Beatrice (and so on) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
boxupallthebutterflies) wrote2011-08-10 02:46 am
boxupallthebutterflies) wrote2011-08-10 02:46 am
Memory 20 - Significant Negative
...signeg x2578917... \:D/
THE MEMORY:
[Setting: The theatre. Clair stands in the middle of the stage, illuminated by a single beam of light. Lion and Ange are chained in the audience, obviously distressed. Ange is outright sobbing in despair.]
LION: Clair...!! So... you were the Game Master after all?! ...I don't get it. Why?!
[Clair doesn't answer. She doesn't even make any sign of having heard. Her eyes are blank and unblinking, like a doll's. Another beam of light lights up the side of the stage, to show Bernkastel standing there. Even though there is no one else in the audience, a large applause rings out.]
BERN: ...*giggle*. [raising her right hand until the applause dies down]
LION: Bernkastel-san!! So... you were the Master of this game after all...!!
BERN: ...Lion. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not the Game Master?
LION: Then are you saying it's Clair?! That's impossible...!!
BERN: Yep. Of course it's impossible. After all, Clair is dead. ...We were just conducting her funeral. Did you forget that...?
LION: Then just who is standing there...?
BERN: A corpse. She's not a mannequin. So, of course, she still has her insides. ...She's hiding it under a beautiful exterior, but she's actually packed full of guts.
[Bernkastel raises her right hand again. A light falls on it, and a black, shining scythe appears there--a cold and merciless tool, like a classic grim reaper's.]
LION: Wh... What are you planning to do...?
BERN: ...When they're alive, you can enjoy watching them struggle. When they're dead, you can enjoy tearing out their guts. Tales are things that you get to enjoy twice. ...That's what it means to be a witch of theatergoing.
[Bernkastel presses the blade of her scythe against Clair's stomach with a cruel smile, slowly sliding it across. Clair's dress is sliced open and it immediately becomes clear that the scythe is real.]
BERN: Ange. Can you hear me?
ANGE: ...I hear you... You tear me to bits, make me read! What's next?! Are you showing me this worst possible tale to hurt me even more?! Is this fun for you?! Yeah, I'll bet it is. I'm just happy with all this too...! You think... that I'd give up after that?! You think... I'll sit around crying any longer because of that disgusting game of yours?!!
BERN: ...Both you and Lion... seem to have the wrong idea. I'm not the Game Master. This tale is not one that I created.
ANGE: Then that woman in the dress is the Game Master?!
LION: No, she isn't...! That can't be! Then who's the Game Master?! Who created this disgusting tale?!!
BERN: You still don't understand?
ANGE: What don't we understand?!!
BERN: Ange. You gambled everything on the faint chance of a miracle, throwing yourself forward. ...I invited you to October 4th and 5th of 1986 out of respect for your courage. ...What was your goal? To take your family back. ...That would be a very difficult thing, and without the blessing of a miracle, a thoroughly impossible one. You were prepared for that, weren't you?
ANGE: Yes, I'm prepared...!! And I still haven't given up on Onii-chan, Mom, and Dad!
BERN: Whether you give up or not is your choice. That's your own game, after all. I won't support you, and I won't even watch. I've already enjoyed my fill of games that use you as a piece, so I have no need for you any longer.
ANGE: Well, that's a relief. Then why am I here? Didn't you invite me?!
BERN: Yes, that's right. I invited you here. ...To thank you for entertaining me for a while, as my piece.
ANGE: To thank me?! Ha, so this is how witches show gratitude!! Sure, this has been loads of fun, you devil! How could you make this kind... this kind of game... and do that to Dad and Mom?!!
BERN: Ange. You made a wish, hoping that you could take your family back. However, you made one more wish. Remember?
ANGE: No, I don't!!
BERN: You wanted to know what happened on that day.
ANGE: That's right... So what's your point?!
LION: ...You don't... mean... [shocked into silence]
BERN: Ange. You still don't understand?
ANGE: ...What...?
BERN: This is the truth. The insides of the cat box of October 4th and 5th, 1986. Afterwards, Eva survived the explosion by escaping to Kuwadorian. ...And, since she never spoke of the inside of the cat box no matter how much you wanted to know, that truth was shut within the cat box for all eternity.
ANGE: What... are you saying...?
BERN: Only Eva returned alive. Even though the police claimed it was an accident, the public didn't believe it. Then, she took over her husband's company, and the harder she worked to make it more and more successful, the more enemies she made. A public image of her as a great queen of conspiracy grew stronger and stronger. ...I'm sure she wanted to tell people about the truth. That truth that no one would ever believe without proof. ...Bit by bit, Eva's heart began to snap. You rejected Eva, so she rejected you in turn. The relationship between the last two members of your family was completely strained. Each time she compared you with her beloved son, she grew more and more twisted and broken. This is the truth.
