Journal - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Database

A journal from a previous expedition.

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…his little grin, so proud of his latest creation. But at least those memories remain. What hurts more are the memories unmade. The conversations we’ll never have, the time we’ll never spend.
I want rage to consume me, anything to fill the hollow. But rage won’t come. I just float in an endless nothingness…
…the person I cannot be around is Alicia. Her pain is a broken mirror, the shards reflecting back tenfold. Every moment with her, the cuts deepen, and I feel myself unravelling…
…I know what he’ll say, but this is the first time I’ve felt any surcease. For a few moments a day, my heart beats again…

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Corinne, 34th Expedition
Looks like our elemental-focused strategy didn’t pay off. Who would have thought some Nevrons would be immune to every element.
We have discovered so much though. I suspect there is a deeper level of chroma beyond what pictos enable us to manipulate.
The pull of chroma grows as we get closer to the Monolith. But thus far we’ve been unable to tap into those flows.
Maybe Gustave’s idea to convert chroma from Pictos to… What did he call it? Lumina? Maybe that’s not so crazy after all.

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Mathieu, 3-5
They were so… Brave… So that’s what it means to lay the trail… I survived and will continue on, but to all the heroes of my team I dedicate our journal. All of them were bleeding out from our battle with the terrifying Nevron roaming this area. Yet in their final moments, they used their bodies to create a bridge for those who come after. Expedition 35 is over but tomorrow comes.

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Isabelle of 36
Winter souls drift through
The night and land soft
Upon the moonlit vale
Whose snowy shrouds hold tight
The hope I’d whispered
Once
Long ago
Golden folds adorn the stems
A maze our eyes beg to follow
A meditation of winding curves.
Deep they flow to centre
Where lie the edges of
Another ‘verse
Another maze
Of golden stems and shadows.
A sea of pebbles shifting
A wave a wave
A wave of rock and sand
As sand falls upon our heads
And our heads sink beneath the waves
Along the darkened shores we sink
A pebble in the sea
The rising wind rolls through
Fragrant stalks of feathergrass
Their delicate aroma
A balm
Their gentle susurrus
A lullaby
For my aching heart

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Laure, 37th expedition
Should I feel guilty for enjoying what’s left of my life? Should I feel guilty for abandoning the others when the expedition was so clearly doomed?
Nobody listened to me, apparently getting slaughtered by Nevrons or this white haired man is an appealing future for them all.
At least I had fun here. I didn’t realise how quickly time has passed. The gommage is tomorrow.
I’ve been trying to overcome this gestral’s challenge for months now but it seems even more of a challenge than defeating the Paintress. I guess I’ll never see the Gestral’s grand prize.
That’s my only regret in life.

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Exp38-Genevieve
We buried Patrick near the lake, so he could be close to water. I know he really missed the aquafarm and his floating gardens.
Pierre-Oscar thinks it’s a waste of time to update these journals, but I find it strangely comforting. I suppose, at its core, it’s a record that we existed. That we still exist.
The Gommage is coming, but I feel at peace. It’s just the two of us, but we’ve managed to carve out a tiny sliver of a life of our own.
I should feel guilty, maybe, for abandoning the mission. But I don’t.
I’m just glad that when Tomorrow comes, it’ll be Pierre-Oscar at my side. Until the end.

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Expedition 39 - Albert
Edith’s not back, so until then, we stay on recon. All these masks are freaking me out, they’re fucking creepy. I swear I could hear one of them singing.
The Nevrons around here behave so strangely, almost like they don’t really want to kill us? They still do though.
This place is making me crazy. Maybe if I wore one of these masks, they’d leave me alone.

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Avril, 40th Expedition
Gigi and Edmond were leading. They were on a clean glide to the Monolith when they flew into some sort of barrier and just… gommaged away.
Our gliders are useless without a way past the barrier. Bernard is going to explore on foot, see if there’s an entrance. In the meantime, we might as well make ourselves at home.
I guess I’ll try my hand at fishing. Assuming those sea nevrons left any fish for us to eat.
Rest in peace, Gigi and Edmond.

