Soup looks at her drama, sighs and shuts the TV off before answering the phone.
“What took you so long to answer the phone?” her supervisor screamed into Soup’s ear. Soup's supervisor was nothing like the hot chaebol in the dramas she liked. Rather, he was aging, balding and barely brushed his teeth.
At the very least, a phone call meant she didn’t have to smell or see him. “Sorry sir, I was preoccupied.”
“Forget about it, Soup. Listen, I need you to meet up with a client in East New York. I’ll send you the address.”
Soup removed her cell from her ear to check the time:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[12:52 AM]
She didn’t drive and the subway operated on a 24-hour schedule, but this was just ridiculous. Today was not the Soup of yesterday, she was going to say something to him. She wasn’t going to be pushed around any longer. After all, when the girls in dramas did it they always got their happy endings, so why couldn’t she?
Her supervisor ordered more than said, “I’ll text you the address and email you the files. You can go over them while you get there.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Great Soup, I can always count on you to get the job done.”
“Thank you, sir.” She hung up the phone and moved to get her stuff.
Soup opened up her laptop to download the files her supervisor sent her. Meanwhile, she reminded herself for the upteenth time that there was nothing wrong with being dependable. Soup got the job done when no one else did. Who cared if she was going to freaking East New York at 1AM instead of getting ready for bed? Soup was the girl for the job and everyone knew it. That was why her supervisor always called her.
When the files were securely downloaded, Soup packed a small backpack and put on a thick coat. It hadn't snowed in a while but, the nights were always chilly.
It was after Soup made sure her apartment was securely locked that she checked her phone again. Sure enough was an address to some dingy bar in East New York. The realization had Soup reaching in her backpack for her trusty pepper spray.
It was still there.
Soup breathed a sigh of relief. The bottle had saved her life more than twice. As long as it was within reach, she knew everything would be fine. With that thought, Soup turned to Spotify, playing her favorite K-Pop music until she made it onto her line. The one benefit about living in Manhattan was how all the lines came here. Meaning, getting to any of the other boroughs was easy enough.
Soup maneuvered the streets of her neighborhood without looking anyone in the eye. If living here had taught her anything it was to avoid eye contact at all costs. As long as she did that, nothing bad would ever happen to her.
Like so, Soup descended the stairs into the subway, scanning her phone as she passed through the turnstile. It was only as she began going down that she remembered the heat. Still, a sign above her forehead notified her that her train would arrive in two minutes. The inside of the car would be air conditioned so as long as she endured, everything would be alright.
She smiled at the thought of air conditioning and turned up the volume on her playlist. In no time at all, her line skidded to a stop on the rails. Soup hurried through a random car’s door, breathing a sigh of relief at how empty it was inside. It would be an hour until her stop, but then she would only have to walk a couple minutes to reach the bar.
In the meantime, Soup sat on a bright orange seat which had seen better days and took out her laptop. The document in question was simple enough: an offer by the company to rent out part of a restaurant for a commercial. The only thing that struck Soup as weird was the meeting location. The lot her company wanted to rent was in Manhattan, but East New York was in Brooklyn. Why go through all this trouble?
Soup shook her head at the direction her thoughts were taking. Its not like it was the first time she had dealt with eccentric clients or business partners. She’d deal with it. After all, she was Soup, the most dependable person at her company. Whatever came would come.
When she had practically memorized the document, it was time for her to get ready to exit the train. Quickly, she raced up the subway steps and away from the oppressive heat, using Google Maps to guide her towards her destination.
In no time at all, Soup opened the glass doors of the bar. Inside was a smattering of men and women, but there was a lone man sitting in the back. He had a business suit, looked to be in his mid thirties with dark hair combed to the side. At first glance, he looked more like romance novel material than a businessman. Even so, he was the only one in this place who matched the description Soup’s supervisor had sent her.
She made her way towards the man, a business smile plastered onto her face. He looked up at her and nodded. Always a good sign. Plus he didn’t give her any sleazeball vibes and that was always a plus.
So like any other business meeting, Soup sat down and took out her laptop. She was so busy that she didn’t see the men outside the window with guns loaded. The man in front of her cursed. Before she could move, a storm of bullets cut through the bar, shooting dead anyone who hadn’t ducked for cover.
Soup was shot thirty-six times, her corpse unrecognizable. Such an end was fitting to someone who waited for her chances to come to her rather than taking her own plunge.
Now, Soup did you really think you would just be handed a good ending? No, good endings must be earned. Everyone knows that!
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Bad End 1: Inaction]]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Would you care to Play Again?->The Beginning (E)]]]After turning her phone off, Soup’s heart started thundering in her chest. Had she really just done that? What if she gets fired? What if it was really important?
Soup shook her head over and over again while chanting, “No! No! No!” like some holy mantra.
Everything would be alright. Labor laws existed for a reason. If her supervisor did anything, she’d sue. Yeah, it’d be easy enough to gather evidence. Everything was going to be alright. She’d make it through. The important thing was that finally, after all these years, Soup had stood up for herself.
“I need some fresh air.” She stood up and moved towards the kitchen, not even bothering to turn off the TV. It would be fine. She’d watch the rest of it later. There would always be a later—especially now.
She exchanged her phone for a bottle of red wine and an empty glass. The balcony was what she needed tonight. There was a small little table she liked, but almost never had time to use. Tonight, for once in her life, she was going to have a relaxing night like a normal human being.
So she poured herself a glass while gazing at the familiar skyline. There was a strange simple joy at seeing the way the city lights reflected in her poison of choice.
“Please don’t jump.”
Soup looked around, but this late there was no one on any of the other balconies. She turned around, expecting to find some intruder, but there was no one there.
She glanced back down at her wine glass.
“I haven’t even drunk a quarter of a glass.” She turned back to the balcony, leaning against the railing while downing more wine—albeit a little slower than before.
“I’m going to get into a lot of trouble if you jump, so I’d really rather you didn’t.”
This time Soup placed the glass of wine on the table, leaning over the balcony to look up. It had to be one of the neighbors playing a trick on her, nut when she looked Soup’s eyes went as wide as flying saucers.
For against everything scientific and logical was an angel. A freaking winged person floating above her high rise Manhattan apartment. His long golden hair was flowing in the wind like a fucking Michelangelo painting—white robes and all. Even his wings were in various shades of gold, like the sun itself had come down to grace a bunch of lowly mortals.
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Flirt with the Angel->Flirt with the Angel]]
[[Sit Down and Check her Wine Bottle for Drugs->Check Wine Bottle for Drugs]]
[[Run Away Screaming for the Hills->Run Away Screaming for the Hills]]Soup stared at those flowing golden locks and bright, almost glowing eyes. She'd never seen anyone so handsome in her own life and was totally and completely wrong about her previous Michelangelo comment. He was more handsome than anyone Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Botticelli or any other painter that had ever and will ever exist had ever conceived. Sure it had been a while since she'd entered the playing field but she was hot and ready for a good time—especially now that she had finally said no to her pig of a supervisor.
Soup's knowledge of manga and games had prepared her for this one moment. Those past times had prepared her for this one moment. All those times she had to cancel dates and make excuses because of work had led to this meeting. If she could figure out even the trickiest of otome capture targets, Soup was sure that she could handle one angel.
So Soup called out, "Hey there, its kind of hard to talk like this. Could you come down?"
The angel turned his head to the side, his eyebrows crinkling. "You believe I'm real?"
"Well I'm definitley not drunk and have never hallucinated in my life so what else could you be?"
She could have sworn she heard him mutter, "If it was this easy, I should have tried this method before."
"You say something."
"No," he replied. "I'll be down shortly."
With that, Soup removed herself from her rather precarious position, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her pink blouse while she waited for the handsome angel to come down. It'd be fine. She wasn't the Soup of before. This brand new Soup would not only have the time of her life—she was going to do it with a motherfucking angel!
When the angel finally descended, he folded his perfect wings behind his back and said, "I have a proposition for you. Would it be alright to talk with you?"
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Hear the Angel Out->Hear the Angel Out]]
[[Seduce Angel->Bad End 2: Disgust]]Soup's immidiate inclination was to step away from the railing and check if someone had roofied her wine bottle. Granted she wasn't really an invite people over type of girl and she'd known all the corner store workers for years, but how else was she supposed to explain a godsforsaken angel at her window. Yeah, her life was pretty shit and she may have liked manga and otome games to get away from thinking about work, but an angel? Really?
Still, he //was// pretty good looking. No, Soup needed to think about the moment. Check the wine first and then decide what to do. Without anymore hesitation so picked up the bottle and gave it a long sniff.
"It smells the same as before?" When Soup really thought about it, the only knowledge about checking drugs that she knew came from TV and novels so they were probably all busllshit. Besides, it wasn't like she kept silver handy—even with her salary.
"What are you doing?"
Soup almost dropped the wine bottle in surprise. Somehow though not a drop was spilt. Even so, she couldn't quite believe that there was an angel sitting on her balcony, examining her with curious golden eyes. It was like a scene straight out of one of the games she played and she knew how those ended.
But he was hot.
As Soup stared at the angel, she realized that there was no way her tired and exhausted ass could have dreamed up such a perfect looking creature. Still, the thought wasn't comforting. After all, if she didn't know what he was after, who knows how things would end for her.
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Flirt with the Angel->Flirt with the Angel]]
[[Run Away Screaming for the Hills->Run Away Screaming for the Hills]]Soup slowly backs away from whatever she saw. She wasn’t really the super religious type, but she had read enough manga and played enough otome games to know that this was a very very bad sign.
