“I'm sorry.”
The words slipped out before Yuna could stop them, but they were no less honest even in their simplicity. There's no reason she should feel bad for the being that stood before her- a mockery of the human form comprised entirely out of slick, oily sinew and muscle, a thousand screaming faces wailing in agony dotted throughout. The ungodly abomination that had so thoroughly poisoned the very land it inhabited that every single tragedy that unfolded here, in some way, tied back to its presence- to say nothing of its desire to hurt and to destroy being the core of the awful night she had gone through. Every wound on her body throbbed in agony and her mind rapidly recounted everything she had endured over the last several hours, as if in rebellion to her empathy; “why should you care?”
But Yuna knew what she felt in her soul when it forced its way into it, in an attempt to twist her body and spirit as it had done with countless others before her. As it gazed into her, she gazed into it. And what she saw, what she heard, what she felt... was pain. A pain so old and so deep and yet still so raw and unrelenting; a pain that time had done nothing to dull and that would bring even the most well-adjusted people to their knees.
Thing being... was suffering.
It hurt.
They hurt.
“I'm so, so sorry.” Yuna repeated, her voice wobbling slightly. She felt her eyes start to dampen, taking a shaky step forwards, her sneakers struggling to find a grip on the fleshy floor of the inner sanctum. She reached a hand out, on instinct-
and only then noticed that the faces had stopped screaming, and the chamber was deadly silent.
“What...?”
A chunk of the being's body fell off of one of their legs. Another dropped from their stomach. One of their hands went in its entireity. More and more pieces fell off of them as it seemed to slowly crumble.
Yuna backed away, lips trembling as words failed to form.
The clumps of sinew that had fallen to the ground began to unravel slowly, expanding in size as they did so, slowly re-knotting themselves together in a more abstract shape.
As the faces re-emerged, they began to scream again, but they were no longer screams of anguish.
They were screams of fury.
“No...!” Yuna started, backing away further, her feet losing grip as she fell backwards, crawling as best she could against the oily, bloody floor. “No, you... you don't have to do this...! Please...!”
The pieces had reformed fully, but the shape kept expanding further and further outwards, higher and higher into the ceiling of the chamber.
“It doesn't have to keep going on like this!” Yuna cried out, tears falling from her eyes. “I-I can help you!”
Arms- tens of them hundreds of them- began to breach the surface of the beings body, wildly flailing around to grasp onto any surface they could. At the centre of the mass, inbetween the strands of sinew and muscle, a larger organ had begun to form, slowly pulsating and throbbing as deep-red, almost black liquid pumped through visible veins that had formed along its surface.
“PLEASE LET ME HELP YOU!” Yuna screamed, slamming her hands down on the ground as she scrunched her eyes shut.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her mind, causing her to roar in agony, gripping the sides of her head firmly.
YOU THINK YOU CAN SAVE ME? A MORTAL BEING, WEAK IN FLESH AND WEAKER IN MIND, HELP THAT WHICH STANDS ABOVE AND BEYOND THE VERY GODS THEMSELVES?
SUCH ARROGANCE.
Gritting her teeth, Yuna forced herself to her feet and pivoted backwards, running from the chamber, tears still falling from her face as she sprinted.
THE AGONY WITHIN ME IS DEEPER THEN YOU CAN POSSIBLY FATHOM AND STRETCHES FARTHER THEN YOU COULD EVER PERCIEVE, CHILD. NO AMOUNT OF GOODWILL CAN SALVE THE WOUNDS CARVED WITHIN MY HEART.
Yuna whimpered as she vaulted over or dodged around every obstruction in her way, the burning ache in her limbs dulled by the coursing adrenaline.
OR PERHAPS THIS GOOD NATURE IS SELF SERVING? A DESPERATE BID FOR SURVIVAL AND SANCTURY AS YOU STARE OBLIVION IN THE FACE? NO... IS IT MERELY EGO? FEEBLE ATTEMPTS TO ASSERT YOUR STANDING AS 'A GOOD PERSON'?
Any objection Yuna could offer was silenced by her rapid, panting breaths as she ran. But still, memories flooded her head; of times she consoled friends whom were going through various trials both major and minor; having long and difficult conversations with her parents over matters too personal for anyone else to know; even the times in which would-be lovers confided within her their deepest fears over their identities in a world that had yet to accept them.
And how she met each and everyone on those people with an open mind, an open heart, and a desire to see a smile not just on their faces but within their soul, too.