ANGE: ...You're lying... You're lying... lying...!! If this really is the truth, you should be able to say that in red!! There's no way you can, of course there isn't!! Nngyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
LION: Ange...!! Ange, calm down...!! Uu... ah...?!
[Ange writhes with such strength that the chains on her arms and legs look like they might snap. All over her body, a red, gooey liquid starts to seep out, as if cracks had opened up all over her body, leaking blood.]
BERN: What's that? You want me to announce it clearly with the red truth? Then I'll do that, just for you. "This is all truth--
ANGE: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! [yelling, covering up the red truth]
BERN: *giggle*giggle*giggle*, ahhahahahahahahahahaha...!! Stupid kid. If only you hadn't made me say that, I could've shut it up inside the cat box. But you did tell me to, right? I knew you would, of course. And I so wanted to see you scream like that. ...What a lovely expression, one that'll keep me laughing for about a hundred years. ...*giggle*giggle*, *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*!!! Go back to being scrap meat. Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
ANGE: Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh, gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Mom, Dad... it's a lie, right?! Lies... lies... gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh...
LION: A-Ange...! Ange...?!
[As Ange holds her head and screams, the blood dripping from her finally grows so thick that it starts scattering all over the place. Bit by bit, her body begins to fall apart as if melting. Bits of her pile up on the chair until she is nothing but a pile of guts and scraps.]
BERN: Ahhahahahahahahahahahah, aaaahhahahahahahaaaaahhaahaha!! Is the truth really such a precious thing? How absurd, how foolish!! Why can't humans control their own truth? They stupidly search for the truth like that's all that matters, and when they finally find it and can't stand it, they turn themselves into scrap meat!! Hey, are you watching? Clair? ...You wanted to hide this truth too, didn't you? For fun, you wrote several cat box tales, and planned to seal them in message bottles like the end of a mystery novel you loved. Then, you threw them into the sea. To save those who would suffer if they knew the truth...!! You sealed everything in a cat box, and Eva provided the lock. *giggle*giggle*!! And I've sliced that box open for you...!! Ahhahahahahahahahahahaha, all that effort you spent to hide it has gone to waste!! I've exposed all of the truth you hid with your death!! Ahhahahahahahahhahhahhahhahha!!
LION: Is that... what you've been after?! You did all this just to insult Clair's death?!! And then... you showed it to Ange just to make her suffer...! You really were... an evil witch after all!!
BERN: I've been a witch the whole time. A traveler whose only goal is to escape boredom. ...Care for it and love it while it's alive, then eat the guts when it's dead. That's how witches live!
LION: I cannot forgive you for what you have done...!! You've hurt Ange and humiliated Clair... the person I would become in another world...!! I won't forgive you...!!
BERN: Lion. You are what Clair longs to be. Even after death, she longs for it.
LION: ...!
BERN: From the moment that Clair was thrown from the cliff, her fate was already sealed. I'm sure it gave her a little bit of salvation to know that another "her" lives in happiness in another world.
LION: ...That's right. I'm her salvation...! So, I must live life to the fullest... live life for the both of us...!
BERN: Lion. ...Let me show you just a bit more of this tale of the truth.
LION: I'm not interested!
BERN: Don't worry, it'll be very interesting. ...After the duel between Eva and Kyrie, the guesthouse is wrapped in silence. Let me invite you to the parlor at that point in time.
LION: The parlor...? The one in the mansion?
[Bernkastel snaps her fingers, and the scene of the parlor unfolds before them. There is nothing out of the ordinary there; the room is empty.]
LION: Just what's supposed to be here?
BERN: *giggle*. ...As you can see, there's nothing here. But watch. I'm about to show you something interesting.
LION: If you call it interesting, that's a sure sign that it isn't.
BERN: *giggle*giggle*. ...Go on, take a look. ...It's right there. Right in that corner.
[She points to the corner of the room, but there really is nothing there.]
LION: ...??
BERN: ...That's right, there's nothing there. At least, not in this world. But what if we peek into the next Fragment over...?
LION: ...?!
[On the white, blank wall, a splash of blood appears, bit by bit. Then, a corpse appears... Lion, lying dead against the wall.]
LION: Th... This is... m... me...?! Wh-What's going on here...? Why am I here...? This is supposed to be Clair's world, not mine...! Clair and I can't exist at the same time, right...?!
BERN: Yes, that's right. That's because I just switched worlds... switched Fragments. Switched to your world, that is.
LION: ...I don't understand!