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Emilie, Expedition WOLF 41
My bag’s getting weighed down from all my kills. Maybe I need to pick smaller trophies.
Estelle bagged seven of those armoured Nevs, so I gotta get at least eight in this next batch if I’m going to beat her.
Lea showed me how to double-up my weapon pictos. It might not be stable, but the bang’s gonna be worth it. The Paintress might be out of our reach, but her minions aren’t, and if I die, I’m gonna make sure I die BIG.
Like Xavier says, subtlety is not our game. We only live ‘til forty, so let’s go make some friends.

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Armande, Expedition 42
It’s been 2 weeks and still no word from Freyja or Olivier. They’ve never missed a check-in before, no matter how exciting their find. Oh, my friends. I hope the end was swift.
The Grandis exhibit is likely our last. But as Olivier would say, it is also our “grandest.” I wish you were here, making that joke for the thousandth time.
I’m proud of our work, we’ve pieced together so much. I just wish we had more time. The Gommage is still a few months away. Perhaps I can make one last trek.
If you’re reading this, my unknown future friend, I hope the information we’ve gathered helps you find answers. We’ve done what we could, in the hopes that you will prevail.
Tomorrow Comes.

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Exp 43 - Sabine
That damn snake destroyed ALL our submarines in a matter of minutes! And now we’re stuck with no equipment, no food, no water, nothing. No way to get off this island and no way to kill that bloody serpent.
PUTAIN, the Paintress must be laughing. Diverting the resources of the entire Engineering and Defence divisions to construct those subs. And merde, all the people who trusted our vision and volunteered their lives.
If we die stranded on this tiny island after EVERYTHING we went through to get here, my GHOST will haunt her blasted monolith and this island and that stupid snake for ALL TIME. MERDE.

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Nicolas, Exp44
The idea was we’d only have to fool the first one. Then Jules can wear its carcass to trap the next, and so on, until we all have proper cover.
But disguising ourselves as Nevrons has proven to be extremely ineffective, to say the least. Maybe they recognize each other by their chroma?
Anyway, it was an utter failure. To any Expeditions that follow our trail: do NOT disguise yourselves as Nevrons. It… doesn’t work.

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Cassandra, 45th
Shit. They were all crushed. If Timothee hadn’t pushed me out of the way…
But both my legs are crushed as well and I don’t know how much longer I have. I wish I could have avenged you all.
If anyone finds this journal, do not enter this cave, the Nevron inside will crush you.

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Expedition 46, Annelie
Brigitte finally succumbed to her infection. She fought off that blasted Nevron for four days and four nights, saving the rest of us, but it gashed her badly. Toward the end she seemed almost peaceful. She said not to worry. Her daughter Lune will finish their work…

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Thomas of the 47th Drunken Brigade
Benjamin’s been calling us the “Drunken Brigade!” Ha! I love it. Yeah, we do our best work after a few.
The trick is finding that PERFECT point where your nerves have calmed enough that your mind and body are one, but not so calm that your reactions are dulled. Some of the lads haven’t QUITE managed riding that edge, but I remain in full control of my body and thoughts!
Oh, sounds like someone spotted another Nevron. Better fuel up for our next dance. FOR LUMIÈRE!

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Vincent, 48th
He wouldn’t listen, just kept running everyone into the ground. He acted as if he was the only true believer, that we had to trust him. Five dead and he wanted to double down.
Thomas not so subtly insinuated that Jean should be relieved of duty. Mutiny. Something I’d never have countenanced, yet I have a duty to them too.
It’s a gutting realisation, what has to be done. The mission is too important. The team is too important. We can’t just throw our lives away for nothing. I hate that it came to this, but he broke our trust.
Under Expedition Code 23, Jean Fournier is hereby relieved of duty. I, Vincent Constantin, have assumed command and have designated Thomas Fliegauff as Lieutenant.

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Christophe - Exp49
We can hold the line for another few days but we need to find a way out, our water supply is running dangerously low.
Focusing our strategy around healing was a smart move, but we can’t take down a Nevron like this with our weak firepower and our backs against the wall. We can keep the fighters healed for quite some time, but not without water. Even with water, we would eventually run out of stamina.
For our allies who come after, sadly our lives may have proven that defence is both absolutely necessary and wholly insufficient.

