2:34 PM
We swam upward, only to discover we were trapped in some kind of underwater maze. So we swam right, up, right, up, left, up, and.. yeah, directions.
Now we’re in a room with a very low ceiling. I have to take my trilby off just to fit in here.
There’s a little rabbit in here and a sign that reads “1- Kill.”
..o_o;

2:35 PM
I wish I hadn’t seen that.
A set of stairs has appeared nearby, taking us to the next floor.

2:36 PM
This is also a room with a low ceiling. There’s another sign in here that reads “2- Kill.” There’s a few flies flying around. Well. Okay. Even I can do that one.

2:39 PM
3- Kill, two spidercats.

2:43 PM
Give me a minute.
These were just spidercats, but, like. That doesn't mean it's fun to see, or to know what I've done.

2:50 PM
4- Kill. This is a severed human head that still functions perfectly. He calls himself “Teddy,” and he’s begging us to put him out of his misery. o__o;;

2:52 PM
…

2:53 PM
5- Solve. Yes, something that doesn’t say “Kill!”
Here, we have a chessboard set up. There’s a rock shaped perfectly like an old man seated at one end of the board, seeming to suggest that we get first move.

2:55 PM
Donnie, I had no idea you were so good at chess.
She’s taken the seat and is making some pretty interesting moves. Moves I wouldn’t use. But then I’ve never won a game of chess in my life.

3:02 PM
She and the rock man look of equal wit.

3:09 PM
Donnie just fucking pulled a “Checkmate.” Rad, dude.
The next staircase is open.

3:10 PM
6- Kill, a tree.

3:12 PM
7- Kill, a mouse.
"I'm not really.. loving this either, Jordan."
No, I know.
Look, just. Let me do this. You did the rabbit.

3:14 PM
8- Kill, a regular human being named Jeremiah.

3:19 PM
He fought back. Had me on the ground until Donnie shot him square in the chest.

3:20 PM
9- Kill, a WAIT WHAT AM I SEEING THIS RIGHT

3:21 PM
I am. o____e;; It’s asking us to perform an abortion. There’s a woman right here, fully awake, no anesthetics, naked, legs spread. Pregnant.
And the room provides us with a crowbar.
Donnie said, to the room, "Are we going up against fucking Jigsaw?"

3:30 PM
I mean, I’m.. I’m pro-choice, but… this is just a caricature of what that even means.
..the staircase still isn’t down.
Oh, it wants the woman, too. ._.

3:37 PM
She kept screaming about how the NIHIL was keeping her here. The Sine Labore Nihil.
..”Nothing without work.”
Staircase is here.

3:38 PM
10- Solve.
There’s two doors and two guards.
Yeah, no, this is an easy one. Oldest trick in the book.
If you were the other guard, what would you say is the door leading further up the tower?
"I don't know. He never talks to me."
...shit.
donnie's found instructions on the wall. probably should have read these first.
"One guard never tells a lie. One guard never hears a lie. These are the same guard.
The other guard never leaves his post while observed.
One door leads further up the tower. The other door leads back to the entrance.
You have as many questions as you need, but if you choose the wrong door and make your way back here, the doors and guards may shuffle."
What?
donnie "What?"
okay uh. never tells a lie, never hears one either…
and the other one.. I mean, he may tell a lie? it doesn't specify... but he never leaves his post while observed…
donnie, let's both look away from the guards.

3:39 PM
When we turned around again, one of the guards was inches away from my face. I nearly decked him on instinct. He's gone back to his door.
Okay, so he's not the one who will always tell the truth.
But he's also the one who told us that the other one never talks to him.
Uh.
donnie "Hey, mister!" talking to the truthful one
"Yes?"
"What's behind your door?"
"I dunno. Never checked."
"You've never checked?"
shrug "The doors change every now and then. I can't say for sure where either of them go."
"Dammit."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
Could you... check now?
"Oh, I never leave my post, not ever."
"Wait, so you also never could have checked before, then? So your answer omitted that. That's kind of untruthful."
"Well, is a lie by omission still a lie?"
"Yes"
Yes
"Huh."
Wait!!!
Donnie!!!
What if he's the liar? What if both guards moved when we weren't looking?
You there! Other guard! What's behind your door?
"Oh, I don't know. I never checked."
Shit!

3:42 PM
We just tried a fucking door.
It's pure blackness in here. Following Donnie's headtorch.

3:44 PM
A LONG FUCKING WALK
a voice speaks to me...

