That is what I can recall of how I came to be shackled by this damned academy. All I wanted was to protect you at the time and it was that desire that led to my entrapment here. If you are well and safe, then I have no regrets. I know the contents of this journal will be a lot to take in, but rest assured, I did not suffer for much longer. My rise from inmate to Academy staff was swift. It happened so quickly that I thought I had to be dreaming. I knew what it meant to become part of the Academy, I knew I was basically signing any hope of freedom away, but it was better than the uncertainty that plagued being a “participant” in the Academy’s games.
Perhaps some part of me always knew that it would come to this, that the very place that threw me onto a tightrope, forcing me to balance between a mundane life and the allure of freedom, would be the same place to push me off of it.
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
Present Day: ⚜Kayne's Apartment⚜
I thumbed through the messy journal pages absentmindedly.
Oh Vic...
If only you knew who actually threw you that life line in the first place. Project Anubis, Project Discordia, Project Hollow Moon. These were all studies I knew very well. Being a sickly young boy, I often spent time locked away in my room. Even after I moved out of the orphanage, when boredom stuck, there was little else I could do besides wander over to my father’s study and rummage through the hordes of books I had read hundreds of times before.
Whenever he saw me come in, his emerald eyes would shine with a warmth that was otherwise non-existent on his features. I’d straggle over to his side and plop down on a seat next to him.
“What are you working on today?” I’d ask each time.
He’d tell me the stories of fantastical creatures and the thrilling trials of those who had to face them. I would listen, enthralled by his experiments. Yet still, I remember one particular day where I was less than impressed with one of his tales. Quite the opposite in fact. Instead of the usual awe and wonder that I often had, a deep rooted fear kindled in my chest, one that I can still vividly remember even now.
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
The exhausted shuffling of my father coming home from another long day at work muffled through the door. He was supposed to be home hours ago, but had called to say that he was going to be working late again. I was excited to ask him about today’s experiments, but I couldn’t be too disappointed. After all, I knew he was only working so hard to find a cure for me. Everything he did was for me.
Mother passed when I was young of an unknown illness and father rarely speaks of the rest of our family. According to him, they’re all very ill individuals. Whatever it is seems to be hereditary . It’s always been just the two of us. I can’t imagine how he must have felt when I was diagnosed with the same illness as my mother. I was only a boy when he was told that I likely wouldn’t live to adulthood.
My father threw himself into his work, toiling day and night to try and cure me. It was like that was the only thing keeping him going. It was thanks to him that my 18th birthday had come and gone in a flash. Although, The one person I wished I could celebrate with wasn’t even here to congratulate me, though I supposed that too was my fault.
Ever since Victor was whisked off to the Wasteland Citadel, my days have been nothing short of painfully boring. My father never tells me anything he thinks will stress me out and aggravate my illness. So when I meandered into his study to get another book, he hadn’t noticed me approaching. Scattered along his desk were daily reports and other boring documents. I had briefly glanced over, expecting more of the same dull papers to be piled on his desk as usual, but something stopped me. At the top of one of the piles was a familiar name. A report for “Project Philosopher Stone” sat tauntingly on his desk.
“How was work today father?” I asked, eyes still fixed on his desk.
“Long,” came his simple reply.
“I guess you’re too tired to tell me about today’s experiments…I was looking forward to it…pity.”
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Unfortunately so. But I’ll tell you what,” He picked up a folder labeled with the date and a bright red “PROJECT FILE SUMMARIES” plastered onto the front of it. He handed it to me and smiled. “These are all the projects I had to sign off on today. Take a look and see which one peaks your interest. Tell me what it is tomorrow and I promise I will tell you all about whatever creature it is!”
I nodded, smiling excitedly as I always did when faced with the stories I so craved. Taking the folder, I sat down on a couch in his study, ready to go through it.
“Don’t stay up too late,” said father as he made his way to his bedroom.
The second he was gone I began flipping through the folder. “What was it again? Something about a stone?” The pages fluttered as I flipped through them until I finally settled on page I had been looking for.
【PROJECT PHILOSOPHER'S STONE】
「Subject」 “Philosopher’s Stone”
「Administrator」 Dr. Uriel Nirvana
「Description」
According to local accounts and records prior to the construction of Vespertine Academy, A highly religious cult conducted their business out of the temple located on Academy grounds. They were called the ██████████ and believed that through an appropriate sacrifice, immortality could be achieved. The leader of this cult was known as Alfred Reinhart. He thoroughly indoctrinated his family into following his extreme beliefs. To understand the level of operation that the stone has, the following will include the detailed profiles of Alfred and his cult.