BERN: It's very simple. They both end the same way. ...*giggle*giggle*!!
LION: I don't get it!! Why am I supposed to be dead here?!!
BERN: In your world, on October 4th, 1986, Beatrice's funeral was held just before the family conference.
LION: Yes, I know that. And for me, that happened today, a short while ago!
BERN: From that time until late that night, do you know what happened...?
LION: Nothing at all!! The cousins all played together, and the whole family had dinner together!
BERN: Then, the family conference took place that night. ...You were going to succeed the headship when you turned 20, right? Was the entire family satisfied with that, I wonder...?
LION: ...I don't know if they were satisfied, but the decision had been made. ...The Head made it himself.
BERN: Looks like you don't really believe they were satisfied. That's it right there. ...Kinzo adored you more than anything... and tried to make an exception and set you up as the next Head. Of course, his children wouldn't have been happy with that. The siblings objected to having Lion succeed the headship. Even Krauss joined in, saying that Lion was still too young. Then, on the night of the family conference, Kinzo tried proposing a difficult riddle...
LION: Could it be...?
BERN: That's right. The riddle of the epitaph. ...As you can tell by the mechanism set into the chapel, Kinzo thought up the epitaph trick near the beginning, when the mansion on Rokkenjima was being built. ...He had the romantic idea of someday using it as a test to select the next head. After that, everything happened exactly like the truth you just saw. The siblings solved it right away, and there was a quarrel over the pile of gold. *giggle*... Then, Kyrie and Rudolf decided to prevent any chance of the crime being discovered the next morning and an outcry being raised. They carried out the late night murders. ...They called the kids out from the cousins' room one by one, then killed them. ...As the first of the cousins, you were the first to be called out. Then, Kyrie shot you dead right here in the parlor. ...No, that's not quite right. You're the Ushiromiya Lion from the early evening of October 4th, 1986. So, I'll say it this way. ...Tonight, Kyrie will shoot you dead in the parlor.
LION: That's... insane... It's... That's right, probability! Just like Lion can be born from Clair thanks to a rare miracle, Kyrie oba-san only commits murder with a tiny probability, close to zero! That must be it! Aren't you the witch who specializes in finding extremely improbable worlds?!!
BERN: That is correct. I had to find one Fragment out of 2,578,917 in order to discover the miracle that is you. ...However, it was very, very easy to find this result for your world. After all, probability isn't a factor. ...I'm a witch who can find any miracle, no matter how unlikely it is. But I can't find things that don't exist. ...If the Witch of Certainty really guarantees that something is certain, even I can't win against her.
LION: But... then... I...
BERN: With a 2,578,916 out of 2,578,917 probability, you live in the world as Clair, are toyed with by an inescapable fate, and reach a tragic end. And, with a 1 out of 2,578,917 probability, you live as Ushiromiya Lion... and are killed by Kyrie tonight. ...In other words, your fate... no, the fate the two of you share... traps you in an inescapable dead end, a hell of fate, with a 2,578,917 out of 2,578,917 probability. To put it another way, it's a certain fate, with absolutely no chance for a miracle! *giggle*, eheheheheheheheheheheh!! Sucks for you, Clair. No, Beatrice.
[A bright light turns the world white, and the scene changes back to the theatre. On the stage again, Bernkastel's scythe slides against Clair's stomach. Clair stands absolutely still. A red line is drawn across the white skin that was exposed when the dress was cut, and black blood begins to seep out.]
BERN: Beatrice. Trapped in that inescapable, certain, locked-away pair of days, you became a witch who could give birth to endless possibilities within that two-day cat box. ...In exchange, it was absolutely certain that you would not be saved or rewarded. However, you had a dream. ...You dreamed of Ushiromiya Lion. ...You consoled yourself with the thought of a miracle world, where you could have lived in happiness and would never have become Clair! ...I had to work hard to find Lion. As Beato dreamed, Lion's existence is a true miracle. And, at the end of your funeral, I wanted to show you. ...To show you that, even with that miracle, you couldn't have escaped this tragedy!!
[Through the small crack between the bars of the jail that imprisoned her, the witch called Beatrice dreamed of a world where she might have been happy... However, the space she could see through that crack in the bars... was just another part of the same jail...]
LION: The more I hear... the less I understand about you...! Why... would you do something like this...?!
BERN: I lost a game to Beatrice, so I wanted to get back at her. ...*giggle*giggle*!! Yeah, now I feel a lot better about losing that game...! Hey, Beato, are you watching? Can you see this?! And do you remember? Remember when I promised you that a miracle wouldn't occur, with certainty?! Ahhahahahahahahah, ahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahaha!! So, Lion! Allow me to return you to your world, right before Beato's eyes!! It looks like the theatergoing witches are all sick and tired of those happy family get-together scenes. So, I'll send you to the moment just before Kyrie shoots you! Then, I'll make Beato watch that moment!! Ahhahahahahahahhahhahhahaha1! Die, scum Lion! The last hope of that scum Beato, uhyahhahhyaahhaaaaaaaahhh!!!