4:08 PM
Here’s what seems to be a fancy hallway, red carpet and everything. Portraits line the wall, all of famous musicians.
There’s a left and a right here, as well as a path back into blackness.
I don't know where Donnie went.

4:10 PM
I took a left, and now I'm in a giant room filled to the brim with mirrors. Specifically, it seems to be a mirror maze.
The ceiling and floor are mirrors. The walls are mirrors. And when they're not mirrors, they're glass, looking out into more and more corridors and twists and turns of mirror and glass.

4:12 PM
..some else is in here with me. Hearing footsteps now.
Donnie?
...

4:14 PM
I hate tension, I hate horror, I hate feeling scared, I hate it, I hate it

4:16 PM
but. I fucking love mazes. u_u

4:20 PM
left
forward
right
right
forward
fuck
back
left
forward
forward
left
forward
right
right
left

4:24 PM
just when I think I'm getting a sense of the size of this maze, another turn breaks my sense of the boundaries.
now there's stairs taking me to another level above.
maze upon maze.

4:32 PM
I swear I saw movement in a reflection in the corner of my eye.
oh god where is that exit

4:38 PM
…it’s up there. On the ceiling. A ladder into a trapdoor.
Very high ceiling.
Now how do I get there.
Maybe if I keep looking. Maybe if I try to get to the far side wall.

4:53 PM
I made it. I found the far side wall.
But I'm gonna feel even more vulnerable climbing up that ladder.

4:54 PM
Okay. I’m gonna give it a shot.
Gonna climb up and push on that trapdoor, see what's above.

6:50 PM
the musicians have left.
but anna is still here.
the door ahead opened, and donnie found me. found anna.
"did you do this?"
I found her.
"huh. someone else trying to get to the top of the tower."
this was anna. this was my ex.
"o-oh. are you sure?"
I.. guess I can't be. but.
"c'mon. let's.. leave this room. you don't need to hang around this."
no. yeah. okay. let's go.

7:34 PM
Somewhere along the way, we wound up boarding a small indoor riverboat ride. It was very pleasant, complete with cute music as we rode.
I.. didn't feel it.
Maybe that wasn't... her?
I never did meet her. We were an online thing. And we didn't even last long. But beyond that, we were friends.
But that is to say, I can't be certain that every brown-haired corpse... is…
Ugh.

7:37 PM
The boat let us off at the bottom of a large staircase.
We’re going up. No other choice.
"This feels close to the top. Are you sure you're okay for a big fight?"
I'll try.
"It might have still been a Musician thing, you know…"
Please, let's just.. go, up the stairs, let's go.

7:40 PM
Reached the top. Huge majestic doors.

7:41 PM
This is a very giant concert hall. About as big as the cathedral the God Machine resided in. I bet this is the room we’ve been hunting.

7:43 PM
There’s a single eyestalk on the stage. o_o

7:45 PM
RISING
…THAT’S
I KNOW THAT THING
THAT’S GTHERU. THE GUITAR-SHAPED BLUE MONSTER.
Except this one is giant, has millions of suction-y tentacles, and an eye stalk for every pore.
It’s the Grand Gtheru.
Monitors above the stage label it as “The Sixth Cipher,” and “Sine labore nihil.”
Nothing without work. As heard before.

7:48 PM
And in come the Legsteps with a bitchin’ drop.
Starts with a siren and everything! How appropriate.
"You ready, Jordan?"
I'm good. It's us against a giant boss monster.
That's all that matters right now.
Let the attack begin.

7:53 PM
Gtheru’s sending its tentacles at us.
I'm trying that crowbar, we picked it up earlier. It's sharper than it looks.

7:58 PM
Fended off the invading tendrils.
Now the tentacles are retreating, and the Legsteps are playing some other riff.
..eye stalks. A wave of eye stalks.
Okay. Gotta cut some chaff. Wheat. Uh. How does the expression go?

7:59 PM
Donnie’s running off.
What’s she doing she’s going to the concert stage.
Whacking the fucker, but it’s blocking itself with tentacles!
Hold up there, I'm coming!

8:02 PM
I’ve fought my way here; Gtheru’s tentacling up a shield, but this crowbar sliced it apart.
Underneath is some very strange substance that’s pink and smells like plastic.
Donnie's cocking her rifle. Looks like she'll be adding her own.

8:07 PM
My crowbar does nothing against the under-substance, but Donnie's rifle is ineffective to the surrounding tentacles.
So she's the offense, and I'm the defense.

