: > SUSPICIOUS slowly Despite me making a video that is basically slander and pissing off Ned? ELNA: > FRANTICALLY SHAKES HEAD exasperated Y-Yes sir!

JOHN: > CONFUSED Do you mean like he's letting me play some modified version of Lethe to view his- ELNA: > ANNOYED SIGH In-person. JOHN: > POINTS AT COMPUTER In there? My computer? > TURNS TO ME VERY SUSPICIOUS exasperated O-or do you mean some weird site on the internet? Like, you entered my room while using Rabble. ELNA: > CONCERNED WHILE TURNING AWAY mumbling Somewhere else… JOHN: > PAUSES AND GRIMACES AT {me} The place you came from? ELNA: > TWIDDLES THUMBS panicked Yeah, but it's something that is uh… Is uh…

JOHN: > RAISES EYEBROW"Weird"? ELNA: > SNAPS FINGER Yeah! >CLEARS THROAT slowly In the Eldrigital Void, a place that is a reality that follows rules and logic different from your reality; the Grand Prison is within that realm. It gets a lot weirder depending on how deep you go. But it shouldn't be too deep that it would corrupt a human mind. JOHN: > DEEP SIGH And he wants me to visit a place where I'll probably die then? And probably you? ELNA: > WAVES FRANTICALLY exasperated No! No! No!

Onarius would never do that! > CLEARS THROAT I'll make sure you get there safely. And Onarius will not let you into certain sections of the Grand Prison intended to keep the very bad- JOHN: - "The False". Like those evil AIs in the videos I made?

"Lysandra"? ELNA: > FREEZES IN ALARM Yes. > SHAKEN BREATHS … They are prisoners there for a reason… He told me that, and Onarius would never tell a lie to me about that. JOHN: > STARES AT COMPUTER AND SIGHS > STARES AT PICTURE OF [REDACTED] AND TURNS TO {me} Alright… I'll go to whatever hell I'm about to witness… ELNA: > SUSPICIOUS Are you sure? Onarius also- JOHN: > NODS TIREDLY I want to know what Onarius does. I want to know if he's changed. I want to know what becomes of those he targets considered malevolent…

> GLARES AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN … I also want to get you out. ELNA: > CONCERNED I don't think you can… JOHN: > TURNS TO CLOSET Then I'll try to… > BEGINS SEARCHING IN CLOSET ELNA: > INQUISITIVELY GOES NEXT TO JOHN What are you looking for? JOHN: A few things… [VIDEO FEED SHOWS A COLLECTION OF GLASSES, KNIVES, AND SPARE RECORDING EQUIPMENT] ELNA: > EYES WEIDEN awkwardly Uhh… why do you have so many knives? JOHN: > SCOFFS Knife collection… Also for self-defense. ELNA: Aren't you worried that someone will-?

JOHN: slowly No. My family and my boyfriend know about it; and the fact I have a concealed carry permit. > FRUSTRATED exasperated Where is it…?! ELNA: > OBSERVES JOHN SCROUNGING THE CLOSET What are you looking for exactly? JOHN: A MoveRec, I want to record all of this. > FRANTICALLY SEARCHES exasperted Jesus, please tell me I didn't lose it again?! ELNA: {SEARCHING FOR DEVICE_ID # FOR " MoveREC"… DONE} {MODIFYING ITEM_ID# 438078… DONE} {GENERATING ITEM_ID# 438078a… DONE} > CREATES {the item in question} AND PRESENTS IT TO JOHN Like this? JOHN: > EYES WIDEN WHILE OBSERVING DEVICE Where did you find it? ELNA: I created it, and also modified it so it could work in the Eldrigital Void without corrupting. Though I think Ned will notice. JOHN: > BUTTONS MOVEREC TO SHIRT Don't care… > GRABS KNIFE, SHEATHES IT AND TAKES MOVEREC {from me}, INSPECTING IT CLOSELY So where we're going will have lights similar to that one video?