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Lucile of the 50th
Our beautiful Wheel, wedged upon the rocks, a casualty of the massive Serpent of the sea. But even shattered, its presence is still comforting.
Adrien and Gabriel are doing their best to sustain morale, but with no food, no clean water, no way to fix the Wheel, our fate is quite clear. To me, at least. But I have no desire to hold back the hopes of others. Perhaps. Perhaps we will find a way back.
Still. These moments of quiet, sitting on the beach, are also a source of contentment. All our lives we’ve been running, trying to outrace time. Trying to reach an unreachable goal. And now we can finally rest.
At least we got to see some of the wonders of this world. Even the Serpent, cruel as it is, has a deadly elegance that is mesmerising. But oh, what other marvels might we have seen had we been able to keep rolling?
I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to grow up outside the Dome. Perhaps even live amongst the Nevrons. Could we have achieved a form of peace? Or even prospered alongside them?

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Thibault, Expedition 51
…shortly after dawn. Death was a kindness, for Maxim was in a great deal of pain. Pain we could not help him carry.
Tomorrow comes,
And it comes for us all.
May it bring you the gift of peace,
And not just the gift of sorrow.
No one else will ever understand. Not the way my fellow expeditioners understand. Maxim. Clément. Fabien. Guillaume. Carla.
We’re bound by something deeper than blood or love. There is a shared unity, a shared trust, born from all we’ve been through.
We carry each other’s lives in our hands. There is no greater intimacy. I’m no longer lost. I know exactly who I am now. And exactly what I am capable of.
Life is not easy. Life was never easy. But we have each other. And that makes all the difference.

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Théo, 52nd Expedition
Merde, I can barely think straight. That hulking gestral broke my skull. What the fuck kind of “friendly fight” was that??
I’m bleeding out but their medic is bloody useless, he just keeps telling me about his bone problems. Putain, I’m gonna die here, aren’t I?

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Expedition 53, Lilou
Dominique’s other injuries are manageable, but she’s been in a coma for two weeks with no change.
Fuck. What do we do? We can’t just leave her here, but what about the mission?
Lance says give her one more week, but Dom would’ve wanted us to go on. She’d have yelled at us for even staying this long.
It’s the right choice. It is. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Right? Right.
Pons found a plant, tested it on some animals, says it’ll be painless for Dom. He’s preparing a tincture. It’s fucked up, everything’s fucked up, but it’s what she would’ve wanted.

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Constantine, Theoretically of The 54th
We’re born into a social contract, the terms of which are pre-set. We can neither negotiate nor decline. Our very first breath, that first wail as an infant, was deemed our consent. Before we can speak, before we even understand what it is that we’re born into, we’re bound.
Lumière operates a certain way. It favours a certain group and a certain outcome and if you question the Council, well, the Council’s going to question you.
Push too hard to change things and you just might end up on the next Expedition.
So. Nothing ever changes. They just send us out to die. Dissenters. And the status quo continues. At least out here, I don’t have to pretend anymore.
I don’t bear the others any ill will. They have good intentions. But I’m not here for the Paintress. I’m here to build a new Lumière.

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Gilles, 55th
I don’t understand, the weaponry worked brilliantly up to now. Augmenting pictos with music was a stroke of genius. But the sonics have NO effect on the Nevrons here. It’s as if they can’t even hear our music, they just keep dancing to their own.
We’re running out of ideas. I miss my girls so much it kills me. It hurts thinking that I could have been home right now, playing music while they dance. Rochelle would’ve given birth by now. I could be holding my first grandchild. Instead I’m here.
No, no. There’s still a chance. And someone has to fight for them. I can’t let them down.
Drums. Maybe that will work. They can’t hear our music, but perhaps they will feel it.

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Lisette, 56th
In my youth I mistook drama for passion. Simone helped me understand the difference. Opened my eyes to an entirely different way to experience the world.
How can she be gone? How? How could they so callously, so nonchalantly, destroy such a beautiful soul? Vile, vile, VILE. They just killed her. Like she was a worthless Nevron. Those cold-blooded, treacherous, despicable parasites.
But my trap worked. We caught one of those white-haired bastards. She looks human, but I know she’s a monster. She refuses to speak, but I’ll make her talk. And then I will FEED her to a Nevron. Then the Paintress can take me, I don’t care, nothing matters.
I WILL HAVE JUSTICE.

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Exp57 - Carla
These siege engines seemed much more powerful in Lumière. But on this battlefield, next to all these broken bodies, staring at the true size of the monolith, I feel despair.
I dare not show my true feelings. As Commander, I cannot yield to fear. But I can’t help but wonder, is pressing forward the correct course of action?
Our lives are forfeit anyway, but is there perhaps a better way to spend such precious coin?