8:13 PM
Gtheru’s closing his tentacles in, trying to trap us inside.
I got us out; looks like round one’s over.

8:15 PM
Gtheru changed colours. He’s now orange.
The Legsteps are playing something really strange now. Heavy as fuck, but strange.
..Gtheru’s tentacles are floating, separate of it.
Some are blue, some are red.
I sense they’re going to try attacking us.

8:18 PM
Oh god, I can’t figure out how to damage a single one.
Donnie's gotten some, but then many others just have the bullets bounce off like nothing.
They’re flying around, lashing us again and again

8:19 PM
..hey, I just damaged that one. That one that was blue.
Hm.

8:20 PM
I can hit only blue, Donnie can hit only red. When we hit them, they drop little.. gadgets. They look like jigsaw pieces.

8:25 PM
I put a lot of them together and it made a little harpoon. o_o
Throwing it!

8:26 PM
Socked Gtheru square in the face, it seemed to hurt it!
..the monitors above the stage just said “2: Upload,” but then changed; now they say “GOTO 1: Author.”
Huh. The tentacles are flying at us again.

8:34 PM
We repeated the process and made another little harpoon.
The monitors say “2: Upload” now.
Throwing now!

8:35 PM
It just shattered to pieces, the harpoon. And the monitor said “ERROR: User multiuploaded.”
..idea.

8:42 PM
Another harpoon. Okay, Donnie, you throw this one.

8:43 PM
Right in the face, it did damage! “GOTO 1: Author.”

8:50 PM
Okay. My turn.

8:51 PM
Goto 1 again.

9:02 PM
Okay, Donnie. "Upload" that fucker.

9:03 PM
Gtheru is keeling over in pain, but it seems to be still sending tentacles.
The screen says “3: Review. Who did most damage?”
…fuck! o_o

9:05 PM
Uh. We think.. it.. was Donnie’s. The last one thrown.
..the monitor’s now on “4: Publish.”
Gtheru’s tentacles are back to surrounding its now-blue self.
"Okay. Cover me, please."
Right behind you!

9:14 PM
Gtheru changed colours one more time. He’s red now.
The screen says “5: Promote.”
Fuck. What?
….what’s that noise

9:15 PM
SHADOWCLONES
running right past us. o_o
Charging at Gtheru.
It’s roaring like mad, and
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

9:17 PM
The Grand Gtheru is dead.
What a weird-ass fight.

9:18 PM
Where it used to be, there’s an inscription. The actual Cipher.
Zaarn, plina, zarle, milra yeeel!
…it’s that language again.
What does. What does that mean.
"Roaring oceans, rustling meadows, gushing waterfalls are all but fragrances of the past.”
OH GOD BLINDING LIGHT

9:19 PM
cockroach jesus. at the entrance of the hall. wearing his white robe to disguise his body.
"The works of nature home to your planet are all but fragrances of the past now. As we come closer to that bountiful boundless day, a new era will seize the lies and teach you a more fundamental nature: what is natural to all existence."
donnie's pointing her rifle at him
he's smiling wider "I do not fear your weapons. There is nothing to fear when Rapture is coming."
shoot him.
BANG
she got him in the face. a big hole in his cheek. no blood.
he still smiles.
...he's turned away from us. about to leave.
Wait!
What did we... just... do? What did this Cipher do?
chuckle.
"Sine labore nihil held the cruelty at bay."

11:00 PM
What?
..what just happened?
We’re in the Peisistratos.
..I don’t know. o_e

11:04 PM
Tiresias came in.
He’s telling us to rest up.
“We will talk in the morning; I need time to prepare."

11:39 PM
Donnie’s clutching me tight, fast asleep.
I can try to sleep, but.. I’ve got too much on my mind right now.
Just want to write. Just want to think.