When her back hit the sliding glass door of her apartment, the angel-like thing or creature said, “Are you going to kill yourself in a different way? Could you please not? I really really don’t want to get into any trouble.”
Without turning away from that thing Soup managed to somehow slide open the door and slip through it. As soon as she did, she shut the door and ran towards the kitchen.
Why on Earth had she left it there? She needed to call 9-1-1 or a friend or anyone!
Somehow, she managed to stop shaking her fingers long enough to press on the side button to turn on her phone.
“Come on, come on, come on.” When she saw the familiar logo of her cell, she sighed in relief. Everything was going to be alright. Some horrific monster wasn’t going to kill her and she’d be able to contact help.
“What are you doing?” the angel-like thing suddenly appeared in front of Soup, making her drop her cell phone onto the ground.
He said, “I don’t mean to scare you. I’m really just trying to do my job. Can’t you at least talk to me?”
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Reach for her Cell and Call for Help->Reach for her Cell and Call for Help]]
[[Reach for the Kitchen Knife->Reach for the Kitchen Knife]]
[[Hear the Angel Out->Hear the Angel Out]]Soup attempts to call for help, first dialing her best friend. It kept ringing and ringing, not even taking her to voicemail. It was like some otherworldly power was stopping her best friend from answering the phone.
Next, she tried calling her work friends. Again, just more and more ringing. All the while the angel-like creature stared at her waiting. Why wasn’t he doing anything? Why the fuck was he just standing there and staring at Soup like he had all the time in the fucking world?
After the fourth person she tried to call didn’t pick up, she glanced over at the winged intruder in accusation.
He said, “I only want to talk so can you please just put the phone down?”
“Why should I trust you?” Soup gripped her phone tighter and refocused on the touchscreen dialing pad.
She called 9-1-1. Again, it just kept on ringing and ringing and ringing.
The angel attempted to reason, “Have I done anything to hurt you?”
Although it was true that the creature had not physically harmed her, it was still an intruder into her home: the one sanctuary she had worked long and grueling hours to keep as her own. The act of invading it and entering her home without her permission was absolutely unforgivable.
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Hear the Angel Out->Hear the Angel Out]]
[[Argue with the Angel->Bad End 3: Accidental Death]]Soup abandons her cell and reaches for the kitchen knife. Reading and writing about magical creatures was one thing, but seeing them was something else. She was not going down without a fight and would make this thing pay for whatever nefarious plan it had in store for her.
Acting on more instinct than reason, Soup held the knife towards the angel-like creature and screamed, “Stay the fuck away from me!”
The thing cocked his too-perfect face to the right. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me the first time. Back. The. Fuck. Away!”
He approached Soup the way one might approach a small animal. “I really don’t think that it's a good idea for you to be holding that. Could you please just put the knife down so we can talk?”
“The hell I will!” Soup jutted the knife out in the angel’s direction.
“I’m trying to make you see reason,” the angel sighed, “besides there’s no way that a human made blade will be able to injure me.”
“Want to bet on it?” a strange feeling of rage welled up in Soup.
Right, she wasn’t the Soup of a few hours ago. She had even managed to shut the phone on her trashy supervisor. There really was nothing she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it. She was the great Soup and if she wasn’t some corporate slave, she sure as hell wasn’t going to follow the whims of some third rate monster in literal angelic garb.
He—no it—sighed, “I really don’t want to have to take drastic measures, so can we just sit down so we can talk.”
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Stab the Angel->Bad End 4: Damnation]]
[[Argue with the Angel->Bad End 3: Accidental Death]](if:visits >= 3)[Really Soup, how many times do we have to do this song and dance? Just what have you been doing up until this point? Was it really so hard to get to this point? Or are you a completionist and need all the death endings first? Is that it Soup?]
Soup decides to hear the angel out, but doesn't think her current location is okay for a private conversation so she asks, "Mind if we move to the living room?"
The angel nods and Soup leads the way to her favorite couch. All the while, he tucked in his wings, making sure not to run into anything. Once they made it to their destination Soup sat with her legs criss-crossed applesauce and her hands on her knees. The angel or angel-like creature—he could have been a demon for all Soup knew—in contrast, floated above her coffee table in the same sitting position.
"So what did you want to talk about?" She wasn't sure if she could take a staring contest with an otherworldly creature.
"Right, well you see," he paused and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I've never really done this before so its a bit hard to explain."
His response put Soup straight into business mode. "Take all the time you need. You have my complete and undivided attention."
"Yes," he nodded. "Well, I've revealed myself to you to make a proposition."
"Propo-what?"
"A proposition," he repeated, "or bargain or deal, if you will."
Soup looked pointedly at his wings. "Aren't you an angel or something?"
"Yes, why yes I am. Why do you ask?"
"Well isn't it only demons who make deals with humans?"
"Don't you dare confuse me with those soul-stealing heathens!" The supposed angel's eyes started glowing an eerie color. "Yes, its true that the majority of creatures who make deals come from the underworld, but this is different. I'm in the business of saving souls, not damning them to an eternity of pain and suffering!"
"There's no need to get so riled up," Soup reasoned. "And by the way, what do you mean by saving souls?"
His expression brightened like a kid on Christmas. "I've received permission from my higher ups to offer you a deal."
"Okay, what sort of deal?"
"There are two souls which live in different realms. If you save one of their souls, I will grant you any wish of your choosing?"
"A wish?" Soup coudn't believe what she was hearing.
"Yes, your kind have been known to refer to them as miracles."
"And it can be anything anything?"
"Well, within reason," the angel explained. "You see I cannot kill anyone because that's demon business, but I can give you your dream job and take you out of your current situation or even give you a whole new life."
"A new life?"
"Yes, you can move to a new country or even be reborn in a different world, if you'd like." The more the angel talked, the more excited he sounded.
"What's the catch?"
"Like I said, you have to save one of these two souls." Before Soup could get in another word, he quickly added in, "So what'll it be?"
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Yes->Accept the Angel's Offer]]
[[No->Deny the Angel's Offer]]Soup doesn’t even think, she stabs the angel straight through the chest, feeling the blade slowly sink into the flesh. When bright crimson riverlets flowed through, the thing looked on in shock.
“How is this possible?” he staggered back, the feathers on his wings beginning to fall off one by one.
Soup though was not satisfied, it was as if all the pent up feelings from her supervisor and company were finally given an out. She stalked towards the retreating winged creature and stabbed him again, going for his throat.
When her blade connected with flesh she slid it across his neck, causing a strange bright red necklace to form. He placed a hand to his neck before collapsing, all life leaving his eyes. Even though Soup knew that he was probably dead, it didn’t matter, it still wasn’t enough.
Had anyone ever cared when she suffered or cried? No and this abomination had dared to stalk and frighten her. Even if he was dead, his corpse would pay for all the pain and torment she had endured.
Soup lifted the knife and began stabbing him over and over again; ; laughing maniacally after the first few times. Still she kept lifting her knife and pulling it down again over and over again, spraying blood, feathers and flesh all over her previously clean kitchen floor.
The sound of clapping in the background startled her after whatever emotion had taken over her. Soup looked around to see a different man she didn’t recognize. Everything about him was pale: his hair, his eyes, his skin. The only thing not white about him was his black clothing—the color of shadows.
Soup stood up and pointed the knife at him. “Don’t think I won’t stab you too.”
“You know I really hate being called up here, but its not everyday a human murders an angel.”
He kneeled down next to the mutilated corpse. “Wow, you really did a number on him.
Wonder how bad he screwed up that they let some human do him in.”
“Wha—”
Before Soup could even finish her sentence, the man snapped his fingers and a burning sensation spread all throughout her body. She could just smell the combination of rotting flesh and piss as she screamed and screamed and screamed.
“You aren’t dead yet, but for the sin of murdering a divine being and daring to make me walk upon this filthy land, I hearbye sentence you to 100,000 years of torture by fire.”
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Bad End 2: Damnation]]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Would You Care to Play Again?->The Beginning (E)]]]
“I’m not going to listen to you,” Soup looked the angel directly in the eyes.
“I know that you’re human,” he paused, “but it is highly irrational for you to be behaving in this way.” Soup hated how perfectly calm the angel-like creature’s voice was whenever he spoke. It was like she was some child or something.
“The one with freaking wings is calling me irrational?”
The angel cocked his head to the side. “I was created with wings. Just because you’ve never before seen one, doesn’t make my existence irrational.”
“I don’t know where it is you come from, but in my world, people with wings like yours don’t exist!”
He brushed aside some golden locks from his face. “So does that mean just because you haven’t encountered it, other creatures don’t have the right to exist?”
“Stop twisting my words!” At this point, Soup didn’t even care if one of her neighbors would barge in to launch a noise complaint. That was how completely done with the whole situation she was.
“I’m not twisting anything. I’m only asking you to hear what I have to say.”
“Yeah, so you’ll lull me into a false sense of security and fuck me over? Don’t think I don’t know what type of game you’re playing.”
“I have been nothing, but polite with you,” He retorted, “but it would seem that you are beyond help.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I really didn’t want to do this, but you won’t listen to me and I really don’t think we will be able to have a proper conversation until you calm down.”
“What are—”
Before Soup could even finish her sentence, the angel held out a hand, a bright golden light shooting out and hitting Soup square in the chest. It knocked her out instantly.
The angel slowly approached her and crouched down. “Now all you have to do is wake up and we’ll start all over—”
He froze at the odd aura surrounding Soup’s body, placing two fingers to Soup’s neck. There was no pulse.
“Oh no, I forgot how fragile humans were and used too much power.” A chill raced through the angel’s body. “This isn’t going to end well for me, is it?”
