[ Hien finally wakes up, but only because I rolled a five and he's getting a rude awakening by falling onto the floor. He groans as he grabs a hold of some seats for balance, listening to Madara's announcement, and looks outside the window. There seems to be... something crumbling?
...
With as much balance and grabbing whatever he can, he makes it to the front because being in the back cars sounds like a bad idea and sees Sabo first, so he'll be the first to know, because Hien doesn't yell. ]
The tracks are crumbling.
[ The way he says it has the same vibe as saying "the moon's haunted". ]
[ well, when the announcement comes on, sabo can't help but laugh softly. it's not that he finds humor in the message but more the way that madara goes about explaining it to them. then hien has his rude awakening and further confirms that the tracks are crumbling.
you know, for once, he would like to be hallucinating something unfortunate here. just once?? but oh well. maybe next time. sabo's reply will come off with the same energy of "well i guess i'll just die". ]
Of course they are.
[ because what else is he supposed to say here? they don't have a lot of options, but he does carefully navigate his way over towards hien to provide support if he wants it. ]
[ > Madara goes full speed will lead to a higher chance of the train going literally off the rails, but it will save you a few minutes at the very least. That being said...
> Hien and Sabo make their way to the front, which is a good idea, because the back car sure falls off and tumbles down into the descent of whatever the heck is going on right now.
So it is a good thing that they're speeding up, because the end is getting real close, according to the radar...but you're still stuck in hell train, and the other car behind you looks like it's about to break off, too. Do you escape the train? Do you hang on until you reach the end? Do you know parkour? Or...something else? ]
[He needs ideas, because he's focused on getting to the station and stopping this thing on a dime. It doesn't work that way, of course, so chances are it's going to crash if they keep trying to outrun the falling-off business.]
I think I've got about two choices, and I'm really ready to follow somebody else's lead on this. Either we get off now and take our chances with that mess behind us, or we get off at the end of the line in about... two minutes. There's an emergency brake I can throw when we get close to the station, but this thing's going to crash no matter what, at this distance and speed. So we'll have to get off here fast, and we're more than likely going to get roughed up a little.
[Dammit, this is bad. This is bad, bad, bad.]
Did you see anywhere we can get clear to if we go now? If not, I'm going with option A, and I'd like to direct you gentlemen to the nearest exit.
[ While Hien would be very kanyeshrug about jumping into the void (it's technically his home), he knows he can't really afford to do that for Sabo and Madara. ]
Just slam down the lever for us when it's time, Madara.
[ Hien doesn't have any tools, but-- ]
Sabo, let's try to pry the door open. There's an emergency ax over there.
[ well not all of us can live in the void, hien, and when madara gives them the options that they can do it's... well, they aren't great but they are something especially when you consider how the cart behind them is just going to become a non-factor here, which is a lot of "nice."
sabo will waste no time to fetch the ax that hien has so carefully pointed out to him and we're just going to really this man have it, aren't we? this will be his companion all cyoa, i hope you all know. ]
I'm not sure about our chances for survival if we are going to jump out now, however...
[ sabo will tap the glass with the ax to test the thickness of it. it'll also double as for sabo to get another look at how things look for them outside of the tunnel. is there more light for them now given the crumbling?? ]
I'm not afraid to play things a little risky if the payout will end well for the three of us.
[ so, that's two votes in favor for emergency breaks but also a vote for the x factor. ]
[ > Sabo: There is more light, yes! It's a little brighter than it was when you first woke up here, but light intensifies the more you travel down this tunnel.
Congratulations on the ax, too. The glass is a little thick but nothing that a handful of swings can't handle, given Sabo's and/or Hien's strength. They'd better act fast, though, because while the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, so is the darkness behind them. ]
Madara's got a keen eye on both the radar and the ever-closer light, and he's listening for confirmation that the others are ready to go. When it seems like they are, he'll put a hand on the brake lever.]
