Schism

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The "Schism" sequence, also known as simply the "flashback" sequence - refers to a hidden personal quest involving the Ivory Wraith. This event takes place in the past, many centuries ago.

The Wraith subjects the player to its true origins in this event.

Synopsis

Learn the truth behind the Ivory Wraith.

Prerequisites

The player must first retrieve the Immaculate Ivory Necklace from inside the Forest Lake Ruins. It is discovered that the Ivory Wraith has an attachment to this antique, subsequently hating the player for taking the item.

The Wraith's ability to possess the player when it is active during a blood moon can lead to the player being taken by the Wraith to the Forest Lake Ruins, should they not resist against the Wraith's influence.

"Breadcrumbs" mark the path to follow, highlighting the directions. It is read in the same way the Ivory Wraith speaks.

The player ends up in a submerged prison, with hallucinogens affecting the player via a pink mist swirling in the air. Once inside the ruins, the player needs to stay at least 2 hours and twenty minutes and "lose all hope" (Player needs around 2000 Trauma (You are troubled)) in the process. Demon player characters may need to take care that the ivory wraith and tentacles do not ejaculate too much fluid within the player during the encounters, as it can heavily reduce trauma at the end of each encounter, making it impossible to maintain high trauma by the end of the sequence. This is most effectively done by using free limbs to redirect and milk tentacles that are about to penetrate the player character, and ensuring that the player penetrates the Ivory Wraith rather than the other way around. This will be significantly more difficult for player characters without a penis. but it is still possible.

Walkthrough

The following details the event sequence of the quest.

"You wanted to know."

Upon meeting all requirements - refer back to the "Prerequisites" section for more information - the sequence commences. The pale figure, the Wraith, emerges from the ground. The player feels their energy being drained away already with each passing second. The player is then pushed into one of the cells and onto a bed of lichen by an unseen force. The Wraith looks the player over with a cold gaze, grabbing the player's cheeks with a clawed hand, and mark the beginning of the flashback by saying the following:


You wanted to know, so you stole from the dead. I'll show you what it's like to drown with the corpse of this temple. May your curiosity be sated as the waves chew your bones.
— Ivory Wraith, Forest Lake Ruins

The Wraith grabs a handful of lichen from the center of a large colony housing said lichen, and then proceeds to tilt the player's head back. It force-feeds the player the lichen, shovelling the now crushed lichen right into the player's mouth. They try to spit it out, but their body has other plans - it simply won't obey. With a mouthful of flowering lichen, the Wraith kisses the player - with the player feeling an odd sense of relief in response. | - - - Stress | + + + Trauma | - - - Purity | - - Physique | - - Pain

The world spins out of control, and turns into a swirling sea of nothing - leaving only the player and a pale face. The player's mind beckons, screaming for release as their thoughts sear away. Vision warps in ways the player did not even know were possible, skin rippling like melting candle wax. From above, the player sees themselves, backlit by the glowing lichen. The player glances down at their arms, and notices a new, unnaturally pale colour.

The Wraith's memories have awoken.

"Wait, and Pray"

"Who the Wraith was in life, as a member of an ancient order."

"28th of January, year 361."

A cold winter season batters the Temple's grounds. An unnamed high-ranking member of a religious order, known only as "the Acolyte", picks at the shackles binding their legs together. A dark holding cell encases the acolyte.

It's how they have passed most of the time, tonight. How could they sleep, when they know what's in store for them? Their crude bedroll offers no comfort, and their thoughts stay fixated on the others. They hear people elsewhere, with words impossible to make out.

The room must be quite large, but it's too dark to see anything. Not too dark to hear the whipping, or the laughing, though.

All the acolyte can do now is wait, and pray.

  • Wait (?:??) | + Trauma
  • Pray (?:??) | + Control | + Stress

Should the acolyte wait, they continue to pick at their leg shackles, breaking another fingernail before moving on to the next finger. In the midst of the painful waiting, they think on what happened. It's blurred together. They remember making preparations for a ritual, and then screaming. Unknown individuals in black robes doing unspeakable horrors. The acolyte decides not to think so much on the incident after all.