Even as fear ran rampant through her every fibre, she knew who she was and what she was about. This creature was not going to take that away from her.
IT MATTERS NOT WHAT YOUR REASONS MAY BE. IN THE END, THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH;
THIS WORLD IS ONE OF TEARS, YUNA ITOH.
AND I WILL ENSURE YOU DROWN IN IT.
***
Final Encounter/Pursuer #5: The Agony
Fury. Terror. Despair. These are feelings and sensations that transcend sapience and higher brain function; they are something even the most basic forms of life can know and understand, intimately, even if they don't have the words for them that we do. And my, are they powerful emotions, so severe and savage that they can scar the very land itself with wounds that will never heal. And It... well. It knows pain. It knows suffering. It knows despair. Some say that that is all It knows. It was not so much “born” as it was “formed”; spawned at the very beginning of this vast universe, billions of years before the Earth on which we live would come into being, in response to life's very first shed tear. And ever since, with each successive cry, it took greater form, forced to wallow and steep in an increasingly widening and deep pool of anguish. For longer then you or I can comprehend, this is how It lived.
It's no wonder that It would lash out in response. That It, too, would seek to hurt.
Without due cause.
Without an end goal.
Without any mercy.
Very few have encountered It directly. Fewer still have survived to tell It's story. Those that have know it by a single name;
The Agony.
The Agony serves as the “final boss” of Barnbellow's Estate, an avatar of it's form resting in the deepest part of a nightmarish, fleshy cave at the centremost point of the titular estate. Every horrible thing that has happened here has, in some way, been it's fault- a direct consequence of it's unending desire to inflict as much pain on every living thing as possible. Depending on a variety of factors throughout the game- the most important being how much the player has discovered and learned of each successive tragedy- Yuna's response to The Agony will fall one of two ways:
* Her horror and anger overwhelm her, forcing her into a defensive position as a direct fight- the only direct fight in the game- between her and The Agony unfolds. This is what The Agony knows, and what The Agony wants, as this is how it can maximize Yuna's pain for it's own satisfaction.
* Her capacity for empathy is overwhelmed and, in spite of everything, she cries for The Agony; she feels genuine sorrow for it and it's plight. The Agony has no idea how to react to this, and it gains nothing from Yuna's pain, enraging it and beginning an extended chase sequence.
In the Fight route, The Agony's room expands into a larger, circular arena, in which it- via a humanoid form- can traverse effortlessly, attacking either directly with abilities of its own or summoning fleshy proxies of prior Pursuers to use their abilities instead. Yuna's stress meter doesn't just max out here- the actual stress meter in the HUD completely breaks, disappearing as she goes into a manic, catatonic state. However, Yuna doesn't stumble or trip here; if anything, her movement speed (which has defaulted to sprint) has increased, and she doesn't tire. Though it might not be noticeable at first, when used on the proxies (which have the exact same stats as whatever Pursuer they've formed into), her cameras damage output has also shot way up in addition. All of this comes at the cost of Yuna's own durability taking a massive hit- anything that hits her does a considerable amount of damage, and the fight can end very quickly if the player isn't careful. They must make use of Yuna's massively boosted stats to play as carefully as possible to overcome the fight.
In the Escape route, The Agony's room- and, as you soon find, the estate as a whole- begins to warp and collapse, forcing Yuna to run. There are no hiding spots anymore, and no more save rooms- the very last one in the game was right outside The Agony's room. It is a straight shot from the belly of the beast to the entrance of the estate, in which Yuna has to traverse an extended, massively reshaped versions of every other location she's gone through in reverse, whilst The Agony gives chase in a much more horrific and form that fills the space of every room it moves through. You cannot stop this form from advancing- the camera does nothing against it, and it effectively swallows and consumes all of the space it traverses, meaning you cannot go back. Contact with The Agony is an instant game over, so you must keep space between you and it at all times during this sequence. Thankfully, it's movement speed is exactly on par with Yuna's standard speed, meaning that when you sprint, you can outpace it. Though your stamina meter does still deplete at the same rate, it recovers much more quickly then it did before, so you are able to use the sprint mechanic much more frequently. That is the key to surviving the chase; considered use of the sprint mechanic, and maneuvering through the new layout of the rooms and corridors. There are several routes that one can take throughout said layout, with some being easier to move through then others- though there are no dead ends, and there are no obstacles that induce damage. And though Yuna can stumble, as her stress meter is permanently maxed out, she cannot outright trip; the only thing that will cause Yuna to stop is the player's own input.
~ Decon (25/10/24)