𝔸𝕝𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕕 ℝ𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕥
⦾ Established his cult in ███████
⦾ Was 27 years old when he established his cult and was married for the first time.
⦾ Married 6 women, two of which were his biological daughters
⦾ Believed to be the first instance of the Philosopher Stone anomaly
𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕒 𝔻𝕖ℕ𝕠𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕒
⦾ Alfred’s first wife, was wed at 16 years old.
⦾ Was a student at the college he taught at.
⦾ Gave birth to 9 children. Two passed in infancy, 3 were female, 4 were male. She experienced 3 more miscarriages after her last child’s birth (by which time Alfred was already married to Rani), eventually ████████ ███████ due to prolonged strain on her psychological faculties.
ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕚 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕝
⦾ Alfred’s second wife, was wed to him at 19 years old.
⦾ Was Amelia’s senior in school.
⦾ Gave birth to 3 children, all male. Prior to giving birth to her first son, she experienced 3 miscarriages.
⦾ Records indicate that Rani’s standing in the cult was low, as she was married at an “older” age and did not give him very many children.
⦾ While her “use” to Alfred was deemed negligible, she was kept as a live in nanny for all of the other children Alfred had.
𝕁𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕒 ██████████
⦾ Alfred’s third wife, was wed to him at 8 years old.
⦾ Is Alfred’s sister-in-law, who he abducted. He was never suspected or convicted for her kidnapping.
⦾ Gave birth to 7 children. 3 were female, 4 were male. She gave birth to her first child at the age of 15.
⦾ Records indicate that Jocasta was heavily favoured by Alfred as she wholeheartedly supported him and shared his beliefs. This is likely to having been indoctrinated in to his lifestyle from such a young age.
⦾ Is the only one of his wives to have surviving children (Joseph Reinhart-passed, Dolores Reinhart-passed, Elizbeth Rose Reinhart-survived, Charles Reinhart-passed, Marcus Reinhart-passed, Dina Reinhart-passed, Dorian Reinhart-survived)
𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℝ𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕥
⦾ Alfred’s Fourth wife, was wed to him at 13 years old.
⦾ Is Alfred niece who he kidnapped in retaliation for his brother’s attempts to get him to disband his cult.
⦾ Is Jocasta’s niece.
⦾ She was inflicted by an STI and passed before she gave birth to any children.
ℂ𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖 𝔻𝕖ℕ𝕠𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕒
⦾ Alfred’s Fifth wife, was wed to him at 18.
⦾ Amelia and Alfred’s daughter.
⦾ Camille gave birth to 1 daughter.
⦾ Camille bled out and died during the birth of her second child, who was stillborn.
𝔻𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℝ𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕥
⦾ Alfred’s Sixth wife, was wed to him at 22.
⦾ Jocasta and Alfred’s youngest daughter.
⦾ Alfred became obsessed with the succession of his cult by the time he married Dina. He forced Dina into 12 pregnancies, only 2 of which came to fruition. Both were male.
⦾ Dina died shortly after due to an infection caused by an untreated incision during a C-section.
Alfred, along with his surviving 2 wives, Rani and Jocasta moved with their 13 surviving children to what is now the site of Vespertine Academy. Alfred, having been surrounded by the deaths of his many victims and ongoing miscarriages, became obsessed with stopping it. He believed that he and his wives were cursed. Jocasta, being the only one to have the most surviving children was quickly promoted to a higher rank in their hierarchy. He confided in Jocasta that he believed they were cursed by Rani as the many miscarriages and deaths only began after his marriage to her.
He began to perpetuate the idea that he had received the knowledge that would allow them to rid themselves of the curse. As Alfred’s right hand and trusted confidant, he allowed for Jocasta to choose one of her children to be his successor. This successor was Dorian. Alfred officiated a wedding between Dorian and his little sister Elizabeth Rose, after which Dorian was sworn in as Alfred’s successor.
At the ceremony, Alfred made it clear that he did not want whatever curse that followed him, to pass on to Dorian. With Jocasta’s help, Alfred lured Rani and his remaining children into a room within the temple complex and slaughtered them. Examination of the ores found within the complex have revealed that they were made of the coagulated blood and other remains of the children as well as Rani. It is unclear how Alfred created the stones, but he believed that this would not only dispel his curse, but also grant him the secrets to eternal life to prevent other such curses from befalling what was left of his family.