There's probably going to be a jolt when I pull this. [Isn't that what happens in movies? It's not like he's actually done this before! This is like, worst case scenario survival guide level knowledge he's relying on.] Gonna give you guys a countdown. Three... two... one... GO!
[And he is pulling that lever and joining team GTFO.]
[ yeah, it's going to be sabo who will be whacking at the window/prying out the door with the ax. he doesn't know anything about how things are going to be given that sabo's movie time adventures are probably going to be rather limited.
nevertheless, as madara does the countdown, he'll already be both whacking at the door to bust it up some before using the ax as a way to get some room for extra leverage to pry the door open. is this a smart move? who knows! but it's a move that's sabo's going to do because, well, they only have so much time. (and if there's going to be an issue with this, i shall use my nat.20 roll from earlier to bust it open. :myah:)
so, hopefully it will become a matter of when to jump rather than if they can jump. also...may they not jump into the darkness? rest in pieces if they do. ]
You first.
[ and for the record, no. sabo is not going to leave the ax behind. ]
[ He steadies himself when the emergency brake is pulled, watching Sabo smash that door like it's never been smashed before, and when Madara catches up, Hien glances over at the incoming view and... there! It's the station! The end! ]
Jump...!
[ Hien shouts, since the sound of the wind is so strong with the door open. His voice didn't crack. What are you talking about.
Hien jumps with Madara! Sabo goes last because Sabo is Sabo. ]
[ > Madara pulls on the breaks. Hien and Madara take the plunge, followed by Sabo. The train has effectively stopped, and they throw themselves out into the tunnel and hope for the best.
Sabo manages to make it - at least at first. Because Hien and Madara just barely miss the ledge of the station that appears to have stopped crumbling, Sabo reaches out in a desperate attempt to save his classmates. He latches onto Hien's wrist, but the force of Chadara and Fiend versus one Ssaoubo means that the former emerges victorious...and not in a good way.
The three of them go tumbling down into the void.
--
And then they wake up, again. Together, and perhaps anxious from the fall but not in any kind of pain. And they are, in fact, no longer on hell train extraordinaire. They're actually in some kind of weird, pixelated space. Blue pillars stand tall with tons of words and data flashing across them. This is, for those who are familiar, absolutely some kind of digitized space.
What an odd situation they've found themselves in.
[Chadara is sorry he rolled the 17 after they already fell. He closes his eyes as he falls, but the jolt of waking up again makes him anxious for a moment. He takes inventory of any injuries--none?!?--before looking around at whatever this D*sney movie hellscape is.]
Gotta be kidding me... [Alice. In. Wonderland. But make it techie.] You guys okay? [As he looks at the nearest pillars of words and light, seeing if anything sticks out as recognizable or if it's 01010101 business... or even gibberish.]
[ Hien wants to sleep more, but alas. The bold text has decreed his status of waking up! (/s) But he sits up, yawns, and looks at Madara. ]
I'm fine. Thanks.
[ He's actually glad that he's not in pain. ]
At least we're not dead. I'm glad for that.
[ So as if that didn't just happen, Hien gets up and looks around, trying to read the nearest pillar since it has a lot of words in it. Please don't make Hien regret wanting to read. ]
[ one wonders what the alternate timeline where sabo didn't try to save madara and hien would have looked like. would he be out in the open? would he still eventually fall into this digital world? who knows because that's not the timeline that they're living and sabo somehow did all of that falling with an ax without hurting anyone or himself.
small blessings.
for now, while hien and madara look to be slightly more in their element, sabo is decidedly not so he's just going to do a cursory look at their surroundings more than try to read anything. how far do things look like they go on for? do they look any different? ]
I would hope that we're not dead. [ he'll move to rest the handle of the ax on one of his shoulders. ] There's plenty left that I need to do.
[ > Madara will actually find that some things are, indeed, recognizable. There's a bit of Japanese text, actually, that he'll be able to read. There's some things that look nonsensical, things like "Musclehead Thug", "Eccentric Headcase", "Cunning Normal"...but he'll be able to also get a location: Sugomori City.