[Bernkastel raises her scythe, swings it with gusto, and plunges it deep into Clair's stomach.]
BERN: Did you think you'd get an easy death? Hehihihihihihihihi!! But humiliating and tearing out a corpse's guts is my specialty...!!
[She takes the blade end of the scythe, and heartlessly, ruthlessly, brutally raises it into the air. It cuts deeply along a vertical line from Clair's stomach to her chest, slicing her open. Red-black insides jut out and then burst like a dam breaking, covering the stage with dark red entrails. Various scenes flash into view--first, the military base on Rokkenjima during WWII.]
SOLDIER: S-Steal the Italians' gold, you say? You coward, Ushiromiya! And you call yourself a soldier of the Empire?!!
[Then, Kuwadorian, with the previous Beatrice and Kinzo.]
BEATRICE: ...F-Father...? I-I do love and respect you, Father... B-But... your feelings are something I, ummm...
[Finally, the study, with the current Beatrice, raging against Genji and Nanjo.]
BEATO: Why...?!! Why did you save me?! Why didn't you let me die?! Because of that terrible injury... I've been forced to live in a body like this!! I never wanted to live in a body like this!! This body that isn't even capable of love...!! What's... what's the point in living like that?! This isn't a human's life...!! It's like being furniture!! That's right, I'm... furniture...!! Furniture...!! Why... Why didn't you let me die back then?!! Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh...!!!
SUMMARY:
- who is Clair... Clair is me... she doesn't talk or move or do anything independently though. she has lost her will to live even more than the previous memory where she... stopped talking and lost the will to live. in fact this is her own funeral! I AM A CORPSE AND WHAT IS THIS. WHY CAN'T I EVEN BE DEAD THROUGH MY OWN FUNERAL. WHY WHY WHY
- OTHER THINGS BEING IMPLIED HERE is that Bern just finished exposing the truth of what happened on Rokkenjima, and Ange and Lion are FREAKING THE FUCK OUT ABOUT IT. so whatever it is it... really sucks. more than it would suck if it were as simple as Beatrice being the 100% villain
- speaking of which, who the hell is Ushiromiya Lion. an alternate universe self!! WHO WAS THEORETICALLY HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL AND WAS SET TO INHERIT THE FAMILY... wh-why would I inherit the Ushiromiya family in another universe--?! (UNSURE)
- idk the setup of this is all very confusing. she does not have any context for a lot of it, and it's kinda information overload in comparison to the emotional gutpunch, so it might not all sink in right away.
- Bernkastel was kind of a jerk before but now it's just full-on... BERNKASTEL IS AN ASSHOLE AND SHE IS DEVOTED TO RUINING MY LIFE IN EVERY WAY, NEWS AT 11
- Ange is here because of Bernkastel. and she's here to get her family back... :x whoops. BEATO IS GETTING ANGE MEMORIES OUT OF ORDER so she sees her more as a friend than an obstacle. so it is sad that Ange has become hamburger :(
- Eva survives! But she is not the culprit, Kyrie and Rudolf are! ...There was an explosion which would explain the fact that she has explosive skills!!
- "To save those who would suffer if they knew the truth...!!" lol. +1000 I'M THE BAD GUY IT'S ME, IGNORE EVERYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE THE BAD GUY!!! I'm a good scapegoat :|b
- "From the moment that Clair was thrown from the cliff, her fate was already sealed." ...is this referring to the Kuwadorian Beatrice falling and dying?? IT IS TOO CONFUSING TO AATHERBEATO TO KNOW FOR SURE!
- "...In other words, your fate... no, the fate the two of you share... traps you in an inescapable dead end, a hell of fate, with a 2,578,917 out of 2,578,917 probability." ............... motherfucker \o/
- also this is the first she heard of the fact that she would "never be saved or rewarded" when she officially became a witch. god what was the point of even becoming one. WHY DO I KEEP BOTHERING HAVING HOPE WHEN MY LIFE IS SO HOPELESS. FEELINGS FEELINGS FEELINGS
- when did Bern lose a game to me god. I'LL THROW THE GAME NEXT TIME IF IT MAKES YOU THIS MUCH OF AN ASSHOLE.