(Attached: “As do I. One of the chapters in my life is something of a riddle to me, and this log brought it to mind.
I'd just finished signing a hieroglyph onto the side of a mountain-- the other gods talked me into it, they consider it to be their form of an autograph for the eyes of history-- when I figured I'd just about stayed long enough. In my time in ancient Earth, I'd prevented many divine bouts, shared my wisdom with whatever humans felt themselves ready to stare into my blank gaze, and even celebrated a new year. No luck on taking memory away, though. I'd have to wait for that superpower to come. Instead, satisfied with the state of affairs of the times, I sneaked away in a lull of conversation and approached the Gates of Olympus.
A mahogany wind kept me company as I braved the elements of the Empty City of yesteryear. It wasn't really any different, but for some reason on this occasion it decided to delay my journey a little longer, knowing I could do nothing in retaliation, knowing I depended on its mercy if I wished to travel anywhere. For three days and many more nights I wandered the repetitive streets until I happened upon something resembling a park. There, I decided to take refuge on a bench and rest my eyes a little.
I dreamt I was blind in a more mortal manner. I dreamt of the widest expanse of nothing you've ever seen, stretches of the stuff shifting between every blink, my blinks lasting aeons in this mighty sleep. I dreamt of sound, of smell, of touch, of memory. The sound of love's laughter. The smell of hair. The touch of fingers upon fingers. The memory of a life without responsibilities such as these, the memory of a youth in sight unaffected.
My eyes opened to the sound of birds chirping. I felt someone sit down on the bench next to me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not see. I touched my face, ensured I was still there. Pinched myself, ensured I did not still dream. Cried out Untamo's name. I was not dreaming. I could not see anything. I figured it was appropriate that I would finally experience the blindness proper, but still I felt cheated.
I heard the sound of rustling next to me. Then of chewing. I spoke, asked who was there.
-- Your best friend, ever.
I recognized the voice.
--- Sempiternity.
-- The same, am I. You?
Spoken with the diction of a professor.
--- I.. believe I'm same. Sane? Same as I've ever been.
-- Tiresias. Which?
--- I'm, uh. Thoth.
More chewing.
-- Still young. Ham sandwich?
I reached out my hand until I felt the food placed into my grasp. Took it and ate it. It was good.
After a while of silence, I asked:
--- Where have you been since Nyarlathotep and his bunch showed up?
Offended.
-- Not because you should, but because you must.
--- What?
Apologetic.
-- I travel the stars. Hardly by my choice.
I recalled where I'd met my friend to begin with: They'd just sorta stumbled into our universe, unsure of the location or the date. I suppose they really can't control their wanderings.
-- - It's okay. So where are we, might I ask?
Silence.
--- Sempi?
-- I cannot say where.
--- You can't say?
-- No. I cannot see.
--- What. Why.. well, why not?
A long sigh.
-- Last place I arrived, I scared the people. They held me up to… a hole in the sun. Burned my eyes out, pain. Of course, next day my eyes recovered but when the people saw, they blindfolded me and cursed the blindfold. I can't take it off.
--- A curse? What do you mean by that?
Meekly.
-- I mean 'eldritch stuff.'
I fumed. Nothing turned red in my mind. I stood up.
--- They can't get away with that! Can you take me to them?
-- I can't, never. No.
I stood there, feeling the rhythm of anger fade away. Felt tangible. Felt awkward. Waited for any further response before I asked
--- Why not?
-- Do you know of time?
--- What kind of question is that? I'm the god of time! Or something. Of course I know time!
-- You don't know of time, forever's meaning. You know the words to eternity's song but you sing along to an opera you merely observe.
The angst in their voice turned into a python of poison upon my ears.
---- Oh yeah? I've watched worlds crash and burn. I've participated in the ultimate battles to determine the fates of everyone I've ever loved. I have loved, and I've lost. You can't say I don't know more than the words to this opera.
I heard Sempi get up. Felt a finger stab my chest, lighter than a push but firmer than a touch. A point.
-- You know of a life, your life, a life that stands a sentence in the library of time. The battles you fought were not fought by you, you were an actor. The people you've lost, you care more about their deaths' impact on you and yes I say that with poison, with angst, with vitriol, with knowledge of the-- experience of the-- unbeatable hatred, tragedy, the flames of elders and worse still the damned sufferings of youths, so now a FUCK YOU for you have not lived, you have barely breathed, you do not know the sickest part of all of this opera: Time is entropy, or ideally, time feeds on effect. But eternity is endless, endless! So all we suffer, and all we fucking cry and grieve and die and hate and kill, fuck-- all of this has been a single letter in dictionaries multi-volumed and always written. We have not been through a fraction of all we'll go through before we can finally end our suffering-- lie down and… just…… die.
Silence. No more birds chirping.
-- Forever's a long time before I die.
Then I heard footsteps running away. Sempi was gone.
I stood there for about a minute, thinking about what happened. Then I found I could see again, see an empty park in an empty city established for empty worlds with empty gods. I hated it all.
A duck flew by.
I sighed and resumed my long walk home.”)