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Expedition 58, Delphine
The behemoth is such a marvel. It has a small city on its back that I really want to explore, but the others think it’s too risky, too easy to get caught by the Nevs around here. Bah!
Verso called this thing an Axon, apparently they are incredibly powerful, with hearts of pure chroma. Utterly unkillable! Except clearly something did.
Verso and his father, Renoir, spent years trying to kill the Axons, hoping to forge their hearts into a weapon to break the Barrier. But no dice.
I bet the Curator would love to get his hands on one of those hearts, he could easily forge such a weapon.

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Julien, 59er
…disgusting. Laure’s an idiot, I can’t believe she convinced everyone to eat the Nevron. They’ve been puking for the past few hours. Great.
Well, we can’t move on with so many people sick. I TOLD her it was a bad idea. Hopefully they’ll feel better with some mushroom broth to settle their stomachs…

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William, Expedition 60
They mocked us when we said the human body is the strongest of them all. We trained relentlessly and now our bodies have achieved the pinnacle of human performance, with which we are able to crush our enemies!
We are SO much more agile and aerodynamic without the heavy uniforms constraining our glorious muscles. With Leslie’s unstoppable training regime, WE ARE IMPERVIOUS.
That’s how we were able to charge through that ghostly gommage barrier and reach the Paintress. But it seems we’ve been wrong about what she is. The Paintress is just as trapped as we. The real terror lies beneath the Monolith.
The rest of Expedition 60 marched on to confront him, while I was tasked to warn Lumière. But it seems I might have run out of time. One last swim separates me from Lumière, but even with my mighty muscles, I don’t know if I can outswim the Gommage.
So here I write my final message. Bare naked muscles will save the world! And don’t waste time on the Paintress, aim for the bottom of the Monolith!

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Expedition 61 - Margot
…see, but I disagree. I don’t think she’s lonely. She’s alone, but she’s not lonely.
They clearly have some sort of society here, and she’s the odd one out. Well, except for her co-conspirator in the workshop. I’ve never seen creatures fighting amongst themselves before.
I admit, I’m impressed by her creativity and drive. I feel almost like a traitor for saying it, but there’s something about her. You can’t help but want her to reach the sky…

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Virgile, Expedition 62
Eugène beat the rest of us to 100 kills, but I’m still three shy. I might need to do some solo hunting if I’m going to even up the score.
Oh, I hear a big Nev coming, they count for double. If I kill it quick I can boost my score.

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63rd - Damien
Damnit. I can’t believe we crashed into this… whatever this massive thing is. So much for Gerald’s vaunted reinforced front plates. I can’t believe we have to abandon the cars already. We’re nowhere close to the Paintress.
And I definitely have a concussion. I could’ve sworn I saw some gestrals running out of that thing. I’m definitely hallucinating. Damnit Hector, I told you to SLOW DOWN.

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Ben, 64 Epsilon
We radioed our first report to Gamma. The line is good. Alpha will be out of radio range for a few days as they investigate downcoast. They spotted an interesting island which could make a good relay point for the southern half of the continent.
But Gamma hasn’t heard from Beta in two weeks. Marceau should reach her in another day. I hope Kaline is ok. But it seems someone is using our radios against us.
How do they even know our codes? Nobody’s used them since the Fracture.
Jean fears we’ve been betrayed, but I refuse to believe that.

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Exp65 - Aurelien
The Grandis have embraced us with such warmth and hope. What a balm for the soul to know that other beings survived, that we in Lumière are not alone! It truly is a miracle.
The Grandis retreated to higher ground after Nevrons overran their lands. It is bittersweet, but at least the most important parts of their civilization will survive, their children. Fortunately for them, they do not appear affected by the Gommage the way we are.
It is painful knowing our Expedition has failed, but at least we can enjoy our final days among friends.