(text-style:"shadow","expand")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[Bad End 3: Accidental Death]]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Would You Care to Play Again?->The Beginning (E)]]]Soup starts fiddling with the ends of her hair. "You know, I'd really rather we do something other than talking."
"What do you mean?" the angel's eyebrows scrunched up. In Soup's eyes, it really was quite adorable.
"You must be tired from all that flying, don't you want to sit down and relax a while? Maybe join me for a drink?"
"A drink?" the angel gulped. "It isn't really appropiate to indulge in wine."
"Didn't you say you want to talk?"
"Well—er yes, but what does wine have to do with anything?"
Soup gave a gentle smile, "Well, I can't really get in the mood without a drink and its really no fun to drink alone."
"But weren't you going to do that anyways?"
The angel's question was so geniune that it was really quite refreshing. It was just so different than all the sleazebags she dealt with and Soup wanted—no, she deserved someone like that! Someone without all the bullshit who wouldn't see her as some corporate slave! "Well that was then and this is now."
"I see and if I join you will we be able to talk?"
"If you'd like," Soup leaned in and trailed her hand up the angel's arm, "or we could do other things if you'd like that too."
Immidiatley the angel pushed her away, causing Soup to hit her head on the glass sliding door. She opened her eyes to comment on how he could have just said he wasn't interested, but there was a strange light in eyes that wasn't there before.
The angel declared, "How dare you! Maybe they were right and I was wrong. If this is all that goes in the minds of mortals then I no longer want any part in them and I don't care what the consequences are."
Before Soup could even respond, a bright light burst from the angel's palm and hit Soup. At first she thought that would be the end of it, but then the light expanded, tearing her limp from limp: first her right arm, then her left, followed by both her legs. It was not until she was bleeding and screaming in agony that the light mercifully seperated Soup's head from her body.
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Bad End 2: Disgust]]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Would You Like to Play Again?->The Beginning (E)]]]
The Angel let out a sigh of relief at Soup's acceptance. "Great, then I have one more question for you."
Soup held up a hand which made the angel pause. "Wait, before we continue can I ask some questions."
"Why yes, of course. Sorry, its just that its my first time doing this and my superior told me not to talk to much unless prompted."
Soup nodded at the angel's admission. "That's alright, but could you please start at the beginning?"
"Yes," he agreed. "Well you see, the human souls under my watch have always had some issues so my supervisor wanted to see why that was."
"What do you mean by issues?"
"Oh you know, prone to being victims of abuse, depression, suicide," he put a hand behind his head, "and so on and so forth. Ah, but you've actually been dealing with the problems in your life a lot better than some of my other souls, but anyways my superior said I should offer you a deal to see if you really are deserving of a better life before your afterlife."
"Why would they do that?"
The angel explained, "Well, you see there is a certain immortal who has been causing problems for everyone because of their own problems. If you could save him from himself so he stops wreaking havoc on everyone else, we would really appreciate it."
It sounded really great and Soup //had// agreed. Still, something just wasn't adding up and despite what some of her coworkers whispered about her behind her back, she really wasn't born yesterday. "So why can't one of your people deal with him? Why send a human?"
"Well, we tried that and," the angel looked away he posture slightly drooping, "it didn't really end well for my coworkers so now no-one is willing to go and try."
Soup considered the information the angel relayed. While it was a tempting proposition, was she really able to do something that even angels couldn't do? No, of course she could. This was the new and improved Soup. If she could take on her supervisor, she sure as hell can deal with one immortal. After all, hadn't she been doing just fine with one angel?
"Great," the angel said, interrupting Soup's thoughts, "then I'll need you to answer a question first."
"Sure, lay it on me."
"Would you rather be embraced by the light or fall into the darkness?"
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Embrace the Light->Embrace the Light]]
[[Fall into the Darkness->Bad End 5: Together]]
[[Neither->Neither the Light nor the Darkness]]
"No," Soup said much more firmly than she had intended.
The angel was silent, his eyes widening. It was as if he had never expected this sort of answer, but that was weird. Sure a miracle sounded great and maybe the old Soup would have expected it, but this was the new Soup. The new Soup lived for herself and only herself. Plus, she'd played enough otome games to know how sus it was to "save someone's soul." For one, that sounded a thousand times harder than securing the most difficult of contracts. For another, what'd happen if she failed?
"Is there a particular reason why you don't want to?" the angel asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"You don't really expect me to think miracles could just be handed out like free donuts at an office party, do you?" Soup arched an eyebrow.
"Well no, that's why you have to save the soul of an immortal first."
"An immortal?" Soup questioned. "You didn't mention that before."
"I was going to, but my superior said that I shouldn't say anything until you said yes first."
Soup crossed her arms over chest. "That's not very honorable for an angel, now is it?"
"No," guilt flooded his too-perfect eyes. "But I don't really have much of a choice. I'm not really that high on the pecking order, as you humans put it."
A wave of emphathy hit Soup. Even though he was an angel and she was a human, he was also the victim of corprate slavery. To think even angels had to deal with it. Plus, when she looked at him, she remembered the first thought that his looks reminded her of: a Michelangelo painting. She really couldn't say no to a pretty face. Still, the angel might not be a bad guy, but he might be pushed into doing something he didn't want to know because of crappy corprate slavery. After all, hadn't Soup also dealt with unsavory deals in the past with some of the clients that her supervisor assigned her?
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Argue with the Angel->Bad End 3: Accidental Death]]]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[[Flirt with the Angel->Flirt with the Angel]]]Congratulations Soup, you have now chosen to embrace the light! From here on, things are really going to get started! You have successfully made it through the common route and will be entering the main story!
To proceed, please choose the route aligned with the light. Alternitively, you can start over from the beginning to obtain a different route:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Ghourab, God of Tricks and Crows->Ghourab Beginning ]]
[[Play Again From the Beginning->The Beginning (E)]]Soup chooses to be embraced by darkness. At first it was like falling onto a cloud. This strange colorless substance swirled and moved around her body, filling her with a warmth she had never before felt.
It was like coming home, but instead of a cold and empty apartment, it was like she really belonged. No longer would she be alone. Rather, there would always be someone—or rather something with her.
From the backest recesses of her mind Soup heard someone calling her name, but why would she want to leave this place? It was so nice and comforable here. The outside world was filled with obligations and disgusting supervisors. Here, however, she would never ever have to be alone again.
She meant, when she really really thought about it, just what did Soup have to live for? Sure her apartment was nice and she had a fancy degree from a nice university, but just what was these things worse? When it came down to it, no one would care if she died or got hurt.
Wasn't that the //real// reason the angel had approached her? It wasn't that she was tougher than everyone else. No, it was how she was it wouldn't matter if she succeeded or failed. After all, wasn't she supposed to go to a place where not even angels could survive?
If an angel couldn't make it through, what hope could Soup the former corporate slave exist? Yes, she admitted it. Soup had been a corporate slave, but no more.
The darkness appreciated Soup.
The darkness wanted Soup.
So it was with the darkness that Soup stayed with—for an eternity.
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")+(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Bad End 5: Together]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[[Would You Like to Play Again?->The Beginning (E)]]To Soup, the question was just flat out weird! She meant "Embrace the Light" and "Fall into the Darkness" just sounded like someone wanted to screw her over, plus there was just so much she didn't know. She looked once more at the angel's perfect features. Besides, if she really had the choice, why should she want to meet some other screwed up immortals when she was standing in front of one?
So she looked at the angel straight in the eyes, "Can't I save your soul?"
His face turned the same shade of a ripe tomato. "I don't need any saving."
"But you sound like you're down on your luck."
"You don't know anything about me," the angel argued.
This was true, she didn't even know his name. Soup frowned at the thought. They'd been talking a while so how come it had taken her this long to even think about asking so basic a question? Still, it probably wasn't good to approach the topic right in this very moment. More than that though, she couldn't stop thinking about the way he looked. He was just perfect. If it wasn't him, she really didn't want to get close to anyone else, no matter who they were she was sure that they couldn't match up to the perfectly awkward angel standing in front of her.
"Its true that I don't know a lot about you," Soup paused, "but what I don't know I can learn."
The angel asked, "What do you mean?"
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Flirt with the Angel->Flirt with the Angel]]Soup feels a warm light envelop her. It was like being enveloped in warm blankets while in front of a fireplace in a cold winter's night. It was a weird imagery considering where she lived, but there was really no better descriptor.
Then the light was gone and all its warmth was gone. In its place was a lush and green forest. The trees were blinding shades of green with fruits that encompasased the entire color spectrum: reds and blues and golds and purples and so on.
Yet despite the Eden-like quality of everything, Soup's right eye twitched. She looked around her for any signs of human or immortal life.
There were none.
Soup was well and truly alone.
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Stay Put->Stay Put]]
[[Start Wandering Aimlessly->Start Wandering Aimlessly]]
[[Attempt to climb a tree to figure out where the fuck she was->Attempt to Climb a Tree]]Soup remembers the old saying "good things come to those who wait" and decides to sit comfortably under a tree while she waited for someone to come. After all, she was a bonifide city girl, not some country bumpkin from upstate or something. If she moved from where she was, Soup would definitley get lose or worse.
Round and round in her head various scenerios about wild bears and wolves coming to tear her apart appeared. Like Belle at least had the Beast to save her from impending doom, but what did Soup have: an angel with people problems who completely ghosted her.
How the fuckity fuck was she supposed to save anyone's soul stuck out here? She wasn't a fucking mountaineer or even liked camping all that much.