- oh and the gold was stolen and Kinzo is a rapist and Beatrice now remembers the full extent of her self-loathing and body issues. ACE. Apparently she was badly injured and almost died and that's why her body is. as it is :B
- all hope for a happy ending is ruined forever
THE MEMORY:
[Setting: The theatre. Clair stands in the middle of the stage, illuminated by a single beam of light. Lion and Ange are chained in the audience, obviously distressed. Ange is outright sobbing in despair.]
LION: Clair...!! So... you were the Game Master after all?! ...I don't get it. Why?!
[Clair doesn't answer. She doesn't even make any sign of having heard. Her eyes are blank and unblinking, like a doll's. Another beam of light lights up the side of the stage, to show Bernkastel standing there. Even though there is no one else in the audience, a large applause rings out.]
BERN: ...*giggle*. [raising her right hand until the applause dies down]
LION: Bernkastel-san!! So... you were the Master of this game after all...!!
BERN: ...Lion. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not the Game Master?
LION: Then are you saying it's Clair?! That's impossible...!!
BERN: Yep. Of course it's impossible. After all, Clair is dead. ...We were just conducting her funeral. Did you forget that...?
LION: Then just who is standing there...?
BERN: A corpse. She's not a mannequin. So, of course, she still has her insides. ...She's hiding it under a beautiful exterior, but she's actually packed full of guts.
[Bernkastel raises her right hand again. A light falls on it, and a black, shining scythe appears there--a cold and merciless tool, like a classic grim reaper's.]
LION: Wh... What are you planning to do...?
BERN: ...When they're alive, you can enjoy watching them struggle. When they're dead, you can enjoy tearing out their guts. Tales are things that you get to enjoy twice. ...That's what it means to be a witch of theatergoing.
[Bernkastel presses the blade of her scythe against Clair's stomach with a cruel smile, slowly sliding it across. Clair's dress is sliced open and it immediately becomes clear that the scythe is real.]
BERN: Ange. Can you hear me?
ANGE: ...I hear you... You tear me to bits, make me read! What's next?! Are you showing me this worst possible tale to hurt me even more?! Is this fun for you?! Yeah, I'll bet it is. I'm just happy with all this too...! You think... that I'd give up after that?! You think... I'll sit around crying any longer because of that disgusting game of yours?!!
BERN: ...Both you and Lion... seem to have the wrong idea. I'm not the Game Master. This tale is not one that I created.
ANGE: Then that woman in the dress is the Game Master?!
LION: No, she isn't...! That can't be! Then who's the Game Master?! Who created this disgusting tale?!!
BERN: You still don't understand?
ANGE: What don't we understand?!!
BERN: Ange. You gambled everything on the faint chance of a miracle, throwing yourself forward. ...I invited you to October 4th and 5th of 1986 out of respect for your courage. ...What was your goal? To take your family back. ...That would be a very difficult thing, and without the blessing of a miracle, a thoroughly impossible one. You were prepared for that, weren't you?
ANGE: Yes, I'm prepared...!! And I still haven't given up on Onii-chan, Mom, and Dad!
BERN: Whether you give up or not is your choice. That's your own game, after all. I won't support you, and I won't even watch. I've already enjoyed my fill of games that use you as a piece, so I have no need for you any longer.
ANGE: Well, that's a relief. Then why am I here? Didn't you invite me?!
BERN: Yes, that's right. I invited you here. ...To thank you for entertaining me for a while, as my piece.
ANGE: To thank me?! Ha, so this is how witches show gratitude!! Sure, this has been loads of fun, you devil! How could you make this kind... this kind of game... and do that to Dad and Mom?!!
BERN: Ange. You made a wish, hoping that you could take your family back. However, you made one more wish. Remember?
ANGE: No, I don't!!
BERN: You wanted to know what happened on that day.
ANGE: That's right... So what's your point?!
LION: ...You don't... mean... [shocked into silence]
BERN: Ange. You still don't understand?
ANGE: ...What...?
BERN: This is the truth. The insides of the cat box of October 4th and 5th, 1986. Afterwards, Eva survived the explosion by escaping to Kuwadorian. ...And, since she never spoke of the inside of the cat box no matter how much you wanted to know, that truth was shut within the cat box for all eternity.
ANGE: What... are you saying...?
BERN: Only Eva returned alive. Even though the police claimed it was an accident, the public didn't believe it. Then, she took over her husband's company, and the harder she worked to make it more and more successful, the more enemies she made. A public image of her as a great queen of conspiracy grew stronger and stronger. ...I'm sure she wanted to tell people about the truth. That truth that no one would ever believe without proof. ...Bit by bit, Eva's heart began to snap. You rejected Eva, so she rejected you in turn. The relationship between the last two members of your family was completely strained. Each time she compared you with her beloved son, she grew more and more twisted and broken. This is the truth.