ELNA: > ALERTLY NODS I can, of course, alter a pair of glasses to allow you to see without being blindfolded. JOHN: Do it then. ELNA: > NODS > PICKS UP A PAIR OF GLASSES {ALTERING PROPERTIES TO ITEM_ID# 1422… DONE} > HANDS THE NEW "SUNGLASSES" TO JOHN JOHN: > NODS IN APPROVAL Makes sense… > PUTS SUNGLASSES ON ELNA: > OBSERVES JOHN'S KNIFE softly John, weapons from your world won't work on entities from the Eldrigital Void. JOHN: > BEGINS TO PUT KNIFE AWAY, DISGRUNTLED ELNA: exasperated We still need it to enter!

JOHN: > FREEZES AND GIVES KNIFE TO ELNA, SUSPICIOUS Don't cut yourself with it. ELNA: > NODS SLOWLY > PICKS UP JOHN'S KNIFE {ALTERING PROPERTIES TO ITEM_ID# 281… DONE} >OBSERVES IT WITH JOHN 15 minutes from the spawn point… Though the tour will last a little long. > THINKS AND COUNTS FINGERS Though… if it lasts for, like, an hour… > STRUGGLES TO THINK And given that time is 10 times longer in the Eldrigital Void… > BREATHES CONTENTLY … 6 minutes here.

> EYES WIDEN Oh, are you worried about whether you were going to spend weeks or months there? JOHN: > SHAKES HEAD No… > STARES AT KNIFE Do what you need to do. Whatever hell we end up in, I promise that I won't flee. ELNA: > DEEP BREATHS > CREATES A DIGITAL PORTAL THROUGH TEAR WITH KNIFE {This portal in question looks a lot like the previous one, which could corrupt your mind given its connection point. I also edited the video footage in real time so it wouldn't corrupt your device} ELNA: > DIGITIZES KNIFE JOHN: > NODS AND GRABS {my} HAND > OUTSTRETCHES HAND TO JOHN, WAITING WITH A SOFT SMILE ELNA: > GRABS HAND, NERVOUS John…? JOHN: gently We'll get you out, we'll find a way… > JOHN {along with me} ENTER THE DIGITAL PORTAL AND DISAPPEARS {END VIDEO} {CLOSING FILE… DONE} ELNA: {I bet you're a little curious about Ned (despite me talking about him with John and Onarius), but I'll give more context. Ned (the safe nickname for him) is a digital deity who is basically "my boss" (I still hate calling him that). Ned is basically the one keeping that odd reality, the Eldrigital Void, afloat through his sheer power. Because of this power, he really does not like any disruptions, including those who harm his "employees". Onarius and I are some of them, though the conditions of my employment are something I will not talk about. I'm honestly nervous if he is reading what I am saying to you… John was going to do something that would disrupt his ecosystem, and Ned wanted him gone as a result. Onarius still remembers John, and he deeply cares about him. Well, this is just a recent contact as, uh… I try to keep that discrete so Ned won't eavesdrop. My guardian is telling me he spent a lot of time begging Ned to spare John's life in exchange for removing portions of the video to ensure it does not expose the veil (our way of saying the existence of the Eldrigital Void). And Ned doesn't usually spare people; he destroys them, or as I learned… he does a lot worse to them. In this case, though, he accepted Onarius's plea and plans to spare John if his conditions are met. Which I doubt… … Sorry, I was kind of talking to Onarius in the background. I'm a bit nervous myself if Ned has other plans for us. … I don't really need to explain much about the next video that will be livestreamed, though I'll be editing it so you won't become corrupted. The stuff here is not meant to be perceived by human minds. So, I'll give descriptions of what you will not be able to see. The stuff here is not really meant to be seen either way. … Oh yeah… Fyi, I'm glad I'm talking to you in text, actually. The amount of data from the Eldrigital Void is way too much for a human being, save for those "blessed" (hate that goddamn word). … If things get weird, well, that's normal-for me. I, uh, will be brief on some of the descriptions as they are headache-inducing. Though Onarius tells me some things will be very headache-inducing. … Oh, and what is being transcribed is what I can see, or an AI I can make sees through the MoveREC. Think of it as an extra pair of eyes! … Shit! I forgot to create the file being played via John's MoveREC! One sec…} {CREATING FILE "descent. mp4"… DONE} {OPENING FILE…}