So she waited until the sound of footsteps became closer and closer.
//One.
Two.
Three.
Four.//
It could have been two sets of humans or humanoid beings. Still, Soup couldn't rule out the possiblity that it was a wild animal about to tear her limb from limb.
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Stay put. "Que Sera, Sera" was how the saying went, didn't it? Its not like there was much else to do so might as well just do nothing. ->Continue Staying Put]]
[[[Hide inside the burrow of a tree that was just big enough for one Soup to enter->Hide in the Tree]]
[[Attempt to Climb a Tree->Attempt to Climb a Tree]]]Soup decides to start wandering aimlessly. All around her were grass and trees and what not, but she remembered enough from that one biology class she took to know that moss always grew on north facing surfaces.
With this weird random fact, she began looking for any sign of moss: on trees, rocks, etc. If there was a patch of green, she followed it and by some miracle, she did not die horribly or come across any wild animals.
Rather, she began to hear the rushing sound of moving water. In hope—or was it despearation—Soup made her way to the sound. At first she wanted to walk, but as the sound got louder and louder, she moved faster and faster until she broke out into a sprint.
At the sight of the giant moving expanse of water—it was even bigger than the Hudson river—Soup let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that rivers were especially great. Rather it was the large wooden bridge which crossed over the river.
Even more amazing was the castle-like mansion which existed on the other side. From her vantage point, she could spot the spiraling moss covered towers and ivy-ladden windows. As she tilted her head to get a better angle though, she couldn't really tell if it was made of wood or stone.
Soup looked at the bridge. "Well, there was only one way to find out," she muttered aloud.
"Find out what?" asked a deep voice.
Soup looked around, trying to gauge if the intruder was friend of foe, but there was no one around except for her shadow.
Soup stepped onto the bridge just as a crow flew down onto the bridge.
"I asked you a question," stated the crow.
Soup locked eyes with the creature, "Are you talking to me?" She pointed to herself like some idiot.
"Since you are the only other living creature around and I don't particularly enjoy talking to myself, I suppose you would have to be the person I am talking with."
Soup's face burned up brighter than a tomato. Just who did this literal bird-brain think he was? Still, she didn't want to waste time arguing with an animal.
Does Soup:
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=
[[Ignore the crow and go to the mansion->Go to the Mansion]]
[[Give the crow a piece of her mind->Talk to the Crow]]Soup attempts to climb a tree. Granted the closest experience she had was from climbing up half broken railings to meet clients—
//No!// Soup slapped herself on both on cheecks. She hadn't agreed to the angel's demands to keep thinking about work. Wasn't that why she accepted his vauge-as-fuck sounding deal? Yes, Soup was going to save this Ghourab guy's soul and then get the life she needed—no, deserved! Soup wasn't a corporate slave and she was going to prove it and if a tree thought it'd get between her and her wish, it was sorely mistaken.
But she was still in her office skirt....
Soup shook her head once more and looked up and up at the imposing tree. Its trunk was bigger and thicker than anything in Central Park or any she had ever seen. But there were tens of branches sticking out. There was even one which was easily climbable. Soup looked down at her work stockings and heels, slipping off the latter. Once she knew where she was and could find a safe place, everything would be okay.
"Besides, I can always buy new ones if they tear," Soup muttered to herself.
Without any further ado, Soup hoped onto the nearest branch, easily pulling herself up while carefully maneuvering onto the next branch and the next. After, Soup had ~~miraculously~~ successfully maneuvered up three thick branches, she took a small break at the excercise, keeping her breathes slow and even.
"See that wasn't so bad," she said outloud and then looked up at the countless more branches it would take to reach the top. "This is going to take me all day."
"What is going to take you all day?"
Soup looked around, hopeful at the prospect of making human contact, but there was no one around, below or above her. Just trees, nature and branches—a lot of branches. Well, there were a couple birds here and there, but angels and immortals were one thing. There was no way in hell Soup would buy into talking animals. After all, a girl had to draw some lines, didn't she? Thoughts about her supervisor and the blurred lines between her work life and free time threatened to surface.
Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, the same voice interuppted her chaotic thoughts, "Well, are you going to answer me?"
Soup turned her head to the branch above her; on her upper right side but there was only a lone crow. The weirdest thing about it was how all the other birds in the area seemed to keep their distance from it, even the other crows.
"The forest is getting to you Soup," she muttered to herself and leaned back into the trunk to enjoy a few minutes of rest. She couldn't really move until the crow flew away and it wasn't like it was going to stay there forever, right?
"Are you ignoring me?"
Without opening her eyes, Soup responded, "I'm not ignoring anyone, but I don't talk to people who hide in shadows like some mugger."
The sound of cackling laughter caused Soup's eyes to snap open. If she didn't know better, she'd think the guy was right next to her. She looked over at the way birds began to fly away and then at the crow whose beak was wide open in an imitation of human laughter.
"Are you shiting me?"
The laughter stopped at the same time the crow's beak closed. "You know its quite rude to curse out loud."
Soup couldn't pull her eyes away from the creature. "You're talking."
"And so are you, but you don't see me spouting vulgar language." The crow paused, tilting it small feathered head to the side, "though I suppose your kind doesn't really take kindly to things beyond the comprehension of their tiny brains."
Before Soup could respond, a deep purple light overtook the crow and in its place was a man more handsome than even the angel had been. He had perfectly straight black hair cut to his shoulders. His hair and eyes were as black as his crow form, but his skin was a rich dark bronze color. He was dressed in a black suit, like something out of a masquerade party, but his lilthe and slender frame made the clothes suit him in a way that no one else could pull off.
Soup gulped. //Do not ogle the crow man, Soup. Whatever you do, do not ogle the crow man.//
The aforementioned bird in human flesh said, "Since you are lost and I am kind and genourous at heart, I shall offer you three choices. You may choose whichever one strikes your fancy."
Soup nodded, at a loss for what else to do.
"First, not far from here there is a mansion. If you follow the road, it will take you to a stream. From there, the stream will lead you there. You will be sure to find safety there."
Soup asked, "What if I'm too tired to walk that long?"
She swore the crow man rolled his eyes at her. "If you do not wish to walk, there is a burrow you can stay at, The company can be a little nagging, but it is warm and safe."
"And the third option?"
"Yes, that is the most interesting of all," he let out a wicked grin. "agree to become my pet."
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Walk to the mansion. If its a mansion, it has to have a change of clothes and food and a fire. Plus where else would an immortal live?->Go to the Mansion]]
[[Go to the tree burrow. She'd used up all her energy climbing this far up the tree and was tired. At this point, Soup frankly didn't care where she slept as long as it was warm and safe and without any more walking.->Hide in the Tree]]
[[Agree to become the crow man's pet. Didn't she always see people treat their dogs and cats better than her? Yeah, she'd lose some dignity, but anything had to be better than returning back to work or dying alone and cold out here.->Agree to Become Ghourab's Pet]]
Soup waited in that spot, refusing to move a muscle.
After all, taking initiative is what led her to this prediciment. If she hadn't been so blinded by the high paycheck, she would have never worked for so shady a company. Likewise, if she hadn't accepted the angel's deal, Soup would not be in the middle of fuck all looking for an immortal being who may or may not exist.
So the footsteps approached, getting closer and closer until something which should not exist appeared. A fox as white as snow, but as large as a wolf approached. Strager still was how instead of one tail, the fox had nine tails. Upon the back of so mythical a creature sat a rat, reagally looking upon the forest as if it was its kingdom.
When the rat spotted Soup, it nudged at the fox and raced to the top of its head. All the while Soup's heart thundered across her chest as the pair approached. Still, she did not move. After all, people who acted were only ever met with demise, wasn't that right?
Then the rat asked, "Child, are you lost?"
Soup could only stare at the talking animal.
"If you'd like, our home is in that burrow over yonder. You may join us if you like," said the rat.
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Go into the Burrow with the fox and rat. Let's face it, Soup wasn't a ruffing it kind of girl. She wanted to be inside and anywhere, even a tree was better than here->Go with the fox and rat]]
[[Fuck these talking animals! Soup had played enough games and read enough stories to know this would not end well. Besides, hadn't she decided to do nothing. It'd be dumb as fuck to change her mind now. She was going to sit here and do exactly that—nothing.->Continue Doing Nothing]]Soup decided to crawl into the burrow. As she entered, the once small Soup sized hole began to expand and grow until it was less of a burrow and more of a cave. Still, when she thought about the wilderness and all the wild animals and posionous plants that probably existed in it, the burrow was clearly the better choice.
Besides, if this was a magical world, there were probably worse things than a cave-tree. Plus she //was// looking for some immortal god creature. What better place was there to look for some mythical creature than this?
So it was that Soup descended deeper and deeper into the tree cave. Soon the path began to be lined with floating blue flame. It sort of reminded her of fox fire, but that was dumb. Wasn't she here to look for a god of crows, not a kitsune?
Soon the lights gave way to a shifting environment. Ever so slowly, the wood around her shifted and morphed. The once plain bark forming shelves and doors and books and furniture among other homey objects.
Finally, Soup found herself in a quaint little room with a tea kettle over a wooden table and cushions laid about. Soup wandered around the little room, finding other doors which led into various rooms, but laid her head down on the cushions and closed her eyes.
Soup did not know how long she slept, but it was the most peaceful and dreamless sleep she had ever experienced. That was until she felt someone pinch her arm. Immidiatley, she looked around to find herself face to face with a none-tailed fox as big as a wolf.
To her credit, Soup did not scream.
"What are you doing in our home?" the fox was not the speaker.
Soup looked around the room for any other person.