Should the acolyte pray, they kneel in the cell. It's spacious, with the acolyte wondering why they are not keeping multiple people in each cell - one cell for one person. The acolyte places their hands together, and prays for other members of the order. With any luck, only the acolyte and a few others were grabbed.

The acolyte clutches their necklace closely. They were glad their prized necklace wasn't lost in the struggle. They rub the largest sapphire, and find themselves calming down. | - Stress | - Trauma

As the acolyte moves their thumb away from the sapphire, they catch the reflection of light in it, and look to the source. Someone's entering the room with a torch, and to the acolyte it looks like they come up from a large staircase, followed by many black-robed figures. The acolyte remembers being led upwards with a bag over their head. Wherever they're coming from, the acolyte thinks that must be the entrance - or exit, if luck has blessed them this fateful night.

The figure lights up sconces along the walls, flooding the room with light. The acolyte grabs the bars of their cage, and stands. They look around the room again, and see other members they know in the other cages. They wince as they recognise a few of them as initiates, fellow followers of the order. The acolyte had hoped they only targeted more senior members, but this was clearly not the case.

A "Cardinal", important to the acolyte, is too trapped in a cage further away, looking around in much the same way as the acolyte. The acolyte remembers how hard they fought to protect the other members - even surprised the Cardinal can even stand at all. Next to them is an initiate, one of which the acolyte would easily recognise anywhere. The acolyte remembers being there for the initiate's first trial of purity, and also remembers how happy the initiate was when they passed, and how they ran up and hugged the acolyte.

  • Call out to the Cardinal
  • Call out to the initiate


If the acolyte calls out to the Cardinal:

They immediately lock eyes with the acolyte, and give them a weary smile. The Cardinal assures the acolyte that they are fine, yelling reassurance to the other caged men and women, giving them instructions, but ends up being cut off as a black-robed figure slams a torch against the bars. The figure yells in a language incomprehensible to the acolyte, before unlocking the cage and storming in. The initiate in the next cage screams, helpless to do anything but watch as the Cardinal is beaten.. and worse. + + Stress | + Trauma

The Cardinal is dragged out by the figure with their hands bound, clothing torn, and sporting fresh bruises. They turn to the acolyte one last time, and mouths the word "ritual" before being led down the stairs.


OR:


If the acolyte calls out to the Initiate:

Their face lights up as soon as they see the acolyte. The Initiate calls out the acolyte's name, with the acolyte seeing tears in the Initiate's eyes. The acolyte yells reassurances to them from across the room, and places their palm against the bars of their cage. The Initiate does the same.

One of the black-robed figures slams the bars of the Initiate's cage with a torch. They immediately stumble back, landing on their bottom. The figure yells in an language incomprehensible to the acolyte, before unlocking the cage and storming in. The Cardinal in the next cage screams at the figure, spitting threats and attempting to reach through the bars. There's nothing the Cardinal can do.

The acolyte screams even louder, begging the figure to take them instead. Their pleas fall on deaf ears. The Initiate is dragged out with their hands bound, clothing torn, and sporting fresh bruises - their eyes empty. The acolyte yells the Initiate's name, but to no avail; there's no reaction. The acolyte slams the bars as the Initiate is led down the stairs.

The tears come quickly, but the acolyte is snapped out of it as the Cardinal calls their name. Through their hysteria, the acolyte makes out the word "ritual".


The ritual. Now the acolyte remembers. They rub their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma

"Visions to the Faithful"

"Remember."

The acolyte was assisting with a ritual when it happened. A counter-ritual, to be more specific. A sect of the order had gone rogue, and was attempting to commit sacrilege through a ritual of their own. A summoning, of some kind. The hymns echo in the acolyte's mind.

The acolyte hopes the ritual was finished in their absence. If these heretics finish their own ritual, then..

They are snapped back again. A masked figure slams the acolyte's cage with a large rod. They don't know how much time has passed, but many of the cages are now empty. | + Stress | + Trauma | + Awareness

The masked figure throws in a clump of a strange purple plant. The acolyte recognises it immediately - a divine herb, used to grant visions to the faithful. They yell at the acolyte, demanding they consume it.

  • Eat | + + Trauma | + + Hallucinogens
  • Refuse

If the acolyte eats the herb: They slowly consume the plant. The figure makes a pleased sound, before moving on to the next cage and repeating the process.