Between the slaughters and Dorian’s growth into adulthood Alfred became increasingly paranoid that others would attempt to steal the stone and its power. So he began constructing misleading hallways and other maze like structures within the temple complex to confuse and trap any potential thieves. When Dorian and his sister eventually conceived a child, he took this as the ultimate confirmation that his ritual cleaning of his perceived curse, had worked. Upon his passing, Dorian and his wife were instructed to mummify Alfred and create a statue out of his body. Then kill Jocasta and make her remains into another “Philosopher’s Stone,” as he refers to it in his will.
They did as he wished and erected the statue inside the temple that Alfred had spent the majority of his life in. Embedded into the statue’s palms was the stone made of Jocasta’s remains. Not long after this, Elizabeth Rose and her son fell ill. Dorian’s status remains unknown during this period. The last known records of his wife’s whereabouts indicate that she visited her father’s statue one day to “pray” for healing. She did not return for several days, prompting authorities to go looking for her.
It was then that authorities discovered a new statue in Alfred’s place. Although it’s face was twisted in agony, it bared a striking resemblance to Elizabeth Rose. The longer Authorities spent inside with the statue, the more they were overcome with a deep desire to take the stone cupped in the statue’s hands. They would inevitably fight to the death to obtain it and were never seen leaving the complex after presumably gaining possession of the stone. Two members of the team sent into the complex managed to escape and reported their findings to FROSTEIN Academy personnel.
All records following their report has been corrupted. See archive administrator for access to previous edits.
Director Vespertine came into possession of the first “Philosopher’s Stone” when the academy was constructed. This stone does not have the same madness inducing properties as the second stone. All data obtained from geological testing on Rani’s stone is purely content based. No other information has been obtained from it and further testing on the first stone has been deemed a waste of resources.
「Behaviour」
The stone embedded into Alfred’s statue begins to instill a sense of madness within anyone who remains in close proximity for prolonged periods of time. Studies show that over time, the desire to obtain the stone grows until the individual is willing to go as far as harming themselves and others in order to reach the stone.
The thick fog that permeates the temple complex was not originally present during Alfred’s time. The earliest known records of it appear after Elizabeth Rose’s death and subsequent containment in her statue. It is unclear what the source of the fog is. Theories suggest ██████ ███████ if not █████ The fog regularly disorients and traps those who enter the maze of the temple.
After 6 minutes, 6 seconds and 6 milliseconds of time, the fog will dissipate and individuals will find themselves at the temple’s entrance once more. However, if those inside happen to come across the stone before then, they will either succumb to the urge to obtain the stone and become its next host, or the fog will grow thicker until it becomes a gas of sorts and suffocates them.
〖Observation Log 1〗
The following Observation Log has been redacted. See archives administrator for unedited access.
Outcome: Maximum length of time established for observation procedures, distance required for the stone to have a psychological effect has been determined as anywhere within a 2 meter radius.
〖Observation Log 2〗
The following Observation Log has been redacted. See archives administrator for unedited access.
Outcome: Proposed development for sensors to detect the presence of the stone, thus allowing for the avoidance of the stone’s psychological reach and further study of the surrounding fog.
〖Observation Log 3〗
The following Observation Log has been redacted. See archives administrator for unedited access.
Outcome:
⦾ Sensor testing is a success. Awaiting clearance for future use.
⦾ 2 out of 10 participants survived the trial. On Dr. U. Nirvana’s recommendation, Vespers Victor Solomon and Abel Goodrich are proposed as ongoing study participants as they have demonstrated a willingness to do what it takes to reach the successful completion of the task at hand and the mental fortitude to withstand the demand on physical and mental faculties required in academy research.
【END OF PROJECT FILES】
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“What project did you choose?”
My father sat idly at his desk, head down, eyes fixed on the papers in front of him.
“Umm…that Philosopher’s Stone seems interesting…”
My father’s head snapped up. His gaze rested on me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, as if he were looking straight through me at someone else, he shut his eyes and sighed. “Well that’s a surprise. I thought you would pick something more…thrilling. I didn’t think a little rock would be of interest to you.”