"Down here," called the voice and Soup locked eyes with a small rat sitting reagally atop the fox's head.
Soup lamely stated, "You're a rat."
"And you're a human," the rat responded, "Now, what has brought you to our little home."
Soup had played enough games to be able to answer this question so she said, "I'm looking for Ghourab, the God of Crows and Trickery."
The fox growled and the rat said, "Why ever would you be looking for that brat?"
Soup sat up. "I want to save his soul."
The rat and the fox looked at each other for a solid three seconds and then both burst out laughing.
"Just what is so funny?" She couldn't stop her fists from clenching nor her face from flushing.
The rat answered, "You must forgive us, but we have known Ghourab for a long time and what you say may have once been possible, but as he is now, he cannot be saved."
Soup asked, "Why is that?"
"We shall give you some choices," the rat responded, "your answer shall determine what shall be relayed."
Soup nodded and the rat relayed her options.
Does Soup:
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Sit Down and Listen to the rat's relation with the fox->Ghourab Past I]]
[[Follow the rat and fox to Ghourab's mansion ->Go to the Mansion]]
[[Talk to the crow which waits outside, spying at everyone ->Talk to the Crow]]
(text-colour:#c92a2a)[''Disclaimer: This will only tell you how to acheive the good and secret endings. All of the death endings should be easily achievable by yourself and will not be included'']
(color:blue)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")+(text-style:"wavy-underline","emboss")[Common Route Guide]
(color:blue)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[First Choose to''Turn the Phone Off''
After, ''run away screaming for the hills'' and then ''hear the angel out''
Then ''Accept the Angel's offer'' and ''choose to Embrace the Light'']
(color:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")+(text-style:"wavy-underline","emboss")[Ghourab Route Guide]
(color:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[First Choose to ''stay put''
and then ''Hide in the tree'' followed by ''Sit Down and Listen to the rat's relation with the fox''
then ''get answers about Ghourab'' and ''go to sleep to head to the mansion''
finnally, ''use the spell you obtained to open the door''
Here you will be presented with three riddles, if you reach the ''Devoured'' ending 20 times, the riddle answer key will open up
Once all three riddles are answered, correctly, you will unlock the ''good end''. Finally, go back to where you chose to ''get answers about Ghourab'' and the secret ending will open up]
Welcome Soup to your Otome Adventure!
Soup is a tired and overworked office worker in New York city. She lives in a city of light and glamor, but is unable to enjoy any of it. Every morning she heads into work hoping everything will be alright. Instead, what awaits her is a mountain of paperwork. Still, rent is on the rise and Soup needs that money to get through the day. So everyday she goes through that grind, sometimes not even leaving the office until it's nine or ten pm.
And when Soup returns home, she usually turns off the TV to watch Korean dramas or soap operas. Nine times out of ten though, even this small enjoyment is taken away from her by her boss. Ever since she was a trainee, Soup’s supervisor always had the habit of calling her cell—even when she was off the clock. He'd tell her about this document that needed review or that client which only she could talk with. Nevermind the fact that Soup’s team had seven other people her supervisor could call.
As had been the case since her college graduation, Soup walked into her empty apartment. Then she turned on the light and made her way towards the coffee-colored leather couch she adored. Before she could even touch the remote her phone started ringing.
//I’m not going to look at it. Not today//, Soup thought to herself. Besides, it's probably a scam.
Soup reached for the remote again. If she turned up the volume to max, then the ringing would drown out. Oh, how naïve she was! No matter how loud the actors on the screen professed their undying love for each other, the incessant ringing would not stop!
Soup looked at her cell. It was indeed her boss.
Does Soup:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Pick up her phone and answer her boss. Who knows? It could be different this time around and lead to an all new adventure.->Bad End 1: Inaction (E)]]
[[Turn off her cell phone for the night. For once in her life, Soup is going to stick it to her supervisor. She’s not just some corporate slave and deserves basic human rights!->Turning the Phone Off (E)]]
(if:(history: where its tags contains "bad-end")'s length >= 5)[[Having Trouble? Here's a Route Guide->Route Guide]]Soup looked at the big empossing mansion. Up close it was more like one of those old European cathedrals castles than an actual manion. What she thought might have been wood from a distance turned out to be large stone bricks, the edges dyed brown from the layers upon layers of vines and greenery which surrounded it.
The only thing wooden about t was the door, taller and imposing than any of the Catholic cathedrals she'd seen in NYC or abroad. Looking at it, Soup had the strange urge to turn back.
No, she'd already come too far. Whatever lay beyond those wooden doors, she'd face it as the new Soup. After all, Soup had stood up to her supervisor. If she could do that, she could face any supernatural calamity that dared to stand in her path!
Still, how the frick was she supposed to open the doors? Soup climbed up the remaining stone steps, carefully not to slip on any stray greenery and looked at it.
"I guess I could try knocking," Soup muttered before doing just that.
At first nothing happened, but just as she was about to turn around, a loud creaking sound started up, making her have to cover her ears. Simltanously, the ancient doors began to slowly open up.
Free from the migrane-inducing sound, Soup stepped into the mansion. Unlike the slow movement of a few moments ago, the doors immidiatley slammed shut with a loud, echoing bang.
Soup turned around for just a moment, "Well, no going back now."
Then she surveyed the scene before her. She was in a large room with ornate furniture straight out of some Renaissance-era painting. It even had a large double sided stairwell with a door at the top.
In the center of the room was a book upon a large pedestal. Soup climbed up the stairs to find the ornately decorated door to be locked though not by any normal lock. Instead there was this strange circle which surrounded the door with archaic black magic or alchemical markings.
After, she went back to the ground floor, moving between couches and across brightly colored carpets to find two more doors on the right and left side of the room—these were both unlocked.
Does Soup:
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Go to the unlocked door on the right side ->Ghourab Bad End 3: Trapped]]
[[Go to the unlocked door on the left side ->Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured]]
[[Approach the book to see if it contained any information ->Ghourab Bad End 5: Nosy]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Past II")'s length >= 1)[[Use the spell you obtained from the rat and fox to open the locked door at the top of the stairs->Ghourab Riddle Beginning ]]Maybe it was because of the recent work trauma or maybe it was the fact that Soup knew she would never be able to stand up to her supervisor again. Cause let's face it, Soup could say she wasn't a corprate slave all she wants, but she was just a normal white collard worker. She had her bills to pay and when it came to rent and food, there wasn't really much she could do.
Then there was the angel's deal about getting a wish granted in exchange for saving this Ghourab guy's soul, but who the fuck was she kidding? She could barely look after herself, let alone save a motherfucking immortal. So when a handsome man—even if he could transform into a crow—offered to take care of her for life, Soup was sold.
What she did not expect was for the crow man to snap his fingers and for them to be transported into an opulent room. Everything was in gold, black and purple. More amazing was how it was designed like a fucking Renaissance painting come to life.
In one corner was a four poster bed with thick mattresses and blankets. Tall bookshelves lined the spaces between windows, a small table was in the center the room with two chairs and a desk was on the other side of the room, near the door.
"What is this place?" Soup couldn't help voicing her thoughts aloud.
"Do you like it?" His voice at the back her neck made Soup flinch and turn around.
"Its nice and all, but where are we?"
"All in due time," he placed a finger in Soup's face, "but first I have a question for you."
"What sort of question?" Her heart started thundering in her chest, but she couldn't understand why. After all, she had chosen this outcome herself, hadn't she?
"The most important question." The crow man sat on the bed crossing one leg over the other. "You see, there are certain types of pets and it is imperitave that I know which one you are."
"Alright," Soup nervously chuckled. "Ask away"
"Will you sign a contract which states you will never leave this place—oh, and I don't mean this room, but this world I've brought you to—and to only have me as your point of contact?"
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")[=[[Agree->Neutral Ending: Contentment]]
[[Refuse->Ghourab Bad End 1: Slavery]]In no time at all, Soup's deterierating mental health from her previous job began to slowly return. In that small world where the only living creature she could meet was the crow man, she was at peace. Whatever books she wanted, he got for her. If she started to feel lonely, he would suddenly appear before her. Sure there were times where she missed the hustle and bustle of New York and even the screaming taxi drivers and hobos, but here there were no deadlines or overtimes or supervisors with bad breath and balding hair.
After days upon months had passed in that place, Soup was in the library with a book in her hand. "We never exchanged names."
It was a strange thing to get all worked up over, but for reasons she could not explain, she felt it was important to cross that threshold. After all, weren't names the basics of the basics in any relationship—even one as ~~fucked up~~ peculiar as theirs? Well, they normally ate their meals together so couldn't she just ask then?
Yet, when they had their meals together the question of the crow man's name seemed to escape her mind, only to return to her when she was alone. The first time it happened, she blamed it on her own forgetfullness. After all, she was still getting used to this place and all it had to offer her. The second time, she blamed her tiredness. Yet it when it kept occuring time and time again, Soup resolved to do something about it.
Before their next meal, Soup took her favorite red pen and wrote down "his name" on the palm of her hand. There, now she'd have to remember to ask about this important fact.
Then she was in front of him on the same dining room table they always ate together in. Like always, the food which was laid out would leave any five star hotel drooling in envy. Tonight—or was it today—there were a combination of beef, chicken, cheese rice and bread all in dishes she didn't know the name of spread out before her. When Soup thought about it, she couldn't really feel the difference between day and night in this place, but that didn't really matter when there was no one else except the crow man to impress.
"So I've been thinking," the crow man suddenly said.
Soup looked at the black holes of his eyes. "About what?"