ANGE: ...You're lying... You're lying... lying...!! If this really is the truth, you should be able to say that in red!! There's no way you can, of course there isn't!! Nngyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
LION: Ange...!! Ange, calm down...!! Uu... ah...?!
[Ange writhes with such strength that the chains on her arms and legs look like they might snap. All over her body, a red, gooey liquid starts to seep out, as if cracks had opened up all over her body, leaking blood.]
BERN: What's that? You want me to announce it clearly with the red truth? Then I'll do that, just for you. "This is all truth--
ANGE: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! [yelling, covering up the red truth]
BERN: *giggle*giggle*giggle*, ahhahahahahahahahahaha...!! Stupid kid. If only you hadn't made me say that, I could've shut it up inside the cat box. But you did tell me to, right? I knew you would, of course. And I so wanted to see you scream like that. ...What a lovely expression, one that'll keep me laughing for about a hundred years. ...*giggle*giggle*, *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*!!! Go back to being scrap meat. Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
ANGE: Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh, gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Mom, Dad... it's a lie, right?! Lies... lies... gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh...
LION: A-Ange...! Ange...?!
[As Ange holds her head and screams, the blood dripping from her finally grows so thick that it starts scattering all over the place. Bit by bit, her body begins to fall apart as if melting. Bits of her pile up on the chair until she is nothing but a pile of guts and scraps.]
BERN: Ahhahahahahahahahahahah, aaaahhahahahahahaaaaahhaahaha!! Is the truth really such a precious thing? How absurd, how foolish!! Why can't humans control their own truth? They stupidly search for the truth like that's all that matters, and when they finally find it and can't stand it, they turn themselves into scrap meat!! Hey, are you watching? Clair? ...You wanted to hide this truth too, didn't you? For fun, you wrote several cat box tales, and planned to seal them in message bottles like the end of a mystery novel you loved. Then, you threw them into the sea. To save those who would suffer if they knew the truth...!! You sealed everything in a cat box, and Eva provided the lock. *giggle*giggle*!! And I've sliced that box open for you...!! Ahhahahahahahahahahahaha, all that effort you spent to hide it has gone to waste!! I've exposed all of the truth you hid with your death!! Ahhahahahahahahhahhahhahhahha!!
LION: Is that... what you've been after?! You did all this just to insult Clair's death?!! And then... you showed it to Ange just to make her suffer...! You really were... an evil witch after all!!
BERN: I've been a witch the whole time. A traveler whose only goal is to escape boredom. ...Care for it and love it while it's alive, then eat the guts when it's dead. That's how witches live!
LION: I cannot forgive you for what you have done...!! You've hurt Ange and humiliated Clair... the person I would become in another world...!! I won't forgive you...!!
BERN: Lion. You are what Clair longs to be. Even after death, she longs for it.
LION: ...!
BERN: From the moment that Clair was thrown from the cliff, her fate was already sealed. I'm sure it gave her a little bit of salvation to know that another "her" lives in happiness in another world.
LION: ...That's right. I'm her salvation...! So, I must live life to the fullest... live life for the both of us...!
BERN: Lion. ...Let me show you just a bit more of this tale of the truth.
LION: I'm not interested!
BERN: Don't worry, it'll be very interesting. ...After the duel between Eva and Kyrie, the guesthouse is wrapped in silence. Let me invite you to the parlor at that point in time.
LION: The parlor...? The one in the mansion?
[Bernkastel snaps her fingers, and the scene of the parlor unfolds before them. There is nothing out of the ordinary there; the room is empty.]
LION: Just what's supposed to be here?
BERN: *giggle*. ...As you can see, there's nothing here. But watch. I'm about to show you something interesting.
LION: If you call it interesting, that's a sure sign that it isn't.
BERN: *giggle*giggle*. ...Go on, take a look. ...It's right there. Right in that corner.
[She points to the corner of the room, but there really is nothing there.]
LION: ...??
BERN: ...That's right, there's nothing there. At least, not in this world. But what if we peek into the next Fragment over...?
LION: ...?!
[On the white, blank wall, a splash of blood appears, bit by bit. Then, a corpse appears... Lion, lying dead against the wall.]
LION: Th... This is... m... me...?! Wh-What's going on here...? Why am I here...? This is supposed to be Clair's world, not mine...! Clair and I can't exist at the same time, right...?!
BERN: Yes, that's right. That's because I just switched worlds... switched Fragments. Switched to your world, that is.
LION: ...I don't understand!
BERN: It's very simple. They both end the same way. ...*giggle*giggle*!!
LION: I don't get it!! Why am I supposed to be dead here?!!
