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That's right, it's the same phone number as before! Ian opens the message and reads it while he is walking down the stairs.







As soon as he finishes reading, the phone dies. Shit...



Ian doesn't know what to make of that message... he remembers the monster saying he has an ally. He hasn't thought before that the person who called him and the person who sent the Morse coded message could be the same, but it makes sense now. He doesn't know if that "M" could be yet another monster tricking him into believing it is on his side, but... it seems like he is helping him selflessly, in the case of Elisa it is understandable because the shadow was interested in Ian and wanted to "study" him instead of killing him right away, but the mysterious person doesn't have anything to gain by helping him. Also... his intuition doesn't always work, but it tells Ian that "M" can be trusted.

Ian reaches the building door and steps outside. He feels again the familiar sensation of drowning... but this time he can stand it. The words of the shadow come to his mind... no human should be able to survive that dense darkness. He should be dead, but he is not. Was the monster just lying? It had no reason to do so. There are just so many questions...

Damn you, Murtaugh!!! We follow you everywhere, even HERE! :/

----------------
Ok...

Ian:
- Take flashlight.
- Do you know where old factory is?
- "No human should be able to survive that dense darkness"? But this mysterious "M" does it well!

Sublevel 102 wrote:Damn you, Murtaugh!!! We follow you everywhere, even HERE! :/

< >

Sublevel 102 wrote:Ok...

Ian:
- Take flashlight.
- Do you know where old factory is?
- "No human should be able to survive that dense darkness"? But this mysterious "M" does it well!

Ian notices the flashlight at the other side of the door, and takes it.



All four batteries are there now, like "M" said, so it should work at full power now. Let's try it...



WOAH. It works PERFECTLY! It cuts through the darkness like nothing! Now that's his cousin's flashlight he remembered :​D

Sublevel 102 wrote:- Do you know where old factory is?

Yes, he does know where it is. It's not too far from there.

Sublevel 102 wrote:- "No human should be able to survive that dense darkness"? But this mysterious "M" does it well!

That's true... Ian wonders if "M" is like him, immune to the darkness... or if he's not human...

Ian: Go to factory. Watch your steps.
While you're walking, think about that strange feeling when you saw Elisa's son.

(I wonder should we turn off flashlight? Monsters can easily detect us if it is turned on... Or Ian cant see through darkness without light?)

Sublevel 102 wrote:(I wonder should we turn off flashlight? Monsters can easily detect us if it is turned on... Or Ian cant see through darkness without light?)

IAN: I'd say stealth is priority right about now. Even if you could stealth his way to M, we don't wanna lead one of those monsters RIGHT TO M!
M seems to be the only ally we got right now, and the shadow beings probably don't have M's location figured out too well, based on info from Shadow Elisa. If one of them (like the beastform one from your floor of the building) were to stalk you to M... Well, the rest would know. Best avoid that!

Also, those shadow monsters (the beastform one from Ian's part of the apartment) seem to be the grunts/scouts of the enemy, while those with pseudo-corporeal forms (Shadow Elisa, etc.) seem to be more intelligent and "in-the-know" than the others. Higher-ups, if you will.

This leads me to believe that if you were to try to kill one of the beastform ones, they would highly likely NOT be able to regenerate themselves back, allowing you to LEVEL UP! Even if they can regen themselves back, their regen would talk far longer than the likes of Shadow Elisa and co. So couldn't Ian, if he encounters one, kill the thing, then run away as it regens? So that when the beastform comes back, it doesn't know where Ian is anymore, throwing it off.

ShadowNiL wrote:those shadow monsters (the beastform one from Ian's part of the apartment) seem to be the grunts/scouts of the enemy, while those with pseudo-corporeal forms (Shadow Elisa, etc.) seem to be more intelligent and "in-the-know" than the others. Higher-ups, if you will.

This leads me to believe that if you were to try to kill one of the beastform ones, they would highly likely NOT be able to regenerate themselves back, allowing you to LEVEL UP! Even if they can regen themselves back, their regen would talk far longer than the likes of Shadow Elisa and co. So couldn't Ian, if he encounters one, kill the thing, then run away as it regens? So that when the beastform comes back, it doesn't know where Ian is anymore, throwing it off.

<good thoughts. i won't say much for now, but yeah, i can confirm there's a kind of "hierarchy" among shadows (which on the other hand was already hinted by Shadow Elisa, so i'm not really telling something new) and it's related to their strength and abilities. so you're on the right track. probably >

Sublevel 102 wrote:Ian: Go to factory. Watch your steps.
While you're walking, think about that strange feeling when you saw Elisa's son.

(I wonder should we turn off flashlight? Monsters can easily detect us if it is turned on... Or Ian cant see through darkness without light?)

