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[The Distinguished Mr. Rose] Chapter 6: To Bear the Unforgivable Sin
🕑 Added 2025-02-04 11:42:11 +0000 UTC“What?” Jack said, swerving towards Mari’s lifeless, yet peaceful, corpse, as if she was merely slumbering away. “You—how did you? You don’t have an assassination skill.”
Marco was overcome with a great rush of emotions: disbelief, anger, sorrow and disgust. This and all he wore without reservation, and for a moment Lucius almost expected the man to rush him right then and there, but instead he merely grit his teeth and lowered his head. “Damnit, Lucius. Was there really no other way?”
Even Mili looked at him differently now: distant, uneasy. “No, big guy. There wasn’t, but still…” She hugged her guitar and shuddered, yet beneath her nausea, there was also relief. Relief that she did not have to be a part of the unforgivable.
But really, what else was there to do? Although the young Jack was not the wisest of individuals, he did make a very important point: This place should not be their grave. Lucius’s death would come eventually, but not here. Not in this drab room, and most definitely not in such an unsatisfying manner. He still had so much to do: so many people that yet await his guidance to blossom at their most beautiful.
It was inevitable. Lucius’s companions were just so unseemly bickering amongst themselves like that in front of a child. In the end, he had to step up and take matters in his own hand. For shame.
“I am greatly disappointed in you, Mister Bernardi. Mister Thames,” Lucius began. “Did you not realize the young lady could hear your every word? Imagine how frightened she must have felt: all alone, helpless to act, as complete strangers debated whether to put her down like a mutt.”
The two men bowed their heads in silence. It was true after all; the entire time they argued, Mari became increasingly more distraught—more panicked. Only Lucius was aware of it, for the others were too guilty to even spare her a glance.
“It is an adult’s duty to comfort a child. Though our circumstances are… unfortunate, it does not give us the excuse to start behaving like scoundrels. That is why I chose to act.”
“By killing her?” Marco muttered. There was no energy in his voice, nor any real attempt at laying blame. His words were simply hollow.
Lucius tutted. “Yes, Mister Bernardi. Loathe it be to admit it, her fate was doomed from the very start. The least we could do was make it a painless one, without fear, without truly realizing what was to come. Ignorance was the greatest, and only, gift we could give her.”
It gave him no joy to fulfill his task. Such a shame. Really, a complete travesty. Lucius saw in Mari a dazzling soul full of potential, of promise and the flair to produce a truly beautiful piece of work, so for him to be forced into such offense before her growth could fully mature… it left a very bitter taste in his mouth. Children should be as children do and play to their hearts’ content. Only after experiencing life in all its ups and downs would they fully bloom.
Lucius sighed, and then walked up to the still-pensive Marco. “You do not need to feel guilty, Mister Bernardi. The only one to bear this burden shall be me. I do not expect to be forgiven, nor do I wish to. If hurling curses will make you feel better, then do as you wish: I shall take it all.”
Lucius hung his head and put on his best impression of a repentant, pitiful little sinner. He even managed to feign a tear or two! And just like that, the old mobster’s heart practically melted in response. Mister Bernardi was a simple man; such types were ever so easy to influence.
“Don’t be like that, Lucius,” Marco said, letting out a deep exhale. “You did your best to make the girl’s passing a peaceful one. I appreciate that. The rest of us… well, we’re just rotten adults too cowardly to come to a decision. You shouldn’t have been forced into doing this by yourself. I’m sorry.”
Although his expression was still grim, a newfound resolve blazed fierce in Marco's eyes, one ready to accept the difficulties ahead. “Just sayin’ it now, but forget about all that burden nonsense. You’re not alone here. If you ever need to make a tough call, we’ll do it together.”
Jack and Mili nodded along to Marco’s firm declaration. Oh, it was just so lovely! Lucius had butterflies in his stomach just looking at how precious they all were. His sympathetic act really did wonders.
But there was no time to admire this budding fellowship. The next part of the orientation awaited them.
With a cautious stride, they stepped through the door and entered a new room. Fortunately there were no children or other humans to slay this time; instead, however, a sinister looking contraption stood ominously in the center. It appeared to be one of those medieval torture devices, only much more deadly, with blades, saws, bloody nails, and strange devices Lucius couldn’t even begin to fathom. One thing was clear though—it was designed to inflict as much suffering as possible.
>[Orientation Part 2: Trial of Blood]<
>[Players must pick one amongst themselves to endure the Trial of Blood to completion. Only then will the next room be revealed]<
Now this was an interesting one. Lucius could tell quite plainly the purpose of this test: discord. Strife. To stoke unrest and cause the party to fight amongst each other in a desperate bid to avoid being sacrificed. After breaking one’s spirit, they would have the bonds of friendship be dashed away next. How dastardly, indeed! Lucius couldn’t help but be impressed.
Truth be told, he would be perfectly fine partaking in the ghoulish torture. Pain also had a certain beauty in it, provided the experience didn’t actually kill him, and he was confident that no manner of evisceration or gouging would make him break character: a gentleman must always remain composed, after all.