BERN: In your world, on October 4th, 1986, Beatrice's funeral was held just before the family conference.
LION: Yes, I know that. And for me, that happened today, a short while ago!
BERN: From that time until late that night, do you know what happened...?
LION: Nothing at all!! The cousins all played together, and the whole family had dinner together!
BERN: Then, the family conference took place that night. ...You were going to succeed the headship when you turned 20, right? Was the entire family satisfied with that, I wonder...?
LION: ...I don't know if they were satisfied, but the decision had been made. ...The Head made it himself.
BERN: Looks like you don't really believe they were satisfied. That's it right there. ...Kinzo adored you more than anything... and tried to make an exception and set you up as the next Head. Of course, his children wouldn't have been happy with that. The siblings objected to having Lion succeed the headship. Even Krauss joined in, saying that Lion was still too young. Then, on the night of the family conference, Kinzo tried proposing a difficult riddle...
LION: Could it be...?
BERN: That's right. The riddle of the epitaph. ...As you can tell by the mechanism set into the chapel, Kinzo thought up the epitaph trick near the beginning, when the mansion on Rokkenjima was being built. ...He had the romantic idea of someday using it as a test to select the next head. After that, everything happened exactly like the truth you just saw. The siblings solved it right away, and there was a quarrel over the pile of gold. *giggle*... Then, Kyrie and Rudolf decided to prevent any chance of the crime being discovered the next morning and an outcry being raised. They carried out the late night murders. ...They called the kids out from the cousins' room one by one, then killed them. ...As the first of the cousins, you were the first to be called out. Then, Kyrie shot you dead right here in the parlor. ...No, that's not quite right. You're the Ushiromiya Lion from the early evening of October 4th, 1986. So, I'll say it this way. ...Tonight, Kyrie will shoot you dead in the parlor.
LION: That's... insane... It's... That's right, probability! Just like Lion can be born from Clair thanks to a rare miracle, Kyrie oba-san only commits murder with a tiny probability, close to zero! That must be it! Aren't you the witch who specializes in finding extremely improbable worlds?!!
BERN: That is correct. I had to find one Fragment out of 2,578,917 in order to discover the miracle that is you. ...However, it was very, very easy to find this result for your world. After all, probability isn't a factor. ...I'm a witch who can find any miracle, no matter how unlikely it is. But I can't find things that don't exist. ...If the Witch of Certainty really guarantees that something is certain, even I can't win against her.
LION: But... then... I...
BERN: With a 2,578,916 out of 2,578,917 probability, you live in the world as Clair, are toyed with by an inescapable fate, and reach a tragic end. And, with a 1 out of 2,578,917 probability, you live as Ushiromiya Lion... and are killed by Kyrie tonight. ...In other words, your fate... no, the fate the two of you share... traps you in an inescapable dead end, a hell of fate, with a 2,578,917 out of 2,578,917 probability. To put it another way, it's a certain fate, with absolutely no chance for a miracle! *giggle*, eheheheheheheheheheheh!! Sucks for you, Clair. No, Beatrice.
[A bright light turns the world white, and the scene changes back to the theatre. On the stage again, Bernkastel's scythe slides against Clair's stomach. Clair stands absolutely still. A red line is drawn across the white skin that was exposed when the dress was cut, and black blood begins to seep out.]
BERN: Beatrice. Trapped in that inescapable, certain, locked-away pair of days, you became a witch who could give birth to endless possibilities within that two-day cat box. ...In exchange, it was absolutely certain that you would not be saved or rewarded. However, you had a dream. ...You dreamed of Ushiromiya Lion. ...You consoled yourself with the thought of a miracle world, where you could have lived in happiness and would never have become Clair! ...I had to work hard to find Lion. As Beato dreamed, Lion's existence is a true miracle. And, at the end of your funeral, I wanted to show you. ...To show you that, even with that miracle, you couldn't have escaped this tragedy!!
[Through the small crack between the bars of the jail that imprisoned her, the witch called Beatrice dreamed of a world where she might have been happy... However, the space she could see through that crack in the bars... was just another part of the same jail...]
LION: The more I hear... the less I understand about you...! Why... would you do something like this...?!
BERN: I lost a game to Beatrice, so I wanted to get back at her. ...*giggle*giggle*!! Yeah, now I feel a lot better about losing that game...! Hey, Beato, are you watching? Can you see this?! And do you remember? Remember when I promised you that a miracle wouldn't occur, with certainty?! Ahhahahahahahahah, ahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahaha!! So, Lion! Allow me to return you to your world, right before Beato's eyes!! It looks like the theatergoing witches are all sick and tired of those happy family get-together scenes. So, I'll send you to the moment just before Kyrie shoots you! Then, I'll make Beato watch that moment!! Ahhahahahahahahhahhahhahaha1! Die, scum Lion! The last hope of that scum Beato, uhyahhahhyaahhaaaaaaaahhh!!!