"Its been some time since you've stayed here," he cut into the meat in his plate with an elegance no human man would ever have. "yet we still stay in seperate rooms. Isn't about time that we begin sharing a room."
Soup was about to answer, but then saw some writing on her palm. She quickly looked at it, remembering what she had been wanting to ask for a while now. "Before that, can I ask you a question."
"You may inquire into whatever you wish, my dear."
"What's your name?"
He paused, tilting his head in a really not-human way, but otherwise stayed silent. It was only as Soup was about to open her mouth to brush the question away that he answered, "I suppose at this point its alright to exchange names. First you."
"I'm Soup."
"My name is Ghourab." Soup's eyes widened at the realization that he was the person she had been searching for all along. "Now that that's taking care of, shall we go?"
As Soup looked at his hand, she realized that it was already far too late to consider anything about wishes and souls. Besides, it may have not been perfect, but she did enjoy the strange life they had together.
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")+(text-style:"bold","smear")[Ghourab Neutral End: Contentment]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"====XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX=")+(text-colour:purple)[=[[Would You Like To Play Again->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Ghourab's Route Over Again->Ghourab Beginning ]]
Even though Soup had already agreed to become Ghourab's pet, having no other point of contact was way out of her comfort zone. She had come here to prove that she wasn't a corporate slave, not to move to a shackled by a different name. She wanted to be pampered like a spoiled cat or dog, not to subject herself to even more torcher. After all, yeah her life was shit, she was woman enough to admit that much, but she was also a people person. She loved New York and complaining about crowds and the lights and human contact. How the fuck was she supposed to complain about crowds if she couldn't even see one angry taxi driver?
"Are you sure about your decision?" the crow man asked.
Old Soup might have cowered and turned back, but new Soup looked him square in the eyes. "I've never been more positive of anything in my life."
"How boring," he sighed. "I thought you'd be different, but you're just the same."
Before Soup could respond to such cryptic words, he snapped his fingers. Instantanously, Soup was brought to her knees, it was like her body was boiling from the inside out. Then she looked at her fingers, Slowly, they were encompassed by black feathers until they completely dissapeared from sight. When it happened to her other hand, she tried to reach out to her face to let out a scream, but the only sound that came out was the cawing of a crow so she tried to use her feathered hands to stand up, but there was something off about it and was it just her or was everything getting bigger and bigger?
She turned her head around and both the crow-man and the furniture was way bigger than she ever remembered. Then he bent down and picked the crow Soup, placing her on his shoulder.
"There, there you have nothing to worry about," he said, "I do not enjoy forcing others and in this form you can meet others and still have my trust. Is that not better?"
Soup could only muster up a week caw in protest.
"Now, then let us be off. There is much to see and do," he paused, "And before I forget, allow me to introduce myself. I am Ghourab. Rejoice that I have given you my name when so few have earned the right to it."
Soup blanched at hearing his name, but it didn't really matter anymore for in an instant they were gone to wherever Ghourab wished them to go.
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==")+(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Ghourab Bad End 1: Slavery]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]] Soup decided to follow the fox and the rat, walking and talking with them. Well when Soup really thought about it, she only really talked with the rat. The fox, in contrast, was silent the entire time. Still, the way his golden eyes regarded Soup told her that he was no ordinary fox.
Then it happened that the pair came upon the burrow. Soup was about to go in, but the fox spoke for the first time.
He asked, "You never told us what brought you here." There was a melodious ring to his voice; like listening to flowing water or classical music.
At this point, Soup really had nothing to lose so she answered truthfully, "There's someone I want to meet."
"Oh? Who," asked the rat, its eyes pointed somewhere else.
"Ghourab, the God of Crows and Trickery."
"Why would you want to meet //him//?" the fox asked in accusation, though to what, Soup was unaware.
"To save his soul." Soup answered with a straight face.
The fox and the rat burst out laughing, causing Soup to clench her fists as her face flushed red.
The rat said, "Child, you must forgive us, but we have long since known whom you seek and the result would likely be undesirable."
"What do you mean?" asked Soup.
"I shall give you three choices," said the rat. "each may lead you to whom you seek, but it is not for me to decide."
Soup nodded in agreement and the rat laid out the three choices for her.
Does Soup
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Enter the burrow with the rat and fox and hear out how they came to know Ghourab->Ghourab Past I]]
[[Follow the rat and fox to Ghourab's mansion ->Go to the Mansion]]
[[Head to a specified location to meet with the crow who spies upon all ->Talk to the Crow]]
Soup continues to do nothing. She sits and she waits. For the first time in her life, she feels the wind in her cells and the grass beneath her fingers. Gone is all the pain and troubles of her life.
Now there is only this moment and she is at peace. That is, until a loud cawing takes her out of her dream-like state. In annoyance, Soup looks around her to find nothing. Not a bird nor creature in sight.
So Soup closes her eyes and tries to recreate whatever came over her only a few short moments again.
Another cawing.
This time, Soup stood up, looking every which way for an intruder. Was it really so hard to be left alone?
"Up here," a deep masculine voice called out.
Soup looked every which way until her eyes locked with...a crow. A talking crow because why not?
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Soup yelled.
The crow cocked his head to the side. "Doing what?"
"I'm trying to enjoy the peace and quiet."
"Oh are you now?" The crow paused, "Shall I help you with your problem?"
"Why should I listen to you?"
"You know, you're very rude. You ought to listen to someone who only wants to sincerely help a lost soul."
"How about it, care to sit and chat with a bored crow?"
Does Soup:
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=
[[Adamantly refuse. Soup was going to do nothing. She wasn't going to talk to any suspicious animals or go on any strange quests. She was just going to sit there and do absolutely nothing.->Ghourab Bad End 2: You're Boring]]
[[Soup was going to give the crow a piece of her mind. He was the one who so rudely interrupted her precious Soup time and called her rude. This bird was going to get some serious talking to or be made into dinner.->Talk to the Crow]]Soup had already said no to two talking animals. Like hell she was going to listen to another one just because it was alone. Plus, weren't crows supposed to be bad luck or something? She wasn't one to believe in old wives tales, but she also was in some weird isekai trip where animals talked.
In situations like this, what else could a girl do but summon her inner Budhha for peace and tranquility. She was going to do nothing, and no talking animals were going to get in the way of that!
So it was that Soup closed her eyes, concentrating on the wind and the grass and the trees.
She didn't even register it when the crow said, "Are you ignoring me?"
So lost was Soup in her meditation that she simply stayed still, tuning out everything and everyone which dared to interupt her—animal or otherwise.
"Here I was thinking something new and interesting had appeared," commented the crow, "but you're really rather boring, aren't you?"
//I am not going to respond to it,// Soup mentally chanted over and over again in her head.
"Fine be that way."
This time Soup's eyes snapped open, truly unable to endear this bird comments. Yet before she could speak, her voice became lost as her skin started shifting and changing into dark green stems.
First it was her fingers, expanding and twisting longer than possible, until they clumped and combined with her body. Then everything slowy became bigger and bigger until it was no more.
Finally, big pink petals sprouted around her neck until Soup could move no more.
"Here is a gift from me, Ghourab, the great God of Crows and Trickery," the crow laughed, "Enjoy you're silence for all time."
And he so the crow flew.
(color: purple)+(text-style:"shadow","expand")+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[Ghourab Bad End 2: You're Boring]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]] The crow regarded Soup strangely. She was not sure why, but it was like he could pull out all of her secrets. She had to mentally remind herself that she was not the pushover Soup of yesterday—er a few hours ago. If she can make a deal with an angel, she could talk to a crow.
Then it spoke.
"Little butterfly lost in the wind, what has brought you here?"
A notable tick started in the back of Soup's head. "Who the fuck do you think you are calling a butterfly?"
"Did you not know manners are the basics of fundamentals?" the crow sighed, "I worry about the parents who raised you."
"Hey," Soup cried, "you leave my parents the fuck out of this!"
"There you go again with the cursing and the screaming. Honestly, I don't understand how we can continue this conversation with your behaviour."
It was at this precise moment that Soup contemplated hunting a live animal for the first time in her life. //Just treat him like a customer and get through this. Its just a bird//, thought Soup.
"I do apologize for any inconvenience you may have felt," Soup beamed. "Now to answer your question, I am looking for someone. IF you would find it in your heart to help me, I would greatly appreciate it."
The crow blinked at her. Before today, Soup did not even know crows could blink, but through it all she kept a plastic smile plastered on her face.
"And who might you be looking for?"
"An immortal by the name of Ghourab," Soup replied, "Would you be familiar with him?"
"Perhaps, but why are you seeking him out?"
"That is highly confidential information that I am not at liberty to freely give away."
And the crow laughed and laughed and laughed until finally, he said, "If he is the one you seek, enter his mansion. Otherwise turn back from whence you came."
"You're really just going to give me a doom and gloom response like that?" Soup couldn't stop the words from pouring out.
"There is of course a third option."
"And what would that be?"
"Become my pet."
Soup's right eye twitched, but from the look of his beady black eyes, the crow was not kidding.
"So what'll it be?" asked the crow.
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Go to the Mansion. Soup wanted her wish and nothing was going to get in her way. She was going to accomplish the angel's request and get the wish she deserved. ->Go to the Mansion]]
[[Agree to become the crow's pet. Let's face it Soup was tired and hungry and so many other things. Plus being some bird's pet had to be better than whatever hellhole trap was inside the supposed mansion.->Agree to Become Ghourab's Pet]] The rat hopped onto the small wooden table, "I shall begin my tale of how I came to know Ghourab the crow who would become a god."
"The tale?"
