[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[WriggleRid3r]

Banished Library - Gensokyo

---

"He is the god of this land." Phio giggled in delight. "The Creator of the Underground and everything in it, he must be worshipped with all our hearts-"

"I'm telling you he is not worthy of a god position!" Patchouli grumbled irritantly. As an emotionless, indifferent magician, Patchouli showing this degree of anger was pretty darn rare.

"But you are his daughter..." Phio said weakly. "Surely you must know his vast and great power..."

"He was... Is... Only a traitor and a slanderous liar to me." Patchouli replied coldly.

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

John was confused, even surprised by Patchouli's sudden anger. Who exactly was this "Elios"? What did he do to anger Patchouli this much?

"Who's Elios?", John asked Patchouli.

[WriggleRid3r]

Banished Library - Gensokyo

---

"Didn't the mousefolks tell you?" Patchouli sighed and looked away. Her voice quivered ever so slightly. "Elios Knowledge... Is my father."

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

John could tell that Patchouli was upset just talking about this topic, but if they were going to go deeper, they might come across him. As much as John felt like dropping the topic for Patchouli's sake, he knew they needed that information if they wanted to survive an encounter with him.

"Your father?", John asked.

[WriggleRid3r]

Banished Library - Gensokyo

---

"...well, not anymore. He disowned me, at that rainy night 200 years ago." Patchouli sighed again, as if even speaking of the issue exhausted her.

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

John could see that Patchouli felt exhaused just talking about it, so he decided that it was probably best if he left her alone instead of pushing the issue.

"We.. don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.", John said to Patchouli.

[WriggleRid3r]

Banished Library - Gensokyo

---

"No, it's alright." Patchouli swallowed. "I don't want to give you more questions because of me. Besides, looks like we have a way to go before the next floor..."

"About an hour walk." Zazz answered.

"So I'll tell you my story... To kill time, but to get this horrible feeling out of my chest."

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

John was glad to see that Patchouli trusted him enough to tell him about her father. If it would help Patchouli, then John would listen intently.

"I'll listen.", John calmly said as they continued through the library.

[WriggleRid3r]

Amsterdam - 200 years ago

---

"Patchouli, I'll be leaving for dinner. Ask Bailey to fix you something for you to sup, alright?"

A tall man with combed silver hair and white mustache stood by the gate, calling out to his daughter. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with black vest, black tuxedo pants, and a gold pocketwatch. To his left, a maid wearing black dress and a frilly white apron held an umbrella open on her hand. Hearing no answer, the man repeated the sentence and left.

---

Banished Library - Gensokyo

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"I was born in 1840 at Amsterdam." Patchouli began. "Famous nobles... The Knowledge family, with a handsome master of a house struck with a terrible accident that ended with the death of his wife. That was my childhood, living in a mansion full of material wealth but empty of humane love, oblivious to the world outside."

"My father was an impotant man in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Secretary of State. He served the king royally, and nobody suspected his patriotism to the Dutch..."

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

"Dutch?", John asked in a curious tone.

Due to him coming from a universe where countries were not as separated as they were in the past, John saw little problem with having patriotism towards the Dutch, as long as the person did their duties well. Then again, John hadn't heard the whole story. With that in mind, John let Patchouli continue.

[WriggleRid3r]

Amsterdam - 200 years ago

---

"Ah, secretary. Welcome."

"Thank you, sir. May I sit?"

"Of course. Let me fetch you some drink. Lad! The finest glass of whiskey for my man."

At a fancy banquet held by the king, the tall man met a short, stocky, older man wearing an oversized tuxedo and holding a cup of clear, bubbling beverage. He was Sir Erickson, president of the University of Amsterdam.

"How goes your studies, sir?" The tall man asked as he received a goblet of whiskey.

"Oh, very well. The science of astronomy never ceases to amaze me. Who knew that Galileo's heliocentric principals were actually calculatable?!" Sir Erickson bellowed giddily, and then grew silent in whispers: "...and your... Alchemy?"

"Swimmingly, sir. Swimmingly."

"Good, good. I can't wait to see the result."

"I can hardly wait too, sir."

"But until then we must stay quiet. Toast, for the brighter tomorrow!"

The tall man smiled sinisterly, and drank his cup of whiskey. The day of his fame is nigh, better to celebrate now then never.

---

"Yes, Dutch." Patchouli confirmed. "My father knew a lot of important people in the kingdom, such as the president of the University of Amsterdam Sir Walt Erickson, Vice President of the United States John Tyler, and the Shogun from Japan Tokugawa Ieyoshi. With powerful allies, you can get away with anything... Even the most unspeakable horror of mankind."

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

From what John could tell, Elios was a person with many connections. John knew that what Patchouli said about getting away with things was true, especially in his universe. Perhaps it was a universal trait for power to corrupt people.

"What did he do?", John asked Patchouli.

[WriggleRid3r]

Amsterdam - 200 years ago

---

Two weeks have passed since the tall man has secluded himself to his chambers. Patchouli, age 8, was reading in a small library her father has made for her next to his chamber. Bailey, Patchouli's personal butler, was serving Patchouli cookies and sweet black tea. Nancy, the head maid, was doing laundries with a handful of other maids. All was quiet, except for a lingering worry for the master of the house until...