The acolyte watches as other figures do the same, all around the room. They hear a yell, however, and watch a black-robed figure leap upon an initiate that refused to eat the herb. | + + Stress | + + Trauma

The acolyte says a prayer, and rubs their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma

If the acolyte refused: The figure yells again, and hastily unlocks the acolyte's cage. The acolyte pushes themselves backwards against the floor, mumbling a prayer to themselves and clutching their necklace tightly.

They lift up the acolyte's robe, revealing their gold chastity belt. The masked figure curses, but a grin forms from under their mask. Before the acolyte can react, they are struck with the rod.

Everything fades to black...

Rest.

Refuse (Alt)

Triggers when the acolyte refuses the divine herb.

The acolyte awakens after being struck with the rod, with their arms hanging upwards. They look up, and see the floor. The acolyte is suspended upside-down by their leg shackles. They quickly pat around their neck, feeling a spike of dread.

...No, it's still there. Luckily.

The acolyte holds their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma

Several masked figures enter the acolyte's cell. They only now notice that their robe is hanging downwards over their belly, totally exposing the acolyte from the waist down - or, in this case, waist up. The acolyte rushes to cover themselves however they can. The figure in front laughs. They make a grab for the acolyte's prized necklace, which they instinctively expose themselves to clutch away. One of the masked figures nods to the others.

Another of the masked figures holds a torch up to the acolyte's groin, making sure not to catch the acolyte's robes ablaze. The acolyte looks up in horror.

Your gold chastity belt quickly begins to heat up.

The acolyte begs them to stop, but they refuse to listen. They all laugh at the acolyte, and the acolyte begins to sob. It's only warm right now, but the acolyte knows full well that they will not last long like this.

They yell and beg and cry. Finally, the figure in front kneels down to the acolyte's level. They holds the acolyte's cheeks to keep their mouth open, and inserts a mass of the purple herb. The acolyte feels the figure's gaze through the mask as the acolyte is forced to chew. | + + + Trauma | + + Hallucinogens

The acolyte is suddenly dropped, coming to rest on the floor. The figures all laugh once again as they exit the acolyte's cage. The acolyte fixes their robe, and coughs.

They hold their necklace close to them as they lay down to rest. | - Stress | - Trauma

Surrendering All Held Dear

The acolyte dozes off quickly, but are once again awakened by a slam against their cage. Another masked figure stares at the acolyte, arm resting against the cage, and a hand under their chin. The acolyte senses the sheer malice emanating off of the masked figure.

Golden Bracelets/Anklets

The masked figure asks for the acolyte's gold bracelets and anklets. The acolyte did not even realise they were still wearing them, thinking that they would have been stolen by now. The acolyte looks down at them, their sparkle catching the light.

They were a gift from the late bishop for reaching the acolyte's current place in the order.

  • Give them
  • Refuse


If the acolyte refuses:

The acolyte shakes their head as a gesture of a "No", saying the gold bracelets and anklets mean mean too much to them. The figure nods in understanding before walking out of sight, to the next cage.

The acolyte slowly crawls forward, wondering if the figure's really gone. They hear a yell from the next cell, and the slamming of a door. The figure walks back into view, holding a struggling initiate. The initiate immediately stills as the figure produces a wicked-looking bladed instrument and holds it to the initiate's throat. | + + + Stress | + + Trauma

They look to the acolyte with pleading eyes. The acolyte, in response, quickly removes their gold bracelets and anklets, tossing them through the bars. The figure immediately releases the initiate, who makes a run for it. Other black-robed figures pursue the initiate, but the figure before the acolyte casually inspects their new prize.

The acolyte sees the initiate disappear down the stairs. They say a prayer for the initiate's safety, and rubs their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma


OR:


If the acolyte 'gives the gold bracelets and anklets away':

The acolyte shakily removes their anklets first, struggling to manipulate them around their shackles. The figure watches patiently.

Then followed by the bracelets. The acolyte removes them, sliding them to the edge of the cage. The figure picks them up through the bars, and thanks the acolyte in a strange, overly polite tone before leaving.