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Exp66 - Marcel
Damn you Esquie and your stupid mushrooms. Your friend ate them with no problem but it also seems your friend was immortal!
That’s the sort of extremely relevant detail that you should mention at the start. Ugh, stop crying! You’re not the one about to die.
I can’t believe this is the end of our expedition. We’ve learned nothing and achieved nothing and we’re not even leaving anything useful for future expeditions.
Damn it all, I should never have trusted a giant talking marshmallow. Great, and now I’m losing consciousne–

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Luc - Expedition 67
We’re out of explosives, but we’ve made enough holes in this place to reach that giant woman in the centre.
But something weird’s going on. Everyone’s been swept up in strange emotions, it both feels like us but also not like us?
Marguerite reckons we’re feeling the overflow from that giant woman’s feelings. “Empathic distress,” I think she called it. Like her mind is flooding the area with her thoughts and feelings?
Maybe. Maybe we’ll just stay here and… enjoy the melody.

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Exp68 - Elodie
It’s a miracle any of us survived. We were caught in the maelstrom and flung from wave to wave. We lost the moon and the stars, condemned to a never-ending darkness of punishing rain and raging clouds.
The Paintress sent a storm to overcome us, but it is we who have overcome the storm! After surviving that, crushing those Nevrons was almost an afterthought.
Strength and resilience, it’s how we survived that storm and it’s how we grabbed VICTORY! It wasn’t even a battle, it was an INKBATH. We squeezed those Nevs DRY. But this new one looks tougher than the others…

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69th Expedition - Fleur
Good thing Anthony upgraded all the climbing handholds, not only are they much easier to install in the cliff faces, they’re also a lot nicer to use.
We’re setting the last few handholds tomorrow, then we can finally get out of these caverns and see the sun again. I can’t wait to rejoin the mountaineering team.
I still remember that first mountain we scaled. Watching the sun rise above the clouds was magical. But rappelling down as we set the handholds was pure exhilaration.
I know some of the others chafe at being restricted to recon-only. I get it’s not very satisfying making maps and prepping trails while people are dying, but this prep work will pay off in the long run. It may not be glamorous, but truly essential work rarely is. Doesn’t make it any less important. And as the Expedition 69 motto says, we are literally laying a trail for the ones who come after.
Step by step, handhold by handhold, each Expedition carries the next one forward.

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Charlotte, 70
We’ve finally installed the last set of grapple points, with only days to spare, and for the first time, I feel real hope. This is our gift, for all the Expeditions to come.
I am incredibly proud of our team. The interior of the Monolith is perhaps the harshest landscape we’ve encountered. The final set of grapple points were excruciatingly complex to place and required painstaking focus and skill.
But we were bold, we were ambitious, and we refused to stop. There’s no other group of people I’d rather be with, and it is an honour to die by their side.
It is fitting that we greet our end together, within the Monolith that has loomed over us for so long. Though this Nevron has won the battle, the Expeditions shall win the war.
Tomorrow is here.

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The 78 - Maxance
…stealing the airships, but we knew we had to try. And it WORKED.
We deserve strong leaders, not those old fools on the Council, hiding under the Dome. Under their control, our people are condemned to a slow inevitable extinction.
Their timid half-steps achieve NOTHING. The answers are NOT in Lumière. They are out HERE.
Our only choice is to take matters into our own hands. Fortune favours the bold. We must forge ahead with CONVICTION.

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Expedition 81 - Renée
…huge discovery! This is the first Nevron with whom we’ve been able to communicate! It seems stuck in this cave.
Gregoire is, as usual, deeply suspicious, but this could change our entire understanding of Nevrons and the Paintre–

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Yasmine, Monolith Year 84
My favourite theory is that she’s some crazy demonic maths teacher, and this is our punishment for failing at numbers!
A load of superstitious hysteria, but at least we’re here now. It’s worth it just to walk these valleys. I’ve barely seen a meadow since Lady Genocide and her poison smoke took up residence.
And the sky. I feel almost naked without the Dome above us. We’re so exposed, but it’s thrilling too.
We landed at the exact spot where Expedition Zero touched ground and retraced their route, but there’s not a SINGLE scrap of cloth or body anywhere.
Bloody hell, we’re out here chasing shadows, 15-year old shadows. I’m glad we restarted the Expeditions, but how the hell are we supposed to find them, no trail could last 15 years…

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Melanie, 5 February
The Brigadiers are overdue from their mission to the Monolith and we’ve lost half our remaining fighting strength to these creatures and their relentless assault.
All adults have taken up arms, but I’m a bookkeeper, what am I supposed to do? Count them before they slaughter us?
We’ve hidden the children. At least they’re warm and dry in the cellars, but rations are running low. Things are calmer now at the hospital, but that’s because most die before we can get to them.
I guess I’m living out of pure stubbornness at this point. Survival isn’t really survival anymore.
Everyone’s so quiet lately, afraid we’ll draw attention. Sometimes I talk to myself just to hear another human voice.
Trevor, you promised I could die before you. You promised.

