Archive Class: Recollection
Personal Log
_Assigned Recollection Officer (STATUS: TERMINATED): AMARANTHINE, Former Arbiter Class Doll of the Zaleri Research and Preservation Institute
KASSIOPEA TRANSCRIPTION LOG COMMENCE
WARNING: This log is a transcription of a terminated Arbiter Class lainedoll’s recollection matrix. This surveillance log has not been processed through standardized security audit protocols.
(SUBJECT AMARANTHINE enters the Recollection Hall.)
//VOID CLASS RELIC [[SABADDO]] DETECTED. SYSTEM ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED USER AMARANTHINE
(AMARANTHINE crosses the concert stage, passing through the row of deactivated synthetic orchestra automata. She heads into the backstage area, following a path obscured by blue artificial plants.)
//*PASSIVE RE-EVALUATION: RECOLLECTION OFFICER FANG IS IN THE PREMISES. ISSUE WARNING TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. DANGEROUS INTERACTION PREDICTED.
(Emerging out of the den of plants, Amaranthine forces herself into a concealed metallic doorway, and enters the private study adjacent to the Recollection Hall.)
//Atmospheric assessment: The air inside the room is heavy, with the scent of heavy incense and old books lingering in the air.
(Reine Fang sat behind a desk made of ebony Inamorata wood, holding a black book. The desk was featureless, other than a jade cup of amber-colored tea, seemingly untouched and still filled to the brim, beside the terminal monitor radiating with an orange glow. )
[Reine] :“My silverine daughters are still resting, did you not see them, Sister? The concert is in two hours.”
(Amaranthine wordlessly points the SABADDO at Reine Fang. SABADDO’s reactor twitches, unfurling its metal chassis to reveal a large amber-colored EYE underneath the barrel. Its black pupil shifts and jerks as it awakens.)
//WARNING: ACTIVE COMMAND - "PURGE" DESIGNATED. USER AMARANTHINE IS DIRECTED TO REVIEW HOSTILITY ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL. DISCRETION ADVISED.
(SABBADO begins to emit a low-itched hum, as the EYE vibrates in a violent rhythmic pattern. A faint, orange glow begins to protrude from it. The EYE gazed at Reine Fang.)
[Reine] : “Sister Amaranthine, did you know the origin of the name, Sabaddo?”
(Reine looks up and tilts her head, and produces a faint smile.)
[Reine] : “The Sabaddo represented the day of Rest of our ancestors, the civilization of the Antecedents, in the Age of Pyre.”
(Amaranthine remains silent. The Sabaddo’s chassis continued to vibrate, producing a hum that slowly ascended into a high-pitched whine.)
[Reine] : “On the first day, we praised Isame. On the second day, we repented for our sins. On the third day, we remembered the fallen. On the fourth day, we cherished our mortality. On the fifth day, we bore witness to the last gospel. And on the sixth day…”
[Amaranthine] :Shut it, witch.
(The eye beneath Sabaddø’s barrel twitches violently, locking its dilated pupil straight onto Reine’s chest. A red orb began to form at the muzzle, pulsating more violently.)
// DANGER: HIGH-DENSITY VOID ENERGY DETECTED // MUZZLE TEMPERATURE EXCEEDING SAFETY MARGINS
[Reine] : “…That’s right, Sister. On the sixth day, we shall cast out the light and shut our eyes in the darkness. A prelude to the age of the Thousand Nights.”
// CRITICAL WARNING: PURGE PROTOCOL AT 98% CHARGE
(Reine closes her book, and gazing directly at the Sabbado’s EYE, snaps her fingers.)
(In an instant, Sabbado’s EYE violently dilates and snapped back closed, retracting into the metal chassis. The humming immediately stops, and the red glow dissipates back into the chamber.)
[Amaranthine] : “No…”
(Amaranthine’s breath quickens, as she glares at the Red Witch. For a moment, her hands begin to shake.)
[Amaranthine] : “Even when the blood was dry on your hands, you mock me.”
(Amaranthine’s grip loosens, and SABADDO escapes her grip, as she collapses to the ground.)
[Amaranthine] : “There is nothing for me now, but hatred for you. Your family. It will always be that way.”
(Reine Fang rises from her desk, and walks toward Amaranthine.)
[Reine] : “Your words say one thing, but your actions betray you.”
(Amaranthine looks away, but does not respond.)
[Reine] : “You offered your resignation to Father Zaleri, to disassociate yourself from the Zaleri Research and Preservation Institute. As a rogue element, you intended to dispose of me, a perceived threat, without tarnishing the name of your Father.”
(Reine offers a hand to Amaranthine)
[Reine] : “I see a daughter willing to disobey their Father, to protect their Father at the cost of their own self-destruction. Is that not a noble plight?”
(Amaranthine looks at Reine’s hand, and then to her own hand, which she noticed now bore burn marks. Her eyes shift to the Sabaddo, still fuming red with heat.)
// TARGET REINE FANG IN PROXIMITY RANGE [0.2M]
[Reine] : “Perhaps we are not so different, Sister.”
(Reine reaches towards Amaranthine’s left hand, and caresses it. Amaranthine glares at Reine, but relaxes her stance.)
[Reine] : “Legally speaking, you are no longer affiliated with the Zaleri Research and Preservation Institute, as you have withdrawn your contract with Father Zaleri. Moreover, as an unauthorized doll from Inamorata, Viktor Fang would be within his rights to reclaim you, you know…”
(In a sudden motion, Amaranthine retracts her hand and reaches for the Sabbado, and points it at Reine.)
[Amaranthine] : “I’m not going back. Never. Just get rid of me now. I am nothing.”
[Reine] : “There is one way. If I engage you to be my personal envoy, even Viktor can’t touch you then. I have certain matters that need your…expertise.”
[Amaranthine] : “What’s it to you, Fang? You can ask Father Zaleri for a personal entourage of Arbiters. I just tried to terminate you, so why?”
(Reine smiles, and slid her palm up Amaranthine’s throat, until her cold fingers cradled Amaranthine’s chin.)
[Reine] : “I have seen your capacity for hatred, borne out of love. You have the untainted madness of a beast, and yet that is the only thing that can be trusted.”
[Amaranthine] : “And what if this beast turns on its master, Sister Fang?”
(Reine leans closer, her eyes locking into Amaranthine’s sapphire eyes. Her faint smile widens just enough to reveal a glimpse of her sharp, bared teeth, like fangs in the darkness.).
[Reine] : “Then I will have to ensure your love exceeds your hunger.”
//LOG TERMINATED.