"Everyone, come quick!" The tall man's voice was heard as he walked into Patchouli's library, which she so aptly named Voile. He was filthy, with sweats pastered on his face and mud all over his lab coat. "Patchouli m'dear you must come. Bailey, you too! A wonderful scientific discovery is to be made! Ooh, Nancy, Matilda, Francesca, dears! You must come, quick!"

---

The tall man's lab was as filthy as the man himself. Mysterious and suspicious ingredients were stored in broken vials with missing caps, on a creaky rack that may fall over if a slight wind blew on it. Books of unknowing informations, tables of misleading purposes, and papers of complex formulas dotted the walls. The entire room was dark, darker than the basement where wine and food ingredients were kept, only lit by the tall man's lantern.

At the far end of the lab stood a large cauldron, one enough to fit a cow into. The cauldron seemed to be a regular cauldron only oversized, but the tall man seemed to be overjoyed.

"It's filthy in here!" Nancy, a plump woman and the primary female figure in the house, exclaimed at the untidiness of the lab. "We must clean up this mess at once! I fear for your health, master!

"No need, Nancy, my dear, for there are science to observe!" The tall man guffawed manically as he opened the cauldron. Patchouli, with the help of Bailey, a lanky man taller than the tall man himself, looked down the cauldron. Inside the cauldron, sleeping on top of yellowish goo, was a human infant with strips of red hair, sucking on her thumb.

"This... is... the Devil's work." Bailey, a devoted Catholic, said in shock.

"Devil's work?" The tall man did not get angry at Bailey. In fact, Bailey's comment seemed to delight the tall man even more. "Good idea. I shall name my creation, Little Devil."

---

"He created a homunculus." Patchouli said, referring to the tern for man-made man. "Creation of another life. He tried to reach the domains of an immortal being."

"But what does that have to do with violating humanity?" Annie asked in confusion.

"It is not the result that is the problem." Patchouli continued. "I can create dozens of artificial humans with more efficiency than my father. The problem is how my father has created the homunculus."

---

"We... Now have an extra pair of hands for the house!" Nancy tried to share the happiness of her master, despite her utter shock and horror. "Give her a few years, and we can have someone who can do dishes!"

"Yeah, and Patchouli now has a playmate!" Bailey also tried to euphamize. "Patchouli, did you see? That is technically now your baby sister! ...Patchouli?"

Patchouli has lost interest to the homunculus. Sure, the artificial baby fastinated her, but what she has discovered, behind that cauldron, was even more shocking. In utter rage, Patchouli asked her father: "Papa... How did mother die?"

"Your mother? She died while your mother and I travelled to London... Why do you ask, m'dear?" The tall man answered.

"Then... Why are there bits and pieces of my mother behind this cauldron?"

[S121]

Banished Library - Gensokyo | Day

John finally understood why Patchouli was so angry. Her father desecrated her mother's body, mutilated it for the creation of the homunculus. John didn't know very much about magic or the creation of artificial beings for that matter, but he had a pretty good idea that the father cut apart Patchouli's mother for the ingredients. It sounded like something out of a horror story, but that seemed to be the only logical reason the mother would be in pieces.

"Did he...?", John asked Patchouli, not completely certain what exactly happened.

[WriggleRid3r]

Amsterdam - 200 years ago

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"Oh, it grew up so fast!"

"It will reach its' maturity in 3 months. A month has passed since it has been created, and it already looks like a 5 year old girl."

"彼女が成熟するとき、彼女は、今の速年齢のだろうか？(Will she age as fast as right now when she matures?)"

"No no no, she will retain her youth for eternities to come."

"Well done, boy! You have done me proud!"

"Thank you, your Highness."

A month after the birth of the homunculus "Little Devil", four visitors came to the tall man's lab. The first was Sir Erickson, as plump as ever. The second was a slender American with sunken cheeks and protruded nose. The third was a Japanese man wearing black robe and a hilt for a katana at his hips. The fourth and the last was a lady, one of the most beautiful woman Patchouli has ever seen. She wore an elegant gown with gold and red markings, and accompanied with her an ivory scepter.

"Shall we give toast?" Sir Erickson asked.

"I want to see Patchouli. Where is she?" The English lady questioned the tall man.

"She should be in her library. You know, where she usually sticks her nose into."

"Now now, you must be nice to your daughter."

"Not when she has found out..."

"彼女はあなたの秘密を発見した？ (She has found out your secret?)"

"Ah, most tragic. Good thing no one will believe her words."

"Indeed. Let us make cheers."

"Cheers!"

---

"A homunculus, an artificial human, requires flesh and soul of a human. Flesh can be easily made using simple organic chemistry, but the soul... is a tricky part." Patchouli explained to John. "Before the advanced Animus Alchemy, the only way to obtain a human soul was to kill the human and... eat the human's heart. I still see her remains as clear as day. Every limbs and organs, but no heart."