> Hien also looks around for more text. There are mentions of something called the Kizna Project and tidbits...about pain sharing.
> Sabo looks at their surroundings. They look like they go on for...not that long, actually, because up ahead there seems to be what looks like some kind of window that shows an an exit to the outside world. ]
If I died, it'd be really inconvenient for Shizuku. Can't have that!
[Anyway, light pillars.
Well, that's... interesting. Complete nonsense, considering he's never heard of the place mentioned, but it's a Japanese name, and so are the words. Is there anything in English or another common language? Because he speaks... several. This is literally canon, I'm sorry.]
Check this out: Some of this is in Japanese. I don't know what it means, but it's kind of like... descriptors, I want to say? Like a weird nickname you'd give somebody. And a city: Sugomori. It's not familiar to me at all, though. I don't think that place exists in my Japan. Kinda wish Idia was here...
[By the way. He's totally going to poke one of the pillars, because today can't possibly get worse.]
I don't remember a Sugomori in terms of location either... maybe as a surame, but not a city.
[ And he's been to a lot of worlds with different variations. Hm. He tries to look more into the Kizna Project and especially about pain sharing, whether it be in this pillar, or in another. ]
I don't think Ace would take it too well if I died.
[ a sentiment he mumbles to himself more than in response to madara but don't mind him. sometimes you just have a lot to think about for one reason or another and sabo doesn't know what a japan is (other than what he has learned here). ]
I haven't run across the name Sugomori either. [ if we wanna talk about flowers though. ] But it looks like there's an exit or some sort of window up ahead. It looks like it's still a bit of a ways, but not too bad.
[ thankfully so. he doesn't quite leave the other two just yet but if he focuses on the window/exit can he make out what kind of outside is waiting for them? ]
[ > Madara inspects the pillar. There are some English words here and there but none of them really seem to make sense; most of the information is in Japanese. He pokes pillar, and it seems to glitch out...and it turns off completely.
> Hien searches for more information. There are more quick words and phrases he may be able to see referring to negative emotions such as sadness and jealousy...but nothing entirely concrete over here.
> Sabo looks out the exit, and it looks like light is emitting from wherever they are, out into the room beyond this digital world. The room looks similarly to one of the lecture halls back at Estelline, but it's not an exact copy. ]
[Okay, well, it's no pit, but he's probably done causing problems. If there's nothing else to see, he looks in the direction Sabo is indicating.]
Think we ought to head out?
[He'll walk that way, idly looking at any pillars he passes for just a glimpse at new info. Anything, anything at all. He'd begun to have an eerie feeling that things weren't on the up and up here as far as the story they've been fed, but now that he sees that lecture hall he's ready to voice some of those doubts.]
Remember the jewelry store? [He didn't get to talk about it at the town hall, but it was mentioned, so he figures it's safe to bring up at least in a passing, vague mention.] Getting that saaame vibe right now.
[Of course, it could just be some generic lecture hall and the resemblance is coincidental or the product of scarcity/a lack of competition, but... The vibe is off. And he wants to know what's on the outside of that lecture hall.]
[ Hien still wants to inspect the pillars, so he goes around, using his skimming powers at work. If he starts getting the feeling of how there's nothing else of importance, he looks around the room. Is there anything other than digital pillars and the exit Sabo found? ]
[ frowns at the mention of how this is like the jewelry store given what they found there. many frowns. though that makes him wonder—no videos or cameras in this room, right? nothing up on the ceiling that would be important to notice? they...did fall into this place?
either way, when hien implies his intent to stay, sabo isn't thrilled but at the same time the comparison about the jewelry store has him really thinking about next steps. ]
Okay, it looks like the exit leads to something that looks like the lecture room. [ hmmm. sabo trusts nothing and will be sus of everything. if anything comes at him, it'll get an ax to the face as a warning. ] I doubt it's the same place.
[ to madara: ]
Feel comfortable leaving Hien here while the two of us move ahead?