"Yes, child for all things begin in tales," the rat said and turned to the nine-tailed fox, "Kogitsune, please get us some tea and snacks while we chat."
The fox's eyes glowed and three blue flames appeared on the wooden table. Instead of setting everything on fire, they quickly went out. In their place appeared a set of tea cups, a full kettle and a tray filled with osmanthus cakes—like the ones they had in ancient styled Chinese and Korean dramas.
The most ineteresting part was how half of everything was rat sized while the other half was Soup sized.
The rat took a tiny cup of tea and tiny kettle and poured itself some tea while placing a piece of cake in its rat proportional plate. "Now then, when I first met Ghourab, he was a little crow, much like Kogitsune was a little fox."
Soup sat up straight and listened intentlly for any valuable information the rat might relay to her.
"In those days, there lived a lonely god who sat by the river talking to all us creatures. You see, there are some of us who are able to change their shape," the rat looked at the fox, sitting peacefully on the ground and then turned back to Soup, "while others, like myself, merely were gifted with a higher intellgence.
"At first Ghourab was merely what he seemed—a crow. Perhaps a little bit more intellgent than other crows, but one all the same.
"In those days, he lived with me and Kogitsune in our little burrow. We would sit and chat and go about our day, visiting the god often," the rat looked with sadness into its tea cup before taking a long swing of it. "Then it happened that Ghourab came to know the meaning of death."
"The meaning of death?" Soup asked, unable to contain herself.
"Yes," the rat nodded, "for the curse upon our kind is that while we may continue to live, others who are not so...evolved may not unless our god willed it otherwise.
"We all learned to deal with it, but Ghourab was never...hmmm....how do I put it?"
The fox added in, "Ghourab could never let things go. Not back then and not now."
"I see," Soup nodded, "So what happened to make you come to that conclusion?"
The rat continued, "So it was that nearly everthing around Ghourab began to whither and fall around him. First it was his brothers and sisters—the very same ones who once shared the same nest. Then one by one, every crow inside his murder which he had known died and not always by natural means.
Now, if the deaths had ended there, perhaps it would have been better, but back then Ghourab had a fondness for many things: the flowers which blossomed and wilted, the birds which flew until they could fly no more and the creatures which were so close yet so far to receiving the blessing we had been gifted—all of them died before his eyes.
"So it came that a madness creeped into the mind of the once pure and bright crow. Slowly, the life which we offered him was not enough. He wanted someone who would be beside him not because they were the same as him, but because he was Ghourab."
"His desires were beyond the scope of what anyone could provide him with," interrupted the fox, "Even so, he should have controlled himself."
"Its getting late," The rat looked at the fox, "perhaps we have spoken enough."
"Yes, perhaps," agreed the fox.
The rat turned to Soup, "You may stay the night. When the dawning light hits, we will tell you how to get to Ghourab's mansion. If you still wish to meet him, we will not stop you."
"The mansion?" asked Soup.
"Yes," replied the rat, "its the mansion we mentioned before. There you will be able to meet the infamous Ghourab."
Does Soup:
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Obediently listen to the rat and go to sleep. She'd had a long day. Besides, she was sure that with this information, there would be more leeway in saving Ghourab's soul. In the morning, when everything was clear, she'd talk to him and get her wish from that damned angel!->Go to the Mansion]]
[[There's way more to the story than what these two were saying. If she went now, she might be missing something. Screw going to sleep. She was going to get some answers about Ghourab and she was going to get them now!-> Ghourab Past II]]
Soup decided to enter the door on the right side of the room. When she opened it, at first all she saw was darkness. Before stepping in, Soup took one last look at the beutiful living room with all its bright colors and opulent furniture and then looked back at the darkness.
No, she had made her decision. So what if the path behind her looked like some shadowy pit of nothingness. Soup was a big girl and no dark pit of doom was going to stand in her way!
After all she had faced horrific beasts of terror and legend like her supervisor and a freaking angel. She could do this and she would succeed and get her wish granted. Before she could change her mind, Soup stepped into the Abyss and like the main door, it slammed shut behind her.
For a moment, Soup's heart began to accelarate. When people ask for complete silence and darkness, they don't really mean it. Here, in this room, Soup could not hear a single bird chirping nor car honk. Likewise, it was so dark that she could not even tell where her hands were.
Cautiously she took a step forward while moving her hands all around her, yet there was no wall nor anything. Just the ground. Even that was flimsy at best. As Soup began a frankenstein-like walk, she wondered if her next step would be her last.
After five minutes or five hours of her movement, the lights switched on.
"My eyes!" Soup screamed before huddling into a crouch and blinking profusley.
When the burning in her eyes stopped and clarity returned, Soup looked straight into her reflection. Next to it was another Soup on a glass surface, followed by another and another.
"A hall of mirrors?" Soup asked outloud, watching as the hundreds of other Soups moved in motion with her.
She turned around and gone was the darkness. In exchange was a labyrinth of mirrors with no end in sight.
"Well I guess there's no way left but straight."
Ans so it was that Soup wandered the hall of mirrors for an eternity.
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==")+(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Ghourab Bad End 3: Trapped]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]]
Soup suddenly found herself in a strange garden of sorts. Its wasn't like the forest outside with its grennery and wildlife. Rather, there was something maintained about it. The roses were where the roses ought to be and the camillias with the other camillias.
It was different from the natural landscape she saw outside. There everything mixed together in a way which was natural.
"Wait a minute," Soup said, "Where did the mansion go?"
She was sure that it had been right there, but now it was completely gone, but that didn't make sense. Soup walked in a big circle just in case, but no this was definitley a garden and not the inside of some pseudo-European mansion/castle thingy.
Soup stilled at the thought then swore she heard the sound of something and began to conentrate on it.
"Is that...humming?" Soup turned her head to the side, "Definitley humming."
Since anything was better than standing around like some dumbass, Soup made her way towards the sound to find a man with hair as black as a crow's wing and eyes as dark as a starless night.
For a moment Soup was struck silent. Then the man smiled down at her before snapping his fingers. Immidiatley a shadow formed under the previous bright skyline.
"That's weird. There weren't any clouds before," Soup said before looking up.
The shadow wasn't clouds. Before another thought could enter her mind, a swarm of crows swooped down and headed straight for Soup.
At first the claws made thousands upon thousands of little scratches. As the thick smell of iron mixed with that of roses, all that could be heard was the sound of birds cutting and eating away at Soup.
Some took her internal organs, others were lucky enough to swallow an eyeball whole. All the while, the man looked upon the scene with a smile playing at his lips.
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==")+(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]]
Soup approached the book. It was really quite large, bound by a mix match of animal skin sewn together. She had heard of leather bound books and been to quite a few museums with ancient tomes, but patchwork design bordered on the absurd.
The pages were so big that she thought one page was the side of four math textbooks laying side by side. Even without touching the parchement, a single sheet was about an inch thick.
Even without the weirdness of the material, there was something off about the contents. Inside were handwritten letters in a language Soup couldn't even begin to understand and it wasn't some school teacher's penmenship. Rather, each and every letter was treated like a piece of artwork; so detailed that it was like the pages would come to life at any moment.
Soup stepped even closer to the book to get a better look. What if it contained some map or clue to find Ghourab? She took another step towards it, noticing the most beautiful drawings of animals between all the switling letters.
There were birds and snakes and dragons and bears and wolves and all other manner of creatures. Each were so detailed and lifelike, Soup was sure that that they'd pop out of the pages.
She took one step closer and the green scaley tale of a dragon leaped out, wrapping three times around her left arm before pulling her straight into the book. The event caused Soup to shut her eyes tight and scream from the top of her lungs.
When she opened her eyes, all the animals drawn upon the book were in a pseudo-friendship circle and her hand still had the end of a dragon's tale wrapped around it. Out of nowhere it tugged her in the direction of the too big dragon.
Soup gulped and the dragon said, "My friends, today we have a new friend to join us in our paradise."
The animals let out a chorus of applause.
Such ended—or perhaps began—the tale of the curious Soup.
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==")+(text-style:"shadow","expand")[Ghourab Bad End 5: Nosy]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]]Soup walked back the decorated staircase and faced the large door once more. This time, she took her time to examine the circles carved onto the door. Each was different from the last.
She leaned in closer and found they were written in some strange writing she had never before seen. The letters creating what was most likely sentences burned straight into the wood.
She took out the paper the fox had given her and read aloud, "I have braved dangers and world for the chance to meet and speak with you. My name is Soup and I wish to undertake the Crow's challenge."
A burning light moved up with the words:
''Lowercase contains your answer. Do you still wish to proceed?''
Soup nodded and the burning letters shifted and changed before settling onto a question.
[[Proceed to first riddle?->Ghourab Riddle I]](set: $answer to (prompt: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. What are they?", "", "Cancel", "Confirm"))
(if: $answer is "day and night")[[[Continue the Game? ->Ghourab Riddle II]]](else:)[[[Continue the Game?->Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 7)[[Having Trouble? Try Again->Ghourab Riddle I]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 20)[[Having Trouble? Here is the Answer Key->Riddle Answers]]
(set: $answer to (prompt: "A child once birthed perishes on the same day, but has lived a full life, what is the child?", "", "Cancel", "Confirm"))
(if: $answer is "mayfly")[[[Continue the Game? ->Ghourab Riddle III]]](else:)[[[Continue the Game?->Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 7)[[Having Trouble? Start from First Riddle->Ghourab Riddle I]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 20)[[Having Trouble? Here is the Answer Key->Riddle Answers]]
"I'm not sleeping," Soup declared a little more loudly than she had intended.
