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[bluescreenwhitedragon]

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[bluescreenwhitedragon]

. . .

[Well, that wasn't what he was expecting]

Any idea of the trigger? Or how that even happened?

[softlyfalling]

Um, well, he was upset about something—mm, we had a sudden permanent transfer.

But, ah—well, specifically, the reason why I bring this up is because it's not an isolated incident. Cobalt turned into a large feline creature suddenly toward the end of our sojourn outside of Tokyo-F, and according to him, there's at least one or two other people who've experienced sudden, temporary transformations.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

As in full on monster transformations.

[He taps his chin thoughtfully]

...

Did you ever hear about the game "The Last Supper?"

[softlyfalling]

...I don't believe so.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Day 49. One of Exael's game. It ran over the course multiple days.

It started in the Game Tower. The units were separated. As usual. In this game, one person on your unit was chosen to be the heart - the core of the unit. If they died, the rest of the unit would go crazy. Everyone else not the heart could turn into a monster. That's what made me think of it. Cobalt was a weird leopard looking thing with a tail coming out of the back of his head. Probably similar to what you just described.

Each round, you picked a specific person on another unit to attack. Monster versus monster. Or in some cases, if you picked their heart, that unit was eliminated from winning, but the remaining beserked monsters on the unit were left alive. In between rounds, they let everyone out of the Game Tower.

I'm sure you can imagine what happened.

[softlyfalling]

[ she winces. ]

...I can imagine, yes.

It was... he did look just like that, actually. Although—Griffin wasn't here, then.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

No. He wasn't.

And it's a weak connection.

But that's the only other instance we have in the history of the production of monster transformation.

[softlyfalling]

Mm, well—specifically, Cobalt's was the first outside of a game that seems to have happened, and, well.

[ she purses her lips. ]

All of these seem to have started since our trip outside, or afterward. They don't seem to be triggered the same way, but they seem to be resolved by adequate rest and calm?

So I don't know if maybe there are more waiting to happen.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

...

You think they "caught" something in the other Hells.

I wouldn't say that's impossible.

[softlyfalling]

Maybe not... like disease, but more like... a lot of us experienced other changes. So, just—changed, somehow. Just not overtly.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

We don't know enough about Hell infusions to really say what they can and can't be.

But to my understanding, they were supposed to fill in parts of you that were lost due to death or whatnot. Can you really be filled in with something like a transformation?

[softlyfalling]

I honestly have no idea, but people grew wings and horns and antlers, so that's not really something that was lost needing to be filled in...

[ ...........did she lose all her blood at some point.

actually that sounds right. ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

I saw Lady Death "heal" the others after the fight with the fallen angel. They wouldn't remember. They were unconscious.

[Or missing their heads at the time]

It was a ---

Substitution. Is the best word I can use to describe it.

[softlyfalling]

...nn.

[ that doesn't sit well. ]

I don't like to suggest it because I don't like the conclusions that come from it, but... if something's added and nothing apparent is missing, maybe it's something... not visible.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Like a memory? Permanently.

That's also not unheard of.

[softlyfalling]

Or some other ephemeral thing, maybe...

...I don't really have much more than theories, but since people go to you for information, I thought you should know in case anyone else has difficulty.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

I'll add it to the next notes publications.

Something that people should be aware of anyway.

[softlyfalling]

Well—thank you. I don't think I have anything else to speak of.