[Madara just doesn't like all this tech that's just barely out of his grasp. He's no slouch when it comes to investigation, but nothing in this place has sat well with him at all. Especially not this.
He looks at Hien. Then back to Sabo.]
Yeah. If he says he's fine, he's fine. I just want to check out what's in and outside of the lecture hall. Then we can circle back or decide on a direction.
[ > Hien looks around the pillars, and there's one pillar in particular that may stand out: The phrase sponsors come up in relation to the Kizna Project. Various locations will flash around the pillar with coordinates – "United States (37.0902° N, 95.7129° W)", as an example. But there's one in particular that's a little odd.
It reads "Estelline (Unknown, could not locate)".
> Sabo and Madara look towards the exit. As they walk towards the exit, they'll see very quick glimpses...of faces. They look like hologram portraits of each person, but each portrait only flashes once before it fades away. Under each portrait is another smaller image of the mark on their arm that is exactly like the ones the current characters have....and these images actually flash right next to pillars that mention the word Kiznaivers.
The more they walk up towards the exit, though, the more they'll realize that this is actually quite different from the lecture hall they're familiar with. Similar concept, but a different interior design entirely. Will they exit fully? ]
[ Hien doesn't say anything. The coordinates mean little to him, since it's not like he can suddenly teleport to somewhere in America and tear apart one of their sponsors with his bare hands.
Anyway, he's starting to wonder if Estelline is just in a little pocket dimension of its own. He remembers seeing those orbs earlier, and he thinks things like that could be possible. They even have Florence the android.
So Estelline is a sponsor regarding the project. Hien tries to see if there's anything more on that pillar. Then he'll assume there's nothing of interest in the other pillars and explore the room itself to see if there's anything that stands out. ]
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...
With as much balance and grabbing whatever he can, he makes it to the front because being in the back cars sounds like a bad idea and sees Sabo first, so he'll be the first to know, because Hien doesn't yell. ]
The tracks are crumbling.
[ The way he says it has the same vibe as saying "the moon's haunted". ]
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you know, for once, he would like to be hallucinating something unfortunate here. just once?? but oh well. maybe next time. sabo's reply will come off with the same energy of "well i guess i'll just die". ]
Of course they are.
[ because what else is he supposed to say here? they don't have a lot of options, but he does carefully navigate his way over towards hien to provide support if he wants it. ]
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> Hien and Sabo make their way to the front, which is a good idea, because the back car sure falls off and tumbles down into the descent of whatever the heck is going on right now.
So it is a good thing that they're speeding up, because the end is getting real close, according to the radar...but you're still stuck in hell train, and the other car behind you looks like it's about to break off, too. Do you escape the train? Do you hang on until you reach the end? Do you know parkour? Or...something else? ]
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I think I've got about two choices, and I'm really ready to follow somebody else's lead on this. Either we get off now and take our chances with that mess behind us, or we get off at the end of the line in about... two minutes. There's an emergency brake I can throw when we get close to the station, but this thing's going to crash no matter what, at this distance and speed. So we'll have to get off here fast, and we're more than likely going to get roughed up a little.
[Dammit, this is bad. This is bad, bad, bad.]
Did you see anywhere we can get clear to if we go now? If not, I'm going with option A, and I'd like to direct you gentlemen to the nearest exit.
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[ While Hien would be very kanyeshrug about jumping into the void (it's technically his home), he knows he can't really afford to do that for Sabo and Madara. ]
Just slam down the lever for us when it's time, Madara.
[ Hien doesn't have any tools, but-- ]
Sabo, let's try to pry the door open. There's an emergency ax over there.
[ Under a seat that Sabo is closer to. ]
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sabo will waste no time to fetch the ax that hien has so carefully pointed out to him and we're just going to really this man have it, aren't we? this will be his companion all cyoa, i hope you all know. ]
I'm not sure about our chances for survival if we are going to jump out now, however...
