Lumière had journeyed far further into the depths of the pearl shore's forested area, climbing the trees in order to reach the glimmering fruits high above. The first bite was cautionary, the second pleasure, he was far too hungry to bear safety much longer.
The air was silent once more, as if the wave of phenomena hadn't happened at all.
And still yet, he hadn't found a way out of the pearl shore!
'What could possibly be the condition of clearing this Zone? I wish this was something that Poe's Gnosis would tell me. Then again, if I've been seeing things this whole time because of the water, then perhaps all that I've learned is false. The only thing that I can surmise is truly real is the monster within the black sea. If it weren't a tangible existence, I probably wouldn't have been able to use 'blood transport' within its blood. And it's not too possible that it was all an illusion, my clothes are soaked in its blood still…'
Lumière sighed, taking another bite of the fruit.
It was becoming far too difficult to act as such a lofty figure like Ophelia under duress. Because, after all, such a powerful figure would never find himself under duress, not in such insignificant and paltry conditions. Perhaps 'Ophelia' would kill the sea monster in only a single blow, moving on to the next zone without expending a single movement of his facial muscles.
But the limit to lies were means. One could lie about their means, their power, wealth, and status, but when it came to enacting those means, if one did not truly have them, then the lie would fall apart.
He laid back within the grass, staring past the canopy of trees at the blank sky. Of course, he remained wary of monsters, but he had just fought against a gigantic terrifying beast within the sea that he could not even see clearly. The size of those tentacles must mean that the monster was far larger than he could comprehend. What did it want with him? Were there no fish in the black waters for it to consume?
Lumière chuckled as he came to this thought. No, of its size, it must need whales to satiate its hunger.
He could still feel the craziness of the Two of Spades encroaching on his mind, seeping in from the edges like a cancer he couldn't uproot, at least not at the moment.
"I'll become a monster if I go mad, huh…?"
Lumière's eyes suddenly widened, grinning wildly. He closed his eyes, his consciousness escaping into the sea of abyss as he appeared before the three personae sitting before the ancient stone wall. He walked over towards the black-haired Lain who had curled into a ball on the floor, letting out agonising groans as his body took on an illusory hue, fragmenting and splitting apart before reconnecting in an instant, as if it couldn't decide whether to be corporeal or incorporeal.
"Good news, my friend! It's time for you to join the world of the waking again!"
Lain groaned, rolling over to stare up at Lumière. Black blood had dried up against his cheeks, pouring down from his eyelids, which had reddened immensely. From time to time, a pitch-black tendril would erupt from his skin, thrashing wildly before becoming incorporeal and corrupted, fading away as if it hadn't existed at all.
"You look like shit!" Lumière laughed, kicking Lain's abdomen. The man groaned further.
"Mother… fucker…"
Lumière grasped at the back of his collar, raising him up to stare at him face to face.
"I've got a job for you. You're going to be a good little dog for me, aren't you?"
When he appeared back in the Labyrinth, he exited the forest in the center of the shore, walking towards the sand. He stomped on one of the skulls lying on the pearl sands, shattering it into a dozen pieces, before grabbing the sharpest edge with a harsh fist, the sharpness cutting into the palm of his hand.
'Lain, it's almost your time. Bear this much. That's all you're good for.'
He walked to the edge of the shore, the water lapping at his boots as he smirked. This was the exuberance of Ophelia. He had finally cultivated that point of the personality. He was somewhat like 'Lain', in that his confidence was maddening, but it wasn't that he was confident because he had the merit and means to back it, it was simply because he was that determined. It didn't matter if he was a powerful demon, or an ant that had been abandoned by its colony. He had determined himself to reach his goals; it was the motive born from Lumière, and it was something he would do at all costs.
In the end, Lumière had always been 'just like Ophelia'.
Lumière threw himself backwards into the depths of the black sea, sinking into the darkness of the abyss as he took the shard of bone and placed it against the back of his hand.
'I realised this when I encountered the former Two of Spades, that heretic in the House of Cards… but this mark on my hand, it isn't affiliated with the Heretics. That man had a completely different mark on his hand! This damned mark, it's equivalent to the one found on Poe's Gnosis… whatever connection the House of Cards has with Lord Sinner, this much is clear! This mark is Lord Sinner's!'
Lumière dragged the bone shard across the mark, slicing deep into his flesh, interrupting the sigil's lines. He gazed up at the faltering light of the strange night sky above the waving waters, his gaze fierce and determined. His countenance took on a sharper aesthetic, of black hair and pale blue eyes. It was Lain!
'Even this is blasphemy!'
Madness immediately encroached on his mind, his thoughts faltering, one remaining as tentacles burst outwards around him. He did not feel the powerful strength that would surge through him when he blasphemed, that wasn't its purpose.
When had he been told so?
That to become irrecoverably mad… was to also become a horrific monster?