[Bernkastel raises her scythe, swings it with gusto, and plunges it deep into Clair's stomach.]
BERN: Did you think you'd get an easy death? Hehihihihihihihihi!! But humiliating and tearing out a corpse's guts is my specialty...!!
[She takes the blade end of the scythe, and heartlessly, ruthlessly, brutally raises it into the air. It cuts deeply along a vertical line from Clair's stomach to her chest, slicing her open. Red-black insides jut out and then burst like a dam breaking, covering the stage with dark red entrails. Various scenes flash into view--first, the military base on Rokkenjima during WWII.]
SOLDIER: S-Steal the Italians' gold, you say? You coward, Ushiromiya! And you call yourself a soldier of the Empire?!!
[Then, Kuwadorian, with the previous Beatrice and Kinzo.]
BEATRICE: ...F-Father...? I-I do love and respect you, Father... B-But... your feelings are something I, ummm...
[Finally, the study, with the current Beatrice, raging against Genji and Nanjo.]
BEATO: Why...?!! Why did you save me?! Why didn't you let me die?! Because of that terrible injury... I've been forced to live in a body like this!! I never wanted to live in a body like this!! This body that isn't even capable of love...!! What's... what's the point in living like that?! This isn't a human's life...!! It's like being furniture!! That's right, I'm... furniture...!! Furniture...!! Why... Why didn't you let me die back then?!! Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh...!!!
SUMMARY:
- who is Clair... Clair is me... she doesn't talk or move or do anything independently though. she has lost her will to live even more than the previous memory where she... stopped talking and lost the will to live. in fact this is her own funeral! I AM A CORPSE AND WHAT IS THIS. WHY CAN'T I EVEN BE DEAD THROUGH MY OWN FUNERAL. WHY WHY WHY
- OTHER THINGS BEING IMPLIED HERE is that Bern just finished exposing the truth of what happened on Rokkenjima, and Ange and Lion are FREAKING THE FUCK OUT ABOUT IT. so whatever it is it... really sucks. more than it would suck if it were as simple as Beatrice being the 100% villain
- speaking of which, who the hell is Ushiromiya Lion. an alternate universe self!! WHO WAS THEORETICALLY HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL AND WAS SET TO INHERIT THE FAMILY... wh-why would I inherit the Ushiromiya family in another universe--?! (UNSURE)
- idk the setup of this is all very confusing. she does not have any context for a lot of it, and it's kinda information overload in comparison to the emotional gutpunch, so it might not all sink in right away.
- Bernkastel was kind of a jerk before but now it's just full-on... BERNKASTEL IS AN ASSHOLE AND SHE IS DEVOTED TO RUINING MY LIFE IN EVERY WAY, NEWS AT 11
- Ange is here because of Bernkastel. and she's here to get her family back... :x whoops. BEATO IS GETTING ANGE MEMORIES OUT OF ORDER so she sees her more as a friend than an obstacle. so it is sad that Ange has become hamburger :(
- Eva survives! But she is not the culprit, Kyrie and Rudolf are! ...There was an explosion which would explain the fact that she has explosive skills!!
- "To save those who would suffer if they knew the truth...!!" lol. +1000 I'M THE BAD GUY IT'S ME, IGNORE EVERYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE THE BAD GUY!!! I'm a good scapegoat :|b
- "From the moment that Clair was thrown from the cliff, her fate was already sealed." ...is this referring to the Kuwadorian Beatrice falling and dying?? IT IS TOO CONFUSING TO AATHERBEATO TO KNOW FOR SURE!
- "...In other words, your fate... no, the fate the two of you share... traps you in an inescapable dead end, a hell of fate, with a 2,578,917 out of 2,578,917 probability." ............... motherfucker \o/
- also this is the first she heard of the fact that she would "never be saved or rewarded" when she officially became a witch. god what was the point of even becoming one. WHY DO I KEEP BOTHERING HAVING HOPE WHEN MY LIFE IS SO HOPELESS. FEELINGS FEELINGS FEELINGS
- when did Bern lose a game to me god. I'LL THROW THE GAME NEXT TIME IF IT MAKES YOU THIS MUCH OF AN ASSHOLE.
- oh and the gold was stolen and Kinzo is a rapist and Beatrice now remembers the full extent of her self-loathing and body issues. ACE. Apparently she was badly injured and almost died and that's why her body is. as it is :B
- all hope for a happy ending is ruined forever