[ sabo will tap the glass with the ax to test the thickness of it. it'll also double as for sabo to get another look at how things look for them outside of the tunnel. is there more light for them now given the crumbling?? ]
I'm not afraid to play things a little risky if the payout will end well for the three of us.
[ so, that's two votes in favor for emergency breaks but also a vote for the x factor. ]
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Congratulations on the ax, too. The glass is a little thick but nothing that a handful of swings can't handle, given Sabo's and/or Hien's strength. They'd better act fast, though, because while the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, so is the darkness behind them. ]
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Madara's got a keen eye on both the radar and the ever-closer light, and he's listening for confirmation that the others are ready to go. When it seems like they are, he'll put a hand on the brake lever.]
There's probably going to be a jolt when I pull this. [Isn't that what happens in movies? It's not like he's actually done this before! This is like, worst case scenario survival guide level knowledge he's relying on.] Gonna give you guys a countdown. Three... two... one... GO!
[And he is pulling that lever and joining team GTFO.]
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nevertheless, as madara does the countdown, he'll already be both whacking at the door to bust it up some before using the ax as a way to get some room for extra leverage to pry the door open. is this a smart move? who knows! but it's a move that's sabo's going to do because, well, they only have so much time. (and if there's going to be an issue with this, i shall use my nat.20 roll from earlier to bust it open. :myah:)
so, hopefully it will become a matter of when to jump rather than if they can jump. also...may they not jump into the darkness? rest in pieces if they do. ]
You first.
[ and for the record, no. sabo is not going to leave the ax behind. ]
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Jump...!
[ Hien shouts, since the sound of the wind is so strong with the door open. His voice didn't crack. What are you talking about.
Hien jumps with Madara! Sabo goes last because Sabo is Sabo. ]
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Sabo manages to make it - at least at first. Because Hien and Madara just barely miss the ledge of the station that appears to have stopped crumbling, Sabo reaches out in a desperate attempt to save his classmates. He latches onto Hien's wrist, but the force of Chadara and Fiend versus one Ssaoubo means that the former emerges victorious...and not in a good way.
The three of them go tumbling down into the void.
--
And then they wake up, again. Together, and perhaps anxious from the fall but not in any kind of pain. And they are, in fact, no longer on hell train extraordinaire. They're actually in some kind of weird, pixelated space. Blue pillars stand tall with tons of words and data flashing across them. This is, for those who are familiar, absolutely some kind of digitized space.
What an odd situation they've found themselves in.
What do you do? ]
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Gotta be kidding me... [Alice. In. Wonderland. But make it techie.] You guys okay? [As he looks at the nearest pillars of words and light, seeing if anything sticks out as recognizable or if it's 01010101 business... or even gibberish.]
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[ Hien wants to sleep more, but alas. The bold text has decreed his status of waking up! (/s) But he sits up, yawns, and looks at Madara. ]
I'm fine. Thanks.
[ He's actually glad that he's not in pain. ]
At least we're not dead. I'm glad for that.
[ So as if that didn't just happen, Hien gets up and looks around, trying to read the nearest pillar since it has a lot of words in it. Please don't make Hien regret wanting to read. ]
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small blessings.
for now, while hien and madara look to be slightly more in their element, sabo is decidedly not so he's just going to do a cursory look at their surroundings more than try to read anything. how far do things look like they go on for? do they look any different? ]
I would hope that we're not dead. [ he'll move to rest the handle of the ax on one of his shoulders. ] There's plenty left that I need to do.
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> Hien also looks around for more text. There are mentions of something called the Kizna Project and tidbits...about pain sharing.
> Sabo looks at their surroundings. They look like they go on for...not that long, actually, because up ahead there seems to be what looks like some kind of window that shows an an exit to the outside world. ]
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[Anyway, light pillars.
Well, that's... interesting. Complete nonsense, considering he's never heard of the place mentioned, but it's a Japanese name, and so are the words. Is there anything in English or another common language? Because he speaks... several. This is literally canon, I'm sorry.]