Regardless of the acolyte's decision, their golden bracelets and anklets - a gift from the late bishop - which the acolyte were so accustomed to wearing, were taken away from them - either willingly or being forced to.

The acolyte clutches their necklace, once more. | - Stress | - Trauma

Robes of the Order

The cages have begun to run empty. The acolyte seems to have lost track of how long they have been here. From what they can tell, it must have been days. Only the acolyte and half a dozen others remain now, the rest having been led down the dark staircase - one by one.

A fine pink mist has started to fill the prison. The acolyte is unsure of the source, but it smells sweet. | + Hallucinogens

The acolyte knows it will not be long until they are next in line. A figure approaches the acolyte carrying a set of rags, and demands their robe.

  • Surrender your robe | + Stress | + Trauma
  • Refuse


If the acolyte 'surrenders their robe':

The acolyte shakily disrobes. They feel the hungry eyes of figures all around the room. The acolyte chokes back a sob as they walk towards the door, covering themselves with their robe, before handing it over to the figure.

The figure grabs the acolyte's arm through the bars, pulling the acolyte in. The acolyte yelps as the figure holds them there, and threatens that they would take the acolyte "right there were the acolyte not needed". The figure harshly releases the acolyte, and tosses in rags for the acolyte to cover themselves with as he leaves with the acolyte's robe.

The acolyte hastily covers themselves with the rags as best they can. They sit in the corner, and let out a long breath.


OR:


If the acolyte 'refuses':

The acolyte weakly shakes their head. The figure slams the bars before unlocking the acolyte's door, and storming in.

An encounter is triggered, and the figure will attempt to steal the acolyte's clothing during combat.

If the figure is successful in retrieving the acolyte's robes (such as making them orgasm, the acolyte failing to fight back, or simply letting the figure take the clothing from the acolyte during combat) they take the acolyte's robes away from them and make their leave, but not before leaving behind a few rags for the acolyte to dress into. The acolyte hastily covers themselves with them.

If they are unsuccessful by having the acolyte fight them off, the acolyte manages to knock them backwards, causing them to crash back against the bars of the cell and slumps against the floor. Other figures enter the cell to pull the hurt figure out, giving the acolyte a wide space and wary looks. Despite the scene, the acolyte is happy with the small revenge. | - Stress | - Trauma | + + Control

The acolyte is then allowed to keep their robes for the remainder of the scene where they otherwise would have be wearing rags.


In any case, the acolyte will clutch their necklace once again.

Rest.

The Sacrifice

It's finally time.

The acolyte awakens in a different cell than the one they fell asleep in. It is much smaller, but has a barred window. They gaze outside, mocked by the bars across the moon. It's red, tonight.

A blood moon.

They hear the door open behind them. Four monks/nuns enter the acolyte's cage, and grabs them. The acolyte lets themselves be led out by the monks/nuns. One of the monks/nuns makes a grab for the acolyte's prized necklace, stating its obvious value. The acolyte immediately breaks free from the first monk/nun, grabbing the offender's hand and biting it. Hard.

The monk/nun screams as the other monks/nuns quickly restrain the acolyte. The masked one chastises them, calling them a "petty thief", and saying they should have learned from the nun that made a grab for the acolyte when they (the acolyte) were first brought here. The monk/nun holds their hand and mumbles something, and the acolyte is subsequently led down the dark stairs. At this point, they are practically carrying the acolyte, with each monk/nun holding the acolyte up by each limb.

The staircase is dimly lit by torches. The acolyte spots a glowing rune at the very end of it, a long way down. The lead monk/nun places a hand against it, and the wall opens. They all exit out into the temple. Much of the iconography has been defaced. The acolyte feels sick seeing it in such a state as this.

They are then led further down into the temple. The acolyte's pulse starts to rise - they're taking the acolyte to the plinth room, and the acolyte knows this. They can feel it. Their limbs feel as though they're becoming weaker, their struggles against the monk/nuns go almost unnoticed.

Before long, they stop at an ornate door. The masked monk/nun produces a bronze key, and two others open it ahead of them.