ShadowNiL wrote:IAN: I'd say stealth is priority right about now. Even if you could stealth his way to M, we don't wanna lead one of those monsters RIGHT TO M!
M seems to be the only ally we got right now, and the shadow beings probably don't have M's location figured out too well, based on info from Shadow Elisa. If one of them (like the beastform one from your floor of the building) were to stalk you to M... Well, the rest would know. Best avoid that!

Ian starts to walk to the factory. He decides to turn the flashlight off, since he can see equally well in complete darkness, thanks to his immunity, and, as much as monsters can see through that darkness too, a bright white ray of light is in any case easier to detect. He will be on the alert for any monsters that could be following him, to make sure he doesn't put himself or "M" in danger. He is ready to make them swallow the entire flashlight turned on if necessary.

While he is walking, he starts thinking about that strange sympathy he felt for Elisa's son... It's difficult to identify it exactly, it was kind of a weak sensation and he isn't sure to remember it well... it was not recognition, Ian's sure, he's never met him before. It was not attraction either, Ian is not attracted to men. He just... felt happy seeing him, but at the same time sad... not like a deja-vu, it was specifically a feeling... nostalgia? Ian stops for a moment to recall.



Yes, that was it! But... what does it mean? And why did he felt nostalgic too when he found the paper outside his room? It's completely illogical... okay, yes, feelings are usually illogical, but this definitely takes the cake. Should he just forget about it?

Yes, that was it! But... what does it mean? And why did he felt nostalgic too when he found the paper outside his room? It's completely illogical... okay, yes, feelings are usually illogical, but this definitely takes the cake. Should he just forget about it?

I understand everything now...

IAN IS WHO LEFT THAT NOTE
IAN IS WHO SENT MESSAGE WITH MORSE CODE
IAN HAS MET ELISA'S SON

:O

But now...

Ian: immediately take and turn on flashlight, turn around and fall on your back, stretch your arm with flashlight up as shield against shadow monster

Wait...what shadow monster...
*Looks at both of the pictures.*
*Looks REALLY closely.*

OH FUCK! GET READY TO FIGHT, IAN!

On another note:
Ian's uncle was a skilled mathematician.
The paper Ian had had 12! on it.
12! = 12 Factorial.
Ian's uncle, therefore, was the person who left Ian the message on the paper.
Ian's uncle, therefore, was the person whose number Ian called.
1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8x9x10x11x12 = 479001600
The message Ian just got was from that very same number, but the name was "M".

QED: IAN'S UNCLE IS M ALL ALONG!

What I think happened: While Ian was asleep, the shadows implemented whatever plan they had into action. Ian's uncle somehow saw it coming, left Ian the paper with a clue to his number on it, and fled to the factory. Correct?

Sublevel 102 wrote:

Yes, that was it! But... what does it mean? And why did he felt nostalgic too when he found the paper outside his room? It's completely illogical... okay, yes, feelings are usually illogical, but this definitely takes the cake. Should he just forget about it?

I understand everything now...

IAN IS WHO LEFT THAT NOTE
IAN IS WHO SENT MESSAGE WITH MORSE CODE
IAN HAS MET ELISA'S SON

:O

ShadowNiL wrote:On another note:
Ian's uncle was a skilled mathematician.
The paper Ian had had 12! on it.
12! = 12 Factorial.
Ian's uncle, therefore, was the person who left Ian the message on the paper.
Ian's uncle, therefore, was the person whose number Ian called.
1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8x9x10x11x12 = 479001600
The message Ian just got was from that very same number, but the name was "M".

QED: IAN'S UNCLE IS M ALL ALONG!

What I think happened: While Ian was asleep, the shadows implemented whatever plan they had into action. Ian's uncle somehow saw it coming, left Ian the paper with a clue to his number on it, and fled to the factory. Correct?

<both are good theories. but i won't say anything more i'll create a story discussion thread later, this chapter is literally about to end>

Sublevel 102 wrote:Ian: immediately take and turn on flashlight, turn around and fall on your back, stretch your arm with flashlight up as shield against shadow monster

ShadowNiL wrote:Wait...what shadow monster...
*Looks at both of the pictures.*
*Looks REALLY closely.*

OH FUCK! GET READY TO FIGHT, IAN!

Ian notices a presence behind him, but it is too late to react! It moves extremely fast, and before Ian can even blink...

...it begins to enter his body!



Ian tries to grab his flashlight, he tries to escape... but he can't! He isn't able to move, to react at all. He can just stay there, his body uncontrollably trembling, his hands grabbing his chest in an instinctive but useless attempt to expel the invader.

Ian realizes what is happening. Is that presence trying to... possess him? He feels how his willpower starts to fade away, as the shadow slowly takes control of his nervous system...



...until his consciousness gets reduced to a tiny spot in his brain. What is going to happen now? What will Ian be forced to do?

Then he hears some words in his head...

command: break the magnifying glass, take a piece and kill yourself with it.