"Child," the rat asked, "whyever not?"
"There's something you're not telling me." Soup didn't know why or how, but she was sure of it in her gut. Besides, the last time she hadn't listened to her gut, was when she graduated college and started working at her company.
No way in hell was she making the same mistake twice!
The fox asked, "What will knowing the truth help you gain?"
"I told you already," Soup said, "I want to save Ghourab's soul. If I'm missing something, I won't be able to accomplish my goal."
Embers and flames of the purest blue flickered and danced across the nine-tailed fox's fur. "Why?"
Soup echoed, "Why?"
"Yes, why?" the fox repeated, "Why would you care for a creature you do not know?"
For just a moment, she thought about lying, but something in the fox's and rat's eyes told her that doing so would be akin to buring a once in a lifetime business contract.
"Its not that I care about him," Soup said, "and I'm not saying what your story told me didn't move me either."
"Then what are you saying?" asked the fox.
"Is it alright if I share my own story?"
The fox looked at the rat and the rat said, "You may."
Soup licked her lips. "In the company I used to work in there, was this guy who entered at the same time as me. He was talanted and smart, a real top of his class kind of guy, if you know what I mean."
Her audience looked at her blankly.
"So anyways, at first we would always head out and get drinks together. Then, as we got shifted into our different roles in the company and our hours became longer and longer those bar visits became less and less frequent.
"Still, we'd nod at each at work and even try to get lunch together if our schedules lined up," Soup bit her lip and clenched her fists in her lap, "then one day I walked into work and they were out his desk so I asked if he'd been fired or transferred or something.
"You know the janitor just looked at me at straight up said, 'he jumped' and left with his box of stuff."
The rat asked, "How does one death equate to what we told you?"
"I-It wasn't just one time," Soup all but screamed before taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm normally not like this, but there were lots of people who's desks would be cleared out without the least but notice and every single time anyone asked it was always, 'she popped a few too many pills' or 'he slit his wrists over a bathtub.''
The fox asked, "Are you saying you understand Ghourab?"
"On some level, I think we're similar," Soup said, "but that doesn't mean I'd go crazy just because all these bad things kept happening to me."
The fox nodded, just as blue flames consumed him and rose high. Soon the flames gave way to not an animal but a man with long flowing silver hair, golden fox eyes and a male kimono.
Soup blinked just as the man said, "Then allow me to complete the tale of Ghourab. After, you may choose for yourself which path you wish to take."
"Kogitsune," the rat called out, but he held up a hand.
"This is what I want to do."
The rat nodded and the former fox said, "Once upon a time there lived a crow beloved by a tired and lonely god.
"and once upon a time there lived a crow who ate the heart of the god who loved him so."
Soup's eyes nearly burst out from their sockets. "What do you mean?"
"We watched as the god grew sick and tired from living as long as he did. Even though we were beside him and he could always gift more of us with knowledge and immortality, it was not enough. We were never enough for him.
"Then it happened that the god could bare it no longer and gathered us all together, like we were in one happy circle. The event itself was not odd for we often used to gather as such to talk and discuss.
"Then he looked at all of us and said, 'Which among you may grant my wish?'
"Now we were no fools. We all knew what the god longed for, but still we talked and we discussed as we always did. It was in the middle of such a dission that Ghourab swooped down and with his peak, tore through the god's chest, swallowing his heart whole.
"In the end, the god gave us a smile he had never before shared, saying 'Thank you' before fading away. As his body crumbled into ashes, a light overtook Ghourab and gone was the crow we had known. In his place was the new God of Trickery and Crows."
"Why did you tell me all this?" asked Soup.
"Because," the former fox said, "You wanted to know about him. More importantly," he snapped his fingers and a piece of paper appeared in his hands, "Can you read this?"
Soup accepted the strange piece of paper. At first the words and letters were unintellgible to her, then they slowly morphed into clear English. She scanned them and frowned. "What is this?"
"Inside Ghourab's mansion is a secret room," he held up three fingers, "once you recite the spell three riddles will be presented. If you answer them correctly, the oppurtunity to meet with him and explain your case without him outright murdering you may present itself to you."
The rat said, "Now, that's enough talking, Let's actually get some sleep before the morning sun rises."
Does Soup:
(color: purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[[Go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day and even though she didn't know what it might bring, she was going to accomplish her goal and get her wish granted from that damned angel!->Go to the Mansion]]
(if:(history: where its tags contains "good-end")'s length >= 1)[[Ask if she can stay with the fox and rat -> Secret End: Joining the Rat Clan]]Soup asked the former fox, "Would it be alright if I stayed with you guys instead?"
The rat shared a look with the fox-man before it said, "With us? Whyever would you want that?"
"You guys have been nicer to me than anyone I would have expected from anyone."
"But you know we won't age," the fox man tried to reason.
"Yes, but even so I would rather live out the rest of my life on my own terms than be bound by someone else's rules." Soup paused, "Besides if I'm with you guys, won't it mean that someone will always remember me?
The rat asked, "Always remember you?"
"Yeah," Soup said, "Its like in what happened in my company. There were some people who were close with family and stuff, but a lot of people working there didn't really have anyone or if they did, they lived too far away from them. Rather than live a life like that—and I know I'm sounding kind of corny—it'd be better to have someone who would always remember me."
The fox-man asked, "Why is that?"
"That way if anyone asks, 'Hey, you ever know a human?' You could tell them about me. If, after I'm gone, I'm still talked about, wouldn't that be nice."
"You are an odd little creature," commented the fox-man. "But I don't hate it."
"Neither do I," said the rat, "besides a change of pace might be nice."
And so it was that Soup came to live with the rat and the fox. Although it was not the life she had envisioned or what she came there to do, she was happy because it was the life she had chosen for herself.
As to how long she lived with the pair, that remains a mystery.
(color:purple)+(text-style:"outline","expand")+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[=[Secret End: Joining the Rat Clan]
[Congradulations on Completing the Full Game!]
(set: $answer to (prompt: "Some seek me out in their darkest of times while others pretend I do not exist, yet all must meet me. Who am I?", "", "Cancel", "Confirm"))
(if: $answer is "death")[[[Continue the Game? ->Ghourab Good End]]](else:)[[[Continue the Game?->Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 7)[[Having Trouble? Start from First Riddle->Ghourab Riddle I]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Ghourab Bad End 4: Devoured")'s length >= 20)[[Having Trouble? Here is the Answer Key->Riddle Answers]](link:"Are you really sure you want to give up Soup? Don't you want to try a bit more? No, fine then click on the link and get your riddle answers. You've died enough times to have earned it.")+(color:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[Riddle Answer One: day and night
Riddle Answer Two: mayfly
Riddle Answer Three: death]Soup watched as the last riddle burned away the final remnants of the circle and the door creaked open. She was not quite sure what she expected: skeletons in the closet and all that, but it really wasn't the room before her.
In the room were a hundreds upon hundreds of small tables like the one she had seen when she stayed with the fox and rat. Upon each and every table lay a vase with a flower inside of it. No two flowers were the same—whether that was in color or species.
"What is all this?" Soup asked aloud. "Its almost like—"
"Offerings for the dead," a deep male voice finished for her.
Soup looked around, but didn't see anyone.
"Over here." said the same voice.
Soup looked at the window sill and saw a flurry of feathers merge into one another until the most handsome man she had ever seen appeared. His hair was as black as the feathers which formed him and his eyes held an abyss of darkness and sadness.
"I hear you've been asking about me?" the man asked, "Why?"
"I take it you're Ghourab?"
"The one and only," he gave a flamboyant bow. "And I've heard you have this weird thing about immortals and death?"
"Immortals?" he laughed. "No, I have nothing against them."
"Then what's your gripe with them?"
"My brother and guardian perhaps did not inform you of this, but we all were chosen by our precissor. There was never any choice about becooming immortals together."
"What makes you so sure of that? Have you ever met any other immortals that aren't from here?"
"Hmmm," Ghourab rubbed the small goatee on his chin, "there was that thing which claimed to be an angel or some such sort, but they were just so....preachy. I got bored of them very quickly."
Soup thought back to the golden haired angel who sent her on this strange adventure, "Yeah, they really are kind of a preachy bunch."
"Have you met one?" Ghourab eyed her with blatant curiosity.
"You can say that." Soup paused, "Hey, I have a crazy idea to offer you."
"Oh?" he crossed his arms over his chest.
"When I was in my....hometown, my world was really small and I never got to see much."
"Is there a point to this?"
"I'm getting to that," Soup reasoned, "Anyways, since both of us don't really know much, let's find the answers we are seeking."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if there's your world and my world, there's bound to be hundreds upon thousands of worlds with millions of possibilities. Don't you want to see it?"
"Why with me?"
"Why not you?" Soup asked, "Besides don't you want to try something away from this place?"
Ghourab looked away, "I don't want to see someone else die in front of me."
"Don't worry about that."
"What do you mean?"
Soup answered, "One of those preaching angels owes me a wish. I won't die so easily."
"Oh really?" then he laughed, "Alright, let's try this world hopping idea of yours."
"Wait, for real?"
"It has to be more interesting than staying around here." Then he held out his hand. "Shall we?"
And Soup took it, not really sure where they were going, but anything had to be better than going back to her old corporate slave lifestyle, right?
(color:purple)+(text-style:"smear","tall")+(align:"=><=")+(box:"=======XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[Ghourab Good End: World Traveler]
(text-colour:purple)+(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX==") [=[[Would you like to play again ->The Beginning (E)]]
[[Start Route Over? ->Ghourab Beginning ]]