Purple smoke hisses through the door, as the rest of the monks/nuns don masks. The acolyte is carried in. The mist assails the acolyte's mind, and they start to see shadows moving, writhing, and pointing at the acolyte. | + + + Hallucinogens

The acolyte prays, and holds their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma

The acolyte is placed on the large plinth, facing upwards. The ceiling extends up into sheer nothingness, and a faint red glow emanates from the floor. They hear whispers all around them, but the acolyte is unable to tell which ones are from the black-robed figures. The acolyte expects to be restrained, and proceeds to clutch their necklace to their chest with both hands. However, they instead find all of their limbs immobilised by an invisible force. Candles are lit all around the acolyte.

They listen to the figures chanting louder and louder. The acolyte's gaze is fixated on the expanse of darkness above, and the acolyte is unable to look away. At this point, the acolyte is barely staying conscious.

Tears begin to stream from the acolyte's eyes. They wonder, they pray, pray that any of the others escaped, and didn't meet the acolyte's cruel fate.

Pray.

The only thing the acolyte feels is the pendant of their necklace between their hands. They clutch it, shaking in fear, and the acolyte sees "it" starting to take shape above them.

The acolyte cannot look away. Not even closing their eyes works; it takes shape in the darkness of their eyelids. Their mind turns numb, but does not grant the acolyte the mercy of suppressing the dread.

The purple mist swirls into a vortex, growing larger and larger as the figures raise their hands in triumph. Writhing purple tendrils slowly emerge from the vortex, grabbing the nothingness and physically pulling itself into the world. The acolyte loses count of how many there are. The air itself crackles at its presence. With the sound of thunder, it stops.

The leading nun orders for the sacrifice to be offered. The acolyte's leg bindings are subsequently removed. "It" sees the acolyte. Tendrils shoot down from above. Several tentacles worm their way around the acolyte's legs. They slither, down into the acolyte's gold chastity belt, and start to pull away at it. The tentacles cause the acolyte immense pain as they struggle against the shining metal. You hear sizzling, and it seems to be harming them, too. | + Pain

With one final pull, the metal fractures and splinters, sending shards of gold clattering to the ground as the acolyte's golden belt finally yields to their assault, shattering in a bright flash of light. The figures resume chanting, and soon enough the acolyte's clothing meets a similar fate.

If the acolyte has somehow kept their robes (such as fighting off the figure responsible for taking them) they will be removed here, along with all of the other worn possessions.

The acolyte finishes their prayer, and once again clutches their necklace. | - Stress | - Trauma

Empowered Creature

An extremely difficult encounter is in store, the most difficult encounter in the game! The player must make sure they are prepared first for such an event. If they are unprepared, they will be unable to continue with the flashback.

Purple mist swirls in the chamber, causing an increase to Hallucinogens each turn. The acolyte counts a total of eighteen tentacles surrounding them! Unlike the Wraith's pale tentacles, these are regular tentacles, but very tough nonetheless.

Walkthrough (part 1/2)

Despite this being an alternative perspective, the player's real stats still carry through! This is extremely important as it will affect the outcome of the encounter. This includes, but is not limited to: Their physique level, traits, and stats. These are not reset at the start of the encounter.

As such, it is ideal to enter the encounter with as little consequence on the player's stats as possible. It is also vital that the player keeps track of the types of stats obtained during the descriptive sequences throughout the event. Stress and Trauma are key here.

A quick guide is provided below (and may also serve as a quick recap of the flashback sequence) to help enter the encounter with as little Stress, Trauma and Pain as possible obtained throughout the "Schism" sequence:

  • Wait
  • Call out to the Cardinal (Calling out to the Fellow Initiate will add extra Stress and Trauma)
  • Eat what was given to the "player" (the acolyte) (Refusing is not ideal as it adds a ton of Trauma)
  • Give them the gold bracelets, but then choose to refuse to give them other possessions. Refusing is of course not a good idea, but it is necessary here. Quickly fight them off via any means possible at the player's disposal.

During the encounter, it is very important that the tentacles do not immediately restrain the acolyte's limbs. This is up to random chance, but is entirely avoidable. If it does happen, do not fret - it is still salvageable, but make the encounter much more difficult in comparison to it not happening. It is simply better to keep the tentacles at bay by any means necessary.