But before Lucius could heroically offer himself up, Marco brushed past and confidently took a seat atop the torture device. “What, is this it?” he said with a chuckle. “Hell of a lot better than the last one. Come on, get it over with already.”
Mili scrunched her face, puzzled by the old mobster’s indifference. “I get you’re a tough guy, Marco, but are you sure about this?”
Jack for his part was rather relaxed, as if he had expected this outcome.
“Bah, this is nothing,” Marco replied. “That class whatchamacallit gave me something called a pain resistance skill, so I’m the best bet at makin’ out of this damn thing alive.”
“Well, if you’re okay with it…”
She sounded disappointed. Her previous inactivity with the last event seemed to weigh heavily on her, of how little she actually contributed, and so despite her smaller figure Mili was ready to offer herself up for the good of the team: an admirable resolution, if not a bit reckless.
>[Marco Bernardi has been selected. Proceeding with the trial]<
What came next was far too grotesque to be put to words. For the next half hour, Marco was subjected to every possible method of torture imaginable: from the flaying of flesh, to the ripping of nails, and burning, and hanging, and drowning, each one brutally enacted without a moment of rest. Strange machines and otherworldly devices emerged from below, only to quickly disappear and make way for the next cruel punishment.
Lucius felt compelled to preserve the good Mister Bernardi’s dignity by shielding the others’ eyes. Jack and Mili protested at first, but quickly fell silent upon the first hearing of his miserable, grueling throes. There the group stood, silent, as his screams echoed for what seemed like an eternity.
When his suffering had finally ended, Marco was unrecognizable. To call his visage human would be a stretch: now, he appeared no more than a visceral pile of flesh, blood pooling into a sickly puddle all throughout the floor.
“... Is it okay to look now?” Mili asked.
Lucius answered dryly. “I would suggest otherwise.”
Jack fiddled with his fingers. “Is he still alive?”
“I am hard pressed to give a confident reply.”
Could one consider such a state living? At the very least, Marco’s body was still convulsing. Whether they were post-mortem spasms or the desperate attempts of a man to stay conscious was anyone’s guess.
>[Congratulations! Player Marco Bernardi has successfully completed the Trial of Blood. Restoring vitality now]<
To Lucius’s surprise, Marco made a miraculous recovery: his flesh was restored, color returned to his skin, and most importantly his dapper suit was no longer sullied in red. Even the man himself seemed baffled by the sudden change, and he stretched his body as if to ensure everything was working in proper order.
“How do you fare, Mister Bernardi?” Lucius said, prying his hands away from the others now that the old mobster was presentable.
“Eh, I’ve gone through worst,” he replied. It was no act; Marco truly did seem mentally sound despite all he just experienced, how odd. The man must have had a hard life.
Mili didn’t seem convinced and tried to fuss over him, but Marco merely laughed and reassured her that he was alright.
>[The third and final Orientation will soon begin. Please make your way to the next room]<
The final space was quite different from the others. It was completely empty. There were no torture devices or enemies to face: only a single spotlight shone on the center.
>[Orientation Part 3: Confess Your Sins]<
>[Players must pick one amongst themselves to confess their most abhorred secret. Lying is futile. The system knows all]<
This time as well, there needed no deliberation. Mili ran into the spotlight and pumped her fist into the air. “Wicked sick! This’ll be a breeze. Ain’t anything in my life I gotta hide that hasn’t already been aired out in the tabloids.”
Mili coughed and cleared her throat, scrunching her brow tight in concentration. “Alright, let’s see… what does most abhorred even mean? I’m just gonna guess embarrassing. Okay, so, when I was little I really liked music, yeah? Admired the greats: Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Kobain, rock’n’roll legends like that. I got myself ol’ Cassie here from the local thrift shop and would shred on the guitar at home, at school, at the park, just whenever I could.
“One day though, these scrawny punks started harassing me. Said rock and music didn’t fit a little asian girl like me and that I should just quit while I was ahead. So you know what I did? I took Cassie and whacked their faces! BLAM! Bloodied their noses and everything. Oh man did the reporters have a field day when they found out about that little nugget of my past. I still cringe a bit looking back, but honestly they deserved it. I don’t tolerate attitude, dude.”
Mili stood up tall and beamed with pride. For a supposed sin, she didn’t seem all too regretful of her actions.
>[. . .]<
>[Congratulations! After a very, very thorough review by the Administrator, Player Faye Kasai’s confession has been reluctantly accepted]<
“That actually worked?” Jack said, aghast.
“She’s an honest one, that miss,” Marco chuckled.
It was rather humorous how simple Mili’s trial was compared to the others, but perhaps it was only so due to her spunky nature. For anyone else, the secret would have been much more mortifying. Take Lucius for instance: if he was the one to go up there, something foul would be revealed. Something utterly vile. Yes… he would have had to confess about the time he accidentally mistook salt for sugar with his morning tea. How embarrassing, but even the most dapper of gentlemen were prone to the occasional mistake. Such was to be human.
>[All three Orientations have been successfully cleared! You have rid your morality by taking a life. You have forged a new body by shedding old flesh. You have confronted weakness by confessing your most reviled. With this, players are now prepared to begin the Tutorial]<