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Julie, Search and Rescue
I KNOW what I saw. He DIED. He fucking DIED. That attack destroyed half his torso, there’s no walking away from that. But when I found him, he was unconscious but whole. His uniform was destroyed, yes, but his chest was merely bruised!
He says the blast just missed him and it was chaotic during battle so I probably misunderstood what I saw. BULLSHIT. Absolute BLOODY bullshit.
He and his father keep saying the Paintress is the solution, not the problem, but I don’t buy it anymore. I think they’re lying about what happened to Expedition Zero. Somehow everyone else died but they walked out without a scratch?
It hurts to think he’d betray us, but nobody ever expects to be betrayed. His mistake though, is thinking his charm is sufficient to sell his lies. We’ll take him tomorrow night. Claude, Louise, and Dion are no fools, they saw what I saw. We WILL get answers. And if he is a traitor, then he will share the fate of traitors.

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…but how? With someone who refuses to talk. We don’t even share the bonds of grief anymore. She walks her path and I walk mine. I don’t exist to her. None of us do. She’s left us all behind to drown by ourselves, so that she can drown alone…

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Simon
More and more of my mind is fading away. I must put my words down on paper before I lose myself entirely.
My beautiful Clea…
What did she do to you? That Paintress… She fooled me, she looked so much like you and I believed her story. She granted me the power to fell the Axons and enter the Monolith.
I realised too late that she had warped my mind, that she had in fact taken you away, locked you somewhere I could never reach, and set me on a path to destroy your future.
But then I met Aline, who showed me that I could save you. With her help, I descended to the bottom of the Monolith, where Aline had sealed Him away. The one who brings the Gommage. The one who threatens our very existence. But his powers are strong and I am finding it harder and harder to fight his influence over my mind.
My mind is breaking. My final thoughts are only of you. And I despair. But one day our suffering will end and we will find our way back to each other. In this life or another.

A journal from someone anonymous.

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You speak to me of perfection, but is there really any such thing? Or is it a siren, leading us astray. I happily predict that neither of us will ever summit that elusive peak, but I care little, as long as we walk together. Art gives us the perception of control. For a moment, as I paint, I find order among the chaos. That is, for me, a moment of pure contentment. And that is truly better than perfection.

A journal from someone anonymous.

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…art can be a Window and art can be a Mirror. And great art. Great art is both. Son, you’ll never be a true artist if there’s always a mask between you and the viewer, especially when the viewer is you.

A journal from someone anonymous.

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Expedition 81 - Renée

…huge discovery! This is the first Nevron with whom we’ve been able to communicate! It seems stuck in this cave.

Gregoire is, as usual, deeply suspicious, but this could change our entire understanding of Nevrons and the Paintre-

A journal from Verso.

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I miss you. I don’t have the right to miss you, but I do. I wish I could talk to you. Tell you…
Fuck, I don’t know what I would tell you.
Just… ask that you forgive me. Julie… Forgive me… I’m not… I’m not a traitor. I’m NOT. I’m trying to save– I’m trying to save us all.
But you’re right. I am a coward. I’m a fucking coward. You deserved to know why. But I couldn’t… I couldn’t face you properly… Not and still do what had to be done.
Papa believes you’re Clea’s creation. And even if you’re not, we can no longer trust you. But I think you just wanted answers.
Why? WHY couldn’t you just let it go… Why did you convince them to abduct me? Interrogate me? I–
No, fuck– I shouldn’t say that. You thought I was a traitor, you were doing what you thought was right. Just like we are.
I swear to you, I’m doing what’s right.
I should have known when you started questioning things, that you wouldn’t be fooled. But how could I even explain. You’d have thought I’d gone mad. Doppelgangers, canvas worlds…
Merde.
But Papa’s right, we can’t take the risk, too much is at stake. It had to be done. It had to. Clea already took our sister… If we want to save our family, our world, our people… We can’t take any chances.
And once we free Maman, she… she’ll bring you back… It won’t be forever. I promise.
I promise…
We deserve to live. All of us. We deserve to exist.