Continuation (part 2/2)

Despite the acolyte's best efforts to fight the persistent tentacles off, or either unwillingly or willingly "satisfy" them, the tentacles continue to have their way with the acolyte as they lay helpless. The swirling mass above begins to widen. The creature, empowered by the acolyte's body, continues to pull itself into the world. The acolyte's ears start to ring, and they begin seeing flakes in their vision.

The acolyte thinks they see it open its eyes. They think they were already open, watching the acolyte closely. The acolyte cannot think anymore. One of the figures binds the acolyte to the plinth, restraining them in an upright position. The acolyte's hands still hold their esteemed necklace. The acolyte refuses to stop clutching it, so in response the masked figures bound the acolyte's arms forwards as more tendrils descend upon the acolyte.

Sleep.

Mind-Broken


Your mind can't handle the vision any longer. Everything fades away.
— In-game text

If the Pain stat maxes out at any point during the "Schism" sequence, playing through the flashback as the "acolyte" will cease to be, and the "player" will wake up. The player's appearance will now revert to as it was prior to triggering the sequence.

The player gasps for air, and find themselves back in the underwater prison. They look around frantically, but the pale figure is nowhere to be seen. As with other Ivory Wraith encounters, once triggering this alternative part the player will be safe until the next blood moon.

The player wonders what would have happened next, had the player not woken up.

"Belief is Power"


You've been taught all your life that belief is power, after all.

A bright flash lights up the room, and the tentacles heading for the acolyte are sliced through by a solid mass of light. They vanish in the mist. The black-robed figures begin shouting in panic, their gaze drawn to the large doorway. It takes the might of all of the acolyte's effort, but they manage to lift their head to look. A brilliant golden light floods in. A pair of large arms grab the doorway. Then another. And another.

A large shrouded head with luminous hair looks in, with closed eyes. Behind it, a mass of wings follows. Two of the arms clutch a gigantic spear. It pulls itself through the doorway, and moves its head to look up at the creature. For a moment, the acolyte is led to believe that their prayers have been answered; an angel has come to deliver the acolyte from unjust evil. Then, the acolyte remembers the ritual. It must have worked after all.

The acolyte manages a weak smile, and realize they have more than likely gone mad, and are seeing things. The acolyte realises this, but instead they decide to let the delusion take them. It is, after all, less painful than the alternative - reality. At least the "heretics" see something equally as terrifying, based on the mass panic around the room. The acolyte allows themselves to enjoy the heretics' despair.

Watch.

The angelic figure has fully pulled itself through. It must be four men tall, if not more. The acolyte counts six arms in total, but cannot seem to count the wings. Its body is naked and largely featureless, but the acolyte thinks they see many open eyes on its legs. Each time one looks at a black-robed figure, they collapse.

The acolyte proceeds to whisper a prayer. And they hear an answer.

Purple tendrils lash out at the angel. Most are cut away by the spear, moving faster than the acolyte can track. A few make it through and pierce it. It falls to a knee, but quickly retaliates. It beats its wings, soaring upwards into the gaping expanse above. The acolyte's vision gets blurry. They find themselves laughing at the absurdity of it all; but a part of them wants to believe that what they are seeing is in fact real.

The masked figures, now deemed as heretics, begin to regain consciousness, and start to say something about sinking. Panic sets in, amongst the acolyte's thoughts.

The battle above becomes a spectacle of flashing golden and purple lights. Parts of the foundation are ripped away, and float upwards. Severed purple tendrils scatter and dissipate, while flawless white feathers fall like snow. One is said to even feel cold as it lands on the acolyte's chest. The acolyte clutches the landed feather with their necklace.

The room begins to shake and rumble. The acolyte hears a sound not unlike a waterfall building up. They all flee the room, leaving the acolyte bound to the plinth.

With that, the angel comes hurtling down. It narrowly avoids crushing the acolyte. The ground cracks, and water begins rising from it. It braces its spear, and aims it upwards. It says something that makes the acolyte's head feel full, and gestures strangely with its four free hands before taking off again. It hits its mark, and disappears into the purple vortex, pushing the creature with it. The portal closes behind it with a crackle.

"One last time."

"Drown."

A jet of water erupts from in between stone bricks. The acolyte struggles against their bindings, but it's no use. The acolyte's heart races as the water rises up to their ankles.