I shook my head. “Well...it’s not exactly the stone I was wondering about…” I mumbled.
‘What was that?”
“N-nothing! I was just wondering…does the stone actually make you immortal?”
Father scoffed at the idea. “No Kayne it doesn’t make you immortal. It’s just a pathetic stone that very sick people decided to obsess over.”
I had hoped to ease into the conversation before bringing up Vic, but father’s mood only seemed to worsen the more we spoke about the stone. I groaned inwardly, resigning to the fact that I would just have to rip the band aid off.
“Umm…I saw Victor is working as a Vesper now? Does this mean you’re gonna take him out of the Citadel?”
Father’s brows knit together in confusion. “Victor?” He asked. “Victor...ah! That boy you got imprisoned!”
Despite myself, I could feel a frown tug at my lips. “Yes. That Victor.”
“I was sure you would have forgotten about him by now. He sure seems to have forgotten you.” Father laughed. I couldn’t tell if it was out of mockery for me or disdain for Victor, but he had no reason to harbor such feelings towards either of us. The thought did strike me, that perhaps he was still upset at our little discover in the shed back at the orphanage.
“What does that mean? The only reason he was even punished is because of me! How could he forget that?”
Father glanced at the file for Project Philosopher’s Stone. “That other boy, Abel was it? I believe the two of them have been as thick as thieves since this study. Most of the studies they’ve been participating in since have them participating together. Abel’s struggling a little with the…unfortunate loss of his arm but Victor seems to really be looking out for him. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s all but replaced you.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from having an outburst. How could that be? Even if his care had long since turned into resentment for me, there’s no way he would simply replace me!
"I can’t say I blame the boy,” father continued. “If I had been imprisoned and then forced to fight for my life, I would want to forget about the person who condemned me to that life too.”
“…Wait…you said he was still participating in studies?”
Father shrugged. “If he keeps up the good work he might even manage to walk free in this century ha!”
I felt all the warmth in my body leaving. It was a crude lie, one father told the prisoners just to keep them motivated, If they had any ounce of sense they would be able to see that there’s no way in hell the Academy would let them go after everything they’ve seen there. Their headed straight for a death sentence whether it’s by the academy’s hands or the Citadel’s.
“Father…I have a favour to ask.”
He shot a lazy glance in my direction. “What is it?”
“Spare Victor.”
His expression hardened and I felt my heart sink. I had seen his cold glare many times before, but it was never directed at me.
“You know I don’t go back on my decisions. Why are you asking this of me after all this time? Is it so you can relieve your guilty conscience?”
“N-No! I just… I think Victor could be better used elsewhere! A…A janitor maybe? Or a driver? He was always good at writing maybe you can give him a boring desk job! Please-“
The abrupt THUD of father’s hands slamming down on his desk made me swallow my words.
“You were more than willing to let him take the fall for you. I’m not saying this to scold you, but you must learn to live with your choices Kayne. We have a real shot at making breakthroughs in the medical field. None of that would be possible if you had been taken to the Citadel instead of him. He will serve his time. I will not change my position on this.”
My chest tightened and I sucked in what little air I could. I knew he was right. Father’s desperate attempts at find a cure for me, his steadfast determination, all of it was for me…but he never missed an opportunity to remind me that all of his progress…all of the innocent blood shed in the process, was also because of me. Part of me always wondered if at some point, father became less concerned with my wellbeing, and more obsessed with the extent to which he could take his research.
Years of trying to prolong my dwindling lifespan, decades of research, countless test subjects. The worst part was that by the time I was old enough to understand what was going on…I didn’t hate him for it.
I stand selfishly on the unwilling sacrifices of others just to keep drawing breath. But how was I making use of that life? What use was I except for my father to tout his research, a mere trophy for all of my father’s hard work?
“I was scared to get in trouble…I was scared of you…I didn’t choose to let him go because I wanted him to be punished for my mistakes.”
Father’s eyes widened, as if he never considered that he might ever be the cause of my fear. We fell silent for a moment, the tension only breaking once he cleared his throat. “I will see what I can do…”
Luckily for you Victor, my father isn’t the only one who knows how to use other’s guilt to their advantage.
I whispered my thanks before moving to leave his study, my gaze snagging on the awards hung in elaborate frames on his wall.
“Dorian Vespertine, a pioneer in academic research and scientific progress.”
…and a desperate father who had long since lost sight of his goals.
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