Check this out: Some of this is in Japanese. I don't know what it means, but it's kind of like... descriptors, I want to say? Like a weird nickname you'd give somebody. And a city: Sugomori. It's not familiar to me at all, though. I don't think that place exists in my Japan. Kinda wish Idia was here...
[By the way. He's totally going to poke one of the pillars, because today can't possibly get worse.]
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[ And he's been to a lot of worlds with different variations. Hm. He tries to look more into the Kizna Project and especially about pain sharing, whether it be in this pillar, or in another. ]
You find anything, Sabo?
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[ a sentiment he mumbles to himself more than in response to madara but don't mind him. sometimes you just have a lot to think about for one reason or another and sabo doesn't know what a japan is (other than what he has learned here). ]
I haven't run across the name Sugomori either. [ if we wanna talk about flowers though. ] But it looks like there's an exit or some sort of window up ahead. It looks like it's still a bit of a ways, but not too bad.
[ thankfully so. he doesn't quite leave the other two just yet but if he focuses on the window/exit can he make out what kind of outside is waiting for them? ]
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> Hien searches for more information. There are more quick words and phrases he may be able to see referring to negative emotions such as sadness and jealousy...but nothing entirely concrete over here.
> Sabo looks out the exit, and it looks like light is emitting from wherever they are, out into the room beyond this digital world. The room looks similarly to one of the lecture halls back at Estelline, but it's not an exact copy. ]
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[Okay, well, it's no pit, but he's probably done causing problems. If there's nothing else to see, he looks in the direction Sabo is indicating.]
Think we ought to head out?
[He'll walk that way, idly looking at any pillars he passes for just a glimpse at new info. Anything, anything at all. He'd begun to have an eerie feeling that things weren't on the up and up here as far as the story they've been fed, but now that he sees that lecture hall he's ready to voice some of those doubts.]
Remember the jewelry store? [He didn't get to talk about it at the town hall, but it was mentioned, so he figures it's safe to bring up at least in a passing, vague mention.] Getting that saaame vibe right now.
[Of course, it could just be some generic lecture hall and the resemblance is coincidental or the product of scarcity/a lack of competition, but... The vibe is off. And he wants to know what's on the outside of that lecture hall.]
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[ Hien still wants to inspect the pillars, so he goes around, using his skimming powers at work. If he starts getting the feeling of how there's nothing else of importance, he looks around the room. Is there anything other than digital pillars and the exit Sabo found? ]
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either way, when hien implies his intent to stay, sabo isn't thrilled but at the same time the comparison about the jewelry store has him really thinking about next steps. ]
Okay, it looks like the exit leads to something that looks like the lecture room. [ hmmm. sabo trusts nothing and will be sus of everything. if anything comes at him, it'll get an ax to the face as a warning. ] I doubt it's the same place.
[ to madara: ]
Feel comfortable leaving Hien here while the two of us move ahead?
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He looks at Hien. Then back to Sabo.]
Yeah. If he says he's fine, he's fine. I just want to check out what's in and outside of the lecture hall. Then we can circle back or decide on a direction.
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It reads "Estelline (Unknown, could not locate)".
> Sabo and Madara look towards the exit. As they walk towards the exit, they'll see very quick glimpses...of faces. They look like hologram portraits of each person, but each portrait only flashes once before it fades away. Under each portrait is another smaller image of the mark on their arm that is exactly like the ones the current characters have....and these images actually flash right next to pillars that mention the word Kiznaivers.
The more they walk up towards the exit, though, the more they'll realize that this is actually quite different from the lecture hall they're familiar with. Similar concept, but a different interior design entirely. Will they exit fully? ]
thread division starts here
Anyway, he's starting to wonder if Estelline is just in a little pocket dimension of its own. He remembers seeing those orbs earlier, and he thinks things like that could be possible. They even have Florence the android.
So Estelline is a sponsor regarding the project. Hien tries to see if there's anything more on that pillar. Then he'll assume there's nothing of interest in the other pillars and explore the room itself to see if there's anything that stands out. ]
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