The acolyte, try as they might, are no match for the bindings sealed tight, and the harsh waters gathering around them. Each turn the water will rise higher and higher. But the bindings are too strong. Each "Struggle!" action will only inflict huge amounts of Stress upon the acolyte, and nothing more.

There is no hope for rescue, nor escape.

  • The water rises to your knees. (turn 1)
  • The water rises to your groin. (turn 2)
  • The water rises to your tummy. (turn 3)
  • The water rises to your chest. (turn 4)
  • The water rises to your neck. (turn 5)

On turn three, struggling against the bindings will only have the acolyte weakly scream for help. On turn four, it becomes much more desperate and hopeless, as the acolyte desperately struggles to break free as they choke back their sobbing.

And on turn five, in their final moments in life, the acolyte is left with no other choice than to clutch their most-prized necklace, in a brief moment of comfort. Until finally, they close their eyes.

If the acolyte has struggled, then it will be mentioned that they will realize that their struggling is senseless. The acolyte finally closes their eyes, and their heart rate slows. The acolyte hears their own heartbeat pounding in their ears, but it slowly grows quiet.

The acolyte breathes deeply, focusing on the sound of the water. They let the sound lull them into a trance. Admist all of this, they say to themselves one last prayer. Soon enough, the water reaches the acolyte's chin. Resigned to their fate, they let out one last breath, clutching their necklace close to them.

"One last time."

"Silent Beauty"

"A forlorn spirit peacefully watches time go on."

The acolyte opens their eyes. They are underwater. They know they cannot breathe, but it's okay - they do not feel as if they need to anymore. They can see all, through the walls, and all around them.

They have been fully submerged in water. The Temple's holy grounds, to which were held dearly in the acolyte's heart, was reduced to nothing more than sunken ruins at the bottom of a lake. But to the acolyte, there's a "silent beauty" to the sunken temple.

They hold their... wait.. No, where is it? The acolyte drifts through the empty ruin, and feel the necklace pulling them. Then, they see it. It rests on the plinth.

Enter.

But no. They cannot enter. The room is only walls, and no doors. But that's okay. The acolyte only needs to see it. They place their palm against the wall. They feel the necklace around their own neck, and proceeds to hold it close to them.

It's all they need. No one else can be down here. This is theirs. No one can take it.

Watch.

The acolyte, now among the spirits, watches the moon. They watch the things around them crumble, while they stay eternally beautiful. As long as they have the necklace.

The spirit watches people they think they knew in life rebuild. They make a beautiful chapel, and practice their faith. They do not remember the spirit, but that's okay. As long as the spirit has the necklace.

Time passes, and the spirit watches. They watch the seasons change. They watch the people of the fledgeling town nearby use their lake to swim. That's okay. As long as they stay up there.

Sometimes, the spirit tries to appear to them. And sometimes, even play with them. It's okay. As long as they don't come down here.

The spirit watches. They laugh. They cry. But amidst it all, they hold their necklace.

Drowned Wails

"The Ivory Wraith is born."

Someone's coming down. The player. The spirit tries to stop them, but they cannot. The spirit yells, they scream, and they cry. The player enters the plinth room, but the spirit cannot follow. The spirit wails. They claw at the walls. The spirit churns the waves.

But ultimately the player takes it. And the acolyte's most prized necklace disappears from around their own neck.

Hate.

The spirit cries. They scream. They cry. They float endlessly, clawing at their bare neck, sobbing, sulking, longing. They hate the player, the last thing they had.

Wake up.

The player gasps for air, and snap to an upright position. They immediately turn their head and start retching, coughing up water. They feel sick, dizzy and confused. That might have been the most intense nightmare they have ever had. The player looks around, but the pale figure seems to be gone. The player looks for a way out.

The player's vision is blurry. They wipe the tears away from their eyes, but they cannot remember when they begun to cry, or even the reason why.

The "acolyte" turned "spirit", who once lived now exists as a manifestation of malice - the Ivory Wraith.

A thought rings in the spirit's head. A sign of things to come.


As long as you take everything from them.
— The Ivory Wraith, In-game text

Jordan's Recount

The player has the option to tell Jordan about the ghostly figure they've run into time and time again. The player describes what they have seen the Wraith do, and where they have seen it in the past. Jordan even winces at a few of the details shared.

Jordan stays silent for a long time. They slowly turn to the player, and give a deep sigh.


It's not a pleasant story. It predates the founding of our order, but was instrumental in it.
— Jordan

Jordan gestures for the player to walk with them, and the player follows as they continue. They explain that centuries ago there was a "monastic schism" - described as a "disagreeement of beliefs". One group eventually went on to found the very same Temple the player and Jordan stand in now. The other group, went astray and dissolved. Jordan stares at the angels lining the walls. They state that the Temple knows nothing of their names, and "precious little" about what really happened; there are only stories.

Another temple in the forest stood proud at one point. It was supposedly the site for a "terrible, heretical" ritual that was countered by Jordan's predecessors. What the intent was, the Temple may never know. But whatever happened had dire consequences, shaking the order to it's core. Some say it was this, and not the "ravages of time", that sunk the temple into the lake.

Jordan keeps walking, brushing their hands against an angelic statue. The statue itself depicts an angel with six arms, and many wings. The player feels oddly calm at the sight.

Jordan explains further, stating that a high-ranking member of the order disappeared around the same time as the Temple's mysterious sinking. Some say they defected, whilst others claim they were in fact kidnapped and sacrificed for the dark ritual. Oddly enough, they appear very rarely in any written records. Jordan reinstates that once again they know very little, however, with the player catching a hint of sadness in their voice.

There is one "constant" throughout all recorded appearances of this individual, however. They are said to have always wore a precious piece of jewelery, believed to have divine significance. A necklace, carved from ivory, and set with large sapphires.

Throughout history, there have been accounts of sightings. A beautiful, pale person of undetermined gender, sighted under the harvest moon, clutching that very same necklace. Jordan states that it is "something of a legend now", but some have claimed that it is in fact a "shared hallucination" of some kind.

Jordan turns to the player with a very serious expression on their face. They ask the player to be careful should they choose to investigate further, leaving besides words of warning as they make their exit.


Hallucinations are real enough to those that see them.
— Jordan

Reward

  • Obtaining the "Schism" feat
  • Discovery of the Wraith's true motives

Trivia

  • According to the developer behind the sequence, the concept for the Ivory Wraith began during the second half of Sydney's development. A bug caused Sydney to have eight arms as a dev-trick to create the "submissive" NPC encounter type used by the pure variant of Sydney. A result of a "fever dream two nights later" sparked the creation of the Wraith. See here: [1]
  • The Ivory Wraith will briefly be smiling during the flashback sequence should the player perform well during the scene.
  • This event is the only event currently in the game that allows the player to enable content mid-scene, for the tentacle toggle.
  • During the flashback sequence, looking through the Wraith's stats will show that the Wraith has a few stages of the angel transformation, and all virginities intact.
  • Should the "player" (acolyte) make the figure responsible for taking their robes away orgasm, and said figure is male or at the very least has a penis, they may get a prompt such as this: "The figure (man/woman) moans as a wet patch forms on their trousers. You laugh at the pathetic display, regardless of the danger he/she poses."
  • This event is one of few events that equips the player with an otherwise unobtainable item; that being the ivory necklace.
  • This event is the only non-fiction event in the game to have canonically taken place in the past, 28th of January 361.
    • This date is hard-coded into the game's code, regardless of what the player does - (how much time they spent on a playthrough for instance) - the day, month, year and even season will be the exact same.
  • This event is the second event to have the in-game date change, with the first being Raul and Janet.
  • The time the player needed to stay in the prison and the trauma needed to view this event was lowered in Version 0.3.13.5. Before that, the player needed to stay for 3 hours and have 2500 Trauma.
  • The formula for the Trauma necessary is (Traumamax /10) * 4. The current max Trauma is 5000, which results in the 2000 calculated above. If the player found a way to increase their maximum trauma, it would become harder to view this scene. As of 0.3.13.5, this isn't possible without save editing.

Gallery

References

  1. "The Wraith actually started development in the second half of Sydney's development. Started by a bug where Syd had eight arms because I was trying to disable them for a "submissive" NPC encounter type. Had a fever dream two nights later, and the Wraith was born." - PurityGuy